Earth to earth and dust to dust, Lord, we own the sentence just

Representative Text

1 Earth to earth and dust to dust,
Lord, we own the sentence just;
Head and tongue, and hand and heart,
All in guilt have borne their part;
Righteous is the common doom,
All must moulder in the tomb.

2 Like the seed in spring-time sown,
Like the leaves in autumn strown,
Low these goodly frames shall lie,
All our pomp and glory die;
Soon the spoiler seeks his prey,
Soon he bears us all away.

3 Yet the seed, upraised, again
Clothes with green the smiling plain;
Onward as the seasons move,
Leaves and blossoms deck the grove;
And shall we forgotten lie,
Lost forever when we die?

4 Lord, from nature's gloomy night
Turn we to the gospel's light;
Thou didst triumph o'er the grave,
Thou wilt all thy people save;
Ransomed by thy blood they rise,
Mounting victors to the skies.

Source: The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book: for use in divine worship #956

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Author: John Hampden Gurney

Gurney, John Hampden, M.A., eldest son of Sir John Gurney, a Baron of the Exchequer, was born in Serjeants’ Inn, London, Aug. 15, 1802, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1824. On taking Holy Orders he became Curate of Lutterworth (1827-1844), and subsequently Rector of St. Mary's, Marylebone, and Prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral. He died in London, March 8, 1862. The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and other religious societies had his cordial sympathy, and received his active support. His publications include several small volumes in prose, and the following:— (1) Church Psalmody; Hints for the improvement of a Collection of Hymns published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Earth to earth and dust to dust, Lord, we own the sentence just
Author:	John Hampden Gurney
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Earth to earth, and dust to dust. Lord, we own, &c. J. H. Gurney. [The Resurrection.] Contributed to his Collection of Hymns. (Lutterworth Collection), 1838, No. 42, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines, and repeated in his Psalms & Hymns (Marylebone Collection), 1851, No. 36. It is given, and generally unaltered, in several of the best collections in Great Britain and America. It is a distinct hymn in every way from Dr. G. Croly's "Earth to earth, and dust to dust! Here the evil and the just" (Lyra Britannica, 1867, p. 170), and is very suitable for funerals.

--John Julian Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Notes

Earth to earth, and dust to dust. Lord, we own, &c. J. H. Gurney. [The Resurrection.] Contributed to his Collection of Hymns. (Lutterworth Collection), 1838, No. 42, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines, and repeated in his Psalms & Hymns (Marylebone Collection), 1851, No. 36. It is given, and generally unaltered, in several of the best collections in Great Britain and America. It is a distinct hymn in every way from Dr. G. Croly's "Earth to earth, and dust to dust! Here the evil and the just" (Lyra Britannica, 1867, p. 170), and is very suitable for funerals.

--John Julian Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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