Scripture Verse

The Lord God said unto the serpent…I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.…And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Genesis 3:15–17

Introduction

portrait
James Montgomery
(1771–1854)

Words: James Mont­gom­e­ry (1771–1854). Pub­lished in his Chris­tian Psalm­ist, fourth edition (Glas­gow, Scot­land: Will­iam Coll­ins, 1826), num­ber 490. The curse and the bless­ing.

Music: Duke Street at­trib­ut­ed to John Hat­ton, 1793 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Lyrics

To Adam thus Jehovah spake:
The ground is cursèd for thy sake;
Thence eat thy bread, and there once more
Become the dust thou wert before.

Serpent, again Jehovah said,
The woman’s seed shall bruise thy head,
Yet in the strife thy fury feel,
For thou shalt turn and wound His heel.

He comes—we hail His glorious birth,
Who brings the blessing back to earth;
Nor Eden only, but the Tree
Of life and immortality.