How oft beneath a show of zeal

Verse 1
How oft beneath a shew of zeal
Our secret jealousies we hide,
Our nature’s selfish ends conceal,
And say, Let God be glorified!
And steal the honours of his name,
To raise our own, or party’s fame!

Verse 2
The preacher vehemently requires
That souls should follow Christ alone,
Yet oft unconsciously desires
That crouds should to his doctrine run,
After himself disciples draws,
And subt’ly seeks his own applause.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘We forbad him, because he followeth not with us.’—[Mark 9,] v. 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. 11 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1871), page 27.
Publishing: Public Domain