O that we could to God present

Verse 1
O that we could to God present
Our hearts by true contrition rent
Thro’ his beloved Son,
To Christ our mighty Fortress turn,
Look upon Him we pierc’d, and mourn,
Till our Desire come down!

Verse 2
Jesus, thro’ thy atoning blood
Blot out this thick, incumbent cloud,
Which hides the face of Heaven:
Thou art that Presence of the Lord;
Descend, divine eternal Word,
And speak our sins forgiven.

Verse 3
Whene’er Thou dost our crimes efface,
The times of sweet refreshing grace,
The Comforter is come,
The Pledge, the Witness, and the Seal
That God again on earth shall dwell,
And take his exiles home.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out &c.’—[Acts 3,] v. 19, 20.” This hymn 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 163.
Publishing: Public Domain