🡅 🡇 🞮

THE DELUGE AT TH’ALMIGHTY’S CALL

Scripture Verse

…those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water. 1 Peter 3:20

Introduction

portrait
Philip Doddridge
(1702–1751)

Words: Phi­lip Dodd­ridge (1702–1751). Pub­lished post­hu­mous­ly in Hymns Found­ed on Va­ri­ous Texts in the Ho­ly Scrip­tures, by Job Or­ton (Shrop­shire, Eng­land: Jo­shua Ed­dowes & John Cot­ton, 1755), num­ber 336: No­ah pre­served in the ark, and the be­liev­er in Christ.

Music: Tru­ro from Psal­mo­dia Ev­an­ge­li­ca, by Tho­mas Will­iams, 1789 (🔊 ).

Lyrics

The del­uge, at th’Al­migh­ty’s call,
In what im­pe­tu­ous streams it fell!
Swallowed the mount­ains in its rage,
And swept a guil­ty world to hell.

In vain the tall­est sons of pride
Fled from the close pur­su­ing wave,
Nor could their migh­ti­est tow­ers de­fend,
Nor swift­ness ’scape, nor cour­age save.

How dire the wreck! How loud the roar!
How shrill the uni­vers­al cry
Of mill­ions in the last des­pair,
Re-echoed from the low­er­ing sky.

Yet No­ah, hum­ble, hap­py saint,
Surrounded with the chos­en few,
Sat in his ark, se­cure from fear,
And sang the grace that steered him thro’.

So may I sing, in Je­sus safe,
When storms of ven­geance round me fall;
Conscious how high my hopes are fixed,
Beyond what shakes this earth­ly ball.

Enter thine ark, while pa­tience waits,
Nor ev­er quit that sure re­treat;
Then the wide flood, which bu­ries earth,
Shall waft thee to a fair­er seat.

Nor wreck nor ru­in there is seen;
There not a wave of trou­ble rolls;
But the bright rain­bow round the throne
Seals end­less life to all their souls.