The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

In pain and darkness groaning
Thy ransom'd creature see,
A helpless soul bemoaning
My own infirmity!
I cannot help implore;
But at Thy footstool stay
Till Thou confer the power,
And teach me how to pray.

The feeble first desire
Proceeds from Thee alone;
Thou dost this wish inspire
My impotence to own,
In mournful lamentation
My misery to declare,
And beg Thy kind compassion
To fill my heart with prayer.

Purchased by Thy own merit
Thy righteousness and death,
Thy supplicating Spirit
Into my bosom breathe:
The Spirit of contrition
O let Him plead in me,
And cry for a Physician,
And show that Thou art He!

1365.

[Thou who art both God and man]

Thou who art both God and man
Canst Thy Father's will explain,
Thou the Truth, the Life, the Way,
Know'st what man to God should say;

200

Thou, that we His mind may know,
Dost the Holy Ghost bestow.

Teach me, Jesus, how to pray,
Take the hindering thing away,
Into this weak heart inspire
Power, and hunger, and desire;
Then the pleading Spirit impart,
Fix my Teacher in my heart.

1366.

[Father of me, and all mankind]

Our Father which art in heaven, &c. —xi. 2–4.

Father of me, and all mankind,
And all the hosts above,
Let every understanding mind
Unite to praise Thy love;
To know Thy nature and Thy name,
One God in Persons three,
And glorify the great I AM
Through all eternity.

Thy kingdom come, with power and grace,
To every heart of man;
Thy peace, and joy, and righteousness,
In all our bosoms reign!
Thy righteousness our sin keep down,
Thy peace our passions bind,
And let us in Thy joy unknown
The first dominion find.

The righteousness that never ends,
That finishes our sin,
The joy that human thought transcends,
Into our souls bring in,

201

The kingdom of establish'd peace,
Which can no more remove,
The perfect power of godliness,
The' omnipotence of love.

Then let us hear the trumpet sound,
That latest of the seven;
Come, King of saints, with glory crown'd,
The' eternal God of heaven.
Judge of Thine antichristian foe,
Appear on earth again,
And then Thy thousand years below
Before Thine ancients reign.

Hasten that happiest gospel-day,
When all on earth forgiven
As fully shall Thy will obey
As angels do in heaven;
While not one disharmonious string
Is heard below, above,
But all in perfect concert sing,
And praise the God we love.

Give us this day our daily bread,
As manna from above,
And every happy moment feed
Our hungry souls with love;
The' imperishable meat bestow,
For which our spirits cry,
And, nourish'd by Thy grace below,
Our souls shall never die.

Now, Father, now our sins forgive,
With present pardon bless,
And let our souls the kiss receive
Which seals our inward peace;

202

Accept us in Thine own dear Son,
Who bore our sins away,
Who all our debts discharged alone,
And left us nought to pay.

Grace unconditional and free,
Thy sweet forgiving grace,
Instructs us, as embraced by Thee,
Our brother to embrace:
Since Thou our infinite offence
Dost pardon and forget,
His debt of scarce an hundred pence
We cheerfully remit.

Ah, leave us not, above our power,
Above our patience tried,
But turn aside the dreaded hour,
And from temptation hide:
Or if we fall into the snare,
Let us our Lord behold,
Whose hand doth through the furnace bear,
And brings us forth as gold.

Deliver us from evil, Lord,
Thy church so dearly bought,
From every evil work, and word,
And every evil thought:
Preserve us from the tempting fiend,
The world of wickedness,
Till all our wars and conflicts end
In everlasting peace.

1367.

[We in our celestial Friend]

Which of you shall have a friend, &c. —xi. 5.

We in our celestial Friend
To a kind Father pray,

203

Need not urge our God to lend
Who gives without delay;
Presses us to ask for grace,
Solicits beggars to receive
All at every time and place
Which Love Divine can give.

Bold we then to Thee apply
In this accepted hour;
Father, hear Thy Spirit's cry,
And all Thy blessings pour;
Truth we want our minds to feed,
Our hearts require Thy love alone;
Fulness of immortal bread
Vouchsafe us in Thy Son.

1368.

[Still I knock, and ask, and seek]

Because of his importunity he will rise, &c. —xi. 8.

Still I knock, and ask, and seek,
A pressing beggar I;
Speak, the word of comfort speak,
And grant me the supply,
Pity a poor traveller,
With toil fatigued, with hunger faint;
Give, for Thou hast bread to spare,
O give me all I want!

Perishing for want of food
A sinner claims Thy care;
Every promise is made good
To persevering prayer:
Man may long withhold his aid,
Which want can scarce at last procure;
Never is Thy help delay'd
When souls are truly poor.

204

Man is cruel to his friends,
And sells his services,
Helps them but for sordid ends,
His own content or ease;
God doth every soul relieve
From His exhaustless stores above;
Grace to all doth freely give,
For God is perfect love.

1369.

[Thou who know'st a father's heart]

If a son shall ask bread of any of you, &c. —xi. 11, 12.

Thou who know'st a father's heart,
To thy own children good,
Less benign than Him thou art,
Who fills the world with food;
Nature's love 'tis God bestows,
A drop of that unfathom'd sea;
Mercy all His works o'erflows,
And now extends to thee.

1370.

[Father, through Thy Son to me]

How much more shall your heavenly Father, &c. —xi. 13.

Father, through Thy Son to me
Thy Holy Spirit give;
Him (Thy Son engaged for Thee)
Who ask shall all receive:
Bound by Jesu's word Thou art
To send Him from Thy throne above;
Send Him now, to fill my heart
With purity and love.

1371.

[Long undisturb'd the tempter keeps]

When a strong man armed keepeth, &c. —xi. 21.

Long undisturb'd the tempter keeps
His house, and rules without control;
The soul in his possession sleeps,
The careless, gay, unthinking soul.

205

No trouble fears, no evil sees,
But rests secure in hellish peace.

Pride is the armour of our foe,
In man's concupiscence he trusts,
And never will his house forego,
While strengthen'd with the sinner's lusts.
While guilt and unbelief remains
The tyrant in his palace reigns.

O come, Thou stronger than the fiend,
The giant arm'd this moment bind;
This moment his oppressions end,
Destroy in me the carnal mind,
The pride of life, the lusts unclean,
And root out all my love of sin.

By taking all my sins away,
From Satan all his armour take,
Thy glory through Thy house display;
And that the foe may ne'er come back,
Secure me for Thy lawful prize,
And bear Thy trophy to the skies.

1372.

[Then do not rest secure]

When the unclean spirit is gone out, &c. —xi. 24–26.

Then do not rest secure
If now thy heart be pure:
Thine infernal enemy
Arm'd with sevenfold rage will come,
Seek his former place in thee,
Strive to gain his ancient home.

Driven by stronger grace
Out of his dwelling-place,

206

All its avenues he knows,
Knows thy old besetting sin,
Watches if thine eyelids close
Unperceived to enter in.

A saint quite off his guard
Is for the fiend prepared;
When in grace they cease to grow,
When they in their grace confide,
Souls are ready for the foe
Garnish'd and adorn'd by pride.

The house which seems so clean,
And swept from every sin,
Tempts the tempter to come back;
Satan and a troop from hell
Of the soul possession take,
In the saint for ever dwell.

1373.

[Heathens shall in judgment rise]

The queen of the south shall rise up, &c. —xi. 31.

Heathens shall in judgment rise,
Careless Christians to condemn,
Who Thine oracles despise,
Thee refuse in slighting them:
Saviour, give my soul to own
Thou dost in Thy word appear
Greater far than Solomon,
Wisdom's self is speaking here!

1374.

[Ah, Lord, direct my aim aright]

If thy whole body therefore be full of light, &c. —xi. 36.

Ah, Lord, direct my aim aright,
Fill up my soul with purest light,
With genuine sanctity;
Leave here no unenlighten'd part,
No sin or folly in my heart,
No pride or wrath in me.

207

Then shall the lamp diffuse its blaze,
Through the once dark infernal place,
Through my whole nature shine,
While all my faculties restored
Reflect the candle of the Lord,
The heavenly light Divine.

1375.

[From the close hypocrisy]

Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside, &c. —xi. 39.

From the close hypocrisy,
Lord am I entirely free?
No: my selfishness and pride
Carefully from man I hide,
Act the Pharisaic part,
Wear a veil upon my heart.

Yet I seldom blush or groan
That my heart to Thee is known,
That Thou seest me as I am,
Sink of filthiness and shame,
Seest me now without disguise,
Torture to Thy purer eyes.

Thee that I at last may please,
Clothe me with Thy righteousness:
Canst Thou not a holy thing
Out of an unholy bring?
What Thou dost require, impart,
Cleanse, by dwelling in my heart.

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XI.

1364.

[In pain and darkness groaning]