In vain the preacher cried, Repent

In vain the preacher cried, "Repent;
Flee from impending wrath;"
Headlong the world of rebels went
Along its own broad path.

They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold,
Built, planted, till the day
When the flood came, and young and old
Were swept at once away.

A few that fear'd the warning word
Escaped the doom of sin;
The ark received them, and the Lord
Shut safe His servants in.

The tide of time that knows no turn,
Like that ingulfing flood,
Whelms with destruction those that spurn
God's truth and Jesus' blood.

But still his preachers cry, "Repent;
Flee from sin's deadly doom;"
Forth from the ark this call is sent,
"Come in, there yet is room."

Unshut the door, where Mercy stands,
The perishing to save,
With earnest eye, and outstretch'd hands,
From death beyond the grave.

Sacred Poems and Hymns