There is a time, I know not when,
A place, I know not where;
That marks the des­ti­ny of man,
To glo­ry or des­pair.
There is a line by us un­seen,
That cross­es ev­ery path,
The hid­den boun­da­ry be­tween
God’s pa­tience and His wrath.

Refrain

Beware! O soul, be­ware!
Lest you cross the dead­line to­night;
Take care! O dy­ing soul, take care!
Don’t miss the guid­ing light.

To pass that lim­it is to die,
To die as if by stealth;
It does not quench the beam­ing eye,
Or pale the glow of health.
The con­science still may be at ease,
The spi­rit light and gay;
That which is pleas­ing still may please
And care be thrust away.

Refrain

How far may we go on in sin?
How long will God for­bear?
Where does hope end? and where be­gin
The con­fines of des­pair?
An an­swer from the sky is sent,
Ye that from God de­part,
While it is called to­day, re­pent
And hard­en not your heart.

Refrain