By tenderness of love to man

Verse 1
By tenderness of love to man
Their genuine love to Christ was shewn,
They did not bear his Name in vain
But put his yearning bowels on,
Joyful their brethren to relieve,
And taste the blessedness To give.

Verse 2
The worldling shrinks at famine near
More loth with his good things to part:
The Christian doth for others fear,
He opens both his hand and heart,
To obviate their approaching wants,
And kindly feed the needy saints.

Verse 3
The truly Christian man alone
His charity unbounded proves,
Loves, and assists the poor unknown,
As members of the Lord he loves,
With them his every blessing shares,
And feels that all he has is theirs!

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘Then the disciples determined to send relief unto the brethren.’—[Acts 11,] v. 29.” 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 262.
Publishing: Public Domain