1 Great Former of this various frame!
Our souls adore thine awful name!
And bow and tremble, while they praise
The Ancient of eternal days.
2 Thou, Lord, with unsurprised survey,
Sawest nature rising yesterday;
And, as to-morrow, shall thine eye
See earth and stars in ruin lie.
3 Beyond an angel's vision bright,
Thou dwell'st in self-existent light,
Which shines with undiminished ray,
While suns and worlds in smoke decay.
4 Our days a transient period run,
And change with every circling sun;
And though in self or sect we trust,
A moth can crush us into dust.
Source: The Voice of Praise: a collection of hymns for the use of the Methodist Church #40
First Line: | Great Former of this various frame |
Title: | Immutability of God |
Author: | Philip Doddridge |
Meter: | 8.8.8.8 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Great Former of this various frame. P. Doddridge. [New Year.] This is No. 69 of the Doddridge Manuscript is dated, "Jan. 1, 1737/8," and headed, "The mutability of Creation, and the immutability of God." It was first published by J, Orton in his (posthumous) edition of Doddridge's Hymns, &c, No. 64, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, and with the same heading; and again, with slight variations, in the text, by J. D. Humphreys, in his edition of the same, 1839, No. 67. Although in common use in Great Britain and America, it is not so popular as many of Doddridge's hymns.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)