Hymns For Christian Devotion

182. L. M.6l. Heber. The Visible World a Shadow of the Invisible.

1 I praised the earth in beauty seen,
With garlands gay of various green;
I praised the sea, whose ample field
Shone glorious as a silver shield;
And earth and ocean seemed to say,
"Our beauties are but for a day."

2 I praised the sun, whose chariot rolled
On wheels of amber and of gold;
I praised the moon, whose softer eye
Gleamed sweetly through the summer sky;
And moon and sun in answer said,
"Our years are told when we must fade."

3 O God, O, good beyond compare!
If thus thy meaner works are fair, --
If thus thy bounties gild the span
Of sinful earth and mortal man, --
How glorious must thy mansion be
Where thy redeemed shall dwell with thee.