A Friend to us, but not our sins

A Friend to us, but not our sins,
We bow to Jesus’ sway,
Our Saviour and exalted Prince
Who takes our sins away:
A Friend of publicans, he gives
Us power to do his will,
And humbled penitents receives
Into his kingdom still.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘Ye say, A friend of publicans and sinners.’—[Luke 7,] v. 34.” This hymn appears in the 1766 manuscript “MS Luke.” 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 1977/575, 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 and Oliver A. Beckerlegge, eds., The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, vol. 2 (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1990), page 101.
Publishing: Public Domain