Author: Benjamin Beddome, 1717-1795 Meter: 8.6.8.6 Appears in 1 hymnal First Line: Our life is like a vapor, gone Lyrics: 1 Our life is like a vapor, gone,
Our moments swiftly fly;
Lo, scarce our sands begin to run,
Ere we begin to die.
2 Our days on earth are but a span,
A sudden breath of air;
Lord, what a brittle thing is man,
How vain is mortal care.
3 Various unnumbered ills attend
Our weak and helpless frame,
Our fleeting life, so soon it ends,
lt scarce deserves the name.
4 No weaver’s shuttle moves so fast,
No stream so swiftly flows;
Time bears us on with rapid haste,
To endless joys or woes.
5 See, sickness, sorrow round us wait,
And nature is infirm;
Our age to seventy years is set,
Alas, how short the term!
6 Or, should we by uncommon strength
To fourscore years attain,
Yet feebleness will come at length,
And bring disease and pain.
7 Oh may I learn the heav’nly art,
T’improve each passing hour;
And what my hands shall find to do,
Dispatch with all my power. Used With Tune: CAMPMEETING Text Sources: Hymns Adapted to Public Worship (London: Burton and Briggs,1818)
Our Like Is Like A Vapor, Gone