324 THE METHODIST HYMN-BOOK ILLUSTRATED
Hymn 563. Give me the faith which can remove.
CHARLES WESLEY (i).
Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1749; Works, v. 105. Fora Preacher of the Gospel.
Three verses are omitted. The hymn begins
that I was as heretofore
When first sent forth in Jesu s name
1 rush d through every open door,
And cried to all, Behold the Lamb ! Seized the poor trembling slaves of sin, And forced the outcasts to come in.
The God who kills, and makes alive, To me the quickening power impart,
Thy grace restore, Thy work revive, Retouch my lips, renew my heart,
Forth with a fresh commission send,
And all Thy servant s steps attend.
The verses have, no doubt, a touch of autobiography. In ver. I Charles Wesley wrote
The love which once my heart o erpower d, And all my simple soul devour d.
Ver. 2, cf.
The Lord of Life for guilty rebels bleeds, Quenches eternal fire with blood divine !
(Pollok s Course of Time, Book II.)
The hymn has stamped itself on every Methodist heart for a hundred and fifty years.
Hymn 564. O God, what offering shall I give.
JOACHIM LANGE, D.D. (1670-1744) ; translated by JOHN WESLEY (36).
O Jesu, siisses Licht was published in 1697. Wesley s translation appeared in Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739; Works, i. 160, where it is headed, A Morning Dedication of ourselves to Christ. From the German.
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