Charles Wesley
(1707-1788)
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts… — 2 Peter 1:19
Where is my God, my joy, my hope,
The dear Desire of nations, where?
Jesus, to Thee my soul looks up,
To Thee directs her morning prayer;
And spreads her arms of faith abroad,
T’embrace my hope, my joy, my God!
Mine eyes prevent1 the morning ray,
Looking and longing for Thy word:
Come, O my Jesus, come away,
And let my heart receive its Lord;
Which pants and struggles to be free,
And breaks to be detain’d from Thee.
Appear in me, bright Morning Star,
And scatter all the shades of night!
I saw Thee once, and came from far,
But quickly lost the transient light:
And now again in darkness pine,
Till Thou throughout my nature shine.
In patient hope I now take heed
To the sure word of promised grace;
Whose rays a feeble luster shed,
Faint glimm’ring through the darksome place,
Till Thou Thy glorious light impart,
And rise the Day-star in my heart.
Come, Lord, be manifested here,
And all the devil’s works destroy;
New, without sin, in me appear,
And fill with everlasting joy;
Thy beatific face display;
Thy presence is the perfect day.2
- Prevent: used here in its older, archaic meaning of precede. The line simply means, “I arise before dawn.” ↩
- This last verse is quoted by John Wesley in A Plain Account of Christian Perfection: Part 2. ↩
