 | The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley |  |
XCV. THE BLOODY ISSUE CURED.
How shall a sinner come to God?
A fountain of polluted blood
For years my plague hath been;
From Adam the infection came,
My nature is with his the same,
The same with his my sin.
A fountain of polluted blood
For years my plague hath been;
From Adam the infection came,
My nature is with his the same,
The same with his my sin.
In me the stubborn evil reigns,
The poison spreads throughout my veins;
A loathsome sore disease
Makes all my soul, and life unclean,
My every word, work, thought is sin,
And desperate wickedness.
The poison spreads throughout my veins;
A loathsome sore disease
Makes all my soul, and life unclean,
My every word, work, thought is sin,
And desperate wickedness.
Long have I lived in grief and pain,
And suffer'd many things in vain,
And all physicians tried;
Nor men nor means my soul can heal,
The plague is still incurable,
The fountain is undried.
And suffer'd many things in vain,
And all physicians tried;
Nor men nor means my soul can heal,
The plague is still incurable,
The fountain is undried.
452
No help can I from these receive,
Nor men nor means can e'er relieve,
Or give my spirit ease;
Still worse and worse my case I find;
Here then I cast them all behind,
From all my works I cease.
Nor men nor means can e'er relieve,
Or give my spirit ease;
Still worse and worse my case I find;
Here then I cast them all behind,
From all my works I cease.
I use, but trust in means no more,
Give my self-saving labours o'er,
The' unequal task forbear;
My strength is spent, my strife is past,
Hardly I give up all at last,
And yield to self-despair.
Give my self-saving labours o'er,
The' unequal task forbear;
My strength is spent, my strife is past,
Hardly I give up all at last,
And yield to self-despair.
I find brought in a better hope,
Succour there is for me laid up,
For every helpless soul;
Salvation is in Jesu's name,
Could I but touch His garment's hem,
Even I should be made whole.
Succour there is for me laid up,
For every helpless soul;
Salvation is in Jesu's name,
Could I but touch His garment's hem,
Even I should be made whole.
His body doth the cure dispense,
His garment is the ordinance
In which He deigns to' appear;
The word, the prayer, the broken bread,
Virtue from Him doth here proceed,
And I shall find Him here.
His garment is the ordinance
In which He deigns to' appear;
The word, the prayer, the broken bread,
Virtue from Him doth here proceed,
And I shall find Him here.
I follow'd with the thoughtless throng,
And press'd, and crowded Him too long,
And weigh'd Him down with sin;
But Him I did not hope to touch,
I never used the means as such,
Or look'd to be made clean.
And press'd, and crowded Him too long,
And weigh'd Him down with sin;
But Him I did not hope to touch,
I never used the means as such,
Or look'd to be made clean.
453
The spirit of an healthful mind
I waited not in them to find,
The Bread that comes from heaven;
Beyond my form I did not go,
The power of godliness to know,
And feel my sins forgiven.
I waited not in them to find,
The Bread that comes from heaven;
Beyond my form I did not go,
The power of godliness to know,
And feel my sins forgiven.
But now I seek to touch my Lord,
To hear His whisper in the word,
To feel His Spirit blow;
To catch the love of which I read,
To taste Him in the mystic bread,
And all His sweetness know.
To hear His whisper in the word,
To feel His Spirit blow;
To catch the love of which I read,
To taste Him in the mystic bread,
And all His sweetness know.
'Tis here, in hope my God to find,
With humble awe I come behind,
And wait His grace to prove;
Before His face I dare not stand,
But faith puts forth a trembling hand,
To apprehend His love.
With humble awe I come behind,
And wait His grace to prove;
Before His face I dare not stand,
But faith puts forth a trembling hand,
To apprehend His love.
Surely His healing power is nigh;
I touch Him now! by faith ev'n I,
My Lord, lay hold on Thee:
Thy power is present now to heal,
I feel, through all my soul I feel
That Jesus died for me.
I touch Him now! by faith ev'n I,
My Lord, lay hold on Thee:
Thy power is present now to heal,
I feel, through all my soul I feel
That Jesus died for me.
Issues from Thee a purer flood,
The poison'd fountain of my blood
Is in a moment dried;
The sovereign antidote takes place,
And I am freely saved by grace,
And I am justified.
The poison'd fountain of my blood
Is in a moment dried;
The sovereign antidote takes place,
And I am freely saved by grace,
And I am justified.
454
I glory in redemption found:
Jesus, my Lord, and God, look round,
The conscious sinner see;
'Tis I have touch'd Thy clothes, and own
The miracle Thy grace hath done,
On such a worm as me.
Jesus, my Lord, and God, look round,
The conscious sinner see;
'Tis I have touch'd Thy clothes, and own
The miracle Thy grace hath done,
On such a worm as me.
Behold me prostrate at Thy feet,
And hear me thankfully repeat
The mercies of my God;
I felt from Thee the medicine flow,
I tell Thee all the truth, and show
The virtue of Thy blood.
And hear me thankfully repeat
The mercies of my God;
I felt from Thee the medicine flow,
I tell Thee all the truth, and show
The virtue of Thy blood.
With lowly reverential fear
I testify, that Thou art near
To all who seek Thy love;
Saviour of all I Thee proclaim;
The world may know Thy healing name,
And all its wonders prove.
I testify, that Thou art near
To all who seek Thy love;
Saviour of all I Thee proclaim;
The world may know Thy healing name,
And all its wonders prove.
Speak then once more, and tell my soul,
Sinner, thy faith hath made thee whole,
Thy plague of sin is o'er;
Be perfected in holiness,
Depart in everlasting peace,
Depart, and sin no more.
Sinner, thy faith hath made thee whole,
Thy plague of sin is o'er;
Be perfected in holiness,
Depart in everlasting peace,
Depart, and sin no more.
| The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley | |