Wesley Corpus

This God hath bid us do, And man forbids in vain; Ye never, never can break thro' Love's adamantine chain: Join'd by the Saviour's will, The same in mind and heart, Ye may afflict us here, and kill, But ye can never part. Resolv'd our Lord t' obey, In spite of man's command, Together in the antient way, Thro' his support we stand: Nor will we hence remove, 'Till all triumphant rise And meet the first-born church above, Assembled in the skies. Page 40 A Prayer for the First Martyr.21 Head of thy suffering church below, We ask in faith the passive power, Thy perfect strength in weakness shew, And arm us for the dreadful hour. Prepare the soul thou first shalt call To own in death the pard'ning God, To die for him who died for all, And seal the record with his blood. Thy hardy soldier, Lord, enure, The daily cross with joy to prove; Give him an heart resolv'd, and pure, And meek, and full of patient love. Give him, when now the day draws near, His utter helplesness to see; Give him the self-mistrusting fear, The humble awe that cleaves to thee. To thee let him in faith look up, And claim the succours from above, And rise to all the strength of hope, To all th' omnipotence of love. O'erwhelm him with th' amazing grace, That he, so poor, so self-abhor'd, Least of the blood-besprinkled race, That he should suffer for his Lord! Give him th' indubitable sign, That all his sufferings are for thee; Assure his heart the cause is thine, And thou wilt get the victory. Give him, before he bows his head, The sight to fervent Stephen given, The everlasting doors display'd, The glories of a wide spread heaven. 21This hymn is likely in reference to the death of William Seward in October 1740, as a "Methodist martyr." Page 41 Shew him thyself at God's right-hand: Thou on the faithful soul look down, Thou by thy dying champion stand, And reach him out the starry crown. Inspire him with thy tender care For those who nail'd thee to the wood, And give to his expiring prayer The men that drive his soul to God.