Wesley Corpus

Thy servant in the gospel, I For all my fellow-servants cry, In never ceasing prayer: By us in each hard trial stand, Support us with thine out-stretch'd hand, And all our burthens bear. Thou seest the threatning of our foes; A world with restless rage oppose Thy messengers, and thee: Beneath thy wings our weakness hide, And turn the furious blast aside, And end the tyranny. Thou seest, the dire malicious fiend Doth closely all our steps attend, And watches all our ways: And lo! The powers of darkness join, Thro' us to frustrate the design Of thy redeeming grace. But worse than all thou seest within The cruel misbelieving sin, Which tempts us to depart, Staggers our faith, and shakes our hope, And drinks our fainting spirits up, And tears our aching heart. Thou knowst the black desponding fear, The doubt we should not persevere 'Till all our course is run, The conflict in ourselves we have, Lest we the souls of others save, And sadly lose our own. We tremble in our evil day, Lest we ourselves should fall away, And perish in our blood: Page 298 It is mine own infirmity! There's none hath felt it more than me, And still I bear my load. But O thou faithful God of love, The cause of our distress remove, The heart to evil prone: Our doubts, and fears, and sins destroy, And fill with everlasting joy, And perfect us in one. Hymns for a Preacher of the Gospel. Hymn X. For a Lay-Preacher. I thank thee, Lord of earth and heaven, That thou to me, ev'n me hast given, The knowledge of thy grace, (Which flesh and blood could ne'er reveal) And call'd a babe thy love to tell, And stammer out thy praise. None of the sacred order I, Yet dare I not the grace deny Thou hast on me bestow'd, Constrain'd to speak in Jesu's name, And shew poor souls th' atoning Lamb, And point them to his blood. I now believe, and therefore speak, And found myself, go forth to seek The sheep that wander still; For these I toil, for these I care, And faithfully to all declare The peace which all may feel. My God supply thy servant's need, If thou hast sent me forth indeed