The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Out of Himself the God of love
Went forth in His creating grace:
Again He left His throne above,
Made flesh to save our fallen race:
He came from heaven on earth to reign,
That we might His salvation know,
And hires the ransom'd sons of men
To serve Him in His church below.

The church His Spirit's kingdom stands,
Where God is known, revered, adored,
Where all submit to love's command
And bow before their heavenly Lord:
The church His fruitful vineyard lies,
By day and night its Planter's care,
Each moment water'd from the skies:
And all are call'd to labour there.

The soul of man is Jesus' due,
And should to Him itself resign,
His vineyard and His kingdom too
We live to' obey the will Divine,

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To work out our salvation here,
And labour on with restless pain,
With active zeal and humble fear
That Jesus in our hearts may reign.

He promises in life's short day
Our bountiful almighty Lord,
No servile sublunary pay
But heaven's unspeakable reward:
He calls so loud that all may hear,
(When reason first exerts its power,)
To work with simple heart sincere;
And childhood is the earliest hour.

498. [The Master comes and speaks again]

He went out about the third hour, and saw, &c. —xx. 3, 4.

The Master comes and speaks again
To sinners in their youthful prime,
Who careless in diversions vain
Idly misspend their choicest time:
Before we hear His inward call,
What can we for salvation do?
But soon or late He summons all,
And bids us work with heaven in view.

499. [Men labourers in their manly age]

Again he went out about the sixth and, &c. —xx. 5.

Men labourers in their manly age,
And more in feeble life's decline,
His grace continues to engage,
That all may in His service join:
And never while on earth we live,
His Spirit's invitations cease,
Who stirs us up to act and strive
And toil for everlasting bliss.

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To work at His command we go,
Whose word confers the' obedient grace;
Awake my heart though dull and slow,
To walk, O Lord, in all Thy ways;
Me by Thy secret love incline,
And after Thee my soul shall run,
My will shall swiftly follow Thine,
Till Thine be here completely done.

500. [Thou call'st us at our latest hour]

About the eleventh hour he went out, and found, &c. —xx. 6.

Thou call'st us at our latest hour,
When life is ready to depart,
Thou show'st Thine all-sufficient power
On the decrepit sinner's heart:
He wakes; the work of life begins,
Before its final hour is pass'd,
And old and dying in his sins
Repents, and lives to God at last.

Merciful God, what crowds receive
A gift whose use they will not know,
Till just as life the triflers leave,
Thou show'st them their great task below!
To labour doom'd, to labour born,
They idle all day long remain;
Yet if even then to Thee they turn,
Thy grace will not reject them then.

501. [Till Jesus come to seek and send]

They say unto him, Because no man hath, &c. —xx. 7.

Till Jesus come to seek and send,
Till us He in His work employs,
Our days in vanity we spend,
In useless cares or sinful joys:

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But saving grace to all appears,
But mercy wills that all should live,
And young or old, the soul that hears
The call, shall the reward receive.

Alas, shall I stand idle still,
In sin, in Satan's works employ'd,
Or now begin to serve Thy will,
And labour for my gracious God?
Hired long ago I surely was
At Jordan's consecrated flood,
And sign'd the servant of Thy cross
And claim'd the purchase of Thy blood.

502. [No respite or repose we know]

So when even was come, the lord of the, &c. —xx. 8.

No respite or repose we know
From love's unwearied services,
By suffering as by action show,
Accepted zeal our Lord to please;
We labour even by standing still,
In patient pain His will attend,
In all we do and all we feel,
Till toil and life together end.

O were the happy evening come,
Commencement of that endless day,
When Jesus shall His power assume,
And all His faithful labourers pay!
Distributing rewards to all,
The weakest first He bids draw near,
Who last obey'd the gospel-call,
And labour'd in the vineyard here.

503. [Heaven is for all alike prepared]

They came that were hired about the eleventh hour, &c. —xx. 9.

Heaven is for all alike prepared,
And one short moment may suffice

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To win the infinite reward
To' ensure the never-fading prize:
But let not the presumptuous fool
Repentance to the last defer;
Nor let a poor despairing soul
Of mercy even in death despair.

504. [A life of piety severe]

But when the first came, they supposed, &c. —xx. 10, 11.

A life of piety severe,
A distance from external vice
May cherish pride in the sincere,
And tempt them others to despise,
Of favour'd rivals to complain
With murmuring jealousy of heart,
As God indebted were to man,
And paid him less than his desert.

How great the pardoning grace Divine,
Which envy in a saint can raise!
Left to themselves, the just repine
That Jesus is so rich in grace;
So rich above all human thought,
So plenteous in benignity,
So kind to those who merit nought,
So good to publicans—and me!

505. [Not on our own laborious pain]

These last have wrought but one hour, and, &c. —xx. 12.

Not on our own laborious pain,
But the mere mercy of our Lord,
We build our confidence to' obtain
The promised undeserved reward:
From whom we every grace receive
Only on Jesus we rely,
Unprofitable servants live,
Unprofitable servants die.

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506. [Thee, Lord, I just and faithful own]

But he answered one of them, and said, &c. —xx. 13, 14.

Thee, Lord, I just and faithful own,
Rewarded for Thy mercy sake,
Happy in God, I envy none
Who of Thy joy with me partake:
Less than the least of saints I am,
Who less than all, Thy grace improve,
No recompence by merit claim,
And bring no title but Thy love.

507. [Thee, Lord, I joyfully confess]

Is it not lawful for me to do what I will, &c. —xx. 15.

Thee, Lord, I joyfully confess
The sole disposer of Thine own,
If equal or superior grace
Thou freely hast to others shown:
Their gifts with a malignant eye,
An envious wish I cannot see;
But humbly on Thy death rely
For all the good it bought for me.

If those who after me are come
Be honour'd and preferr'd before,
I will not to complain presume,
But humbled at Thy feet adore:
I dare not in Thy presence plead
My labours or my sufferings pass'd,
Happy if, while I bow my head,
My soul is scarcely saved at last.

508. [Let none presume, let none despair]

So the last shall be first, and the first last, &c. —xx. 16.

Let none presume, let none despair,
But leave it to the day supreme,
When Jesus' sentence shall declare
Who most or least resembled Him!

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The heart of man to men unknown
Is only naked to Thy view:
And let it then, my Lord, be shown,
That I was of that chosen few.

509. [The number of the call'd is great]

Many be called, but few chosen. —xx. 16.

The number of the call'd is great,
But that of the elected small,
Invited to the gospel-treat
So few will answer to the call,
So few the proffer'd blessing take,
And faithful to the end endure,
Giving all diligence to make
Conditional election sure.

510. [A type of modern parents see!]

Grant that these my two sons may sit, &c. —xx. 21.

A type of modern parents see!
Our Saviour's meanness we forget,
His death and passion on the tree,
Through haste to make our children great:
Ambitious that the highest prize
Our sons with Zebedee's should share,
We wish them in the church to rise,
And win the first preferments there.

511. [Such was our ignorant desire]

Ye know not what ye ask. —xx. 22.

Such was our ignorant desire,
Our zeal above the rest to' aspire,
While babes, the father's joy to prove!
Ambitious at Thy side to reign,
The rest without the toil to gain,
We ask'd the crown of perfect love:

Blindly we ask'd for pain and loss,
A deeper cup, an heavier cross;
And still we all Thy grace implore:

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But humbly waiting to receive,
Manner and time to Thee we leave,
Thy will be done, we ask no more.

512. [Advancement in Thy kingdom here]

Advancement in Thy kingdom here
Whoe'er impatiently desire,
They know not, Lord, the pangs severe,
The trials which they first require:
They all must first Thy sufferings share,
Ambitious of their calling's prize,
And every day Thy burden bear,
And thus to late perfection rise.

Nature would fain evade, or flee
That sad necessity of pain;
But who refuse to die with Thee,
With Thee shall never, never reign:
The sorrow doth the joy ensure,
The crown for conquerors prepared;
And all who to the end endure,
Shall grasp through death the full reward.

“Ye know not what is implied in being advanced in My kingdom, and necessarily prerequired thereto: all who share in My kingdom must first share in My sufferings.” —The Rev. Mr. John Wesley's “Notes on the New Testament.”

513. [Not in a king's, but servant's form]

The Son of Man came not to be ministered, &c. —xx. 28.

Not in a king's, but servant's form
Our Lord appear'd beneath,
To wait on every sinful worm,
And save them by His death:
But we shall see Him come from high
The glorious Son of Man,
And all the angels of the sky
Triumphant in His train.

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514. [As many as in Adam fell]

And to give His life a ransom for many. —xx. 28.

As many as in Adam fell,
And wander'd from salvation wide,
To ransom from sin, death, and hell,
For them the Second Adam died;
Even those unhappy souls He bought
Who their redeeming Lord deny,
Will not by Him to life be brought
But self-destroy'd resolve to die.

515. [Jesus, who now art passing by]

Behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, &c. —xx. 30.

Jesus, who now art passing by,
Our Prophet, Priest, and King, Thou art:
Hear a poor unbeliever's cry,
And heal the blindness of my heart:
Urging my passionate request
Thy pardoning mercy I implore,
Whoe'er rebuke I will not rest
Till Thou my spirit's sight restore.

516. [Stopp'd by my persevering prayer]

Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, &c. —xx. 32.

Stopp'd by my persevering prayer
Stand still, and call my soul to Thee,
Attend, while I my wants declare
My want of eyes Thy love to see:
My blindness seeks to David's Lord,
My poverty Thy help requires,
And O before I speak the word,
Thou know'st the thing my heart desires.

517. [In pitying tenderness of love]

So Jesus had compassion on them, and, &c. —xx. 34.

In pitying tenderness of love,
Saviour apply Thy hand of grace,
These scales of unbelief remove,
And show the Godhead in Thy face:

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My Lord I then shall see and know,
When mercy hath my sins forgiven,
Through faith in all Thy footsteps go,
And pass by Calvary to heaven.

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XX.

497.

[Out of Himself the God of love]

498.

[The Master comes and speaks again]

499.

[Men labourers in their manly age]

500.

[Thou call'st us at our latest hour]

501.

[Till Jesus come to seek and send]

502.

[No respite or repose we know]

503.

[Heaven is for all alike prepared]

504.

[A life of piety severe]

505.

[Not on our own laborious pain]

506.

[Thee, Lord, I just and faithful own]

507.

[Thee, Lord, I joyfully confess]

508.

[Let none presume, let none despair]

509.

[The number of the call'd is great]

510.

[A type of modern parents see!]

511.

[Such was our ignorant desire]

512.

[Advancement in Thy kingdom here]

513.

[Not in a king's, but servant's form]

514.

[As many as in Adam fell]

515.

[Jesus, who now art passing by]

516.

[Stopp'd by my persevering prayer]

517.

[In pitying tenderness of love]