Complaining of Inconstancy

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The wandering star, the fleeting wind

Author: Benjamin Beddome (1787)
Published in 53 hymnals

Representative Text

1 The wandering star, and fleeting wind,
Both represent th'unstable mind:
The morning cloud and early dew,
Bring our inconstancy to view.

2 But cloud, and wind, and dew, and star,
Faint and imperfect emblems are;
Nor can there aught in nature be
So fickle and so false as we.

3 Our outward walk, and inward frame,
Scarce through a single hour the same;
We vow, and straight our vows forget,
And then these very vows repeat.

4 With flowing tears, Lord, we confess
Our folly and unsteadfastness:
When shall these hearts more fixed be,
Fix'd by thy grace, and fix'd for thee?

Source: A Collection of Hymns and Prayers, for Public and Private Worship #293

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Author: Benjamin Beddome

Benjamin Beddome was born at Henley-in Arden, Warwickshire, January 23, 1717. His father was a Baptist minister. He studied at various places, and began preaching in 1740. He was pastor of a Baptist society at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, until his death in 1795. In 1770, he received the degree of M.A. from the Baptist College in Providence, Rhode Island. He published several discourses and hymns. "His hymns, to the number of 830, were published in 1818, with a recommendation from Robert Hall." Montgomery speaks of him as a "writer worthy of honour both for the quantity and the quality of his hymns." --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	The wandering star, the fleeting wind
Title:	Complaining of Inconstancy
Author:	Benjamin Beddome (1787)
Meter:	8.8.8.8
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain