Mortals, Give Ear

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Mortals, give ear, the awful day

Author: John Needham
Tune: DIBDIN
Published in 1 hymnal

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Representative Text

1 Mortals, give ear, the awful day,
The last, the great assize,
Advances swift as minutes fly
The guilty to surprise.

2 That eye which sees thro’ darkest shades
Of secrecy and night;
That ear which every whisper hears
Shall bring each deed to light.

3 How will the guilty trembling stand
To see their sins revealed?
And all their thoughts made public then
Which lay before concealed.

4 Horror and anguish seize their souls,
Despoiled of each disguise:
Despair now racks their guilty breasts,
And hope for ever dies.

5 Not so the righteous—they shall stand,
Nor vengeance them affright:
The Judge who goodness loves will bring
Their secret good to light.

6 Blushing with joy, the saint shall hear
Each pious deed proclaimed;
And see his name with honor shine
By malice once defamed.

7 Thus by an interposing sphere
The sun is veiled in night,
But soon he shows his face with all
The majesty of light.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #9455

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Author: John Needham

Needham, John, was the son of John Needham, Baptist Minister, of Hitchin, Herts, but the date of his birth is unknown. He would doubtless be educated by his father, who was a tutor and in repute as a learned man. In 1750 Needham became co-pastor with John Beddome at the Baptist meetinghouse in the Pithay, Bristol; but, two years later, Beddome having retired through age, a violent controversy arose in the Church with regard to a continuance of the plan of co-pastorship. As the result, Needham and a number of his friends removed to a Baptist meetinghouse in Callowhill Street, where a Mr. Foot was pastor. For a time the two societies used the same builing at different hours, but in 1755 they were united, with Mr. Needham and Mr. Foot as co-pa… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Mortals, give ear, the awful day
Title:	Mortals, Give Ear
Author:	John Needham
Meter:	8.6.8.6
Source:	Hymns Devotional and Moral on Various Subjects (Bristol, England: S. Farley, 1768)
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain