 | The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley |  |
XL. THE SAME.
Hymn 8.
[Ah! woe (eternal woe) is me]
Ah! woe (eternal woe) is me
To sin and Satan join'd!
What shall I do, or say to Thee,
Preserver of mankind?
My firmest promises are void,
My strictest vows are vain,
Again I have myself destroy'd,
For I have sinn'd again.
To sin and Satan join'd!
What shall I do, or say to Thee,
Preserver of mankind?
My firmest promises are void,
My strictest vows are vain,
Again I have myself destroy'd,
For I have sinn'd again.
And shall I dare mine eyes lift up,
And still for mercy sue?
What possibility of hope
That I should e'er prove true?
Thou know'st, I every means have tried,
And all in Jesus' name,
Fasted, and pray'd, and wept, and cried,
But still remain the same.
And still for mercy sue?
What possibility of hope
That I should e'er prove true?
Thou know'st, I every means have tried,
And all in Jesus' name,
Fasted, and pray'd, and wept, and cried,
But still remain the same.
Rivers of real tears I shed,
(And still mine eyes run o'er,)
And prostrate at Thine altar pray'd
That I might sin no more.
I burn'd with sin-detesting zeal,
My solemn vows renew'd,
And long'd, Thou know'st, I long'd to seal,
The covenant with my blood.
(And still mine eyes run o'er,)
And prostrate at Thine altar pray'd
That I might sin no more.
I burn'd with sin-detesting zeal,
My solemn vows renew'd,
And long'd, Thou know'st, I long'd to seal,
The covenant with my blood.
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Beyond the world and Satan's power
I wish'd for wings to fly,
And languish'd for the welcome hour,
And groan'd and gasp'd to die:
Struggled to give my spirit back,
That I might sin no more,
Myself impatient to forsake,
And reach the happy shore.
I wish'd for wings to fly,
And languish'd for the welcome hour,
And groan'd and gasp'd to die:
Struggled to give my spirit back,
That I might sin no more,
Myself impatient to forsake,
And reach the happy shore.
Those longings were they not sincere?
And flow'd they not from Thee?
Why am I then entangled here
In sin and misery?
Ah! wherefore didst Thou let me live
To see this woeful day,
Again Thy gracious Spirit to grieve,
Again to fall away?
And flow'd they not from Thee?
Why am I then entangled here
In sin and misery?
Ah! wherefore didst Thou let me live
To see this woeful day,
Again Thy gracious Spirit to grieve,
Again to fall away?
But shall my bold presumption dare
Arraign the God of grace?
Mercy, and truth Thy dealings are,
And righteous all Thy ways.
For me, my stubborn will to bow,
What couldst Thou more have done?
The fault, (if yet I know not how,)
Is all in me alone.
Arraign the God of grace?
Mercy, and truth Thy dealings are,
And righteous all Thy ways.
For me, my stubborn will to bow,
What couldst Thou more have done?
The fault, (if yet I know not how,)
Is all in me alone.
O'erwhelm'd again with guilty shame,
With sin's redoubled load,
Whom have I but myself to blame?
I must acquit my God.
I wander o'er Thy judgments' maze,
And cry in painful doubt,
Unsearchable are all Thy ways,
And past my finding out!
With sin's redoubled load,
Whom have I but myself to blame?
I must acquit my God.
I wander o'er Thy judgments' maze,
And cry in painful doubt,
Unsearchable are all Thy ways,
And past my finding out!
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So be it then, I sink into
The fathomless abyss,
If Christ at last His mercy show,
And whisper I am His;
One ray of heavenly light impart,
Before I hence remove,
And speak Himself into my heart
The God of pardoning love.
The fathomless abyss,
If Christ at last His mercy show,
And whisper I am His;
One ray of heavenly light impart,
Before I hence remove,
And speak Himself into my heart
The God of pardoning love.
| The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley | |