Witness Divine, the Just and True

Verse 1
Witness divine, the just and true,
Jesu, to us this promise seal,
Our haste of unbelief subdue,
And bid our fluttering hearts be still!

Verse 2
That power which stop’d the mid-day sun,
Turn’d back the tide, and chain’d the sea,
Be in our rapid spirits shewn,
And make us truly wait on thee.

Verse 3
Arrest our nature’s headlong course,
(We would be poor, despis’d, forlorn)
Baffle our skill, unnerve our force,
Our carnal confidence o’erturn.

Verse 4
Great helper of the friendless thou,
Thou strength’ner of the feeble knees,
O let our souls before thee bow,
And sink into a sweet distress.

Verse 5
We cannot see without thy light,
Without thy light we would not see,
We have no wisdom, help, or might,
But Lord, our eyes are unto thee.

Verse 6
O let us not presume to take
The matter out of thy great hand:
Who can the Rock of Ages shake?
The sure foundation still shall stand.

Verse 7
Let others rush with trembling haste,
With eager wrath thy cause defend,
Our soul is on thy promise cast,
And lo! We calmly wait the end.

Verse 8
Tho’ we our hands do not lift up,
The tott’ring ark shall never fall,
It never shall to Dagon stoop:
Thy kingdom ruleth over all.

Verse 9
Stedfast our anchor is and sure;
It enters now within the veil,
Thy church immoveably secure,
Defies the powers of earth and hell.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: "“He that believeth shall not make haste.” Part I." Introduced in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1742), published by John and Charles Wesley (London: William Strahan, 1742). Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 2 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1869), page 330.
Publishing: Public Domain