What Shall the Dying Sinner Do?
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748
What shall the dying sinner do,
That seeks relief for all his woe?
Where shall the guilty conscience find
Ease for the torment of the mind?
How shall we get our crimes forgiven,
Or form our natures fit for heaven?
Can souls, all o'er defiled with sin,
Make their own powers and passions clean?
In vain we search, in vain we try,
Till Jesus brings his gospel nigh;
'Tis there that pow'r and glory dwell,
That save rebellious souls from hell.
This is the pillar of our hope,
That bears our fainting spirits up;
We read the grace, we trust the Word,
And find salvation in the Lord.
Let men or angels dig the mines
Where nature's golden treasure shines;
Brought near the doctrine of the cross,
All nature's gold appears but dross.
Should vile blasphemers, with disdain,
Pronounce the truths of Jesus vain,
We'll meet the scandal and the shame,
And sing and triumph in his name.
