The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

The prayer which God delights to hear,
With steadfast faith and humble fear
The sinner's wants before Him lays,
And meekly for an answer stays,
Nothing prescribes to the Most-High
Whose pity hears the softest sigh,
But waits the blessing from above,
And minds the Saviour of His love.

Saviour, with kind compassion see
Thy ransom'd creature's misery,
The sinner whom Thou lov'st am I,
But sick and at the point to die;

468

Tempted and weak in sin and pain,
Here at Thy feet I still remain:
Thou know'st my case, Thou hear'st me groan
In death, Thine only will be done!

1965.

[His own great glory He intends]

This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory, &c. —xi. 4.

His own great glory He intends,
When God the pain or trouble sends:
Out of the earth it doth not rise,
But comes in mercy from the skies;
It comes our grovelling souls to raise,
And quicken'd with the life of grace,
We seek the solid joys above,
And bless our Saviour's chastening love.

1966.

[Jesus, my soul's infirmity]

Jesus, my soul's infirmity
Is known, is suffer'd still by Thee,
Yet wilt Thou not Thy help deny,
Or leave me in my sins to die;
Surely Thou shalt my sickness heal,
Thy love in season due reveal,
That saved I may proclaim Thy grace,
And live to Thine eternal praise.

1967.

[And me—may every soul subjoin]

Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. —xi. 5.

And me—may every soul subjoin,
The Friend of Lazarus is mine;
My Friend from all eternity,
He loved, He died Himself for me!

1968.

[He waits; to manifest His grace]

When He had heard therefore that he was sick, &c. —xi. 6.

He waits; to manifest His grace,
To help His dying friend, delays,
The sickness lingers to remove,
But not through want of power or love.

469

Thus our Physician from the sky
Lets a beloved patient die,
And then exerts His power to save
And lifts the sinner from the grave.

1969.

[He shuns His murderers no more]

Let us go into Judea again. —xi. 7.

He shuns His murderers no more,
But goes at God's appointed hour
To lay the ransom down;
He goes to suffer in our stead,
And, life restoring to the dead,
Surrenders up His own.

1970.

[For this into their hands He goes]

Master, the Jews of late sought to stone Thee, &c. —xi. 8.

For this into their hands He goes,
Gives Himself up, to save His foes,
By dying in their place;
The voluntary Victim dies,
And through one bloody sacrifice
Atones for all our race.

1971.

[The faithful in their Saviour's sight]

Are there not twelve hours in the day? &c. —xi. 9, 10.

The faithful in their Saviour's sight
Walk on, as children of the light,
In calm security,
Nor earth nor hell their steps o'erthrow,
Who in the ways of duty go,
And Christ their Pattern see.

Light of the world they Him confess;
The glorious Sun of righteousness
On all their paths He shines;
And labouring with intrepid zeal,
They their appointed work fulfil,
And answer His designs.

470

On Christ while humbly they rely,
His only will and glory eye,
They cannot fall or sin:
Himself into their hearts He gives,
Irradiates all their powers, and leaves
No stumbling block within.

But strangers to His saving grace,
Sinners pursue their dreary ways,
Without His Spirit's light
Blindfold, in sin they stumble on,
And sink at last despairing down
Into eternal night.

1972.

[Period of my griefs and woes]

Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. —xi. 11.

Period of my griefs and woes,
Welcome death's desired repose!
Death my day of labour ends;
Death is sleep to Jesus' friends:

Weary, weary, and oppress'd,
Faint and languishing for rest,
Fain I would forget to weep,
Close my eyes in lasting sleep;

Free from pain recline my head,
Mouldering in its earthen bed,
Till the sinner's constant Friend
Judge of quick and dead descend.

Then my dust His voice shall hear,
Springing from the sepulchre,
Join its mate, and soar away,
Mingle in the blaze of day!

471

1973.

[Thy mercy grants the sinner's prayer]

And I am glad for your sakes that I was, &c. —xi. 15.

Thy mercy grants the sinner's prayer:
Thy greater love doth oft defer,
The promised good to give;
That help'd in the most desperate case,
We Thy transcendent power may praise,
And perfectly believe.

Thy presence bids our troubles cease;
Thy absence makes our faith increase,
While patient and resign'd
We humbly for Thy coming stay,
Till fitted through our Lord's delay
Thine utmost love we find.

1974.

[Not through a sad desponding fear]

Then said Thomas . . . unto his fellow-disciples, &c. —xi. 16.

Not through a sad desponding fear,
When danger, pain, and death are near,
We would with Christ abide;
But with Divine conformity
Partake His passion on the tree,
And languish by His side.

Made willing in the strength of grace,
Saviour, Thy portion we embrace;
Thou know'st Thy people's heart,
Who come to suffer for Thy name,
Resolved that neither grief nor shame,
Nor pain, nor death shall part.

1975.

[Parted from God the soul is dead]

When Jesus came, He found that he had lain, &c. —xi. 17.

Parted from God the soul is dead,
Buried alive the graceless soul,
His conscience as with worms o'erspread,
No sepulchre is half so foul!

472

The poor habitual sinner lies,
Long dead in trespasses and sins;
And cannot wake and cannot rise,
Till call'd by life's immortal Prince.

1976.

[We kindly share a mourner's woe]

Many . . . came to Martha and Mary, to comfort, &c. —xi. 19.

We kindly share a mourner's woe,
Stripp'd of the friend awhile bestow'd;
No pity for a soul we show,
Who long by sin has lost its God;
No comfort can that soul receive
But with the hope of Jesus' grace,
Who helps poor sinners to believe,
And still delights the dead to raise.

1977.

[Forth by our good desires we go]

Then Martha as soon as she heard that Jesus, &c. —xi. 20.

Forth by our good desires we go,
Our dear approaching Lord to meet,
Or wait His secret will to know,
And in the house expecting sit:
With forward zeal like Martha run,
To Jesus of our loss complain;
Or calmly sad like Mary moan,
Till He returns and ends our pain.

1978.

[Hadst Thou, O Lord, been always here]

But I know, that even now, whatsoever Thou, &c. —xi. 22.

Hadst Thou, O Lord, been always here,
My soul through sin had never died;
But now in my behalf appear,
My Spokesman at Thy Father's side:
He cannot turn away from Thee,
Thou must prevail I surely know;
Whate'er Thou dost request for me
He will for Thy dear sake bestow.

473

1979.

[The good we eagerly require]

Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. —xi. 23.

The good we eagerly require
Thou still withholdest from Thine own,
To cool the' impatience of desire,
And make us ask in faith alone;
To stop our unbelieving haste
Dispose and teach us to receive;
And then Thou show'st Thy power at last,
And then Thou dost Thy Spirit give.

1980.

[With faith Thy saying we receive]

I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he, &c. —xi. 25, 26.

With faith Thy saying we receive,
Thee, Lord, the Resurrection own,
The' essential Life of all that live
Surrounding, or beneath Thy throne:
Life of the world to come Thou art,
Life of the saints in flesh confined,
And wouldst Thy quickening Spirit impart,
To raise the souls of all mankind.

The faith Thou dost on us bestow
Restores our souls to life again,
The' eternal Life in Thee we know,
The gracious glorious life obtain,
The antepast in perfect peace
In Thy unsinning mind we prove,
And feel the real holiness
The life infused of heavenly love.

Our souls raised up to die no more,
Jesus, Thou dost persist to save;
And Thou whom all Thy saints adore,
Shalt call our bodies from the grave;

474

We all who live by faith in Thee,
Who on Thine only love rely,
Possess'd of immortality
The second death shall never die.

1981.

[Yes, Lord: I steadfastly believe]

Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ, &c. —xi. 27.

Yes, Lord: I steadfastly believe
Thou the desired Messias art,
Thee, Prophet, Priest, and King, receive
With joy into my loving heart;
Son of the living God Most-High,
His fulness all resides in Thee,
Yet didst Thou live on earth, and die
To live eternally in me.

The Saviour-God so long foretold,
The Ransomer of Jacob's race,
Of all mankind to Satan sold
My God, My Saviour, I confess:
Come in the flesh Thou art I know;
Thou wilt fulfil Thine own design,
Destroy the devil's works below,
And fill our souls with life Divine.

1982.

[Happy is the family]

The Master is come, and calleth for thee. —xi. 28.

Happy is the family
Strong in faith and much in prayer!
Jesus, they belong to Thee,
Thou art Lord and Master there,
Thou art worshipp'd and revered,
Thou art glorified alone;
Nothing but Thy word is heard,
Nothing but Thy will is done.

475

1983.

[Man in ministering relief]

As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, &c. —xi. 29.

Man in ministering relief,
Miserable comforter,
Aggravates the mourner's grief,
Burdens whom he means to cheer:
Mary turns from such away,
Her immortal Friend to meet,
Goes to Christ without delay,
Seeks her comfort at His feet.

1984.

[Passion's turbulent excess]

Jesus troubled Himself (Gr.) —xi. 33.

Passion's turbulent excess,
Pure from sin He could not feel;
Rational was the distress,
Wholly subject to His will:
He who did our nature take,
Would its sinless frailties know,
Freely suffer'd for our sake,
Made Himself the Man of woe.

1985.

[Jesus weeps, our tears to see!]

Jesus wept. —xi. 35.

Jesus weeps, our tears to see!
Feels the soft infirmity;
Feels, whene'er a friend we mourn,
From our bleeding bosom torn:
Let Him still in spirit groan,
Make our every grief His own,
Till we all triumphant rise,
Call'd to meet Him in the skies.

Jesus weeps for sinners blind,
Mourns the death of all mankind;
Blesses us with sacred showers,
Sheds His tears to hallow ours:
Weeps to make our case His own,
For our guilty joys to' atone,

476

Wipes at last the mourner's eyes,
Sorrow's source for ever dries!

1986.

[When with eyes of faith we see]

Then said the Jews, Behold how He loved him! —xi. 36.

When with eyes of faith we see
Jesus fasten'd to the tree,
Very man, and very God,
Pouring, not His tears, but blood,
Grateful on the sight we gaze,
Cry in passionate amaze,
See, His tender mercy proved!
See how well the world He loved!

1987.

[Presumptuous men through malice blind]

Could not this Man, which opened the eyes, &c. —xi. 37.

Presumptuous men through malice blind,
Would fain the times and seasons know,
Fault with eternal Wisdom find,
And teach Him when His power to show,
Insult Him for His kind delay,
And when He works, the Saviour stay.

1988.

[Their sin extorts the' indignant groan]

Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself, &c. —xi. 38.

Their sin extorts the' indignant groan,
Their proud obduracy of heart,
Which scorns His benefits to own,
Which will His saving grace pervert,
Though God Himself in person come
To call their souls from nature's tomb.

He curbs the struggling grief within,
That thus we may our zeal suppress,
Urged to resent our neighbour's sin,
Shock'd by a world of wickedness,
And silently the anguish bear,
Or vent our burden'd souls in prayer.

477

1989.

[Who lives in unbelief confined]

It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. —xi. 38.

Who lives in unbelief confined,
His heart is as a loathsome grave,
Loathsome and dark, corrupt and blind,
While grace in vain attends to save,
Harden'd by habitudes of sin,
It will not let salvation in.

Habitual sin shuts up the tomb,
And stops the avenues of grace,
Till shining in the dungeon's gloom
Glory supreme Himself displays,
And Holiness corruption seeks,
And Light Divine to darkness speaks.

Jesus, Thou hast the hindrance shown,
The sin that doth my soul beset,
I feel the hard and ponderous stone,
I pant beneath the' enormous weight,
Till pity brings redemption near,
And Love unbars the sepulchre.

1990.

[Thou bidd'st us take away the stone]

Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. —xi. 39.

Thou bidd'st us take away the stone,
Thou bidd'st us put our sins away:
But Lord the power is Thine alone
Through which we can Thy word obey,
From every act of sinning cease,
And gain the gift of righteousness.

The power which Thy command conveys,
The previous penitential power,
Workers together with Thy grace
We all may use and wait for more,
May outward obstacles remove,
And gasp for the pure life of love.

478

1991.

[Reason and faith together strive]

Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath, &c. —xi. 39.

Reason and faith together strive
Just as the mighty work is wrought:
How can a putrid carcase live?
Or how out of corruption brought
My soul in holiness arise,
And live the life of paradise!

1992.

[The slave of fashionable sin]

The slave of fashionable sin,
Who spends his life in pleasures vain,
Specious without, but foul within,
Offensive both to God and man
The pestilent example gives,
Is dead, and stinks, while yet he lives.

1993.

[Lord Thy saying I receive]

Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, &c. —xi. 40.

Lord Thy saying I receive,
As spoken now to me,
If the promise I believe
I shall Thy glory see,
Shall from mine offences freed
Both see and feel Thy saving power,
Rise triumphant from the dead,
And die and sin no more.

Gladly I believe the word,
And wait the truth to prove,
To Thine image here restored,
The life of spotless love:
Walking in my Saviour's sight
I here shall find Thine utmost grace,
Then with all the sons of light
Behold Thy open face.

479

1994.

[Ready to conclude Thy race]

Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, &c. —xi. 41, 42.

Ready to conclude Thy race
With this great miracle,
Lord Thou dost Thy Father praise,
Thou dost Thyself reveal;
Heard in this, in every hour,
Thou all Thy wondrous works hast done,
By Thine own essential power,
With God for ever one.

Sovereign Lord of life and death
Thy right Divine receive,
All who by Thy mercy breathe
Should to Thy glory live:
God supreme in majesty
Thee, Jesus, I with joy confess,
Sent from God to quicken me,
And all our ransom'd race.

1995.

[When the' almighty Jesus cries]

He cried with a loud voice. —xi. 43.

When the' almighty Jesus cries,
Hears the soul in paradise,
Hastes the summons to obey,
Reassumes his mortal clay,
To our dying life restored,
Lives again to serve his Lord.

All that voice of God shall hear,
All forsake the sepulchre,
Put again their bodies on,
Stand arraign'd before the throne;
Then the awful Judge we see,
Now, my God, He pleads for me.

480

1996.

[Jesus, quickening Spirit, come]

Lazarus, come forth! —xi. 43.

Jesus, quickening Spirit, come,
Call my soul out of its tomb,
Dead in sin to life restore,
Raise me up to die no more;
Perfect liberty bestow,
Speak again, and bid me go,
Thou who hast my sins forgiven,
Loose, and lift me up to heaven.

1997.

[Senseless no more in sin I dwell]

He that was dead came forth, bound hand, &c. —xi. 44.

Senseless no more in sin I dwell,
But leave my guilty nature's tomb,
Thy Spirit's quickening virtue feel,
And forth at Thy command I come;
Yet bound I in Thy sight appear,
Of death the fatal tokens have,
And recent from the sepulchre,
Expect Thy farther power to save.

I wait till Thou my Lord repeat
And seal the word of pardoning love,
Loose by Thy word my hands and feet,
The bandage from my sight remove:
My God I then shall clearly see,
Perform the works of righteousness,
And walk in glorious liberty,
And run with joy the heavenly race.

If ministers Thy grace ordain
And use their instrumental power,
Yet Thee great Ransomer of men,
Thee only shall my soul adore:

481

Thy truth that makes me free indeed,
Thy word it is that sanctifies,
And faithful in Thy steps I tread,
To find my Life beyond the skies.

1998.

[Jesus, we testify Thy power]

He that was dead came forth. —xi. 44.

Jesus, we testify Thy power
From all degrees of death to save,
Thee, Lord of life, our souls adore,
Raised from the bed, the bier, the grave!

1999.

[How good to visit Jesus' friends]

Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, &c. —xi. 45.

How good to visit Jesus' friends,
How happily the visit ends!
A mourner sad they come to cheer,
And find the heavenly Comforter;
His gracious miracles they see,
Proofs of the' incarnate Deity;
The precious gift of faith receive,
And raised themselves to God they live.

2000.

[Self-righteous Pharisees]

If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe, &c. —xi. 48.

Self-righteous Pharisees
The sinner's Friend oppose,
And priests in every age increase
The number of His foes;
While yet they might receive
The' eternal Son of God,
They neither will themselves believe,
Nor suffer us that would.

Ye venerable men
Who 'gainst your Saviour fight,
Imaginary ills ye feign,
And real dangers slight:

482

Lest Rome your church o'erthrow
Affectedly ye fear,
And thoughtless of your hellish foe
Ye dread his successor.

Strangers to Jesu's blood
Ye no conviction have,
Rejecting Him by God bestow'd,
Your sinful souls to save;
But tremble at the day
Which shall His wrath reveal,
When Satan takes your souls away,
And shuts them up in hell.

2001.

[As patriots wise and good]

It is expedient for us, that one man should die, &c. —xi. 50.

As patriots wise and good
Fired for the nation's weal,
The' ambitious, covetous, and proud
Their base designs conceal:
Their credit wealth and power,
To' ensure is all their aim,
And when the wolves the flock devour,
They use religion's name.

Religion is their care,
Yet still themselves they seek,
The temple of the Lord they are,
Yet thus their actions speak,
“Let truth and justice die
With every righteous one;
So we may live install'd on high,
And rule the church alone.”

483

2002.

[Wisdom and power to God belong!]

This spake he not of himself: but being, &c. —xi. 51, 52.

Wisdom and power to God belong!
Thou dost o'errule the pontiff's tongue,
Beyond himself to prophesy:
The year of Thy redeem'd is come,
Thy outcasts must be gather'd home,
And One for all the people die.

Such Thy unchangeable decree,
Thy Son the sacrifice shall be,
And bleed in a whole nation's place;
He dies, but not for Jews alone,
His blood shall ransom and atone
For every child of Adam's race.

He hath for all been offer'd up,
The world's Desire, the nation's Hope,
Partition's wall hath broken down;
His death's effects we all partake,
Gentiles and Jews His body make,
Gather'd and sanctified in one.

Thou dost to every longing heart
The Spirit of Thy Son impart
Through which we Abba Father cry,
While in the power of simple love
The fellowship of saints we prove,
And join Thy church beyond the sky.

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XI.

1964.

[The prayer which God delights to hear]