O my old, my bosom foe

Verse 1
O my old, my bosom-foe,
Rejoice not over me!
Oft times thou hast laid me low;
And wounded mortally;
Yet thy prey thou couldst not keep,
Jesus, when I lowest fell,
Heard me cry out of the deep,
And brought me up from hell.

Verse 2
Foolish world, thy shouts forbear,
’Till thou hast won the day:
Could thy wisdom keep me there,
When in thy hands I lay?
If my heart to thee incline,
Christ again shall set it free:
I am his, and he is mine
To all eternity.

Verse 3
Satan, cease thine empty boast,
And give thy triumphs o’er;
Still thou seest I am not lost,
While Jesus can restore:
Though thro’ thy deceit I fall,
Surely I shall rise again;
Christ my King is over all,
And I with him shall reign.

Verse 4
O my three-fold enemy,
To whom I long did bow,
See your lawful captive see,
No more your captive now:
Now before my face ye fly,
More than conque’ror now I am,
Sin, the world, and hell defy
In Jesu’s powerful name.

Hymnal/Album: Introduced in Hymns and Sacred Poems Vol. 1, published by Charles Wesley (Bristol: Felix Farley, 1749). Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 4 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1869), page 450.
Publishing: Public Domain