Scripture Verse

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. Genesis 3:15

Introduction

Words: Ben­ja­min Bed­dome (1717–1795). Pub­lished post­hu­mous­ly in Hymns Adapt­ed to Pub­lic Wor­ship (Lon­don: Bu­rton & Briggs, 1818), num­ber 261. The Fall.

Music: Ves­tal in Har­mo­nia Sac­ra, by Jo­seph Funk, fifth edi­tion, 1851 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Bed­dome or Funk (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

illustration

When, by the tempt­er’s wiles be­trayed
Adam our head and par­ent fell,
Unknown be­fore, a plea­sure spread,
Through all the ma­zy deeps of hell.

Infernal pow­ers re­joiced to see
The new-made world de­stroyed, undone;
But God pro­claims His great de­cree,
Of grace and mer­cy through His Son.

Serpent, ac­cursed, thy sen­tence read,
Almighty ven­geance thou shalt feel;
The wo­man’s seed shall crush thy head,
Thy mal­ice slight­ly bruise His heel.

Thus God de­clares, and Christ des­cends,
In hu­man form to bleed and die;
Whilst by His death, death’s em­pire ends,
And all the sons of dark­ness fly.

Rising, the King of glo­ry deals
Destruction to His nu­mer­ous foes;
His power the dar­ing tempt­er feels,
And sinks op­pressed be­neath his woes.