Because his self-deceit I show

Verse 1
Because his self-deceit I show,
Am I the self-deceiver’s foe,
When on the pinacle of pride
He sits, as wholly sanctified?
Or woud I rob him of his crown
Who gently bring the boaster down?

Verse 2
Ye great and good in your own eyes,
Who instantaneous saints arise,
Without the Spirit’s throes or groans
Born babes, and full-grown men at once,
To God’s own oracles attend,
The counsels of your heavenly Friend.

Verse 3
Deny yourselves, the cross embrace
And walk in all his righteous ways,
With lawful violence contend,
Thro’ all the means expect the End,
From strength to strength go on to prove
The truth of grace is humble love.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?’—[Gal.] 4:16.” This hymn appears in the 1783 manuscript “MS Scriptural Hymns.” This manuscript is part of the collection of the Methodist Archive and Research Centre in The John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester (accession number MA 1977/576, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 3). Accessed through the website of The Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition, Duke Divinity School. Published in S.T. Kimbrough Jr. and Oliver A. Beckerlegge, eds., The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, vol. 2 (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1990), pages 468-69.
Publishing: Public Domain