The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

In the council of the sky
It predetermined was,
Paul was chosen to testify
Of Him that stain'd the cross;
God, whatever man intends,
Hath work at Rome which must be done;
Thither He his labourer sends,
To serve His will alone.

434

2985.

[Number'd with transgressors here]

They delivered Paul and certain other prisoners, &c. —xxvii. 1.

Number'd with transgressors here,
The servant doth as Christ appear;
With felons link'd, the lot receives
Of Jesus placed between the thieves;
Suffering with Christ, he truly knows
The grace that from his Saviour flows,
The power of Him who reigns above,
And all the life of heavenly love.

2986.

[Luke and Aristarchus too]

Entering into a ship...we launched, &c. —xxvii. 2.

Luke and Aristarchus too
With the suffering saint remain:
Love can all things bear and do,
Love esteems the prisoner's chain;
Keeps and will not let them part,
One in state and one in heart.

Two or three in Jesus' name
Met, according to His mind,
Did they not the promise claim?
Did they not the promise find?
Boldly launch into the deep,
Safe with Jesus in the ship?

2987.

[If Christ to try our faith ordain]

Julius courteously entreated Paul. —xxvii. 3.

If Christ to try our faith ordain,
The cruel hearts of faithless men
To nature's bent He leaves;
And then the persecuting foe,
Let loose his enmity to show,
Our flesh or spirit grieves.

But when our Lord intends to cheer
His poor afflicted confessor,
He doth the hate remove,

435

And soften'd then for His design,
Soldiers' and Heathen's hearts incline
To gentleness and love.

Entreated with humanity,
Jesus Thy love's effect we see,
Thine interposal own,
In enemies or strangers kind
The favour of our God we find,
And praise our God alone.

2988.

[In outward things, with faith endued]

Paul admonished them, and said, &c. —xxvii. 9, 10.

In outward things, with faith endued
Full frequently we find
A present store of counsel good,
And readiness of mind.
The Spirit of faith and wisdom too
Makes future dangers known;
But if our Leader we pursue
We every evil shun.

2989.

[How should a prisoner poor and bound]

The centurion believed the master and the, &c. —xxvii. 11.

How should a prisoner poor and bound
The mariners advise?
A Christian is of judgment sound,
And wiser than the wise;
By providential love employ'd
He serves our greatest need;
And artists too when taught of God
In their own art exceed.

2990.

[Foolish men, your hope is vain]

When the south wind blew softly, supposing, &c. —xxvii. 13, 14.

Foolish men, your hope is vain:
Can ye thus your purpose gain,

436

Warn'd, the warning who despise,
Rashly slight a saint's advice,
Trust a smiling wind, before
God's inspired ambassador!

Tyrants of the sea and land,
Winds arise at His command,
Brought out of His treasuries
The devoted vessel seize;
Serving their almighty Lord,
Winds and storms fulfil His word.

He whom winds and seas obey,
Doth His sovereignty display,
Jesus, Master of the storm
Doth His own designs perform,
Jesus in the Heathen's eyes
His own servant magnifies.

2991.

[The means of life to gain]

We let her drive. —xxvii. 15–17.

The means of life to gain
What will not mortals dare?
Fearless they tempt the stormy main,
And all the dangers there!
On rocks and quicksands still
Through hurricanes they ride,
And trust a feeble pilot's skill,
And in a plank confide.

But few alas, depend
On an almighty Lord,
Whose faithful mercies never end
To those that keep His word;

437

Who counts our every hair,
And hides our souls above,
The objects of His guardian care
And providential love.

2992.

[Worldlings, anticipate the day]

We cast out with our own hands the tackling, &c. —xxvii. 19.

Worldlings, anticipate the day
When that ye count your chiefest good
Yourselves shall wish to cast away,
A sore, and worse than useless load
Which soon will sink your shatter'd ship,
And plunge you in the' infernal deep.

Skin for your skin, and all ye have
Ye give, in jeopardy extreme,
A momentary life to save,
A dying body to redeem;
But if to save your wealth ye choose
Your soul's eternal life ye lose.

2993.

[A picture of my life I view]

All hope that we should be saved was then, &c. —xxvii. 20.

A picture of my life I view,
And sensibly perceive it true,
By long temptations toss'd,
With rocks and shoals and whirlpools near,
My soul, my shipwreck'd soul, I fear
Will be for ever lost.

In a dark world I wander on,
No joyous all-enlivening sun
My gloomy sorrow cheers,
Throughout the melancholy night,
To guide me by its friendly light,
No glittering star appears.

438

My latest hope alas is o'er;
I cannot reach that heavenly shore,
The gusts of passion rise
So fierce, so high the billows roll,
And on this long afflicted soul
So huge a tempest lies.

Bear as ye list, ye whirlwinds bear!
A wretch o'erwhelm'd with just despair,
O'erwhelm me with the wave
Unless the God of love unknown,
Will, for the honour of His Son,
Miraculously save.

2994.

[He first their wilfulness reproves]

Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, &c. —xxvii. 21.

He first their wilfulness reproves,
And then the abjects cheers,
Kindly their sad despair removes,
And dissipates their fears;
Ready through fear of death to die
The comfort they receive,
And all who on the word rely
Shall by the promise live.

The sinners who his counsel slight,
And bear their stubbornness,
A Christian never can delight
To' insult in their distress;
Desponding souls he lifts them up
When sunk beneath their load,
Inspiring them with faith and hope
In his almighty God.

2995.

[A present help in trouble]

There stood by me this night the angel. —xxvii. 23.

A present help in trouble,
Whene'er our wants require,

439

When danger 's nigh,
To Christ we fly,
And find Him always nigher;
No storms or tempests hinder
Our God's commiseration,
Who everywhere
Displays His care,
And shows us His salvation.

With trembling crowds surrounded
With horror and dejection,
Thee, Jesus, Thee
By faith we see,
And rest in Thy protection;
More than an host of angels
Thy promise to deliver
Comforts our hearts,
And strength imparts,
And life that lasts for ever.

2996.

[A few compendious words]

Whose I am, and whom I serve. —xxvii. 23.

A few compendious words
Religion's whole contain;
By faith I am the Lord's,
By faith I His remain;
In hope I serve His blessed will,
And all His law in love fulfil.

The creature of my God
By Him in being held,
The purchase of His blood
To Christ His right I yield,
His, wholly His rejoice to be,
Who made, preserves, and died for me.

440

Jesus, Thine own defend,
Fill up my faith and hope,
And, loving to the end
Receive Thy servant up,
And for the work Thyself hast done
Reward with an immortal crown.

2997.

[Let infidels fear]

Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before, &c. —xxvii. 24.

Let infidels fear
When destruction is near:
A believer is hidden above,
Out of danger is he,
From anxiety free,
In the arms of omnipotent Love.

The tempest may roar,
But it cannot devour,
While on Jesus's promise alone
Secure he relies,
He all evil defies,
Till the work of his Master is done.

2998.

[One good man endued with power]

And, lo, God hath given thee all them, &c. —xxvii. 24.

One good man endued with power,
Whom all the rest reject,
Singly bold, in danger's hour,
May a whole land protect;
Listening to a Christian's prayers,
Who pleads in faith the' atoning blood,
Oft the God of mercy spares
A sinful multitude.

O that such might now appear,
As in the gap to stand,
One appointed messenger
To guard Britannia's land!

441

Jesus, send by whom Thou wilt;
But ere we plunge into the deep,
Rid us from this load of guilt,
And save the sinking ship.

2999.

[The consolation from above]

Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I, &c. —xxvii. 25.

The consolation from above,
Which first himself receives,
Trusting in his Redeemer's love,
To troubled souls he gives:
A Christian among Heathens found,
With God's protection bless'd,
Will comfort by his faith's rebound,
And strengthen all the rest.

The Lord hath spoke, the faithful Lord
His sacred word hath pass'd,
And shall He not fulfil His word,
And save their lives at last?
Jesus in whom a saint confides,
His promise must perform:
And still He on the whirlwind rides,
And still directs the storm!

3000.

[Faith beholds the' invisible]

Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. —xxvii. 26.

Faith beholds the' invisible;
An heavenly Pilot's hand
Undergirds the shatter'd keel
And guides it to the strand:
Safe through the tempestuous deep
To Malta's fatal isle he steers,
Malta's isle must break the ship,
And save the passengers.

3001.

[The word conditional he knew]

Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot, &c. —xxvii. 31.

The word conditional he knew,
Did on the' appointed means depend,

442

And God the merciful and true
Would on their toil His blessing send.
He knew the oracle was sure,
For truth Himself the promise gave,
And Jesus would the lives secure
Of all who strove themselves to save.

The Saviour never supersedes
The hallow'd industry of man,
But when our faith His promise pleads
He bids us every sinew strain;
And, while we in the ship abide,
Exerting all our gracious power,
With Jesus we the storm outride,
And reach through Him the heavenly shore.

3002.

[Who would not his advice pursue]

While the day was coming on, Paul besought, &c. —xxvii. 33.

Who would not his advice pursue,
He ceases not to give them new,
He courts till he prevails:
Love is the same, whoe'er oppose,
Nor haughtiness nor anger knows,
And never, never fails.

3003.

[How quickly changed my God, by Thee]

I pray you to take some meat: for this is, &c. —xxvii. 34.

How quickly changed my God, by Thee
Mortals and their conditions are,
The prisoner sets his keepers free,
Redeems them by his faith and prayer.
The Christian if Thy will ordain,
Life to idolaters shall give,
And save a second time the men
Who him account not fit to live.

3004.

[In presence of the Pagan crowd]

He took bread and gave thanks to God, &c. —xxvii. 35.

In presence of the Pagan crowd
He shows his faithfulness,

443

And asks the Giver of their food
To sanctify and bless.
Jesus' Jehovah's worshipper,
He stands in open day:
But Christians before Christians fear
And basely blush to pray.

3005.

[The faith of Paul they see]

Then were they all of good cheer, and they, &c. —xxvii. 36.

The faith of Paul they see,
And then the word receive,
Revived by his alacrity
They venture to believe;
His firmness they behold
Whose life on Christ is cast,
And through his confidence made bold
They all escape at last.

'Tis thus with faithful Paul,
To dying souls we cry,
And bid them trust the Lord of all
On whom ourselves rely:
Redeem'd for Jesus' sake,
Believe our gospel true;
Our own eternal life we stake
On what we promise you.

Our danger is the same,
But lo, we dare depend
For grace and glory on His name
Whom we to you commend:
With us His word believe,
With us His promise prove,
Your life through Jesus' death receive,
And reach the port above.

444

3006.

[So many influenced by one]

And we were in all in the ship two hundred, &c. —xxvii. 37.

So many influenced by one
Whom all for their example take!
Their lives, (and not their lives alone,)
Saved for their unknown Saviour's sake;
Paul could not for their lives entreat,
And their endanger'd souls forget.

Surely he ask'd his Lord to spare
Their souls as at the point to die,
And Jesus in His servant's prayer
Regarding His own Spirit's cry,
Received them all into His fold,
And in His book of life enroll'd.

3007.

[The batter'd ship, by tempest toss'd]

They ran the ship aground; and the forepart, &c. —xxvii. 41.

The batter'd ship, by tempest toss'd
Had all the mighty shocks received,
Yet clear of rocks, and sands, and coast,
Weather'd the storm and strangely lived;
But when it to the land sticks fast
In pieces dash'd, it sinks at last.

3008.

[Strangers to faith we cannot trust]

The soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners. —xxvii. 42.

Strangers to faith we cannot trust:
If soften'd for a time they be,
Too soon ungrateful and unjust,
Strangers to kind humanity
With Cain, the murderer, they rise,
Their brethren's lives to sacrifice.

The instruments to save their souls
Without remorse the ruffians kill,
Unless our Lord their rage controls,
Our Lord who bids the winds “be still,”
And binds the sea, through His command,
In chains of adamantine sand.

445

3009.

[Happy loss of liberty]

The centurion, willing to save Paul, &c. —xxvii. 43.

Happy loss of liberty,
Which men with saints endure,
Captives your deliverer see
And rest like Paul secure,
Through a prisoner of the Lord
Preserved from the tempestuous main,
From the peril of the sword
Ye live redeem'd again.

3010.

[Our omnipotent Lord]

And the rest, some on boards, and some on, &c. —xxvii. 44.

Our omnipotent Lord
Remembers His word,
His promise fulfils,
While in human endeavours His arm He conceals;
In the means we perceive
By whose mercy we live,
And thankfully own,
The deliverance wrought, He hath wrought it alone.

All glory and power
To the God we adore!
Salvation is His,
Ever nigh to redeem from the hellish abyss:
Preserved by His love
Our souls are above,
Secure in His hand
Till with joy we arrive in Immanuel's land.

Though our vessel be broke
If we faithfully look
To the Saviour of all,
And on Jesus's name for deliverance call,
A plank or a board
The old ship will afford,
And in Jesus's power
We on that shall escape to the heavenly shore.

	CHAPTER XXVII. The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XXVII.

2984.

[In the council of the sky]