A Warning, Or Admonition, Poem by Rees Prichard

WHEN first thou wakest, each succeeding day,
Lift up to God above thy grateful eyes,
And due respect to him be sure to pay,
Ere other thoughts within thy bosom rise.

'Twas He, that kept thee from the prowling foe,
And watch'd thee carefully 'till break of day,
And suffer'd not his eyes repose to know,
Lest in thy sleep thou shou'dst become his prey.

For did not God and his celestial train,
Around his servants keep a constant guard,
They all had by the foe, e'er this, been slain,
And swallow'd up, asleep and unprepar'd.

By far more dang'rous is that mortal's state,
Who lies a-bed without his Saviour's aid,
Than that which did of old on Daniel wait,
When he all night was with the lions laid.

The scriptures tell us, that - by night and day -
The Devil roams to seek the fall of man,
Just as a lion roves in search of prey,
And tears and mangles ev'ry beast he can.

Who can forbid the lion to devour?
Who, but the shepherd Christ, his flock can keep,
That without slumb'ring guards us ev'ry hour,
And from the guileful fiend protects his sheep?

Think, then, how much thou art in duty bound
To thank thy God, who has preserv'd thee still
From Satan's machinations, safe and sound,
And from the pressure of each other ill?

As God's demands, on thee, are vastly large,
Let thy returns of praise be likewise great :
The grateful off'ring on thy knees discharge,
And, night and morn, th' incumbent task repeat.

Think thou, how Satan slily might have stole,
And silently destroy'd thee, in thy sleep,
And into judgement haul'd thy heedless soul,
If Christ his watch around thee did not keep.

Think, that the foe thy children might have slain -
Thy riches, as his legal prey convey'd -
Thy houses burn'd, and martyr'd thee with pain,
Had Christ not lent thee his Almighty aid.

Think, that perhaps he might have touch'd thy brain,
And that thou ever hadst distracted rav'd,
And neither rest, nor quiet known again,
Wast thou, by Christ, not from his malice sav'd.

Thy gratitude, on all occasions, show
To thy true Shepherd, for his friendly aid,
Who thee so safely guarded from the foe,
That thou need'st not be of his force afraid.

Suppose a Jew, the most abhorr'd of men,
Shou'd guard thee sleeping in th' inclement air,
'Mongst rav'nous beasts, or near a lion's den:
Wou'dst thou not thank him kindly for his care?

And yet, though Christ protects thee ev'ry hour,
Whilst thou amongst fierce lions sleepest fast,
Which are at all times ready to devour -
Thou ne'ertheless art thankless to the last.

Open thine eyes - thy Saviour's goodness see -
Take warning - and his loving-kindness own -
Return him thanks upon thy bended knee,
For all the mercies he, to thee, has shown:

So shall he always keep thee safe from ill,
And under his extended pinions screen -
And so with case shall he preserve thee still
From ev'ry harm and peril unforeseen.

Take heed, thy heart does not indulge a thought,
Take heed, lest thou on ought shou'dst fix thine eyes,
Take heed, that with thy lips thou speakest nought,
'Till thou hast paid thy morning sacrifice.

To God, the prime ideas of thy heart,
To God, the prime of thy expressions give,
To God, the first-fruits of thy soul impart;
The second and the last he'll not receive.

Just at the dawn, before the rising sun,
The mounting lark his Maker's praises sings:
So man, e'er he has ought besides begun,
Shou'd chant the praises of the King of kings.

The little red-breast, ere he wets his bill,
To his Creator chirps his morning pray'r,
Who kept him the preceding night from ill,
Though cold his lodging, and tho' coarse his fare.

But many a man will from his bed arise,
More heedless than the songsters of the air,
Or swine, that grunting leave their odious styes,
Nor thank him for his providential care.

O, 'tis a shame the sons of men shou'd e'er
Appear less grateful than the feather'd quire,
Who, ev'ry night and morn, their voices rear
To thank and laud their everlasting Sire!