Wesley Corpus

Adorn thee with thy richest dress, With gems and gold their heart4 to gain, Colour with nicest art thy face, And strive to please, but all in vain. Thy beauty cannot take their eyes, Or turn thy lovers' wrath away; Thy lovers shall thy charms despise, And seek, whom they abhor, to slay. For I have heard a voice of woes, And shrill complaints that pierce the skies, Loud as a woman in her throes, Sion's afflicted daughter cries. Weary to death, she spreads her hands, And wails her loss, and speaks her pain, "Ah! Woe is me, the ruffian bands Have all my hapless children slain!" Hymn XIII. Almighty Lord of hosts, On whose protecting grace, Thy quiet flock securely trusts In troublous evil days; Who hear'st the faithful prayer, Incline thine ear to ours, And guard us from the coming snare With all thy heavenly powers. For us thy guardian hand Hath oft extended been, When Babel's sons approach'd the land, Thy mercy stept between; Thy mercy caught us up As from our instant doom, And frustrated the surest hope Of antichristian Rome. Page 18 Thou, Lord, against our foes Didst for thy people fight, Their dark conspiracies disclose, And blast their open might, Their consecrated hosts, Their fleets invincible, And baffle the triumphant boasts, And subtlest plots of hell. Ev'n now thy piercing eye The close design surveys, Of men, who Israel's God defy, A false perfidious race, Who treacherously contend Our country to o'rethrow, And watch the dreadful news to send In the destructive blow. With furious error blind, With wild ambition's lust, They reign, corrupters of mankind, And murtherers of the just, Drunk with the martyrs' blood, They all thy laws disdain, And boldly cry, "There is no God, Or none who died for man." Such is the nation, Lord, Who on our necks would tread! Ah! Do not use them as thy sword, Nor let their plots succeed: But cast the wicked down, Confound their angry pride, And make the scattered aliens own, That God is on our side. Page 19 Hymn XIV. Ye servants of God, Acknowledge him near: Who bought you with blood, Shall quickly appear: In love's latest season, Ye sinners awake, For Jesus is risen The kingdoms to shake.