“The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." (1 Thess. 5.)
O YE who are dwelling at ease on the earth,
And, heedless of danger, seek pleasure and mirth,
Your joy is at best but a withering gourd;
And what will ye do in the day of the Lord?
Ye daring despisers of God and His truth;
Ye scoffers and scorners, corrupters of youth;
Whose practice and precepts by God are abhorr'd,—
Ah! how will ye wail in the day of the Lord?
Idolators, bowing to stock and to stone,
And Christians, in name, who the Christ have not known;
And all who a god of their own have adored;
Oh, where will ye flee in the day of the Lord
Ye children of night, who in lethargy sleep,
Oh, well might ye wake, and, awaking, might weep;
For ye, who know nothing of watching and ward,
Will all be ensnared in the day of the Lord.
Ye say, " Peace and safety,' by Satan beguiled,—
But travail shall come as on woman with child;
And sudden destruction, the scriptures record,
Shall fall on ye all in the day of the Lord.
That day is of darkness, of woe, and affright,
Uncheer'd by a glimmer of hope or of light;
The proud and ungodly have then their reward:
That day, oh, how dreadful, the day of the Lord!
But now 'tie the day of salvation and grace,
Though near to its close, oh! the moment embrace;
And Christ will that soul, who His name has adored,
Preserve from the doom of the day of the Lord.T.
THERE is an immense difference between a quieted conscience and a purged conscience. Man with false religion gives the former; the latter is effected only by the blood of Christ!)