The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

My God, my God! I cry to Thee!
Ah! why hast Thou forsaken me,
Who still lament and groan?
Far from my passionate complaint,
Why hast Thou suffer'd me to faint,
And seem'd for ever gone?

To Thee, by day and night, I cry,
Incessant pray; but no reply
To soothe my endless care!
O Thou, that answerest not a word,
O Thou, by Israel's tribes adored,
Regard my dying prayer!

Our fathers trusted in Thy aid,
To Thee in all their troubles pray'd,
And Thou didst hear their cry.
Our fathers were not put to shame,
But, oft as they invoked Thy name,
They found deliverance nigh.

But I, a slighted worm, in vain
For help unto my God complain;
The help I cannot find;
Cut off, alas! from all relief,
A wretched man of hopeless grief,
The outcast of mankind!

All those that see me bruised and torn,
Rejoice and laugh my soul to scorn,
And aggravate my load;

They glory in their cruel deed,
Shoot out the lip, and shake the head,
And mock my trust in God.

“He trusted in the Lord,” they cry,
“That He would save him from on high;
Let Him His own receive;
If God in him doth take delight,
He now may claim His lawful right,
And bid His favourite live!”

PART II.

But Thou art He, O God, through whom
I issued from my mother's womb;
And, hanging on the breast,
By Thee I still was kept from harms,
And in Thy everlasting arms
Have always found my rest.

O do not at a distance stand!
For sore distress is hard at hand,
A host of foes surround;
As Basan's bulls, they gape and roar,
As lions, ready to devour,
And none to help is found.

My blood pour'd out like water is,
Sharp pangs my soul and body seize,
Disjointing all my bones;
My heart like wax before the fire
Dissolves; my life doth all expire
In agonizing groans!

Thy wrath doth on my soul abide;
My strength is as a potsherd dried;
And, blasted by Thy breath,

My tongue cleaves to my gums: Thy frown
Hath broke my heart, and brought me down
Into the dust of death!

Encompass'd by the dogs of hell,
The rage of fiends and men I feel.
They pierced my hands and feet;
My starting bones may all be told;
With joy my sufferings they behold,
And all my pangs repeat!

My clothes they equally divide,
My vesture they by lot decide:
But Thou, O Lord, be nigh;
Make haste to' appear, my Strength, my Lord,
My soul deliver from the sword,
Revive me when I die!

Redeem my life from Satan's power;
Nor let the lion's mouth devour,
The unicorn's destroy:
Thou hast from all their fury freed,
And raised Thy Shepherd from the dead,
And fill'd with endless joy.

PART III.

Thy name I therefore will reveal,
Thy goodness to my brethren tell;
To all the' assembled crowd
Declare the precious gospel-grace!
Who fear the Lord exalt His praise,
And love the pardoning God!

Their God let Israel glorify,
Who gave His Son for all to die,
Who raised Him up again;

He hath not scorn'd the mourner's care,
But seen his grief and heard his prayer,
And heal'd him of his pain.

Thy glory, Lord, I will display,
My vows before the people pay,
My thanks and praises give;
The poor shall sing and feast like me;
And they who fear Him now shall see
The face of God, and live.

Your heart shall find a heaven below,
Eternal life in Jesus know;
The world shall feel His power:
They all shall to their Saviour turn,
And tribes and nations yet unborn
Their bleeding Lord adore.

Supreme by His eternal birth,
Prince of the potentates on earth,
The Lord His sway maintains;
Glory and power are His alone;
High on His everlasting throne
The King Messiah reigns.

The great shall to His sway submit;
Monarchs shall taste His heavenly meat,
And at His footstool fall:
Him every knee shall bow before,
And every soul of man adore
The God that died for all.

A seed shall first their Lord confess,
Elect through perfect holiness,
His own peculiar seed:

His will shall all by them be done,
Redeem'd and saved by grace alone,
And saints,—and free indeed.

The spotless church on earth shall rise,
Declare to all the ransom-price
For every soul laid down;
And every soul shall then believe;
To Christ their whole salvation give,
And live to God alone.

University of Virginia Library

PSALM XXII.

[My God, my God! I cry to Thee!]

PART I.

PART II.

PART III.