Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say,
Ecclesiastes 12:1I have no pleasure in them.
Words: James Lombard, A Liturgy, with a Collection of Hymns and Chants (Boston, Massachusetts: Abel Tompkins, 1860), number 95.
Music: Arizona Robert H. Earnshaw, in The Book of Praise (Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Oxford University Press, 1918) (🔊 pdf nwc).
Alternate Tunes:
If you know where to get a good picture of Lombard or Earnshaw (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
We come ere yet the ills of life
Have cast their shadows o’er our way,
For strength to conquer mid the strife,
And bear the burden of the day.
Whate’er our lot in life may be,
May we its duties well perform,
And still Thy goodness, Father see
Alike in sunshine and in storm.
May we our faithful teachers aid,
And grant that in their labors high,
They be not weary nor dismayed,
Ere yet the harvest time draws nigh.
And while within these walls we meet,
To gather words of wisdom here,
May kindly deeds and converse sweet,
Bind every heart in love sincere.