WHEN God had declared that the earth should be drown'd,
And man should be swept from its face,
Because He had nothing but wickedness found,
Though long He had linger'd in grace;
The world, all regardless of hastening doom,
Still ate, and still drank, and still wed,
And saw not a cloud or a shadow of gloom,
Nor ought that occasion'd them dread.
The sun rose at morn in his glory and pride,
And set in his splendor at eve;
While earth still her bounties did daily provide,
And judgment no eye could perceive;
But when the day came that the flood should be pour'd,
And fountains should burst from the deep,
Too late was it then, though they mercy implored,
And vain in their anguish to weep.
No refuge the rocks, nor the mountains and caves,
Could give to those souls in their woe;
The ever-encroaching and pitiless waves
Would reach them and then overflow.
Alas! They thus perish'd, the strong and the weak,
The married, the youth, and the maid,
Engulph'd in the deep, with a groan or a shriek,
In judgment which none could evade.
And so shall it be in the day that is near,
When Jesus the Lord is reveal’d;
For men will pursue, unconcerned, their career,
Their conscience and heart being scaled.
E'en now, there are scoffers who question in scorn,
The coming of Christ in His day,
Though He in the Scriptures doth faithfully warn
That then He Himself will display.
When He in His glory from heaven shall come,
And shine as the lightning on all,
Ah! then the despisers with fear will be dumb,
His presence the guilty appall.
In vain, then, the thought of retreat or of flight,
Too late, then, for mercy to plead;
The sword of His mouth shall their consciences smite,
And finish the judgment with speed.
But like, as of old, in the Ark there were some
Preserved from the watery waste;
So now, there's salvation for those who will come
To Jesus as sinners abased.
In Him there is mercy and safety for all
Who rest in His work and His love;
Then, hear from on high His compassionate call,
And hide in His bosom above. T.