The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

How soon alas the selfish sin
The love of property comes in,
While man from God withholds a part,
Yet seems to give Him all his heart!
Deceived the' Omniscient cannot be
By avarice and hypocrisy,
Who lurking under love's disguise
Present detested sacrifice.

2442.

[In works of charity who hide]

Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the, &c. —v. 3.

In works of charity who hide
Their fraud and sacrilegious pride,
As not infallible they deem
The Holy Ghost, the God supreme:
Their hearts they think He cannot know
Conceal'd beneath an outward show,
And thus the Spirit of truth deny,
And thus blaspheme the Lord Most-High.

2443.

[God who His creatures' love requires]

Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? —v. 4.

God who His creatures' love requires,
Our only happiness desires,
He claims the whole and not a part,
Not half our goods but all our heart.
My heart, O God, is all Thy due,
Is always naked to Thy view;
And if I love not Thee alone,
I make the' impostor's doom my own.

2444.

[Tremble thou hypocrite profane]

Ananias hearing these words fell down, and, &c. —v. 5.

Tremble thou hypocrite profane,
Who dost mankind deceive,

183

Though God His righteous wrath refrain
And let thy body live!
Even while it sins thy soul expires,
And soon sent down to hell
In unextinguishable fires
The second death shall feel.

2445.

[Marriage was by God design'd]

How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt, &c. —v. 9.

Marriage was by God design'd
That every happy two
Might in closest union join'd
Their heavenly Lord pursue;
Holier through each other prove,
And hand in hand with joy go on
To the highest feast of love,
The Lamb's eternal throne.

How do you, alas, profane
The solemn mystery,
You who worse than meet in vain,
And but in sin agree!
Join'd in every wicked deed
Ye thus your mutual ruin seal,
Hand in hand go on, and lead
Each other down to hell.

2446.

[Her spirit she gave up!]

Then fell she down...at his feet, and yielded up, &c. —v. 10.

Her spirit she gave up!
And thus the righteous Lord,
An evil in its birth to stop,
Makes bare His glittering sword!
Beginning at His house,
He never spares His own,
That all may know our God allows
Impunity to none.

184

Not rigid wrath extreme,
But wisdom mix'd with love,
Severely kind, a rotten limb
Doth from the rest remove;
Cut off one member is
To keep the body whole:
And well for her if final peace
Surprised her parting soul.

2447.

[Thou, Lord, art greatly to be fear'd]

And great fear came upon all the church. —v. 11.

Thou, Lord, art greatly to be fear'd,
And dost our homage claim;
Thou wilt be by Thy saints revered,
By all that know Thy name:
Thy judgments keep the church in awe,
Even those who sweetly prove
Wrote on their hearts the perfect law
Of liberty and love.

2448.

[Here a true specimen we see]

Here a true specimen we see
A church in its integrity
Call'd by the gospel-word,
Distinguish'd from the sinful race,
By faith and the baptismal grace,
Grafted into its Lord.

Inspired and actuated by love
To set their hearts on things above
By Jesus' Spirit led,
In fellowship of every kind
Compacted close, and disciplined
By hypocrites struck dead.

2449.

[God, to make His mercy known]

By the hands of the apostles were many signs, &c. —v. 12.

God, to make His mercy known,
His wondrous power declares,

185

Shows the gracious work His own,
His own the messengers;
Answering, Lord, Thy great design,
Our faith's integrity we prove,
By the bond of peace Divine
And all-uniting love.

2450.

[Piety respect inspires]

And of the rest durst no man join himself, &c. —v. 13.

Piety respect inspires,
But rarely in the great:
Oft the multitude admires
And longs to imitate:
Ready for converting grace
They thus evince the work begun,
Who in others love and praise
The power of faith unknown.

2451.

[Lord, the sacred terror send]

And believers were the more added. —v. 14.

Lord, the sacred terror send
Into the worldly crowd,
Thus Thine heritage defend
From all who know not God:
Put the infidels in fear,
And let them at a distance stand,
Till by humble faith brought near
They join the happy band.

Guarded by Thy loving care,
And compassèd about,
While we watch with ceaseless prayer
To keep the' unworthy out;
Men of upright hearts sincere
Thou wilt increase and multiply,
Added to Thy people here
With us to live and die.

186

2452.

[While a weak worm pass'd by]

That...the shadow of Peter passing by might. —v. 15.

While a weak worm pass'd by
Could Peter's shadow heal?
The Lord omnipotent was nigh,
And did Himself reveal;
He made their bodies whole,
Substance of God supreme:
And still for each distemper'd soul
The power proceeds from Him.

O that Thy Spirit of love
Might now o'ershadow me,
My plague of unbelief remove,
My nature's malady!
O might my last distress
Attract Thy pitying eye!
Heal my incurable disease,
Or see Thy patient die.

2453.

[When the gospel of grace]

There came also a multitude out of the cities, &c. —v. 16.

When the gospel of grace
Is proclaim'd in our days
From all places around
What a multitude flock to the life-giving sound!
To the church they repair;
For Jesus is there
In His virtue to heal,
And ready His love in their hearts to reveal.

The desperate crowd
With infirmities bow'd,
Sick of every sin,
And vex'd with a legion of spirits unclean,

187

The Physician attend,
And His goodness commend,
Who His patients relieves
And a pardon to all the incurable gives.

2454.

[Can priests with Sadducees agree]

Then the high priest rose up, and all they that, &c. —v. 17.

Can priests with Sadducees agree,
With men who mock at heaven and hell?
Common their rage and enmity
Their bitter persecuting zeal
'Gainst all the ministers of grace
When Jesus gives His word success.

Who love to reign install'd on high,
For honour, power, and riches care,
And who an after state deny,
That growing truth they cannot bear
Which pomp pontifical destroys,
And fills us here with heavenly joys.

2455.

[Bonds for ornaments we take]

And laid...hands on the apostles, and put them, &c. —v. 18.

Bonds for ornaments we take
When our faith by bonds is tried:
Jesus bore them for our sake,
Bore, ennobled, sanctified:
Suffering for His cause alone
Confessors of Jesus' name
Sing we into dangers thrown,
Glory in our Master's shame.

2456.

[Men should patiently endure]

But the angel of the Lord...opened the prison, &c. —v. 19.

Men should patiently endure,
Leave their God to act for them:
Bars and chains cannot secure
Whom He willeth to redeem:

188

Christ, whose might invincible
Burst the prison of the grave,
Christ who shuts and opens hell
Can He not from dungeons save?

2457.

[When our benign almighty Lord]

Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people, &c. —v. 20.

When our benign almighty Lord
Will use the ministry of man,
He makes a way to preach the word,
And earthly powers oppose in vain;
His works and man's to Him are known,
And all that God appoints is done.

Our foes may in the temple seize,
And load us with a felon's chain,
Jesus His prisoners can release
And send us to His house again:
And servants of His sovereign will
We must our ministry fulfil.

We yet shall to the people speak
The words that life eternal give,
Point out the way to all who seek
With Christ in paradise to live,
The words which spoke by Him we know
Are spirit, life, and heaven below.

2458.

[Know all who doubt or fear to know]

They doubted...whereunto this would grow. —v. 24.

Know all who doubt or fear to know
How far this error will proceed,
Thy word shall still prevail and grow,
Through ours and every nation spread,
Till every soul the Saviour knows,
And righteousness the earth o'erflows.

189

2459.

[Howe'er the angry world oppose]

Behold, the men...are...teaching the people. —v. 25.

Howe'er the angry world oppose
We must the work of God pursue,
Where persecution's storm arose
Publish the word with vigour new,
Assured while we His will perform
Our Lord is Master of the storm.

2460.

[The world sometimes their rage suppress]

They brought them without violence. —v. 26.

The world sometimes their rage suppress,
And lay their violence quite aside,
But shall we look for lasting peace,
Or in their gentleness confide?
When most humane our foes appear
They spare us, not from love, but fear.

2461.

[Behold the' apostles of the Lamb]

Behold the' apostles of the Lamb
They follow meek wherever led,
Who preach'd the truth in Jesus' name
They come to suffer as their Head.
With power Divine endued and fill'd
To man's authority they yield.

They will not enemies withstand,
Or use their power themselves to save,
Their lives are in the Saviour's hand
In whom they full affiance have,
And know, their Lord will keep His own,
Till all His will and work be done.

2462.

[Humble and wise, they offer not]

When they had brought them,...they set them, &c. —v. 27.

Humble and wise, they offer not
Before the judgment seat to' appear,
But yield, and let themselves be brought
Superior both to wrath and fear,

190

Fill'd with the Spirit of God supreme,
Who first o'ercame the world for them.

Fill'd with the same almighty grace
Our foes we neither seek nor shun,
Let them at their tribunals place
We there our Lord and Pattern own,
And glory His reproach to share
And stand with Jesus at the bar.

2463.

[We must speak on, forbid by all]

Did not we straitly command you that ye, &c. —v. 28.

We must speak on, forbid by all,
And preach salvation in this name,
By Jesus' own command we call
On every soul, Behold the Lamb!
We teach according to His will
The faithful acceptable word,
And long the universe to fill
With the pure doctrine of our Lord.

By countless acts of wickedness
The Prince of life ye seized and slew,
The Man from heaven who bought our peace
We surely charge His death on you:
Ye murderers of incarnate God
Ye speak the thing by us design'd,
We mean to bring His sprinkled blood
On you, ourselves, and all mankind.

2464.

[When man presumes a law to' enjoin]

We ought to obey God rather than men. —v. 29.

When man presumes a law to' enjoin
Which contradicts the law Divine,
Shall we a moment doubting stay
Which to reject and which obey?
Or bold before the world avow
To God's, not man's commands we bow.

191

Zeal to prefer our Maker's will
With modest confidence shall fill,
Shall own, in all our gestures seen,
That we who have with Jesus been
His will our only rule receive,
Or die for Him by whom we live.

2465.

[Sent to the great, and rich, and wise]

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom, &c. —v. 30.

Sent to the great, and rich, and wise,
(God and His law before our eyes,)
We speak their conscience to convince,
Publicly tax their public sins,
Without insulting we reprove,
In just severity of love.

Preachers are call'd, above the rest,
To stand for innocence oppress'd,
Themselves by hellish hate pursued
To vindicate their suffering God;
And set at man's unrighteous bar,
To' arraign their wicked judges there.

2466.

[By His own Almighty Spirit]

Him hath God exalted with His right hand, &c. —v. 31.

By His own Almighty Spirit
God hath glorified His Son;
Pardon'd now through Jesus' merit
Penitents approach His throne;
Christ bestows the true contrition,
Makes us feel our soul-disease,
Then appearing our Physician
Heals and bids us go in peace.

In Thy state of exaltation
Answer Lord its end on me,
Thou the God of my salvation
Thou my Prince and Ruler be;

192

Let me first, the true repentance
Self-condemn'd from Thee receive,
Then reverse the fearful sentence,
Bid Thy pardon'd rebel live.

2467.

[O could I mourn for God]

O could I mourn for God,
Obtain the grace I claim,
Purchased by my Redeemer's blood,
And publish'd in His name,
Promised to all that pray,
With patience persevere,
And offer'd in His gracious day,
To every sinner here.

Saviour of men, and Prince,
Thy mercy's power exert:
By a kind pitying look convince,
And break my flinty heart;
Wound by Thy Spirit's sword,
One who so long has tried,
So often trampled on my Lord,
So often crucified.

O let Thy love constrain
The murderer to submit!
And bring me down with shame, and pain,
And sorrow at Thy feet.
To wash them with my tears,
For mercy, mercy pray,
And when Thy smiling face appears
To weep my life away.

2468.

[We witness for our Prince]

We are His witnesses of these things: and, &c. —v. 32.

We witness for our Prince
And Saviour in the sky,

193

Who doth the soul of sin convince
And freely justify:
At God's right hand He dwells
The double grace to' impart;
He breaks, and then forgiveness seals
On the poor broken heart.

His Spirit too declares
Our Lord enthroned for this,
Working with all the ministers
Of evangelic peace:
Jesus He testifies
Our true eternal God,
Condemns the world, and then applies
That all-atoning blood.

The Father of our Lord
The Holy Ghost hath given,
To sinners saved who keep His word,
The' anointed heirs of heaven:
Who faithfully obey
Their Saviour from above,
And wait His coming in that day
To crown them with His love.

2469.

[They felt the sharp two-edgèd sword]

When they heard that, they were cut to the, &c. —v. 33.

They felt the sharp two-edgèd sword,
Provoked and harden'd by the word
Which thousands saved and heal'd,
The offers of salvation scorn'd,
With fiery indignation burn'd,
With rage and madness fill'd.

Servants of Christ, the same expect,
Their offer'd Lord who now reject
When ready to forgive;

194

You they will spitefully entreat,
Imprison, judge, and vex, and beat,
And count not fit to live.

2470.

[Human events we should attend]

For before these days rose up Theudas, &c. —v. 36, 37.

Human events we should attend,
Their rise, their progress, and their end,
Review, compare, reflect;
The ways of Providence to learn,
The work of God from man's discern,
Religion from a sect.

God's work to ruin or prevent
Satan in every age has sent
His messengers before;
Yet when the true apostles rose,
Nor earth nor hell their mouth could close,
Or shut the gospel door.

2471.

[Ye sages of the world, be wise]

I say unto you, Refrain from these men, &c. —v. 38, 39.

Ye sages of the world, be wise,
Take the judicious scribe's advice,
And let these men alone:
Their work if plann'd by human thought
Shall soon decay and come to nought,
And prove itself their own.

But if this counsel is Divine,
In vain the powers of earth combine
To hinder or o'erthrow:
Your utmost skill and strength employ,
Man never can the work destroy,
Which God revives below.

Wisely ye may consult, contrive,
Earth's potsherds with your Maker strive,
Your God withstand, defy;

195

But O 'tis quite impossible
Against the' Almighty to prevail,
Or conquer the Most-High!

2472.

[Of whom should His apostles speak]

They commanded that they should not speak, &c. —v. 40.

Of whom should His apostles speak
But Him who fills their hearts and mind,
Who sends them forth, the lost to seek,
To call and gather all mankind?
And all entrusted with His word
Forbid by men will God obey;
We must proclaim our dying Lord,
Though pain and death obstruct the way.

2473.

[Reluctantly they let them go]

They...let them go. —v. 40.

Reluctantly they let them go,
The men devoted unto death,
God over all appoints it so,
And plucks the prey out of their teeth;
Like them your mission to fulfil,
Servants of the Most-High go on,
Nor fear who can the body kill—
But not till all your work is done.

2474.

[Made out of weakness strong]

And daily in the temple, and in every house, &c. —v. 42.

Made out of weakness strong,
By sufferings fortified,
We preach Him all day long
Who once for sinners died;
'Tis double joy to make Him known,
And suffer for His sake alone.

We cannot be withheld
By stripes or menaces,

196

But by His love compell'd
Our Saviour-Prince confess,
In churches, houses, fields proclaim
Pardon for all in Jesu's name.

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER V.

2441.

[How soon alas the selfish sin]