Hymn
Earthly Things Vain and Transitory
How vain is all beneath the skies!
How transient every earthly bliss?
How slender all the fondest ties
That bind us to a world like this!
The evening-cloud, the morning dew,
The withering grass, the fading flower,
Of earthly hopes are emblems true,--
The glory of a passing hour.
But, though earth's fairest blossoms die,
And all beneath the skies is vain,
There is a land whose confines lie
Beyond the reach of care and pain.
Then let the hope of joys to come
Dispel our cares and chase our fears:
If God be ours, we're traveling home,
Though passing through a vale of tears.
Earthly Things Vain and Transitory — Text from Laudes Domini, 1884. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/earthly-things-vain-and-transitory
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Questions about this hymn
Who wrote Earthly Things Vain and Transitory?
The words of Earthly Things Vain and Transitory were written by David E. Ford; the version here was published in 1884.
Is Earthly Things Vain and Transitory public domain?
Yes. The words here are taken from Laudes Domini, published in 1884. Works published before 1931 are out of copyright in the United States, so you can print, project, perform and record this hymn freely. How we source and check every hymn.
What is the metre of Earthly Things Vain and Transitory?
Earthly Things Vain and Transitory is in Long Metre (8.8.8.8). Hymns in the same metre can usually be sung to the same tunes — for example, The Soul's Best Portion, Eternity Anticipated and O Love of God, How Strong and True.