1 God of my childhood and my youth,
The guide of all my days,
I have declar'd thy heavenly truth,
And told thy wondrous ways.
2 Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs,
And leave my fainting heart?
Who shall sustain my sinking years
If God my strength depart?
3 Let me thy power and truth proclaim
To the surviving age,
And leave a savour of thy Name
When I shall quit the stage.
4 The land of silence and of death
Attends my next remove;
O may these poor remains of breath
Teach the wide world thy love.
PAUSE.
5 Thy righteousness is deep and high,
Unsearchable thy deeds;
Thy glory spreads beyond the sky,
And all my praise exceeds.
6 Oft have I heard thy threatenings roar,
And oft endur'd the grief;
But when thy hand has press'd me sore,
Thy grace was my relief.
7 By long experience have I known
Thy sovereign power to save;
At thy command I venture down
Securely to the grave.
8 When I lie buried deep in dust,
My flesh shall be thy care
These withering limbs with thee I trust
To raise them strong and fair.