The self-confiding man

Verse 1
The self-confiding man,
Who will his Lord defend,
Exerts his zealous efforts vain,
Which in a moment end:
His hasty sword he draws
Against a troop, and flies,
Deserts the persecuted cause,
And then his Lord denies.

Verse 2
The humble man of heart
Depends on God alone:
His zeal to take the Saviour’s part,
His power is not his own:
With weapons from the word,
With wisdom from above
He fights the battles of the Lord
In meek and patient love.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘One of them drew his sword, and struck a servant &c.’—[Matt. 26,] v. 51.” This hymn appears in the 1766 manuscript “MS Matthew.” 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 1977/577, 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 407.
Publishing: Public Domain