Wesley Corpus

Give us this day, all bounteous Lord, Our sacramental bread, Who thus his sacrifice record That suffer'd in our stead. Reveal in every soul thy Son, And let us taste the grace Which brings assur'd salvation down To all who seek thy face. Who here commemorate his death To us his life impart, The loving filial Spirit breathe Into my waiting heart. My earnest of eternal bliss Let my Redeemer be, And if even now he present is, Now let him speak in me. Page 76 Hymn LXXXIX. Ye faithful souls, who thus record The Passion of that Lamb divine, Is the memorial of your Lord An useless form, an empty sign, Or doth he here his life impart? What saith the witness in your heart? Is it the dying master's will That we should this persist to do? Then let him here himself reveal, The tokens of his presence shew, Descend in blessings from above, And answer by the fire of love. Who thee remember in thy ways, Come, Lord, and meet and bless us here, In confidence we ask the grace, Faithful and true appear, appear, Let all perceive thy blood apply'd, Let all discern the crucified. 'Tis done; the Lord sets to his seal, The prayer is heard, the grace is given, With joy unspeakable we feel The Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, The altar streams with sacred blood, And all the temple flames with God! Hymn XC.30 Blest be the love, forever blest The bleeding love we thus record! Jesus, we take the dear bequest, Obedient to thy kindest word, 30Ori., "XL"; a misprint, corrected in 2nd edn. (1747) and following. Page 77 Thy word which stands divinely sure, And shall from age to age endure. In vain the subtle tempter tries Thy dying precept to repeal, To hide the letter from our eyes, And break the testamental seal, Refine the solid truth away, And make us free to disobey. In vain he labours to persuade Thou didst not mean the word should bind, The feast for thy first followers made For them and us, and all mankind, Mindful of thee we still attend, And this we do, till time shall end. Thro' vain pretence of clearer light We do not, Lord, refuse to see, Or weakly the commandment slight To shew our Christian liberty, Or seek rebelliously to prove The pureness of our cath'lic love.