The Cyber Hymnal ‎#1747

1747. Great Former of This Various Frame

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,
Saw’st nature rising yesterday;
And, as tomorrow, 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, in the firmest state we boast,
A moth can crush us into dust.

5. But let the creatures fall around;
Let death consign us to the ground;
Let the last general flame arise,
And melt the arches of the skies:

6. Calm as the summer’s ocean, we
Can all the wreck of nature see,
While grace secures us an abode,
Unshaken as the throne of God.

Text Information

• First Line: Great former of this various frame
• Title: Great Former of This Various Frame
• Author: Philip Doddridge, 1702-1751
• Meter: LM
• Language: English
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Alternate tune: GERMANY, Sacred Melodies, by William Gardiner, 1815

Tune Information

• Name: ARIZONA
• Composer: Robert Henry Earnshaw, 1856-1929
• Meter: LM
• Incipit: 33333 54311 71232
• Key: F Major
• Copyright: Public Domain