1 Life is the time to serve the Lord,
The time t'ensure the great reward;
And while the lamp holds out to burn,
The vilest sinner may return.

2 Life is the hour that God has given
To 'scape from hell, and fly to heaven;
The day of grace, and mortals may
Secure the blessings of the day.

3 The living know that they must die,
But all the dead forgotten lie,
They have no share in all that's done
Beneath the circuit of the sun.

4 Then what my thoughts design to do,
My hands with all your might pursue,
Since no devise, nor work is found,
Nor faith, no hope beneath the ground.

5 There are no acts of pardon past
In the cold grave to which we haste;
But darkness, death, and long despair,
Reign in eternal silence there.