Michael Wigglesworth (1631—1705)

CXLIV.

Then at the Bar arraignéd are
an impudenter sort,
Who to evade the guilt that’s laid
Upon them, thus retort:
“How could we cease thus to transgress?
How could we Hell avoid,
Whom God’s Decree shut out from thee,
and sign’d to be destroy’d ?

CXLV.

“Whom God ordains to endless pains
by Law unalterable,
Repentance true, Obedience new,
to save such are unable.
Sorrow for sin no good can win,
to such as are rejected;
Nor can they grieve nor yet believe,
that never were elected.

CXLVI.

“Of Man’s fall’n race, who can true Grace
or Holiness obtain?
Who can convert or change his heart,
if God withhold the same?
Had we applied ourselves and tried
as much as who did most,
God’s love to gain, our busy pain
and labor had been lost.“