Forward I now in duties go

Verse 1
Forward I now in duties go,
But O! My Saviour is not there!
Heavy he makes me drive, and slow,
Without the chariot-wheels of prayer.

Verse 2
I look to former times, and strain
The footsteps of my God to trace;
Backward I go (but still in vain)
To find the tokens of his grace.

Verse 3
Surrounded by his power I stand,
His work on other souls I see,
He deals his gifts on either hand,
But still he hides himself from me.

Verse 4
Groaning I languish at his stay,
But he regards my every groan;
Dark and disconsolate my way;
But still my way to him is known.

Verse 5
When fully he my faith hath tried,
Like gold I in the fire shall shine,
Come forth when seven times purified,
And strongly bear the stamp divine.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: "Job xxiii. 8, 9, 10." Introduced in a hymnal jointly credited to John and Charles Wesley; it is more likely than not that Charles wrote it but not certain. 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 325.
Publishing: Public Domain