Wesley Corpus

Almighty God of truth and love, In me thy power exert, The mountain from my soul remove, The hardness from my heart: My most obdurate heart subdue, In honour of thy Son, And now the gracious wonder shew, And take away the stone. I want a principle within, Of jealous, godly fear, A sensibility of sin, A pain to feel it near: I want the first approach to feel Of pride, or fond desire, To catch the wandrings of my will, And quench the kindling fire. From thee that I no more may part, No more thy goodness grieve, The filial awe, the fleshly heart, The tender conscience give, Quick as the apple of an eye, O God, my conscience make: 53A manuscript precursor of this hymn appears in MS Occasional Hymns, 2-4. Page 231 Awake my soul, when sin is nigh, And keep it still awake. If to the right, or left I stray, That moment, Lord, reprove, And let me weep my life away For having griev'd thy love: Give me to feel an idle thought As actual wickedness, And mourn for the minutest fault In exquisite distress. O may the least omission pain My well-instructed soul, And drive me to the blood again, Which makes the wounded whole: More of this tender spirit, more Of this affliction send, And spread the moral sense all o'er, 'Till pain with life shall end. "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do." Philippians ii. 13. Hymn I. Father, to thee my soul I lift, My soul on thee depends, Convinc'd, that every perfect gift From thee alone descends. Mercy and grace are thine alone, And power and wisdom too, Without the Spirit of thy Son We nothing good can do. We cannot speak one useful word, One holy thought conceive, Unless, in answer to our Lord, Thyself the blessing give: Page 232 His blood demands the purchas'd grace, His blood's availing plea Obtain'd the help for all our race, And sends it down to me.