Journal: Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
Volume: JOTGES 03:1 (Spring 1990)
Article: A Hymn Of Grace
Author: Anonymous

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JOTGES 3:1 (Spring 90) p. 95

A Hymn Of Grace

Where Shall My Wond’ring Soul Begin?1

1 Where shall my wond’ring soul begin?
How shall I all to heaven aspire?
A slave redeemed from death and sin,
A brand plucked from eternal fire,
How shall I equal triumphs raise,
Or sing my great Deliverer’s praise?

2 O how shall I the goodness tell,
Father, which thou to me hast showed?
That I, a child of wrath and hell,
I should be called a child of God!
Should know, should feel my sins forgiven,
Blest with this antepast2 of heaven!

3 And shall I slight my Father’s love?
Or basely fear his gifts to own?
Unmindful of his favours prove?
Shall I, the hallowed cross to shun,
Refuse his righteousness t’impart
By hiding it within my heart?

4 No, though the ancient dragon rage,
And call forth all his host to war;
Though earth’s self-righteous sons engage,
Them and their god alike I dare:
Jesus the sinner’s friend proclaim,
Jesus, to sinners still the same.

JOTGES 3:1 (Spring 90) p. 96

5 Outcasts of men,
to you I call, Harlots, and publicans, and thieves!
He spreads his arms t’embrace you all;
Sinners alone his grace receives:
No need of him the righteous have;
He came the lost to seek and save.

6 Come, O my guilty brethren, come,
Groaning beneath your load of sin;
His bleeding heart shall make you room,
His open side shall take you in.
He calls you now, invites you home—
Come, O my guilty brethren, come.

7 For you the purple current flowed
In pardons from his wounded side;
Languished for you th’eternal God,
For you the Prince of glory died.
Believe, and all your sin’s forgiven,
Only believe-and yours is heaven!3

Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

In terms of both quantity and quality of Christian hymnody, Charles Wesley is unrivalled in history. Only Isaac Watts comes anywhere close to Wesley, and that is only as measured by the criterion of quality. According to Dr. Frank Baker, one of the world authorities on Wesleyana, Charles Wesley left behind at least 8,989 hymns !4 The same authority owned that Wesley produced “27,000 stanzas and 180,000 lines. This is something like three times the output of … William Wordsworth, and even more than that of the redoubtable Robert Browning …. Taking the average … Charles Wesley wrote ten lines of ...

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