Jesu, the Strength of all that faint

Verse 1
Jesu, the strength of all that faint,
When wilt thou hear my sad complaint?
Jesu, the weary wanderer’s rest,
When wilt thou take me to thy breast?

Verse 2
My spirit mourns, by thee forgot,
And droops my heart, where thou art not:
My soul is all an aking void,
And pines, and thirsts, and gasps for God.

Verse 3
The pain of absence still I prove,
Sick of desire, but not of love:
Weary of life, I ever groan,
I long to lay the burthen down.

Verse 4
’Tis burthen all, and pain, and strife:
O give me love, and take my life!
Jesu, my only want supply,
O let me taste thy love, and die!

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: "Longing after Christ." 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 255.
Publishing: Public Domain