The soul that scorns the mandate dies,
And meets a fiery day.
2 No more the sovereign eye of God
O'erlooks the crimes of men ;
His heralds now are sent abroad,
To warn the world of sin.
3 O sinners! in his presence bow,
And all your guilt confess;
Accept the offered Saviour now,
Nor trifle with his grace.
4 Soon, will the awful trumpet sound,
And call you to his bar;
His mercy knows th' appointed bound,
And yields, to justice there.
5 Amazing love-that yet will call,
And yet prolong our days!
Our hearts subdued by goodness fall,
And weep, and love, and praise.
HYMN 238, 7s.
The Sinner meeting God.
SINNER! art thou still secure?
Wilt thou still refuse to pray?
Can thy heart or hand endure,
In the Lord's avenging day?
mf 2 See, his mighty arm is bared;
Awful terrors clothe his brow!
For his judgments stand prepared ;-
Thou must either break or bow.
mf 8 At his presence nature shakes,
Earth affrighted hastes to flee,
Solid mountains melt like wax:
What will then become of thee?
4 Who his coming may abide ?
You that glory in your shame!-
Can you find a place to hide,
When the world is wrapt in flame?
HYMN 239, 8s, 7s and 4.
The Voice of Mercy.
EAR, O sinner! mercy hails you;
Now with sweetest voice she calls;
Bids you haste to seek the Saviour,
Ere the hand of justice falls:
Hear, O sinner!
'Tis the voice of mercy calls.
aff 2 See! the storm of vengeance gathering
O'er the path you dare to tread!
Hark! the awful thunder rolling
Loud and louder o'er your head!
Turn, O sinner!
Lest the lightning strike you dead.
aff 3 Haste, O sinner! to the Saviour;
Seek his mercy while you may;
Soon the day of grace is over; —
Soon your life will pass away;
Haste, Ŏ sinner!
You must perish if you stay.
HYMN 240, C. P. M.
Present and future Realities.
O! on a narrow neck of land,
Between two boundless seas I stand,—
Yet how insensible!
A point of time-a moment's space-
Removes me to yon heavenly place,
Or-shuts me up in hell!
2 O God! my inmost soul convert,
And, deeply on my thoughtless heart,
Eternal things impress;
Give me to feel their solemn weight,
And save me, ere it be too late ;-
Wake me to righteousness.
3 Before me place, in bright array,
The pomp of that tremendous day,
When thou with clouds shalt come,
To judge the nations at thy bar;-
And tell me, Lord! shall I be there,
To meet a joyful doom?
4 Be this my one great business here,
With holy trembling, holy fear,
To make my calling sure?
Thine utmost counsel to fulfill,
To suffer all thy righteous will,
And to the end endure!
5 Then, Saviour! then my soul receive,
Transported from the earth, to live
And reign with thee above:
Where faith is sweetly lost in sight,
And hope, in full supreme delight,
And everlasting love.
HYMN 241, L. M.
Life, the Day of Grace and Hope.
IFE is the time to serve the Lord,
The time t' insure the great reward;
And, while the lamp holds out to burn,
The vilest sinner may return.
2 Life is the hour that God has given,
To 'scape from hell and fly to heaven;
The day of grace,and mortals may
Secure the blessings of the day.
3 The living know that they must die,
But all the dead forgotten lie;
Their mem'ry and their sense are gone,
Alike unknowing and unknown.
mf 4 Then, what my thoughts design to do,
My hands! with all your might pursue;
Since no device, nor work is found,
Nor faith, nor hope, beneath the ground.
5 There are no acts of pardon past,
In the cold grave to which we haste;
But darkness, death, and long despair,
Reign in eternal silence there.
HYMN 242, C. M.
Expostulation with Sinners.
E! who despise the Saviour's grace,
And scorn his gospel, here,—
How can you meet his angry face,
Or at his bar appear?
2 When every earthly hope shall fail,-
When storms of wrath are nigh,
How will your souls affrighted quail,
Beneath his burning eye!
aff 3 Why will you madly rush on death,
And force your way to woe?
Why tempt the God, that holds your breath,
To strike the fatal blow?
4 Turn, guilty sinners! quickly turn;
Oh! come to Jesus now ;-
Ere the fierce flames around you burn,
To your Redeemer bow.
HYMN 243, L. M.
Advice to Youth.
in the heat of youthful blood,
Remember your Creator, God;
Behold! the months come hastening on,
When you shall say "My joys are gone."
2 Behold! the aged sinner goes
Laden with guilt and heavy woes,
Down to the regions of the dead,
With endless curses on his head.
3 The dust returns to dust again;
The soul, in agonies of pain,
Ascends to God-not there to dwell,-
But hears her doom, and sinks to hell.
4 Eternal King! I fear thy name;
Teach me to know how frail I am;
And, when my soul must hence remove,
Give me a mansion in thy love.
HYMN 244, S. M.
Grieving the Spirit.
AND canst thou, sinner! slight
The call of love divine?
Shall God, with tenderness invite,
And gain no thought of thine?
2 Wilt thou not cease to grieve
The Spirit from thy breast,
Till he thy wretched soul shall leave
With all thy sins oppressed?
8 To-day, a pard'ning God.
Will hear the suppliant pray,
To-day, a Saviour's cleansing blood
Will wash thy guilt away.
4 But, grace so dearly bought.
If yet thou wilt despise,
Thy fearful doom, with vengeance fraught,
Will fill thee with surprise.
HYMN 245, C. M.
Frailty and Sin.
TOW short and hasty is our life!
How vast our soul's affairs!
Yet senseless mortals vainly strive
To lavish out their years.
2 Our days run thoughtlessly along,
Without a moment's stay;
Just like a story, or a song,
We pass our lives away.
3 God from on high invites us home,
But we march heedless on,
And, ever hastening to the tomb,
Stoop downward as we run.
4 How we deserve the deepest hell,
Who slight the joys above!
What chains of vengeance should we feel,
Who break such cords of love!
5 Draw us, O God! with sovereign grace,
And lift our thoughts on high,
That we may end this mortal race,
And see salvation nigh.
HYMN 246, C. M.
Brevity of Life.
ET others boast how strong they be,
Nor death nor danger fear;
But we 'll confess, O Lord! to thee,
What feeble things we are.
2 Fresh as the grass our bodies stand,
And flourish bright and gay;
A blasting wind sweeps o'er the land,
And fades the grass away.
3 Our life contains a thousand springs,
And dies, if one be gone;
Strange! that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long.
4 But 't is our God supports our frame,-
The God who built us first;
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