Show me the way to shun
Thy dreadful wrath severe,
That when thou comest on thy throne,
I may with joy appear.
6 Thou art thyself the way,
Thyself in me reveal;
So shall I spend my life's short day
Obedient to thy will;
So shall I love my God,
Because he first lov'd me,
And praise thee in thy bright abode,
To all eternity.
only born to die?
And must I suddenly comply
With nature's stern decree?
What after death for me remains?
Celestial joys, or hellish pains,
To all eternity.
2 How then ought I on earth to live,
While God prolongs the kind reprieve,
And props the house of clay:
My sole concern, my single care,
To watch, and tremble, and prepare
Against that fatal day!
3 No room for mirth or trifling here,
For worldly hope, or worldly fear,
If life so soon is gone;
If now the Judge is at the door,
And all mankind must stand before
Th' inexorable throne!
4 No matter which my thoughts employ; A moment's misery or joy:
But oh! when both shall end,
Where shall I find my destin'd place!
Shall I my everlasting days
With fiends or angels spend?
5 Nothing is worth a thought beneath,
But how I may escape the death
That never, never dies!
How make my own election sare;
And when I fail on earth, secure
A mansion in the skies.
6 Jesus, vouchsafe a pitying ray,
Be thou my guide, be thou my way
To glorious happiness!
Ah! write the pardon on my heart!
And whensoe'er I hence depart,
Let me depart in peace!
Hymn 250. S. M.
HOU Judge of quick and dead,
Before whose bar severe,
With holy joy or guilty dread
We all shall soon appear;
Our caution'd souls prepare
For that tremendous day,
And fill us now with watchful care,
And stir us up to pray:
2 To pray and wait the hour,
That awful hour unknown,
When rob'd in majesty and power,
Thou shalt from heaven come down,
Th' immortal Son of man,
To judge the human race,
With all thy Father's dazzling train,
With all thy glorious grace.
3 To damp our earthly joys,
T' increase our gracious fears,
For ever let th' archangel's voice
Be sounding in our ears,
The solemn midnight cry,
"Ye dead, the Judge is come;
"Arise and meet himin the sky,
" And meet your instant doom!"
4 O may we thus be found
Obedient to thy word,
Attentive to the trumpet's sound,
And looking for our Lord!
O may we thus ensure
A lot among the blest:
And watch a moment to secure
An everlasting rest!
H
TE comes! he comes! the Judge severe :
The seventh trumpet speaks him near :
His lightnings flash, his thunders roll;
How welcome to the faithful soul!
2 From heaven angelic voices sound,
See the almighty Jesus crown'd!
Girt with omnipotence and grace,
And glory decks the Saviour's face.
3 Descending on his azure throne,
He claims the kingdoms for his own;
The kingdoms all obey his word,
And hail him their triumphant Lord!
4 Shout, all the people of the sky,
And all the saints of the Most High;
Our Lord, who now his right obtains,
For ever and for ever reigns.
Hymn 252. P. М.
O! he comes with clouds descending,
Once for favour'd sinners slain!
Thousand, thousand saints attending,
Swell the triumph of his train!
Hallelujah!
God appears with man to reign.
2 Every eye shall now behold him,
Rob'd in dreadful majesty!
Those who set at nought and sold him,
Pierc'd and nail'd him to the tree,
Deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see.
3 The dear tokens of his passion,
Still his dazzling body' bears;
To his ransom'd worshippers!!
With what rapture
Cause of endless exultation
Gaze we on those glorious scars! 4 Yea, Amen! let all adore thee,
High on thine eternal throne!
Saviour, take the power and glory,
Claim the kingdom for thine own:
Jah! Jehovah!
Everlasting God, come down!
Hymn 253. C. М.
ERRIBLE thought! shall I alone,
Who may be sav'd, shall I,
Of all, alas! whom I have known,
Through sin for ever die?
2 While all my old companions dear,
With whom I once did live,
Joyful at God's right hand appear,
A blessing to receive.
3 Shall I, amidst a ghastly band,
Dragg'd to the judgment-seat,
Far on the left with horror stand,
My fearful doom to meet?
4 While they enjoy their Saviour's love,
Must I in torments dwell?
And howl, (while they sing hymns above,)
And blow the flames of hell?
5 Ah! no; I still may turn and live,
For still his wrath delays;
He now vouchsafes a kind reprieve,
And offers me his grace.
6 I will accept his offers now,
From every sin depart;
Perform my oft-repeated vow,
And render him my heart.
7 I will improve what I receive,
The grace through Jesus given;
Sure, if with God on earth I live,
To live with God in heaven.
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