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THE SHORTNESS OF HUMAN LIFE.

I

THEE We adore, eternal GOD!
And humbly own to thee,
That feeble is our mortal frame,
And short-liv'd creatures we.

II

Our wasting life grows shorter still,
As months and days increase;
And ev'ry beating pulse we tell,
Still leaves the number less.

III

The year rolls round, and steals away The breath, which first it gave; Where'er we are, whate'er we do, We're trav'ling to the grave.

IV

Dangers stand thick through all the road,
To press us to the tomb;
And fierce diseases wait around,
To hasten mortals home.

V

Let us then rouse our active pow'rs,
To walk this dang'rous road;
That, when we 're summon'd to depart,
We may be found with GOD.

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LORD! what a feeble frame is ours!
How vain a thing is man!

How frail are all our boasted powers!
At best, how short our span !

II

Swift as the feather'd arrow flies,
And parts the yielding air;
Or as a kindling meteor dies,

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So pass our fleeting years away,
And time pursues its race:
In vain, we ask a moment's stay,
Nor will it slack its pace.

IV

Oh! make us truly wise to learn
How very frail we are;

That we may mind our grand concern,
And for our change prepare:

V

May think of death, and learn to die To all inferior things;

Our constant thoughts still soaring, fly Tow'rds life's eternal springs.

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TEACH US the measure of our days,
Thou maker of our frame !
We would survey life's narrow space,
And learn how frail we are.

II

How short the span that we can boast!
A fleeting hour of time!
Man is but vanity and dust,
In all his flow'r and prime.

III

See the vain race of mortals move
Like shadows o'er the plain;
They rage and strive, desire and love,
But all their effort's vain.

IV

What should we wish or wait for, then, From creatures, earth, and dust? They make our expectations vain, And disappoint our trust.

V

Let us return to better things,

Our weak desires recall;

Rise above earth on hope's strong wings, And make our GOD, our all.

SHORTNESS AND UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE.

I

TO-MORROW, LORD! is thine,
Lodg'd in thy sov'reign hand;
And if its sun arise and shine,
It shines by thy command.

II

The present moment flies,
And bears our lives away;
O! make thy servants truly wise,
That they may live to-day.

III

Since on this winged hour
Eternity is hung,

Waken, by thine almighty pow'r,
The aged and the young.

IV

This, LORD! demands our care;
O be it still pursu'd!

Lest, slighted once, the season fair
Should never be renew'd.

EARTHLY AND HEAVENLY TREASURES COMPARED.

I

ALL mortal joys, how soon they fade!
How swift they pass away !
The dying flow'r reclines its head,
The beauty of a day.

II

Soon are those earthly treasures lost
We fondly call our own;
Scarce the possession can we boast,
When strait we find them gone.

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But there are joys which cannot die,
With GOD laid up in store;
Treasures, beyond the changing sky,
Richer than golden ore.

IV

The feeds, which piety and love
Have fcatter'd here below,

In the fair fertile fields above

To ample harvests grow.

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