CHAPTER VI. The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley | ||
392
1784.
[Thy word in the bare literal sense]
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth, &c.
—vi. 63.
Thy word in the bare literal sense,
Though heard ten thousand times, and read,
Can never of itself dispense
The saving power which wakes the dead:
The meaning spiritual and true
The learn'd expositor may give,
But cannot give the virtue too,
Or bid his own dead spirit live.
Though heard ten thousand times, and read,
Can never of itself dispense
The saving power which wakes the dead:
The meaning spiritual and true
The learn'd expositor may give,
But cannot give the virtue too,
Or bid his own dead spirit live.
But breathing in the sacred leaves
If on the soul Thy Spirit move,
The re-begotten soul receives
The quickening power of faith and love;
Transmitted through the gospel-word
Whene'er the Holy Ghost is given,
The sinner hears, and feels restored
The life of holiness and heaven.
If on the soul Thy Spirit move,
The re-begotten soul receives
The quickening power of faith and love;
Transmitted through the gospel-word
Whene'er the Holy Ghost is given,
The sinner hears, and feels restored
The life of holiness and heaven.
CHAPTER VI. The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley | ||