Above what we can ask or hope

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General information

This is a short hymn by Charles Wesley, 1762, from Scripture Hymns Vol. 1, Hymn 580, based on 2 Kings 4:6. Meter is 88. 88. 88.

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Text and translations

English.png English text

1. Above what we can ask or hope,
The God of grace delights to give,
To fill the empty vessels up:
And when we grace for grace receive,
Enough in Christ remains behind,
To fill the souls of all mankind.

2. Long as our faith’s capacity
Is stretched to admit the blessing given,
We drink the streaming deity,
And gasp for larger drafts of heaven!
But when we lose our emptiness,
The oil, the joy, the Spirit stays!

3. Empty us then, most gracious Lord,
And keep us always empty here,
’Till thee, according to thy word,
We see upon the clouds appear,
Thy glorious fullness to reveal,
And all thy saints for ever fill.

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