Wednesday, November 08, 2023

Father of Jesus Christ, my Lord

203 Evanston. C. M.

1 Father of Jesus Christ, my Lord,
   My Saviour, and my Head,
   I trust in Thee, whose powerful word
   Hath rais'd Him from the dead.

2 In hope, against all human hope,
   Self desperate, I believe;
   Thy quickening Word shall raise me up,
   Thou shalt Thy Spirit give.

3 To Thee the glory of Thy power
   And faithfulness I give.
   I shall in Christ, at that glad hour,
   And Christ in me shall live.

4 Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees,
   And looks to that alone;
   Laughs at impossibilities,
   And cries, It shall be done!
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org has a variety of other verses and mixes up the order of the ones in the Methodist hymnal. Here's what their base text, from the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-book, has, omitting verses 2 and 4 above:

2 Thou know'st for my offence He died,
   And rose again for me;
   Fully and freely justified,
   That I might live to Thee.

3 Eternal life to all mankind
   Thou hast in Jesus given;
   And all who seek, in Him, shall find
   The happiness of heaven.

4 Obedient faith, that waits on Thee,
   Thou never wilt reprove;
   But Thou wilt form Thy Son in me,
   And perfect me in love.

Rather interesting that the Methodist hymnal omits verse 4 and the Lutheran one includes it. It's a classic Wesleyan doctrine that the Lutherans tend to ignore.
</idle musing>

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