Luke 13:30: There are last which shall be first, and, &c

Oft a soul that late begins
To run the Christian race
Leaves the rest behind, and wins
The crown of righteousness,
Burning with intensest zeal.
Sunk in the lowest depths of love.
First he scales the heavenly hill.
And finds his seat above.

Set on slippery ground is he
Who claims the foremost place,
Conscious of his primacy
He loses all his grace:
Of himself who highly thinks
He tumbles from perfection's height;
Then the first is last, and sinks
Into eternal night.