1 Have mercy, Lord, Thy wrath remove,
Nor let Thy judgments weigh me down;
I cannot live without Thy love,
I cannot stand beneath Thy frown.
2 Wilt Thou not once Thy face display,
And dart a ray of heavenly light?
Still must I urge my cheerless way,
And mourn throughout my long-lived night?
3 Lo! In my prayer I ever mourn,
Vexed with the sad remains of sin,
Broken, and bruised, and racked, and torn,
How shall I bear this hell within?
4 This unbelief, these cruel fears,
Distracting doubts, and torturing pain,
While Thou art silent at my tears,
Thou see’st them ever flow in vain.
5 And must I yield to black despair?
In vain on Thee for mercy call,
Tempted above what I can bear!
And wilt Thou suffer me to fall?
6 Never again disclose Thy face,
Or show me the atoning blood?
Have I exhausted all Thy grace?
Hath God forgotten to be good?
7 Forever is Thy mercy gone,
Thy truth, and faithfulness, and love?
Doth angry justice rule alone?
Have I no advocate above?
8 Then pour Thy vengeance on my head,
And quench the smoking flax in me,
Break (if Thou canst) a bruisèd reed,
And cast me out who come to Thee.
9 Jesu, I come my doom to meet,
A sinner whom Thou wilt not spare:
But I will perish at Thy feet,
The first that ever perished there!
Back Home Up Next
Source: The Cyber Hymnal #11113
Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepene… Go to person page >
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files