Dispensers of the joyful word

Verse 1
Dispensers of the joyful word,
Taught by th’ example of our Lord,
We in his footsteps tread,
Servants of souls, for them we live,
Our utmost strength and labour give,
To serve their every need.

Verse 2
On them we day and night attend,
Our graces, gifts, and talents spend,
Each precious moment buy,
Forget our needful rest and food,
Spend all our lives for sinners’ good,
And in their service die.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘They could not so much as eat bread.’—[Mark 3,] v. 20.” 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 467.
Publishing: Public Domain