Ere Mountains Reared Their Forms Sublime

Ere mountains reared their forms sublime,

Or Heav'n and earth in order stood,

Before the birth of ancient time,

From everlasting Thou art God.

A thousand ages, in their flight,

With Thee are as a fleeting day;

Past, present, future, to Thy sight

At once their various scenes display.

But our brief life's a shadowy dream,

A passing thought that soon is o'er,

That fades with morning's earliest beam,

And fills the musing mind no more.

To us, O Lord, the wisdom give

Each passing moment so to spend,

That we at length with Thee may live

Where life and bliss shall never end.