The grass and flowers, which clothe the field

The grass and flowers, which clothe the field

Author: John Newton
Published in 12 hymnals

Representative Text

1 The grass and flowers, which clothe the field,
And look so green and gay;
Touched by the scythe, defenseless yield,
And fall, and fade away.

2 Fit emblem of our mortal state!
Thus in the scripture glass,
The young, the strong, the wise, the great,
May see themselves but grass.

3 Ah! trust not to your fleeting breath,
Nor call your time your own;
Around you see the scythe of death
Is mowing thousands down.

4 And you, who hitherto are spared,
Must shortly yield your lives;
Your wisdom is to be prepared,
Before the stroke arrives.

5 The grass, when dead, revives no more:
You die to live again;
Beware lest death should prove the door
To everlasting pain.

6 Lord, help us to obey thy call,
And all our sins remove,
That when like grass our bodies fall,
Our souls may rise above.

The Hartford Selection of Hymns from the most approved authors, 1799

Author: John Newton

John Newton (b. London, England, 1725; d. London, 1807) was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumul­tuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton's conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett, (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: The grass and flowers, which clothe the field
Author: John Newton
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 12 of 12)
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David's Harp #72

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David's Harp #268

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Hymns for Family Worship with Prayers for Every Day in the Week, Selected from Various Authors #105

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Hymns for Family Worship, with Prayers for Every Day in the Week (2nd ed.) #106

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The American Baptist Sabbath-School Hymn-Book #246

The Baptist Sabbath School Hymn Book #d364

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The Hartford Selection of Hymns from the Most Approved Authors #CCCXII

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The Hartford Selection of Hymns #CCCXII

The New Village Harmony #d106

The Sacred Lute #d313

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