But if Justice hath decreed

Verse 1
But if Justice hath decreed
Britons still for sin shou’d bleed,
If their woes are but begun,
Father, let thy will be done.

Verse 2
Only me in special love,
Me, my gracious Lord, remove,
Suffer’d to escape away,
Taken from the evil day.

Verse 3
When Thou dost my soul release,
Entring into perfect peace,
Then I find my troubles o’re,
There the world afflicts no more.

Verse 4
There repos’d among the blest,
I in Abraham’s bosom rest,
Waiting for the general doom,
Longing for my Lord to come.

Verse 5
Jesus, come, the Spirit cries,
Jesus, come, the Bride replies,
To the gazing nations shown,
High on thy millennial throne:

Verse 6
Evil by thy presence chase,
Wipe the tears from every face
Crown us then in heaven with Thee,
Kings thro’ all eternity.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “Hymn XI. Part II.” This hymn was included in a manuscript titled “MS Patriotism.” This manuscript is held by the Methodist Archive and Research Centre of the John Rylands Library at The University of Manchester (accession number 1977/559, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 2). Accessed through the website of The Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition, Duke Divinity School. Published in S.T. Kimbrough Jr. and Oliver A. Beckerlegge, eds., The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, vol. 1 (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1988), pages 75-76.
Publishing: Public Domain