Hymns · 1786

How long, how often shall I pray, take all iniquity away, and the good things

Details

Hymnal / album Miscellaneous Hymns (manuscript)

Publisher Kingswood Books

Copyright Public Domain (Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. The publication year, if correct, suggests that this work may be in public domain in the U.S..)

Notes Originally titled: “[‘Take away all iniquity, and give good.’—Hosea 14:2.] 2.” This hymn appears in the ca. 1786 manuscript “MS Miscellaneous Hymns.” 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 1977/556, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 2). 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 and Oliver A. Beckerlegge, eds., The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, vol. 2 (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1990), pages 457-58.

Scripture connections

References

Verses this song directly draws from

Psalm 51:2 Ezekiel 36:25-26 Hosea 14:2 Luke 18:1 I Thessalonians 5:23

Allusions

Verses this song echoes or alludes to

Song of Solomon 2:16 Song of Solomon 6:3 Romans 8:13 Romans 8:16 I Corinthians 6:20 Ephesians 1:13 Ephesians 4:30 I Thessalonians 5:17 Hebrews 10:22

Lyrics

Verse 1
How long, how often shall I pray
Take all iniquity away, (Hosea 14:2, Ps. 51:2)
And the good things bestow?
Evil alas, I still remain,
Nor can the promis’d grace obtain,
Or my Redeemer know.

Verse 2
Yet will I, urging my request,
Pray on, pray always and not rest, (Luke 18:1, I Thess. 5:17)
And never cease to cry,
Till Thou the Spirit of faith impart,
To sprinkle, and renew my heart, (Ezek. 36:25-26, Heb. 10:22)
And wholly sanctify. (I Thess. 5:23)

Verse 3
Thy Spirit alone can root out sin, (Rom. 8:13)
Bring the celestial kingdom in,
My Lord and God reveal,
(While He is mine, and I am his) (Song of Solomon 2:16, Song of Solomon 6:3)
The earnest of eternal bliss,
The Witness, and the Seal. (Eph. 1:13, Eph. 4:30, Rom. 8:16)

Verse 4
Here then a sinner at thy feet,
Trembling I wait, my doom to meet,
Thy sovereign will to prove
Which leaves me in my sins to die,—
Or bids me live, to glorify (I Cor. 6:20)
Whom I entirely love.