436.
S. M.
Now the Day of Grace.
1 NOW is the day of grace;
Now to the Saviour come;
The Lord is calling, "Seek my face,
And I will guide you home."
2 A Father bids you speed;
O, wherefore then delay ?
He calls in love; he sees your need;
He bids you come to-day.
3 To-day the prize is won;
The promise is to save;
Then, O, be wise; to-morrow's sun
May shine upon your grave.
437.
L. M.
One Thing needful.
1 WHY will ye waste on trifling cares
That life which God's compassion spares,
While, in the various range of thought,
The one thing needful is forgot?
2 Shall God invite you from above?
Shall Jesus urge his dying love?
Shall troubled conscience give you pain?
And all these pleas unite in vain?
3 Not so your eyes will always view
Those objects which you now pursue;
Not so will heaven and hell appear,
When death's decisive hour is near.
4 Almighty God, thy grace impart;
Fix deep conviction on each heart;
Nor let us waste on trifling cares
That life which thy compassion spares.
438.
11s. Delay not.
1 DELAY not, delay not; O sinner, draw near; The waters of life are now flowing for thee; No price is demanded; the Saviour is here; Redemption is purchased, salvation is free.
2 Delay not, delay not; why longer abuse
The love and compassion of Jesus, thy God? A fountain is opened; how canst thou refuse To wash and be cleansed in his pardoning blood?
3 Delay not, delay not, O sinner, to come,
For Mercy still lingers, and calls thee to-day, Her voice is not heard in the shades of the tomb; Her message, unheeded, will soon pass away.
4 Delay not, delay not; the Spirit of grace,
Long grieved and resisted, may take his sad flight, And leave thee in darkness to finish thy race, To sink in the gloom of eternity's night.
5 Delay not, delay not; the hour is at hand;
The earth shall dissolve, and the heavens shall fade; The dead, small and great, in the judgment shall stand; What helper, then, sinner, shall lend thee his aid?
439.
8s, 7s & 4.
The Sinner invited and warned.
1 HEAR, O sinner! Mercy hails you;
Now with sweetest voice she calls;
Bids you haste to seek the Saviour,
Ere the hand of justice falls:
Trust in Jesus;
"Tis the voice of Mercy calls.
2 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 to Jesus;
You must perish if you stay.
S. M.
Come to-day.
1 YE sinners, fear the Lord,
While yet 'tis called to-day;
Soon will the awful voice of death
Command your souls away.
2 Soon will the harvest close,
The summer soon be o'er;
O sinners, then your injured God
Will heed your cries no more.
3 Then, while 'tis called to-day,
O, hear the gospel's sound;
Come, sinner, haste, O, haste away,
While pardon may be found.
7s.
Danger of Delay.
1 HASTE, O sinner; now be wise;
Stay not for the morrow's sun:
Wisdom if you still despise,
Harder is it to be won.
2 Haste, and mercy now implore;
Stay not for the morrow's sun,
Lest thy season should be o'er,
Ere this evening's stage be run.
3 Haste, O sinner; now return;
Stay not for the morrow's sun,
Lest thy lamp should cease to burn
Ere salvation's work is done.
4 Haste, O sinner; now be blest ;-
Stay not for the morrow's sun,
Lest perdition thee arrest,
Ere the morrow is begun.
S. M.
Danger of Neglect.
1 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?
3 To-day, a pardoning 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 sorrow fraught,
Will fill thee with surprise.
S. M.
Danger of Delay.
1 ALL yesterday is gone;
To-morrow's not our own;
O sinner, come, without delay,
To bow before the throne.
2 O, hear his voice to-day,
And harden not your heart;
To-morrow, with a frown, he may
Pronounce the word, "Depart."
7s.
Expostulation.
1 SINNER, what has earth to show
Like the joys believers know?
Is thy path, of fading flowers,
Half so bright, so sweet, as ours?
2 Doth a skilful, healing friend
On thy daily path attend,
And, where thorns and stings abound,
Shed a balm on every wound?
3 When the tempest rolls on high,
Hast thou still a refuge nigh?
Can, O, can thy dying breath
Summon one more strong than death?
4 Canst thou, in that awful day,
Fearless tread the gloomy way,
Plead a glorious ransom given,
Burst from earth, and soar to heaven?
S. M.
Exhortation to work while it is Day.
1 THE swift-declining day,
How fast its moments fly,
While evening's broad and gloomy shade
Gains on the western sky!
2 Ye mortals, mark its pace,
And use the hours of light;
For know, its Maker can command
An instant, endless night.
3 Give glory to the Lord,
Who rules the rolling sphere;
Submissive, at his footstool bow,
And seek salvation there.
4 Then shall new lustre break
Through all the heavy gloom,
And lead you to unchanging light,
In your celestial home.
S. M.
Parental Entreaty.
1 MY son, know thou the Lord;
Thy fathers' God obey;
Seek his protecting care by night,
His guardian hand by day.
2 Call while he may be found;
O, seek him while he's near;
Serve him with all thy heart and mind,
And worship him with fear.
3 If thou wilt seek his face,
His ear will hear thy cry;
Then shalt thou find his mercy sure,
His grace forever nigh.
4 But if thou leave thy God,
Nor choose the path to heaven,
Then shalt thou perish in thy sins,
And never be forgiven.
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