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II.XXXIX. The shortness and misery of life

1 Our days, alas! our mortal days
Are short and wretched too;
"Evil and few," the patriarch says;
And well the patriarch knew.

2 'Tis but at best a narrow bound
That heav'n allows to men,
And pains and sins run thro' the round
Of threescore years and ten.

3 Well, if ye must be sad and few,
Run on, my days, in haste;
Moments of sin, and months of woe,
Ye cannot fly too fast.

4 Let heav'nly love prepare my soul,
And call her to the skies,
Where years of long salvation roll,
And glory never dies.

Text Information
First Line: Our days, alas! our mortal days
Title: The shortness and misery of life
Meter: C. M.
Language: English
Publication Date: 1793
Notes: Public Domain.
Tune Information
(No tune information)



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