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The year is swiftly waning

Representative Text

1 The year is swiftly waning,
The summer days are past;
And life, brief life, is speeding:
The end is nearing fast.

2 The ever-changing seasons
In silence come and go;
But Thou, Eternal Father,
No time or change canst know.

3 Oh! pour Thy grace upon us
That we may worthier be,
Each year that passes o'er us,
To dwell in Heaven with Thee.

4 Behold, the bending orchards
With bounteous fruit are crowned;
Lord, in our hearts more richly
Let heavenly fruits abound.

5 Oh! by each mercy sent us,
And by each grief and pain,
By blessings like the sunshine,
And sorrows like the rain,

6 Our barren hearts make fruitful
With every goodly grace,
That we Thy Name may hallow,
And see at last Thy Face.

Amen.

Source: Voices of Praise: for school and church and home #34

Author: William Walsham How

William W. How (b. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, 1823; d. Leenane, County Mayo, Ireland, 1897) studied at Wadham College, Oxford, and Durham University and was ordained in the Church of England in 1847. He served various congregations and became Suffragan Bishop in east London in 1879 and Bishop of Wakefield in 1888. Called both the "poor man's bishop" and "the children's bishop," How was known for his work among the destitute in the London slums and among the factory workers in west Yorkshire. He wrote a number of theological works about controversies surrounding the Oxford Movement and attempted to reconcile biblical creation with the theory of evolution. He was joint editor of Psalms and Hymns (1854) and Church Hymns (1871). While rec… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: The year is swiftly waning
Author: William Walsham How
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

ILIFFE (Iliffe)


DEVONSHIRE


CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN (Vulpius)

Melchior Vulpius (PHH 397) composed this short chorale tune, published as a setting for the anonymous funeral hymn "Christus, der ist mein Leben" ("For Me to Live Is Jesus") in Vulpius's Ein Schön Geistlich Gesangbuch (1609). Johann S. Bach (PHH 7) based his Cantata 95 on this tune and provided two…

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Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #12311
  • PDF (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer Score (NWC)

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The Cyber Hymnal #12311

Include 47 pre-1979 instances
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