The Book of Worship ‎#291

291. There is a time, we know not when

1 There is a time, we know not when,
A point, we know not where,
That marks the destiny of man
To glory or despair.

2 There is a line, by us unseen,
That crosses every path;
The hidden boundary between
God's patience and His wrath.

3 To pass that limit is to die,
To die as if by stealth;
It does not quench the beaming eye,
Or pale the glow of health.

4 The conscience may be still at ease,
The spirits light and gay;
That which is pleasing still may please,
And care be thrust away.

5 But on the forehead God has set,
Indelibly, a mark,
Unseen by man, for man as yet
Is blind and in the dark.

6 And yet the doomed man's path below
Like Eden may have bloomed;
He did not, does not, will not know
Or feel that he is doomed.

7 He knows, he feels that all is well,
And every fear is calmed;
He lives, he dies, he wakes in hell,
Not only doomed, but damned.

8 Oh where is this mysterious bourne,
By which our path is crossed,
Beyond which, God himself hath sworn
That he who goes is lost?

9 How far may we go on in sin?
How long will God forbear?
Where does hope end? and where begin
The confines of despair?

10 An answer from the skies is sent;
Ye that from God depart,
While it is called to-day, repent!
And harden not your heart.

Text Information

• First Line: There is a time, we know not when
• Meter: C. M.
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1867
• Topic: Man a Sinner: Warned and Entreated

Tune Information

(No tune information)