2 Not all the archangels can tell,
The joys of that holiest place,
Where Jesus is pleased to reveal
The light of His heavenly face;
When caught in the rapturous flame,
The sight beatific they prove,
And walk in the light of the Lamb,
And bask in the beams of His love.
3 Thou know'st, in the spirit of prayer,
We long Thy appearing to see,
Resigned to the burden we bear,
But longing to triumph with Thee:
'Tis good at Thy word to be here,
'Tis better in Thee to be gone,
And see Thee in glory appear,
And rise to a share in Thy throne.
4 To mourn for Thy coming is sweet,
To weep at Thy longer delay;
But Thou, whom we hasten to meet,
Shalt chase all our sorrows away.
The tears shall be wiped from our eyes,
When Thee we behold in the cloud,
And echo the joys of the skies,
And shout to the trumpet of God.
HE Church in her militant state
THE
TIs weary, and cannot forbear;
The saints in an agony wait
To see Him again in the air.
The Spirit invites, in the Bride,
Her heavenly Lord to descend,
And place her, enthroned at His side,
In glory that never shall end.
2 The news of His coming I hear,
And join in the catholic cry,
O Jesus, in triumph appear,
Appear in the clouds of the sky!
Whom only I languish to love,
In fulness of majesty come,
And give me a mansion above,
And take to my heavenly home.
IE thirsty are called to their Lord,
His glorious appearing to see;
And, drawn by the power of His word,
The promise, I know, is for me:
I thirst for the streams of Thy grace,
I gasp for the Spirit of Love;
I long for a glimpse of Thy face,
And then to behold Thee above.
2 Thy call I exult to obey,
And come, in the spirit of
Thy joy in that happiest day,
Thy kingdom of glory, to share;
To drink the pure river of bliss,
With life everlasting o'erflowed;
Implunged in the crystal abyss,
And lost in the ocean of God.
MERRIBLE thought! shall I alone,
Who may be saved-shall I—
Of all, alas! whom I have known,
Through sin, for ever die?
2 While all my old companions dear,
With whom I once did live,
Joyful at God's right hand appear,
A blessing to receive :
3 Shall I, amidst a ghastly band,-
Dragged to the judgment-seat,
Far on the left with horror stand,
My fearful doom to meet?
4 Ah, no :-I still may turn and live,
For still His wrath delays;
He now vouchsafes a kind reprieve,
And offers me His grace.
5 I will accept His offers now,
From every sin depart,
Perform my oft-repeated vow,
And render Him my heart.
6 I will improve what I receive,
The grace through Jesus given ;
Sure, if with God on earth I live,
To live with Him in heaven.
Y thoughts on awful subjects roll;
Damnation and the dead:
What horrors seize the guilty soul
Upon a dying bed!
2 Lingering about these mortal shores,
She makes a long delay,
Till, like a flood with rapid force,
Death sweeps the wretch away.
3 Then swift and dreadful she descends,
Down to the fiery coast,
Amongst abominable fiends,
Herself for ever lost.
4 There endless crowds of sinners lie,
And darkness makes their chains;
Tortured with keen despair they cry,
Yet wait for fiercer pains.
5 Not all their anguish and their blood
For their old guilt atones;
Nor the compassion of a God
Shall hearken to their groans.
6 Amazing grace, that kept my breath,
Nor bid my soul remove,
Till I had learned my Saviour's death,
And well insured His love.
EPENT, the Voice celestial cries,
No longer dare delay:
For he who scorns the mandate, dies,
And meets a fiery day.
2 No more the sovereign eye of God
O'erlooks the crimes of men;
His heralds are despatched abroad,
To warn the world of sin.
3 Together in His presence bow,
And all your guilt confess :
Accept the offer'd Saviour now,
Nor trifle with His grace.
4 Bow, ere the awful trumpet sound,
And call you to His bar;
For mercy knows the appointed bound,
And turns to judgment there.
5 Amazing Love, that yet will call,
And yet prolong our days:
Our hearts, subdued by goodness, fall,
And weep, and love, and praise.
In the large Hymn-Book 1780, Mr. Wesley closed his INTRODUCTORY HYMNS with a few entitled, Praying for a Blessing. These may be found, with similar Hymns, (Nos. 51-66,) in the Section on DIVINE WORSHIP.
Describing Formal Religion; See HYMNS 336-338.
Describing Inward Religion; See HYMNS 383-385.
ATHER of Lights, from whom proceeds
Whate'er Thy every creature needs;
Whose goodness, providently nigh,
Feeds the young ravens when they cry ;
To Thee I look, my heart prepare,
Suggest, and hearken to my prayer.
2 Since by Thy light myself I see
Naked, and poor, and void of Thee,
Thy eyes must all my thoughts survey,
Preventing what my lips would say ;
Thou seest my wants, for help they call,
And, ere I speak, Thou knowest them all.
3 Thou know'st the baseness of my mind,
Wayward, and impotent, and blind;
Thou knowest how unsubdued my will,
Averse from good, and prone to ill;
Thou knowest how wide my passions rove,
Nor checked by fear, nor charmed by love!
4 Fain would I know, as known by Thee,
And feel the indigence I see;
Fain would I all my vileness own,
And deep beneath the burden groan;
Abhor the pride that lurks within,
Detest and loathe myself and sin.
5 Ah! give me, Lord, myself to feel;
My total misery reveal:
Ah! give me, Lord, (I still would say,)
A heart to mourn, a heart to pray:
My business this, my only care,
My life, my every breath, be prayer!
ESUS, my great High Priest above, My Friend before the Throne of Love; If now for me prevails Thy prayer, If now I find Thee pleading there; If Thou the secret wish convey, And sweetly prompt my heart to pray; Hear, and my weak petitions join, Almighty Advocate, to Thine! 2 Fain would I know my utmost ill, And groan my nature's weight to feel: To feel the clouds that round me roll, The night that hangs upon my soul,
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