quote · Legacy record
How short, how narrow is the span, How few the years allow’d to man; And e’en in those few years he feels, And groans, beneath a thousand ills. As springs the flower in some gay mead, Then sudden hangs its drooping head, So does our boasted strength decay, And, like the shadow, flee away. For every moment that we breathe, We’re hast’ning to the gates of Death! And who can needful help afford, In that sad hour, but Thou, O Lord? Conscious of guilt, to Thee we cry, And raise the hand and lift the eye; Yet sure our sins may justly move Thine anger, rather than Thy love!
How short, how narrow is the span, How few the years allow’d to man; And e’en in those few years he feels, And groans, beneath a thousand ills. As springs the flower in some gay mead, Then sudden hangs its drooping head, So does our boasted strength decay, And, like the shadow, flee away. For every moment that we breathe, We’re hast’ning to the gates of Death! And who can needful help afford, In that sad hour, but Thou, O Lord? Conscious of guilt, to Thee we cry, And raise the hand and lift the eye; Yet sure our sins may justly move Thine anger, rather than Thy love!
In print by 1888 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- R. Brown (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1888 AD · industrial
In print by 1888: recorded in A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 537 · printed citation: R. Brown · subject: SHORTNESS
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.