Born of the flesh, I mocked the men

Verse 1
Born of the flesh, I mock’d the men
Renew’d in love, and born again,
My carnal enmity
Against thy members dear was shew’d,
And hating all the sons of God,
I persecuted Thee.

Verse 2
While obstinate I disbeliev’d
Thy Spirit, Lord, I daily griev’d,
Denied thy saving Name,
By each transgression of thy laws,
Again I nail’d thee to the cross,
And put to open shame.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.’—[Acts 22,] v. 8." 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 395.
Publishing: Public Domain