Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.
Ecclesiastes 12:1
Words: William H. Bathurst, Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Use (London: Hatchard & Sons, 1831), number 159.
Music: Whitby Abbey R. Frank Lehman, 1901 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Lehman (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
How sweet it is in early youth
To tread the sacred paths of truth;
From sin’s deceitful snares to run,
And find a heaven on earth begun.
How happy is the soul that knows
What perfect peace and calm repose
A gracious Father deigns to give
To them who by His precepts live!
Forbid it, Lord, that we should stray
Far distant from Thy holy way;
Or so deceived and thoughtless be,
As to love pleasure more than Thee.
Though fools may make a mock at sin,
O teach us wisely to begin
To seek the safe and narrow road
That leads to happiness and God.