A cat in Southwark Cathedral, London
Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose
“I am persuaded,” St Paul told the Christians of Rome, “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It was a just such a secure serenity that filled Charles Wesley, as he records in this hymn.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.
THOU hidden source of calm repose,
Thou all-sufficient Love Divine,
My help and refuge from my foes,
Secure I am, if thou art mine:
And lo! from sin, and grief, and shame,
I hide me, Jesus, in thy Name.
2 Thy mighty Name salvation is,
And keeps my happy soul above;
Comfort it brings, and power, and peace,
And joy, and everlasting love;
To me, with thy dear Name, are given,
Pardon, and holiness, and heaven,
3 Jesus, my all in all thou art
My rest in toil; my ease in pain
The med’cine of my broken heart;
In war, my peace; in loss, my gain
My smile beneath the tyrant’s frown;
In shame, my glory and my crown:
4 In want, my plentiful supply;
In weakness, my almighty power;
In bonds, my perfect liberty;
My light in Satan’s darkest hour;
In grief, my joy unspeakable;
My life in death; my heaven in hell.
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)