417.
Be Serious.
1
Be serious! is th' impressive word,
From every form around us heard!
But thoughtless man his way will keep,
And as he sows, his soul must reap!
2
Life is a serious thing,—its flight,
Rapid, from morn, to noon, and night!
To find our outward man decay,
And know we soon must pass away!
3
To where? important thought! to where?
Is it to joy, or to despair?
To bow with saints and spirits pure,
Or with the lost, heaven's frowns endure!
4
It claims deep seriousness, to think
We stand on time's momentous brink!
And that, with Christ our foe, or friend,
We shall, erelong, to death descend!
5
It is a serious thing to dwell,
Absent from God! that absence, hell!
A serious thing our souls to save!
There is no laughter in the grave!
6
That hour of terrible dismay,
The resurrection's solemn day!
Th' arch-angel's trump, that heaven will shake,
Shall not these serious thoughts awake?
7
Must we with all the dead appear;
Must we th' unchanging sentence hear;
The awful accents, “Come!” or “Go!”
Preludes to endless joy or woe?
8
Such scenes expecting to arise,
Let us be thoughtful, serious, wise!
And live like beings, still to be,
The Heirs of Immortality!
