The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

How happy that distinguish'd pair,
Whom God's own oracle
Doth righteous in His sight declare,
And saints unblamable!
Before the Word incarnate made
The Father had reveal'd,
They with a perfect heart obey'd,
And all His law fulfill'd.

And shall not we who Christ embrace,
God in our flesh made known,
Empower'd by His sufficient grace
In all His statutes run;
Walk before God, and perfect be,
And turn no more aside,
From every spot and wrinkle free,
Completely sanctified?

Jesus, the purchase of Thy blood
Thou wilt on us confer,
The Spirit of the Holy God,
The' indwelling Comforter;
Thy good and acceptable will
We then shall throughly prove,
And all Thy just commands fulfil,
Renew'd in blameless love.

102

1142.

[When people and priest, United in prayer]

The whole multitude of the people were praying, &c. —i. 10.

When people and priest, United in prayer,
Their faithful request Together prefer,
With Jesus' oblation The heavens assail,
Their joint supplication Is sure to prevail.

His sacrifice pleads, His prevalent blood
Brings down on our heads The blessings of God:
Our Priest is before Him, And join'd to our Lord
In Christ we adore Him By angels adored.

Our incense of prayer Thou offer'st alone;
Thou, Saviour, dost bear Our souls to the throne;
On Thine intercession We gladly depend
For grace and salvation, And life without end.

1143.

[The great Angel of the Lord]

There appeared unto him an angel of the Lord, &c. —i. 11.

The great Angel of the Lord
Attends invisible,
Ready to apply His word,
His ordinance to seal;
To the majesty of God
Presents His people's sacrifice
Mix'd with the atoning blood,
And fragrant through the skies.

1144.

[A vision true is proved by fear]

When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, &c. —i. 12.

A vision true is proved by fear;
We start as at illusion near,
Unworthy of the grace:
Disturb'd by the celestial sight,
Till humble love and calm delight
The dread and trouble chase.

1145.

[While nature yielding to despair]

Thy prayer is heard. —i. 13.

While nature yielding to despair
Her blasted expectation mourns,

103

After a length of years the prayer
In the most helpless case returns,
The peaceful word at last comes down,
And lo, the barren bears a son!

Then let us patiently attend,
To Him the time and manner leave,
Till God the long-sought blessing send,
Till Christ His gracious fulness give,
And faith's maturest fruit we prove
In finish'd holiness and love.

1146.

[Great before God is great indeed!]

He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, &c. —i. 15, 16.

Great before God is great indeed!
Prophet miraculously born,
Jehovah's harbinger decreed
Rebellious multitudes to turn,
Their hearts to soften and prepare,
That God may make His entrance there.

Greater and more than man is he,
Who dead to the desires of men,
Lives to declare the Deity
And shows the Lamb for sinners slain,
Fill'd with the Spirit of his God,
And bold to seal the truth with blood.

Jesus, Thy preaching servants raise
Who real greatness may pursue,
May before Thee themselves abase,
Thine all-atoning passion show,
Thee before kings undaunted own,
And die to make their Saviour known.

1147.

[Could Zachary the just]

Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man. —i. 18.

Could Zachary the just,
Who walk'd before the Lord,

104

The' Omnipotent Himself mistrust,
And stagger at His word?
Where is the faithful man,
Unless the Lord who gave
His faith, continually maintain,
And to the utmost save?

1148.

[Ministers of Jesus' word]

I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; &c. —i. 19.

Ministers of Jesus' word
Should angels emulate,
Always present with their Lord,
While on His church they wait,
Only in His will delight
Who hath their high commission given,
Labour on, and in His sight
Enjoy a constant heaven.

1149.

[Our holy God the smallest fault]

Behold, thou shalt be dumb, . . . because thou, &c. —i. 20.

Our holy God the smallest fault
Severely chastens in His own;
So base a misbelieving thought
In those who have His goodness known!
The sin He graciously forgives,
Nor yet remits the total pain,
But marks of His displeasure leaves,
Lest saints should doubt His love again.

Nine months for a mistrustful word,
Nine months of silence must atone,
That starting from the sin abhorr'd,
The sin which all contains in one,
We may our unbelief deny,
The words of truth with joy embrace,

105

On Christ, the Power of God rely,
And calm expect His promised grace.

Improperly speaking, not evangelically.

1150.

[Jesus, Son of the Most-High]

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son, &c. —i. 32, 33.

Jesus, Son of the Most-High,
David's and God's authentic Heir,
Lord of all in earth and sky,
Who Thy greatness can declare?
Great in holiness and power,
Great in mercy, truth, and grace,
We Thy majesty adore,
Sing Thine everlasting praise.

Earthly kingdoms soon decline,
Totter, fall, and pass away,
Permanent, O Christ, is Thine,
Cannot moulder or decay;
Every other power o'erthrown
Shall its destined period prove,
Thy dominion stands alone,
Fix'd as Thine eternal love.

King of saints, Thy right assume,
Thy majestic right impart,
Let Thy royal Spirit come,
Spread His power through every heart,
Thrones to all Thy subjects give;
Then we grace and glory gain,
Partners of Thy nature live,
Kings with Thee for ever reign.

1151.

[What cannot the Almighty do]

With God nothing shall be impossible. —i. 37.

What cannot the Almighty do
For saving sinful man?
Able Thou art and willing too
To form my heart again:

106

Thou shalt its old diseases cure,
Its bent to sin remove,
And make and keep it always pure
And always fill'd with love.

Hanging by humble faith on Thee,
On Thee my Saviour stay'd,
I find in my infirmity
Thy perfect strength display'd;
The' omnipotence of grace I feel
In utter weakness shown,
And nothing is impossible
To man with Jesus one.

1152.

[God of Israel, see]

Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto, &c. —i. 38.

God of Israel, see
Thy servant in me,
Who humbly approve
Though I cannot conceive, the design of Thy love;
With obedience sincere
Thy will I revere,
And expect from Thy word
The mystical life of my heavenly Lord.

The birth of Thy Son
To sinners made known,
Manifested in man,
Manifested in me, shall the secret explain.
While made willing by Thee
To Thy work I agree,
And entirely resign
My whole soul to be fill'd with the fulness Divine.

1153.

[Oft a seasonable word]

When Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, &c. —i. 41.

Oft a seasonable word
From a messenger of Thine

107

Spoken in Thy Spirit, Lord,
Clothed with secret power Divine,
Gracious life and light imparts,
Fills with God our faithful hearts.

The Babe unseen His power displays,
And works upon a babe unseen,
To show the mystery of grace,
When speaking by the tongue of men,
Jesus is pleased to minister
His life through the believing ear.

Jesus who in His church below
Invisibly vouchsafes to dwell
Doth daily thus His power bestow,
His energy in souls reveal;
The word they still by faith receive
And quicken'd through His Spirit live.

1154.

[The Fruit of Mary's womb]

Blessed is the fruit of thy womb. —i. 42.

The Fruit of Mary's womb
Is bless'd, and that alone,
Whatever blessings come
From the eternal throne
Through Mary's Offspring we receive,
And happy in His life we live.

That holy Child bestow'd
On poor apostate man,
That everlasting God
Whom heaven cannot contain,
Source of our gracious joys He is,
And constitutes our glorious bliss.

1155.

[Whence is it that my Lord]

Whence is this to me, that the mother of my, &c. —i. 43.

Whence is it that my Lord
Himself should visit me,

108

Should stoop to such a wretch abhorr'd,
And claim my misery?
He leaves His throne above
For His own mercy sake,
He comes constrain'd by pitying love,
And doth my nature take.

The mystery of Thy grace
What angel can conceive?
Thou wouldst to all our ransom'd race
Faith and salvation give,
Thou dost the grace reveal,
Thou dost the faith impart,
And thus Thou com'st again to dwell
For ever in my heart.

1156.

[God by His almighty word]

As soon as the voice of thy salvation sounded in, &c. —i. 44.

God by His almighty word
The world's foundations laid,
Spake the universe restored,
The new creation made:
Christ on earth His wonders wrought,
And by the word He works again;
By the word His saints are brought
Unto a perfect man.

When the evangelic sound
A pardon'd sinner hears,
Paradise again is found,
And God to man appears;
Quicken'd by His heavenly voice,
We spring to life, and meet our Lord,
Triumph, evermore rejoice,
And praise the' Incarnate Word.

109

1157.

[Thou tell'st me, O most gracious Lord]

Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a, &c. —i. 45.

Thou tell'st me, O most gracious Lord,
“I will thy sins forgive,”
The welcome reconciling word
I thankfully receive;
Joyful in hope of happiness
Even now I happy am,
For I shall soon obtain the peace
Of all that love Thy name.

Jesus, I wait till Thou display
In me Thy mercy's power;
Take mine iniquities away,
And think of them no more:
Thou all Thy promises fulfil,
This unbelief remove,
And pardon on my conscience seal
And fill my soul with love.

Thou tell'st me, “I thy King will be,
Will to the utmost save,
Renew, and change, and perfect thee,
And ransom from the grave.”
The blessedness of faith I prove,
For Thy own sake forgiven,
And in this hope of perfect love
Anticipate my heaven.

Within the promise now, I sing,
Exult, and shout for joy;
He comes! He comes! my God and King
Shall all my sins destroy!
Thou, Lord, shalt purify my heart
Through Thine all-cleansing blood,
As sure as Thou my Saviour art,
As sure as Thou art God.

110

1158.

[An humble saint will never praise]

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my, &c. —i. 46, 47.

An humble saint will never praise
Himself, or glory in his grace;
But lives to magnify
His Saviour by all heaven adored,
But dies rejoicing in the Lord
Exalting the Most-High.

1159.

[His servants in their low estate]

For He hath regarded the low estate of, &c. —i. 48.

His servants in their low estate
Through His regard are truly great,
For who in their own eyes
Little, and poor, and vile appear,
Jesus delights to honour here,
And lifts them to the skies.

The more our Lord exalts, the more
We sink, and self-abased adore
Thy peerless majesty,
All creature-excellence disclaim,
And strive, o'erwhelm'd with holy shame,
To lose ourselves in Thee.

1160.

[Jehovah doth Himself conceal]

His mercy is on them that fear Him. —i. 50.

Jehovah doth Himself conceal
In brightness inaccessible,
Unsearchable, unknown.
Struck with His holiness we fear,
And quake, and tremble to draw near
The glories of His throne.

But mercy doth the dread remove,
Mercy reveals the God of love
To sinners reconciled:

111

Mercy and holiness agree,
And God and man made one we see
In that celestial Child.

Mercy doth every soul embrace,
That reverences the God of grace
Incarnated below;
Mercy for all far off, or nigh,
Flows from its Fountain in the sky,
And shall for ever flow.

1161.

[His arm the' almighty Father bared]

He hath showed strength with His arm; &c. —i. 51.

His arm the' almighty Father bared
When God in Christ Himself declared
Our Saviour from above;
Deliverer of a sinful race,
He show'd the world in Jesus' face
His utmost power of love.

The mystery of Jehovah's birth
Confounds us potsherds of the earth,
Of sin and misery proud;
It scatters every lofty thought,
And man is humbled into nought
Before an emptied God.

The meek humility Divine
Shall heal this pride-sick soul of mine,
This plague incurable:
Now, Jesus, now Thy power exert,
And with Thy lowliness of heart
In mine for ever dwell.

1162.

[Who did the rebel angels quell]

He hath filled the hungry with good things. —i. 53.

Who did the rebel angels quell,
And hurl'd them down from heaven to hell,
Doth still the proud abase,

112

Doth cast the mighty from their thrones,
The humble, weak, and little ones
Exalting in their place.

The angels fell through pride o'erthrown,
Through His humility the Son
Bids fallen man arise,
Glad tidings to the poor reveals,
The hungry with His Spirit fills,
And all their wants supplies.

But souls unconscious of their wants,
Self-fill'd, self-saved, self-righteous saints,
Whose good is all their own,
He sends unjustified away,
That emptied of themselves they may
Be saved by grace alone.

1163.

[Bless'd be the Lord, for ever bless'd]

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for, &c. —i. 68.

Bless'd be the Lord, for ever bless'd
The God of Israel's favour'd race,
His name be known, His power confess'd,
His riches of redeeming grace
Who left for sinful worms His throne,
And came to bless us in His Son.

God was in Christ on earth reveal'd,
He enter'd a mean house of clay,
With whom the heaven of heavens is fill'd
He stoop'd to bear our sins away,
Victim Divine on all bestow'd
He bought the nations with His blood.

Let all their great Redeemer praise,
Redeem'd from sin the world and hell!

113

The strength of Thy victorious grace
Jesus, throughout our souls we feel,
And wait Thine utmost power to save
Our bodies ransom'd from the grave.

1164.

[The mercy to our fathers show'd]

To perform the mercy promised, &c. —i. 72–76.

The mercy to our fathers show'd
To us in every age extends,
That covenant seal'd by Jesus' blood
Its blissful virtue never ends,
A covenant of redeeming grace
Confirm'd in Christ to all our race.

Jehovah by Himself hath sworn
To Abraham and his faithful seed,
(Empty the word shall not return,)
That we from all our tyrants freed,
From all our sins, through Jesus bless'd,
Shall dwell in everlasting rest.

We now the great salvation claim,
The filial love that casts out fear,
The righteousness in Jesus' name,
The gospel-holiness sincere,
The image of our God restored,
The tempers of our spotless Lord.

Father, Thy word, Thy oath we plead,
In our behalf to Abraham given,
And wait to do, when free indeed,
Thy will as angels do in heaven,
Blameless to walk before Thy face,
And serve Thee all our sinless days.

114

1165.

[Prophet of Christ the Lord Most-High]

And thou, child, shalt be called, &c. —i. 76.

Prophet of Christ the Lord Most-High,
His great immediate harbinger,
The Baptist came to testify,
Jesus the Saviour to declare,
And make that heavenly Victim known,
Who should for all mankind atone.

With his our office is the same
Who preach the reconciling word,
Publish the all-redeeming Lamb,
As sure forerunners of our Lord
Commission'd to prepare His ways,
And sent before Messiah's face.

His heralds in His name we cry,
Sinners the gospel-grace receive,
And God who sent His Son to die
Doth by our word the Spirit give,
Who testifies salvation known
And pardon felt through Christ alone.

1166.

[Stupendous height of heavenly love]

Through the tender mercy of our God. —i. 78.

Stupendous height of heavenly love,
Of pitying tenderness Divine;
It brought the Saviour from above,
It caused the springing day to shine;
The Sun of Righteousness to' appear,
And gild our gloomy hemisphere.

God did in Christ Himself reveal,
To chase our darkness by His light,
Our sin and ignorance dispel,
Direct our wandering feet aright;
And bring our souls, with pardon bless'd,
To realms of everlasting rest.

115

Come, then, O Lord, Thy light impart,
The faith that bids our terrors cease;
Into Thy love direct my heart,
Into Thy way of perfect peace;
And cheer my soul, of death afraid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.

Answer Thy mercy's whole design,
My God incarnated for me;
My spirit make Thy radiant shrine,
My Light and full Salvation be;
And through the dreary vale unknown
Conduct me to Thy dazzling throne.

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER I.

1141.

[How happy that distinguish'd pair]