Singing our Faith Unites us in Love

As we pray for the Church during this season of conferencing, let us also sing. Here are a couple of hymns by Charles Wesley. They are two of a series of four hymns he wrote titled “Prayer for Persons Joined in Fellowship.” These hymns are Common Meter (CM). They may be sung to tunes such as AMAZING GRACE, AZMON, ST. AGNES, DOVE OF PEACE, etc. (see UMH page 926 for a complete lest of CM tunes). These hymns appear as #489 & #490 in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (vol. 7 in The Bicentennial Works of John Wesley).

You'll also find selected stanzas of these two hymns in #561, "Jesus, United By Thy Grace," in The United Methodist Hymnal:

#489

Try us, O God, and search the ground
Of every sinful heart!
Whate'er of sin in us is found,
O bid it all depart!

When to the right or left we stray,
Leave us not comfortless,
But guide our feet into the way
Of everlasting peace.

Help us to help each other, Lord,
Each other's cross to bear;
Let each his friendly aid afford,
And feel [each other's] care.

Help us to build each other up,
Our little stock improve;
Increase our faith, confirm our hope,
And perfect us in love.

Up into thee, our living Head,
Let us in all things grow,
Till thou hast made us free indeed,
And spotless here below.

Then, when the mighty work is wrought,
Receive thy ready bride;
Give us in heaven a happy lot
With all the sactified.

#490

Jesus, united by thy grace,
And each to each endeared,
With confidence we seek thy face,
And know our prayer is heard.

Still let us own our common Lord,
And bear thine easy yoke,
A band of love, a threefold cord
Which never can be broke.

Make us into one Spirit drink,
Baptize into thy name,
And let us always kindly think,
And sweetly speak the same.

Touched by the loadstone of thy love,
Let all our hearts agree,
And ever towards each other move,
And ever move towards thee.

Tothee inseparably joined,
Let all our spirits cleave;
O may we all the loving mind
That was in thee receive!

This is the bond of perfectness,
Thy spotless charity;
O let us (still we pray) possess
The mind that was in thee!

Grant this and then from all below
Insensibly remove;
Our souls their charge shall scarcely know,
Made perfect first in love!

With ease our souls through death shall glide
Into their paradise,
And thence on wings of angels ride
Triumphant through the skies.

Yet when the fullest joy is given,
The same delight we prove,
In earth, in paradise, in heaven
Our all in all is love.