Words: , Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, 1760; the original was the 13-stanza poem, “When I Resolved to Watch My Thoughts.” This version is a cento that first appeared in A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, by , 1787.
Music: Winscott, , 1872.
Almighty Maker of my frame!
Teach me the measure of my days,
Teach me to know how frail I am,
And spend the remnant in Thy praise.
My days are shorter than a span,
A little point my life appears;
How frail at best is dying man!
How vain are all his hopes and fears!
Vain his ambition, noise and show;
Vain are the cares which rack his mind;
He heaps up treasures mixed with woe,
And dies and leaves them all behind.
O be a nobler portion mine!
My God, I bow before Thy throne;
Earth’s fleeting treasures I resign,
And fix my hope on Thee alone.