Verse 1
O that I was as heretofore,
When warm in my first love
I only lived my Lord t’ adore,
And seek the things above!

Verse 2
Upon my head his candle shone,
And lavish of his grace,
With cords of love he drew me on,
And half unveil’d his face.

Verse 3
Butter and honey did I eat,
And lifted up on high,
I saw the clouds beneath my feet,
And rode upon the sky.

Verse 4
Far, far above all earthly things
Triumphantly I rode,
I soar’d to heaven on eagle’s wings,
And found, and talk’d with God.

Verse 5
Where am I now! From what an height
Of happiness cast down!
The glory swallow’d up in night,
And faded is the crown.

Verse 6
My first estate I could not keep,
Fallen thro’ pride I am,
Implung’d in sin’s profoundest deep,
And swallowed up of shame.[1]

Verse 7
Forlorn, forsaken, and alone,
Naked, and void of God,
My feeble soul can scarcely groan
A dying Ichabod!

Verse 8
Ah! Woe is me! My joy is fled,
Vanish’d my glorious boast,
My hope cut off, my life is dead,
My paradise is lost!

Verse 9
Thro’ the wide world of sin and woe
A banish’d man I roam,
But cannot find my rest below,
But cannot wander home.

Verse 10
O God, thou art my home, my rest,
For which I sigh in pain,
How shall I ’scape into thy breast,
My Eden how regain?

Verse 11
Vengeance divine is always near;
Wheree’r my steps I turn,
I see the cherubim appear,
I see thine anger burn.

Verse 12
When longing oft to be restor’d,
I would to Eden flee,
Thine anger, as a flaming sword,
Preserves the sacred tree.

Verse 13
What shall I do? ’Tis worse than death
To live without thy grace:
I yield, I yield thee up my breath,
So I may see thy face.

Verse 14
A sinner in thy[1] hands I am,
No farther let me fly,
But rush upon that sword of flame,
And in thy presence die.

Verse 15
Nothing, alas! Have I to plead,
I am not fit to live,
Yet if thy justice strike me dead,
Thy mercy shall revive.

Verse 16
This is the way to find my Lord,
Thy self hast made it known,
Be it according to thy word:
On me thy will be done.

Verse 17
Slay me, and I shall live indeed,
With thy dead men arise,
From all the life of nature freed,
In love’s sweet paradise.

Verse 18
Now, Lord, thy death, thy life bring in
While at thy feet I bow,
Enter at once, and cast out sin,
Destroy, and save me now.

[1] Wesley replaced this line with “And lost in guilty shame” in 1745 but returned to the original in following editions.
[2] Wesley changed “thy” to “thine” in 1745 but returned to the original in following editions.