Is There a World of Bitter Woe?

Is there a world of bit­ter woe

And nev­er end­ing pain;

Where tears of deep­est ang­uish flow

For ever—but in vain?

And it is writ­ten in the Word

Of God

who can­not lie

That sin­ners who de­ny the Lord

Must go there when they die?

O then

what more than mad­ness reigns

Amongst our guil­ty race!

Love we to dwell in burn­ing pains

Beyond the reach of grace;

Where God shall bid His ven­geance fall

His ter­rors still in­crease;

And hope

that whis­pers peace to all

Shall nev­er whis­per peace?

Dare we the word of truth des­pise

The wrath of God de­fy?

And proud­ly scorn­ing to be wise

In sin and ru­in lie?

Lord

teach my stub­born heart to feel

The won­ders of Thy love;

Ere the last trum­pet’s so­lemn peal

Sounds through the vault ab­ove;

O may I learn

while yet brief space

Thy mer­cy doth af­ford;

To trust the pro­mise of Thy grace

And live up­on Thy Word:

So shall that voice which wakes the dead

And tells of judg­ment near

Which fills a guil­ty world with dread

Be mu­sic to mine ear.

So shall I rest from sor­row free

My fears and tri­als o’er;

So pass through life’s tem­pes­tu­ous sea

Safe to the hap­py shore.