When first we of Thy promise heard

When first we of thy promise heard,
Thro’ unbelief we smil’d,
Impossible the birth appear’d
Of Christ the holy child:
But when thou dost thy Son reveal,
And shew’st our sins forgiven,
We laugh for joy unspeakable,
For joy of present heaven.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled “Abraham laughed.”—[Gen.] xvii. 17. Introduced in Charles Wesley, Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures, Vol. 1 (Bristol: Farley, 1762). Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 9 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1870), page 18.
Publishing: Public Domain