The importance of living for eternity.
THE day approacheth, O
The great decisive day,
Which from the verge of mortal life
Shall bear thee far away.
Another day more awful dawns,
And lo, the Judge appears!
Ye heavens, retire before his face!
And sink, ye darken'd stars!
Yet does one short preparing hour,
One precious hour remain :
Rouse thee, my soul, with all thy power,
Nor let it pass in vain.
With me my brethren soon must die,
And at that bar appear;
Now be our intercourse improved
To mutual comfort here.
For this, thy temple, Lord, we throng,
The Saviour's board surround;
Here may our service be approved,
And in thy presence crown'd!
The day of mercy and hope.
LIFE is the time to serve the Lord,
The time to ensure the great reward;
And while the lamp holds out to burn,
The greatest sinner may return.
Life is the hour that God hath given
To 'scape from hell and fly to heaven,
The day of grace, and mortals may
Secure the blessings of the day.
The living know that they must die:
But all the dead forgotten lie;
They have no share in all that's done
Beneath the circuit of the sun.
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.
307. c. M. WATTS.
The frailty and importance of human life.
THEE we adore, eternal name!
And humbly own to thee
How feeble is our mortal frame,
What dying worms are we!
Our wasting lives grow shorter still,
As months and days increase;
And every beating pulse we tell
Leaves but the number less.
The year rolls round, and steals away
The breath which first it gave;
Where'er we are, whate'er we do,
We're travelling to the grave.
Dangers stand thick through all the ground, To push us to the tomb;
And fierce diseases wait around
To hurry mortals home.
Great God! on what a slender thread
Hang everlasting things ;
The eternal state of all mankind
Upon life's feeble strings!
Waken, O Lord, our drowsy sense,
To walk this dangerous road;
And if our souls are hurried hence,
May they be found with God!
The near approach to salvation a motive to
AWAKE, ye saints, and raise your eyes,
And raise your voices high;
Awake, and praise that sovereign love
That shows salvation nigh.
On all the wings of time it flies;
Each moment brings it near:
Then welcome each declining day!
Welcome each closing year!
Not many years their rounds shall run,
Nor many mornings rise,
Ere all its glories stand reveal'd
To our admiring eyes.
Ye wheels of nature, speed your course;
Ye mortal powers, decay:
Fast as ye bring the night of death
Ye bring eternal day.
The shortness of life, and the goodness of God.
TIME, what an empty vapour 'tis !
And days, how swift they are!
Swift as an Indian arrow flies,
Or like a shooting star.
Our life is ever on the wing,
And death is ever nigh:
The moment when our lives begin,
We all begin to die.
Yet, mighty God, our fleeting days
Thy lasting favours share;
Yet with the bounties of thy grace
Thou crown'st the rolling year.
Thy goodness runs an endless round;
All glory to the Lord!
Thy mercy never knows a bound,
And be thy name adored!
Thus we begin the lasting song ;
And when we close our eyes,
Let the next age thy praise prolong
Till time with nature dies.
Praise to God through life and in death.
GOD of my life, through all its days
My grateful powers shall sound thy praise:
The song shall wake with opening light,
And cheer the dark and silent night.
When anxious cares would break my rest,
And griefs would tear my throbbing breast,
Thy tuneful praises raised on high
Shall check the murmur and the sigh.
When death o'er nature shall prevail,
And all its powers of language fail,
Joy through my swimming eyes shall break,
And mean the thanks I cannot speak.
But O! when that last conflict's o'er,
And I am chain'd to earth no more,
With what glad accents shall I rise
To join the music of the skies! .
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