 "Thou Knowest Lord" is in E flat major and is a stirring hymn-like setting with all the voice parts moving in the same rhythm.Purcell's earlier setting of the fourth sentence of the Burial Service, "Man that is born of a woman", introduces a melancholy theme.Purcell brings tension to the phrase with "hath but a short time to live", and the melody rises and falls with the words "he cometh up and is cut down like a flower".