1 And must I be to judgment brought,
And answer in that day
For every vain and idle thought,
And every word I say?
2 Yes, every secret of my heart
Shall shortly be made known,
And I receive my just desert
For all that I have done.
3 How careful, then, ought I to live!
With what religious fear!
Who such a strict account must give
For my behavior here!
4 Thou awful Judge of quick and dead,
Thy watchful power bestow;
So shall I to my ways take heed,
To all I speak or do.
5 If now Thou standest at the door,
O let me feel Thee near!
And make my peace with God, before
I at Thy bar appear.
Source: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal #472
First Line: | And must I be to judgment brought |
Title: | The Day of Judgment |
Author: | Charles Wesley |
Meter: | 8.6.8.6 |
Language: | English |
Refrain First Line: | We are passing away |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
And must I be to judgment brought? C Wesley. [The Judgment.] First published in his Hymns for Children, 1763, No. 33, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed "A thought on Judgment." It is not in common use in Great Britain, but in America stanzas i.-v. are given in the American Methodist Episcopal Collection, 1849; the Hymn Book of the Evangelical Association, Cleveland, Ohio, 1882, No. 839, and others. Full text in Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. vi. p. 401.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)