Trial and Faith of Abraham

Representative Text

1. Abraham, when severely tried,
His faith by his obedience showed;
He with the harsh command complied
And gave his Isaac back to God.
His son the father offered up,
Son of his age, his only son,
Object of all his joy and hope,
And less beloved than God alone.

2. The father curbed his swelling grief—
'Twas God required; it must be done—
He staggered not through unbelief;
He bare his arm to slay his son.
He rested in Jehovah's pow'r;
The word must stand which God has said;
He knew th' Almighty could restore,
Could raise his Isaac from the dead.

3. Oh, for a faith like his, that we
The bright example may pursue,
To sacrifice all, gratefully,
To whom our more than all is due!
Is there a thing than life more dear,
A thing from which we cannot part?
We can—we now rejoice to tear
The idols from our bleeding hearts.

4. Jesus, accept this sacrifice,
All things for you I count but loss;
Lo! at your word my Isaac dies,
Dies on the altar of your cross.
For what to you, O Lord, we give,
A hundred fold we here obtain,
And soon with you shall all receive,
And loss shall be eternal gain.

Source: Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship #214

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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 >

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First Line:	Abraham, when severely tried
Title:	Trial and Faith of Abraham
Author:	Charles Wesley
Meter:	8.8.8.8
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Notes

Abraham, when severely tried . C. Wesley. [Faith .] From Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1740, p. 12, and entitled "The Life of Faith Exemplified," being a paraphrase of Heb. xi. in 80 st. In 1780, 7 stanzas were included in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, No. 277, from whence it has passed into most of the collections of the Methodist bodies. Original text in Poetical Works of J. & C. Wesley, 1868-72, vol. i., p. 214.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Tune

O GROSSER GOTT (53455)

This tune is indexed in Johannes Zahn, Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder, vol. 4 (1891), no. 7811, where it is credited to Johann Gottfried Vierling and his Choralbuch auf vier Stimmen zum Gebrauch hey dem öffentlichen- und Privat-Gottesdienst (Kassel, 1789), no. 126, p. 66. Th…

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