The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Sing to the God of faithful love!
His goodness and His truth we prove,
Allured into the wilderness;
Beneath the long-incumbent cloud,
We praise the two-fold gift of God,
The joyous, and the patient grace.

Who to His people came unsought,
He hath into the desert brought,
And fenced us round with sacred thorn,
Reproved our unbelieving haste,
And given our humbled souls to taste
The blessedness of all that mourn.

1432.

[Allured into the desert]

Allured into the desert
Of trouble and temptation,
Again we hear
The Comforter,
The God of our salvation:
The door of hope is open'd
Even in the depth of sadness,
His pardoning voice
Restores our joys,
And fills our heart with gladness.

Even here He bids us triumph
In His experienced favour,
As in the days
Of infant grace,
When first we found our Saviour;
Out of the iron furnace
As when by Pharaoh driven,
In haste we came,
And hymn'd the Name
That spake our sins forgiven.

1433.

[Here in the depth of sweet distress]

I will give her her vineyards from thence, &c. —ii. 15.

Here in the depth of sweet distress
Again our vineyards we possess,
And drink the dead-reviving wine:
He lifts our drooping spirits up,
Gives us an open door of hope,
And cheers with confidence Divine.

Again the hidden God appears,
He scatters all our gloomy fears,
The joy of conscious faith imparts,
He gives us back our former love,
Restores the kingdom from above,
And stamps forgiveness on our hearts.

1434.

[We sing as in those earliest days]

She shall sing there, as in the days, &c. —ii. 15.

We sing as in those earliest days,
That rapturous infancy of grace,
When first we felt the sprinkled blood,
Exulting out of Egypt came,
And shouting our Redeemer's name,
Triumphant pass'd the parted flood:

Jesus the Lord again we sing,
Who did to us salvation bring,
And now repeats our sins forgiven;

We now His glorious Spirit breathe,
Tread down the fear of hell and death,
And live on earth the life of heaven.

1435.

[The Name we still acknowledge]

The Name we still acknowledge
That burst our bonds in sunder,
And loudly sing
Our conquering King
In songs of joy and wonder:
In every day's deliverance
Our Jesus we discover;
'Tis He, 'tis He!
That smote the sea,
And led us safely over.

In sin's and Satan's onsets
He still our souls secures,
Our guardian God
Looks through the cloud,
And blasts our fierce pursuers:
He fights His people's battles
Omnipotently glorious,
He fights alone,
And makes His own
O'er earth and hell victorious.

Partakers of His triumph
In vehement expectation
We now stand still
To prove His will,
And see His great salvation;
With violent faith and patience
To seize the kingdom given,

The purchased rest
In Jesu's breast,
The' inheritance of heaven.

1436.

[My heart doth oft to idols cleave]

Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. —iv. 17.

My heart doth oft to idols cleave,
(With shame, O God, I own,)
Yet do not Thou the sinner leave,
Yet let me not alone:
Rather Thy froward child reprove,
Till with my sins I part,
Withdraw from earthly things my love,
And give Thee all my heart.

1437.

[Retired into His secret place]

I will go and return to My place, till they, &c. —v. 15.

Retired into His secret place
My absent Saviour I bemoan;
Forced by my sin, Thou hid'st Thy face:
My sin the mournful cause I own:
From saints if Thou withdraw Thy light,
Their faith to try, their grace to' improve,
Yet sin alone brought back my night,
And robb'd me of Thy pardoning love.

Never. J.W.

1438.

[The promise of my chastening God]

In their affliction they will seek Me early. —v. 15.

The promise of my chastening God
I humbled in the dust receive,
Respire beneath my sinful load,
In hope Thou wilt again forgive,
Return my evil to remove,
My sole desire to satisfy,
And let me taste once more Thy love,
Once more behold Thy face, and die.

1439.

[Come, let us to the Lord return]

Come, and let us return unto the Lord, &c. —vi. 1.

Come, let us to the Lord return,
Who now beneath His judgments droop:

Torn by His anger if we mourn,
His healing love will bind us up:
Who raised our Surety from the dead,
Our twice-dead souls will quickly raise
To walk before our God, and lead
The sinless life of perfect grace.

1440.

[I follow on to know]

Then shall we know, if we follow on to know, &c. —vi. 3.

I follow on to know,
I never will turn back,
Till Thou on me Thy grace bestow
For Thy own promise sake:
And I shall feel Thy blood,
And I shall holy be,
And I shall find, my Lord, my God,
Eternal life in Thee.

1441.

[What canst Thou do to me, whose good]

O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? —vi. 4.

What canst Thou do to me, whose good
Is transient, as a morning cloud?
To me stability impart,
And fix Thy goodness in my heart.

1442.

[Where is my power to watch and pray]

Your goodness is as a morning cloud. —vi. 4.

Where is my power to watch and pray,
And live for God alone?
The morning cloud is pass'd away,
And all my goodness gone:
I sink again, to idols join'd,
And let my God depart;
And not one good desire I find,
In this poor, desperate heart.

What can I do but lay me down,
In darkness, sin, and shame?
Beneath my Saviour's angry frown,
Beneath His feet I am:

Left to myself, I never more
One good desire shall feel,
Unless the sinner He restore,
And save, because He will.

But if for me His bowels plead,
My soul He yet shall raise—
The fulness of His power to spread,
The freeness of His grace.
Fix'd by the presence of His love,
The morning cloud shall stay,
Or only pass away to' improve
Into the perfect day.

1443.

[Loved for a time, they might have been]

I will love them no more. —ix. 15.

Loved for a time, they might have been
For ever loved by Thee:
Nothing can separate but sin
Betwixt my God and me:
From sin, from wilful sin alone,
Saviour, my soul defend,
And Thou who freely lov'st Thine own,
Shalt love me to the end.

1444.

[Jesus, who disdain'st a part]

Their heart is divided. —x. 2.

Jesus, who disdain'st a part,
Take my undivided heart;
Take what I can never give,
Till Thy Spirit I receive:
But possess'd of love Divine
Thine I am, for ever Thine.

1445.

[“How shall I give thee up?”]

How shall I give thee up? —xi. 8.

“How shall I give thee up?”
Thy mercy cannot tell,

It doth the hand of justice stop,
It keeps me out of hell:
Thine anger moves so slow,
Thy grace so swift doth move!
And mercy will not let me go,
Till I am safe above.

1446.

[Struggling for mastery within]

He took his brother by the heel in the womb. —xii. 3.

Struggling for mastery within
Nature and grace I feel;
But grace arrests my bosom-sin,
And grasps his brother's heel:
The younger still his sway maintains,
And treads the elder down,
Till grace the heavenly birthright gains
With an immortal crown.

1447.

[On me that wrestling power bestow]

By his strength he had power with God. —xii. 3.

On me that wrestling power bestow
Which will not let the' Almighty go,
Power to pray on, and never rest,
Till, with Thy heavenly nature bless'd,
I know Thee, Saviour, who Thou art,
And bear Thine image on my heart.

1448.

[Angel of covenanted grace]

He had power over the angel, and prevailed, &c. —xii. 4.

Angel of covenanted grace,
The least of Jacob's praying race,
To Thee, to Thee, for help I cry:
Thou seest my supplicating tears,
Thou hear'st the clamour of my fears,
While Esau and his host are nigh.

Jesus, Thy gracious nature tell,
Thy saving name in me reveal,
The torturing passion to remove,

To' expel what now Thou dost control,
Thy nature speak into my soul,
Thy favourite name of perfect love.

1449.

[Whom Jacob once in Bethel found]

He found Him in Bethel, and there he spake, &c. —xii. 4.

Whom Jacob once in Bethel found,
We too have found the Lord,
Have heard His voice of mercy sound,
His reconciling word;
Where first we felt the sprinkled blood,
And saw our sins forgiven,
This is, we cried, the house of God,
This is the gate of heaven!

1450.

[While Jacob for a wife doth wait]

Israel served for a wife. —xii. 12.

While Jacob for a wife doth wait,
A length of servile years
(His love to Rachel is so great)
As a few days appears:
And shall I think it long to stay,
Or wish my labours pass'd?
A thousand years are but a day,
If Christ be mine at last.

1451.

[Self-destroy'd for help I pray]

Thou hast destroyed thyself, but in Me, &c. —xiii. 9.

Self-destroy'd for help I pray:
Help me, Saviour, from above,
Help me to believe, obey,
Help me to repent, and love,
Help to keep the graces given,
Help me quite from hell to heaven.

1452.

[On earth I ask no more]

I will be thy King. —xiii. 10.

On earth I ask no more
Than to be ruled by Thee:

Thy kingdom, Lord, restore,
Set up Thy throne in me,
Then shall I own with those above
Omnipotence is lost in love.

1453.

[Can the bands of death detain]

I will ransom them from the power of the grave. —xiii. 14.

Can the bands of death detain
One from sin by Jesus freed?
Surely I shall live again,
Feel the voice that wakes the dead,
Rise triumphant o'er the tomb,
See my heavenly Saviour come.

1454.

[More than for ease in mortal pain]

Take away all iniquity. —xiv. 2.

More than for ease in mortal pain,
For purity I pray:
Let all Thy plagues on me remain,
But take my sins away:
My sins, even all my sins remove;
I nothing else desire;
O let me taste Thy perfect love,
And at Thy feet expire.

1455.

[Jesus, all-redeeming Lamb]

Jesus, all-redeeming Lamb,
Thine, yet still unsaved I am,
Monster of iniquity,
Bring a world of sin to Thee.
If Thou canst so greatly save,
If Thou wilt Thy purchase have,
If almighty Love Thou art,
Take away this bestial heart.

Vanity, concupiscence,
I can never banish hence,
Never can myself expel,
Loathe the sins I love so well.

Carnal and corrupt in mind,
If a good desire I find,
Lord, it flows from Thee alone;
Answer, and accept Thine own.

Now inclined by Thee, I pray
Take the bestial heart away;
Far out of my soul remove
All that bars Thy purer love:
More than conquer it in me,
Quite destroy the enmity;
Root it out, this love of sin,
Bring Thy heavenly nature in.

If Thy time be fully come,
Now this Antichrist consume;
Finish the transgression now,
Saviour to the utmost Thou,
Everlasting righteousness,
Thou my hallow'd soul possess;
Peace and power, and purity,
Christ, be all in all to me.

1456.

[The cause of this perpetual pain]

The cause of this perpetual pain,
Jesus, the inbred sin remove,
Peace for a dying soul ordain,
And save me by Thy purest love.
Then, or whene'er Thou wilt release
My soul in all Thy mind renew'd—
Created in true holiness
One spirit with my hallowing God.

But canst Thou take it all away?
But can I trust almighty Love

The root to kill, the remnant slay,
The sinful nature to remove?
Jesus, I steadfastly believe
The saving power of God Thou art;
And wilt His perfect Image give,
Thyself, into my sinless heart.

O wouldst Thou now Thy presence show,
Thy nature in my heart reveal,
And thus destroy the' indwelling foe,
And me out of myself expel.
Thy presence finishes my sin,
Thy presence makes an end of me;
Come in, Thou holy God, come in,
And I shall all be lost in Thee.

1457.

[As taught by Thee, O God, I pray]

As taught by Thee, O God, I pray,
Take all iniquity away,
Thou utmost Saviour of mankind,
Nor leave the least remains behind.

The guilt and power of sin remove,
The worldly, and the creature love,
The easily besetting sin,
The passion dominant within:

The lusting flesh, the carnal mind
To ill continually inclined,
The' original depravity
Which never can submit to Thee.

Thy Spirit's energy exert,
To circumcise and cleanse my heart
From wrath, concupiscence, and pride,
That Thou may'st in Thy house abide.

Thy Spirit, Lord, can sin subdue,
Can utterly extirpate too,
His more than conquering power employ,
And root and branch the foe destroy.

Then Jesus, then, the good bestow,
Which none but the receivers know;
The constant joy, the perfect peace,
The everlasting righteousness,

The patient, meek, and heavenly mind,
The lowly heart, the will resign'd,
The primitive simplicity,
The true eternal life in Thee.

All the good things which now I claim,
And ask the Father in Thy name,
The gifts for men received above,
O give me more than all in Love.

The gift unspeakable confer,
The Holy Ghost, the Comforter,
With Thee, and with Thy Father one,
God over all, and Good alone.

Thou art the thing my soul requires
To fill my infinite desires,
Infinite Good, Thyself impart
With all Thou hast, and all Thou art!

1458.

[How am I heal'd, if still again]

I will heal their backsliding. —xiv. 4.

How am I heal'd, if still again
I must relapse with grief and pain
Into my old disease?

If Christ, with all His power and love,
Can never perfectly remove
My desperate wickedness?

But, Lord, I trust, Thy gracious skill
Shall throughly my backslidings heal,
My sinfulness of soul,
Destroy the bent to sin in me,
Cure my original malady,
And make, and keep me whole.

1459.

[O that His wrath were turn'd aside]

O that His wrath were turn'd aside,
O could I know Him pacified,
Again with pardon bless'd.
How gladly should I then resign
My soul into the hands Divine,
And trust Him for the rest.

Jesus, my sprinkled heart assure,
Thou didst my life by death procure,
Didst buy the sinner's peace,
That I to sin entirely dead
From every thought of evil freed,
Might live to righteousness.

Now in the sense of cancell'd sin,
Thy sanctifying work begin,
Pour in the balm of grace.
My wounds bind up, my peace restore,
And saved by Thee, I sin no more,
But walk in all Thy ways.

University of Virginia Library

HOSEA.

1431.

[Sing to the God of faithful love!]