A sojourner and stranger

Verse 1
A sojourner and stranger
Thou dost thy creature see,
A shortliv’d wretch, in danger
Of deathless misery:
Like those that went before me,
I soon shall end my race:
But first, O God, restore me
To live the life of grace.

Verse 2
Spare me a little longer,
Till out of weakness made
Than sin and Satan stronger,
I own thy constant aid,
I feel the sinless nature
Thou dost to saints impart,
And find my New Creator
Possessing all my heart.

Verse 3
Jesus, Thou art the Power
I live but to regain;
Hasten the welcome hour,
Restore thy Spirit’s reign:
With restless expectation
I gasp to compass Thee,
The Strength of my salvation,
The Power of God in me.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me a little that I may recover my strength, before I go hence, and be no more seen.’—[Ps.] 39:14–15.” This hymn appears in the 1783 manuscript “MS Scriptural Hymns.” 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 1977/576, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 3). 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. 9 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1870), page 294.
Publishing: Public Domain