The Book of Generations

(Verse 1) This is the book of Adam's line, Created by a hand divine. In likeness of the Maker's face, He formed the parents of our race. At hundred years and thirty more, Another son came through the door; He named him Seth to take the place Of Abel's lost and gentle grace. (Chorus) And the years roll on like a river deep, While the fathers sow and the children reap. They walked the earth, they breathed the air, They built their lives in work and prayer. The centuries rise, the centuries fall— And death would come to claim them all. (Verse 2) To Seth was born a son named Enosh, While ancient skies remained above us. Then men began to call aloud Upon the Lord beyond the cloud. From Enosh came Kenan, then Mahalalel, In tents where quiet shadows fell. Through hundreds of long, turning years, Of births and burdens, hopes and tears. (Chorus) And the years roll on like a river deep, While the fathers sow and the children reap. They walked the earth, they breathed the air, They built their lives in work and prayer. The centuries rise, the centuries fall— And death would come to claim them all. (Verse 3) Mahalalel begot Jared then, Who walked among the early men. And Jared lived, and Jared died, As time swept like a rising tide. Then Enoch came into the light, A beacon shining pure and bright. Six hundred years of time had flown Since Adam first was made and known. (Chorus) And the years roll on like a river deep, While the fathers sow and the children reap. They walked the earth, they breathed the air, They built their lives in work and prayer. The centuries rise, the centuries fall— And death would come to claim them all. (Verse 4) For three hundred years did Enoch tread Where God’s own holy path was spread. He walked in faith, he walked in grace, Until he vanished from this place! For God took him—he did not die, Caught up into the quiet sky. A living sign among the dead, Where mortals feared the pathway tread. (Chorus) And the years roll on like a river deep, While the fathers sow and the children reap. They walked the earth, they breathed the air, They built their lives in work and prayer. The centuries rise, the centuries fall— And death would come to claim them all. (Verse 5) Methuselah then lived his days, The longest in those ancient ways. Nine hundred years and sixty-nine, He watched the fading of the line. He fathered Lamech, old and worn, By whom a special child was born. A father looking at the ground, Where heavy curses still were found. (Chorus) And the years roll on like a river deep, While the fathers sow and the children reap. They walked the earth, they breathed the air, They built their lives in work and prayer. The centuries rise, the centuries fall— And death would come to claim them all. (Verse 6) Lamech named his young son Noah, Saying, "He will bring us comfort more. From all our painful toil and sweat, Upon the ground where thorns are set." And Noah grew through centuries three, Father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth to be. A righteous branch upon the stem, As darkness gathered over them. (Chorus) And the years roll on like a river deep, While the fathers sow and the children reap. They walked the earth, they breathed the air, They built their lives in work and prayer. The centuries rise, the centuries fall— And death would come to claim them all.