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.
Source: Sacred Poems and Hymns #19
James Montgomery (b. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1771; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1854), the son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school, Montgomery inherited a strong religious bent, a passion for missions, and an independent mind. He was editor of the Sheffield Iris (1796-1827), a newspaper that sometimes espoused radical causes. Montgomery was imprisoned briefly when he printed a song that celebrated the fall of the Bastille and again when he described a riot in Sheffield that reflected unfavorably on a military commander. He also protested against slavery, the lot of boy chimney sweeps, and lotteries. Associated with Christians of various persuasions, Montgomery supported missio… Go to person page >
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files