World adieu, thou real cheat

1 World adieu! thou real cheat,
Oft have thy deceitful charms
Fill'd my heart with fond conceit,
Foolish hopes, and false alarms;
Now I see, as clear as day,
How thy follies pass away.

2 Vain thy entertaining sights,
False thy promises renew'd,
All the pomp of thy delights
Does but flatter and delude;
Thee I quit, for heav'n above,
Object of the noblest love.

3 Farewell honour's empty pride,
Thy own nice, uncertain gust,
If the least mischange betide,
Lays thee lower than the dust:
Worldly honours end in gall,
Rise today – to-morrow fall.

4 Foolish vanity – farewell–
More inconstant than the wavs,
Where thy soothing fancies dwell,
Purest tempers they deprave;
He, to who I fly from thee,
Jesus Christ shall set me free.

5 Let not, Lord! my wand'ring mind
Follow after fleeting toys,
Since, in thee alone, I find
Solid and substantial joys:
Toys which never overpast,
Through eternity shall last.

6 Lord! how happy is a heart
After thee while it aspires!
True and faithful as thou art,
Thou shalt answer its desires:
It shall see the glorious scene
Of thine everlasting reign.


Source: A Collection of Hymn Tunes from the most modern and approved authors #XIV