Scripture Verse

Because He suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:18

Introduction

Words: Charles Wes­ley, Hymns for the Use of Fa­mi­lies, and on Va­ri­ous Oc­ca­sions 1767, number 50, alt.

Music: O du Liebe Er­bau­lich­er mu­si­ka­lisch­er Chris­ten-Schatz, by Jo­hann Thom­men (Ba­sel, Swit­zer­land: Da­ni­el Eck­en­stein, 1745) (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Thom­men (head-and-shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
Charles Wesley
1707–1788

Lyrics

Suffering Son of Man, be near me,
In my sufferings to sustain;
In my sorer griefs to cheer me
By Thy more than mortal pain.
Call to mind that unknown anguish
In Thy days of flesh below,
When Thy troubled soul did languish
Under a whole world of woe.

By thy fainting in the garden,
By Thy dreadful death, I pray,
Write upon my heart Thy pardon,
Take my sins and fears away.
By the travail of Thy Spirit,
By Thine outcry on the tree,
By Thine agonizing merit,
Gracious Lord, remember me!

Wesley’s ori­gi­nal text:

Full of trembling expectation,
Feeling much, and fearing more;
Author, God of my salvation,
I thy timely aid implore:
Suffering Son of Man, be near me,
All my suffering to sustain;
By thy sorer griefs to cheer me,
By thy more than mortal pain.

Call to mind that unknown anguish,
In thy days of flesh below,
When thy troubled soul did languish
Under a whole world of woe;
When thou didst our curse inherit,
Groan beneath our guilty load,
Burthen’d with a wounded spirit,
Bruis’d by all the wrath of God.

By thy most severe temptation
In that dark Satanic hour,
By thy last mysterious passion,
Screen me from the adverse power:
By thy fainting in the garden,
By thy bloody sweat, I pray,
Write upon my heart the pardon;
Take my sins and fears away.

By the travail of thy Spirit,
By thine outcry on the tree,
By thine agonizing merit,
In my pangs remember me!
By thy death I Thee conjure,
A weak, dying soul befriend;
Make me patient to endure,
Make me faithful to the end.