The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Wilt Thou not, Lord, the word repeat
To all who prostrate at Thy feet
Thy pardoning grace implore?
Thou dost the helpless sinner cheer,
Thou dost dismiss my guilty fear,
And bid me sin no more.

204. [No, ye blind scribes of learning proud]

The scribes said, . . . This man blasphemeth. —ix. 3.

No, ye blind scribes of learning proud:
This Man is the eternal God,
Who doth your souls reprieve:
His power and Deity confess,
Believe ten thousand witnesses
That Jesus can forgive.

205. [The men of human learning proud]

The men of human learning proud,
Through envy blind, the truth malign,
Through unbelief pervert the good,
And circumscribe the power Divine,
Harden'd in ours, in every age,
Against a pardoning God they rage.

221

But Christ, who the abuse foresees,
Performs the good which scribes oppose:
And following Him, we dare displease
By acts of love our murmuring foes,
By righteous works offend their sight,
And blind them through the hateful light.

206. [Who in his nature's weakness lies]

Then saith He to the sick of the palsy, Arise, &c. —ix. 6.

Who in his nature's weakness lies
Grovelling on earth, and cannot rise,
Or lift his heart to heaven,
A feeble paralytic soul,
He is not yet through Christ made whole,
He is not yet forgiven.

But when a penitent we see
Walking in paths prescribed by Thee,
With even steady pace
Returning to his house above,
Lord, we adore Thy saving love,
And Thy forgiving grace.

207. [All glory to God]

When the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, &c. —ix. 8.

All glory to God
Whose love hath bestow'd
Such virtue on men,
On Jesus in human similitude seen!
His goodness and power
The simple adore,
If the learned repine,
We are glad to acknowledge the Finger Divine.

Thou Jesus alone
The wonder hast done,
By Thy nature reveal'd,
Our nature's extreme inability heal'd;

222

Thy life-giving grace
Appears in our days,
And the impotent soul
Through the word of Thy power is made perfectly whole.

208. [Vanquish'd by the word Divine]

Jesus saw a man, named Matthew, sitting, &c. —ix. 9.

Vanquish'd by the word Divine,
Drawn by One they never knew,
Worldlings still their gains resign,
Still our heavenly Lord pursue;
Hate the money-getting vice,
Only for salvation care,
Seek a kingdom in the skies,
Lay up all their treasure there.

Jesus, evermore the same,
Nothing is too hard for Thee;
Through the virtue of Thy name
Wonders wrought we daily see,
Sinful souls of every kind
Come at Thine almighty call,
Bless'd with faith in Thee they find
Grace, sufficient grace for all.

209. [The publicans may still draw near]

As Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, &c. —ix. 10.

The publicans may still draw near
To God's incarnate Son,
Join'd to His followers appear,
And sit with Jesus down:
The house, the church will all contain,
The meanest and the least,
And every sinful child of man
May be his Saviour's guest.

223

210. [Our Master doth with sinners eat]

Why eateth your Master with publicans, &c. —ix. 11.

Our Master doth with sinners eat,
To satisfy our wants,
To fill our souls with heavenly meat,
And change us into saints:
Sinners He kindly doth receive,
That nourish'd by His love,
On earth we without sin may live,
And share His feast above.

211. [I have need of a physician]

They that be whole need not a physician, &c. —ix. 12.

I have need of a physician;
Jesus, my physician be:
Help me in my lost condition,
Sin's severe extremity:
Sick to death of pride and passion,
Desperate, Lord, to Thee I cry:
With Thine uttermost salvation
Save, or I for ever die.

212. [Jesus, Thou seest Thy creature's pain]

Jesus, Thou seest Thy creature's pain,
Thou hear'st me of my plague complain,
In every power and faculty
I feel, I feel my need of Thee:
Faint is my head and sick my heart;
But Thou the good Physician art,
And soon, I trust, Thy gracious skill
Shall all my soul-distempers heal.

213. [To whom should Thy disciples go]

Go ye, and learn what that meaneth, &c. —ix. 13.

To whom should Thy disciples go,
Of whom should they be taught, but Thee?
Thy Spirit must Thy meaning show;
O might He show it now to me!

224

Blessings Thou dost to sinners give,
Not sacrifice from us receive:
Thy grace to all doth freely move,
Thy favourite attribute is love.

214. [Then Thou art come for me]

I am not come to call the righteous, &c. —ix. 13.

Then Thou art come for me:
Thou call'st me to repent,
And by a look from Thee
My rocky heart is rent:
But deepen, Lord, the grief begun,
But heighten my distress,
And not till life's expiring groan
Let my repentance cease.

215. [Jesus, by faith approaching Thee]

There came a certain Ruler, and worshipped Him, &c. —ix. 18.

Jesus, by faith approaching Thee,
And bow'd in deep humility,
Thy Godhead I adore:
Thy pure humanity Divine
Can raise this dying soul of mine,
And perfectly restore.

Thy virtue, Lord, if Thou exert,
The merits of Thy death impart,
Though dead in trespasses
My soul shall suddenly revive
Obedient to Thy touch, and live
The sinless life of grace.

216. [Unclean, of life and heart unclean]

A woman, which was diseased with an issue, &c. —ix. 20, 21.

Unclean, of life and heart unclean,
How shall I in His sight appear!
Conscious of my inveterate sin
I blush and tremble to draw near;

225

Yet through the garment of His word
I humbly seek to touch my Lord.

The smallest things, the weakest means,
The mournful fast, the plaintive prayer,
His sanctifying power dispense,
His efficacious grace confer,
And through His sacramental clothes
The healing emanation flows.

Yet not in outward veils of grace,
But in Himself the virtue lies,
The' infusion of His righteousness
This fountain of corruption dries;
And sure as I in Christ believe,
I shall a perfect cure receive.

217. [Turn then, Thou good Physician turn]

Jesus turned Him about, and when He saw, &c. —ix. 22.

Turn then, Thou good Physician turn,
Thou Source of unexhausted love,
Sole Comforter of souls forlorn,
Who only canst my plague remove,
O cast a pitying look on me
Who dare not lift mine eyes to Thee.

Yet will I in my God confide,
Who mildly comes to meet my soul:
I wait to feel Thy blood applied;
Thy blood applied shall make me whole;
And lo! I trust Thy gracious power
To touch, to heal me—in this hour.

218. [The death of sin is but a sleep]

The maid is not dead, but sleepeth. —ix. 24.

The death of sin is but a sleep
Which cannot long its prisoner keep,
If Jesus saith, Restore;

226

If Christ resolves a soul to raise,
To' inspire with the new life of grace,
And bid him sin no more.

219. [Till Jesus' hand the sinner take]

He went in, and took her by the hand, &c. —ix. 25.

Till Jesus' hand the sinner take,
The dead in sin can never wake,
Or second life retrieve;
But touch'd by his Redeemer's hand,
And summon'd by his Lord's command
The dead shall hear and live.

Living and dead together join'd,
Sinners and God, we strangely find,
If Christ our righteousness
Enter, and touch the sinful will,
And give our senseless souls to feel
The quickening power of grace.

Grace, and the will through Christ alone
Concur, inseparably one;
Thy Spirit's energy,
Jesus we now by faith perceive,
And wake to righteousness, and live,
And move and act for Thee.

220. [Jesus, Thou Son of David, stay]

When Jesus departed thence, two blind men, &c. —ix. 27.

Jesus, Thou Son of David, stay,
As now Thou passest by;
For mercy unto Thee I pray,
And follow while I cry:
Thee Prophet, Priest, and King I own,
God-man to sinners given,
Who bring'st the blind by ways unknown
To worship Thee in heaven.

227

221. [The God of love, He oft delays]

And when He was come into the house, &c. —ix. 28.

The God of love, He oft delays,
Nor grants what we require,
To exercise our patient grace,
To heighten our desire,
To draw the clamorous beggar near,
Before His feet to cast,
And prove their confidence sincere,
And give them sight at last.

222. [I do believe Thou canst, Thou wilt]

Believe ye that I am able to do this? —ix. 28.

I do believe Thou canst, Thou wilt
Mine unbelief remove,
And purge out all my nature's guilt,
And perfect me in love:
Begin Thy work, restore my sight
By justifying grace,
And bid me walk with Thee in white,
To see my Father's face.

223. [When faith, almighty faith, is mine]

According to your faith be it unto you. —ix. 29.

When faith, almighty faith, is mine,
Fill'd with delightful peace,
The source of every gift Divine,
The measure I possess:
And when I perfectly believe,
My calling's prize I prove,
The length and breadth and height receive,
And depth of purest love.

224. [Nothing can Thy will withstand]

And their eyes were opened. —ix. 30.

Nothing can Thy will withstand:
Saviour, now Thy power exert,
Touch me with Thy Spirit's hand,
Heal the blindness of my heart:

228

When the sprinkling of Thy blood
Doth mine unbelief remove,
Then I see that Thou art God,
Then I feel that God is love.

225. [Taught by Thee, in doing well]

See that no man know it. —ix. 30.

Taught by Thee, in doing well,
Lord, I would with humble fear
Studiously myself conceal,
Shun the shining character;
For the good Thy grace hath wrought
No reward accept from men,
Quite neglected and forgot,
Till my Lord appears again.

226. [Poor helpless souls whom Satan keeps!]

They brought to Him a dumb man, &c. —xi. 32.

Poor helpless souls whom Satan keeps!
He stops their mouths, and seals their lips;
And while they him obey,
They never can their sins confess,
They never can our Saviour praise,
Or for His mercy pray.

His followers we their burden bear,
And bring them still, by faithful prayer
To our great Lord above,
Till Christ the silent fiend expel,
And give the dumb in songs to tell
The wonders of His love.

227. [An ignorant crowd Of sinners we join]

When the devil was cast out, the dumb spake, &c. —ix. 33.

An ignorant crowd Of sinners we join,
And publish aloud The wonders Divine,
With fix'd admiration We joyfully praise
The work of salvation, The triumph of grace.

229

It never was heard, It never was seen,
Till Jesus appear'd A man among men,
Who comes to inherit And dwells in His own,
Expels the dumb spirit, And rules us alone.

The Pharisees rage At Jesus's power;
Revived in our age, His work we adore;
Though with the blasphemer The learned agree,
Almighty Redeemer, We glorify Thee.

228. [Thou goest about in every age]

Jesus went about . . . teaching . . . and healing. —ix. 35.

Thou goest about in every age,
Dark, sin-sick souls to teach and heal;
The publish'd word, the written page
Conveys the balm infallible,
We now Thy Spirit of love receive,
Of power, and of a vigorous mind,
And still Thou in Thyself wouldst give
Life, health, and heaven, to all mankind.

229. [Dost Thou not, Lord, with pity see]

When He saw the multitudes, He was moved, &c. —ix. 36.

Dost Thou not, Lord, with pity see
Multitudes that know not Thee,
Or where for help to fly?
They cannot find the good they want,
Poor wandering souls, with hunger faint
And at the point to die.

Compassion for a dying race
First inclined the God of grace
To undertake our cause:
And still those yearning bowels move,
Which drew Thee from Thy throne above,
Which brought Thee to Thy cross.

230

The sheep Thou hast redeem'd of old,
Now to sin and Satan sold
Into Thine arms receive,
(For Thou the tender Shepherd art,)
And pastors after Thy own heart
To Israel's outcasts give.

Shepherds, and chosen labourers raise,
Freely to impart Thy grace,
And feed the flock of God;
Patient in all Thy steps to move,
And more than their own lives to love
The purchase of Thy blood.

230. [Master, for Thine we cannot own]

The labourers are few. —ix. 37.

Master, for Thine we cannot own
The workmen who themselves create,
Their call receive from man alone
As licensed servants of the state,
Who to themselves the honour take,
Nor tarry till Thy Spirit move,
But serve for filthy lucre's sake
The souls they neither feed nor love.

In vain in their own lying words
The haughty self-deceivers trust,
The harvest's and the vineyard's lords
In vain their true succession boast,
Their lawful property they claim
The apostolic ministry,
But only labourers in name
They prove they are not sent by Thee.

231

231. [Such power belongs to Thee alone]

Pray ye . . . the Lord of the harvest, &c. —ix. 38.

Such power belongs to Thee alone,
Fit instruments to raise,
Whose lives may make Thy goodness known,
And spread their Saviour's praise:
Now, Lord, the faithful workmen send,
With gifts and talents bless'd
To labour, till their work shall end
In everlasting rest.

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER IX.

203.

[Wilt Thou not, Lord, the word repeat]

204.

[No, ye blind scribes of learning proud]

205.

[The men of human learning proud]

206.

[Who in his nature's weakness lies]

207.

[All glory to God]

208.

[Vanquish'd by the word Divine]

209.

[The publicans may still draw near]

210.

[Our Master doth with sinners eat]

211.

[I have need of a physician]

212.

[Jesus, Thou seest Thy creature's pain]

213.

[To whom should Thy disciples go]

214.

[Then Thou art come for me]

215.

[Jesus, by faith approaching Thee]

216.

[Unclean, of life and heart unclean]

217.

[Turn then, Thou good Physician turn]

218.

[The death of sin is but a sleep]

219.

[Till Jesus' hand the sinner take]

220.

[Jesus, Thou Son of David, stay]

221.

[The God of love, He oft delays]

222.

[I do believe Thou canst, Thou wilt]

223.

[When faith, almighty faith, is mine]

224.

[Nothing can Thy will withstand]

225.

[Taught by Thee, in doing well]

226.

[Poor helpless souls whom Satan keeps!]

227.

[An ignorant crowd Of sinners we join]

228.

[Thou goest about in every age]

229.

[Dost Thou not, Lord, with pity see]

230.

[Master, for Thine we cannot own]

231.

[Such power belongs to Thee alone]