Religion

Psalm 30: Inexpressibly great

by Charles Wesley 1707–1788

From Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures (1762) · Osborn ed., vol. 9 (1870)

Religion

Inexpressibly great
In my prosperous state
I said, I shall never be moved:
Of pardon possess'd.
So securely I rest
In the arms of my Only-Beloved.

Such comfort I find,
On His bosom reclined.
Who has sprinkled my heart with His blood:
My mountain of bliss.
So establish'd it is
By the hands of a merciful CJod.

My joy and my song,
Thou hast made me so strong,
And superior to trouble and pain;
My conflicts are pass'd.
And triumphant at last,
I shall never be tempted again.

Thou hast saved me from sin,
Both without and within,
I am perfectly happy and free:
My election is sure,
My heart, it is pure.
And evil I never shall see.

While thus I went on.
Instantaneously gone
Was the light of Thy heavenly face:
My presumption to chide,
Thy face Thou didst hide,
And withdraw the ecstatical grace.

My trouble return'd.
And I bitterly mourn'd
The loss of my only Delight:
For Thy absence distress'd,
Above measure oppress'd,
O'erwhelm'd with a mountain of night.

In desertion and grief,
I applied for relief
To my God, whom I forced to depart;
And besought Him to hear
With a pitiful ear,
The complaint of a sorrowful heart.

Bereft of my peace.
From the deepest abyss
Thy mercy I humbly implore:
A mere sinner forgive.
Unworthy to live.
And the help of Thy Spirit restore.

What advantage to God,
That I die in my blood,
The reward of iniquity meet?
Will it benefit Thee,
If destruction I see,
And sink into the bottomless pit?

If I perish forgot.
Or my memory rot,
Thy glory I never can show:
Or the truth of Thy grace,
In toraients confess,
To the blasphemous spirits below.

O Saviour, attend
My affliction to end,
If unchangeable mercy Thou art:
Discover the blood
That has pacified God,
And apply it again to my heart.

O Jesus, appear.
My Deliverer here.
And assist me again to believe:
And for ever restored
To the sight of my God,
To the heaven of heavens receive.

I am heal'd, I am heal'd!
Thou again hast reveal'd
Thy unsearchable mercies to me:
With Thee I possess
The sweet comforts of grace.
And the light of Thy countenance see.

My sorrowful night,
Into rapture and light,
By Thy sudden appearance is turn'd;
And establish'd in peace,
I forget my distress,
Or rejoice that I ever have mourn'd.

My sordid array
Thou hast ravish'd away,
And adorn'd me with beauty and love;
And triumphantly glad,
With holiness clad,
I return to the country above.

All Israel shall see
Thy goodness to me,
And expect and experience the same;
And incessantly praise
The abundance of grace,
The full virtue of Jesus's name.

I continue the song.
With a numberless throng,
Who the Lover of sinners adore:
Each moment employ
In the spirit of joy,
And exult, and give thanks evermore.

The redeem'd of the Lamb
We Thy glory proclaim,
For a few, happy festival clays:
Singing on till we fly
To our friends in the sky,
And eternity spend in Thy praise.

MLA

Wesley, Charles. “Psalm 30: Inexpressibly great.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wesley_c/3181/.

Chicago

Wesley, Charles. “Psalm 30: Inexpressibly great.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wesley_c/3181/.

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