He maketh the clouds his
chariot!
Warner - World's Best Literature - v27 - Wat to Zor
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To that manner of existence which he then has, we do not even
give the name of life. It is then only when a man is born, that
we say he begins to live. For as soon as he is born, he begins
to see the light, and the various objects with which he is encom-
passed. His ears are then opened, and he hears the sounds
which successively strike upon them. At the same time, all the
other organs of sense begin to be exercised upon their proper
objects. He likewise breathes, and lives in a manner wholly
different from what he did before. How exactly doth the par.
allel hold in all these instances! While a man is in a mere
natural state, before he is born of God, he has, in a spiritual
sense, eyes and sees not; a thick impenetrable veil lies upon
them: he has ears, but hears not; he is utterly deaf to what he
is most of all concerned to hear. His other spiritual senses are
all locked up; he is in the same condition as if he had them
not. Hence he has no knowledge of God; no intercourse with
him: he is not at all acquainted with him. He has no true
knowledge of the things of God, either of spiritual or eternal
things; therefore though he is a living man, he is a dead Christ-
ian. But as soon as he is born of God, there is a total change
in all these particulars. The eyes of his understanding are
opened” (such is the language of the great apostle); and he who
of old commanded light to shine out of darkness shining on his
heart, he sees the light of the glory of God,” his glorious love
in the face of Jesus Christ. ” His ears being opened, he is now
capable of hearing the inward voice of God, saying, “Be of good
cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee;” “Go and sin no more. ”
is the purport of what God speaks to his heart; although per-
haps not in these very words. He is now ready to hear whatso-
ever “He that teacheth man knowledge ” is pleased from time
to time to reveal to him. He “feels in his heart” (to use the
language of our Church) “the mighty working of the Spirit of
God”: not in a gross, carnal sense, as the men of the world
stupidly and willfully misunderstand the expression; though they
have been told again and again, we mean thereby neither more
nor less than this: he feels, is inwardly sensible of, the graces
which the Spirit of God works in his heart. He feels, he is con-
scious of, a "peace which passeth all understanding. ” He many
times feels such a joy in God as is unspeakable, and full of
glory. ” He feels the love of God shed abroad in his heart by
the Holy Ghost, which is given unto him”; and all his spiritual
senses are then exercised to discern spiritual good and evil. By
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the use of these, he is daily increasing in the knowledge of God,
of Jesus Christ whom he hath sent, and of all the things per-
taining to his inward kingdom. And now he may be properly
said to live: God having quickened him by His spirit, he is alive
to God through Jesus Christ. He lives a life which the world
knoweth not of, a “life which is hid with Christ in God. ” God
is continually breathing, as it were, upon the soul; and his soul
is breathing unto God. Grace is descending into his heart; and
prayer and praise ascending to heaven: and by this intercourse
between God and man, this fellowship with the Father and the
Son, as by a kind of spiritual respiration, the life of God in the
soul is sustained; and the child of God grows up, till he comes
to the full measure of the stature of Christ. ”
From hence it manifestly appears, what is the nature of the
new birth. It is that great change which God works in the soul
when he brings it into life; when he raises it from the death of
sin to the life of righteousness. It is the change wrought in the
whole soul by the almighty Spirit of God, when it is created
anew in Christ Jesus,” when it is renewed after the image of
God, in righteousness and true holiness”; when the love of the
world is changed into the love of God; pride into humility; pas-
sion into meekness; hatred, envy, malice, into a sincere, tender,
disinterested love for all mankind. In a word, it is that change
whereby the earthly, sensual, devilish mind is turned into the
“mind which was in Christ Jesus. ” This is the nature of the
new birth: "So is every one that is born of the Spirit. ”
OUR STEWARDSHIP
From a Discourse entitled (The Good Steward)
W*
E SHALL not receive ta còla — our own things — till we come
to our own country. Eternal things only are our own:
with all these temporal things we are barely intrusted by
another - the Disposer and Lord of all. And he intrusts us with
-
them on this express condition, that we use them only as our
Master's goods, and according to the particular directions which
he has given us in his word.
On this condition he hath intrusted us with our souls, our
bodies, our goods, and whatever other talents we have received;
but in order to impress this weighty truth on our hearts, it will
be needful to come to particulars.
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And first, God has intrusted us with our soul,- an immortal
spirit, made in the image of God; together with all the powers
and faculties thereof, - understanding, imagination, memory, will,
and a train of affections, either included in it, or closely depend-
ent upon it,— love and hatred, joy and sorrow; respecting present
good and evil, desire and aversion; hope and fear, respecting that
which is to come.
All these St. Paul seems to include in two
words, when he says, “The peace of God shall keep your hearts
and minds. ” Perhaps indeed the latter word, vonpara, might rather
"
be rendered thoughts, provided we take that word in its most
extensive sense, for every perception of the mind, whether active
or passive.
Now of all these, it is certain we are only stewards. God has
intrusted us with these powers and faculties, not that we may
employ them according to our own will, but according to the
express orders which he has given us: although it is true that
in doing his will we most effectually secure our own happiness;
seeing it is herein only that we can be happy, either in time or
in eternity. Thus we are to use our understanding, our imagina-
tion, our memory, wholly to the glory of Him that gave them.
Thus our will is to be wholly given up to him, and all our affec-
tions to be regulated as he directs. We are to love and hate, to
rejoice and grieve, to desire and shun, to hope and fear, accord-
ing to the rule which he prescribes, whose we are, and whom we
are to serve in all things. Even our thoughts are not our
in this sense: they are not at our own disposal; but for every
deliberate motion of our mind, we are accountable to our great
Master
God has, secondly, intrusted us with our bodies (those exqui-
sitely wrought machines, so “fearfully and wonderfully made"),
”
with all the powers and members thereof. He has intrusted
us with the organs of sense; of sight, hearing, and the rest: but
none of these are given us as our own, to be employed accord-
ing to our own will. None of these are lent us in such a sense
as to leave us at liberty to use them as we please for a season.
No: we have received them on these very terms, that as long
as they abide with us, we should employ them all in that very
manner, and no other, which he appoints.
It is on the same terms that he imparted to us that most
excellent talent of speech. “Thou hast given me a tongue,” says
the ancient writer, “that I may praise thee therewith. ” For this
Own
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purpose was it given to all the children of men, to be employed
in glorifying God. Nothing, therefore, is more ungrateful or
more absurd than to think or say, “Our tongues are our own. ”
That cannot be, unless we have created ourselves, and so are
independent of the Most High, Nay, but It is he that hath
made us,
and not we ourselves: " the manifest consequence is
that he is still Lord over us, in this as in all other respects. It
follows that there is not a word of our tongue for which we are
not accountable to him.
To him we are equally accountable for the use of our hands
and feet, and all the members of our body. These are so many
talents which are committed to our trust, until the time appointed
by the Father. Until then, we have the use of all these; but as
stewards, not as proprietors: to the end, we should render them,
not as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but as instru-
ments of righteousness unto God. ”
God has intrusted us, thirdly, with a portion of worldly goods,
with food to eat, raiment to put on, and a place where to lay
our head; with not only the necessaries but the conveniences of
life. Above all, he has committed to our charge that precious
talent which contains all the rest, - money: indeed it is unspeak-
ably precious, if we are wise and faithful stewards of it; if we
employ every part of it for such purposes as our blessed Lord
has commanded us to do.
God has intrusted us, fourthly, with several talents which do
not properly come under any of these heads. Such is bodily
strength; such are health, a pleasing person, an agreeable ad-
dress; such are learning and knowledge in their various degrees,
with all the other advantages of education. Such is the influence
which we have over others, whether by their love and esteem of
us, or by power-power to do them good or hurt, to help or hin-
der them in the circumstances of life. Add to these that invalu-
able talent of time, with which God intrusts us from moment
to moment. Add, lastly, that on which all the rest depend, and
without which they would all be curses, not blessings; namely,
the grace of God, the power of his Holy Spirit, which alone
worketh in us all that is acceptable in his sight.
Brethren, "Who is an understanding man and endued with
knowledge among you? » Let him show the wisdom from above,
by walking suitably to his character. If he so account of him-
self, as a steward of the manifold gifts of God, let him see that
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all his thoughts, and words, and works, be agreeable to the post
God has assigned him. It is no small thing to lay out for God
all which you have received from God. It requires all your wis-
dom, all your resolution, all your patience, and constancy;– far
more than ever you had by nature; but not more than you may
have by grace.
For his grace is sufficient for you; and “all
things,” you know, "are possible to him that believeth. Ву
faith, then, put on the Lord Jesus Christ"; "put on the whole
armor of God”: and you shall be enabled to glorify him in all
your words and works; yea, to bring every thought into captivity
to the obedience of Christ!
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
From The First Discourse upon the Sermon on the Mount)
ThS
his is that kingdom of heaven, or of God, which is within us:
even “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. ”
And what is righteousness, but the life of God in the
soul; the mind which was in Christ Jesus; the image of God
stamped upon the heart now renewed after the likeness of him
that created it ? What is it but the love of God, because he first
loved us, and the love of all mankind for his sake ?
And what is this "peace,” the peace of God, but that calm
serenity of soul, that sweet repose in the blood of Jesus, which
leaves no doubt of our acceptance in him; which excludes all
fear, but the loving, filial fear of offending our Father which is
in heaven?
This inward kingdom implies also “joy in the Holy Ghost ”;
who seals upon our hearts the redemption which is in Jesus,”
the righteousness of Christ imputed to us for the remission of
the sins that are past”; who giveth us now the earnest of our
inheritance,” of the crown which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will give at that day. And well may this be termed “the king-
dom of heaven”: seeing it is heaven already opened in the soul;
the first springing up of those rivers of pleasure which flow at
God's right hand for evermore.
« Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ” Whosoever thou art to
whom God hath given to be "poor in spirit,” to feel thyself lost,
thou hast a right thereto, through the gracious promise of Him
(C
)
C
c
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(
who cannot lie. It is purchased for thee by the blood of the
Lamb. It is very nigh: thou art on the brink of heaven! An-
other step, and thou enterest into the kingdom of righteousness,
and peace, and joy! Art thou all sin ? “Behold the Lamb of
God, who taketh away the sin of the world! ” All unholy? See
thy "Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”!
Art thou unable to atone for the least of thy sins? “He is the
propitiation for [all thy] sins. ” Now believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and all thy sins are blotted out! Art thou totally unclean
in soul and body ? Here is the “fountain for sin and unclean-
ss”! “Arise, and wash away thy sins! ” Stagger no more at
the promise through unbelief! Give glory to God! Dare to be-
lieve! Now cry out from the ground of thy heart,
!
(
ness
“Yes, I yield, I yield at last,
Listen to thy speaking blood;
Me, with all my sins, I cast
On my atoning God! »
Then thou learnest of him to be "lowly of heart. ” And this
is the true, genuine, Christian humility, which flows from a sense
of the love of God, reconciled to us in Christ Jesus. Poverty of
spirit, in this meaning of the word, begins where a sense of guilt
and of the wrath of God ends; and is a continual sense of our
total dependence on him for every good thought, or word, or
work,- of our utter inability to all good, unless he water us
every moment, and an abhorrence of the praise of men, know-
ing that all praise is due unto God only. With this is joined a
loving shame, a tender humiliation before God, even for the sins
which we know he hath forgiven us, and for the sin which still
remaineth in our hearts, although we know it is not imputed to
our condemnation. Nevertheless, the conviction we feel of inbred
sin is deeper and deeper every day. The more
we grow in
grace, the more do we see of the desperate wickedness of our
heart. The more we advance in the knowledge and love of God
through our Lord Jesus Christ (as great a mystery as this may
appear to those who know not the power of God unto salvation),
the more do we discern of our alienation from God,- of the
enmity that is in our carnal mind, and the necessity of our being
entirely renewed in righteousness and true holiness.
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THE LOVE THAT HOPETH AND ENDURETH ALL THINGS
From the (Second Discourse upon the Sermon on the Mount)
ND when it can no longer believe, then love “hopeth all
A » ?
the relation is not true, that the thing related was never
done. Is it certain it was? — "But perhaps it was not done
with such circumstances as are related; so that allowing the fact,
there is room to hope it was not so ill as it is represented. '
Was the action apparently, undeniably evil? Love hopes the in-
tention was not so. Is it clear the design was evil too ? — “Yet
might it not spring, not from the settled temper of the heart,
but from a start of passion, or from some vehement temptation,
which hurried the man beyond himself? ” And even when it
cannot be doubted but all the actions, designs, and tempers are
equally evil, still love hopes that God will at last make bare his
arm and get himself the victory; and that there shall be "joy in
heaven over [this] one sinner that repenteth, more than over
ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance. ”
Lastly: It "endureth all things. ” This completes the character
of him that is truly merciful. He endureth not some, not many
things only, not most, but absolutely all things. Whatever the
injustice, the malice, the cruelty of men can inflict, he is able to
suffer. He calls nothing intolerable; he never says of anything,
“This is not to be borne. ” No: he can not only do but suffer
all things through Christ which strengtheneth him. And all he
suffers does not destroy his love, nor impair it in the least. It
is proof against all. It is a flame that burns even in the midst
of the great deep. “Many waters cannot quench” his love,
neither can the floods drown it. ” It triumphs over all. It
“never faileth, either in time or in eternity.
(
« Thus in obedience to what Heaven decrees,
Knowledge shall fail, and prophecy shall cease;
But lasting charity's more ample sway —
Nor bound by time, nor subject to decay –
In happy triumph shall forever live,
And endless good diffuse, and endless praise receive. "
So shall “the merciful obtain mercy”: not only by the bless-
ing of God upon all their ways, by his now repaying the love
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they bear to their brethren a thousandfold into their own
bosom; but likewise by “an exceeding and eternal weight of
glory,” in the "kingdom prepared for them from the beginning
of the world. ”
A CATHOLIC SPIRIT
From a Discourse entitled “Catholic Spirit)
, , that is not
F*speculative"latitudinarianism. It is not an indiference to all
(
>
opinions: this is the spawn of hell, not the offspring of
heaven. This unsettledness of thought, this being driven to
and fro, and tossed about with every wind of doctrine,” is a great
curse, not a blessing; an irreconcilable enemy, not a friend, to
true catholicism. A man of a truly catholic spirit has not now
his religion to seek, He is fixed as the sun in his judgment
concerning the main branches of Christian doctrine.
It is true,
he is always ready to hear and weigh whatsoever can be offered
against his principles; but as this does not show any wavering
in his own mind, so neither does it occasion any. He does not
halt between two opinions, nor vainly endeavor to blend them
into one.
Observe this, you who know not what spirit ye are
of: who call yourselves men of a catholic spirit, only because you
are of a muddy understanding; because your mind is all in a
mist; because you have no settled, consistent principles, but are
for jumbling all opinions together. Be convinced that you have
quite missed your way; you know not where you are. You think
you are got into the very spirit of Christ, when in truth you
are nearer the spirit of Antichrist. Go first and learn the first
elements of the gospel of Christ, and then shall you learn to be
of a truly catholic spirit.
From what has been said, we may learn, secondly, that a
catholic spirit is not any kind of practical latitudinarianism. It
is not indifference as to public worship, or as to the outward
manner of performing it. This likewise would not be a blessing
but a curse. Far from being a help thereto, it would, so long as
it remained, be an unspeakable hindrance to the worshiping of
God in spirit and in truth. But the man of a truly catholic
spirit, having weighed all things in the balance of the sanctuary,
has no doubt, no scruple at all, concerning that particular mode
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of worship wherein he joins. He is clearly convinced that this
manner of worshiping God is both Scriptural and rational. He
knows none in the world which is more Scriptural, none which
is more rational. Therefore, without rambling hither and thither
he cleaves close thereto, and praises God for the opportunity of
so doing.
Hence we may, thirdly, learn that a catholic spirit is not in-
difference to all congregations. This is another sort of latitudi-
narianism, not less absurd and unscriptural than the former. But
it is far from a man of a truly catholic spirit. He is fixed in
his congregation as well as his principles. He is united to one,
not only in spirit, but by all the outward ties of Christian fellow-
ship. There he partakes of all the ordinances of God. There
he receives the supper of the Lord. There he pours out his soul
in public prayer, and joins in public praise and thanksgiving.
There he rejoices to hear the word of reconciliation, the gospel
of the grace of God. With these his nearest, his best beloved
brethren, on solemn occasions, he seeks God by fasting. These
particularly he watches over in love, as they do over his soul;
admonishing, exhorting, comforting, reproving, and every way
building up each other in the faith. These he regards as his
own household; and therefore, according to the ability God has
given him, naturally cares for them, and provides that they may
have all the things that are needful for life and godliness.
But while he is steadily fixed in his religious principles, in
what he believes to be the truth as it is in Jesus; while he firmly
adheres to that worship of God which he judges to be most
acceptable in his sight; and while he is united by the tenderest
and closest ties to one particular congregation, - his heart is
enlarged towards all mankind, those he knows and those he does
not; he embraces with strong and cordial affection neighbors
and strangers, friends and enemies. This is catholic, or univer-
sal love. And he that has this is of a catholic spirit. For love
alone gives the title to this character: catholic love is a catholic
spirit.
If then we take this word in the strictest sense, a man of a
catholic spirit is one who, in the manner above mentioned, gives
his hand to all whose hearts are right with his heart: one who
knows how to value, and praise God for, all the advantages he
enjoys, with regard to the knowledge of the things of God, the
true Scriptural manner of worshiping him, and above all, his
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union with a congregation fearing God and working righteous-
ness: one who, retaining these blessings with the strictest care,
keeping them as the appie of his eye, at the same time loves —
as friends, as brethren in the Lord, as members of Christ and
children of God, as joint partakers now of the present kingdom
of God, and fellow-heirs of his eternal kingdom - all of whatever
opinion, or worship, or congregation, who believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ; who love God and man; who, rejoicing to please
and fearing to offend God, are careful to abstain from evil, and
zealous of good works. He is the man of a truly catholic spirit,
who bears all these continually upon his heart; who, having an
unspeakable tenderness for their persons, and longing for their
welfare, does not cease to commend them to God in prayer as
well as to plead their cause before men; who speaks comfortably
to them, and labors by all his words to strengthen their hands in
God. He assists them to the uttermost of his power in all things,
spiritual and temporal. He is ready to spend and be spent for
them”; yea, to lay down his life for their sake.
Thou, O man of God, think on these things! If thou art
already in this way, go on. If thou hast heretofore mistook the
path, bless God who hath brought thee back! And now run the
race which is set before thee, in the royal way of universal love.
Take heed, lest thou be either wavering in thy judgment, or
straitened in thy bowels; but keep an even pace, rooted in the
faith once delivered to the saints, and grounded in love, in true
catholic love, till thou art swallowed up in love for ever and
ever!
THE LAST JUDGMENT
From a Discourse on (The Great Assize)
Surday presenta before the cora
UFFER me to add a few words to all of you who are at this
Lord. Should not you bear it in
your minds all the day long, that a more awful day is
coming? A large assembly this! But what is it to that which
every eye will then behold, the general assembly of all the
children of men that ever lived on the face of the whole earth!
A few will stand at the judgment seat this day, to be judged
touching what shall be laid to their charge; and they are now
reserved in prison, perhaps in chains, till they are brought forth
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15805
we
are
.
your face.
to be tried and sentenced. But we shall all — I that speak, and
you that hear – “stand at the judgment seat of Christ. ” And
now reserved on this earth, which is not our home, in
this prison of flesh and blood, perhaps many of us in chains of
darkness too, till we are ordered to be brought forth. Here a
,
man is questioned concerning one or two acts which he is sup-
posed to have committed: there we are to give an account of
all our works, from the cradle to the grave; of all our words; of
all our desires and tempers, all the thoughts and intents of our
hearts; of all the use we have made of our various talents,
whether of mind, body, or fortune, till God said, “Give an ac-
,
count of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward. ”
In this court, it is possible, some who are guilty may escape
for want of evidence; but there is no want of evidence in that
court. All men with whom you had the most secret intercourse,
who were privy to all your designs and actions, are ready before
So are all the spirits of darkness who inspired evil
designs and assisted in the execution of them. So are all the
angels of God, those eyes of the Lord that run to and fro over
all the earth; who watched over your soul, and labored for your
good, so far as you would permit. So is your own conscience, a
thousand witnesses in one; now no more capable of being either
blinded or silenced, but constrained to know and to speak the
naked truth touching all your thoughts, and words, and actions.
And is conscience as a thousand witnesses ? — yea; but God is as
a thousand consciences! Oh, who can stand before the face of
the great God, even our Saviour Jesus Christ!
See! see! He cometh!
He maketh the clouds his chariot!
He rideth upon the wings of the wind! A devouring fire goeth
before him and after him, a flame burneth! See! He sitteth
upon his throne, clothed with light as with a garment, arrayed
with majesty and honor! Behold, his eyes are as a flame of fire,
his voice as the sound of many waters!
How will ye escape? Will ye call to the mountains to fall on
you, the rocks to cover you ? Alas, the mountains themselves,
the rocks, the earth, the heavens, are just ready to flee away!
Can ye prevent the sentence ? Wherewith ? With all the sub-
stance of thy house, with thousands of gold and silver ? Blind
wretch! Thou camest naked from thy mother's womb, and more
naked into eternity. Hear the Lord, the Judge!
« Come, ye
blessed of my Father! inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
((
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»
the foundation of the world. ” Joyful sound! How widely dif-
ferent from that voice which echoes through the expanse of
heaven, “Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
Devil and his angels! ” And who is he that can prevent or retard
the full execution of either sentence ? Vain hope! Lo, hell is
moved from beneath to receive those who are ripe for destruc-
tion! And the everlasting doors lift up their heads, that the
heirs of glory may come in !
“What manner of persons then ought we to be, in all holy
conversation and godliness? We know it cannot be long before
the Lord will descend with the voice of the archangel, and the
trumpet of God; when every one of us shall appear before him,
and give account of his own works. “Wherefore, beloved, seeing
ye look for these things," seeing ye know he will come, and will
not tarry, “be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace,
without spot and blameless. ” Why should ye not? Why should
one of you be found on the left hand, at his appearing? He
willeth not that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance; by repentance, to faith in a bleeding Lord; by faith,
to spotless love, to the full image of God renewed in the heart,
and producing all holiness of conversation. Can you doubt of
this, when you remember the Judge of all is likewise the Savior
of all ? Hath he not bought you with his own blood, that ye
might not perish, but have everlasting life? Oh, make proof of
his mercy rather than his justice; of his love rather than the
thunder of his power! He is not far from every one of us; and
he is now come not to 'condemn, but to save, the world. He
standeth in the midst ! Sinner, doth he not now, even now,
knock at the door of thy heart ? Oh that thou mayest know, at
least in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace! Oh
that ye may now give yourselves to Him who gave himself for
you, in humble faith, in holy, active, patient love! So shall ye
rejoice with exceeding joy in his day, when he cometh in the
clouds of heaven!
All the foregoing selections are from John Wesley's works.
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THOU HIDDEN LOVE OF GOD, WHOSE HEIGHT
THOU
HOU hidden love of God, whose height,
Whose depth unfathomed, no man knows!
I see from far thy beauteous light,
Inly I sigh for thy repose;
My heart is pained, nor can it be
At rest till it finds rest in thee.
Is there a thing beneath the sun
That strives with thee my heart to share ?
Ah, tear it thence, and reign alone,
The Lord of every motion there!
Then shall my heart from earth be free,
When it hath found repose in thee.
O hide this self from me, that I
No more, but Christ in me, may live;
My vile affections crucify,
Nor let one darling lust survive!
In all things nothing may I see,
Nothing desire or seek, but thee.
O Love, thy sovereign aid impart,
To save me from low-thoughted care;
Chase this self-will through all my heart,
Through all its latent mazes there;
Make me thy duteous child, that I
Ceaseless may, “Abba, Father,” cry.
Each moment draw from earth away
My heart, that lowly waits thy call;
Speak to my inmost soul, and say,
"I am thy Love, thy God, thy All! ”
To feel thy power, to hear thy voice,
To taste thy love, be all my choice.
Translation of John Wesley, from the German of Gerhard Tersteegen.
## p. 15808 (#140) ##########################################
15808
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
[All the following Hymns are by Charles Wesley. ]
FATHER, I STRETCH MY HANDS TO THEE
F**
ATHER, I stretch my hands to thee;
No other help I know:
If thou withdraw thyself from me,
Ah! whither shall I go?
What did thine only Son endure,
Before I drew my breath!
What pain, what labor, to secure
My soul from endless death!
O Jesus, could I this believe,
I now should feel thy power;
And all my wants thou wouldst relieve,
In this accepted hour.
Author of faith! to thee I lift
My weary, longing eyes;
O let me now receive that gift:
My soul without it dies.
Surely thou canst not let me die:
O speak, and I shall live;
And here I will unwearied lie,
Till thou thy Spirit give.
How would my fainting soul rejoice
Could I but see thy face!
Now let me hear thy quickening voice,
And taste thy pardoning grace.
LIGHT OF LIFE, SERAPHIC FIRE
Lo Love divine, thyself impart:
IGHT of
:
Every fainting soul inspire,
Shine in every drooping heart;
Every mournful sinner cheer,
Scatter all our guilty gloom;
Son of God, appear, appear!
To thy human temples come!
Come in this accepted hour;
Bring thy heavenly kingdom in;
## p. 15809 (#141) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15809
Fill us with thy glorious power,
Rooting out the seeds of sin:
Nothing inore can we require,
We will covet nothing less;
Be thou all our heart's desire,
All our joy, and all our peace!
LOVE DIVINE, ALL LOVE EXCELLING
Love
ove divine, all love excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down!
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love thou art:
Visit us with thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.
Breathe, o breathe thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in thee inherit,
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be:
End of faith, as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all thy life receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve thee as thy hosts above,
Pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.
Finish then thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy, great salvation,
Perfectly restored in thee:
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place;
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.
XXVII-989
## p. 15810 (#142) ##########################################
15810
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
ETERNAL BEAM OF LIGHT DIVINE
E
TERNAL Beam of Light divine,
Fountain of unexhausted love,
In whom the Father's glories shine,
Through earth beneath and heaven above;
Jesus, the weary wanderer's rest,
Give me thy easy yoke to bear;
With steadfast patience arm my breast,
With spotless love and lowly fear.
Thankful I take the cup from thee,
Prepared and mingled by thy skill;
Though bitter to the taste it be,
Powerful the wounded soul to heal.
Be thou, O Rock of Ages, nigh!
So shall each murmuring thought be gone,
And grief, and fear, and care shall fly,
As clouds before the midday sun.
(
(
Speak to my warring passions, Peace”;
Say to my trembling heart, “Be still ”;
Thy power my strength and fortress is,
For all things serve thy sovereign will.
O Death! where is thy sting? Where now
Thy boasted victory, O Grave ?
Who shall contend with God ? or who
Can hurt whom God delights to save ?
GENTLE JESUS, MEEK AND MILD
ENTLE Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to Thee.
G
Fain I would to thee be brought:
Dearest God, forbid it not;
Give me, dearest God, a place
In the kingdom of thy grace.
Put thy hands upon my head,
Let me in thine arms be stayed;
## p. 15811 (#143) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15811
Let me lean upon thy breast,-
Lull me, lull me, Lord, to rest.
Hold me fast in thy embrace,
Let me see thy smiling face.
Give me, Lord, thy blessing give;
Pray for me, and I shall live.
I shall live the simple life,
Free from sin's uneasy strife,
Sweetly ignorant of ill,
Innocent and happy still.
Oh that I may never know
What the wicked people do!
Sin is contrary to thee.
Sin is the forbidden tree.
Keep me from the great offense,
Guard my helpless innocence;
Hide me, from all evil hide,
Self, and stubbornness, and pride.
Lamb of God, I look to thee;
Thou shalt my example be:
Thou art gentle, meek, and mild,
Thou wast once a little child.
Fain I would be as thou art:
Give me thy obedient heart.
Thou art pitiful and kind:
Let me have thy loving mind.
Meek and lowly may I be:
Thou art all humility.
Let me to my betters bow:
Subject to thy parents thou.
Let me above all fulfill
God my heavenly Father's will;
Never his good Spirit grieve,
Only to his glory live.
Thou didst live to God alone,
Thou didst never seek thine own;
Thou thy self didst never please,
God was all thy happiness.
## p. 15812 (#144) ##########################################
15812
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
Loving Jesu, gentle Lamb,
In Thy gracious hands I am.
Make me, Savior, what thou art,
Live thyself within my heart.
I shall then show forth thy praise,
Serve thee all my happy days:
Then the world shall always see
Christ, the holy Child, in me.
THOU VERY PRESENT AID
TH
HOU very present aid
In suffering and distress,
The soul which still on thee is stayed
Is kept in perfect peace.
The soul by faith reclined
On his Redeemer's breast
Midst raging storms exults to find
An everlasting rest.
Sorrow and fear are gone,
Whene'er thy face appears;
It stills the sighing orphan's moan,
And dries the widow's tears.
It hallows every cross;
It sweetly comforts me;
And makes me now forget my loss,
And lose myself in thee.
Peace to the troubled heart,
Health to the sin-sick mind,
The wounded spirit's Balm thou art,
The Healer of mankind.
In deep affliction blest,
With thee I mount above,
And sing, triumphantly distrest,
Thine all-sufficient love.
Jesus, to whom I fly,
Doth all my wishes fill;
In vain the creature-streams are dry:
I have the Fountain still.
## p. 15813 (#145) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15813
Stript of my earthly friends,
I find them all in One;
And peace, and joy that never ends,
And heaven, in Christ alone.
HAIL! HOLY, HOLY, HOLY LORD
HAL
All! holy, holy, holy Lord,
Whom One in Three we know;
By all thy heavenly host adored,
By all thy Church below!
One undivided Trinity
With triumph we proclaim:
The universe is full of thee,
And speaks thy glorious name.
Thee, holy Father we confess;
Thee, holy Son adore;
Thee, Spirit of true holiness
We worship evermore.
Thine incommunicable right,
Almighty God, receive,
Which angel-choirs and saints in light
And saints embodied give.
Three Persons equally divine
We magnify and love;
And both the choirs ere long shall join
To sing thy praise above.
Hail! holy, holy, holy Lord
(Our heavenly song shall be),
Supreme, essential One adored
In coeternal Three!
A CHARGE TO KEEP I HAVE
A
CHARGE to keep I have,
A God to glorify;
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky;
To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill:
Oh, may it all my powers engage
To do my Master's will!
## p. 15814 (#146) ##########################################
15814
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
Arm me with jealous care,
As in thy sight to live;
And oh, thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give!
Help me to watch and pray,
And on thyself rely;
Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall forever die.
AND HAVE I MEASURED HALF MY DAYS
A
ND have I measured half my days,
And half my journey run,
Nor tasted the Redeemer's grace,
Nor yet my work begun?
The morning of my life is past,
The noon is almost o'er;
The night of death approaches fast,
When I can work no more.
Oh, what a length of wretched years
Have I lived out in vain!
How fruitless all my toils and tears!
I am not born again.
Evil and sad my days have been,
And all a painful void,
For still I am not saved from sin,
For still I know not God.
Darkness he makes his secret place,
Thick clouds surround his throne;
Nor can I yet behold his face,
Or find the God unknown.
A God that hides himself he is,
Far off from mortal sight,
An inaccessible abyss
Of uncreated light.
Far off he is, yet always near;
He fills both earth and heaven;
But doth not to my soul appear
My soul from Eden driven.
## p. 15815 (#147) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15815
O'er earth a banished man I rove,
But cannot feel him nigh:
Where is the pardoning God of Love,
Who stooped for me to die?
I sought him in the secret cell,
With unavailing care:
Long did I in the desert dwell,
Nor could I find him there.
Still every means in vain I try;
I seek him far and near:
Where'er I come, constrained to cry,
“My Savior is not here. ”
God is in this, in every place;
Yet oh, how dark and void
To me! 'tis one great wilderness,
This earth without my God.
Empty of Him who all things fills,
Till he his light impart,
Till he his glorious Self reveals,
The veil is on my heart.
O thou who seest and know'st my grief,
Thyself unseen, unknown,
Pity my helpless unbelief,
And take away the stone!
Regard me with a gracious eye;
The long-sought blessing give;
And bid me, at the point to die,
Behold thy face and live.
A darker soul did never yet
Thy promised help implore:
Oh, that I now my Lord might meet,
And never lose him more!
Now, Jesus, now the Father's love
Shed in my heart abroad;
The middle wall of sin remove,
And let me in to God!
## p. 15816 (#148) ##########################################
15816
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL
Jes
ESUS, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
Oh receive my soul at last.
Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on thee.
Leave, ah, leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed,
All my help from thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of thy wing.
Wilt thou not regard my call ?
Wilt thou not accept my prayer ?
Lo, I sink, I faint, I fall!
Lo, on thee I cast my care.
Reach me out thy gracious hand!
While I of thy strength receive:
Hoping against hope I stand;
Dying, and behold I live!
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in thee I find:
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
Heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is thy name;
I am all unrighteousness:
False and full of sin I am;
Thou art full of truth and grace.
Plenteous grace with thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound,
Make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art:
Freely let me take of thee;
Spring thou up within my heart,
Rise to all eternity.
## p. 15817 (#149) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15817
JESU, MY STRENGTH, MY HOPE
Jesu,
ESU, my strength, my hope,
On thee I cast my care,
With humble confidence look up,
And know thou hear'st my prayer.
Give me on thee to wait,
Till I can all things do;
On thee, almighty to create,
Almighty to renew.
I rest upon thy word:
The promise is for me;
My succor and salvation, Lord,
Shall surely come from thee.
But let me still abide,
Nor from my hope remove,
Till thou my patient spirit guide
Into thy perfect love.
I want a sober mind,
A self-renouncing will,
That tramples down and casts behind
The baits of pleasing ill;
A soul inured to pain,
To hardship, grief, and loss;
Bold to take up, firm to sustain
The consecrated Cross.
I want a godly fear,
A quick discerning eye,
That looks to thee when sin is near,
And sees the Tempter fly;
A spirit still prepared,
And armed with jealous care,
Forever standing on its guard
And watching unto prayer.
I want a heart to pray,
To pray and never cease;
Never to murmur at thy stay,
Or wish my sufferings less:
This blessing above all,
Always to pray, I want;
Out of the deep on thee to call,
And never, never faint.
## p. 15818 (#150) ##########################################
15818
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
I want a true regard,
A single steady aim
(Unmoved by threatening or reward),
To thee and thy great name;
A jealous, just concern
For thine immortal praise;
A pure desire that all may learn
And glorify thy grace.
I want with all my heart
Thy pleasure to fulfill,
To know myself, and what thou art,
And what thy perfect will.
I want, I know not what;
I want my wants to see;
I want — alas, what want I not,
When thou art not in me!
## p. 15819 (#151) ##########################################
15819
THOMAS WHARTON
(1859-1896)
BY OWEN WISTER
A
s one looks back upon the life of Thomas Wharton, the good
name of those from whom he sprung, the distinction which
after many years of promise he had begun to win for him-
self, it grows clearer than ever that a talent of a rare kind, with
rare advantages of inheritance, is lost to American letters; a talent of
charm, of grace, of winning fancy, that in these literal, half-ugly days
can ill be spared. With many honorable generations in his blood,
Thomas Wharton came by right to pluck, subtlety, humor, and brill-
iant powers of acquisition. Among Philadelphia lawyers, the names
of both his father and grandfather remain traditional for scholarship.
One other birthright — namely, length of days— might have been his;
and persuaded that it was to be, he labored steadily, cheerfully, and
in no haste; believing that success would come to him all the more
ripe and sure for his patience. But even middle age was denied him.
Born August ist, 1859, he died April 6th, 1896, full of plans and work,
letters from theatre managers and composers in his desk, books and
plays in his mind beyond what was signed for by actual contract at
the moment; a man of thirty-seven but at heart forever a boy, with
his eyes beholding the first visions of worldly reward.
Three periods he knew: a beginning full of hope, a middle full of
struggle undaunted and courageous disappointment, and a brief end
when the rays of true recognition began to shine upon him.
Before he was fifteen, he brought home from his first year at
Hellmuth College, near London, Ont. , five prizes; and to crown these,
the medal given that year by the Governor-General for the highest
average marks.
In those days he also scribbled copiously, verse and
prose, but verse the more; and his art with words was already light
and happy far beyond the common. He first appeared in print then,
with an ode of Horace put into English verse; and at twenty-one he
was in the Atlantic Monthly with more verses, entitled Archæology. '
By inheritance a scholar, but himself robust in fibre, fond of swim-
ming, and of cricket, and of life, he did not sustain his prize-winning
eminence at the University of Pennsylvania. There he was graduated
in 1879; with no array of honors, but like his father, knowing and
## p. 15820 (#152) ##########################################
15820
THOMAS WHARTON
loving well the things that he knew. From all the shelves Attic,
Augustan, Romance, Renaissance, through Shakespeare, Molière, and
Heine, to Mark Twain - he pulled the books down and rejoiced in
them. His knowledge of what man has written mellowed his judg-
ment, seasoned his imagination, and preserved him from those errors
of taste and theory that waylay so many genuine but half-educated
talents in our country.
The law was Thomas Wharton's hereditary, logical, but inappro-
priate choice of career. After a few years his talent revolted, the
inevitable crushed the conventional, and he became out-and-out
writer. In 1888 he went upon the editorial staff of the Philadelphia
Times, and was Sunday editor when he died. Dangerous for the
clever ignorant, it was beneficent for him, this swift journalism, -
compelling the scholar to be himself, to take up his scholarship and
walk.
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15795
To that manner of existence which he then has, we do not even
give the name of life. It is then only when a man is born, that
we say he begins to live. For as soon as he is born, he begins
to see the light, and the various objects with which he is encom-
passed. His ears are then opened, and he hears the sounds
which successively strike upon them. At the same time, all the
other organs of sense begin to be exercised upon their proper
objects. He likewise breathes, and lives in a manner wholly
different from what he did before. How exactly doth the par.
allel hold in all these instances! While a man is in a mere
natural state, before he is born of God, he has, in a spiritual
sense, eyes and sees not; a thick impenetrable veil lies upon
them: he has ears, but hears not; he is utterly deaf to what he
is most of all concerned to hear. His other spiritual senses are
all locked up; he is in the same condition as if he had them
not. Hence he has no knowledge of God; no intercourse with
him: he is not at all acquainted with him. He has no true
knowledge of the things of God, either of spiritual or eternal
things; therefore though he is a living man, he is a dead Christ-
ian. But as soon as he is born of God, there is a total change
in all these particulars. The eyes of his understanding are
opened” (such is the language of the great apostle); and he who
of old commanded light to shine out of darkness shining on his
heart, he sees the light of the glory of God,” his glorious love
in the face of Jesus Christ. ” His ears being opened, he is now
capable of hearing the inward voice of God, saying, “Be of good
cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee;” “Go and sin no more. ”
is the purport of what God speaks to his heart; although per-
haps not in these very words. He is now ready to hear whatso-
ever “He that teacheth man knowledge ” is pleased from time
to time to reveal to him. He “feels in his heart” (to use the
language of our Church) “the mighty working of the Spirit of
God”: not in a gross, carnal sense, as the men of the world
stupidly and willfully misunderstand the expression; though they
have been told again and again, we mean thereby neither more
nor less than this: he feels, is inwardly sensible of, the graces
which the Spirit of God works in his heart. He feels, he is con-
scious of, a "peace which passeth all understanding. ” He many
times feels such a joy in God as is unspeakable, and full of
glory. ” He feels the love of God shed abroad in his heart by
the Holy Ghost, which is given unto him”; and all his spiritual
senses are then exercised to discern spiritual good and evil. By
(
## p. 15796 (#128) ##########################################
15796
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
the use of these, he is daily increasing in the knowledge of God,
of Jesus Christ whom he hath sent, and of all the things per-
taining to his inward kingdom. And now he may be properly
said to live: God having quickened him by His spirit, he is alive
to God through Jesus Christ. He lives a life which the world
knoweth not of, a “life which is hid with Christ in God. ” God
is continually breathing, as it were, upon the soul; and his soul
is breathing unto God. Grace is descending into his heart; and
prayer and praise ascending to heaven: and by this intercourse
between God and man, this fellowship with the Father and the
Son, as by a kind of spiritual respiration, the life of God in the
soul is sustained; and the child of God grows up, till he comes
to the full measure of the stature of Christ. ”
From hence it manifestly appears, what is the nature of the
new birth. It is that great change which God works in the soul
when he brings it into life; when he raises it from the death of
sin to the life of righteousness. It is the change wrought in the
whole soul by the almighty Spirit of God, when it is created
anew in Christ Jesus,” when it is renewed after the image of
God, in righteousness and true holiness”; when the love of the
world is changed into the love of God; pride into humility; pas-
sion into meekness; hatred, envy, malice, into a sincere, tender,
disinterested love for all mankind. In a word, it is that change
whereby the earthly, sensual, devilish mind is turned into the
“mind which was in Christ Jesus. ” This is the nature of the
new birth: "So is every one that is born of the Spirit. ”
OUR STEWARDSHIP
From a Discourse entitled (The Good Steward)
W*
E SHALL not receive ta còla — our own things — till we come
to our own country. Eternal things only are our own:
with all these temporal things we are barely intrusted by
another - the Disposer and Lord of all. And he intrusts us with
-
them on this express condition, that we use them only as our
Master's goods, and according to the particular directions which
he has given us in his word.
On this condition he hath intrusted us with our souls, our
bodies, our goods, and whatever other talents we have received;
but in order to impress this weighty truth on our hearts, it will
be needful to come to particulars.
## p. 15797 (#129) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15797
And first, God has intrusted us with our soul,- an immortal
spirit, made in the image of God; together with all the powers
and faculties thereof, - understanding, imagination, memory, will,
and a train of affections, either included in it, or closely depend-
ent upon it,— love and hatred, joy and sorrow; respecting present
good and evil, desire and aversion; hope and fear, respecting that
which is to come.
All these St. Paul seems to include in two
words, when he says, “The peace of God shall keep your hearts
and minds. ” Perhaps indeed the latter word, vonpara, might rather
"
be rendered thoughts, provided we take that word in its most
extensive sense, for every perception of the mind, whether active
or passive.
Now of all these, it is certain we are only stewards. God has
intrusted us with these powers and faculties, not that we may
employ them according to our own will, but according to the
express orders which he has given us: although it is true that
in doing his will we most effectually secure our own happiness;
seeing it is herein only that we can be happy, either in time or
in eternity. Thus we are to use our understanding, our imagina-
tion, our memory, wholly to the glory of Him that gave them.
Thus our will is to be wholly given up to him, and all our affec-
tions to be regulated as he directs. We are to love and hate, to
rejoice and grieve, to desire and shun, to hope and fear, accord-
ing to the rule which he prescribes, whose we are, and whom we
are to serve in all things. Even our thoughts are not our
in this sense: they are not at our own disposal; but for every
deliberate motion of our mind, we are accountable to our great
Master
God has, secondly, intrusted us with our bodies (those exqui-
sitely wrought machines, so “fearfully and wonderfully made"),
”
with all the powers and members thereof. He has intrusted
us with the organs of sense; of sight, hearing, and the rest: but
none of these are given us as our own, to be employed accord-
ing to our own will. None of these are lent us in such a sense
as to leave us at liberty to use them as we please for a season.
No: we have received them on these very terms, that as long
as they abide with us, we should employ them all in that very
manner, and no other, which he appoints.
It is on the same terms that he imparted to us that most
excellent talent of speech. “Thou hast given me a tongue,” says
the ancient writer, “that I may praise thee therewith. ” For this
Own
## p. 15798 (#130) ##########################################
15798
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
purpose was it given to all the children of men, to be employed
in glorifying God. Nothing, therefore, is more ungrateful or
more absurd than to think or say, “Our tongues are our own. ”
That cannot be, unless we have created ourselves, and so are
independent of the Most High, Nay, but It is he that hath
made us,
and not we ourselves: " the manifest consequence is
that he is still Lord over us, in this as in all other respects. It
follows that there is not a word of our tongue for which we are
not accountable to him.
To him we are equally accountable for the use of our hands
and feet, and all the members of our body. These are so many
talents which are committed to our trust, until the time appointed
by the Father. Until then, we have the use of all these; but as
stewards, not as proprietors: to the end, we should render them,
not as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but as instru-
ments of righteousness unto God. ”
God has intrusted us, thirdly, with a portion of worldly goods,
with food to eat, raiment to put on, and a place where to lay
our head; with not only the necessaries but the conveniences of
life. Above all, he has committed to our charge that precious
talent which contains all the rest, - money: indeed it is unspeak-
ably precious, if we are wise and faithful stewards of it; if we
employ every part of it for such purposes as our blessed Lord
has commanded us to do.
God has intrusted us, fourthly, with several talents which do
not properly come under any of these heads. Such is bodily
strength; such are health, a pleasing person, an agreeable ad-
dress; such are learning and knowledge in their various degrees,
with all the other advantages of education. Such is the influence
which we have over others, whether by their love and esteem of
us, or by power-power to do them good or hurt, to help or hin-
der them in the circumstances of life. Add to these that invalu-
able talent of time, with which God intrusts us from moment
to moment. Add, lastly, that on which all the rest depend, and
without which they would all be curses, not blessings; namely,
the grace of God, the power of his Holy Spirit, which alone
worketh in us all that is acceptable in his sight.
Brethren, "Who is an understanding man and endued with
knowledge among you? » Let him show the wisdom from above,
by walking suitably to his character. If he so account of him-
self, as a steward of the manifold gifts of God, let him see that
(
## p. 15799 (#131) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15799
all his thoughts, and words, and works, be agreeable to the post
God has assigned him. It is no small thing to lay out for God
all which you have received from God. It requires all your wis-
dom, all your resolution, all your patience, and constancy;– far
more than ever you had by nature; but not more than you may
have by grace.
For his grace is sufficient for you; and “all
things,” you know, "are possible to him that believeth. Ву
faith, then, put on the Lord Jesus Christ"; "put on the whole
armor of God”: and you shall be enabled to glorify him in all
your words and works; yea, to bring every thought into captivity
to the obedience of Christ!
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
From The First Discourse upon the Sermon on the Mount)
ThS
his is that kingdom of heaven, or of God, which is within us:
even “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. ”
And what is righteousness, but the life of God in the
soul; the mind which was in Christ Jesus; the image of God
stamped upon the heart now renewed after the likeness of him
that created it ? What is it but the love of God, because he first
loved us, and the love of all mankind for his sake ?
And what is this "peace,” the peace of God, but that calm
serenity of soul, that sweet repose in the blood of Jesus, which
leaves no doubt of our acceptance in him; which excludes all
fear, but the loving, filial fear of offending our Father which is
in heaven?
This inward kingdom implies also “joy in the Holy Ghost ”;
who seals upon our hearts the redemption which is in Jesus,”
the righteousness of Christ imputed to us for the remission of
the sins that are past”; who giveth us now the earnest of our
inheritance,” of the crown which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will give at that day. And well may this be termed “the king-
dom of heaven”: seeing it is heaven already opened in the soul;
the first springing up of those rivers of pleasure which flow at
God's right hand for evermore.
« Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ” Whosoever thou art to
whom God hath given to be "poor in spirit,” to feel thyself lost,
thou hast a right thereto, through the gracious promise of Him
(C
)
C
c
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(
who cannot lie. It is purchased for thee by the blood of the
Lamb. It is very nigh: thou art on the brink of heaven! An-
other step, and thou enterest into the kingdom of righteousness,
and peace, and joy! Art thou all sin ? “Behold the Lamb of
God, who taketh away the sin of the world! ” All unholy? See
thy "Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”!
Art thou unable to atone for the least of thy sins? “He is the
propitiation for [all thy] sins. ” Now believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and all thy sins are blotted out! Art thou totally unclean
in soul and body ? Here is the “fountain for sin and unclean-
ss”! “Arise, and wash away thy sins! ” Stagger no more at
the promise through unbelief! Give glory to God! Dare to be-
lieve! Now cry out from the ground of thy heart,
!
(
ness
“Yes, I yield, I yield at last,
Listen to thy speaking blood;
Me, with all my sins, I cast
On my atoning God! »
Then thou learnest of him to be "lowly of heart. ” And this
is the true, genuine, Christian humility, which flows from a sense
of the love of God, reconciled to us in Christ Jesus. Poverty of
spirit, in this meaning of the word, begins where a sense of guilt
and of the wrath of God ends; and is a continual sense of our
total dependence on him for every good thought, or word, or
work,- of our utter inability to all good, unless he water us
every moment, and an abhorrence of the praise of men, know-
ing that all praise is due unto God only. With this is joined a
loving shame, a tender humiliation before God, even for the sins
which we know he hath forgiven us, and for the sin which still
remaineth in our hearts, although we know it is not imputed to
our condemnation. Nevertheless, the conviction we feel of inbred
sin is deeper and deeper every day. The more
we grow in
grace, the more do we see of the desperate wickedness of our
heart. The more we advance in the knowledge and love of God
through our Lord Jesus Christ (as great a mystery as this may
appear to those who know not the power of God unto salvation),
the more do we discern of our alienation from God,- of the
enmity that is in our carnal mind, and the necessity of our being
entirely renewed in righteousness and true holiness.
## p. 15801 (#133) ##########################################
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THE LOVE THAT HOPETH AND ENDURETH ALL THINGS
From the (Second Discourse upon the Sermon on the Mount)
ND when it can no longer believe, then love “hopeth all
A » ?
the relation is not true, that the thing related was never
done. Is it certain it was? — "But perhaps it was not done
with such circumstances as are related; so that allowing the fact,
there is room to hope it was not so ill as it is represented. '
Was the action apparently, undeniably evil? Love hopes the in-
tention was not so. Is it clear the design was evil too ? — “Yet
might it not spring, not from the settled temper of the heart,
but from a start of passion, or from some vehement temptation,
which hurried the man beyond himself? ” And even when it
cannot be doubted but all the actions, designs, and tempers are
equally evil, still love hopes that God will at last make bare his
arm and get himself the victory; and that there shall be "joy in
heaven over [this] one sinner that repenteth, more than over
ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance. ”
Lastly: It "endureth all things. ” This completes the character
of him that is truly merciful. He endureth not some, not many
things only, not most, but absolutely all things. Whatever the
injustice, the malice, the cruelty of men can inflict, he is able to
suffer. He calls nothing intolerable; he never says of anything,
“This is not to be borne. ” No: he can not only do but suffer
all things through Christ which strengtheneth him. And all he
suffers does not destroy his love, nor impair it in the least. It
is proof against all. It is a flame that burns even in the midst
of the great deep. “Many waters cannot quench” his love,
neither can the floods drown it. ” It triumphs over all. It
“never faileth, either in time or in eternity.
(
« Thus in obedience to what Heaven decrees,
Knowledge shall fail, and prophecy shall cease;
But lasting charity's more ample sway —
Nor bound by time, nor subject to decay –
In happy triumph shall forever live,
And endless good diffuse, and endless praise receive. "
So shall “the merciful obtain mercy”: not only by the bless-
ing of God upon all their ways, by his now repaying the love
## p. 15802 (#134) ##########################################
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JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
they bear to their brethren a thousandfold into their own
bosom; but likewise by “an exceeding and eternal weight of
glory,” in the "kingdom prepared for them from the beginning
of the world. ”
A CATHOLIC SPIRIT
From a Discourse entitled “Catholic Spirit)
, , that is not
F*speculative"latitudinarianism. It is not an indiference to all
(
>
opinions: this is the spawn of hell, not the offspring of
heaven. This unsettledness of thought, this being driven to
and fro, and tossed about with every wind of doctrine,” is a great
curse, not a blessing; an irreconcilable enemy, not a friend, to
true catholicism. A man of a truly catholic spirit has not now
his religion to seek, He is fixed as the sun in his judgment
concerning the main branches of Christian doctrine.
It is true,
he is always ready to hear and weigh whatsoever can be offered
against his principles; but as this does not show any wavering
in his own mind, so neither does it occasion any. He does not
halt between two opinions, nor vainly endeavor to blend them
into one.
Observe this, you who know not what spirit ye are
of: who call yourselves men of a catholic spirit, only because you
are of a muddy understanding; because your mind is all in a
mist; because you have no settled, consistent principles, but are
for jumbling all opinions together. Be convinced that you have
quite missed your way; you know not where you are. You think
you are got into the very spirit of Christ, when in truth you
are nearer the spirit of Antichrist. Go first and learn the first
elements of the gospel of Christ, and then shall you learn to be
of a truly catholic spirit.
From what has been said, we may learn, secondly, that a
catholic spirit is not any kind of practical latitudinarianism. It
is not indifference as to public worship, or as to the outward
manner of performing it. This likewise would not be a blessing
but a curse. Far from being a help thereto, it would, so long as
it remained, be an unspeakable hindrance to the worshiping of
God in spirit and in truth. But the man of a truly catholic
spirit, having weighed all things in the balance of the sanctuary,
has no doubt, no scruple at all, concerning that particular mode
## p. 15803 (#135) ##########################################
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15803
of worship wherein he joins. He is clearly convinced that this
manner of worshiping God is both Scriptural and rational. He
knows none in the world which is more Scriptural, none which
is more rational. Therefore, without rambling hither and thither
he cleaves close thereto, and praises God for the opportunity of
so doing.
Hence we may, thirdly, learn that a catholic spirit is not in-
difference to all congregations. This is another sort of latitudi-
narianism, not less absurd and unscriptural than the former. But
it is far from a man of a truly catholic spirit. He is fixed in
his congregation as well as his principles. He is united to one,
not only in spirit, but by all the outward ties of Christian fellow-
ship. There he partakes of all the ordinances of God. There
he receives the supper of the Lord. There he pours out his soul
in public prayer, and joins in public praise and thanksgiving.
There he rejoices to hear the word of reconciliation, the gospel
of the grace of God. With these his nearest, his best beloved
brethren, on solemn occasions, he seeks God by fasting. These
particularly he watches over in love, as they do over his soul;
admonishing, exhorting, comforting, reproving, and every way
building up each other in the faith. These he regards as his
own household; and therefore, according to the ability God has
given him, naturally cares for them, and provides that they may
have all the things that are needful for life and godliness.
But while he is steadily fixed in his religious principles, in
what he believes to be the truth as it is in Jesus; while he firmly
adheres to that worship of God which he judges to be most
acceptable in his sight; and while he is united by the tenderest
and closest ties to one particular congregation, - his heart is
enlarged towards all mankind, those he knows and those he does
not; he embraces with strong and cordial affection neighbors
and strangers, friends and enemies. This is catholic, or univer-
sal love. And he that has this is of a catholic spirit. For love
alone gives the title to this character: catholic love is a catholic
spirit.
If then we take this word in the strictest sense, a man of a
catholic spirit is one who, in the manner above mentioned, gives
his hand to all whose hearts are right with his heart: one who
knows how to value, and praise God for, all the advantages he
enjoys, with regard to the knowledge of the things of God, the
true Scriptural manner of worshiping him, and above all, his
## p. 15804 (#136) ##########################################
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JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
union with a congregation fearing God and working righteous-
ness: one who, retaining these blessings with the strictest care,
keeping them as the appie of his eye, at the same time loves —
as friends, as brethren in the Lord, as members of Christ and
children of God, as joint partakers now of the present kingdom
of God, and fellow-heirs of his eternal kingdom - all of whatever
opinion, or worship, or congregation, who believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ; who love God and man; who, rejoicing to please
and fearing to offend God, are careful to abstain from evil, and
zealous of good works. He is the man of a truly catholic spirit,
who bears all these continually upon his heart; who, having an
unspeakable tenderness for their persons, and longing for their
welfare, does not cease to commend them to God in prayer as
well as to plead their cause before men; who speaks comfortably
to them, and labors by all his words to strengthen their hands in
God. He assists them to the uttermost of his power in all things,
spiritual and temporal. He is ready to spend and be spent for
them”; yea, to lay down his life for their sake.
Thou, O man of God, think on these things! If thou art
already in this way, go on. If thou hast heretofore mistook the
path, bless God who hath brought thee back! And now run the
race which is set before thee, in the royal way of universal love.
Take heed, lest thou be either wavering in thy judgment, or
straitened in thy bowels; but keep an even pace, rooted in the
faith once delivered to the saints, and grounded in love, in true
catholic love, till thou art swallowed up in love for ever and
ever!
THE LAST JUDGMENT
From a Discourse on (The Great Assize)
Surday presenta before the cora
UFFER me to add a few words to all of you who are at this
Lord. Should not you bear it in
your minds all the day long, that a more awful day is
coming? A large assembly this! But what is it to that which
every eye will then behold, the general assembly of all the
children of men that ever lived on the face of the whole earth!
A few will stand at the judgment seat this day, to be judged
touching what shall be laid to their charge; and they are now
reserved in prison, perhaps in chains, till they are brought forth
## p. 15805 (#137) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15805
we
are
.
your face.
to be tried and sentenced. But we shall all — I that speak, and
you that hear – “stand at the judgment seat of Christ. ” And
now reserved on this earth, which is not our home, in
this prison of flesh and blood, perhaps many of us in chains of
darkness too, till we are ordered to be brought forth. Here a
,
man is questioned concerning one or two acts which he is sup-
posed to have committed: there we are to give an account of
all our works, from the cradle to the grave; of all our words; of
all our desires and tempers, all the thoughts and intents of our
hearts; of all the use we have made of our various talents,
whether of mind, body, or fortune, till God said, “Give an ac-
,
count of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward. ”
In this court, it is possible, some who are guilty may escape
for want of evidence; but there is no want of evidence in that
court. All men with whom you had the most secret intercourse,
who were privy to all your designs and actions, are ready before
So are all the spirits of darkness who inspired evil
designs and assisted in the execution of them. So are all the
angels of God, those eyes of the Lord that run to and fro over
all the earth; who watched over your soul, and labored for your
good, so far as you would permit. So is your own conscience, a
thousand witnesses in one; now no more capable of being either
blinded or silenced, but constrained to know and to speak the
naked truth touching all your thoughts, and words, and actions.
And is conscience as a thousand witnesses ? — yea; but God is as
a thousand consciences! Oh, who can stand before the face of
the great God, even our Saviour Jesus Christ!
See! see! He cometh!
He maketh the clouds his chariot!
He rideth upon the wings of the wind! A devouring fire goeth
before him and after him, a flame burneth! See! He sitteth
upon his throne, clothed with light as with a garment, arrayed
with majesty and honor! Behold, his eyes are as a flame of fire,
his voice as the sound of many waters!
How will ye escape? Will ye call to the mountains to fall on
you, the rocks to cover you ? Alas, the mountains themselves,
the rocks, the earth, the heavens, are just ready to flee away!
Can ye prevent the sentence ? Wherewith ? With all the sub-
stance of thy house, with thousands of gold and silver ? Blind
wretch! Thou camest naked from thy mother's womb, and more
naked into eternity. Hear the Lord, the Judge!
« Come, ye
blessed of my Father! inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
((
## p. 15806 (#138) ##########################################
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JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
»
the foundation of the world. ” Joyful sound! How widely dif-
ferent from that voice which echoes through the expanse of
heaven, “Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
Devil and his angels! ” And who is he that can prevent or retard
the full execution of either sentence ? Vain hope! Lo, hell is
moved from beneath to receive those who are ripe for destruc-
tion! And the everlasting doors lift up their heads, that the
heirs of glory may come in !
“What manner of persons then ought we to be, in all holy
conversation and godliness? We know it cannot be long before
the Lord will descend with the voice of the archangel, and the
trumpet of God; when every one of us shall appear before him,
and give account of his own works. “Wherefore, beloved, seeing
ye look for these things," seeing ye know he will come, and will
not tarry, “be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace,
without spot and blameless. ” Why should ye not? Why should
one of you be found on the left hand, at his appearing? He
willeth not that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance; by repentance, to faith in a bleeding Lord; by faith,
to spotless love, to the full image of God renewed in the heart,
and producing all holiness of conversation. Can you doubt of
this, when you remember the Judge of all is likewise the Savior
of all ? Hath he not bought you with his own blood, that ye
might not perish, but have everlasting life? Oh, make proof of
his mercy rather than his justice; of his love rather than the
thunder of his power! He is not far from every one of us; and
he is now come not to 'condemn, but to save, the world. He
standeth in the midst ! Sinner, doth he not now, even now,
knock at the door of thy heart ? Oh that thou mayest know, at
least in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace! Oh
that ye may now give yourselves to Him who gave himself for
you, in humble faith, in holy, active, patient love! So shall ye
rejoice with exceeding joy in his day, when he cometh in the
clouds of heaven!
All the foregoing selections are from John Wesley's works.
## p. 15807 (#139) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15807
THOU HIDDEN LOVE OF GOD, WHOSE HEIGHT
THOU
HOU hidden love of God, whose height,
Whose depth unfathomed, no man knows!
I see from far thy beauteous light,
Inly I sigh for thy repose;
My heart is pained, nor can it be
At rest till it finds rest in thee.
Is there a thing beneath the sun
That strives with thee my heart to share ?
Ah, tear it thence, and reign alone,
The Lord of every motion there!
Then shall my heart from earth be free,
When it hath found repose in thee.
O hide this self from me, that I
No more, but Christ in me, may live;
My vile affections crucify,
Nor let one darling lust survive!
In all things nothing may I see,
Nothing desire or seek, but thee.
O Love, thy sovereign aid impart,
To save me from low-thoughted care;
Chase this self-will through all my heart,
Through all its latent mazes there;
Make me thy duteous child, that I
Ceaseless may, “Abba, Father,” cry.
Each moment draw from earth away
My heart, that lowly waits thy call;
Speak to my inmost soul, and say,
"I am thy Love, thy God, thy All! ”
To feel thy power, to hear thy voice,
To taste thy love, be all my choice.
Translation of John Wesley, from the German of Gerhard Tersteegen.
## p. 15808 (#140) ##########################################
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JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
[All the following Hymns are by Charles Wesley. ]
FATHER, I STRETCH MY HANDS TO THEE
F**
ATHER, I stretch my hands to thee;
No other help I know:
If thou withdraw thyself from me,
Ah! whither shall I go?
What did thine only Son endure,
Before I drew my breath!
What pain, what labor, to secure
My soul from endless death!
O Jesus, could I this believe,
I now should feel thy power;
And all my wants thou wouldst relieve,
In this accepted hour.
Author of faith! to thee I lift
My weary, longing eyes;
O let me now receive that gift:
My soul without it dies.
Surely thou canst not let me die:
O speak, and I shall live;
And here I will unwearied lie,
Till thou thy Spirit give.
How would my fainting soul rejoice
Could I but see thy face!
Now let me hear thy quickening voice,
And taste thy pardoning grace.
LIGHT OF LIFE, SERAPHIC FIRE
Lo Love divine, thyself impart:
IGHT of
:
Every fainting soul inspire,
Shine in every drooping heart;
Every mournful sinner cheer,
Scatter all our guilty gloom;
Son of God, appear, appear!
To thy human temples come!
Come in this accepted hour;
Bring thy heavenly kingdom in;
## p. 15809 (#141) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15809
Fill us with thy glorious power,
Rooting out the seeds of sin:
Nothing inore can we require,
We will covet nothing less;
Be thou all our heart's desire,
All our joy, and all our peace!
LOVE DIVINE, ALL LOVE EXCELLING
Love
ove divine, all love excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down!
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love thou art:
Visit us with thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.
Breathe, o breathe thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in thee inherit,
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be:
End of faith, as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all thy life receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve thee as thy hosts above,
Pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.
Finish then thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy, great salvation,
Perfectly restored in thee:
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place;
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.
XXVII-989
## p. 15810 (#142) ##########################################
15810
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
ETERNAL BEAM OF LIGHT DIVINE
E
TERNAL Beam of Light divine,
Fountain of unexhausted love,
In whom the Father's glories shine,
Through earth beneath and heaven above;
Jesus, the weary wanderer's rest,
Give me thy easy yoke to bear;
With steadfast patience arm my breast,
With spotless love and lowly fear.
Thankful I take the cup from thee,
Prepared and mingled by thy skill;
Though bitter to the taste it be,
Powerful the wounded soul to heal.
Be thou, O Rock of Ages, nigh!
So shall each murmuring thought be gone,
And grief, and fear, and care shall fly,
As clouds before the midday sun.
(
(
Speak to my warring passions, Peace”;
Say to my trembling heart, “Be still ”;
Thy power my strength and fortress is,
For all things serve thy sovereign will.
O Death! where is thy sting? Where now
Thy boasted victory, O Grave ?
Who shall contend with God ? or who
Can hurt whom God delights to save ?
GENTLE JESUS, MEEK AND MILD
ENTLE Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to Thee.
G
Fain I would to thee be brought:
Dearest God, forbid it not;
Give me, dearest God, a place
In the kingdom of thy grace.
Put thy hands upon my head,
Let me in thine arms be stayed;
## p. 15811 (#143) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15811
Let me lean upon thy breast,-
Lull me, lull me, Lord, to rest.
Hold me fast in thy embrace,
Let me see thy smiling face.
Give me, Lord, thy blessing give;
Pray for me, and I shall live.
I shall live the simple life,
Free from sin's uneasy strife,
Sweetly ignorant of ill,
Innocent and happy still.
Oh that I may never know
What the wicked people do!
Sin is contrary to thee.
Sin is the forbidden tree.
Keep me from the great offense,
Guard my helpless innocence;
Hide me, from all evil hide,
Self, and stubbornness, and pride.
Lamb of God, I look to thee;
Thou shalt my example be:
Thou art gentle, meek, and mild,
Thou wast once a little child.
Fain I would be as thou art:
Give me thy obedient heart.
Thou art pitiful and kind:
Let me have thy loving mind.
Meek and lowly may I be:
Thou art all humility.
Let me to my betters bow:
Subject to thy parents thou.
Let me above all fulfill
God my heavenly Father's will;
Never his good Spirit grieve,
Only to his glory live.
Thou didst live to God alone,
Thou didst never seek thine own;
Thou thy self didst never please,
God was all thy happiness.
## p. 15812 (#144) ##########################################
15812
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
Loving Jesu, gentle Lamb,
In Thy gracious hands I am.
Make me, Savior, what thou art,
Live thyself within my heart.
I shall then show forth thy praise,
Serve thee all my happy days:
Then the world shall always see
Christ, the holy Child, in me.
THOU VERY PRESENT AID
TH
HOU very present aid
In suffering and distress,
The soul which still on thee is stayed
Is kept in perfect peace.
The soul by faith reclined
On his Redeemer's breast
Midst raging storms exults to find
An everlasting rest.
Sorrow and fear are gone,
Whene'er thy face appears;
It stills the sighing orphan's moan,
And dries the widow's tears.
It hallows every cross;
It sweetly comforts me;
And makes me now forget my loss,
And lose myself in thee.
Peace to the troubled heart,
Health to the sin-sick mind,
The wounded spirit's Balm thou art,
The Healer of mankind.
In deep affliction blest,
With thee I mount above,
And sing, triumphantly distrest,
Thine all-sufficient love.
Jesus, to whom I fly,
Doth all my wishes fill;
In vain the creature-streams are dry:
I have the Fountain still.
## p. 15813 (#145) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15813
Stript of my earthly friends,
I find them all in One;
And peace, and joy that never ends,
And heaven, in Christ alone.
HAIL! HOLY, HOLY, HOLY LORD
HAL
All! holy, holy, holy Lord,
Whom One in Three we know;
By all thy heavenly host adored,
By all thy Church below!
One undivided Trinity
With triumph we proclaim:
The universe is full of thee,
And speaks thy glorious name.
Thee, holy Father we confess;
Thee, holy Son adore;
Thee, Spirit of true holiness
We worship evermore.
Thine incommunicable right,
Almighty God, receive,
Which angel-choirs and saints in light
And saints embodied give.
Three Persons equally divine
We magnify and love;
And both the choirs ere long shall join
To sing thy praise above.
Hail! holy, holy, holy Lord
(Our heavenly song shall be),
Supreme, essential One adored
In coeternal Three!
A CHARGE TO KEEP I HAVE
A
CHARGE to keep I have,
A God to glorify;
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky;
To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill:
Oh, may it all my powers engage
To do my Master's will!
## p. 15814 (#146) ##########################################
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JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
Arm me with jealous care,
As in thy sight to live;
And oh, thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give!
Help me to watch and pray,
And on thyself rely;
Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall forever die.
AND HAVE I MEASURED HALF MY DAYS
A
ND have I measured half my days,
And half my journey run,
Nor tasted the Redeemer's grace,
Nor yet my work begun?
The morning of my life is past,
The noon is almost o'er;
The night of death approaches fast,
When I can work no more.
Oh, what a length of wretched years
Have I lived out in vain!
How fruitless all my toils and tears!
I am not born again.
Evil and sad my days have been,
And all a painful void,
For still I am not saved from sin,
For still I know not God.
Darkness he makes his secret place,
Thick clouds surround his throne;
Nor can I yet behold his face,
Or find the God unknown.
A God that hides himself he is,
Far off from mortal sight,
An inaccessible abyss
Of uncreated light.
Far off he is, yet always near;
He fills both earth and heaven;
But doth not to my soul appear
My soul from Eden driven.
## p. 15815 (#147) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15815
O'er earth a banished man I rove,
But cannot feel him nigh:
Where is the pardoning God of Love,
Who stooped for me to die?
I sought him in the secret cell,
With unavailing care:
Long did I in the desert dwell,
Nor could I find him there.
Still every means in vain I try;
I seek him far and near:
Where'er I come, constrained to cry,
“My Savior is not here. ”
God is in this, in every place;
Yet oh, how dark and void
To me! 'tis one great wilderness,
This earth without my God.
Empty of Him who all things fills,
Till he his light impart,
Till he his glorious Self reveals,
The veil is on my heart.
O thou who seest and know'st my grief,
Thyself unseen, unknown,
Pity my helpless unbelief,
And take away the stone!
Regard me with a gracious eye;
The long-sought blessing give;
And bid me, at the point to die,
Behold thy face and live.
A darker soul did never yet
Thy promised help implore:
Oh, that I now my Lord might meet,
And never lose him more!
Now, Jesus, now the Father's love
Shed in my heart abroad;
The middle wall of sin remove,
And let me in to God!
## p. 15816 (#148) ##########################################
15816
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL
Jes
ESUS, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
Oh receive my soul at last.
Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on thee.
Leave, ah, leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed,
All my help from thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of thy wing.
Wilt thou not regard my call ?
Wilt thou not accept my prayer ?
Lo, I sink, I faint, I fall!
Lo, on thee I cast my care.
Reach me out thy gracious hand!
While I of thy strength receive:
Hoping against hope I stand;
Dying, and behold I live!
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in thee I find:
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
Heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is thy name;
I am all unrighteousness:
False and full of sin I am;
Thou art full of truth and grace.
Plenteous grace with thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound,
Make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art:
Freely let me take of thee;
Spring thou up within my heart,
Rise to all eternity.
## p. 15817 (#149) ##########################################
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
15817
JESU, MY STRENGTH, MY HOPE
Jesu,
ESU, my strength, my hope,
On thee I cast my care,
With humble confidence look up,
And know thou hear'st my prayer.
Give me on thee to wait,
Till I can all things do;
On thee, almighty to create,
Almighty to renew.
I rest upon thy word:
The promise is for me;
My succor and salvation, Lord,
Shall surely come from thee.
But let me still abide,
Nor from my hope remove,
Till thou my patient spirit guide
Into thy perfect love.
I want a sober mind,
A self-renouncing will,
That tramples down and casts behind
The baits of pleasing ill;
A soul inured to pain,
To hardship, grief, and loss;
Bold to take up, firm to sustain
The consecrated Cross.
I want a godly fear,
A quick discerning eye,
That looks to thee when sin is near,
And sees the Tempter fly;
A spirit still prepared,
And armed with jealous care,
Forever standing on its guard
And watching unto prayer.
I want a heart to pray,
To pray and never cease;
Never to murmur at thy stay,
Or wish my sufferings less:
This blessing above all,
Always to pray, I want;
Out of the deep on thee to call,
And never, never faint.
## p. 15818 (#150) ##########################################
15818
JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY
I want a true regard,
A single steady aim
(Unmoved by threatening or reward),
To thee and thy great name;
A jealous, just concern
For thine immortal praise;
A pure desire that all may learn
And glorify thy grace.
I want with all my heart
Thy pleasure to fulfill,
To know myself, and what thou art,
And what thy perfect will.
I want, I know not what;
I want my wants to see;
I want — alas, what want I not,
When thou art not in me!
## p. 15819 (#151) ##########################################
15819
THOMAS WHARTON
(1859-1896)
BY OWEN WISTER
A
s one looks back upon the life of Thomas Wharton, the good
name of those from whom he sprung, the distinction which
after many years of promise he had begun to win for him-
self, it grows clearer than ever that a talent of a rare kind, with
rare advantages of inheritance, is lost to American letters; a talent of
charm, of grace, of winning fancy, that in these literal, half-ugly days
can ill be spared. With many honorable generations in his blood,
Thomas Wharton came by right to pluck, subtlety, humor, and brill-
iant powers of acquisition. Among Philadelphia lawyers, the names
of both his father and grandfather remain traditional for scholarship.
One other birthright — namely, length of days— might have been his;
and persuaded that it was to be, he labored steadily, cheerfully, and
in no haste; believing that success would come to him all the more
ripe and sure for his patience. But even middle age was denied him.
Born August ist, 1859, he died April 6th, 1896, full of plans and work,
letters from theatre managers and composers in his desk, books and
plays in his mind beyond what was signed for by actual contract at
the moment; a man of thirty-seven but at heart forever a boy, with
his eyes beholding the first visions of worldly reward.
Three periods he knew: a beginning full of hope, a middle full of
struggle undaunted and courageous disappointment, and a brief end
when the rays of true recognition began to shine upon him.
Before he was fifteen, he brought home from his first year at
Hellmuth College, near London, Ont. , five prizes; and to crown these,
the medal given that year by the Governor-General for the highest
average marks.
In those days he also scribbled copiously, verse and
prose, but verse the more; and his art with words was already light
and happy far beyond the common. He first appeared in print then,
with an ode of Horace put into English verse; and at twenty-one he
was in the Atlantic Monthly with more verses, entitled Archæology. '
By inheritance a scholar, but himself robust in fibre, fond of swim-
ming, and of cricket, and of life, he did not sustain his prize-winning
eminence at the University of Pennsylvania. There he was graduated
in 1879; with no array of honors, but like his father, knowing and
## p. 15820 (#152) ##########################################
15820
THOMAS WHARTON
loving well the things that he knew. From all the shelves Attic,
Augustan, Romance, Renaissance, through Shakespeare, Molière, and
Heine, to Mark Twain - he pulled the books down and rejoiced in
them. His knowledge of what man has written mellowed his judg-
ment, seasoned his imagination, and preserved him from those errors
of taste and theory that waylay so many genuine but half-educated
talents in our country.
The law was Thomas Wharton's hereditary, logical, but inappro-
priate choice of career. After a few years his talent revolted, the
inevitable crushed the conventional, and he became out-and-out
writer. In 1888 he went upon the editorial staff of the Philadelphia
Times, and was Sunday editor when he died. Dangerous for the
clever ignorant, it was beneficent for him, this swift journalism, -
compelling the scholar to be himself, to take up his scholarship and
walk.
