Poems (Hoffman)/Come
COME.
Look, when Mercy's day is pastHeaven's pearly gates have closed at last;Within victorious millions shout,And the lost Nations wail without!Was it their crimes that sealed their doom?No; Christ has plead with them to come,Not Earth's most heinous sins forgivenHave barred one deathless soul from Heaven.They come to-morrow and too late,To enter at the pearly gate;To-day is Mercy's open gate,They come to-morrow and too late.
To-night be strong O faltering heart,And bid the tempting one depart;Come from the darkness into light,While Jesus calls, oh, come to-night!To-morrow, oh, the uncertain doom,Christ and His mercy may be gone;God and His justice, in thy sightMay stand where Jesus stands to-night!
To-night the evil one stands nearTo turn thy courage into fear;'Tis he who bars the living way,'Tis Satan's voice that whispers "Stay."
To-morrow, oh, the dread abyss,Where sinking hope and happiness,The foolish lingering wait!Come from that brink of danger, come,That dread abyss may be thy doom;To-morrow be too late!
To-night the loving Saviour standsWith gentle face, with beckoning hands;O heart, with sin and anguish dumb, 'Tis Jesus' voice that whispers "Come!"