Verse 1
Jesu, as taught by thee, I pray,
Preserve me till I see thy light,
Still let me for thy coming stay,
Stop a poor wavering sinner’s flight,
Till thou my full Redeemer art,
O keep, in mercy keep my heart.
Verse 2
Keep, till this Jewish state is past,
This wintry state of doubts and fears,
Expos’d to passion’s fiercest blast,
With horrors chill’d, and drown’d in tears,
Bound up in sin and grief I mourn,
And languish for the spring’s return.
Verse 3
O might I hear the turtle’s voice,
The cooing of thy gentle dove,
The call that bids my heart rejoice,
“Arise, and come away my love,
The storm is gone, the winter’s o’er,
Arise, for thou shalt weep[1] no more.”
Verse 4
When shall this shadowy sabbath end,
This tedious length of legal woe?
O would my Lord the substance send!
O might I now his rising know!
Come, Lord, and chase the clouds away,
And bring thine own auspicious day.
Verse 5
Give me to bow with thee my head,
And sink into thy silent grave,
To rest among thy[2] quiet dead,
Till thou display thy power to save,
Thy resurrection’s power exert,
And rise triumphant in my heart.
[1] Wesley changed “weep” to “sleep” in 1747.
[2] Wesley changed “thy” to “the” in 1765.