Scripture Verse

There is neither Greek nor Jew, slave nor free, male nor female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

Introduction

Words: Charles Wes­ley, Hymns and Sac­red Po­ems (Lon­don: Stra­han, 1740), page 194.

Music: Can­ter­bu­ry Or­lan­do Gib­bons, in Hymnes and Songs of the Church, by George Wi­ther, 1623 (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

Lyrics

illustration
Christ Giving His Blessing
Hans Memling (1435–1494)

Christ, from whom all bless­ings flow,
Perfecting the saints be­low,
Hear us, who Thy na­ture share,
Who Thy mys­tic bo­dy are.

Join us, in one spi­rit join,
Let us still re­ceive of Thine;
Still for more on Thee we call,
Thou who fill­est all in all.

Closer knit to Thee, our head,
Nourish us, O Christ, and feed;
Let us dai­ly growth re­ceive,
More and more in Je­sus live.

Jesu! We Thy mem­bers are,
Cherish us with kind­est care,
Of Thy flesh, and of Thy bone:
Love, for­ev­er love thine own.

Move and ac­tu­ate and guide,
Diverse gifts to each di­vide;
Placed ac­cord­ing to Thy will,
Let us all our work ful­fill.

Never from our of­fice move,
Needful to the oth­ers prove,
Use the grace on each be­stowed,
Tempered by the art of God.

Sweetly now we all agree,
Touched with soft­est sym­pathy,
Kindly for each oth­er care:
Every mem­ber feel its share.

Wounded by the grief of one,
All the suf­fer­ing mem­bers groan;
Honored if one mem­ber is
All par­take the com­mon bliss.

Many are we now, and one,
We who Je­sus have put on:
There is nei­ther bond nor free,
Male nor fe­male, Lord, in Thee.

Love, like death, hath all de­stroyed,
Rendered all dis­tinct­ions void:
Names, and sects, and par­ties fall;
Thou, O Christ, art all in all!