Wesley Corpus

Poor, guilty, abject worms to thee In our declining state we call, See, thy degenerate people, see, Nor let our tottering Sion fall. Our works of faith thou once didst know, Our patient hope, and labouring love: We would not bear thy Romish foe, We dared that Antichrist reprove. We tried him by the written word, Thro' all his snares and fetters broke, As Satan's successor abhor'd And cast away his iron yoke. Him, and his god, and sin, and death We more than conquer'd thro' thy name; The witnesses resign'd their breath, And clapt their hands amidst the flame. For their dear suffering Saviour's sake, Immoveable the champions stood, Nor fainted at the rack, or stake, But watred all the church with blood. Yet O! How quickly, Lord, hast thou Whereof thy people to reprove Fallen alas! Thou seest us now, We now have left our former love. Our wine with water mixt, our gold Is dim, our shipwreck'd faith is dead, No more our tokens we behold, Our martyrs all to heaven are fled. O could we call to mind the grace, The glorious grace from which we fell, Live o'er again the antient days, And do the works thou lov'st so well! Page 286 O that we might thro' thee repent, And timely turn to thee, and live! So should thy grace our doom prevent, Thou wouldst abundantly forgive. Before thou dost in vengeance come, Our candlestick far off remove, And fix th' unalterable doom; O let us weep, believe, and love. Call on us, by thy Spirit call, Yet once again our church restore, Shew us thy grace is over all, And lift us up to fall no more. Revelation ii. 7. Hear all that will, the Spirit hear, What he to all the churches saith, "Fight the good fight, till Christ appear, And give the prize to conquering faith. "The tree of immortality, Which in the midst of Eden stands, The conqueror's due reward shall be, Though guarded by cherubic bands. "I will remove the sword of flame; (It first shall the old Adam slay) The tree of life myself I am, And open to myself the way." To him that overcomes, at last Surely I will my fulness give, He of the tree of life shall taste, And free from sin forever live.