Verse 1
But will the gracious Lord,
Who hides us in his breast,
Redeem his servants from the sword,
And give up all the rest?
Wilt thou thy fury pour
On the unthinking[1] crowd,
And let the Romish wolves[2] devour
The men that know not God?
Bowels divine, forbid!
Forbid it heavenly grace!
And let the mourning praying seed
Protect the sinful race:
To Abraham’s son and God
With Abraham’s faith we cry,
O spare a nation in their blood,
Nor suffer them to[3] die.

Verse 2
Forc’d by the[4] public crimes,
If justice[5] must take place,
Why, Lord, in our degenerate times
Hast thou remembred grace?
Thy kingdom why restor’d?
What means thy Spirit’s strife,
While thousands by his powerful word
Are pass’d from death to life?
The tokens of thy love
On every side we see,
And crowds begotten from above
Stretch out their hands to thee:
Against this evil day
Ready prepar’d they stand,
To turn thy vengeful wrath away,
And save a guilty land.

Verse 3
Ev’n now with them we meet
Around thy gracious throne,
And mercy for the[6] land intreat
Where thou art truly known:
We wrestle for the throng
Who unconcern’d[7] abide,
(Because the judgment lingers long,)
And18 all thy threats deride.
What canst thou do to save
The souls insensible,
Who madly their destruction brave,
And laugh at death and hell?
They claim thy scourge from thee,[9]
They bid thy day make haste,
But public ill, o’erul’d by thee,
Shall turn to good at last.

[1] Wesley changed “unthinking” to “obdurate” in 1759.
[2] Wesley changed “wolves” to “wolf” in 1759.
[3] Wesley changed “suffer them to” to “let the wicked” in 1759.
[4] Wesley changed “forc’d by the” to “drawn down by” in 1759.
[5] Wesley changed “justice” to “vengeance” in 1759.
[6] Wesley changed “the” to “a” in 1759.
[7] Wesley changed “unconcern’d” to “dead in sins” in 1759.
[8] Wesley changed “and” to “who” in 1759.
[9] Wesley changed “claim thy scourge from thee” to “ask the scourge to see” in 1759.