Wesley Corpus

His grace if God on us confer, We then shall learn apace, Live to his glory, and declare Our heavenly teacher's praise. We in his favour shall retrieve Our long lost paradise, Take of the tree of life, and live Immortal in the skies. Hymn LIV. After School. Jesus we cast ourselves on thee, On thee our works we cast, The Alpha and Omega be In all, the first and last. If well we any thing have done, 'Tis owing to thy grace: What therefore we with prayer begun, We now conclude with praise. We praise thee for our master's care To us poor children shew'd, If forward brought to-day we are, It is the gift of God. Page 49 We praise thee for our hope to know The wisdom from above, And own that all our blessings flow From thy expiring love. Hymn LV. Against Idleness. Idle boys and men are found Standing on the devil's ground, He will find them work to do, He will pay their wages too. Are they not of wisdom void, Those that saunter unemploy'd, Young, or old, who fondly play Their important time away? What a bold and foolish lye, When we hear a trifler cry, "I no other business have!" Has he not a soul to save? Has he from his Lord above No one talent to improve? Let him go and muse on this, Sloth is the worst wickedness. Sloth is the accursed root, Whence ten thousand evils shoot, Every vice and every sin Doth with idleness begin. We by idleness expose Our own souls to endless woes, We, whenever loitering thus, Tempt the devil to tempt us. But suffice the season past That our time away we cast, Thoughtless and insensible, Dancing on the brink of hell. Page 50 Let us now to Jesus turn, For our mis-spent moments mourn, Let us in his Spirit's power Promise to stand still no more. Jesus, help; to thee we pray, Take the cursed root away, Idleness far off remove, Let us thee and labour love; All our time and vigour give, Serve our Maker while we live, Use for God the talents given, Work on earth, and rest in heaven. Hymn LVI. Against Lying. Happy the well-instructed youth Who in his earliest infancy, Loves from his heart to speak the truth, And like his God abhors a lye.