Wesley Corpus

To God the Father, and the Son, And Spirit, One in Three, As is, and8 was ere9 time begun, Eternal glory be! Page 45 Another A Hymn for Charity-Children. O thou, whose wisdom, power and love For all thy works provide, Which those vast orbs that roul above And our low center guide. The rich, the poor, the mean, the great Are link'd by thy strong hands; Poiz'd on its base the work's compleat, The firm composure stands. Page 46 10"Still" changed to "To" in 4th edn. (1748) and following. 11Reversed to read "heaven and earth" in 2nd edn. (1743) and following. The meanest worm that creeps on earth Is not below thy care; And we, altho' of humble birth, Thy God-like bounty share. Whoe'er thy being dare dispute Are silenc'd here with ease; The stones themselves would them confute, If we should hold our peace. Th' Almighty be their strong defence, And multiply their store, Who still concur with providence, Still10 aid and bless the poor. Another A Hymn for Charity-Children. Father of mercy, hear our pray'r, In thee we move and live: How slow to wrath, how prone to spare, And ready to forgive. Thou chiefly dost thy boundless pow'r In acts of goodness shew; Thy mercy all thy works adore, Thence all our blessings flow. This still shall be our grateful theme, Thy praise we'll ever sing; Our friends the kind refreshing stream, But thou th' unfailing spring. Our joy would soon o'erflow the banks, And inundations raise, Did we not thus look down with thanks, And look to heaven with praise. To God the Father, God the Son, And God the Holy Ghost, Who yet are not three gods, but One Rever'd by all his host. The blest, eternal Trinity, Whom earth and heaven11 adore, All honour, praise and glory be Both now and evermore. Page 50 12The first line of each stanza is placed flush by the printer in every edition. But Wesley more typically indented it one setting to reflect the metre: 6.6.8.6. 13"Those" changed to "The" in 2nd edn. (1743) and following. A Morning Hymn. We lift our hearts to thee, O Day-Star from on high! The sun itself is but thy shade, Yet chears both earth and sky. O let thy orient beams The night of sin disperse! Those13 mists of error and of vice, Which shade the universe!