The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Hail, Father, Son, and Spirit, great
Before the birth of time,
Enthroned in everlasting state
Jehovah Elohim!
A mystical plurality
We in the Godhead own,
Adoring One in persons three,
And Three in nature One.

From Thee our being we receive
The creatures of Thy grace,
And raised out of the earth we live
To sing our Maker's praise:
Thy powerful, wise, and loving mind
Did our creation plan,
And all the glorious persons join'd
To form Thy favourite, man.

Again Thou didst, in council met,
Thy ruin'd work restore,
Establish'd in our first estate
To forfeit it no more:

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And when we rise in love renew'd,
Our souls resemble Thee,
An image of the Triune God
To all eternity.

LXXXVIII.

[Lo, like one of Us the man]

And the Lord God said, Behold the man is become like one of Us. Genesis iii. 22.

Lo, like one of Us the man
Is daringly become,
To himself with effort vain
Doth Deity assume,
Claims a knowledge of his own,
And boldly with his Maker vies:
Is Jehovah wise alone?
The creature too is wise.

Absolute, as one he were
Of the mysterious three,
Fallen man aspires to share
Our independency:
Now he good and evil knows,
As all by right Divine were his,
All unto himself he owes,
His own sufficient bliss.

LXXXIX.

[Let Us, saith the Lord, descend]

And the Lord said, Let Us go down, and there confound their language. Genesis xi. 6, 7.

Let Us, saith the Lord, descend,
Let Us their designs confound,
Bring them to a shameful end,
Cast their castles to the ground;

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Rebels, who the Three in One
Dare with learned pride deny,
By a Babel of their own
Confident to reach the sky.

Be it so, Thou glorious God,
Three in One, and One in Three,
Able to abase the proud
Come with all Thy majesty:
Men who Arian blasphemies
Dare the scripture-doctrine name,
Let their dire delusion cease,
Sink to hell from whence it came.

XC.

[Who Jehovah's mind hath known?]

I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who shall go for Us? Isaiah vi. 8.

Who Jehovah's mind hath known?
Who His counsellor can be?
God requires advice of none,
One inexplicable Three,
He Himself His council makes,
All the glorious persons join,
Each the Deity partakes,
Each is properly Divine.

XCI.

[God, the' eternal persons three]

And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house. [Heb. God they caused me to wander.] Genesis xx. 13.

God, the' eternal persons three
They caused him to rove:
They have now excited me
To seek the land above:

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Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
My God through life's tempestuous wave,
Guide me to that heavenly coast,
And there for ever save.

XCII.

[God were manifested there]

There God appeared unto him. [Heb. God they appeared, or were revealed to him.] Genesis xxxv. 6.

God were manifested there,
There reveal'd to man They were!
Jacob saw the mystic Three,
One eternal Deity.

We by faith behold Him too,
Whom the seers and patriarchs knew,
Hail Jehovah on His throne,
One in Three, and Three in One.

Thee we sing, almighty Lord,
By the church on earth adored,
Worshipp'd by the heavenly host,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Glorious, Triune God of love,
Show us all, Thy face above,
Then we shall our voices raise,
Triumph in Thine endless praise.

XCIII.

[What nation is so high]

What nation is there so great, that hath God so nigh unto them? [Heb. God who are so nigh. Deuteronomy iv. 7.

What nation is so high
As we that Christ hath known,
And in Jehovah glorify
The' eternal Three in One?

270

Lord of the heavenly powers
We see Him always here:
Who have so great a God as ours,
A God that are so near!

Our souls the Father keeps,
And will not quit His hold;
And Israel's Shepherd never sleeps,
But watches o'er His fold;
Till time and nature ends,
With us the Spirit abides,
And the whole Trinity attends,
Our everlasting Guides.

XCIV.

[There is a God we truly call]

Doubtless there is a God that judgeth the earth. [Heb. a God who are judging in the earth.] Psalm lviii. 12.

There is a God we truly call
Three persons equally Divine,
Who in the earth are judging all,
Who doth to each his doom assign,
Vengeance to those that slight His grace,
Reward to those that seek His face.

The Father sits and judges right,
The Judge of all is Christ His Son,
The Spirit of resistless might
Casts earthly powers and kingdoms down,
When as a judging Spirit He comes,
And breathes, and Antichrist consumes.

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XCV.

[God they went, the persons Three]

Even like Israel, whom God went to redeem. [Heb. God they went.] 2 Samuel vii. 23.

God they went, the persons Three,
His Israel to redeem;
Still the glorious Trinity
In majesty supreme,
Listening to our plaintive groan,
Afflicted with our misery,
Comes to make His wonders known,
And set His people free.

God hath Israel visited;
His Son the Father gave;
Jesus came, and freely shed
His blood our souls to save:
Comes the Spirit into our hearts,
Our guilty burden to remove,
Peace the Comforter imparts
And liberty and love.

XCVI.

[Our Lord the Father is, the Son]

If I be a Master, [Heb. Masters] where is My fear? Malachi i. 6.

Our Lord the Father is, the Son
Our Lord, our Lord the Spirit we bless,
Equal in majesty, and One
Great God in persons three confess:
Each self-existing person lives
The fear of every faithful soul,
And the same praise from all receives,
Long as eternal ages roll.

272

XCVII.

[Remember thy Creators, God]

Remember thy Creator [Heb. Creators] in the days of thy youth. Ecclesiastes xii. 1.

Remember thy Creators, God
In persons three confess'd,
Who raised thee up a breathing clod,
And with His name impress'd:
The persons three in council join'd
To make His earth-born son:
And, stamp'd with His immortal mind,
He claims thee for His own.

He challenges thy youthful days
Who did thy being give:
Created for His only praise,
For Him rejoice to live;
Transcript of holiness Divine,
The Triune God proclaim,
And spirit, and soul, and flesh resign
To glorify His name.

XCVIII.

[The wisdom own'd by all Thy sons]

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy Ones is understanding. Proverbs ix. 10.

The wisdom own'd by all Thy sons,
To me, O God, impart,
The knowledge of the Holy Ones,
The understanding heart:
Thy name, O holy Father, tell
To one who would believe,
To me Thy holy Son reveal,
Thy holy Spirit give.

273

'Tis life, eternal life to know
The heavenly persons mine;
Father, and Son, and Spirit, bestow
That precious faith Divine:
A Trinity in Unity
My soul shall then adore,
And love, and praise, and worship Thee
Jehovah evermore.

XCIX.

[“Leave the stump and roots behind”]

And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree, roots, &c. Daniel iv. 26.

“Leave the stump and roots behind”
A heavenly Watcher cried!
But by their command we find
The number multiplied:
One pronounces the decree;
A Watcher, and an Holy One,
Watchers, Holy Ones is He,
Who His strange work hath done.

God from hence, the God supreme
We One and Many know:
Every act that flows from Him
Doth from Three persons flow:
Spoke by three is every word:
And prostrate at Thy throne of grace,
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
The Triune God we praise.

274

C. [His kingdom was the gift of God]

The most high God gave to Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour. Daniel v. 18.

And They took his glory from him. Verse 20.

His kingdom was the gift of God,
His glory the Most High bestow'd;
And the proud monarch to rebuke,
They, They from him the glory took,
The three inexplicably One
Concurr'd to cast him from his throne.

Our God, whom One in Three we praise,
Can still the arrogant abase,
Can vindicate His truth denied
By all the towering sons of pride,
And bring them down with beasts to dwell,
Or level with the fiends of hell.

CI.

[Jehovah the almighty Lord]

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hosts of them by the breath [Heb. Spirit] of His mouth. Psalm xxxiii. 6.

Jehovah the almighty Lord,
Father of Jesus Christ, and ours,
The heavens created by His Word,
And by His Breath the heavenly powers:
And that essential Spirit Divine
Whom Jesus breathes into His own,
Doth in the new creation join
With God and His eternal Son.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Be equal adoration given,
Maker of the celestial host,
Maker of the new earth and heaven!

275

Joint-Authors of our glorious bliss
We soon shall sing the Three in One,
And God beholding as He is
For ever shout around His throne.

CII.

[Jehovah is but One]

And now the Lord God, and His Spirit hath sent Me. Isaiah xlviii. 16.

Jehovah is but One
Eternal God and true;
The Father sent the Son,
His Spirit sent Him too,
The everlasting Spirit fill'd,
And Jesus our salvation seal'd.

Senders and Sent we praise,
With equal thanks approve
The' economy of grace,
The Triune God of love,
And humbly prostrated before
The One thrice holy God, adore!

CIII.

[Read all and understand]

Seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read—for My mouth it hath commanded, and His Spirit it hath gathered them. Isaiah xxxiv. 16.

Read all and understand
The' essential Three in One,
My mouth hath utter'd the command,
His Spirit it hath done,
Hath gather'd by His call
The vultures to their prey,
To execute My wrath on all
In that vindictive day.

276

CIV.

[Jehovah, God the Father, bless]

The Lord bless thee and keep thee:
The Lord make His face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
Numbers vi. 24, &c.

Jehovah, God the Father, bless,
And Thy own work defend,
With mercy's outstretch'd arms embrace,
And keep us to the end:
Preserve the creatures of Thy love,
By providential care
Conducted to the realms above
To sing Thy goodness there.

Jehovah, God the Son, reveal
The brightness of Thy face,
And all Thy pardon'd people fill
With plenitude of grace:
Shine forth with all the Deity
Which dwells in Thee alone,
And lift us up Thy face to see
On Thine eternal throne.

Jehovah, God the Spirit, shine,
Father and Son to show,
With bliss ineffable Divine
Our ravish'd hearts o'erflow;
Sure earnest of the happiness
Which human thought transcends,
Be Thou our everlasting peace,
When grace in glory ends.

277

Thy blessing, grace, and peace we claim,
Great God in persons three,
The incommunicable name
Ascribing now to Thee:
We soon shall join that harping host,
And sing, Thy saints among,
To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
The new, eternal song.

CV.

[Baptized into one only name]

Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matthew xxviii. 19.

Baptized into one only name,
The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
One nature we in three proclaim,
One God for our salvation trust:
One God eternally abides,
One undivided Trinity,
And the whole Deity resides
In each of the mysterious three.

Each person properly Divine,
Co-equal in majestic power,
With all His heavenly host we join
The great Jehovah to adore:
And worshipping the Triune God
In confidence of humble love,
We soon shall reach His bright abode,
And see His open face above.

278

CVI.

[Come Holy Ghost, Thou Lord most high]

The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of Christ. 2 Thessalonians iii. 5.

Come Holy Ghost, Thou Lord most high,
The veil of unbelief remove,
And in us Abba Father cry,
And lead our hearts into His love;
Our hearts into His patience lead
Whose blood hath wash'd our sins away,
And perfected like Christ our Head,
Seal and preserve us to that day.

CVII.

[The grace of Jesus Christ our Lord]

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. 2 Corinthians xiii. 14.

The grace of Jesus Christ our Lord
Through all eternity adored,
The Father's love to us be given,
The Holy Ghost sent down from heaven,
His endless benefits impart,
And dwell in every faithful heart.

Bless'd be the sacred Three in One!
We make Jehovah's glory known,
Their equal majesty confess;
No person greater is, or less,
None after Other, or before,
But the same God for evermore.

279

CVIII.

[The heavenly three their record bear]

There are Three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these Three are One. 1 John v. 7.

The heavenly three their record bear,
The Father, Word, and Holy Ghost,
Each doth to us of Christ declare,
That, Lord of the celestial host,
He came by water and by blood,
The very and eternal God.

The Father owns Him from the skies,
“This is My well-beloved Son!”
Still of Himself He testifies,
The faithful Witness on His throne,
Jehovah's attributes and names
Jesus, the Lord Almighty claims.

The Spirit testifies of Him,
And gives us faithfully to call
Jesus, the Lord and God supreme,
Whose streaming blood hath ransom'd all:
That blood the Spirit of Christ applies,
That blood of God who never dies.

The Father, Son, and Spirit agree
To make the truth of Godhead known:
The heavenly Witnesses are three,
In will and testimony One;
One God in nature and in power
World without end His saints adore.

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CIX.

[Hail holy, holy, holy Lord]

One cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.—See also Revelation iv. 8. Isaiah vi. 3.

Hail holy, holy, holy Lord,
Whom One in Three we know,
By all Thy heavenly host adored,
By all Thy church below!
One undivided Trinity
With triumph we proclaim:
Thy universe is full of Thee,
And speaks Thy glorious name.

Thee, holy Father, we confess,
Thee, holy Son, adore,
Thee, Spirit of true holiness,
We worship evermore:
Thine incommunicable right,
Almighty God, receive,
Which angel-choirs and saints in light
And saints embodied give.

Three persons equally Divine
We magnify and love:
And both the choirs ere long shall join
To sing Thy praise above:
Hail holy, holy, holy Lord,
(Our heavenly song shall be,)
Supreme, essential One adored
In co-eternal Three.

University of Virginia Library

The Plurality and Trinity of Persons.

LXXXVII.

[Hail, Father, Son, and Spirit, great]