When in his arms he held

Verse 1
When in his arms he held,
And to his bosom press’d,
He found Him in his heart reveal’d,
And God for Jesus bless’d;
The Power and Life of God
He felt with Jesus given;
And when his hoary head he bow’d,
He carried Christ to heaven.

Verse 2
O for an end like his!
My long-expected Lord,
Thou knowst I cannot die in peace,
Till Thou perform thy word:
O could I compass Thee,
My Saviour now embrace,
Now in thy love salvation see,
And glory in thy face!

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘Then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God.'—[Luke 2,] v. 28.” This hymn appears in the 1766 manuscript “MS Luke.” 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 1977/575, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 3). Accessed through the website of The Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition, Duke Divinity School. Published in S.T. Kimbrough Jr. and Oliver A. Beckerlegge, eds., The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, vol. 2 (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1990), page 82. Verse 1 was published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 11 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1871), page 120.
Publishing: Public Domain