The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Remember, Lord, my sins no more,
That them I may no more forget,
But sunk in guiltless shame adore,
In speechless wonder at Thy feet:
O'erwhelm'd with Thy stupendous grace
I shall not in Thy presence move,
But breathe unutterable praise,
And rapturous awe, and silent love.

Then every murmuring thought and vain
Expires, in sweet confusion lost,
I cannot of my cross complain,
I cannot of my goodness boast;
Pardon'd for all that I have done
My mouth as in the dust I hide,
And glory give to God alone,
My God for ever pacified.

1381.

[How can I my own heart renew?]

Make you a new heart. —xviii. 31.

How can I my own heart renew?
The word confers the power to do:
The word I now embrace,
I yield to be renew'd by Thee,
Accepting first the pardon free,
And then the perfect grace.

1382.

[A death devoted race]

Why will ye die? —xviii. 31.

A death devoted race
If Thou hast pass'd us by;
Excluded from Thy heavenly grace,
We must for ever die:

But not by Thy decree;
(Who freely wouldst forgive;)
We perish, Lord, in spite of Thee,
Because we will not live.

Yet, O most patient Lord,
Suffice the season pass'd:
We hear the kind inviting word,
And turn to Thee at last,
The benefit embrace
To all so freely given,
And choose in Christ the life of grace,
The glorious life of heaven.

1383.

[God, whose mercies never end]

I will set up one Shepherd over them, &c. —xxxiv. 23.

God, whose mercies never end,
Thy gracious promise keep,
Raise the Shepherd up, and send
To seek the wandering sheep,
A lost race to save and feed
When in one fold together join'd,
Join'd in spirit to our Head
The Shepherd of mankind.

The true heavenly David give,
The just and loving One,
After Thine own heart, to live,
And fix in us His throne:
When on every soul bestow'd,
He comes, and saves us from our sins,
Father, then Thou art our God,
And Jesus is our Prince.

1384.

[God in Christ, appear; and seal]

I will make with them a covenant of peace, &c. —xxxiv. 25.

God in Christ, appear; and seal
Thy covenant of peace,
With us in the desert dwell,
And evil beasts shall cease,
Lions shall no more devour,
Nor wolves infest Thy quiet sheep,
None shall dare approach the bower
Where in Thy arms we sleep.

1385.

[Us who climb Thy holy hill]

I will make them and the places round, &c. —xxxiv. 26.

Us who climb Thy holy hill
A general blessing make,
Let the world our influence feel,
Our gospel-grace partake;
Grace to help in time of need
Pour out on sinners from above,
All Thy Spirit's fulness shed
In showers of heavenly love.

1386.

[Make our earthly souls a field]

The tree of the field shall yield her fruit, &c. —xxxiv. 27.

Make our earthly souls a field
Which God delights to bless,
Let us in due season yield
The fruits of righteousness;
Make us trees of paradise
Which more and more Thy praise may show,
Deeper sink, and higher rise,
And to perfection grow.

Let us by our lives declare
The holy Root within,
Trees that cannot evil bear,
And saints that cannot sin,

Pillars that go out no more,
Elect of our election sure,
Safe, when all the struggle's o'er,
And pure as God is pure.

1387.

[Jesus, bid the chains be broke]

They shall know that I am the Lord, &c. —xxxiv. 27.

Jesus, bid the chains be broke
Which hold us bound within,
By Thy Spirit destroy the yoke,
The heart-oppressing sin,
To full liberty restored,
Renew'd in all our ransom'd powers
Then we know Thou art the Lord
Through endless ages ours.

1388.

[Take this stumbling-block away]

They shall no more be a prey to the heathen, &c. —xxxiv. 28.

Take this stumbling-block away,
That we may safely dwell,
Fall no more an helpless prey
To sin, the world, and hell:
Sin and fear at once shall cease,
If Thou our unbelief remove,
Then we live in perfect peace,
Who live in perfect love.

1389.

[Christ, whose glory fills the skies]

I will raise up for them a Plant, &c. —xxxiv. 29, 30.

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
That famous Plant Thou art!
Tree of life eternal, rise
In every longing heart:
Bid us find the food in Thee,
For which our deathless spirits pine,
Fed with immortality,
And fill'd with love Divine.

Long we have our burden borne,
Our own unstableness,
Object of the heathen's scorn,
Who mock'd our scanty grace:
Jesus, our reproach remove,
Let sin no more Thy people shame,
Show us rooted in Thy love
Through life and death the same.

In Thy sinless people show
Thy power and constancy,
Give us thus to feel and know
Our fellowship with Thee,
Give us all Thy mind to' express,
And blameless in our Lord to' abide,
Transcripts of Thy holiness,
Thy fair, unspotted bride!

1390.

[Can God remove the stone within]

I will take away the stony heart, &c. —xxxvi. 26.

Can God remove the stone within,
Myself out of myself remove,
And make me sensible of sin,
And make me sensible of love?
Omnipotent, my Saviour can,
All-gracious, Thou art willing too,
To change the stubborn heart of man,
To form even me a creature new.

1391.

[Let me, according to Thy word]

I will give you an heart of flesh. —xxxvi. 26.

Let me, according to Thy word,
A tender, contrite heart receive,
Which bleeds for having grieved its Lord,
And never can itself forgive,
A heart Thy joys and griefs to feel,
A heart which cannot faithless prove,
A heart, where Christ alone may dwell,
All praise, all meekness, and all love!

1392.

[Good is the saying of my Lord]

I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. —xxxvi. 36.

Good is the saying of my Lord;
I trust Thy sanctifying word,
To every pardon'd sinner sure:
The Holy Ghost, the water clean
Shall surely make me pure within,
From all my sins and idols pure:

Thou wilt what Thou hast spoken, do,
My nature change, my heart renew,
And breathe Thy Spirit into my breast;
I then shall always faithful prove,
Fulfil Thy law of perfect love,
And one with God for ever rest.

1393.

[Humbly I do inquire of Thee]

I will yet for this be enquired of, &c. —xxxvi. 37.

Humbly I do inquire of Thee,
Wilt Thou, O Lord, restore
Thy kingdom at this time to me,
And bid me sin no more?
I know Thou wilt the power impart,
For which in faith I pray,
And I shall then be pure in heart,
And see the perfect day.

1394.

[Caught by the' almighty Hand]

The hand of the Lord was upon me, &c. —xxxvii. 1, 2.

Caught by the' almighty Hand,
That Spirit of the Lord,
Carried beyond myself I stand,
A witness of His word;
I see the book unseal'd,
Least of the prophets' sons,
I mark Ezekiel's valley fill'd
With visionary bones!

Many they are and dry,
Spread through the open vale,
Millions of lifeless souls they lie
Within the Christian pale:
I pass the churches through,
The scatter'd bones I see,
And Christendom appears in view
An hideous Calvary.

1395.

[Can these dry bones perceive]

And He said unto me, Son of man, &c. —xxxvii. 3, 4.

Can these dry bones perceive
The quickening power of grace,
Or Christian infidels retrieve
The life of righteousness?
All-good, almighty Lord,
Thou know'st Thine own design,
The virtue of Thine own great word,
The energy Divine.

Now for Thy mercy's sake
Let Thy great word proceed,
Dispensed by whom Thou wilt, to wake
The spiritually dead;
Send forth to prophesy
Thy chosen messenger,
And Thou the gospel-word apply,
And force the world to hear.

1396.

[Hear ye dry bones, and feel]

O ye dry bones, hear the word, &c. —xxxvii. 4, 5.

Hear ye dry bones, and feel
The word of truth and grace:
I will in you Myself reveal,
I will your spirits raise;

(Jehovah speaks the word,)
The promise is for you,
Ye shall be gradually restored,
And fashion'd all anew:

Cover'd with flesh and skin
Ye shall your Saviour know,
And find the breath of life within,
Which I on all bestow:
The joyful news receive,
The grace to sinners given,
The knowledge of your Lord, and live
The sinless life of heaven.

1397.

[Lord, while at Thy command]

As I prophesied, there was a noise, &c. —xxxvii. 7, 8.

Lord, while at Thy command
Thy servants prophesy,
O let it spread through every land,
The sound of Jesus nigh!
The dead professors shake,
Before Thy life they breathe,
Dispose their senseless souls to wake
Out of the sleep of death:

Let every answering bone
By secret instinct move,
With sinews clothed, the flesh put on,
And then the skin above!
The form of godliness,
And then the virtue give,
Inspire them with Thy Spirit of grace,
And bid the body live.

1398.

[Come, O Thou Breath Divine]

Come from the four winds, O breath, &c. —xxxvii. 9, 10.

Come, O Thou Breath Divine,
From every quarter blow,
And whom Thou didst together join,
On them Thine influence show;
Thy wonder-working power
Be here again display'd,
And now to sudden life restore
The long-forgotten dead.

Inspired at God's command
By Thee, the Spirit of grace,
Let the whole house of Israel stand
And their Restorer praise,
Host of the living God
Throughout the earth declare
The heavenly Gift on all bestow'd,
The' indwelling Comforter.

1399.

[Messiah, full of grace]

These bones are the whole house, &c. —xxxvii. 11, 12.

Messiah, full of grace,
Redeem'd by Thee we plead
Thy promise made to Abraham's race,
To souls for ages dead:
Their bones as quite dried up
Throughout our vale appear,
Cut off and lost their last faint hope
To see Thy kingdom here.

Open their graves, and bring
The outcasts forth, to own
Thou art the Lord, their God and King,
Their true Anointed One:

To save the race forlorn
Thy glorious arm display,
And show the world a nation born,
A nation in a day!

1400.

[Thy Deity to prove]

Ye shall know that I am the Lord, &c. —xxxvii. 13, 14.

Thy Deity to prove
By signs infallible,
O let the Spirit of Thy love
In ancient Israel dwell!
To life eternal raised
They then shall understand
Who saved, and brought them back, and placed
In their own happy land.

O that they now restored
Might all with us confess
Thee, Jesus, Thee, their heavenly Lord,
The God of truth and grace;
With us Thy glory spread,
And praise, till time shall end,
The Friend of Abraham, and his seed,
The world's eternal Friend.

1401.

[Who can reconcile and make]

They shall become one in Thine hand. —xxxvii. 17.

Who can reconcile and make
The Christians of one mind?
Both the sticks if Jesus take,
They in His hands are join'd:
Lord, Thy promise we believe,
Thou wilt perform the grace foretold,
All our jarring sects receive,
And blend us in one fold.

1402.

[ISRAEL'S, Judah's tribes command]

I will gather the children of Israel, &c. —xxxvii. 21, 22.

ISRAEL'S , Judah's tribes command
To flock from every side,
All unite, and to the land
Of their forefathers guide:
All Thy saints bring in alone,
And let us Thee alone adore,
Join'd, and perfected in one,
And never parted more.

1403.

[While Thou dost our souls restore]

Neither shall they defile themselves, &c. —xxxvii. 23.

While Thou dost our souls restore
To their unsinning state,
Give us evil to abhor,
And every idol hate;
Nature's filthiness remove,
Filthiness of self and pride,
Only Thee that we may love,
And pure till death abide.

1404.

[Saviour, cleanse us from all sin]

I will save and cleanse them, &c. —xxxvii. 23.

Saviour, cleanse us from all sin,
And thus Thy people make,
Wholly Thine, when pure within
Thy nature we partake;
Then our God Thou fully art,
When Father, Son, and Spirit reveal'd
Dwell within the sinless heart,
And speak the promise seal'd.

1405.

[Father, now to Israel raise]

David My Servant shall be king over, &c. —xxxvii. 24.

Father, now to Israel raise
Thy Servant and Thy Son,
Christ our heavenly David place
On His terrestrial throne:

Found of Christ, the Shepherd good,
Let every wandering sinner find
Him, who ransom'd with His blood
The souls of all mankind.

1406.

[Harkening to their Shepherd's voice]

They shall walk in My judgments, &c. —xxxvii. 24.

Harkening to their Shepherd's voice,
O let Thy happy sheep
Follow Jesus, and rejoice
Thy righteous laws to keep,
Never from Thy statutes stray,
But swiftly to perfection move,
Thee with all their powers obey,
With all their passions love.

1407.

[When the house of Jacob's sons]

They shall dwell in the land, &c. —xxxvii. 25.

When the house of Jacob's sons
Their Canaan repossess,
Shall not all Thy chosen ones
Abide in perfect peace?
Trusting in the literal word,
We look for Christ on earth again:
Come, our everlasting Lord,
With all Thy saints to reign.

1408.

[Father, in our hearts reveal]

I will make a covenant of peace, &c. —xxxvii. 26.

Father, in our hearts reveal
The depths of love unknown,
'Stablish with Thy church, and seal
The covenant in Thy Son,
Covenant of perpetual peace,
Peace inviolably sure,
Pure, inherent righteousness,
Which always shall endure.

1409.

[Planted in the land of rest]

I will place them, and multiply them, &c. —xxxvii. 26.

Planted in the land of rest
Our number, Lord, complete,
Bless us still, with pardon bless'd,
And make for glory meet:
O might Christ, that holiest Place
Where all Thy fulness doth reside,
In His church with all His grace
Eternally abide!

1410.

[Might He now exalted be]

My tabernacle shall be with them, &c. —xxxvii. 27.

Might He now exalted be
In all the heathen's view,
Christ the heavenly Sanctuary,
The Tabernacle true!
Us Thy favourite people make,
From whom Thou never wilt depart,
Father, Son, and Spirit, take
Possession of our heart.

1411.

[Thus, O Lord, the world convince]

And the heathen shall know that I, &c. —xxxvii. 28.

Thus, O Lord, the world convince,
That by Thy hallowing grace
Thou hast saved us from our sins
Thy chosen witnesses:
Thus let all the heathen know
By feeling what Thy people feel,
“Dwells the Triune God below,
And shall for ever dwell!”

1412.

[Lord over all, Thy Spirit pour]

Neither will I hide My face any more, &c. —xxxix. 29.

Lord over all, Thy Spirit pour,
In that full everlasting shower,
On every child of Adam's race!

Then all our agonies are o'er,
And never wilt Thou chide us more,
Or from Thy church conceal Thy face:

Then wilt Thou on Thy throne appear,
Triumphant with Thine ancients here,
While various crowns Thy brow adorn:
Then shall the saints Thy glory see,
Till time commence eternity,
And all with Thee to heaven return.

University of Virginia Library

EZEKIEL.

1380.

[O God most merciful and true]