Life Is the Time to Serve the Lord

Life is the time to serve the Lord

The time to ensure the great re­ward;

And while the lamp holds out to burn

The vil­est sin­ner may re­turn.

Life is the hour that God has giv­en

To ’scape from hell and fly to Heav’n;

The day of grace

and mor­tals may

Secure the bless­ings of the day.

The liv­ing know that they must die

But all the dead for­got­ten lie;

Their me­mo­ry and their sense is gone

Alike un­know­ing and un­known.

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.

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.

There are no acts of par­don passed

In the cold grave

to which we haste;

But dark­ness

death

and long des­pair

Reign in eter­nal si­lence there.