See, Lord, The purchase of Thy death

Verse 1
See, Lord, the purchase of thy death,
Thy little feeble flock,
Gather, and keep our souls beneath
The shadow of their rock.

Verse 2
Thy few returning sheep behold,
By wolves encompast round,
And let us never leave the fold,
But still in thee be found.

Verse 3
Regard the number of our foes,
Their subtlety and might,
Arise, and stop the way of those
Who ’gainst thy people fight.

Verse 4
Helper of every helpless soul,
Shew forth thy saving grace,
The fierceness of vain man controul,
Or turn it to thy praise.

Verse 5
Thou know’st for thy dear sake alone
We daily suffer shame,
Because we dare our Master own,
And triumph in thy name.

Verse 6
Thee, Lord, before thy foes we dare
In word and deed confess,
Rejoice thy hallow’d cross to bear,
And live thy witnesses.

Verse 7
Witnesses of th’ atoning blood
Which did for sinners flow,
And brought a guilty world to God,
And sprinkled all below.

Verse 8
That blood we felt thro’ faith applied,
And know our sins forgiven,
And tell mankind the purple tide
Would waft them all to heaven.

Verse 9
For this we reckon all things loss,
Till Christ the judge comes down,
Honours the followers of his cross,
And bids them wear his crown.

Verse 10
He tells us he will quickly come,
His saying we receive,
And we shall all be taken home,
And in his kingdom live.

Verse 11
Us, who before the sons of men
Were bold our Lord to own,
He will, he will acknowledge then
Before his Father’s throne.

Verse 12
He (while the glorious angels stand
Astonish’d at the grace)
Shall place us all at his right-hand,
And speak his servants’ praise.

Verse 13
These (if our hearts may now conceive
What God in heaven shall say)
These were the souls who dar’d believe,
Who dar’d my word obey.

Verse 14
Me for their dear redeeming Lord
They never blush’d to own,
But held my name, and kept my word,
And liv’d to me alone.

Verse 15
A proverb of reproach below
They suffer’d for my sake,
Rejoic’d my daily cross to know,
My portion to partake.

Verse 16
On earth they liv’d my witnesses,
My witnesses they died,
And now I for my own confess
And speak them glorified.

Verse 17
Come then to heaven your native home,
Be numbred with the blest,
My Father’s happy children come,
And on my bosom rest.

Verse 18
The kingdom take for all prepar’d
That should in me abide;
Now, I am now thy great reward
Who in my faith hast died.

Verse 19
My good and faithful servant thee
I openly approve,
Possess thy lot, enthron’d with me
In all the pomp of love.

Verse 20
The mead [meed] of all thy labours this,
This starry diadem wear,
Enter into thy Master’s bliss,
And reign for ever there.

Hymnal/Album: Introduced in Hymns for Times of Trouble and Persecution, second edition, published by John and Charles Wesley (Bristol: Farley, 1745). 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 31.
Publishing: Public Domain