Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 55:7
Words: John Fawcett, Hymns Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion (Leeds, England: G. Wright & Son, 1782), number 63.
Music: Nox Praecessit John B. Calkin, 1875 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Calkin (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
Sinners, the voice of God regard;
’Tis mercy speaks today;
He calls you by His sacred Word
From sin’s destructive way.
Like the rough sea that cannot rest,
You live devoid of peace;
A thousand stings within your breast
Deprive your souls of ease.
Your way is dark, and leads to hell;
Why will you persevere?
Can you in endless torments dwell,
Shut up in black despair?
Why will you in the crooked ways
Of sin and folly go?
In pain you travel all your days,
To reap eternal woe.
But he that turns to God shall live
Through His abounding grace:
His mercy will the guilt forgive
Of those that seek His face.
Bow to the scepter of His Word,
Renouncing every sin,
Submit to Him, your sovereign Lord,
And learn His will divine.
His love exceeds your highest thoughts,
He pardons like a God;
He will forgive your numerous faults,
Through a Redeemer’s blood.