Hymn 321. When shall Thy love constrain.
Charles Wesley (1).
Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1740; Works, i. 267. 'The Resignation.' Twenty-two verses.
The first verse reads—
And wilt Thou yet be found?
And may I still draw near?
Then listen to the plaintive sound
Of a poor sinner's prayer.
Hymn 322. Jesu, let Thy pitying eye.
Charles Wesley (1).
Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1749; 'Works, iv. 405. 'For one fallen from grace.' Twelve verses.
George Whitefield printed it as a leaflet, 'The Backslider.' It is a moving prayer to Christ.
Hymn 323. Let the world their virtue boast.
Charles Wesley (1).
Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1742; Works, ii. 317. 1 Cor. ii. 2: 'I am determined to know nothing save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.' Nine verses.
In 1783, at the Bristol Conference, Wesley was seized with a sudden illness, from which no one expected him to recover. He told Joseph Bradford, 'I have been reflecting on my past life. I have been wandering up and down between fifty and sixty years, endeavouring, in my poor way, to do a little good to my fellow creatures; and now it is probable that there are but a few steps between me and death; and what have I to trust to for salvation? I can see nothing that I have done or suffered that will bear looking at. I have no other plea than this—
I the chief of sinners am,
But Jesus died for me.
On the last Sunday of Wesley's life, February 27, 1791, about half-past two in the afternoon, he said, 'There is no need for more; when at Bristol, my words were—
I the chief of sinners am,
But Jesus died for me.'
