The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

And am I born to die,
To lay this body down?
And must my trembling spirit fly
Into a world unknown?
A world of darkest shade,
Unpierced by human thought;
The dreary regions of the dead,
Where all things are forgot.

427

Soon as from earth I go,
What will become of me?
Eternal happiness or woe
Must then my portion be:
Waked by the trumpet's sound,
I from my grave shall rise,
And see the Judge with glory crown'd,
And see the flaming skies.

How shall I leave my tomb?
With triumph, or regret?
A fearful or a joyful doom,
A curse or blessing meet?
Shall angel-bands convey
Their brother to the bar?
Or devils drag my soul away,
To meet its sentence there?

Who can resolve the doubt
That tears my anxious breast?
Shall I be with the damn'd cast out,
Or number'd with the bless'd?
I must from God be driven,
Or with my Saviour dwell;
Must come at His command to heaven,
Or else depart to hell.

O Thou who wouldst not have
One wretched sinner die;
Who diedst Thyself, my soul to save
From endless misery!
Show me the way to shun
Thy dreadful wrath severe;
That when Thou comest on the throne,
I may with joy appear!

428

Thou art Thyself the Way:
Thyself in me reveal,
So shall I pass my life's short day
Obedient to Thy will;
So shall I love my God,
Because He first loved me,
And praise Thee in Thy bright abode
Through all eternity.

University of Virginia Library

HYMN LIX.

[And am I born to die]