We Were Once as You Are

I

Shall men pretend to pleasure
  Who never knew the Lord?
Can all the worldling’s treasure
  True peace of mind afford?
They shall obtain this jewel
  In what their hearts desire
When they by adding fuel
  Can quench the flame of fire.

II

Till you can bid the ocean,
  When furious tempests roar,
Forget its wonted motion,
  And rage and swell no more;
In vain your expectation
  To find content in sin;
Or freedom from vexation
  While passions reign within.

III

Come, turn your thoughts to Jesus.
  If you would good possess;
’Tis he alone that frees us
  From guilt and from distress:
When he by faith is present
  The sinner’s troubles cease;
His ways are truly pleasant,
  And all his paths are peace.

IV

Our time in sin we wasted,
  And fed upon the wind;
Untill his love we tasted
  No comfort could we find:
But now we stand to witness
  His power and grace to you;
May you perceive its fitness,
  And call upon him too!

V

Our pleasure and our duty,
  Though opposite before,
Since we have seen his beauty,
  Are join’d to part no more:
It is our highest pleasure,
  No less than duty’s call,
To love him beyond measure,
  And serve him with our all.