Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship ‎#31

31. While with Ceaseless Course the Sun

1. While with ceaseless course the sun
Hasted thru' the former year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here:
Fixed in an eternal state,
They have done with all below;
We a little longer wait,
But how little, none can know.

2. As the winged arrow flies
Speedily the mark to find,
As the ligh'tning from the skies
Darts and leaves no trace behind;
Swiftly thus our fleeting days
Bear us down life’s rapid stream;
Upward, Lord, our spirits raise;
All below is but a dream.

3. Thanks for mercies past receive;
Pardon of our sins renew;
Teach us henceforth how to live,
With eternity in view.
Bless thy word to young and old,
Fill us with a Savior's love;
And when life’s short tale is told,
May we dwell with thee above.

Text Information

• First Line: While with ceaseless course the sun
• Title: While with Ceaseless Course the Sun
• Author: John Newton (1774)
• Meter: 7.7.7.7 D
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 2024
• Scripture:
  Revelation 21:5-6
• Topic: New Year's Eve
• Notes: Text by John Newton, from Twenty-Six Letters on Religious Subjects (1774), alt.

Tune Information

• Name: CHRISTE, WAHRES SEELENLICHT
• Meter: 7.7.7.7 D
• Incipit: 33551 17156 5443
• Key: b minor or modal
• Source: J.A. Freylinghausen's Geist-reiches Gesang-Buch, 1704; arr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941
• Notes: Tune CHRISTE, WAHRES SEELENLICHT from J.A. Freylinghausen’s Geist-reiches Gesang-Buch (1704), arr. as in The Lutheran Hymnal (1941).