 | I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
 | XII. |
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| XIII. |
 | The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley |  |
DESIRING TO LOVE.
PART I.
Thee, Jesu, Thee, the sinner's Friend,
I follow on to apprehend,
Renew the glorious strife;
Divinely confident and bold,
With faith's strong arm on Thee lay hold,
Thee, my eternal life.
I follow on to apprehend,
Renew the glorious strife;
Divinely confident and bold,
With faith's strong arm on Thee lay hold,
Thee, my eternal life.
300
Tell me, O Lord, if Thine I am,
Tell me Thy new, mysterious name,
Or Thou shalt never move;
No, never will I let Thee go,
Till I Thy name, Thy nature know,
And feel that God is love.
Tell me Thy new, mysterious name,
Or Thou shalt never move;
No, never will I let Thee go,
Till I Thy name, Thy nature know,
And feel that God is love.
I feel that I have power with God;
(Thou only hast the power bestow'd,
And arm'd me for the fight;)
A prince, through Thee invincible,
I pray, and wrestle, and prevail,
And conquer in Thy might.
(Thou only hast the power bestow'd,
And arm'd me for the fight;)
A prince, through Thee invincible,
I pray, and wrestle, and prevail,
And conquer in Thy might.
Thy heart, I know, Thy tender heart
Doth in my sorrows feel its part,
And at my tears relent;
My powerful sighs Thou canst not bear,
Nor stand the violence of my prayer,
My prayer omnipotent.
Doth in my sorrows feel its part,
And at my tears relent;
My powerful sighs Thou canst not bear,
Nor stand the violence of my prayer,
My prayer omnipotent.
Give me the grace, the love I claim;
Thy Spirit now demands Thy name,
Thou know'st the Spirit's will:
He helps my soul's infirmity,
And strongly intercedes for me
With groans unspeakable.
Thy Spirit now demands Thy name,
Thou know'st the Spirit's will:
He helps my soul's infirmity,
And strongly intercedes for me
With groans unspeakable.
Answer, dear Lord, Thy Spirit's groan;
O make to me Thy nature known,
Thy hidden name impart;
(Thy title is with Thee the same;)
Tell me Thy nature, and Thy name,
And write it on my heart.
O make to me Thy nature known,
Thy hidden name impart;
(Thy title is with Thee the same;)
Tell me Thy nature, and Thy name,
And write it on my heart.
301
Prisoner of hope, to Thee I turn,
And, calmly confident, I mourn,
And pray, and weep for Thee;
Tell me Thy love, Thy secret tell;
Thy mystic name in me reveal,
Reveal Thyself in me.
And, calmly confident, I mourn,
And pray, and weep for Thee;
Tell me Thy love, Thy secret tell;
Thy mystic name in me reveal,
Reveal Thyself in me.
Descend, pass by me, and proclaim,
O Lord of Hosts, Thy glorious name,—
The Lord, the gracious Lord,
Long-suffering, merciful, and kind,
The God who always bears in mind
His everlasting word:
O Lord of Hosts, Thy glorious name,—
The Lord, the gracious Lord,
Long-suffering, merciful, and kind,
The God who always bears in mind
His everlasting word:
Plenteous He is in truth and grace;
He wills that all the fallen race
Should turn, repent, and live;
His pardoning grace for all is free;
Transgression, sin, iniquity
He freely doth forgive.
He wills that all the fallen race
Should turn, repent, and live;
His pardoning grace for all is free;
Transgression, sin, iniquity
He freely doth forgive.
Mercy He doth for thousands keep:
He goes and seeks the one lost sheep,
And brings His wanderer home;
And every soul that sheep might be:
Come then, dear Lord, and gather me,
My Jesus, quickly come.
He goes and seeks the one lost sheep,
And brings His wanderer home;
And every soul that sheep might be:
Come then, dear Lord, and gather me,
My Jesus, quickly come.
Take me into Thy people's rest;
O come, and with my sole request,
My one desire, comply:
Make me partaker of my hope;
Then bid me get me quickly up,
And on Thy bosom die.
O come, and with my sole request,
My one desire, comply:
Make me partaker of my hope;
Then bid me get me quickly up,
And on Thy bosom die.
302
PART II.
Come, Lord, and help me to rejoice
In hope that I shall hear Thy voice,
Shall one day see my God;
Shall cease from all my sin and strife,
Handle and taste the word of life,
And feel the sprinkled blood.
In hope that I shall hear Thy voice,
Shall one day see my God;
Shall cease from all my sin and strife,
Handle and taste the word of life,
And feel the sprinkled blood.
I shall not always make my moan,
Or worship Thee a God unknown;
But I shall live to prove
Thy people's rest, Thy saints' delight,
The length, and breadth, and depth, and height
Of all-redeeming love.
Or worship Thee a God unknown;
But I shall live to prove
Thy people's rest, Thy saints' delight,
The length, and breadth, and depth, and height
Of all-redeeming love.
I cannot love Thee little, Lord,
Whenever by Thy grace restored
I taste how good Thou art:
Much I shall love, or not at all;
Forgiven much, I surely shall
Love Thee with all my heart.
Whenever by Thy grace restored
I taste how good Thou art:
Much I shall love, or not at all;
Forgiven much, I surely shall
Love Thee with all my heart.
O glorious hope of perfect love!
It lifts me up to things above,
It bears on eagle's wings;
It gives my ravish'd soul a taste,
And makes me for some moments feast
With Jesu's priests and kings.
It lifts me up to things above,
It bears on eagle's wings;
It gives my ravish'd soul a taste,
And makes me for some moments feast
With Jesu's priests and kings.
Rejoicing now in earnest hope,
I stand, and from the mountain-top
See all the land below;
Rivers of milk and honey rise,
And all the fruits of paradise
In endless plenty grow:
I stand, and from the mountain-top
See all the land below;
Rivers of milk and honey rise,
And all the fruits of paradise
In endless plenty grow:
303
A land of corn, and wine, and oil,
Favour'd with God's peculiar smile,
With every blessing blest;
There dwells the Lord our Righteousness,
And keeps His own in perfect peace
And everlasting rest.
Favour'd with God's peculiar smile,
With every blessing blest;
There dwells the Lord our Righteousness,
And keeps His own in perfect peace
And everlasting rest.
O that I might at once go up,
No more on this side Jordan stop,
But now the land possess;
This moment end my legal years,
Sorrows, and sins, and doubts, and fears,
An howling wilderness!
No more on this side Jordan stop,
But now the land possess;
This moment end my legal years,
Sorrows, and sins, and doubts, and fears,
An howling wilderness!
Now, O my Joshua, bring me in,
Cast out my foes; the inbred sin,
The carnal mind, remove;
The purchase of Thy death divide;
And O, with all the sanctified
Give me a lot of love.
Cast out my foes; the inbred sin,
The carnal mind, remove;
The purchase of Thy death divide;
And O, with all the sanctified
Give me a lot of love.
| The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley | |