The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Come let us anew
Our pleasures pursue:
For Christian delight
The day is too short; let us borrow the night.
In sanctified joy
Each moment employ,
To Jesus's praise,
And spend, and be spent in the triumph of grace.

283

The slaves of excess,
Their senses to please
Whole nights can bestow,
And on in a circle of riot they go:
Poor prodigals, they
The night into day
By revellings turn,
And all the restraints of sobriety scorn.

The drunkards proclaim
At midnight their shame,
Their sacrifice bring,
And loud to the praise of their master they sing.
The hellish desires
Which Satan inspires,
In sonnets they breathe,
And shouting descend to the mansions of death.

The civiller crowd,
In theatres proud,
Acknowledge his power,
And Satan in nightly assemblies adore:
To the masque and the ball
They fly at his call;
Or in pleasures excel,
And chant in a grove to the harpers of hell.

And shall we not sing
Our Master and King
While men are at rest,
With Jesus admitted at midnight to feast?
Here only we may
With innocence stay,
The' enjoyment improve,
And abide at the banquet of Jesus's love.

284

In Him is bestow'd
The spiritual food,
The manna Divine,
And Jesus's love is far better than wine:
With joy we receive
The blessing, and give
By day and by night
All thanks to the Source of our endless delight.

Our concert of praise
To Jesus we raise,
And all the night long
Continue the new evangelical song:
We dance to the fame
Of Jesus's name,
The joy it imparts
Is heaven begun in our musical hearts.

Thus, thus we bestow
Our moments below,
And singing remove,
With all the redeem'd to the Sion above:
There, there shall we stand
With our harps in our hand,
Interrupted no more,
And eternally sing, and rejoice, and adore.

University of Virginia Library

C. THE SAME. INNOCENT DIVERSIONS.

Hymn 17.