Wesley Corpus

Page 402 "Try the spirits." 1 John iv. 1. Are we not plainly here forbid To trust a spirit untried? But slow and safely we proceed With a celestial guide: We weigh with wisdom from above The men that call thee Lord, And all their lives and tempers prove By thine unerring word. "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits." 1 John iv. 1. But should we not believe the men, Who their own graces testify? No: or ye make the scriptures vain:124 Believe them not before ye try! Their sufferings, works, and tempers weigh; Wait for the fruits their words to prove, Not in a moment, or a day Pronounce them perfected in love. "There is no fear in love." 1 John iv. 18. There is no fear in love, No base tormenting fear, But that which thrills the host above, When Jesu's wounds appear! The highest joy transcends To saints triumphant given, The seraph's loftiest songs suspends, And makes a silent heaven! "We love him, because he first loved us." 1 John iv. 19. I cannot doubt thy love for me: Thy love for me doth now constrain My heart to seek a power from thee To love my gracious Lord again: Thou wilt, for thine own mercy sake, To me the power of faith impart, I then the just return shall make, And give thee all my loving heart. 124John Wesley underlined "No: or ye make" in his personal copy, drawing a "Q" (for Question) in the margin. Page 403 "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." 1 John v. 3. Th' effect must from the cause proceed, And thy dear genuine children prove In truth, reality, and deed, Obedience is but actual love. "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." 1 John v. 3. Obedience to our Lord's commands, This, only this can prove The stedfast ground on which it stands, The truth of solid love: By works our loving faith we shew, Our sense of sin forgiven, And walking in his steps we go After our head to heaven. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God: that ye may know that ye have eternal life, c." 1 John v. 13.