God Is Love

Great God, to me the sight afford

Author: Charles Wesley
Published in 39 hymnals

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Representative Text

1. Great God! to me the sight afford
To him of old allowed;
And let my faith behold its Lord
Descending in a cloud.

2. In that revealing Spirit come down,
Thine attributes proclaim,
And to my inmost soul make known
The glories of Thy name.

3. Jehovah, Christ, I Thee adore,
Who gav’st my soul to be!
Fountain of being, and of power,
And great in majesty.

4. The Lord, the mighty God, Thou art;
But let me rather prove
That name in-spoken to my heart,
That favorite name of Love.

5. Merciful God, Thyself proclaim
In this polluted breast;
Mercy is Thy distinguished name,
Which suits a sinner best.

6. Our misery doth for pity call,
Our sin implores Thy grace;
And Thou art merciful to all
Our lost, apostate race.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #1755

Author: Charles Wesley

Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepene… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Great God, to me the sight afford
Title: God Is Love
Author: Charles Wesley
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Great God, to me the sight afford. C.Wesley. [God, on Sinai.] The cento which is known by this opening line is compiled from C. Wesley's Short Hymns, &c, 1762, as follows:—
Stanzas i., ii., Short Hymns, vol. i., No. 166. Stanzas iii., iv., Short Hymns, vol. i., No. 167. Stanzas v., vi., Short Hymns, vol. i., No. 168.
The hymn given as the second part of the same, "Thy ceaseless, unexhausted love," is composed of:—
Stanzas i., ii., Short Hymns, vol. i., No. 169. Stanzas iii., iv., Short Hymns, vol. i., No. 170. Stanza v., vi., Short Hymns, vol. i, No. 171.
These two centos were given in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, as Nos. 240, 241. They are repeated in several collections in Great Britain and America.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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The Cyber Hymnal #1755
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The Cyber Hymnal #1755

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