 | Poems and Songs by E. H. B. [i.e. E. H. Bickersteth] |  |
48
PARAPHRASE.
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.”—
Ecclesiastes, ch. xii. ver. 1—6.
Ecclesiastes, ch. xii. ver. 1—6.
Remember, oh! my child, thy God,
Ere all the spring of life is o'er;
And evil days
And years draw nigh,
When pleasure will no longer dawn,
And the faint spirit scarce illume thine eye:—
While the young sunbeams gild the morn,
And the pale moon its high watch keeps,
And stars shine out when tempest sleeps,
Remember, oh! my child, thy God—
Ere that day comes
When strength shall fail,
And thy scar'd heart like bird on wing,
Shall tremble,—and thy cold cheek pale,
And those lov'd eyes be dim—that voice refuse to sing.
Then fear shall scare thee, and desire shall fail;
The almond tree shall flourish on that day,—
The grasshopper a burden prove—
The grave, ah! then thy home shall be,
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Ere loosed be the silver cord,
Or golden bowl all shiver'd lie—
Or by the fountain murmuring nigh
The broken pitcher shall be found,
Strown o'er the ground—
And the frail wheel refuse
From the deep cistern sparkling draughts to bring—
Ere all is gone of life's bright sunlit spring,
Remember, oh! my child, thy God.
| Poems and Songs by E. H. B. [i.e. E. H. Bickersteth] | |