Prelude:

2 Thessalonians 1:9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might… ESV

They were born in a world full of darkness and haze,

Every thought is corruption unceasing.

Mankind turned aside and They’ve all gone astray,

Not a thing that they do is God-pleasing.

This is the truth if they’re born but one time,

The nature of Adam flows forth from their tongues.

The tide of filth rises, they build a long ladder,

But downward they go never counting the rungs. 

What seems to be upward and out of the torrent,

Is an inversion of thinking, it seems.

For, what feels like rising, is really descending,

Their ruminations—mere fantasies and dreams.

If at first they go downward one rung at a time,

their pride will soon whisper, “abandon all care.”

But as they let go in their fevered lust crumbling,

They slip, slide, and tumble, to the dragon’s own lair.

When upon such arrival they laterally search,

And find things not as they would wish,

They cast their eyes upward in blame and complaint,

Following the ways of the very son of Kish.

But, complaints will forestall the divine aid so needed,

And awaken the dragon instead.

Soon will flee all the dear pleasures of evil,

It’s time to lay down on their cruel iron bed.

Yes, they must slumber in the bed of their making,

There is no visible help or reprieve.

As long as they stubbornly cling to their ways,

And insist on God’s heart so to grieve.

The torments will increase, the pleasures diminish,

And peace will take up wings and fly.

The shackles, the chains and the manacles that bruise,

Will torture the soul till they hang head and cry.

 But, Lo, what is this? A darkness that deepens,

And a fire that doth blaze far away.

The odors singe nostrils and terror stands by,

As the screams of the lost do dismay.

If this they can glimpse in this life so fleeting,

Then what will become of them when,

The Lord calls each person to stand before Him,

And opens the book that pertains to all men?

When such time arrives, no repentance avails,

And each soul will answer for all he has done.

If darkness still clings, and they have not changed,

Then, into the night everlasting they’ve gone.