The Cyber Hymnal ‎#6830

6830. Teach Me the Measure of My Days

1. Teach me the measure of my days,
Thou Maker of my frame;
I would survey life’s narrow space,
And learn how frail I am.

2. A span is all that we can boast,
An inch or two of time;
Man is but vanity and dust
In all his flower and prime.

3. See the vain race of mortals move
Like shadows o’er the plain;
They rage and strive, desire and love,
But all the noise is vain.

4. Some walk in honor’s gaudy show,
Some dig for golden ore;
They toil for heirs, they know not who,
And straight are seen no more.

5. What should I wish or wait for, then,
From creatures earth and dust?
They make our expectations vain,
And disappoint our trust.

6. Now I forbid my carnal hope,
My fond desires recall;
I give my mortal interest up,
And make my God my all.

Text Information

• First Line: Teach me the measure of my days
• Title: Teach Me the Measure of My Days
• Author: Isaac Watts (1719)
• Meter: CM
• Language: English
• Source: The Psalms of David, 1719
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Alternate tune: SUFFIELD, by King, in Select Harmony, by Andrew Law, 1748-1821, (New Haven, Connecticut: 1779)

Tune Information

• Name: ST. FLAVIAN
• Meter: CM
• Incipit: 11713 22114 31233
• Key: F Major
• Source: Day's Psalter, 1563
• Copyright: Public Domain