An humhle instrument of God

Verse 1
An humble instrument of God,
Whom all men seek, esteem, applaud,
Their praises casts behind,
Far as his ministry permits,
Into the wilderness retreats,
And flies from all mankind.

Verse 2
Glad to be hid, unknown, obscure,
Servant and preacher to the poor,
He leaves the wilderness;
To sinners rich the poor prefers,
Chief object of their Saviour’s cares,
And his expiring grace.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘When they had found him, they said unto him All men seek for thee. And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also.’—[Mark 1,] v. 37, 38.” This hymn appears in the 1766 manuscript “MS Mark.” 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 1977/574, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 3). Accessed through the website of The Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition, Duke Divinity School. Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 10 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1870), page 452.
Publishing: Public Domain