Lord, whoe’er resist Thy will

Verse 1
Lord, whoe’er resist thy will,
By opposing it, fulfil:
Compassing their own design,
Blindly they accomplish thine,
Contradict their own intent,
Cause the good they never meant.

Verse 2
Sinners hearts are in thy hand,
Subjected to thy command,
Free and uncontroul’d in ill
When thine only Son they kill,
Then they serve thy love’s decree,
Do the thing ordain’d by Thee.

Verse 3
Prince of life, for sinners slain,
Who thy passion can explain?
Love, and hatred in excess,
Human, hellish wickedness
With celestial Goodness join,
With philanthropy Divine!

Verse 4
Earth and heaven and hell agree
Nailing Jesus to the tree,
All conspire for human good,
Shedding my Redeemer’s blood,
Blood which first my pardon buys,
Speaks me then to paradise!

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘Him being delivered by the determinate counsel &c.’—[Acts 2,] v. 23.” It appears in the 1764 manuscript “MS Acts.” 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 1977/555, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 1). Accessed through the website of The Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition, Duke Divinity School. Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 12 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1871), page 148.
Publishing: Public Domain