Wesley Corpus

Page 7 8"Reverence" changed to "patience arm'd" in 2nd edn. (1750) and following. Hymn IV. God of awful majesty, Thy glorious name we praise! Known are all thy works to thee Of judgment, and of grace: In thine only breast it lies To raise or sink, revive or slay: Wilt thou yet again chastise, Or turn thy wrath away? Vengeance on thy foes to take Hast thou in anger sworn? Sworn again our earth to shake, And from its base o'erturn? Surely then to Abraham's seed Thou shalt reveal the wrath to come, Speak the punishment decreed, And warn us of our doom. But if so thy will ordain Its close design to hide, Let us in thy work remain, And in thy love abide; Stand for all events prepar'd, With reverence8 and godly fear; Stand for ever on our guard, 'Till thy great arm appear. Blessed are the servants, Lord, Whom thou shalt watching find, Hanging on thy faithful word, And to thy will resign'd; Page 8 9This opening stanza echoes an earlier poem by Samuel Wesley Jr., "On the Passion of Our Saviour," Poems on Several Occasions (London: S. Birt, 1736), 136-37; included in CPH (1737), 44-45. 10The quotation marks are missing in the 1st edn., but appear in all others to indicate that these are alternative suggestions by the "smooth prophets" about the cause of the earthquake. 11"Sovereign word" changed to "threat'ning look" in 2nd edn. (1750) and following. Safe amidst the darts of death, Secure they rest in all alarms, Sure, their Lord hath spread beneath His everlasting arms. Should the earth this moment cleave, And swallow up the just, Jesus would their souls receive, And guard their sleeping dust: Tho' their dust the whirlwind sweep To earth's profoundest center driven, Soon, emerging from the deep, They rise, they mount to heaven! Hymn V. From whence these dire portents around,9 That strike us with unwonted fear! Why do these earthquakes rock the ground, And threaten our destruction near? Ye prophets smooth, the cause explain, And lull us to repose again. Or "water swelling for a vent," Or "air impatient to get free," Or "fire within earth's intrails pent;"10 Yet all are order'd, Lord, by thee; The elements obey thy nod, And nature vindicates her God.