The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

In outward things alone
Who their religion prove,
And hate the good they have not known,
The law fulfill'd in love;
They only cloke their pride,
With humble words conceal
And by a plea of conscience hide
The envious rage of hell.

1252.

[Jesus sojourning below]

He went out into a mountain to pray, and, &c. —vi. 12.

Jesus sojourning below,
Thy example I receive,
Only Thee I live to know,
Thee to imitate I live;
Thus for every work prepare,
Watchful and retired in prayer.

But that I may pray like Thee,
Thou the hindrances remove,
Help my soul's infirmity,
Breathe the Spirit of Thy love
Into this weak heart of mine,
Then my prayer is all Divine.

1253.

[Jesus full of holiness]

There went virtue out of Him, and healed them all. —vi. 19.

Jesus full of holiness,
Holiness proceeds from Thee,
Virtue pure and gospel-grace
Cures our souls' infirmity:
Thee who touch by faith and prayer
Shall the balmy effluence feel,
Throughly heal'd to all declare
Love is inexhaustible.

151

Now I seek to touch my Lord,
Now as yesterday the same,
Hear the evangelic word,
Trust the virtue of Thy name:
Lord, in me Thy grace reveal,
(Grace which every soul may prove,)
All my sicknesses to heal
Now infuse Thy sovereign love.

1254.

[Happy poor who know your bliss]

Blessed be ye poor, &c. —vi. 20–23.

Happy poor who know your bliss,
Poor in goods, and spirit too!
Yours the gracious kingdom is,
Glory is prepared for you;
All by sacred want ye gain,
Kings in earth and heaven ye reign.

Happy you content to pine,
Wanting now your daily bread,
Hungering after food Divine,
God your empty souls shall feed,
All His heavenly love reveal,
With Himself for ever fill.

Happy you to sorrow born,
Deeper grieved for want of grace:
God shall comfort all that mourn:
Calm your mournful lot embrace,
Sow in tears, a moment weep,
Sure eternal joy to reap.

Happy you by men abhorr'd,
From their fellowship expell'd,
Scorn'd, rejected as your Lord,
Mock'd, and in derision held,
Jesus' portion who partake,
Sufferers for your Saviour's sake.

152

Sing, rejoice, and leap for joy,
Triumph in that happiest day,
When the world your lives destroy,
Like the ancient prophets slay,
Live, out of your bodies driven!
Find your vast reward in heaven.

1255.

[Woe to you who riches prize]

But woe unto you that are rich! &c. —vi. 24–26.

Woe to you who riches prize,
Ye who now in wealth abound;
Ye have found your paradise,
All your paradise have found:
Cursed on earth with what ye love,
Look for no reward above.

Woe to you who always full,
Fare like Dives every day:
Famish'd is the glutton's soul,
Satan's long-expected prey;
Pamper'd beasts with devils dwell,
Keep an endless fast in hell.

Woe to you who laugh and play,
Who in mirth and pleasures live,
Cast your jocund souls away!
Ye shall soon lament and grieve,
Weep and wail with fiends below
Doom'd to everlasting woe.

Woe to you whom all commend:
Prudent to preserve your fame,
Favourites of the world your friend,
Foes to Jesus and His shame,
Souls for air, and fire ye sell,
Air on earth, and fire in hell.

153

So the lying prophets lived,
Honour'd in the days of old;
They their praise from men received,
They their souls for nothing sold;
You with them your doom shall mourn,
Raised to everlasting scorn.

Woe to you, eternal woe!
Idolised by flattering men!
Go, with the false prophets go
To the dark, infernal den,
Howl in blasphemous despair,
Hiss'd by all the serpents there!

1256.

[Master, if Thee I rightly hear]

I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, &c. —vi. 27, 28.

Master, if Thee I rightly hear,
My faith I by obedience show,
Aim at the perfect character,
And strive to love my deadly foe;
In word and deed, and heart, I love
When strengthen'd with Thy Spirit's might,
And thus the true perfection prove
The length, and breadth, and depth, and height.

Fill'd with the power procured for me
To love whom Thou hast bought with blood,
I long his happiness to see,
To speak, and labour for his good;
This vengeance on my foe I take,
Heap coals of fire upon his head,
Embrace him, Saviour, for Thy sake,
And die a victim in his stead.

His person, not his sin, I love,
His true, not fancied good I seek,

154

I wish him turn'd to things above,
And to him mild, not meanly speak:
I pray Thee, Lord, his soul to bless;
For his as for my own I pray,
Prepare us both to see Thy face,
And crown with glory in that day.

1257.

[Self-love which strikes us blind]

As ye would that men should do to you, &c. —vi. 31.

Self-love which strikes us blind,
And makes us others wrong,
Enlightens and informs our mind
What doth to each belong,
In every case supplies
A rule of equity;
And all mankind with kindly eyes
And cordial love we see.

1258.

[The Christian law alone]

If ye love them which love you, &c. —vi. 32.

The Christian law alone
Is holy, good, and pure,
It makes our heart-corruptions known,
And ministers a cure,
Exalts the fallen man;
And raised ourselves above,
We then resemble God again
By universal love.

1259.

[Tremble whoe'er thou art]

If ye do good to them which do good to you, &c. —vi. 33.

Tremble whoe'er thou art,
Though generous, just, and kind,
Who findest nothing in thy heart
But what a Turk may find!
Who do your patrons good,
Your partisans approve,
Your flattering friends with favours load;
Yourselves, not them, ye love.

155

1260.

[Father Thy boundless love we find]

Love ye your enemies . . . and your reward shall, &c. —vi. 35.

Father Thy boundless love we find,
Embracing our whole ransom'd kind,
Thy love to all Thy works extends,
Thy tender mercy never ends;
Thy kindness no distinction knows
Of bad or good, of friends or foes,
Thy love unmix'd Thy grace is free
To evil and unthankful me.

O could I Thee my pattern make,
Thy nature, mind, and Spirit partake,
And all the ransom'd souls that live
Alike into my heart receive,
By indiscriminating love
My second birth and sonship prove,
And thus ensure the' immortal prize,
And thus regain my paradise.

1261.

[A vessel of mere mercy I]

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father, &c. —vi. 36.

A vessel of mere mercy I
By mercy live, though doom'd to die,
I live Thine image to regain
Thy bowels toward the sons of men;
To prove that I my Father know,
Thy brightest character to show,
While all my blood-bought brethren see
Our God is love, and dwells in me.

1262.

[Forgive my foes? it cannot be]

Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. —vi. 37.

Forgive my foes? it cannot be:
My foes with cordial love embrace?
Fast bound in sin and misery,
Unsaved, unchanged by hallowing grace,
Throughout my fallen soul I feel
With man this is impossible.

156

Great Searcher of the mazy heart,
A thought from Thee I would not hide,
I cannot draw the' envenom'd dart,
Or quench this hell of wrath and pride,
Jesus, till I Thy Spirit receive,
Thou know'st, I never can forgive.

Come, Lord, and tame the tiger's force,
Arrest the whirlwind in my will,
Turn back the torrent's rapid course,
And bid the headlong sun stand still,
The rock dissolve, the mountain move,
And melt my hatred into love.

Root out the wrath Thou dost restrain;
And when I have my Saviour's mind,
I cannot render pain for pain,
I cannot speak a word unkind,
An angry thought I cannot know,
Or count mine injurer my foe.

1263.

[If Jesus' saying we receive]

Give, and it shall be given unto you. —vi. 38.

If Jesus' saying we receive,
Our charity to all runs o'er;
Love cannot hesitate to give
What truth is ready to restore.

1264.

[What is the proof of perfect love?]

Every tree is known by his own fruit. —vi. 44.

What is the proof of perfect love?
Assertions bold that “I am he
Whom God assures I cannot move,
And sin is all destroy'd in me”?
No pompous words the tokens are:
Words are but leaves, and not the fruit:
The leaves may spread, and flourish fair,
While nature's pride is at the root.

157

Great words an evil tree may bear:
Partners of real holiness
By purity of life declare,
By deeds their perfect love confess:
True goodness grows on a good tree,
Meekness which no affront can move;
Patience, conceal'd humility,
And all the fruits of silent love.

1265.

[Howe'er the softening art of man]

Howe'er the softening art of man
May subtle, learn'd distinctions make,
And sin in perfect saints explain
As nature's innocent mistake;
Howe'er we may the rule bring down,
And make it our experience suit,
That tree is good, and that alone,
Which cannot bring forth evil fruit.

Shall those who evil act or speak,
Our vouchers for perfection be,
Allow'd by man Thy law to break,
And call it an infirmity?
Ah, no: the trees of righteousness,
Thy planting, O almighty Lord,
They never can Thy law transgress,
Or sin, in deed, or thought, or word.

Away then with your boastings vain,
Proofs more substantial we demand,
Ye cannot sin, if born again,
Ye can the fiery trial stand;
The proof in facts and tempers give,
Sorrow, disgrace, and pain endure,

158

Live without sin, like Jesus live,
And tell us thus your hearts are pure.

1266.

[Love is the source of every good]

A good man out of the good treasure, &c. —vi. 45.

Love is the source of every good,
Concupiscence of every sin,
The fountain by the stream is show'd,
By works the principle within:
Good actions a good heart bewray,
Which humble souls in vain would hide,
And passions vile themselves betray,
And outward speaks the inward pride.

The heart corrupt with all his care
An hypocrite cannot conceal,
The lip at last will make it bare,
Its secret rottenness reveal;
His wicked skill to lurk unknown
Cannot the voice of works suppress,
But forced he is by deeds to own
“Mine inward parts are wickedness.”

1267.

[What crowds acknowledge Thee their Lord]

Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not, &c. —vi. 46.

What crowds acknowledge Thee their Lord,
Yet take Thy name in vain,
Neglecting to observe Thy word
They let their passions reign;
Thy daily cross they will not bear
Or their own lusts deny,
But ruled by other lords they are,
And joyfully comply.

One of the formal worldly throng
I heretofore have been,
And mock'd Thee with my lips too long.
And gave my heart to sin.

159

But, master'd now by sovereign grace
Thy sway I truly own,
And walk in all Thy righteous ways,
And serve my God alone.

My heart, my life henceforth is Thine;
I glory to fulfil
The kind commands of Love Divine,
And do Thy utmost will;
The only work on earth I have
Is Thee my Lord to please,
My own and neighbour's soul to save,
And then depart in peace.

1268.

[Practice is the truth of grace]

Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth, &c. —vi. 47, 48.

Practice is the truth of grace,
Of faith the' authentic sign,
Built he is who Christ obeys
Upon the Rock Divine;
When the sandy buildings fail,
And earth is from its base removed,
Stands the man immovable
Who served the Lord he loved.

Lord I come by faith to Thee,
With joy Thy sayings hear;
Give me solid piety
And strength to persevere;
Lest the flood my house o'erthrow,
The knowledge of myself impart,
Lay the sure foundation low,
In a poor sinner's heart.

Founded on the rock of peace,
Who on Thyself relies,
Daily finds his faith increase,
And sees the building rise:

160

Thus my confidence I ground,
To all Thy words obedient prove,
Grow in grace, and more abound
In faith that works by love.

Trouble's flood assaults in vain,
Temptation's vehement stream,
Still unshaken I remain,
The rapid torrent stem:
Steadfast now in faith and hope,
My soul both stream and flood defies,
Till Thou take the building up,
And fix me in the skies.

1269.

[Thou who forward art to hear]

He that heareth, and doeth not, is like, &c. —vi. 49.

Thou who forward art to hear,
But negligent to do,
Tremble, for the day draws near
Which shall thy folly show;
Fair thou may'st a moment stand,
But when the storms of wrath assail,
Falls thy house upon the sand,
And tumbles into hell.

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER VI.

1251.

[In outward things alone]