Scripture Verse

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. Ecclesiastes 12:1

Introduction

portrait
Walter J. Mathams (1853–1931)

Words: Wal­ter J. Math­ams, 1913.

Music: Dia­de­ma­ta George J. El­vey, in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, 1868 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

portrait
George J. Elvey (1816–1893)
National Portrait Gallery

button

Some years ago, writes the au­thor, Dr. Car­ey Bon­ner, emi­nent Eng­lish pub­lish­er and com­pos­er of hymns for child­ren and youth, asked me to list­en to a hymn on which he wished my op­in­ion.

After he had read it to me I said, ‘That seems a good hymn for the pur­pose for which it was wri­tten.’ He then asked, ‘Have you seen it be­fore?’ to which I re­plied, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ He re­joined, ‘Why, man, you wrote it your­self some years ago, and it has been re­cent­ly brought to my no­tice!’

The in­ci­dent set Mr. Math­ams’ mind to work­ing and lat­er he re­called how, un­der the pres­sure of his bu­sy life, the hymn was writ­ten for use among young peo­ple in Chris­tian En­dea­vor and Sun­day School Con­ven­tions. It was in­tro­duced to Am­er­ica by Grace Wi­lbur Co­nant, in her Wor­ship and Song, a well known Church School hym­nal, pub­lished in 1913.

Laufer, p. 84

Lyrics

Now in the days of youth,
When life flows fresh and free,
Thou Lord of all our hearts and lives,
We give our­selves to Thee;
Our fer­vent gift re­ceive,
And fit us to ful­fill,
Through all our days, in all our ways,
Our hea­ven­ly Fa­ther’s will.

Teach us wher­e’er we live,
To act as in Thy sight,
And do what Thou wouldst have us do
With ra­di­ant delight;
Not choos­ing what is great,
Nor spurn­ing what is small,
But taking from Thy hands our tasks
To glo­ri­fy them all.

Teach us to love the true,
The beau­ti­ful and pure,
And let us not for one short hour
An ev­il thought endure.
And give us grace to stand
Decided, brave, and strong,
The lov­ers of all ho­ly things,
The foes of all things wrong.

Spirit of Christ, do Thou
Our first bright days in­spire,
That we may live the life of love
And lof­ti­est de­sire;
And be by Thee pre­pared
For larg­er years to come;
And for the life in­ef­fa­ble,
Within the Fa­ther’s home.