Wesley Corpus

'Gainst vice we partially declaim, With undiscerning censure blame Our nation's wickedness: But O! The sin that loudest cries For all the vengeance of the skies, We never once confess. O might we from our hearts repent Of scorning him thy pity sent To heal our sin and grief! Assist us thro' thy Spirit's power, To own, and feelingly deplore Our damning unbelief. Page 11 Convince the wretches who deny Their Lord, that stoop'd for them to die, Who triumph in his pain, Who trample on his precious blood, And hate, and scoff the dying God, And crucify again. Confound the misbelieving pride Of those that impiously divide Thy dearest Son and thee, Who will not him thine equal own, But madly threaten to dethrone The filial deity. And O! Almighty Son of God, Into the blind self-righteous crowd Thy sharpest arrows dart; The men who infidels condemn, Nor ever knew themselves the same, Mere infidels in heart. A formal self-deceiving race, Who mock the counsel of thy grace, The sense of sins forgiven, The power of godliness explode, The witness, and the peace of God, And faith that leads to heaven. Page 12 Forgive us, Lord, for such we were, And all our guilty brethren spare, Our unbelief reprove, Give us that root of sins to own, And make our wounded spirits groan Beneath their want of love. Let all the faithless nation cry, Redeem us, Saviour, or we die, A second death to feel: Jesus, thine only name and blood Can save us from the wrath of God, Can ransom us from hell. On thee our dying souls we cast, Our dying souls receive at last, And in thy arms embrace, To triumph in thy pard'ning love, And sing with all the sav'd above Thine everlasting praise. Hymn VI. Righteous Lord, thy people spare! Lo! We turn at last to thee, Humbly the correction bear Of our past iniquity, Own the cause of our distress, Mournfully our sins confess. Page 13 We thy judgments have abhorr'd, We thy covenant have broke, Daringly denied our Lord, Cast away his easy yoke, Would not cast our sins away, Would not know our gracious day. Therefore is the plague begun, Therefore doth it still proceed, Wrath divine by means unknown, Wrath divine hath done the deed, Made the stalls and pastures void, God our cattle hath destroy'd.