1 Could I of all perfection boast,
As pure as that which Adam lost,
I'd sacrifice it to thy blood,
My Christ, my all, my only good.
2 Were I as Abram, strong in faith,
And boldly stedfast unto death;
I'd bid my faithfulness adieu,
And Jesus only faithful view.
3 If I more meek than Moses were,
Quite free from anger, strife, or fear;
Yet this I gladly would despise,
And Jesus's meekness only prize.
4 Was I as Job submissive still,
Patient, resign'd in ev'ry ill;
Yet all should fade before his cross,
Compar'd with him, it is but dross.
5 If I was wise as Solomon,
Like him with zeal and ardour shone;
Like him I'd vain and foolish see
My wisdom, zeal, yea all but Thee.
6 Had I an Angel's purity;
Yea even this I would deny;
Nor good confess in name or thing,
But Christ my Lord, my life, my King.
Source: Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs: selected and original, designed for the use of the Church Universal in public and private devotion #LXVII
James Relly was born about 1722 at Jeffreston, Pembrokeshire, Wales, and died in 1778. He was converted to Christianity during the Great Awakening ushered in by George Whitefield. He worked under George Whitefield as a Calvinistic Methodist preacher and missionary. However, Whitefield and Relly separated ways over Relly's seemingly universalist teaching that all humanity was elect (i.e. saved) when Christ took the punishment for all sin when he died. He also departed from both the Calvinists and Methodists by taking the doctrine of Justification further, in teaching that believers no longer sin and the Law's sole purpose is to condemn humanity and point them to Christ.
He was the mentor of John Murray, the founder of the Universalist Ch… Go to person page >
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files