Oh! beg of him to bow thy stubborn will To come to Christ, that he thy lusts may kill. Look up to Christ for his attractive pow’r. Which he exerteth in a needful hour; Who saith, “When as I lifted up shall be, Then will I draw all sorts of men to me.“ Oh! wait upon him with true diligence And trembling fear in every Ordinance; Unto his Call earnest attention give. Whose voice makes deaf men hear and dead men live. Thus weep and mourn, thus hearken, pray, and wait, Till he behold and pity thine estate, Who is more ready to bestow his Grace Than thou the same art willing to embrace; Yea, he hath Might enough to bring thee home, Though thou hast neither strength nor will to come. If he delay to answer thy request. Know that ofttimes he doth it for the best; Not with intent to drive us from his door, But for to make us importune him more; Or else to bring us daily to confess. And be convinc’d of our unworthiness. Oh! be not weary, then, but persevere To beg his Grace till he thy suit shall hear; And leave him not, nor from his footstool go. Till over thee Compassion’s skirt he throw. Eternal Life shall recompense thy pains, If found at last, with everlasting gains. For if the Lord be pleas’d to hear thy cries, And to forgive thy great iniquities, Thou “wilt have cause forever to admire And laud his Grace, that granted thy desire. Then shalt thou find thy labor is not lost, But that the good obtain’d surmounts the cost. Nor shalt thou grieve for loss of sinful pleasures, Exchang’d for Heav’nly joys and lasting treasures. The yoke of Christ which once thou didst esteem A tedious yoke, shall then most easy seem. For why? The love of Christ shall thee constrain To take delight in that which was thy pain. The ways of Wisdom shall be pleasant ways, And thou shalt choose therein to spend thy days. If once thy Soul be brought to such a pass, O bless the Lord and magnify his Grace. Thou that of late hadst reason to be sad, May’st now rejoice and be exceeding glad; For thy condition is as happy now As erst it was disconsolate and low. Thou art become as rich, as whilom poor; As blessed now as cursed heretofore. For being cleansed with Christ’s precious Blood, Thou hast an int’rest in the chiefest Good; God’s anger is towards thy Soul appeas’d. And in his Christ he is with thee well pleas’d. Yea, he doth look upon thee with a mild And gracious aspect, as upon his child. He is become thy Father and thy Friend, And will defend thee from the cursed Fiend. Thou need’st not fear the roaring Lion’s rage, Since God Almighty doth himself engage To bear thy Soul in everlasting Arms, Above the reach of all destructive harms. Whatever here thy sufferings may be, Yet from them all the Lord shall rescue thee. He will preserve thee by his wond’rous Might Unto that rich Inheritance in Light.