Scripture Verse

Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord. So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month. Jeremiah 28:15–17

Introduction

portrait
Philip Doddridge (1702–1751)

Words: A cen­to from God of My Life, Thy Con­stant Care, by Phi­lip Dodd­ridge (1702–1751). This ver­sion first ap­peared in Se­lect­ion of Psalms and Hymns for Pub­lic and Pri­vate Use, by Tho­mas Cot­ter­ill, 1810.

Music: Tru­ro from Psal­mo­dia Ev­an­ge­li­ca, by Tho­mas Will­iams, 1789 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Lyrics

How many kin­dred souls are fled
To the vast re­gions of the dead,
Since from this day the chang­ing sun
Through his last year­ly pe­ri­od run!

We yet sur­vive; but who can say,
Or through the year, or month or day,
I will re­tain this vi­tal breath;
Thus far at least in league with death?

That breath is Thine, eter­nal God,
’This Thine to fix the soul’s abode;
It holds its life from Thee alone,
On earth, or in the world un­known.

To Thee our spir­its we re­sign,
Make them and own them, still as Thine;
So shall they smile, se­cure from fear,
Though death should blast the ris­ing year.