Introduction
(1770–1853)
British Museum
Words: Author unknown. Translated from Spanish to English by John Wesley, Psalms and Hymns 1738.
Music: Germany, Sacred Melodies, by William Gardiner, 1815 (🔊 pdf nwc).
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.
Psalm 63:1
Words: Author unknown. Translated from Spanish to English by John Wesley, Psalms and Hymns 1738.
Music: Germany, Sacred Melodies, by William Gardiner, 1815 (🔊 pdf nwc).
Wesley writes, on April 4, 1737,
I began learning Spanish, in order to converse with my Jewish parishioners; some of whom seem nearer the mind that was in Christ than many of those who call Him Lord.This hymn may be described as the first-fruits of Wesley’s new branch of knowledge. He certainly lost no time in reaping in these fields.
Telford, p. 269
O God, my God, my all Thou art!
Ere shines the dawn of rising day,
Thy sovereign light within my heart,
Thy all enlivening power display.
For Thee my thirsty soul doth pant,
While in this desert land I live;
And hungry as I am, and faint,
Thy love alone can comfort give.
In a dry land, behold I place
My whole desire on Thee, O Lord;
And more I joy to gain Thy grace,
Than all earth’s treasures can afford.
More dear than life itself, Thy love
My heart and tongue shall still employ
And to declare Thy praise will prove
My peace, my glory, and my joy.
In blessing Thee with grateful songs
My happy life shall glide away;
The praise that to Thy name belongs
Hourly with lifted hands I’ll pay.
Abundant sweetness, while I sing
Thy love, my ravished heart o’erflows;
Secure in Thee, my God and king,
Of glory that no period knows.