This is a version of the song "The Night After The Day Of Grace" that includes the song introduction at the beginning.
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The following by J.C. Ryle also gave me a lot of food for thought on this song:
There is a time coming when seeking God will be useless. Oh, that men
would remember that! Too many seem to believe that the hour will never
arrive when they will seek and not find: but they are sadly mistaken.
They will discover their mistake one day to their own confusion, except
they repent. When Christ comes "many will try to enter in, and will 'not
be able to.'"
There is a time coming when many will be shut out from heaven forever.
It will not be the lot of a few, but of a great multitude; it will not
happen to one or two in this area, and one or two in another: it will be
the miserable end of a immense crowd. "'Many' will try to enter in, and
will not be able to."
Knowledge will come to many too late. They will see at last the value of
an immortal soul, and the happiness of having it saved. They will
understand at last their own sinfulness and God's holiness, and the
glorious fitness of the Gospel of Christ. They will comprehend at last
why ministers seemed so anxious, and preached so long, and implored them
so earnestly to be converted. But, to their grief, they will know all
this "too late!"
Repentance will come to many too late. They will discover their own
surpassing wickedness and be thoroughly ashamed of their past folly.
They will be full of bitter regret and hopeless wailings, of keen
convictions and of piercing sorrows. They will weep, and wail, and
mourn, when they reflect on their sins. The remembrance of their lives
will be grievous to them; the burden of their guilt will seem
intolerable. But, to their grief, like Judas Iscariot, they will repent
"too late!"
Faith will come to many too late. They will no longer be able to deny
that there is a God, and a devil, a heaven, and a hell. False religion,
and skepticism, and unfaithfulness will be laid aside forever; scoffing,
and joking, and free-thinking will cease. They will see with their own
eyes and feel in their own bodies, that the things of which ministers
spoke were not cleverly devised fables, but great real truths. They will
find out to their cost that evangelical religion was not lip service,
extravagance, fanaticism, and enthusiasm: they will discover that it was
the one thing they needed, and that the lack of it will cause them to be
lost forever. Like the devil, they will finally believe and tremble, but
"too late!"
A desire of salvation will come to many too late. They will long after
forgiveness, and peace, and the favor of God, when they can no more be
had. They will wish they might have one more Sunday over again, have one
more offer of forgiveness, have one more call to prayer. But it will
matter nothing what they think, or feel, or desire then: the day of grace
will be over; the door of salvation will be bolted and barred. It will
be "too late!"
I often think what a change there will be one day in the price and
estimation at which things are valued. I look around this world in which
my lot is cast; I note the current price of everything this world
contains; I look forward to the coming of Christ, and the great day of
God. I think of the new order of things, which that day will bring in; I
read the words of the Lord Jesus, when He describes the master of the
house rising up and shutting the door; and as I read, I say to myself,
"There will be a great change soon."
What are the "dear things" now? Gold, silver, precious stones, bank
notes, mines, ships, lands, houses, horses, cars, furniture, food, drink,
clothes, and the like. These are the things that are thought valuable;
these are the things that command a ready market; these are the things
which you can never get below a certain price. He that has a lot of
these things is counted a wealthy man. Such is the world!
And what are the "cheap things" now? The knowledge of God, the free
salvation of the Gospel, the favor of Christ, the grace of the Holy
Spirit, the privilege of being God's son, the title to eternal life, the
right to the tree of life, the promise of a room in the Father's House in
heaven, the promises of an incorruptible inheritance, the offer of a
crown of glory that does not fade away.
These are the things that no man hardly cares for. They are offered to
the sons of men without money and without price: they may be had for
nothing--freely and generously. Whosoever will may take his share. But,
sadly, there is no demand for these things! They go begging. They are
scarcely looked at. They are offered in vain. Such is the world!
But a day is coming upon us all when the value of everything will be
altered. A day is coming when banknotes will be as useless as rags, and
gold will be as worthless as the dust of the earth. A day is coming when
thousands will care nothing for the things for which they once lived, and
will desire nothing so much as the things which they once despised. The
mansions and palaces will be forgotten in the desire of a "house not made
with hands." The favor of the rich and great will be remembered no more,
in the longing for the favor of the King of kings. The silks, and
satins, and velvets, and laces, will be lost sight of in the anxious need
of the robe of Christ's righteousness. All will be altered, all will be
changed in the great day of the Lord's return. "Many will try to enter
in and will not be able to"
It was a weighty saying of some wise man, that "hell is truth known too
late." I fear that thousands of those who profess to be Christians in
this day will find this out by experience. They will discover the value
of their souls when it is too late to obtain mercy, and see the beauty of
the Gospel when they can derive no benefit from it. Oh, that men would
be wise early in life! I often think there are few passages of Scripture
more awful than that in the first chapter of Proverbs,
But since you rejected me when I called
and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
since you ignored all my advice
and would not accept my rebuke,
I in turn will laugh at your disaster;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you--
when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me.
Since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the LORD,
since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
(Proverbs 1:24-31)
Some reader of this paper may be one of those who neither like the faith
nor practice which the Gospel of Christ requires. You think that we are
extreme when we implore you to repent and be converted. You think we ask
too much when we urge you to come out from the world, and take up the
cross, and follow Christ. But take notice that you will one day confess
that we were right. Sooner or later, in this world or the next, you will
acknowledge that you were wrong. Yes! It is a sad consideration for the
faithful minister of the Gospel, that all who hear him will one day
acknowledge that his counsel was good. Mocked, despised, scorned,
neglected as his testimony may be on earth, a day is coming which will
prove that truth was on his side. The rich man who hears us and yet
makes a god of this world--the tradesman who hears us and yet makes his
ledger his Bible--the farmer who hears us and yet remains cold as the
clay on his land--the worker who hears us and feels no more for his soul
than a stone--all, all will in time acknowledge before the world that
they were wrong. All will in time earnestly desire that very mercy which
we now set before them in vain. "They will try to enter in, and will not
be able to."
Some reader of this paper may be one of those who love the Lord Jesus
Christ in sincerity. Such an one may well take comfort when he looks
forward. You often suffer persecution now for Christianity's sake. You
have to bear hard words and unkind insinuations. Your motives are often
misrepresented, and your conduct slandered. The reproach of the cross
has not ceased. But you may take courage when you look forward and think
of the Lord's second coming. That day will make amends for all. You
will see those who now laugh at you because you read the Bible, and pray,
and love Christ, in a very different state of mind. They will come to
you as the foolish virgins came to the wise, saying, "Give us some of
your oil; our lamps are going out" (Matthew 25:8).
You will see those who now hate you and call you fools because, like
Caleb and Joshua, you bring up a good report of Christ's service. Some
day they will say, "Oh, that we had taken part with you! You have been
the truly wise, and we the foolish." Then do not fear the reproach of
men. Confess Christ boldly before the world. Show your colors, and do
not be ashamed of your Master. Time is short: eternity rushes on. The
cross is only for a short time: the crown is forever. "Many will try to
enter in, and will not be able to." J. C. Ryle
The Night After The Day Of Grace
First Verse
How many times have you heard, heard from God’s Holy Word
That you must look to Jesus and be saved
But you just put it off, you refused to count the cost
Thinking you might come another day
Second Verse
But there’s a night that’s coming, coming without warning
Your priorities won’t look the same
Hope will be forgotten, salvation not an option
What you’d give for one more day of Grace
Chorus
On the night when you’d give anything to hear the Gospel Story
For one more chance to fall down on your face
Asking for forgiveness from the risen Savior
And rising up to walk a different way
Think about the sunset that will seal your fate
On the night after the day of Grace
Break
Repeat Chorus