The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

An image of the Gentiles see,
Long in a state of nature free,
Free from the law and gospel yoke,
Untaught, undisciplined, unbroke,
Till Jesus, full of truth and grace,
His servants sends to the highways,
Redeems by His all-powerful word,
And brings them to their pardoning Lord.

1007.

[As a wild ass's colt is man]

As a wild ass's colt is man,
Licentious, yet by passion bound,
Till Christ the vagabond restrain
And free him by the gospel sound.
He sends His servants forth to claim
The wanderer from His righteous laws,
And makes the human savage tame,
And marks His subject with His cross.

1008.

[Resolved on man His grace to prove]

The Lord hath need of him. —xi. 3.

Resolved on man His grace to prove,
He needs the subject of His love,
And represents in emblem true
The power which all things shall subdue;
He comes our captive souls to' unbind,
The Lord and Master of mankind,
His sovereign majesty displays,
Triumphant o'er the ransom'd race.

1009.

[The will of man must bow before]

They said unto them even as Jesus had, &c. —xi. 6.

The will of man must bow before
The will omnipotent Divine,
And clothed with Thy resistless power,
Thy servant's word, O Lord, is Thine:
Thy messenger persist to bless,
And still with Thy commission send,
The souls of sinners to release,
And with us go, till time shall end.

1010.

[Loosed from the bands of sin we bring]

They brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their, &c. —xi. 7.

Loosed from the bands of sin we bring
Poor sinners to our Lord and King,
Cover and screen with tenderest care,
Dispose them Jesus' yoke to bear:
They serve the triumph of His love;
To that Jerusalem above,
(When He His promised Spirit imparts,)
They carry Jesus—in their hearts.

1011.

[We of every good below]

Many spread their garments in the way: &c. —xi. 8.

We of every good below
With joy ourselves divest,
All at Jesus' feet we throw,
Our God for ever bless'd;

Worldly hopes like branches green
We cast away and trample down;
Triumph, Lord, and entering in
Make all our hearts Thine own.

1012.

[All who went His birth before]

They that went before, and they that followed, &c. —xi. 9.

All who went His birth before,
And all who follow'd since,
Still unite in songs to' adore
Our everlasting Prince,
Christ the Lord to glorify;
Descending in His Father's name,
David's Son who comes from high
Let earth and heaven proclaim.

Welcome to the souls of men,
His royal power He brings,
Makes us partners of His reign,
A race of patient kings:
Now companions in distress
We suffer in our Master's cause,
Drink His hallow'd cup, and bless
And love His daily cross.

Heavenly King, we still attend
Thy glorious kingdom here:
Thou the second time descend,
With all Thy saints appear!
Then we shall our voices raise,
The God of our salvation own,
Thee through endless ages praise
On Thy triumphant throne.

1013.

[Kings of earth, on Jesus wait]

Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple. —xi. 11.

Kings of earth, on Jesus wait,
The meek and lowly King,

All your pomp and gorgeous state
Into His triumph bring:
Power ascribe to Him alone,
Him only wise, and good, and great,
Cast your crowns before His throne,
And triumph at His feet.

1014.

[What is the fruit which Christ requires?]

Seeing a fig-tree, . . . He came, if haply He, &c. —xi. 13.

What is the fruit which Christ requires?
Promises vain, or good desires,
Our outward services?
These are but leaves which fade and die,
Nor can the want of grace supply,
Nor can the Saviour please.

But faith, and hope of joys above,
True virtue, Lord, and real love
Are pleasant to Thy taste,
Good works, and meek humility,
These are the fruits required by Thee,
Which shall for ever last.

1015.

[He blasts the undeserving tree]

No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. —xi. 14.

He blasts the undeserving tree,
That we our just desert may see,
Our doom in emblem show'd;
May, ere the barren curse take place,
Bring forth the fruits of righteousness,
And work the works of God.

1016.

[Built by the most holy God]

Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast, &c. —xi. 15.

Built by the most holy God,
Every soul His house should be,
Fitted to His fix'd abode,
Fill'd with prayer and purity:

But when covetous and vain
Worldly lusts my soul receives,
Then Thy temple I profane,
Turn it to a den of thieves.

Jesus, Purity Divine,
Plenitude of God below,
Come and claim this heart of mine,
All my selfish plans o'erthrow;
For Thy name and glory's sake,
Every trafficker expel,
Of Thy own possession take,
In Thy house for ever dwell.

1017.

[Thou long sought God of grace]

He would not suffer that any man should, &c. —xi. 16.

Thou long sought God of grace
Unto Thy temple come,
Make it the house of holiness,
And take up all the room:
What robs Thee of Thy due
Command it to depart,
Nor let an evil thought pass through
My consecrated heart.

1018.

[For long unfruitfulness]

They saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots. —xi. 20.

For long unfruitfulness
If Christ the sinner curse,
Fearful and desperate is his case,
And only hell is worse:
His root is quite dried up,
His gracious day is o'er,
He can no more believe, or hope,
He can repent no more.

1019.

[I want the true divinity]

Have faith in God [Gr. the faith of God]. —xi. 22.

I want the true divinity,
The faith of God, the power in me:

Jesus, the Power of God Thou art,
Inspeak Thyself into my heart,
Command my heart the faith to have
Which saves, and shall for ever save.

1020.

[Jesus, the' irrevocable word]

What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, &c. —xi. 24.

Jesus, the' irrevocable word
Thy gracious lips hath pass'd,
And trusting in my faithful Lord
I shall be saved at last:
Whate'er I ask with longing heart
Expecting to receive,
Almighty God, Thou ready art,
And promisest, to give.

I ask the gift of righteousness,
The sin-subduing power,
Power to believe, and go in peace,
And never grieve Thee more;
I ask the blood-bought pardon seal'd,
The liberty from sin,
The grace infused, the love reveal'd,
The kingdom fix'd within.

Thou hear'st me for salvation pray,
Thou seest my heart's desire,
Made ready in Thy powerful day
Thy fulness I require:
My vehement soul cries out oppress'd,
Impatient to be freed;
Nor can I, Lord, nor will I rest,
Till I am saved indeed.

Art Thou not able to convert,
Art Thou not willing too

To change this old rebellious heart,
To conquer and renew?
Thou canst, Thou wilt, I dare believe,
So arm me with Thy power,
That I to sin shall never cleave,
Shall never act it more.

1021.

[Come then, my God, the promise seal]

Come then, my God, the promise seal,
This mountain-sin remove,
Now in my gasping soul reveal
The virtue of Thy love:
I want Thy life, Thy purity,
Thy righteousness brought in,
I ask, desire, and trust in Thee,
To be redeem'd from sin.

For this, as taught by Thee, I pray,
And can no longer doubt;
Remove far hence, to sin I say,
Be cast this moment out:
The guilt and strength of self and pride
Be pardon'd and subdued,
Be cast into the crimson tide
Of my Redeemer's blood.

Saviour, to Thee my soul looks up;
My present Saviour Thou:
In all the confidence of hope,
I claim the blessing now!
'Tis done: Thou dost this moment save,
Thou dost with pardon bless;
Redemption through Thy blood I have,
And heaven in Thy peace.

1022.

[Still, O my dear redeeming Lord]

Still, O my dear redeeming Lord,
Thy faithfulness I plead,
And hang on Thy most precious word
For every good I need:
The good which first of all I want
Into my heart convey,
The power to pray and never faint,
The constant power to pray.

With all my small remains of grace
The blessing I implore,
Stir up my soul to seek Thy face,
To seek it evermore;
To wrestle till the clouds remove,
And Thou Thy name declare,
While all my happy heart is love,
And all my life is prayer.

For this I pray, and long, and trust
Thy goodness, truth, and power,
To make, as to account me just
In Thine appointed hour:
Thou canst; and is it not Thy will
That I should holy be?
Lord, I expect Thee to fulfil
Thy whole design on me.

1023.

[Thy counsel is, to save me now]

Thy counsel is, to save me now
From every act of sin;
Nor will I, Lord, the least allow,
Or touch the thing unclean:
Surrounded with ten thousand snares,
I shall not, cannot fall,

While hanging on the arm that bears
My soul above them all.

In Thee my Saviour I confide,
By my own sin beset,
And lay it easily aside,
And spurn it at my feet;
It shall no more dominion have,
Or captivate my will,
For Thou art ever near to save,
For Thou art Jesus still.

Believing all Thy fulness mine,
Nor earth nor hell I fear,
Kept by omnipotence Divine
To full salvation here:
The thing for which I dare believe
I shall at last obtain,
And, when Thine image I retrieve,
With Thee in glory reign.

1024.

[Jesus, Thou say'st I shall receive]

Jesus, Thou say'st I shall receive
The thing for which I pray;
Then give me, Lord, Thy Spirit give,
And take my sins away:
That I may never grieve Thee more,
Thy blessed Self impart,
And stamp in perfect peace and power
Thine image on my heart.

Why should I smaller gifts request,
When all I ask is mine?
I covet earnestly the best,
The plenitude Divine:

My swelling heart I open wide
To' admit my heavenly Friend;
Come Saviour, come in me to' abide,
Till grace in glory end.

My evil will be all cast out,
When Thou resid'st within,
Thy presence, Lord, I cannot doubt,
Extirpates inbred sin:
Out of mine inmost soul I trust
The root shall be destroy'd,
While Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Fills all the sacred void.

Thee, the thrice holy God, I want,
And nothing less than Thee:
With infinite desire I pant
For Thy infinity:
On eagles' wings my spirit flies
To grasp its Lord above,
And faints upon Thy breast, and dies
To be dissolved in love.

The things which I desire in prayer
I surely, Lord, shall have,
All in Thy power contain'd they are,
And in Thy will to save:
The sum of my desires Thou art,
And shalt my portion be,
And fix Thy heaven within my heart
Through all eternity.

1025.

[Forgiveness is the foremost grace]

Forgive . . . that your Father . . . may forgive you. —xi. 25.

Forgiveness is the foremost grace
Which God vouchsafes a sinful race;
But none the pardon shall receive,
Who will not, as his God, forgive.

1026.

[How blind the priests who could not see]

The chief priests, and the scribes, . . . say, &c. —xi. 27, 28.

How blind the priests who could not see
The Godhead in our great High Priest,
Or own the Lord's authority
In countless miracles confess'd:
How dark the scribes, who dared pretend
To make the law and Scripture known,
Nor knew its Author, scope, and end,
Spirit, and truth, was Christ alone.

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XI.

1006.

[An image of the Gentiles see]