Hymns · 1739

Jesu! my great High-Priest above

Made popular by John Wesley, Charles Wesley

Details

Hymnal / album Hymns and Sacred Poems

Publisher William Strahan

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 Also known as "Jesus, my Advocate above." Originally titled: "Matth. v. 3. Psalm CXXXIX. 2." This is the original version of this hymn, as first published in "Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739)," published by John and Charles Wesley (London: William Strahan, 1739). Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 1 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1868), page 87.

Scripture connections

References

Verses this song directly draws from

Psalm 42:1-2 Psalm 63:1 Psalm 139:23-24 Isaiah 59:2 Romans 8:34 Galatians 6:9 Colossians 3:4 Hebrews 7:25-26 I John 2:1 I John 4:8 I John 4:16

Allusions

Verses this song echoes or alludes to

Psalm 139:2 Matthew 24:12 John 15:15 Romans 7:18-24 Romans 7:23-24 Romans 8:7 Romans 8:11 II Corinthians 7:10 Ephesians 2:1 Ephesians 2:5 Ephesians 2:13 Ephesians 4:18 Philippians 1:21 Hebrews 2:14-15 Hebrews 4:14 Hebrews 8:1 James 4:4 I John 2:15-16

Lyrics

Verse 1
Jesu! My great high-priest above, (Heb. 4:14, Heb. 7:26)
My friend before the throne of love! (Heb. 8:1, John 15:15)
If now for me prevails thy prayer, (Heb. 7:25)
If now I find thee pleading there; (I John 2:1, Rom. 8:34)
If thou the secret wish convey,
And sweetly prompt my heart to pray,
Hear; and my weak petitions join,
Almighty advocate, to thine! (I John 2:1)

Verse 2
Fain would I know my utmost ill,
And groan my nature’s weight to feel, (Rom. 7:18-24)
To feel the clouds that round me roll,
The night that hangs upon my soul.
The darkness of my carnal mind, (Rom. 8:7, Eph. 4:18)
My will perverse, my passions blind,
Scatter’d o’er all the earth abroad, (Eph. 2:13)
Immeasurably far from God. (Isa. 59:2)

Verse 3
Jesu! My heart’s desire obtain,
My earnest suit present and gain,
My fulness of corruption show, (Psalm 139:23-24)
The knowledge of myself bestow; (Psalm 139:2)
A deeper displicence[1] at sin, (II Cor. 7:10)
A sharper sense of hell within, (Rom. 7:24)
A stronger struggling to get free, (Rom. 7:23)
A keener appetite for thee. (Psalm 42:1-2)

Verse 4
For thee my spirit often pants, (Psalm 42:1-2, Psalm 63:1)
Yet often in pursuing faints, (Gal. 6:9)
Drooping it soon neglects t’ aspire,
To fan[2] the ever-dying fire: (Matt. 24:12)
No more thy glory’s skirts are seen, (Ex. 33:23)
The world, the creature steals between; (James 4:4, I John 2:15-16)
Heavenward no more my wishes move,
And I forget that thou art love. (I John 4:8, I John 4:16)

Verse 5
O sovereign love, to thee I cry,
Give me thyself, or else I die.
Save me from death, from hell set free, (Heb. 2:14-15)
Death, hell, are but the want of thee.
Quicken’d by thy imparted flame, (Rom. 8:11, Eph. 2:1, Eph. 2:5)
Sav’d, when possest of thee, I am;
My life, my only heav’n thou art: (Phil. 1:21, Col. 3:4. Psalm 73:25)
And lo! I feel thee in my heart!

[1] Displicence means dislike.
[2] Wesley changed “to fan” to “nor fans” in 1743.
[3] Wesley changed “And lo! I feel” to “When shall I feel” in 1739 and to “O might I feel” in 1743.