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 | The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley |  |
ON THE DEATH OF A CHILD.
[PART I.]
HYMN XX.
[Dead! dead! the child I loved so well!]
Dead! dead! the child I loved so well!
Transported to the world above!
I need no more my heart conceal:
I never dared indulge my love:
But may I not indulge my grief,
And seek in tears a sad relief?
Transported to the world above!
I need no more my heart conceal:
I never dared indulge my love:
But may I not indulge my grief,
And seek in tears a sad relief?
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Mine earthly happiness is fled,
His mother's joy, his father's hope:
O had I died in Isaac's stead!
He should have lived, my age's prop,
He should have closed his father's eyes,
And follow'd me to paradise.
His mother's joy, his father's hope:
O had I died in Isaac's stead!
He should have lived, my age's prop,
He should have closed his father's eyes,
And follow'd me to paradise.
But hath not Heaven, who first bestow'd,
A right to take His gifts away?
I bow me to the sovereign God,
Who snatch'd him from the evil day!
Yet nature will repeat her moan,
And fondly cry, “My son, my son!”
A right to take His gifts away?
I bow me to the sovereign God,
Who snatch'd him from the evil day!
Yet nature will repeat her moan,
And fondly cry, “My son, my son!”
Turn from him, turn, officious thought!
Officious thought presents again
The thousand little acts he wrought,
Which wound my heart with soothing pain:
His looks, his winning gestures rise,
His waving hands, and laughing eyes!
Officious thought presents again
The thousand little acts he wrought,
Which wound my heart with soothing pain:
His looks, his winning gestures rise,
His waving hands, and laughing eyes!
Those waving hands no more shall move,
Those laughing eyes shall smile no more:
He cannot now engage our love
With sweet insinuating power,
Our weak unguarded hearts ensnare,
And rival his Creator there.
Those laughing eyes shall smile no more:
He cannot now engage our love
With sweet insinuating power,
Our weak unguarded hearts ensnare,
And rival his Creator there.
From us, as we from him, secure,
Caught to his heavenly Father's breast,
He waits, till we the bliss ensure,
From all these stormy sorrows rest,
And see him with our angel stand,
To waft, and welcome us to land.
Caught to his heavenly Father's breast,
He waits, till we the bliss ensure,
From all these stormy sorrows rest,
And see him with our angel stand,
To waft, and welcome us to land.
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Hymn XXI.
PART II.
[Farewell, (since heaven ordains it so,)]
Farewell, (since heaven ordains it so,)
Farewell, my yearning heart's desire!
Stunn'd with the providential blow,
And scarce beginning to respire,
I own, and bow me in the dust,
My God is good, and wise, and just.
Farewell, my yearning heart's desire!
Stunn'd with the providential blow,
And scarce beginning to respire,
I own, and bow me in the dust,
My God is good, and wise, and just.
He justly claims the first-born son,
Accepts my costly sacrifice,
Dearest of all His gifts but one,
At His command the victim dies!
He but resumes what He had given,
He takes my sacrifice to heaven.
Accepts my costly sacrifice,
Dearest of all His gifts but one,
At His command the victim dies!
He but resumes what He had given,
He takes my sacrifice to heaven.
His wisdom timed the lingering stroke,
The mother first resolved to save;
The mother left, the child He took,
Nor let them share a common grave;
And still my better half survives,—
Joseph is dead, but Rachel lives.
The mother first resolved to save;
The mother left, the child He took,
Nor let them share a common grave;
And still my better half survives,—
Joseph is dead, but Rachel lives.
His goodness towards us all design'd
To save us from a world of care;
He knew His pleading Spirit's mind,
He heard in me His Spirit's prayer,
And kindly hasten'd to remove
The object of my fatal love.
To save us from a world of care;
He knew His pleading Spirit's mind,
He heard in me His Spirit's prayer,
And kindly hasten'd to remove
The object of my fatal love.
The Searcher of my heart can tell
How oft its fondness I withstood,
When forced a father's joy to feel,
I shrunk from the suspected good,
Refused the perilous delight,
And hid me from the pleasing sight.
How oft its fondness I withstood,
When forced a father's joy to feel,
I shrunk from the suspected good,
Refused the perilous delight,
And hid me from the pleasing sight.
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The labour of my aching breast,
The racking fears, to God are known;
I could not in his danger rest,
I trembled for my helpless son:
But all my fears for ever cease,
My son hath gain'd the port of peace.
The racking fears, to God are known;
I could not in his danger rest,
I trembled for my helpless son:
But all my fears for ever cease,
My son hath gain'd the port of peace.
The travail of my soul is past,
Severer than the mother's throes,
For lo! my child is born at last,
The glorious life of angels knows,
He bursts yon ambient azure shell,
He flies from us, with God to dwell.
Severer than the mother's throes,
For lo! my child is born at last,
The glorious life of angels knows,
He bursts yon ambient azure shell,
He flies from us, with God to dwell.
Look down, thou happy spirit, look down,
An eye of pitying love let fall
On us, who long to share thy crown,
Who for that spotless mantle call,
In which thou shalt for ever shine,
That robe of righteousness Divine.
An eye of pitying love let fall
On us, who long to share thy crown,
Who for that spotless mantle call,
In which thou shalt for ever shine,
That robe of righteousness Divine.
Great King of saints, to Thee alone
For mercy and for grace we pray:
Thy glorious grace hath saved the son;
The parents next to heaven convey,
Thy power and goodness to adore,
Where death and parting is no more.
For mercy and for grace we pray:
Thy glorious grace hath saved the son;
The parents next to heaven convey,
Thy power and goodness to adore,
Where death and parting is no more.
HYMN XXII.
PART III.
[Jesus, our sure support Thou art]
Jesus, our sure support Thou art,
Our only hope in deep distress;
Thy comforts calm the troubled heart,
And cheer'd by Thy victorious grace
The mourner gives her wailings o'er,
And Rachel weeps her loss no more.
Our only hope in deep distress;
Thy comforts calm the troubled heart,
And cheer'd by Thy victorious grace
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And Rachel weeps her loss no more.
O might Thy love our loss repair,
This mountain load of grief remove:
The burden we with patience bear,
But cannot rest without Thy love,
But, till we hear Thy pardoning voice,
We cannot in Thy will rejoice.
This mountain load of grief remove:
The burden we with patience bear,
But cannot rest without Thy love,
But, till we hear Thy pardoning voice,
We cannot in Thy will rejoice.
If Thou hast wrought us, Lord, to this,
If now Thy chastening hand we see,
Which strips us of our creature-bliss,
To make us seek our bliss in Thee,
On us Thy pardoning love bestow,
And bless us with that heaven below.
If now Thy chastening hand we see,
Which strips us of our creature-bliss,
To make us seek our bliss in Thee,
On us Thy pardoning love bestow,
And bless us with that heaven below.
If Thou hast torn our child away,
To make Thyself the larger room,
No longer, gracious Lord, delay,
But to Thy drooping servants come,
And take up all this aching void,
And fill our happy souls with God.
To make Thyself the larger room,
No longer, gracious Lord, delay,
But to Thy drooping servants come,
And take up all this aching void,
And fill our happy souls with God.
HYMN XXIII.
PART IV.
[Why should our hearts for ever bleed]
Why should our hearts for ever bleed,
Why should we still as hopeless mourn?
The child is safe! the child is dead!
And never shall to us return:
But we to him shall soon arise,
And clasp the saint in paradise.
Why should we still as hopeless mourn?
The child is safe! the child is dead!
And never shall to us return:
But we to him shall soon arise,
And clasp the saint in paradise.
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Who weeping build our infant's tomb,
With joy we hasten to our own:
That happiest day will quickly come,
When we shall lay our burden down,
When loosed from earth our souls shall soar,
And find, whom we shall lose no more.
With joy we hasten to our own:
That happiest day will quickly come,
When we shall lay our burden down,
When loosed from earth our souls shall soar,
And find, whom we shall lose no more.
No human heart can e'er conceive
The transports of our meeting there,
Where pure departed spirits live,
Where one we fondly deem'd our heir,
To full angelic stature grown,
Inherits an immortal crown.
The transports of our meeting there,
Where pure departed spirits live,
Where one we fondly deem'd our heir,
To full angelic stature grown,
Inherits an immortal crown.
Arrived above, the stranger stands,
Encompass'd with acclaiming choirs:
He hears, and waves his plausive hands,
Transported with the harpers' lyres,
Expands his tuneful soul to prove
The' harmonious powers of heavenly love.
Encompass'd with acclaiming choirs:
He hears, and waves his plausive hands,
Transported with the harpers' lyres,
Expands his tuneful soul to prove
The' harmonious powers of heavenly love.
And can we wish him doom'd again
To childish ignorance and fears,
Obnoxious to disease and pain,
Imprison'd in our vale of tears,
Exposed to all we dread beneath,
Passion, and sin, and second death?
To childish ignorance and fears,
Obnoxious to disease and pain,
Imprison'd in our vale of tears,
Exposed to all we dread beneath,
Passion, and sin, and second death?
Ah, no! we would not have him back,
But soon ourselves to him remove,
While meet his glory to partake,
And perfected in patient love,
We see with ravish'd hearts and eyes
The loss which brought us to the skies.
But soon ourselves to him remove,
While meet his glory to partake,
And perfected in patient love,
We see with ravish'd hearts and eyes
The loss which brought us to the skies.
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HYMN XXIV.
PART V.
[Angels rejoice! a child is born]
Angels rejoice! a child is born,
Into your happier world above!
Let poor short-sighted mortals mourn,
While on the wings of heavenly love
An everlasting spirit flies,
To claim his kindred in the skies.
Into your happier world above!
Let poor short-sighted mortals mourn,
While on the wings of heavenly love
An everlasting spirit flies,
To claim his kindred in the skies.
His few sad days of guiltless pain
Are all irrevocably gone,
Escaped from earth without a stain,
My heart's desire, my darling son,
Hath first attain'd his endless rest,
Hath reach'd his heavenly Father's breast.
Are all irrevocably gone,
Escaped from earth without a stain,
My heart's desire, my darling son,
Hath first attain'd his endless rest,
Hath reach'd his heavenly Father's breast.
And shall I for his bliss repine,
And shall I for his absence grieve?
Or rather bless the choice Divine,
With awful joy and thanks receive
The period of my countless cares,
The answer of my thousand prayers!
And shall I for his absence grieve?
Or rather bless the choice Divine,
With awful joy and thanks receive
The period of my countless cares,
The answer of my thousand prayers!
My prayers are seal'd, my child is fled,
Is safe on that eternal shore:
No longer I his dangers dread,
The poisonous world's bewitching power,
The charms of sin, the tempter's art,
The fondness of a parent's heart.
Is safe on that eternal shore:
No longer I his dangers dread,
The poisonous world's bewitching power,
The charms of sin, the tempter's art,
The fondness of a parent's heart.
No more my eyes with tears o'erflow,
No more in deep distress I pray,
“Ah! save my child from endless woe,
Ah! take him from the evil day,
Nor let the man his God deny,
Nor let him live to sin, and die.”
No more in deep distress I pray,
“Ah! save my child from endless woe,
Ah! take him from the evil day,
Nor let the man his God deny,
Nor let him live to sin, and die.”
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Who fill'd me with those jealous fears,
Who arm'd my heart with sad mistrust,
The God of love hath seen my tears,
And never can the child be lost,
Whom God hath found, and claim'd for His,
And snatch'd to everlasting bliss.
Who arm'd my heart with sad mistrust,
The God of love hath seen my tears,
And never can the child be lost,
Whom God hath found, and claim'd for His,
And snatch'd to everlasting bliss.
HYMN XXV.
PART VI.
['Tis finish'd! all his course of pain!]
'Tis finish'd! all his course of pain!
'Tis finish'd! all our task of care!
We turn us to our rest again,
In solemn praise, and humble prayer:
For lo! our awful office ends,
For lo! our sacred charge ascends!
'Tis finish'd! all our task of care!
We turn us to our rest again,
In solemn praise, and humble prayer:
For lo! our awful office ends,
For lo! our sacred charge ascends!
The child, of whom we seem bereaved,
Whom feeble flesh would still deplore,
Our heavenly Father hath received,
And kindly bids us weep no more,
But cheerfully His loan resign,
And leave him in the arms Divine.
Whom feeble flesh would still deplore,
Our heavenly Father hath received,
And kindly bids us weep no more,
But cheerfully His loan resign,
And leave him in the arms Divine.
Father, we make Thy deed our own,
Submissive to Thy wisest choice;
Though nature give a parting groan,
Our spirits shall in Thee rejoice,
And thankfully at last approve
The' appointment of eternal love.
Submissive to Thy wisest choice;
Though nature give a parting groan,
Our spirits shall in Thee rejoice,
And thankfully at last approve
The' appointment of eternal love.
'Twas love ordain'd so short a date,
So light a load of penal pain,
And hence the favourite of fate
Put on, and burst, his fleshly chain;
Received, and rendering up his breath,
Retired into the shades of death.
So light a load of penal pain,
And hence the favourite of fate
Put on, and burst, his fleshly chain;
260
Retired into the shades of death.
But we by faith's illumined eye
Beyond the cloud of death behold
A Sun in yon eternal sky,
Which gilds and turns the cloud to gold;
And in that golden light I see
The child that owed his birth to me.
Beyond the cloud of death behold
A Sun in yon eternal sky,
Which gilds and turns the cloud to gold;
And in that golden light I see
The child that owed his birth to me.
In a new world of light and bliss,
An angel now our child appears;
His joy hath made our sorrow cease,
His looks have dried our selfish tears,
His looks, where heavenly glories shine,
And call us to the sight Divine.
An angel now our child appears;
His joy hath made our sorrow cease,
His looks have dried our selfish tears,
His looks, where heavenly glories shine,
And call us to the sight Divine.
Father of lights, and God of love,
Thy call we joyfully obey,
And hasten to our friends above,
Who for their old companions stay;
Till all before Thy face shall meet,
And find in Thee our heaven complete.
Thy call we joyfully obey,
And hasten to our friends above,
Who for their old companions stay;
Till all before Thy face shall meet,
And find in Thee our heaven complete.
HYMN XXVI.
PART VII.
[Blessing, and love, and thanks, and praise]
Blessing, and love, and thanks, and praise,
Wisdom, and majesty, and power,
And riches, more than earth can raise,
To God, who at the destined hour
Hath singled out our only son,
And caught an infant to His throne.
Wisdom, and majesty, and power,
And riches, more than earth can raise,
To God, who at the destined hour
Hath singled out our only son,
And caught an infant to His throne.
261
The Lord our favour'd child hath bless'd
Above what we could ask, or hope;
Hath far exceeded our request,
And fill'd our largest wishes up
With more than nature dared require,
Or a fond parent's heart desire.
Above what we could ask, or hope;
Hath far exceeded our request,
And fill'd our largest wishes up
With more than nature dared require,
Or a fond parent's heart desire.
We rashly for our offspring claim
The goods which foolish mortals prize,
Beauty, and health, and power, and fame;
We wish them great, and rich, and wise,
With pleasures crown'd, and long to live
In all the bliss which earth can give.
The goods which foolish mortals prize,
Beauty, and health, and power, and fame;
We wish them great, and rich, and wise,
With pleasures crown'd, and long to live
In all the bliss which earth can give.
But see, whom God hath made His heir,
Adorn'd with each celestial grace!
His features how divinely fair,
How full of heaven his blooming face!
And what shall mar that heavenly bloom,
Where pain and death can never come?
Adorn'd with each celestial grace!
His features how divinely fair,
How full of heaven his blooming face!
And what shall mar that heavenly bloom,
Where pain and death can never come?
With glory deck'd, and clothed with power,
On kings the pitying saint looks down,
For who can tell his gracious store,
Or count the jewels of his crown?
Bright as ten thousand stars they shine,
And purchased all by blood Divine.
On kings the pitying saint looks down,
For who can tell his gracious store,
Or count the jewels of his crown?
Bright as ten thousand stars they shine,
And purchased all by blood Divine.
With pure superior wisdom fraught,
He fathoms the angelic minds,
Prevents the quickest glance of thought,
And truth by intuition finds,
He comprehends the One in Three,
He sounds the depths of Deity.
He fathoms the angelic minds,
Prevents the quickest glance of thought,
And truth by intuition finds,
He comprehends the One in Three,
He sounds the depths of Deity.
262
Knowledge, and power, and glory meet
To' enhance his happiness and joy;
His joy unutterably great,
His happiness without alloy,
His pleasures spiritual and pure,
Immortal as their Source endure.
To' enhance his happiness and joy;
His joy unutterably great,
His happiness without alloy,
His pleasures spiritual and pure,
Immortal as their Source endure.
Happy, and wise, and great, and good,
In fashion like his Maker found,
With heavenly faculties endued,
With all Divine perfections crown'd,
And long as God His throne maintains,
The heir with Christ triumphant reigns.
In fashion like his Maker found,
With heavenly faculties endued,
With all Divine perfections crown'd,
And long as God His throne maintains,
The heir with Christ triumphant reigns.
HYMN XXVII.
PART VIII.
[Father, in Thee our hearts confide]
Father, in Thee our hearts confide,
And wait Thine utmost word to feel,
Have we not been by trouble tried?
Now let it answer all Thy will,
Now let it yield with vast increase
The peaceful fruit of righteousness.
And wait Thine utmost word to feel,
Have we not been by trouble tried?
Now let it answer all Thy will,
Now let it yield with vast increase
The peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Beneath Thy chastening hand we stoop,
And pour out our sad souls in prayer,
Prostrate, till mercy lift us up,
Till Thou Thy righteousness declare:
To Thee, by deep affliction driven,
We cry, to know our sins forgiven.
And pour out our sad souls in prayer,
Prostrate, till mercy lift us up,
Till Thou Thy righteousness declare:
To Thee, by deep affliction driven,
We cry, to know our sins forgiven.
Come, to Thy drooping servants come,
Thou God of reconciling grace,
Pierce through, dispel this guilty gloom,
Unveil the brightness of Thy face;
And while these clouds of grief remove,
Appear, the pardoning God of love.
Thou God of reconciling grace,
Pierce through, dispel this guilty gloom,
Unveil the brightness of Thy face;
263
Appear, the pardoning God of love.
We will not let our sorrow go,
Till Thee our God we apprehend:
Ah! wouldst Thou now the grace bestow,
Into our hearts the comfort send,
The peace that pain and loss defies,
The life Divine that never dies.
Till Thee our God we apprehend:
Ah! wouldst Thou now the grace bestow,
Into our hearts the comfort send,
The peace that pain and loss defies,
The life Divine that never dies.
In us Thy pardoning love reveal,
And when we feel the blessing given,
Our tongues Thy pardoning love shall tell,
Shall spread the news through earth and heaven,
“The Lord hath caught away our son,
And given us in exchange His own.”
And when we feel the blessing given,
Our tongues Thy pardoning love shall tell,
Shall spread the news through earth and heaven,
“The Lord hath caught away our son,
And given us in exchange His own.”
| The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley | |