Wesley Corpus

Page 395 "The righteous shall scarcely be saved." 1 Pet. iv. 18. Where then shall I appear, A mere, mere sinner I! O may I always fear, As at the point to die, Till thou my sinking soul surprize, And snatch me up to paradise. "The righteous shall scarcely be saved." 1 Pet. iv. 18. When all thy waves and storms are past, Shall I, shall I, be sav'd at last? Then let my Lord conceal his face, With-hold the knowledge of his grace, Leave me in doubts, in darkness leave, And at my latest hour forgive.114 Deliver from the wrath to come, And scourge me, Saviour, to the tomb, I to thy righteous will submit, And weep unanswer'd at thy feet, But when my dying head I bow, Assure me then, thou heard'st me now! "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." 1 Pet. v. 5. Vain of your gifts and boasted grace, Great things who of yourselves declare, From you the Lord shall hide his face, And leave you in the fowler's snare A wretched, self-deceiving crowd, False saints, false-witnesses, for God!115 Against your Luciferian pride His furious jealousy shall burn, And while ye in the flesh confide, Your towering confidence o'erturn, Into the flaming dungeon cast, Or save you as by fire at last.116 But ye that tremble at his frown, And scarcely dare for mercy hope,117 Your God in justice casts you down, Your God in love shall lift you up, 114John Wesley underlined "conceal his" in line 3, "With-hold" in line 4, and "darkness leave" in line 5 in his personal copy, drawing an exclamation point in the margin after line 3. 115John Wesley underlined "boasted grace" in line 1, "yourselves declare" in line 2, and all of lines 5-6 in his personal copy. In the margin after line 1 he wrote "φεØ"(a Greek exclamation of disappointment, like "Alas!"). 116John Wesley underlined "Luciferian pride" in line 1 and "Into the flaming" in line 5 in his personal copy. 117John Wesley underlined "scarcely dare" in his personal copy. Page 396 And bless and gospelize the poor With pardon and salvation sure.