Scripture Verse

There shall be a fountain opened…for sin and for uncleanness. Zechariah 13:1

Introduction

Words: Charles Wes­ley, Hymns and Sac­red Poe­ms 1740.

Music: I Do Be­lieve Eng­lish tune (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

  • Martyrdom Hugh Wil­son, 1800. Ar­ranged by Ralph E. Hud­son, cir­ca 1885 (🔊 pdf nwc)
  • Valeland from the Af­ri­can Me­tho­dist Epis­co­pal Hymn and Tune Book (Phi­la­del­phia Penn­syl­van­ia: Af­ri­can Me­tho­dist Epis­co­pal Book Con­cern, 1898), num­ber 229 (🔊 pdf nwc)
portrait
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

Anecdote

From his death-bed at Cannes, in March, 1901, Will­iam Ar­thur sent a part­ing word to his old friend Dr. Rigg. ‘Give him this mes­sage from me: The Lord crown­eth the year with His good­ness. He mak­eth the out­go­ings of the morn­ing and ev­en­ing to rejoice.

What is called the “dark val­ley” has not come to me in one stretch, but in a ser­ies of dis­con­nect­ed tun­nels. In each of these the out­er day is in­deed shut off, but a lamp with­in, kind­ling up, makes the dark­ness light.

Whether the tun­nel I am now in is the ul­ti­mate or pen­ul­ti­mate I know not, for the her­alds of the way will not tell, but run be­fore, shout­ing, The ci­ty hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine it; for the glo­ry of the Lord doth light­en it, and Lamb is the light thereof.

All I know is that the last tun­nel is on the east of the land of Beu­lah, to­wards the ris­ing of the Sun, and opens in the face of the Gold­en Gate where are the Shin­ing Ones.

How far it is off I can­not tell. The ev­er­last­ing hills are cov­ered with a gol­den haze. Glo­ry be to God!

Telford, pp. 315–61

Lyrics

Forever here my rest shall be,
Close to Thy bleed­ing side;
This all my hope, and all my plea,
For me the Sav­ior died!

My dy­ing Sav­ior, and my God,
Fountain for guilt and sin,
Sprinkle me ev­er in Thy blood,
And cleanse, and keep me clean.

Wash me, and make me thus Thine own,
Wash me, and mine Thou art,
Wash me, but not my feet alone,
My hands, my head, my heart.

The atone­ment of Thy blood ap­ply,
Till faith to sight im­prove,
Till hope shall in fru­ition die,
And all my soul be love.

I do be­lieve, I now be­lieve,
That Je­sus died for me;
And through His blood, His pre­cious blood,
I shall from sin be free.

The original first two verses:

Jesu, Thou art my Right­eous­ness,
For all my sins were Thine;
Thy death hath bought of God my peace,
Thy life hath made Him mine.

Spotless and just in Thee I am;
I feel my sins for­giv­en;
I taste sal­va­tion in Thy name,
And an­te­date my hea­ven.