The evils that beset our path

Vanity of Life by John Newton


 * The evils that beset our path
 * Who can prevent or cure?
 * We stand upon the brink of death
 * When most we seem secure.


 * If we today sweet peace possess,
 * It soon may be withdrawn;
 * Some change may plunge us in distress,
 * Before tomorrow's dawn.


 * Disease and pain invade our health
 * And find an easy prey;
 * And oft, when least expected, wealth
 * Takes wings and flies away.


 * A fever or a blow can shake
 * Our wisdom's boasted rule;
 * And of the brightest genius make
 * A madman or a fool.


 * The gourds, from which we look for fruit,
 * Produce us only pain;
 * A worm unseen attacks the root,
 * And all our hopes are vain.


 * I pity those who seek no more
 * Than such a world can give;
 * Wretched they are, and blind, and poor,
 * And dying while they live.


 * Since sin has filled the earth with woe,
 * And creatures fade and die;
 * Lord wean our hearts from things below,
 * And fix our hopes on high.