THY Divinity's adorer,
Thee that I may truly know,
Jesus, be my soul's Restorer,
Bleeding Lamb, appear below,
God expiring on the tree
Love, be manifest in me.
Sharer of thy dereliction,
Joining in thy plaintive cry,
Pain'd with thy extreme affliction
Let my broken heart reply,
O let all within me moan,
Echo back thy dying groan!
Here would I maintain my station,
Never from the cross remove,
'Till I in my last temptation
Pay Thee back thy dearest love,
Faint into thy arms away,
Die into immortal day.
-Charles Wesley, 1767
Beginning “THY Divinity's adorer,” hymn XLVI displays Charles' concise capture of both the nature of God he set out to affirm in his collection Hymns on the Trinity (1767) and his own vigorous love as a follower of the Triune God. This brief three stanza hymn is in the section entitled, “Hymns and Prayers to the Trinity” (p. 126), but it is especially fitting for analysis and reflection during this Holy Week.
The meter, written as 8.7.8.7.77, refers to the syllables arranged in each line. Charles' rhyme scheme fits the form of the English sestet in its ABABCC pattern. Understanding this form more fully may facilitate how Charles' hymn differs specifically from the sestet.
[The] sestet evolved from the popular Sicilian one and of course was made even more popular by Shakespeare who uses this sestet rhyme scheme in his sonnets. Iambic pentameter is the preferred meter for this form. Although it is mainly used as the turn or "Volta" in a sonnet, it can be used as a stand-alone vignette, or to construct a ballad or a tale. The pattern is thus [this is actually an example of iambic octameter, four “iambs” and eight syllables]:
x X x X x X x a
x X x X x X x b
x X x X x X x a
x X x X x X x b
x X x X x X x c
x X x X x X x c1
x X x X x X x b
x X x X x X x a
x X x X x X x b
x X x X x X x c
x X x X x X x c1
Charles distinctly flips this form a new direction. Rather than revert to a common earlier practice of utilizing no set meter, he changed the delayed stress of the iambic foot to a more immediate stress on the first syllable, giving this hymn the immediacy of the “trochee,” or a stress-unstress in every foot. For this hymn, the reader can conceptualize “feet” as beats. If “THY Divinity's adorer” is sketched out as “trochaic octameter,” the eight syllables are accounted for in lines 1 and 3, while each of the seven-syllable lines end with a natural (unstressed) rest to silently complete the “eighth” syllable. This meter and form lends itself easily to singing and allows a natural pause to breathe.
X x X x X x A a
X x X x X x B (*)
X x X x X x B (*)
X x X x X x A a
X x X x X x B (*)
X x X x X x B (*)
X x X x X x C (*)
X x X x X x C (*)
X x X x X x C (*)
The immediacy of the stress beginning on the first syllable may have been an expression of what Charles aimed to express theologically in this short piece. His words evoke not only his whole devotion to Jesus who has restored his soul, but also his belief that this “Bleeding Lamb” was none other than “God expiring on the tree.” Memories of Charles serious convictions about “perfection” ring through his words of submission and his desire to join in the path of suffering the Savior modeled. Charles alludes to the kenotic character of God and aspires to share in the Lord's affliction and “dereliction.” In the final stanza, the poet commits to “maintain my station, [n]ever from the cross remove,” evoking both imagery of theosis and a vivid soteriological understanding and expectation. Surely Charles’ understanding of God's salvific action shaped the poet's regard and could hardly be sung in lilting meter or sleepy rhyme.
It is regrettable that Charles' melodic accompaniment for these words is not included for this hymn. (There are some beautiful options available here if you’d like to have a go. I have used this score.) However, it is remarkable that Charles would include a piece with such a participatory understanding of salvation in his section on “Hymns and Prayers to the Trinity.” There is little doubt that Charles was conveying the belief that there is no knowledge—especially of the Triune God—without participation.
References:
Wesley, Charles. Hymns On the Trinity (reprint of 1st edition, 1767), Madison, NJ: The Charles Wesley Society, 1998
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