Wesley Corpus

Wisdom divine! Who tells the price Of wisdom's costly merchandize! Wisdom to silver we prefer, And gold is dross, compar'd to her. Better she is than richest mines, All earthly treasures she outshines, Her value above rubies is, And precious pearls are vile to this. Whate'er thy heart can wish, is poor To wisdom's all-sufficient store: Pleasure, and fame, and health, and friends, She all created good transcends. Her hands are fill'd with length of days, True riches, and immortal praise, Riches of Christ on all bestow'd, And honour, that descends from God. To purest joys she all invites, Chaste, holy, spiritual delights: Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her flowery paths are peace. 28Manuscript precursors of this hymn appear in MS Shent, 100a-100b; and MS Thirty, 163-64. Page 26 He finds, who wisdom apprehends, A life begun that never ends, The tree of life divine she is, Set in the midst of paradise. Happy the man who wisdom gains, Thrice happy who his guest retains, He owns, and shall for ever own Wisdom, and Christ, and heaven are one. Hymn XIX. To: "O love divine, how sweet, thou art!" Thou great mysterious God unknown, Whose love hath gently led me on E'en from my infant days, Mine inmost soul expose to view, And tell me if I never29 knew Thy justifying grace. If I have only known thy fear, And follow'd with an heart sincere Thy drawings from above, Now, now the farther grace bestow, And let my sprinkled conscience know Thy sweet forgiving love. Short of thy love I would not stop, A stranger to the gospel-hope, The sense of sin forgiven, I would not, Lord, my soul deceive, Without thy inward witness live, That antepast of heaven. If now the witness were in me, Would he not testify of thee In Jesus reconcil'd? And should I not with faith draw nigh, And boldly Abba Father cry, I know myself thy child. 29"Never" changed to "ever" in 9th edn. (1776) and following. Page 27 Ah never let thy servant rest, Till of my part in Christ possest I on thy mercy feed, Unworthy of the crumbs that fall, Yet rais'd by him who dy'd for all To eat the children's bread.