The glory of man [is] as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.
1 Peter 1:24
Words: William C. Bryant, 1875. Bryant wrote this hymn for the 50th anniversary of the Church of the Messiah in Boston, Massachusetts. It was also sung at his funeral.
Music: Goshen (Gawler) from Hymns and Psalms, by William Gawler, 1789 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good picture of Gawler (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
As shadows cast by cloud and sun
Flit o’er the summer grass,
So, in Thy sight, Almighty One,
Earth’s generations pass.
And as the years, an endless host,
Come swiftly pressing on,
The brightest names that earth can boast
Just glisten and are gone.
Yet doth the star of Bethlehem shed
A luster pure and sweet;
And still it leads, as once it led,
To the Messiah’s feet.
O Father, may that holy star
Grow every year more bright,
And send its glorious beams afar
To fill the world with light.