Wesley Corpus

By faith the holy men of old Obtain'd a never-dying name, The sacred leaves their praise unfold, And God himself records their fame. Thro' faith we know the worlds were made, By his great word to being brought: He spake: the earth and heaven obey'd; The universe sprang forth from nought. The heavens thy glorious power proclaim, If thou in us thy power declare; We know from whom the fabrick came, Our heart believes, when God is there. Page 8 Thee thro' thyself we understand, When thou in us thyself hast shown, We see thy all-creating hand, We feel a God thro' faith alone. Verse IV. Believing in the woman's seed, And justified by faith alone, Abel a nobler offering made, And God vouchsaf'd his gifts to own. Witness divine he thus obtain'd, The gift of righteousness receiv'd; And now he wears the crown he gain'd, And sees the Christ he once believ'd. Still by his faith he speaks tho' dead, He calls us to the living way: We hear; and in his footsteps tread: We first believe, and then obey. Verses V, VI. Exempted from the general doom, The death which all are born to know, Enoch obtain'd his heavenly home By faith, and disappear'd below. From earth unpainfully releas'd, Translated to the realms of light, He found the God by faith he pleas'd, His faith was sweetly lost in sight. Page 9 God, without faith, we cannot please: For all, who unto God would come, Must feelingly believe he is, And gives to all their righteous doom. We feelingly believe thou art: Behold we ever seek thee, Lord, With all our mind, with all our heart, And find thee now our great reward. Verse VII. Divinely warn'd of judgments near, Noah believ'd a threatning3 God, With humble faith, and holy fear He built the ark, and 'scap'd the flood. He (while the world that disbeliev'd, The careless world of sinners died,) The righteousness of faith receiv'd: Noah by faith was justified. We too by faith the world condemn, Of righteousness divine possest, Escape the wrath that covers them, Safe in the ark of Jesu's breast. Verses VIII, IX, X. Obedient to his God's command, And influenc'd by faith alone, Abraham left his native land, Went out, and sought a place unknown. 3Ori., "threating", a misprint; corrected in 4th edn. (1743) and following. Page 10