Wesley Corpus

Hebrews 4:9. “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” Source: Hymns and Sacred Poems (1740), Part I Author: Charles Wesley (attributed) --- The sacred means thyself ordain’d, Others reject with impious haste; By these blasphem’d, by those profan’d, Our pleasant things are all laid waste. And wilt thou not this havock see, For which we ever, ever mourn? Still shall we cry in vain to thee? Return, our gracious Lord, return! Hold not thy peace at Sion’s woe, O cast not out thy people’s prayer, Regard thy suffering church below, And spare, the weeping remnant spare. Thy fallen tabernacle raise, Thy chastisement at last remove, That all mankind may sing thy praise, Thou God of truth, thou God of love. Hebrews iv. 9. “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Lord, I believe a rest remains To all thy people known, A rest, where pure enjoyment reigns, And thou art lov’d alone. A rest, where all our soul’s desire Is fixt on things above, Where doubt, and pain, and fear expire, Cast out by perfect love. A rest of lasting joy and peace, Where all is calm within: ’Tis then from our own works we cease, From pride, and self, and sin. Our life is hid with Christ in God; The agony is o’er, We wrestle not with flesh and blood, We strive with sin no more. Our sp’rit is right, our heart is clean, Our nature is renew’d, We cannot now,85 we cannot sin, For we are born of God.86 From ev’ry evil motion freed, (The Son hath made us free) On all the pow’rs of hell we tread, In glorious liberty. Redeem’d, we walk on holy ground, On God we cast our care; No lion in that way is found, No rav’nous beast is there! 85Changed to “We cannot, no, we cannot sin” in 4th edn. (1743) and following. 86In his personal copy of 5th edn. (1756) Wesley marked stanzas 4 & 5 for deletion. Cf. Some Remarks on Mr Hill’s “Review”, Works (Jackson) 10:395-98. Safe in the way of life, above Death, earth, and hell we rise; We find, when perfected in love, Our long-sought paradise. Within that Eden we retire, We rest in Jesu’s name: It guards us, as a wall of fire, And as a sword of flame. O that I now the rest might know, Believe, and enter in! Now, Saviour, now the power bestow, And let me cease from sin. Remove this hardness from my heart, This unbelief remove, To me the rest of faith impart, The Sabbath of thy love. I groan from sin to be set free, From self to be releas’d; Take me, O take me into thee My everlasting rest. I would be thine, thou know’st I would, And have thee all my own, Thee, O my all-sufficient good, I want, and thee alone. Thy name to me, thy nature grant; This, only this be given, Nothing besides my God I want, Nothing in earth or heaven. Come, O my Saviour, come away, Into my soul descend, No longer from thy creature stay, My author, and my end. The bliss thou hast for me prepar’d No longer be delay’d; Come, my exceeding great reward, For whom I first was made. Come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, And seal me thine abode, Let all I am in thee be lost, Let all I am be God!