 | The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley |  |
IV.
[Merciful God, to Thee we cry]
Merciful God, to Thee we cry,
O think upon us, or we die
The ever-living death!
Lo! by a mighty tempest tost,
Our ship without Thine aid is lost,
Lost in the gulf beneath.
O think upon us, or we die
The ever-living death!
10
Our ship without Thine aid is lost,
Lost in the gulf beneath.
The mariners are struck with fear,
And shudder at destruction near,
So high the billows swell,
Ready to' o'erwhelm our shatter'd state;
Thy judgments fall with all their weight,
To crush us into hell.
And shudder at destruction near,
So high the billows swell,
Ready to' o'erwhelm our shatter'd state;
Thy judgments fall with all their weight,
To crush us into hell.
Ah! wherefore is this evil come?
Show us, Omniscient God, for whom
Thy plagues our church befall:
Give, while we ask, a righteous lot,
And let the guilty soul be caught,
Who brings Thy curse on all.
Show us, Omniscient God, for whom
Thy plagues our church befall:
Give, while we ask, a righteous lot,
And let the guilty soul be caught,
Who brings Thy curse on all.
With trembling awe we humbly pray,
Now, now the secret cause display
Of our calamity;
Whose sins have brought Thy judgments down?
Alas, my God, the cause I own,
The lot is fallen on me!
Now, now the secret cause display
Of our calamity;
Whose sins have brought Thy judgments down?
Alas, my God, the cause I own,
The lot is fallen on me!
I am the man, the Jonas I,
For me the working waves run high;
For me the curse takes place:
I have increased the nation's load;
I have call'd down the wrath of God
On all our helpless race.
For me the working waves run high;
For me the curse takes place:
I have increased the nation's load;
I have call'd down the wrath of God
On all our helpless race.
With guilty, unbelieving dread
Long have I from His presence fled,
And shunn'd the sight of heaven:
In vain the pardoning God pursued;
I would not be by grace subdued,
I would not be forgiven.
Long have I from His presence fled,
And shunn'd the sight of heaven:
11
I would not be by grace subdued,
I would not be forgiven.
I know the tempest roars for me,
Till I am cast into the sea
Its rage can never cease:
Here then I to my doom submit,
Do with me as Thy will sees fit,
But give Thy people peace.
Till I am cast into the sea
Its rage can never cease:
Here then I to my doom submit,
Do with me as Thy will sees fit,
But give Thy people peace.
Save, Jesu, save the sinking ship;
And lo! I plunge into the deep
Of all Thy judgments here:
I fall beneath Thy threatenings, Lord;
But let my soul, at last restored,
Before Thy face appear.
And lo! I plunge into the deep
Of all Thy judgments here:
I fall beneath Thy threatenings, Lord;
But let my soul, at last restored,
Before Thy face appear.
Beneath Thine anger's present weight
I sink, and only deprecate
Thy sorer wrath to come:
Give me at last in Thee a part,
And now, in mercy, now avert
The guilty nation's doom.
I sink, and only deprecate
Thy sorer wrath to come:
Give me at last in Thee a part,
And now, in mercy, now avert
The guilty nation's doom.
O bid the angry waves subside,
Into a calm the tempest chide
By Thy supreme command;
Thou in our broken ship remain,
Till every soul the harbour gain,
And reach the heavenly land.
Into a calm the tempest chide
By Thy supreme command;
Thou in our broken ship remain,
Till every soul the harbour gain,
And reach the heavenly land.
| The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley | |