The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Father of all, by whom we are,
For whom was made whatever is,
Who hast entrusted to our care
A candidate for glorious bliss,
Poor worms of earth, for help we cry,
For grace to guard what grace hath given,
We ask the wisdom from on high
To train our infant up for heaven.

We tremble at the danger near,
And crowds of wretched parents see,
Who blindly fond their children rear
In tempers far as hell from Thee:
Themselves the slaves of sense and praise,
Their babes who pamper and admire,
And make the helpless infants pass
To murderer Moloch through the fire.

But let not us the demon please,
Our offspring to destruction doom,
Strengthen a sin-sick soul's disease,
Or damn him from his mother's womb;
Rather this hour resume his breath,
From selfishness and pride to save,
By death prevent the second death,
And hide him in the silent grave.

Or if Thou grant a longer date,
With resolute wisdom us endue,
To point him out his lost estate,
His dire apostasy to show,
To time our every smile and frown,
To mark the bounds of good and ill,
And beat the pride of nature down,
And bend or break his rising will.

Him let us tend, severely kind,
As guardians of his giddy youth,
As set to form his tender mind
By principles of virtuous truth,
To fit his soul for heavenly grace,
Discharge the Christian parent's part,
And keep him, till Thy love takes place,
And Jesus rises in his heart.

LXIV.

[How fast the chains of nature bind]

How fast the chains of nature bind
Our poor degenerate race!
What darkness clouds the parent's mind
If unrenew'd by grace!
As sworn to take the tempter's part
They fatally employ
Their utmost power and utmost art
Their offspring to destroy.

By Satan's subtilty beguiled,
To Satan's school they send,
And each delights the favourite child
To humour and commend:

The proud with ranker pride they fill,
Heighten their worst disease,
And fondly soothe the stubborn will
To tenfold stubbornness.

With lust of pleasure, wealth, and fame
Their children they inspire,
And every vain desire inflame,
And every passion fire:
They wish them good, but rather great,
Religious, but genteel;
Pious, yet fond of pomp and state;
As heaven would mix with hell.

Adorn'd in pearl and rich array
You see the murderer's prize!
As crown'd with flowers, the victims gay
Are led to sacrifice;
Down a broad easy way they glide
To endless misery,
And curse their doting parents' pride
To all eternity.

Others, a half-discerning few,
The fond excess condemn,
And rush with headlong zeal into
The merciless extreme;
They vent their passion's furious heat
In stern tyrannic sway,
Their children as their beasts they treat,
And force the slaves to' obey.

With notions fraught, the Stoics sour
Pursue their rigid plan,
In weakness look for perfect power,
In babes the strength of man;

The wisdom ripe of hoary hairs
From children they require,
Till time their schemes in pieces tears,
And all in smoke expire.

Harass'd by long domestic war
With scarce a truce between,
Their children's tender minds abhor
The' Egyptian discipline;
They quite throw off the yoke severe,
O'er nature's wilds to rove,
And hate the objects of their fear
Whom they could never love.

LXV.

[God only wise, almighty, good]

God only wise, almighty, good,
Send forth Thy truth and light,
To point us out the narrow road,
And guide our steps aright;
To steer our dangerous course between
The rocks on either hand,
And fix us in the golden mean,
And bring our charge to land.

Made apt by Thy sufficient grace
To teach as taught by Thee,
We come to train in all Thy ways
Our rising progeny;
Their selfish will by times subdue,
And mortify their pride,
And lend their youth a sacred clue
To find The Crucified.

We would in every step look up,
By Thy example taught
To' alarm their fear, excite their hope,
And rectify their thought:
We would persuade their hearts to' obey,
With mildest zeal proceed,
And never take the harsher way,
When love will do the deed.

For this we ask in faith sincere
The wisdom from above
To touch their hearts with filial fear,
And pure ingenuous love,
To watch their will to sense inclined,
Withhold the hurtful food,
And gently bend their tender mind,
And draw their souls to God.

LXVI.

[Father of lights, Thy needful aid]

Father of lights, Thy needful aid
To us who ask impart,
Mistrustful of ourselves, afraid
Of our own treacherous heart;
O'erwhelm'd with justest fear, again
To Thee for help we call,
Where many mightier have been slain,
By Thee unsaved, we fall.

Unless restrain'd by grace we are,
In vain the snare we see,
We see and rush into the snare
Of blind idolatry;

We plunge ourselves in endless woes,
Our hapless infant sell,
Resist the light, and side with those
Who send their babes to hell.

Ah, what avails superior light
Without superior love?
We see the truth, we judge aright,
And wisdom's ways approve;
We mark the idolizing throng,
Their cruel fondness blame;
Their children's souls we know they wrong,
And we shall do the same.

We censure them, ourselves untried,
For passionate excess,
Who train their children up in pride,
And sloth, and stubbornness:
Less savage in our judgment they
Who slew their little ones,
Or left to ravenous beasts a prey,
Or dash'd against the stones.

Yet, spite of our resolves, we fear
Our own infirmity,
And tremble at the trial near,
And cry, O God, to Thee:
We soon shall do what we condemn,
And, down the current borne,
With shame confess our nature's stream
Too strong for us to turn.

Our only help in danger's hour,
Our only strength Thou art,
Above the world and tempter's power,
And greater than our heart.

Us from ourselves Thou canst secure
In nature's slippery ways,
And make our feeble footsteps sure
By Thy sufficient grace.

If on Thy promised grace alone
We faithfully depend,
Thou surely wilt protect Thy own,
And keep us to the end;
Wilt make us tenderly discreet
To guard what Thou hast given,
And bring our child with us to meet
At Thy right hand in heaven.

LXVII.

[O that my son might live]

O that my son might live
A monument of Thy grace,
To Thee his earliest childhood give,
To Thee his riper days!
My heavenly Father, hear
In me Thy Spirit's cry,
And grant the child his God to fear,
Or give him now to die.

Ah, do not let him stay
To grieve Thy glorious eyes,
To wander down the beaten way
Of passion, pride, and vice;
To know the misery
Which I, alas, have known,
Or saved by fire, if saved like me,
Or finally undone.

Rather in tender grace
Resume my infant's breath,
And snatch him from the dangerous maze,
The brink of second death;
To glorious worlds on high
His spotless soul receive,
Where all who in their childhood die
With God for ever live.

LXVIII.

[Let Ishmael live Devoted to God]

Let Ishmael live Devoted to God;
O Father receive Whom Thou hast bestow'd,
Hast purposely given, That we may resign
The blessing of heaven, The present Divine.

Thy servants prepare With wisdom for this
To bring up an heir Of heavenly bliss:
By walking before Thee His steps let us guide,
And lead him to glory Through Jesus's side.

The doting excess Of nature remove,
And graciously bless Our labours of love;
Our sanctified cares With favour allow,
And answer our prayers, And answer them now.

The blessing we claim Now, Father, impart,
Thy nature and name Be on his young heart;
Our infant inspire With life from on high,
And kindle the fire That never shall die.

University of Virginia Library

HYMNS FOR PARENTS.

LXIII.

[Father of all, by whom we are]