Regardless now of things below

Verse 1
Regardless now of things below,
Jesus, to thee my heart aspires,
Determin’d thee alone to know, (I Cor. 2:2, Phil. 3:8-11)
Author, and end of my desires: (Heb. 12:2)
Fill me with righteousness divine;
To end, as to begin, is thine.

Verse 2
What is a worthless worm to thee?
What is in man thy grace to move? (Ps. 8:4, Ps. 144:3, Heb. 2:6)
That still thou seekest those who flee
The arms of thy pursuing love?
That still thy inmost bowels cry
“Why, sinner, will[1] thou perish, why?” (Ezek. 33:11)

Verse 3
Ah show me, Lord, my depth of sin!
Ah, Lord, thy depth of mercy show!
End, Jesus, end this war within: (Rom. 7:23)
No rest my spirit e’er shall know, (Jer. 6:16, Matt. 11:29)
Till thou thy quickning influence give:
Breathe, Lord, and these dry bones shall live. (Ezekiel 37:5-6)

Verse 4
There, there before the throne thou art,
The Lamb ere[2] earth’s foundations slain! (Rev. 13:8)
Take thou, O take this guilty heart;
Thy blood will wash out every stain: (Isa. 1:18, I Pet. 1:19-20, I Jn. 1:7, Rev. 7:14)
No cross, no sufferings I decline;
Only let all my heart be thine!

[1] Wesley changed “wilt” to “will” in 1743.
[2] The first edition had a typo, “e’er,” changed to “ere” in later editions.

Hymnal/Album: Written by Maria Böhmer; adapted from the German by Charles Wesley. Introduced in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1740), published by John and Charles Wesley (London: William Strahan, 1740). Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 1 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1868), page 222.
Publishing: Public Domain