Young People All, Attention Give

Young peo­ple all

at­ten­tion give

While I ad­dress you in God’s name;

You who in sin and fol­ly live

Come hear the coun­sel of a friend.

I’ve sought for bliss in glit­ter­ing toys

And ranged the lur­ing scenes of vice;

But nev­er knew sub­stan­tial joys

Until I heard my Sav­ior’s voice.

He spake at once my sins for­giv­en

And washed my load of guilt away;

He gave me glo­ry

peace

and Heav’n

And thus I found the heav’n­ly way.

And now with trem­bling sense I view

The bil­lows roll be­neath your feet;

For death eter­nal waits for you

Who slight the force of Gos­pel truth.

Youth

like the spring

will soon be gone

By fleet­ing time or con­quer­ing death

Your morn­ing sun may set at noon

And leave you ev­er in the dark.

Your spark­ling eyes and bloom­ing cheeks

Must wi­ther like the blast­ed rose;

The cof­fin

earth

and wind­ing sheet

Will soon your ac­tive limbs en­close.

Ye heed­less ones that wild­ly stroll

The grave will soon be­come your bed

Where si­lence reigns

and va­pors roll

In so­lemn dark­ness round your head.

Your friends will pass the lone­some place

And with a sigh move slow along;

Still gaz­ing on the spires of grass

With which your graves are ov­er­grown.

Your souls will land in dark­er realms

Where ven­geance reigns and bil­lows roar

And roll amid the burn­ing flames

When thou­sand

thou­sand years are o’er.

Sunk in the shades of end­less night

To groan and howl in end­less pain

And nev­er more be­hold the light

And nev­er

nev­er rise again.

Ye bloom­ing youth

this is the state

Of all who do free grace re­fuse;

And soon with you ’twill be too late

The way of life and Christ to choose.

Come

lay your car­nal wea­pons by

No long­er fight against your God

But with the Gos­pel now com­ply

And Heav’n shall be your great re­ward.