Scripture Verse

I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel. Genesis 3:15

Introduction

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Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

Words: Charles Wes­ley, Hymns and Sac­red Po­ems (Bris­tol, Eng­land: Fel­ix Far­ley, 1742), pag­es 18–20.

Music: Ab­er­yst­wyth (Par­ry) Jo­seph Par­ry, 1876. First pub­lished in Ed­ward Ste­phens’ Ail Lyfr To­nau ac Emy­nau, 1879 (🔊 pdf nwc).

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Joseph Parry (1841–1903)

Lyrics

God of truth, and pow­er, and love,
Father, friend of all man­kind,
Let on me Thy Spir­it move,
Influence my fee­ble mind;
’Twixt the ser­pent’s seed and me
Prevalently in­ter­pose,
Break the fa­tal ami­ty,
Make us ev­er­last­ing foes.

Sin hath poi­soned all my soul,
Sin, the ser­pent’s curs­èd seed:
No one part in me is whole,
Yet will I the pro­mise plead;
Promise of all-sav­ing grace,
Promise of an in­ward pow­er,
Able to re­deem the race,
Me, and all men to re­store.

Breathe the breath of sim­ple life,
Oh! Be Ab­el born in me
Previous to the le­gal strife,
Innocent sim­pli­ci­ty:
Give me child­ish­ness to op­pose
All the sub­tle ser­pent’s art;
Childishness no ev­il knows,
Give me, Lord, a sim­ple heart.

Or if pride hath this de­stroyed
Turned into self-right­eous­ness,
Let the law sup­ply the void,
Seth suc­ceed in Ab­el’s place.
Deeply root Thy law with­in
Parent of the wretch­ed man;
Check my for­ward­ness to sin,
Forcibly by fear re­strain.

Bind in me the strong-man bind
With the fet­ters of the law;
Curb and thwart the car­nal mind,
Keep the man of sin in awe;
Enemy to all that’s good,
He can on­ly be sub­dued
By the sense of par­don­ing grace;
Never will he quite give place.

Tell me Je­sus died for me,
Show some to­ken of His love;
Love and sin can ne­ver agree,
Love shall still the strong­er prove:
Love in the first mea­sure give,
Sin shall then no long­er sway,
Flesh may for a sea­son strive,
I the Spir­it shall ob­ey.

Patiently I then shall wait
For the wo­man’s nob­lest seed,
Jesus Christ the migh­ty hate,
Bruiser of the ser­pent’s head;
O re­veal Thy Son in me,
Bring the per­fect na­ture in,
Now de­stroy the en­mi­ty,
Now con­sume the man of sin.

Adam, flesh, and self, and pride,
Antichrist, per­di­tion’s son,
Let him not in me abide,
Cast him out, and reign alone;
Slay the dra­gon in the sea,
Make my soul Thy pure abode,
Filled with all the de­ity,
Swallowed up, and lost in God.