1 Great former of this various frame,
Our souls adore thine awful name;
And bow and tremble, while they praise
The ancient of eternal days.

2 Thou, Lord, with unsurpris'd survey,
Saw'st nature rising yesterday;
And as to-morrow, shall thine eye
See earth and stars in ruin lie.

3 Beyond an angel's vision bright,
Thou dwell'st in self-existent light.
Which shines with undiminish'd ray,
While suns and worlds in smoke decay.

4 Our days a transient period run,
And change with ev'ry circling sun;
And in the firmest state we boast,
A moth can crush us into dust.

5 But let the creatures fall around:
Let death consign us to the ground:
Let the last general flame arise,
And melt the arches of the skies.

6 Calm as the summer's ocean, we
Can all the wreck of nature see,
While grace secures us an abode,
Unshaken as the throne of God.