My soul, the minutes haste away

1 My soul, the minutes haste away,
Apace comes on th'important day,
When in the icy arms of death
I must give up my vital breath.

2 Look forward to the moving scene;
How wilt thou be affected then?
When from on high some sharp disease
Resistless shall my vitals seize.

3 when all the springs of life are low,
The spirits faint, the pulses slow;
The eyes grow dim and short the breath,
Presages of approaching death.

4 When clammy sweats thro' ev'ry part,
Show life's retreating to the heart;
Its last resistance there to make,
And then the breathless frame forsake.

5 When all eternity's in sight;
The brightest day, or blackest night;
One shock will break the building down,
And let thee into worlds unknown.

6 O come, my soul, the matter weigh!
How wilt thou leave thy kindred clay!
And how the unknown regions try,
And launch into eternity!

Source: A Collection of Hymns and Prayers, for Public and Private Worship #169