Advice, Concerning Poem by Rees Prichard

The mind of ev'ry man, alas!
Is naturally vile and base,
And thinks on nought, but what is bad,
'Till it the second birth has had.

There's no one can command his mind
To good, however well inclin'd,
'Till God has giv'n him grace and light,
To guide his mental pow'rs aright.

Pray therefore hard, that He wou'd deign
To change thy purposes again,
And all thy resolutions quite,
'Till they be fix'd upon the right.

So God his Spirit shall impart,
To turn th' intentions of thy heart,
And all the counsels of the breast,
That thou may'st think on what is best.

Permit no ill to harbour there,
Lest it shou'd with it ruin bear :
For evil Thoughts still go before,
To tell that Satan's at the door.

Place thou thy thoughts, and fix thy love,
Upon the things that are above,
(Where thy dear Saviour's even now!)
And not upon the trash below.

Let themes celestian crowd thy mind,
Nought earthly there a place shou'd find:
Think on the place where thou must dwell
Forever - think on heav'n, and hell!

Reflect, what Christ above the skies
Has bought for thee, his Blood, the price!
'A crown of joy, the peace of God,
'An endless life, a blest abode!'

Reflect, that thou art ev'ry hour
In sight of the Almighty Pow'r,
Who thy whole conduct can espy
With the bare glancing of his Eye.

Reflect, that thy blood-thirsty foe,
Roams, like a lion, to and fro,
And prowls around thee ev'ry hour,
Thy soul and body to devour.

Submit each thought, each work, each word,
To the direction of the Lord,
Lest either shou'd thy soul oppress,
And on the day of doom distress.

O, think how thy dread Judge shall come
Upon the clouds, to seal thy doom!
Prepare to meet him then, above,
As a young bride to meet her love.

Remember thou, that ev'ry thought
Must on that aweful day be brought
To strict account, before the Lord,
As well as ev'ry work and word.

Reflect, that each of us must go
In turn, to his clay-cell below,
Of one coarse shrowd alone possess'd,
Though here with ample fortunes bless'd.

Reflect, that death, with matchless force,
Rides, Jehu-like, on his pale horse:
Nor old, nor young, can 'scape his dart,
Which rives impartially each heart.

Reflect, how, like a thief, death treads,
And hovers daily o'er our heads:
No trump proclaims him on the way,
'Till unawares he gripes his prey.

Reflect, that life is like a dream,
Or like a bubble on the stream,
Or glass, or china, by one stroke,
Too easily in pieces broke!

Think, how it swiftly passes by,
As ships, thro' th' yielding billows, fly!
O think, how oft man's time is done,
Before he dream'd one half was gone!

Think, how this world lets all men go
Quite naked to the grave below,
And underneath their feet breaks short,
Like ice, when most they want support!

Reflect, that ne'er so great a sum,
Nor house nor lands, shall ever come
For any man's offence to pay,
Upon the Lord's tremendous day!

Think, when death comes, that we must quit
This world, and all that is in it ;
And be to Christ's tribunal brought,
To answer there for ev'ry fault!

Think, how the riches thou hadst here,
And ev'ry office thou didst bear,
Shall quickly new possessors have,
Ere thou'rt scarce stiff'ned in thy grave!

O think, how sin, on that dread day,
Will on thy wounded conscience prey,
When all thy foul transgressions past
Shall in thy teeth be fully cast!

Think, how thou shalt be forc'd to give
A strict account, how thou didst live,
And answer make before the Lord
For ev'ry idle work and word!

Think, how the mighty then shall fear,
(Who ne'er did God or man revere)
And beg the Rocks, with piteous cry,
To fall upon them from on high.

Think, how the righteous shall enjoy
Eternal bliss! their sole employ,
Their great Creator's praise to tell;
Whilst all the wicked broil in hell!

Think, how the wicked toss and turn,
As in infernal flames they burn,
And as the busy worms, each hour,
With sateless teeth their flesh devour!

O think on this! and thou'lt despise
The world, and all its vanities,
And on God's word, thro' faith, depend,
With that blest world, that ne'er shall end.

The mind of man still runs upon,
The good or evil it has done:
And if it be not fed with good,
'Twill cram itself on filthy food!

Like mill-stones, is the human mind,
It will itself to powder grind,
Unless, as grist, some virtue's thrown
To it, to spend itself upon.

The task assign'd to thee, perform,
When God gave thee a human form,
And serve him, wheresoe'er thou art,
Whilst yet there's time, with all thy heart!

O think, that e'en a single day,
Whereon thou didst the Lord obey,
Is better than an age at last,
In any other service past!

O think, e'er thou dost sin commit,
How thou must answer soon for it,
And if thou, on that aweful day,
Canst run from endless death away!

Habituate thy mind to good,
Nor let it feed on chaffy food,
It easily may be restrain'd,
If it betimes be tightly rein'd.

'Tis easy to put out a fire,
E'er to the roof its flames aspire:
As easy 'tis bad thoughts to quell,
If you will them in time repel.

Then banish ev'ry evil thought
At first, e'er it becomes a fault;
Lest Satan, full of craft and fraud,
Bad thoughts shou'd turn to deeds as bad.

Whilst young, the brood of Babel quell,
Tread on the serpent in the shell.
Cut out the cancer, e'er it spread,
Quash bad thoughts, e'er they run a-head.

Let but one spark thy thatch attain,
The flames will o'er thy house soon reign:
Let one bad thought possess thy soul,
'Twill soon corrupt, and spoil the whole.

Let no bad thought lodge in thy breast,
As soon therein let Satan rest :
For, if thou giv'st it lodging there,
The foot-man shews his lord is near.

To keep God's law, use all thy wit,
And live sincerely up to it ;
Ne'er from thy mind his favours cast,
But bless him for whate'er thou hast.

No wicked stratagem employ,
Thy fellow-creature to destroy ;
Murder is such a bloody deed,
Of it, throughout thy life, take heed.

Do not thy neighbour's wife desire,
Nor at her sparkling eyes take fire:
Let not thy mind upon her run,
The thought is sin - the danger shun!

Let not a thought thy mind possess,
How thou the orphan may'st oppress:
Before th' Almighty such a thought
Is a foul wrong, and grievous fault.

Nor house, nor lands, nor gold, nor gain,
Attempt by cheating to obtain:
Such covetous desires are quite
A fraud in the Almighty's sight.

Confine thy thoughts, nor let them go,
In search of trifles, to and fro,
Or ought that must to reck'ning come,
On the tremendous day of doom.

From evil thoughts thy mind command,
As thou wou'dst keep from theft thy hand:
For ev'ry wicked work and thought,
Must to a strict account be brought!