It cannot be a house of woe

Verse 1
It cannot be an house of woe,
Where souls their dear Redeemer know
And glory in his love:
Partakers of the life Divine,
With joy unspeakable they join
The family above.

Verse 2
O that in every house there were
A church, who could their Lord declare,
And sav’d by grace alone
Rejoice with joy of faith sincere,
Till confident we all appear
Before th’ eternal throne!

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘He rejoiced believing in God with all his house.’—[Acts 16,] v. 34.” This hymn appears in the 1764 manuscript “MS Acts.” This manuscript is part of the collection of the Methodist Archive and Research Centre in The John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester (accession number MA 1977/555, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 1). Accessed through the website of The Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition, Duke Divinity School. Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 12 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1871), page 324.
Publishing: Public Domain