The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

The wisdom of our God adore
Who laughs to scorn the rage of man,
Lets loose the persecutor's power,
Slackens the hellish murderer's chain,
But by their vain designs o'erthrown
He serves and stablishes His own.

The sacrilegious power bestow'd
By priestly hate on furious Saul,
Marks out the instrument of God,
Just ready for his second call;

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The mission dire by Satan given
Conducts him to his Lord from heaven.

The war against Thy people dear
Jesus, Thou turn'st into their peace,
And Satan's fiercest messenger
Deserting doth their joy increase,
Their souls with stronger comforts bless'd,
With stronger tastes of glorious rest.

2554.

[Ah, whither will ye fly]

As he journeyed, he came near Damascus. —ix. 3.

Ah, whither will ye fly
Ye sheep of Jesus' fold?
The death approaching nigh,
The slaughtering wolf behold:
He comes besmear'd with Stephen's blood
To martyr all the saints of God.

Now, now he ready is
To spring upon his prey,
The helpless flock to seize,
And rend, and tear, and slay!
Lord what shall stop his headlong rage,
And save Thy wasted heritage?

A word, a look from Thee
Can make the savage tame,
Disarm his cruelty
And change him to a lamb,
Can strike opposers to the ground
And all Thy church's foes confound.

Thou them in their distress
Didst at Damascus save,
That we when men oppress
Full confidence may have,

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Rest in the fold, and safe from harm
Depend on Thine unshorten'd arm.

2555.

[He doth not seek the light]

Suddenly there shined round about him, &c. —ix 3.

He doth not seek the light,
Or labour or inquire,
It shines into his deepest night
Preventing his desire;
Not waiting for his call
It stops his mad career:
And thus the grace which ransoms all
Doth once to all appear.

It visits us unsought
That first celestial ray,
Preventing every serious thought
And every wish to pray;
We no advances make
To meet the God unknown,
Till mercy doth our souls attack
And seizes for its own.

2556.

[The members here and Head above]

Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? —ix. 4.

The members here and Head above,
United in the Spirit of love
One mystic body make,
And Jesus, once a Man of woe
The sufferings of His saints below
Doth still in heaven partake.

Oppress'd we in His Spirit groan;
Our sorrows He accounts His own,
And answers sigh for sigh;
Fighting with God our foes are found,
And touching us, they madly wound
The apple of His eye.

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Hear this, thou persecutor hear,
And smote from heaven with sudden fear
Before thy Smiter fall;
The madness of resistance find,
And know—the Saviour of mankind
Is rich in grace for all.

2557.

[Mine eyes are ever unto Thee]

Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? —ix. 6.

Mine eyes are ever unto Thee,
Till open'd by Thy love they see:
Yet still Thou must Thy counsel show,
For still I know not what to do:
I would not see, but in Thy light;
I would not walk, but by Thy might;
Or work a work, or speak a word,
Or think a thought, without my Lord.

2558.

[Three days he groans deprived of sight]

He was three days without sight. —ix. 9.

Three days he groans deprived of sight,
And struggling in the Spirit's throes!
The shade of that exterior night
The blindness of his nature shows,
The state his soul had long been in,
The night of unbelief within.

Three days he bears the' Egyptian load
To' impress him with a deeper sense
Of Christ the persecuted God,
Arm'd with Divine omnipotence
His thoughts from outward things to' avert
And turn them on his wretched heart.

2559.

[The Pharisee was proud and blind]

Behold, he prayeth. —ix. 11.

The Pharisee was proud and blind
Though learn'd in Moses' law,

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Nor knew the darkness of his mind,
But thought he clearly saw;
Who many a tedious form had made
And read them o'er and o'er,
A thousand times his prayers he said
But never pray'd before.

A zealot of the straitest sect
May thus himself deceive,
And till he his own light reject,
He never can believe.
But struck, and suddenly cast down,
By one celestial ray
Compell'd his unbelief to own
He then begins to pray.

2560.

[Poor, and ignorant, and blind]

And hath seen in a vision a man...coming in, &c. —ix. 12.

Poor, and ignorant, and blind,
Hope in Thee, O Lord, I find;
Though Thou dost Thy gifts defer,
Thee I feel in darkness near:
Thou shalt lay Thy hand on me,
Give me eyes Thy love to see,
Faith and peace at once impart,
Cure the blindness of my heart.

Warn'd of Thy approach I wait,
Dark, but not disconsolate,
Wait according to Thy word
For the coming of my Lord:
Thou wilt soon the cloud dispel,
Pardon in my soul reveal,
Then I feel the sprinkled blood,
Then I know my Lord, my God!

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2561.

[By nature we incline]

Lord, I have heard by many of this man, &c. —ix. 13.

By nature we incline
To reason against Thee,
And measure with our scanty line
Thy love's immensity;
Ignorant of Thy ways
Unable to conceive
That Thou the God of boundless grace
So greatly canst forgive.

2562.

[But our High Priest above]

And here he hath authority from the chief, &c. —ix. 14.

But our High Priest above
With His commission sent
The chosen vessel of His love,
And alter'd Saul's intent;
Before his hands he laid
On those who Christ adored
Saul is himself stopp'd short, and made
The prisoner of the Lord.

2563.

[Forth against all the world he goes]

To bear My name before the Gentiles, and, &c. —ix. 15.

Forth against all the world he goes
Whom Christ vouchsafes to choose,
The Gentile ignorance to' oppose,
The stubbornness of Jews;
War with the rich he dares proclaim,
On pride and grandeur fall,
And through the power of Jesu's name
He more than conquers all.

Master, if me Thou canst employ
Thy poorest messenger,
Even I the tidings of great joy
Before the world declare;

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The name which sure salvation brings
I live to testify
To Heathens, Pharisees, and kings,
And in the service die.

2564.

[Great things ordain'd for Thee to do]

I will shew him how great things he must, &c. —ix. 16.

Great things ordain'd for Thee to do,
Thou dost our souls prepare
By labouring strength, and patience too
Great things for Thee to bear;
Afflictions with Thy grace abound,
And make Thy favourites known,
And those who suffer most are found
The nearest to Thy throne.

2565.

[His sight he first receives]

And he received sight forthwith, and arose, &c. —ix. 18.

His sight he first receives:
And thus the will Divine
Sometimes to humbled sinners gives
The grace without the sign:
Baptized, he then obeys,
And shows it just and fit
That all who have obtain'd the grace
Should to the sign submit.

2566.

[Eager to repair the wrong]

Straightway he preached Christ in the, &c. —ix. 20.

Eager to repair the wrong
He to the church had done,
Christ he spreads before the throng
And makes his Saviour known;
Jesu's love his heart constrains,
And all who know the precious grace
Spend their utmost strength and pains
To save the sinful race.

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Jesu's love I cannot feel
And hide it in my heart;
No: I must the secret tell,
I must to all impart,
Publish God's eternal Son—
Sinner, He bought us on the tree,
Tasted death for every one,
And offers life to Thee!

2567.

[Who Jesus to the world confess]

But Saul increased the more in strength. —ix. 22.

Who Jesus to the world confess
And preach before His foes,
Our labour doth our strength increase,
Our grace by using grows;
Our talents more and more abound,
Who Christ proclaim aloud,
And prove (His haters to confound)
This is the' eternal God.

2568.

[Who lately shed the martyrs' blood]

They watched...day and night to kill him. —ix. 24.

Who lately shed the martyrs' blood
Is now himself to death pursued,
By day and night beset;
But Christ he confidently knows
Will rescue him from all his foes,
And break the hellish net.

Yet conscious of his Lord's design,
He will not human means decline
The threaten'd death to flee;
To ways most humbling he submits,
And by a basket's help defeats
The dire conspiracy.

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2569.

[God will not needlessly be seen]

Barnabas took him, and brought him to the, &c. —ix. 27.

God will not needlessly be seen,
But lets the work be done by men
Which may by man be done,
His saints to common ways He leaves,
And in due time occasion gives
To make His wonders known.

Others He finds our faith to tell,
Our sights of Christ, and prosperous zeal
In publishing the word,
That saints acknowledging our grace
With joy may know, with love embrace,
Their brethren in the Lord.

2570.

[Where first by us it came, we there]

And he was with them...at Jerusalem. —ix. 28.

Where first by us it came, we there
Should chiefly the offence repair,
A better pattern give,
And show the unconverted race
How sinful men transform'd by grace
How real Christians live.

2571.

[Not the advice of flesh and blood]

They...sent him forth to Tarsus. —ix. 30.

Not the advice of flesh and blood,
But love for souls, and zeal for God
Lead the apostle on,
To preach Him in his native place,
That those by nature join'd, by grace
Might live for ever one.

2572.

[O that now the church were bless'd]

Then had the churches rest...and were edified, &c. —ix. 31.

O that now the church were bless'd
With faith and faith's increase!
Grant us, Lord, the outward rest,
And true internal peace:

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Build us up in holy love,
And let us walk with God below,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
And all Thy comfort know.

With the humble filial fear
Be mix'd the joy of grace,
While we gladly persevere
In all Thy righteous ways:
Thus let each in Thee abide,
Let each improve the blessing given,
Till Thy church is multiplied
Beyond the stars of heaven.

2573.

[Not for the sake of health alone]

All that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, &c. —ix. 35.

Not for the sake of health alone
Jesus His healing power displays,
But that the sin-sick kind may own
His mightier miracles of grace.
He works to make our pardon sure;
His arm omnipotent reveals,
And by a single body's cure
Ten thousand helpless souls He heals!

2574.

[When I have run my earthly race]

All the widows stood by him weeping, and, &c. —ix. 39.

When I have run my earthly race,
Lord, I want no greater praise
If Thy true worshippers
Their momentary loss deplore,
And widows desolate and poor
Embalm me with their tears.

Till then I would my hands employ
Serving them with humblest joy,
And warmest charity;

242

For taught of God I surely know
That ministering to saints below
I clothe and cherish Thee.

2575.

[The poor afflicted saints]

And she opened her eyes: and when she saw, &c. —ix. 40.

The poor afflicted saints
Their common loss bemoan,
And God regards in their complaints
The Spirit of His Son:
Who gave the Son of man,
He lets the servant go
Out of His arms to earth again
And tend His church below.

What heart can e'er conceive
How great the soul's surprise
When sent again in flesh to live
She here lifts up her eyes!
Did not her eyes o'erflow
This weeping vale to see,
These scenes of wretchedness and woe,
Of sinful misery?

The poor might well embrace
With joy their friend restored,
The church their powerful Saviour praise
Who thus confirm'd His word:
But could a saint return
To dwell beneath the skies,
And not with deepest sorrow mourn
Her twice-lost paradise?

From spirits glorified
As soon as she withdrew,
Oblivion's veil was drawn to hide
The vision from her view:

243

She then with double zeal
Employ'd her added days,
To do the Saviour's perfect will,
To' improve His utmost grace.

Superior joys above
For lengthen'd toils prepared,
And richer stores of heavenly love
Enhanced her vast reward;
Call'd to a happier state
When all her work was done
She found a more exceeding weight
Of glory in her crown!

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER IX.

2553.

[The wisdom of our God adore]