Father of Jesus Christ — my Lord,
My Saviour and my Head –
I trust in thee, whose powerful word
Has raised him from the dead.
Thou know’st for my offence he died,
And rose again for me,
Fully and freely justified
That I might live to thee.
Faith in thy power thou seest I have,
For thou this faith hast wrought;
Dead souls thou callest from their grave,
And speakest worlds from nought.
In hope, against all human hope,
Self-desperate, I believe;
Thy quickening Word shall raise me up,
Thou shalt thy Spirit give.
Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees,
And looks to that alone;
Laughs at impossibilities,
And cries, “It shall be done!”
Obedient faith that waits on thee,
Thou never wilt reprove;
But thou wilt form thy Son in me,
And perfect me in love.
Charles Wesley
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Anon 01.23.12 at 9:53 am
When does ‘Thou Shepherd of Israel, and mine’ get an airing? Wonderful imagery and almost forgotten!
John 01.23.12 at 4:44 pm
The klast verse sums up Wesley’s belief in Theosis in almost Eastern Orthodox terms. Great stuff.
See: http://fullnessoflife-john.blogspot.com/
John 01.23.12 at 4:46 pm
The last verse sums up Wesley’s Eastern Orthodox doctrine of Theosis from which he derived the ideas of perfection and sanctification.
See my Blog http://fullnessoflife-john.blogspot.com/spot.com/
Richard 01.23.12 at 5:55 pm
That’s a very good question! Watch this space…
Pam 01.25.12 at 7:21 am
I came across this poem today and it’s so special I wanted to share:
Paternoster by Jen Hadfield
Paternoster, Paternoster
Hallowed be dy mane.
Dy kingdom come
Dy draftwork be done.
Still plough the day
And give out daily bray
Though heart stiffen in the harness.
Then sleep hang harness with bearbells
And trot on bravely into sleep
Where the black and the bay
The sorrel and the grey
And foals and bearded wheat
Are waiting.
It is on earth as it is in heaven.
Drought, wildfire,
Wild asparagus, yellow flowers
On the flowering cactus
Give our daily wheat, wet
Whiskers in the sonorous bucket
Knead my heart, hardened daily
Heal the hoofprint in my heart
Give us our oats at bedtime
And in the night half-sleeping
Paternoster, Paternoster
Hallowed be dy hot mash.