An instrument of Jesus’ grace

An instrument of Jesus’ grace,
Who some applauded work hath done,
Withdraws, t’ escape the people’s praise,
And hides him in a coast unknown:
Yet there he imitates his Lord,
Yet there th’ esteem of man he flies,
And works, expecting no reward,
Till caught to Jesus in the skies.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘He sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.’—[Matt. 15,] v. 39.” This hymn appears in the 1766 manuscript “MS Matthew.” 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 1977/577, 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 297.
Publishing: Public Domain