Hear, Holy Spirit, hear

Verse 1
Hear, Holy Spirit, hear,
My inward Comforter! (John 14:16, John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:7)
Loos’d by thee my stamm’ring tongue (Isa. 32:4, Isa. 35:6)
First essays[1] to praise thee now,
This the new, the joyful song, (Ps. 40:3, Ps. 96:1, Ps. 98:1, Rev. 5:9)
Hear it in thy temple thou! (I Cor. 3:16)

Verse 2
Long o’er my formless soul
The dreary waves did roll;
Void I lay and sunk in night: (Gen. 1:2)
Thou, the overshadowing Dove, (Gen. 1:2, Luke 1:35)
Call’dst[2] the chaos into light, (Gen. 1:3)
Bad’st me be, and live, and love. (Ezek. 16:6)

Verse 3
Thee I exult to feel,
Thou in my heart dost dwell: (I Cor. 3:16, I Cor. 6:19, II Tim. 1:14)
There thou bear’st thy witness true, (Rom. 8:16, I John 5:6)
Shed’st the love of God abroad; (Rom. 5:5)
I in Christ a creature new, (II Cor. 5:17, Gal. 6:15)
I, ev’n I am born of God! (John 1:12-13, I John 5:1, I John 3:9, I John 5:4)

Verse 4
Ere yet the time was come
To fix in me thy home,
With me oft thou didst reside: (John 14:17)
Now, my God, thou in me art![3] (John 14:17, John 14:20)
Here thou ever shalt[4] abide; (John 14:16, John 14:23)
One we are, no more to part. (I Cor. 6:17, John 17:21-23)

Verse 5
Fruit of the Saviour’s pray’r,
My promis’d Comforter! (John 14:16, John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:7)
Thee the world cannot receive, (John 14:17)
Thee they neither know nor see,
Dead is all the life they live, (Eph. 2:1, I Tim. 5:6, Eph. 4:18)
Dark their light, while void of thee. (Eph. 4:18)

Verse 6
Yet I partake thy grace (Phil. 1:7)
Thro’ Christ my righteousness; (II Cor. 5:21, Jer. 23:6, Phil. 3:9)
Mine the gifts thou dost impart, (I Cor. 12:11)
Mine the unction from above, (I John 2:20, I John 2:27)
Pardon written on my heart, (Jer. 31:33, II Cor. 3:3, Heb. 8:10, Heb. 10:15-17)
Light, and life, and joy, and love.

Verse 7
Thy gifts, blest Paraclete,
I glory to repeat:
Sweetly sure of grace I am, (Heb. 10:15-18)
Pardon to my soul apply’d,
Int’rest in the spotless Lamb; (I Pet. 1:19, John 1:29)
Dead for all, for me he dy’d. (II Cor. 5:14-15, Gal. 2:20)

Verse 8
Thou art thyself the seal; (Eph. 1:13, Eph. 4:30, II Cor. 1:22)
I more than pardon feel,
Peace, unutterable peace, (Phil. 4:7)
Joy that ages ne’er can move, (John 16:22)
Faith’s assurance, hope’s increase, (Heb. 10:22)
All the confidence of love! (I John 4:18)

Verse 9
Pledge of thy[5] promise giv’n, (Eph. 1:13-14)
My antepast of heav’n; (Heb. 6:4-5)
Earnest thou of joys divine, (Eph. 1:13-14, II Cor. 1:22, II Cor. 5:5)
Joys divine on me bestow’d,
Heav’n and Christ, and all is mine, (I Cor. 3:21-23)
All the plenitude of God. (Eph. 3:19)

Verse 10
Thou art my inward guide, (John 16:13)
I ask no help beside:
Arm of God, to[6] thee I call, (Isa. 63:11-12, Isa. 53:1, Isa. 51:9)
Weak as helpless infancy!
Weak I am—yet cannot fall (II Cor. 12:9-10, Jude 1:24)
Stay’d by faith, and led by thee! (Gal. 5:18)

Verse 11
Hear, Holy Spirit, hear,
My inward Comforter!
Loos’d by thee my stamm’ring tongue
First essays[7] to praise thee now;
This the new, the joyful song,
Hear it in thy temple thou!

[1] Wesley changed “essays” to “assays” in 1761.
[2] Wesley changed “call’dst” to “call’d” in 1761.
[3] Wesley changed “thou in me art” to “in me thou art” in 1761.
[4] Wesley changed “shalt” to “shall” in 1761.
[5] Wesley changed “thy” to “the” in 1761.
[6] Wesley changed “to” to “on” in 1743.
[7] Wesley changed “essays” to “assays” in 1761.