The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Wherefore should I make my moan,
Now the darling child is dead?
He to early rest is gone,
He to paradise is fled:
I shall go to him, but he
Never shall return to me.

God forbids his longer stay,
God recalls the precious loan,
God hath taken him away,
From my bosom to His own;
Surely what He wills is best,
Happy in His will I rest.

Faith cries out, It is the Lord!
Let Him do as seems Him good:
Be Thy holy name adored,
Take the gift awhile bestow'd,
Take the child, no longer mine,
Thine he is, for ever Thine.

CLXXI. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Glory to that victorious grace]

Glory to that victorious grace,
Through which a worm can all things do!
I stand o'erwhelm'd with vast amaze,
And scarce believe the wonder true;
'Tis more than heart could e'er conceive,
I know my child is dead—and live!

Where is the passionate regret,
The fond complaint, and lingering smart?
Can I my sucking child forget,
So freely with my Isaac part,
So cheerfully my all resign,
And triumph in the will Divine!

Son of my womb, my joy, my hope,
He lived, my yearning heart's desire;
Yet lo! I gladly yield him up,
No longer mine, if God require,
And with a sudden stroke remove,
Whom only less than God I love.

Nature would cry, My son, my son!
O that I now had died for thee!
But faith replies, His will be done,
Who lent the blessing first to me;
Lent, and resumes; it is the Lord!
His will be done, His name adored!

With all my soul, O Lord, I give
The child Thy love hath snatch'd away;
On earth I would not have him live,
With me I would not have him stay;
The sacrifice long since was o'er,
I stand to what I gave before.

I all have left for Jesu's sake,
And shall I grieve to part with one!
No, if a wish could call him back,
I would not have my darling son
Brought from his everlasting rest,
Snatch'd from his heavenly Father's breast.

Pass a few fleeting days, or years,
And I shall see my child again;
When Jesus in the clouds appears,
With Him I shall in glory reign,
I and the children He hath given,
Inseparably join'd in heaven.

University of Virginia Library

[ON THE DEATH OF A CHILD]

CLXX. ON THE DEATH OF A CHILD.

Hymn 1.

CLXXI. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Glory to that victorious grace]