The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Jesu, Friend of sinners, hear,
Yet once again I pray;
From my debt of sin set clear,
For I have nought to pay:
Speak, O, speak the kind release,
A poor, backsliding soul restore;
Love me freely, seal my peace,
And bid me sin no more.

For my selfishness and pride,
Thou hast withdrawn Thy grace;
Left me long to wander wide,
An outcast from Thy face;
But I now my sins confess,
And mercy, mercy I implore:
Love me freely, &c.

Though my sins as mountains rise,
And swell and reach to heaven,
Mercy is above the skies,
I may be still forgiven:
Infinite my sins' increase,
But greater is Thy mercy's store:
Love me freely, &c.

Sin's deceitfulness hath spread
An hardness o'er my heart;
But if Thou Thy Spirit shed,
The stony shall depart:
Shed Thy love, Thy tenderness,
And let me feel the softening power:
Love me freely, &c.

120

From the' oppressive power of sin
My struggling spirit free;
Perfect righteousness bring in,
Unspotted purity:
Speak, and all this war shall cease,
And sin shall give its raging o'er:
Love me freely, &c.

For this only thing I pray,
And this will I require,
Take the power of sin away,
Fill me with chaste desire;
Perfect me in holiness;
Thine image to my soul restore:
Love me freely, seal my peace,
And bid me sin no more.

University of Virginia Library

A PRAYER FOR RESTORING GRACE.