Wesley Corpus

By anger, malice, hatred, pride, By fraud and falshood we, By oaths and blasphemies defied Thy awful majesty. Thy Spirit of grace we daily griev'd By riot, and excess, In pleasures and diversions liv'd, In hellish harmlesness. Lovers of pleasure, more than God, We sought the things below, And eagerly the world pursued, And cared not thee to know. Page 326 Slaves to our lusts we all have been, Prophan'd thy day and name, Sported ourselves with hell and sin, And gloried in our shame. Despisers of the gospel-word Too long alas, were we, And in thy helpless followers, Lord, We persecuted thee. Haters of those that would be good, Nor in our evil join, By Satan urg'd to shed their blood Who pointed us to thine. But O! Suffice the season past: We now our folly, mourn, And chuse the better part at last, And to our Saviour turn. Our sinful state we partly see, But long to see it more, With broken hearts to mourn for thee, And tremble at thy power. Fain would we love the God we fear, The Lord of earth and heaven, And feel the grace of which we hear, And know our sins forgiven. Our sins tho' great and numberless, We now at last believe, O Son of man, O Prince of Peace, Thou canst on earth forgive. Come then, the saving grace impart, Remove the mountain-load, Inspeak thy peace into our heart Which pants to feel thy blood. Page 327 Thy Spirit let us now receive, And Abba Father cry, And happy in thy service live, And in thy service die. Naomi and Ruth. Adapted to the Minister and People.82 Turn again, my children turn, Wherefore would ye go with me? O forbear, forbear to mourn, Jesus wills it so to be: Why, when God would have us part, Weep ye thus, and break my heart? Go, in peace my children go, Only Jesu's steps pursue: He shall pay the debt I owe, He shall kindly deal with you; He your sure reward shall be, Bless you for your love to me. Surely you have kindly dealt With the living, and the dead; You have oft my burthen felt, When my tears were all my bread: Jesus lull you on his breast, Jesus give you endless rest!