Wesley Corpus

Not all the archangels can tell The joys of that holiest place, Where Jesus is pleas'd to reveal The light of his heavenly face; Where caught in the rapturous flame The sight beatific they prove, And walk in the light of the Lamb, And bask in the beams of his love. Who then upon earth can conceive The bliss that in heaven they share; Who then the dark world would not leave, And chearfully die to be there? O Saviour, regard our complaints, Array'd in thy majesty come, Fulfil the desires of thy saints, And suddenly gather us home. Thou know'st in the spirit of prayer We groan thy appearing to see, Resign'd to the burden we bear, But longing to triumph with thee. 'Tis good at thy word to be here, 'Tis better in thee to be gone, And see thee in glory appear, And rise to a share of thy throne. To mourn for thy coming is sweet, To weep at thy longer delay; But thou whom we hasten to meet Shalt chase all our sorrows away: The tears shall be wip'd from our eyes When thee we behold in the cloud, And eccho the joys of the skies, And shout to the trumpet of God. Page 11 Come then to thy languishing bride, Who went'st to prepare us a place, Receive us with thee to abide, And rest in thy mercy's embrace. Our heaven of heavens be this Thy fulness of mercy to prove, Implung'd in the glorious abyss, And lost in the ocean of love. Hymn VIII. Away with our sorrow and fear! We soon shall recover our home; The city of saints shall appear, The day of eternity come: From earth we shall quickly remove, And mount to our native abodes,7 The house of our Father above, The palace of angels and gods.8 Our mourning is all at an end, When rais'd by the life-giving Word, We see the new city descend, Adorn'd as a bride for her lord: The city so holy and clean No sorrow can breathe in the air, No gloom of affliction or sin, No shadow of evil is there.