How strange is the course that a Christian must steer;
How perplexed is the path he must tread!
The hope of his happiness rises from fear,
And his life he receives from the dead.

His fairest pretensions must wholly be waived,
And his best resolutions be crossed;
Nor can he expect to be perfectly saved,
Till he finds himself utterly lost.

When all this is done, and his heart is assured
Of the total remission of sin,
When his pardon is signed and his peace is procured
From that moment his conflict begins.