Words: , Hymns and Sac­red Po­ems, 1746.

Music: Cul­ford, , in The Tem­ple Church’s Chor­al Ser­vice, 1867. Al­ter­nate tune:

  • Titchfield, , 1853

Jackson’s Mem­oirs of the Rev. Charles Wes­ley (1848), states the hymn was writ­ten:

…on the joy­ful oc­ca­sion of his min­is­ter­i­al suc­cess, and that of his fel­low la­bour­ers, in New­cas­tle and vi­cin­i­ty. Per­haps the im­age­ry was sug­gest­ed by the large fires con­nect­ed with the col­ler­ies, which il­lum­in­ate the whole of that part of the coun­try in the dark­est nights.


See how great a flame aspires,
Kindled by a spark of grace!
Jesus’ love the nations fires,
Sets the kingdoms on a blaze:
To bring fire on earth He came;
Kindled in some hearts it is:
O that all might catch the flame,
All partake the glorious bliss!

When He first the work begun,
Small and feeble was His day:
Now the word doth swiftly run;
Now it wins its widening way:
More and more it spread and grows,
Ever mighty to prevail;
Sin’s strongholds it now o’erthrows,
Shakes the trembling gates of hell.

Sons of God, your Savior praise!
He the door hath opened wide!
He hath given the word of grace,
Jesus’ word is glorified;
Jesus, mighty to redeem,
He alone the work hath wrought;
Worthy is the work of Him,
Him Who spake a world from naught.

Saw ye not the cloud arise,
Little as a human hand?
Now it spreads along the skies,
Hangs o’er all the thirsty land:
Lo! the promise of a shower
Drops already from above;
But the Lord will shortly pour
All the spirit of His love.