Hymns and Spiritual Songs, in Three Books ‎#I.LXXXVIII

I.LXXXVIII. Life the day of grace and hope

1 Life is the time to serve the Lord,
The time t'insure the great reward,
And while the lamp holds out to burn,
The vilest sinner may return.

2 Life is the hour that God hath giv'n
To ’scape from hell and fly to heav’n;
The day of grace, and mortals may
Secure the blessings of the day.

3 The living know that they must die;
But all the dead forgotten lie;
Their mem'ry and their sense is gone,
Alike unknowing and unknown.

4 [Their hatred and their love is lost,
Their envy is buried in the dust;
They have no share in all that’s done
Beneath the circuit of the sun.]

5 Then what my thoughts design to do,
My hands, with all your might pursue;
Since no device, nor work is found,
Nor faith, nor hope, beneath the ground.

6 There are no acts of pardon past
In the cold grave to which we haste;
But darkness, death, and long despair,
Reign in eternal silence there.

Text Information

• First Line: Life is the time to serve the Lord
• Title: Life the day of grace and hope
• Meter: L. M.
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1793
• Scripture:
  Ecclesiastes 9:4-6
  ;
  Ecclesiastes 9:10

Tune Information

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