Ere Mountains Reared Their Forms Sublime

1Ere mountains reared their forms sublime,
Or heaven and earth in order stood,
Before the birth of ancient time,
From everlasting Thou art God.

2A thousand years are in their flight,
With Thee but as a fleeting day;
Past, present, future, to Thy sight At once their various scenes display.

3But our brief life's a shadowy dream,
A passing thought that soon is o'er,
That fades with morning's earliest beam,
And fills the musing mind no more.

4To us,
O Lord, the wisdom give,
Each passing moment so to spend That we at length with Thee may live,
Where life and bliss shall never end.