Scripture Verse

Who is he who will devote himself to be close to Me? Jeremiah 30:21

Introduction

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John Wesley
1703–1791

Words: Jo­hann Scheff­ler, Heil­i­ge Seel­en­lust (Bres­lau [now Wro­cław, Po­land]: 1668) (Du un­ver­gleich­lich’s Gut). Trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by John Wes­ley, Hymns and Sac­red Po­ems, 1739.

Music: St. Pe­ters­burg at­trib­ut­ed to Dmi­tri S. Bort­ni­an­sky, 1825 (🔊 pdf nwc).

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Dmitri S. Bortniansky
1752–1825

A migh­ty host will be found be­fore the throne of God, ga­thered in­to the fold as the re­sult of the min­is­try of the Rev. Ro­bert New­ton, and amongst them, Ben­ja­min Ward, of Old­ham, who was so im­pressed by the man­ner of the preach­er in giv­ing out the verse com­menc­ing, O God, of good the unfathom’d Sea! &c., that he was en­a­bled to give his heart to the Lord af­ter the sing­ing of that first verse.

He joined the Me­tho­dist So­ci­ety at the age of fif­teen, and for for­ty years was ac­tive­ly em­ployed as a class lead­er, as lead­er of the con­gre­ga­tion­al sing­ing, and in the Sun­day School.

Stevenson, p. 50

Lyrics

O God, of good the unfathomed sea!
Who would not give his heart to Thee?
Who would not love Thee with his might?
O Jesus, lover of mankind,
Who would not his whole soul and mind,
With all his strength, to Thee unite?

Thou shin’st with everlasting rays;
Before the insufferable blaze
Angels with both wings veil their eyes;
Yet free as air Thy bounty streams
On all thy works; Thy mercy’s beams
Diffusive as Thy sun’s arise.

Astonished at Thy frowning brow,
Earth, hell, and Heaven’s strong pillars bow;
Terrible majesty is Thine!
Who then can that vast love express
Which bows Thee down to me, who less
Than nothing am, till Thou art mine?

High throned upon Heaven’s eternal hill,
In number, weight, and measure still
Thou sweetly orderest all that is:
And yet Thou deign’st to come to me,
And guide my steps, that I, with Thee
Enthroned, may reign in endless bliss.

Fountain of good, all blessing flows
From Thee; no want Thy fullness knows;
What but Thyself canst Thou desire?
Yet, self-sufficient as Thou art,
Thou dost desire my worthless heart;
This, only this, dost Thou require.

Primeval beauty! in Thy sight
The first-born, fairest sons of light
See all their brightest glories fade:
What then to me Thine eyes could turn,
In sin conceived, of woman born,
A worm, a leaf, a blast, a shade?

Hell’s armies tremble at Thy nod,
And trembling own the almighty God,
Sovereign of earth, hell, air, and sky:
But who is this that comes from far,
Whose garments rolled in blood appear?
’Tis God made man, for man to die!

O God, of good the unfathomed sea!
Who would not give his heart to Thee?
Who would not love Thee with his might?
O Jesus, lover of mankind,
Who would not his whole soul and mind,
With all his strength, to Thee unite?