Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness.
Isaiah 5:20
Words: Charles Wesley, Hymns for Times of Trouble and Persecution, second edition, enlarged (London: Strahan, 1744), page 44, alt.
Music: Lyons, attributed to Johann M. Haydn (1737–1806). Arranged by William Gardiner, Sacred Melodies (London: 1815) (🔊 pdf nwc).
Alternate Tune:
Omnipotent King, who reignest on high,
Thy mercy we sing, Thy haters defy;
We give Thee Thy glory, though Satan oppose,
And gladly adore Thee, in sight of Thy foes.
The reprobates dare their master proclaim,
And loudly declare their sin and their shame;
Presumptuous in evil, their god they avow,
Their father the devil, and worship him now.
And shall we not sing our master and Lord,
Our maker and king, by angels adored?
Our merciful Savior, who brought us to God,
And purchased us favor by shedding His blood.
Yes, Lord, we adore, though all men deny,
And tell of Thy power, triumphantly nigh:
O Jesus, we bless Thee, our ruler proclaim,
And gladly confess Thee, for ever the same.
In tumult and noise, we sing of Thy grace,
More mighty our joys, more hearty our praise;
Our triumphs are higher, and warmer our zeal,
And Thee ever nigher than Satan we feel.
The sinners we see, who Satan obey,
Much happier we, much wiser than they;
Our master is greater, He makes us His heirs,
And O how much better our wages than theirs!
Our Jesus is near, whenever we sing,
Among us we hear the shout of a king;
Our voices are stronger than theirs who blaspheme,
And surely we longer shall triumph than them.