Lord, we will not let thee go

Verse 1
Lord, we will not let thee go,
Till thine Arm, reveal’d below,
Captive leads captivity,
Sets the ransom’d prisoner free.

Verse 2
Tho’ she takes the Tempter’s part,
Well Thou knowst, her simple heart
Doth no evil thing intend,
Woud not wilfully offend.

Verse 3
By thy Spirit’s power convince
One who ignorantly sins,
Darkness still mistakes for light,
Fondly thinks that Wrong is Right.

Verse 4
Willing made her God t’ obey
Bring her back into thy way:
Thine the pleasant way of peace,
Duty, love, and happiness.

Verse 5
Now avenge her of her Foe,
Now release, and let her go,
Free indeed, renew’d, restor’d,
All devoted to the Lord.

Verse 6
Let her, as thy laws require,
Wait on her respected Sire,
Cherish him with pious care,
Gladly all his burthens bear:

Verse 7
Staff of his declining age
Sent, his sufferings to assuage,
Aid to minister, and ease,
God, by pleasing Him, to please.

Verse 8
Make her Duty her delight,
Acceptable in thy sight,
That she may thy glory see
Find her full reward in Thee.

Hymnal/Album: This hymn appears in the 1786 manuscript “MS Helen Durbin.” This manuscript is part of the collection of the Methodist Archive and Research Centre in The John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester (accession number MA 1977/583/26, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 4). 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 and Oliver A. Beckerlegge, eds., The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, vol. 3 (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1992), pages 242-43.
Publishing: Public Domain