A true forerunner of his Lord

Verse 1
A true forerunner of his Lord
Will point to Him that comes behind,
Worthy to be of all ador’d
The God, the Saviour of mankind!
The servant strives with jealous care
Himself out of our minds t’ efface,
His image from our hearts to tear,
And print his Maker’s in the place.

Verse 2
A preacher of repentance true,
Impatient of esteem and praise,
Withdraws himself from human view,
And sends us to the God of grace;
Skillful, to turn our heart and eyes
On Him that doth our hearts require,
Doth with the Holy Ghost baptize,
And purge our earth with heavenly fire.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet &c.’—[Mark 1,] v. 7.” 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 445.
Publishing: Public Domain