Before a man of God we lose

Verse 1
Before a man of God we lose,
We wisely profit by his stay,
The messenger of mercy use,
Who points us out the heavenly way;
Yet not to him, but Christ, we cleave,
Him for his Master’s sake we love,
And neither pine, nor fondly grieve,
If God his instrument remove.

Verse 2
His counsels then we bear in mind,
Rejoicing in the truth made known,
Cast all the things of earth behind,
And guided by the Spirit alone
Hold fast the faith and grafted word
Thro’ Jesus’ preaching servant given,
And following him, as he his Lord,
Keep on our way, and meet in heaven.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘The eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.’—[Acts 8,] v. 39.” This hymn appears in the 1764 manuscript “MS Acts.” 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 1977/555, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 1). 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. 12 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1871), page 231.
Publishing: Public Domain