Thoughts on God and Death

There is a God who reigns ab­ove

Lord of the heav’ns

and earth

and seas:

I fear His wrath

I ask His love

And with my lips I sing His praise.

There is a law which He has writ

To teach us all what we must do;

My soul

to His com­mands sub­mit

For they are ho­ly

just

and true.

There is a Gos­pel rich in grace

Whence sin­ners all their com­forts draw;

Lord

I re­pent

and seek Thy face

For I have oft­en broke Thy law.

There is an hour when I must die

Nor do I know how soon ’twill come;

How ma­ny young­er much than I

Have passed by death to hear their doom.

Let me im­prove the hours I have

Before the day of grace is fled;

There’s no re­pent­ance in the grave

No par­don of­fered to the dead.

Just as a tree cut down

that fell

To north or south­ward

there it lies

So man de­parts to Heav’n or hell

Fixed in the state where­in he dies.