The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

Bold he sets his steadfast face,
Nor fears the face of man,
Safe within a wall of brass
And free from every stain,
Answering in his own defence
He makes the injured truth appear,
Open is his countenance,
And as his conscience clear.

2911.

[The persecuted man]

The high priest Ananias commanded them, &c. —xxiii. 2.

The persecuted man
Who pleads his innocence,
And boldly dares his plea maintain,
Commits a fresh offence;

401

Smote by the slanderous tongue
Unless he silent stand,
The world inflict a further wrong,
And smite him with the hand.

'Tis thus our baffled foes
To lawless violence fly,
And smite and stop the mouth of those
Who contradict their lie;
Unable to gainsay
The words of righteousness,
They answer us a shorter way,
And truth by blows suppress.

2912.

[Transported by prophetic zeal]

God shall smite thee, thou whited wall, &c. —xxiii. 3.

Transported by prophetic zeal,
Constrain'd the judgment to foretell,
He speaks divinely right;
The threaten'd woe belongs to all,
And God shall every whited wall
With sure destruction smite.

2913.

[By that prophetic impulse stirr'd]

I wist not, brethren, that he was the high, &c. —xxiii. 5.

By that prophetic impulse stirr'd
He did not to the robes advert,
But through the Spirit of his Lord
Discern'd the false professor's heart:
He warn'd him of the' impending woe,
That those who fight with the Most-High,
And touch His people now, may know
They touch the apple of His eye.

2914.

[Respect external but unfeign'd]

It is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of, &c. —xxiii. 5.

Respect external but unfeign'd
Is to the worst of rulers due,

402

As dignities by God ordain'd
The heavenly hierarchy to show:
The' unworthiest of men we own
Clothed with Divine authority,
And honouring for Thy sake alone,
Fountain of power we honour Thee.

2915.

[The foes of truth, by malice join'd]

And when he had so said, there arose a, &c. —xxiii. 7.

The foes of truth, by malice join'd,
Soon into different factions run,
No lasting bonds the wicked bind;
Truth only truth continues one,
But error leads a thousand ways
And drops them in the endless maze.

2916.

[The modern Sadducees]

The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, &c. —xxiii. 8.

The modern Sadducees
Angels and spirits disown,
Deists no after state confess,
No God to man made known;
As when their only care
This present life were o'er,
Their brutal souls would melt in air,
And die to live no more.

The Pharisees maintain
With zealous fury fill'd
'Gainst all your infidels profane
The Christian truths reveal'd:
Yet orthodox at most
In notions who confide
They may of fewer errors boast,
And more abundant pride.

403

2917.

[Zealots though unregenerate men]

The scribes...strove, saying, We find no, &c. —xxiii. 9.

Zealots though unregenerate men
Will for a zealot fight:
Is he of our opinion? then
He must be in the right:
We can in him no evil see,
We can no longer blame;
Let the well-meaning man go free,
He thinks with us the same.

Defenders of His witnesses
The God of truth and power,
Out of their enemies can raise
In the distressing hour;
But suffering saints on Christ depend,
And rest in Christ alone;
Their sure Protector to the end,
Who always saves His own.

2918.

[While with a fleshly arm]

The chief captain, fearing lest Paul should, &c. —xxiii. 10.

While with a fleshly arm
They furiously defend,
To rescue him from harm
Would they in pieces rend?
The love of Pharisees may be
As fatal as their enmity.

But vain the striving zeal
Of friendly Pharisees,
The great almighty will
Prohibits his release,
An order from above detains
And Paul a captive still remains.

404

He knows his Saviour's mind
In his captivity,
In joyful bonds confined
That thousands may go free
To gospel liberty restored,
He rests—the prisoner of the Lord!

2919.

[Nothing they could by tumult gain]

Certain of the Jews banded together, &c. —xxiii. 12.

Nothing they could by tumult gain,
And legal process was but vain,
The wretch unfit to live they know,
Yet still he lives their church's foe:
When neither mob nor council kill,
Inspired with most infernal zeal,
Lo, to their last resource they fly,
And Paul shall by assassins die.

As champions for the church they stand,
An oath unites the sacred band,
The holy league is sworn, and now
They must perform their pious vow,
They cannot weakly change their mind;
The solemn covenant is sign'd,
And earth and hell have both decreed
A stubborn heretic to bleed.

2920.

[Elders commend their catholic zeal]

And they came to the chief priests and elders, &c. —xxiii. 14.

Elders commend their catholic zeal
Devoted heretics to kill,
With joy the reverend conclave join
To' advance their laudable design
The pontiff too his help affords
To gird their consecrated swords,
Their meritorious deed to bless;
And all the saints ensure success.

405

2921.

[Some put their trust in chariots]

Make ready two hundred soldiers, &c. —xxiii. 23.

Some put their trust in chariots,
And horses some rely on,
But Christ alone
His people own
The help and strength of Zion;
A man of God remembers
In peril and temptation
The Lord of hosts,
And calmly trusts
The God of his salvation.

The confessor of Jesus
Confiding in His favour
Perceives prepared
Another guard
By his almighty Saviour;
Myriads of watchful angels
Invisibly attend him,
The flaming band
At Christ's command
With outspread wings defend him.

These, these are Israel's horsemen,
Whom in the dangerous hour
Our Captain sends,
To save His friends
From every hostile power;
And still Elijah's convoy
Is ready to deliver
Their charge below,
Who Jesus know,
And trust in Him for ever.

406

2922.

[The captain doth the priests defeat]

Bring him safe unto Felix the governor. —xxiii 24.

The captain doth the priests defeat,
And saves his prisoner from their snare;
More mercy from the world we meet
Than those who fill the sacred chair;
Soldiers may mild and generous be,
To truth and equity inclined,
But justice and humanity
In wicked priests we never find.

2923.

[Candid and honourable men]

Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of, &c. —xxiii. 29.

Candid and honourable men
Who would the injured right,
The law Divine, the world unseen,
The things eternal slight;
As free from all religious zeal,
And superstitious cares,
As life or death, as heaven or hell,
Were no concern of theirs.

2924.

[To groundless lies and slanders bold]

I...gave commandment to his accusers also, &c. —xxiii. 30.

To groundless lies and slanders bold
If others credit give,
Christians should their assent withhold,
And but on proof believe:
Yet those who bear the name in vain
Nor Pagan justice know,
Believe against the righteous man
His unconfronted foe.

Even you, the holy fathers, you
The' inquisitors severe,
With blindfold enmity pursue
The Saviour's members here:

407

Who tax the murderers of Rome
The house of mercy blame,
As heretics unheard ye doom
Your brethren to the flame.

2925.

[Happy Paul to bonds consign'd!]

He commanded him to be kept in Herod's, &c. —xxiii. 35.

Happy Paul to bonds consign'd!
What monarch is so free?
Thousands shall the blessing find
Of his captivity;
Kept, (but Christ his Keeper is,
And serves by him His own design,)
Kept, he rests in perfect peace
Within the arms Divine.

Jesus, full of truth and love,
Thy Godhead we adore,
Thee we trust the same to prove
Both now and evermore;
Let what will Thy church befall,
It shall to Thy great glory tend,
Magnify the Lord of all,
The saints' eternal Friend.

	CHAPTER XXIII. The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XXIII.

2910.

[Bold he sets his steadfast face]