Jesu, Friend of Sinners, Hear

Jesu, friend of sinners, hear,
Yet once again I pray;

Jesu, friend of sinners, hear,
Yet once again I pray;
From my debt of sin set clear,
For I have nought to pay;
Speak, O speak, the kind release,
A poor backsliding soul restore!
Love me freely, seal my peace,
And bid me sin no more.

For my selfishness and pride
Thou hast withdrawn thy grace,
Left me long to wander wide,
An outcast from thy face;
But I now my sins confess,
And mercy, mercy, I implore;
Love me freely, seal my peace,
And bid me sin no more.

Though my sins as mountains rise,
And swell and reach to heaven,
Mercy is above the skies,
I may be still forgiven;
Infinite my sin’s increase,
But greater is thy mercy’s store;
Love me freely, seal my peace,
And bid me sin no more.

Sin’s deceitfulness hath spread
A hardness o’er my heart;
But if thou thy Spirit shed,
This hardness shall depart;
Shed thy love, thy tenderness,
And let me feel thy softening power;
Love me freely, seal my peace,
And bid me sin no more.

From the oppressive power of sin
My struggling spirit free;
Perfect righteousness bring in,
Unspotted purity;
Speak, and all this war shall cease,
And sin shall give its raging o’er;
Love me freely, seal my peace,
And bid me sin no more.

For this only thing I pray,
And this will I require,
Take the power of sin away,
Fill me with pure desire;
Perfect me in holiness,
Thine image to my soul restore,
Love me freely, seal my peace,
And bid me sin no more.