Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the waters nearer roll,
While the tempest still is high;
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven glide,
O receive my soul at last.

These lines are the opening stanza of Charles Wesley’s hymn “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” one of the best-known texts of early Methodism. Wesley (1707–1788), a leader of the Evangelical Revival alongside his brother John, wrote thousands of hymns intended for congregational singing and personal devotion. The hymn’s imagery of storm, flood, and refuge reflects a common 18th‑century Protestant devotional idiom, drawing on biblical language of God as shelter amid peril (e.g., Psalms) and on seafaring metaphors familiar in a maritime nation. It circulated widely in Methodist and broader English-speaking Protestant hymnals, becoming a staple for worship and comfort in times of distress.

The speaker addresses Jesus as intimate protector—“lover of my soul”—and asks to be gathered into Christ’s “bosom,” a metaphor of closeness, safety, and mercy. The “waters” and “tempest” evoke both external trials and inner spiritual danger; life is figured as a storm-tossed voyage in which human strength is insufficient. The plea “Hide me… till the storm of life is past” frames salvation as refuge in the present and final deliverance at death (“receive my soul at last”). The stanza’s power lies in its fusion of tenderness and urgency: it presents faith not as abstract doctrine but as a lived dependence on divine shelter and guidance toward a secure “haven.”

1) “Jesus, Lover of my soul, / Let me to Thy bosom fly” (capitalization varies: “Lover” vs “lover”).
2) “While the nearer waters roll” (word order sometimes appears as “nearer waters” vs “the nearer waters”).
3) “Safe into the haven guide” (a known sung variant substitutes “guide” for “glide”).