The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Poor for our sake, the Lord most high
Humbly accepts His creature's aid,
Doth on His Father's care rely,
And freely deals the' immortal bread;
His sustenance from those receives
Whose sins He did by grace remove;
And thus to saints occasion gives
Of witnessing their grateful love.

Jesus, Thy travelling church below
In every age its Head attends,
Whoe'er Thy healing virtue know,
And trample on the' ejected fiends,
Pardon'd and thankful for their cure,
From Satan and the world set free,
By succouring Thy members poor
They serve and minister to Thee.

In the first infant church we view
The happy pair whom God hath join'd,
The mix'd inseparable two,
Knowledge and charity combined:
And still where Christ and His appear,
They hand in hand together move,
And both at once we see and hear,
The word of truth and works of love.

170

1294.

[The word, the seed of righteousness]

They . . . bring forth fruit with patience. —viii. 15.

The word, the seed of righteousness
Sown in our hearts we gladly feel,
With joy our proffer'd Lord embrace,
With rapturous joy unspeakable
Receive the news of sin forgiven,
And taste in love our present heaven.

Yet the incorruptible seed
Doth never in a moment rise,
But buried deep, as lost and dead,
Long in our earthy hearts it lies,
Water'd, before the fruit appears,
With showers of grace, and floods of tears.

Howe'er our hasty nature fret,
Or instantaneous growth require,
We must, we must with patience wait,
With humble, languishing desire,
And when ten thousand storms are pass'd,
Bring forth the perfect fruit—at last.

1295.

[The truth who with our hearts believe]

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, &c. —viii. 16.

The truth who with our hearts believe,
We must not there suppress,
But open testimony give,
And with our mouth confess:
Ashamed of Christ we must not be,
But let His candle shine,
That all throughout our lives may see
The light of love Divine.

1296.

[Though God in Christ reveal]

Whosoever hath not, from him shall, &c. —viii. 18.

Though God in Christ reveal
Our sins through faith removed,

171

We lose the talent we conceal,
The blessing unimproved;
Not labouring after more
Abundant righteousness,
Stripp'd of our former peace and power,
We forfeit all our grace.

1297.

[Lord, if Thy grace I have]

Whosoever hath, to him shall be given. —viii. 18.

Lord, if Thy grace I have,
I plead Thy word for more:
Whom Thou hast saved, persist to save,
And all Thy life restore:
If with a faithful heart
I simply follow Thee,
Whate'er Thou hast, whate'er Thou art,
Thou art, and hast for me.

1298.

[To whom but Jesus shall we run]

They came to Him, and awoke Him. —viii. 24.

To whom but Jesus shall we run
For refuge in despair?
We make our lost condition known
And waken Him by prayer;
Master, if Thou neglect to hear
Thy poor disciples cry,
If Thou Thy needful help defer,
Now in our sins we die.

Our toiling strength exhausted is,
Our Hope Thou art alone;
Save, or we perish in the' abyss,
Eternally undone:
Our succour in extremity,
Our all-commanding Lord,
Now, now rebuke the winds and sea,
And speak the calm restored.

172

1299.

[By Thee preserved in our distress]

He said unto them, Where is your faith? —viii. 25.

By Thee preserved in our distress,
In our temptation kept,
Thy watchful goodness we confess;
Our faith it was that slept.
With holy dread and wonder fill'd
We praise Thy saving power,
Rejoice to find the tempest still'd,
And at Thy feet adore.

1300.

[The slave to nature's filthy sin]

There met Him . . . a certain man, which had devils. —viii. 27.

The slave to nature's filthy sin
(Fit mansion for the spirit unclean)
Bewrays his foulest shame,
Wanders a phrenitic possess'd,
A furious diabolic beast,
And Legion is his name.

Stripp'd of his Maker's character,
Of virtuous sense and modest fear,
Far from himself he roams,
Far from the eye of man he flies,
Delights in rottenness and vice,
And dwells among the tombs.

1301.

[When Christ and purity is near]

When he saw Jesus, he cried out. —viii. 28.

When Christ and purity is near,
He starts appall'd with guilty fear,
As from his deadly foe;
All commerce with the Lord disclaims,
Aghast as if he saw the flames
The yawning gulf below.

1302.

[The slave to vile affections sold]

Oftentimes it had caught him, &c. —viii. 29.

The slave to vile affections sold,
No laws can bind, no fetters hold;
By Satan's impulse driven

173

He haunts the ghastly wilderness,
Far from the pleasant paths of peace,
As far as hell from heaven.

1303.

[When given up to brutish lust]

The herd ran violently down a steep place, &c. —viii. 33.

When given up to brutish lust,
Left by the holy God and just
To his own heart's desire,
He hurries for a moment on,
Rushes with his companions down,
And plunges in the fire.

1304.

[How vain our strife to heal]

A woman having an issue of blood, &c. —viii. 43.

How vain our strife to heal
The plague incurable!
Still the plague remains unstay'd,
Still the issue is undried;
Reason's philosophic aid
Heightens, and inflames our pride.

Endeavouring to restrain,
The law augments our pain:
Virtue's firm resolve we boast,
Boast our liberty of will;
All our confidence is lost,
Cannot stop the raging ill.

The' original disease
Our medicines but increase:
Happy when at last we know
Human insufficiency,
When we truly humbled go,
Jesus, for relief to Thee.

1305.

[To Thee I now draw near]

She came behind Him, and touched the border. —viii. 44.

To Thee I now draw near,
With faith and shame and fear

174

Mercy at Thy feet implore,
Feel my own unworthiness,
Faint without Thy saving power,
Die without Thy healing grace.

Source of my holiness,
Thy manhood I confess;
Through the means to Thee apply,
Wait Thy Spirit to receive;
Let it heal and purify,
Jesus, in Thy patient live.

1306.

[With lowly fear and shame]

And when the woman saw that she, &c. —viii. 47.

With lowly fear and shame
My Saviour I proclaim;
Prostrate at Thy footstool own,
Own in love's simplicity,
Thou hast made Thy mercy known,
Magnified Thy power on me.

For pardon I believed,
And have the grace received;
Jesus mighty to redeem
Bless'd me with a sudden cure:
Yes; I touch'd His garment's hem,
Touch'd and felt my pardon sure.

The truth I now declare,
My testimony bear,
Jesu's grace to sinners tell;
All the benefit may find:
Present is His power to heal
Me, and them, and all mankind.

1307.

[Lord, if my sin-sick soul]

Daughter, be of good comfort . . . . go in peace. —viii. 48.

Lord, if my sin-sick soul
Thou hast indeed made whole,

175

Bid me go in humble peace,
Go to that celestial prize,
Go to perfect holiness,
Go to God in paradise.

1308.

[Looking for the grace of God]

Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master, &c. —viii. 49.

Looking for the grace of God
And ready to receive,
Tempted then by flesh and blood,
And urged to disbelieve,
Let us then our shield hold fast,
And wrestle on in faithful prayer,
Sure to gain His life at last,
And all His impress bear.

1309.

[Fed, and strengthen'd by the word]

Fear not: believe only, and she shall, &c. —viii. 50.

Fed, and strengthen'd by the word
Our faith receives increase,
Stirs us up to seek the Lord,
To pray and never cease;
Prayer and faith the fight maintain,
By no discouragement repell'd,
Till the victory we gain
To full redemption seal'd.

Wherefore should I doubt His power,
When Christ the word hath said?
Can He not to life restore
A soul though doubly dead?
Is the thing impossible?
The thing impossible shall be,
Christ with all His love shall dwell,
With all His heaven in me.

176

1310.

[Make Thy heavenly wisdom mine]

He suffered no man to go in, save Peter, &c. —viii. 51.

Make Thy heavenly wisdom mine,
By signs infallible,
Teach me, Lord, the works Divine
To publish, or conceal;
When before the multitude
Thy gracious wonders to repeat,
When the people to exclude,
And when the saints admit.

1311.

[Need the true believer dread]

She is not dead, but sleepeth. —viii. 52.

Need the true believer dread
A temporary sleep?
Earth receives the body dead,
But cannot always keep;
Waken'd by the trumpet's sound
Body and soul shall soon arise,
Find their wings and spurn the ground,
And meet Him in the skies.

1312.

[Heathens mock our blessed hope]

They laughed Him to scorn. —viii. 53.

Heathens mock our blessed hope
As fancy's idle dream,
Yet we shall be all caught up
To live and reign with Him:
Here our souls by faith restored
Retrieve the life of holiness,
There our eyes shall see the Lord,
And glory in His face.

1313.

[Thou hast took us by the hand]

He took her by the hand, and called, &c. —viii. 54.

Thou hast took us by the hand,
Who didst our nature take;

177

Son of God and man command
The dead in sin to wake:
Sinners from the bed, the bier,
The tomb, a word of Thine can raise;
O that all Thy voice might hear,
And live the life of grace!

1314.

[Souls from Jesus separated]

Her spirit came again, and she arose. —viii. 55.

Souls from Jesus separated
No spark of life retain,
Dead, emphatically dead,
Till Christ come back again:
Lord, Thou know'st for whom I mourn,
Whom dead to God I still deplore,
In Thy quickening Spirit return,
And never leave him more.

1315.

[Lord our life of faith and prayer]

He commanded to give her meat. —viii. 55.

Lord our life of faith and prayer
Will languish soon and die,
If Thou dost not still repair,
And with fresh grace supply;
That we still in Thee may live,
Be Thou Thyself our daily Bread,
Every hour Thy Spirit give,
And every moment feed.

Keep us to that solemn hour
When Thou the Judge shalt come;
Then through Thine almighty power
We triumph o'er the tomb,
In the twinkling of an eye
Caught up, on eagles' wings we soar,
Swiftly to Thy bosom fly,
And meet to part no more.

178

Then we eat before Thy throne
The' immortalizing Food,
Glorious joy till then unknown
In the full sight of God,
Drink the new celestial wine,
Banquet with all the saints above,
Satisfied with Truth Divine,
And pure eternal Love.

1316.

[Never may I take the praise]

He charged them that they should tell no man, &c. —viii. 56.

Never may I take the praise
Or my own glory spread,
Made Thine instrument to raise
A sinner from the dead.
Never call the work my own,
But prosper'd in my ministry,
Sink forgotten and unknown,
And swallow'd up in Thee.

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER VIII.

1293.

[Poor for our sake, the Lord most high]