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| XIII. |
 | The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley |  |
HYMN III.
[Being benign, whose name is Love]
Being benign, whose name is Love,
Whose nature, always to forgive,
Thine anger with our sins remove,
And bid Thy humbled rebels live.
Whose nature, always to forgive,
Thine anger with our sins remove,
And bid Thy humbled rebels live.
Thy lifted hand, restrain'd by prayer,
Hath often waved the threaten'd blow:
Still Thy unnatural act forbear,
And all Thy ancient mercies show.
Hath often waved the threaten'd blow:
Still Thy unnatural act forbear,
And all Thy ancient mercies show.
When most displeased Thou shakest the rod,
And absolute Thy threatenings sound,
A kind reserve is understood,
A secret clause for mercy found.
And absolute Thy threatenings sound,
A kind reserve is understood,
A secret clause for mercy found.
Yet forty days Thy justice cries,
And Nineveh shall be o'erthrown,
Except (Thy whispering grace replies)
They turn, before the wrath comes down.
And Nineveh shall be o'erthrown,
Except (Thy whispering grace replies)
They turn, before the wrath comes down.
How often hath Thy goodness tried
A people harden'd from Thy fear,
And turn'd the' impending plague aside,
And spared our land from year to year?
A people harden'd from Thy fear,
And turn'd the' impending plague aside,
And spared our land from year to year?
Even now Thou dost the stroke suspend,
Thy pitiful reluctance show,
And watchmen through our Israel send,
To warn us of the falling blow.
Thy pitiful reluctance show,
And watchmen through our Israel send,
To warn us of the falling blow.
79
What canst Thou more for sinners do?
And if we farther still rebel,
If still our sinful lusts pursue,
We court the hottest flames of hell.
And if we farther still rebel,
If still our sinful lusts pursue,
We court the hottest flames of hell.
The men of Nineveh shall rise
Our judges in that vengeful day,
Unless we quit the paths of vice,
And cast our loathsome sins away.
Our judges in that vengeful day,
Unless we quit the paths of vice,
And cast our loathsome sins away.
Less dreadful will the punishment
Of Sodom and Gomorrah prove,
Than ours, if scorning to repent,
We still despise Thy bleeding love.
Of Sodom and Gomorrah prove,
Than ours, if scorning to repent,
We still despise Thy bleeding love.
| The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley | |