A happy instrument of grace

Verse 1
An happy instrument of grace
Withdraws into the wilderness,
With still-continued care
The good of precious souls he seeks,
In their behalf to God he speaks,
And pleads for them in prayer.

Verse 2
He muses frequently retir’d,
That more abundantly inspir’d
He may his mission prove,
The people serve with holier zeal,
And all his ministry fulfil
In praise of Jesus love.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘He withdrew himself into the wilderness.’—[Luke 5,] v. 16.” 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 The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 11 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1871), page 145.
Publishing: Public Domain