Sunday, October 29, 2023

Sinners, turn: Why will ye die?

191 Hollingside. 7. 7. 7. 7. D.

1 Sinners, turn: why will ye die?
   God, your Maker, asks you Why;
   God, who did your being give,
   Made you with Himself to live.

2 Sinners, turn: why will ye die?
   God, your Savior, asks you why;
   Will ye not in Him believe?
   He has died that ye might live.

3 Sinners, turn: why will ye die?
   God, the Spirit, asks you why;
   Often with you has He strove,
   Wooed you to embrace His love.
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org adds two verses, one after verse 2 and the other after verse 3:

3 Will you let Him die in vain?
   Crucify your Lord again?
   Why, ye ransomed sinners, why
   Will you slight His grace and die?

5 Will ye not His grace receive?
   Will ye still refuse to live?
   O ye dying sinners, why,
   Why will you forever die?

Without those two verses, the hymn forms a nice commentary on the Trinity, one verse for each member. I suspect that's why the Methodist hymnal chose to excise the other two verses.
</idle musing>

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