If you are into poetry, you might find interesting the following poetic expressions about how to avoid our deserved punishment of hell.
Lovers of Pleasure More Than God
With Broken Heart and Contrite Sigh
Sinner, Art Thou Still Secure?
Sinners, Turn: Why Will You Die?
Delay Not, Delay Not, O Sinner, Draw Near
Before Thee, God, Who Knowest All
And Can It Be, That I Should Gain
Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast
Lovers of pleasure more than God,
For you He suffered pain;
Swearers, for you He spilt his blood;
And shall He bleed in vain?
Misers, for you his life He paid,
Your basest crime He bore:
Drunkards, your sins on Him were laid,
That you might sin no more.
The God of love, to earth He came,
That you might come to heaven;
Believe, believe in Jesus’ Name,
And all your sin’s forgiven.
Believe in Him that died for thee,
And, sure as He hath died,
Thy debt is paid, Thy soul is free,
And thou art justified.
--Charles Wesley
In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.
I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.
Sure, never to my latest breath,
Can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.
My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair,
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.
A second look He gave, which said,
“I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou mayst live.”
Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
--John Newton
With broken heart and contrite sigh,
A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry;
Thy pard’ning grace is rich and free:
O God, merciful to me.
I smite upon my troubled breast,
With deep and conscious guilt oppressed,
Christ and His cross my only plea:
O God, merciful to me.
Far off I stand with tearful eyes,
Nor dare uplift them to the skies;
But Thou dost all my anguish see:
O God, merciful to me.
Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done,
Can for a single sin atone;
To Calvary alone I flee:
O God, merciful to me.
And when, redeemed from sin and hell,
With all the ransomed throng I dwell,
My raptured song shall ever be,
God has been merciful to me.
--Cornelius Elven
Sinner, art thou still secure?
Wilt thou still refuse to pray?
Can thy heart or hands endure
In the Lord’s avenging day?
Lord, prepare us by Thy grace,
Soon we must resign our breath,
And our souls be called to pass,
Through the iron gate of death.
Let us now our day improve,
Listen to the Gospel voice;
Seek the things that are above;
Scorn the world’s pretended joys.
--John Newton
Sinners, turn: why will you die?
God, your Maker, asks you why.
God, Who did your being give,
Gave Himself, that you might live;
He the fatal cause demands,
Asks the work of His own hands.
Why, you thankless creatures, why,
Will you cross His love, and die?
Sinners, turn: why will you die?
God, your Savior, asks you why.
God, Who did your souls retrieve,
Died Himself, that you might live.
Will you let Him die in vain?
Crucify your Lord again?
Why, you ransomed sinners, why,
Will you slight His grace and die?
Sinners, turn: why will you die?
God, the Spirit, asks you why;
He, Who all your lives hath strove,
Wooed you to embrace His love.
Will you not His grace receive?
Will you still refuse to live?
Why, you long sought sinners, why,
Will you grieve your God, and die?
Let the beasts their breath resign,
Strangers to the life divine;
Who their God can never know,
Let their spirit downward go.
You for higher ends were born,
You may all to God return,
Dwell with Him above the sky;
Why will you forever die?
You, on whom He favors showers,
You, possessed of nobler powers,
You, of reason’s powers possessed,
You, with will and memory blessed,
You, with finer sense endued,
Creatures capable of God;
Noblest of His creatures, why,
Why will you forever die?
You, whom He ordained to be
Transcripts of the Trinity,
You, whom He in life doth hold,
You for whom Himself was sold,
You, on whom He still doth wait,
Whom He would again create;
Made by Him, and purchased, why,
Why will you forever die?
You, who own His record true,
You, His chosen people, you,
You, who call the Savior Lord,
You, who read His written Word,
You, who see the Gospel light,
Claim a crown in Jesus’ right;
Why will you, ye Christians, why,
Will the house of Israel die?
Turn, He cries, ye sinners turn;
By His life your God hath sworn;
He would have you turn and live,
He would all the world receive;
He hath brought to all the race
Full salvation by His grace;
He hath not one soul passed by;
Why will you resolve to die?
Can ye doubt, if God is love,
If to all His mercies move?
Will ye not His Word receive?
Will ye not His oath believe?
See, the suffering God appears!
Jesus weeps! Believe His tears!
Mingled with His blood they cry,
Why will you resolve to die?
Dead, already dead within,
Spiritually dead in sin,
Dead to God while here you breathe,
Pant ye after second death?
Will you still in sin remain,
Greedy of eternal pain?
O you dying sinners, why,
Why will you forever die?
What could your Redeemer do
More than He hath done for you?
To procure your peace with God,
Could He more than shed His blood?
After all His waste of love,
All His drawings from above,
Why will you your Lord deny?
Why will you resolve to die?
Turn, He cries, ye sinners, turn;
By His life your God hath sworn,
He would have you turn and live,
He would all the world receive.
If your death were His delight,
Would he you to life invite?
Would he ask, obtest, and cry,
Why will you resolve to die?
Sinners, turn, while God is near:
Dare not think Him insincere:
Now, even now, your Savior stands,
All day long He spreads His hands,
Cries, you will not happy be!
No, you will not come to Me!
Me, Who life to none deny:
Why will you resolve to die?
Can you doubt if God is love?
If to all His vowels move?
Will you not His Word receive?
Will you not His oath believe?
See! the suffering God appears!
Jesus weeps! Believe His tears!
Mingled with His blood, they cry,
Why will you resolve to die?
--Charles Wesley
Delay not, delay not, O sinner, draw near.
The waters of life are now flowing for thee;
No price is demanded, the Savior is here;
Redemption is purchased, salvation is free.
Delay not, delay not, why longer abuse
The love and compassion of Jesus thy God?
A fountain is open, how canst thou refuse
To wash and be cleansed in His pardoning blood?
Delay not, delay not, the Spirit of grace,
Long grieved and resisted, may take His sad flight,
And leave thee in darkness to finish thy race,
To sink in the gloom of eternity’s night.
Delay not, delay not, the hour is at hand,
The earth shall dissolve, and the heavens shall fade;
The dead, small and great, in the judgment shall stand;
What helper, then, sinner, shall lend thee his aid?
--Thomas Hastings
Before Thee, God, Who knowest all,
With grief and shame I prostrate fall,
I see my sins against thee, Lord,
The sins of thought, of deed, and word.
They press me sore; I cry to Thee:
O God, be merciful to me!
O Lord, my God, to Thee I pray:
O cast me not in wrath away!
Let Thy good Spirit ne’er depart,
But let Him draw to Thee my heart
That truly penitent I be:
O God, be merciful to me!
O Jesus, let Thy precious blood
Be to my soul a cleansing flood.
Turn not, O Lord, Thy guest away,
But grant that justified I may
Go to my house at peace with Thee:
O God, be merciful to me!
--Magnus Landstad
And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood!
Died He for me who caused His pain!
For me who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies!
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.
He left His Father’s throne above
(so free, so infinite His grace!),
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race.
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
--Charles Wesley
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can we do to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.
Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?
-Daniel B. Towner
How can we sinners know
Our sins on earth forgiven?
How can my gracious Savior show
My name inscribed in heaven?
What we have felt and seen,
With confidence we tell,
And publish to the ends of earth
The signs infallible.
We who in Christ believe
That He for us hath died,
We all His unknown peace receive
And feel His blood applied.
Exults for joy our rising soul,
Disburthened of her load,
And swells, unutterably full
Of glory and of God.
His love surpasses far
The love of all beneath,
We find within, and dare
The pointless darts of death.
Stronger than death, or sin, or hell,
The mystic power we prove,
And conquerors of the world we dwell
In heaven, who dwell in love.
We by His Spirit prove
And know the things of God,
The things which freely of His love
He hath on us bestowed.
The meek and lowly heart
That in our Savior was,
To us that Spirit doth impart
And sign us with His cross.
Our nature’s turned, our mind
Transformed in all its powers,
And both the witnesses are joined,
The Spirit of God with ours.
His glory is our sole design,
We live our God to please,
And rise with filial fear divine
To perfect holiness.
The Spirit of my God
Hath certified Him mine,
And all the tokens showed,
Infallible, divine.
Hereby the pardoned sinner knows
His sins on earth forgiven,
And thus my gracious Savior shows
My name inscribed in heaven.
--Charles Wesley
Come, sinners, to the Gospel feast;
Let every soul be Jesus’ guest.
Ye need not one be left behind,
For God hath bid all humankind.
Sent by my Lord, on you I call;
The invitation is to all.
Come, all the world! Come, sinner, thou!
All things in Christ are ready now.
Come, all ye souls by sin oppressed,
Ye restless wanderers after rest;
Ye poor, and maimed, and sick, and blind,
In Christ a hearty welcome find.
Come, and partake the Gospel feast;
Be saved from sin; in Jesus rest;
O taste the goodness of your God,
And eat His flesh, and drink His blood!
You vagrant souls, on you I call;
(O that my voice could reach you all!)
You all may now be justified,
You all may live, for Christ hath died.
My message as from God receive;
Ye all may come to Christ and live.
O let His love your hearts constrain,
Nor permit Him to die in vain.
His love is mighty to compel;
His conquering love consent to feel,
Yield to His love’s resistless power,
And fight against your God no more.
See Him set forth before your eyes,
That precious, bleeding sacrifice!
His offered benefits embrace,
And freely now be saved by grace.
This is the time, no more delay!
This is the Lord’s accepted day.
Come thou, this moment, at His call,
And live for Him who died for all.
--Charles Wesley
Last updated August 25, 2005