God passes kings and conquerors by,
And lets them in oblivion die,
But doth to everlasting fame
Consign a simple damsel’s name,
Throughout the church he makes it known,
That goodness we in all may own,
In saints of every rank approve
Their joyful zeal, and faithful love.
God passes kings and conquerors by
Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘A damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda &c.’—[Acts 12,] v. 13.” 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 169.
Publishing: Public Domain