Poem by William Cowper

Olney Hymn 21. Sardis

     (Revalations, iii. 1-6)

    "Write to Sardis," saith the Lord,
        "And write what He declares, 
    He whose Spirit, and whose word,
        Upholds the seven stars: 
    All thy works and ways I search,
        Find thy zeal and love decay'd; 
    Thou art call'd a living church,
        But thou art cold and dead.

    "Watch, remember, seek, and strive,
        Exert thy former pains; 
    Let thy timely care revive,
        And strengthen what remains; 
    Cleanse thine heart, thy works amend,
        Former times to mind recall, 
    Lest my sudden stroke descend,
        And smite thee once for all.

    "Yet I number now in thee
        A few that are upright; 
    These my Father's face shall see,
        And walk with me in white. 
    When in judgment I appear,
        They for mine shall be confess'd; 
    Let my faithful servants hear, --
        And woe be to the rest!" 

1. Olney Hymn 4. Jehovah-Nissi. The Lord My Banner
2. Olney Hymn 17. The House of Prayer
3. Olney Hymn 13. The Covenant
4. An Ode, on Reading Mr. Richardson's History of Sir Charles Grandison
5. Olney Hymn 55. The Heart Healed and Changed by Mercy

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