Lord, We Have All Forsook

By Charles Wesley

Lyrics

1. Lord, we have all forsook
Thy dying love to know,
To bear Thy light and easy yoke,
And in Thy footsteps go;
Our pleasure, goods, and fame:
We yield what we have stored,
In pain, and poverty, and shame,
Partakers with our Lord.

2. Armed with Thy strength alone,
We still our all resign;
The lives which once we called our own,
Are not our own, but Thine:
Ready we always stand
In Thine almighty power,
To yield them up at Thy command,
And meet the fiery hour.

3. Where is the promise then,
The bliss Thou hast prepared
For us before the sons of men,
Where is our great reward?
The hundredfold increase
Of goods, and lands, and friends,
The sweet unutterable peace,
The joy that never ends!

4. Surely we are possessed
Of Thee our recompense,
Ecstasy fills our panting breast,
And pains our aching sense:
What hath the world like this!
The joy which now we know—
’Tis more than joy, or life, or bliss,
’Tis Heaven begun below.

5. Yet O! we look for more
And mightier joys above,
The fullness of Thy heavenly store,
Of Thine eternal love:
Glory shall end the strife,
And in these bodies shine;
Jesu, our everlasting life,
Our flesh shall be like Thine.

6. Changed by His mighty love,
We shall be as our Lord,
And sit upon our thrones above,
And bless His just award:
While trembling at the bar,
Devils and tyrants stand,
We shall with Him their doom declare,
And shout at His right hand.

7. Then every saint of His
Shall lean upon His breast;
The wicked there from troubling cease,
And there the weary rest:
Our sufferings all are o’er,
Our tears are wiped away,
We only love, rejoice, adore,
Through one eternal day.

8. The rivers of delight
That there our souls embrace,
The glorious beatific sight
That veils the angel’s face,
The joys ineffable
That from Thy presence flow,
The fullness here we cannot tell,
But, Lord, we die to know.

Bible Reference

Matthew 19:27

About This Hymn

"Lord, We Have All Forsook" is a hymn composed by Charles Wesley in 1766. The hymn is based on the apostle Peter's question to Jesus in Matthew 19:27, "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" Wesley wrote this hymn to reflect on the sacrifices made by believers in following Christ and the rewards promised to them.

The first verse begins with the line: "Lord, we have all forsook Thy dying love to know," expressing the willingness of believers to leave behind worldly attachments to follow Christ. The hymn continues to explore themes of sacrifice, devotion, and the hope of eternal reward.

Musically, the hymn is commonly set to the tune "OLIVET," composed by John Bacchus Dykes. This tune is also used for other hymns, including "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross."

"Lord, We Have All Forsook" has been included in various hymnals and continues to be sung in Christian worship settings, offering a reflection on the cost of discipleship and the hope of eternal life.