Tis not, O Lord, the’ eternal part

Verse 1
’Tis not, O Lord, th’ external part
Which pleases or displeases Thee,
The principle, the end, the heart
Thou dost in every action see,
Thou only know’st the doer’s aim,
The will, the temper, and the frame.

Verse 2
But partial, ignorant, and blind
We rashly judge as things appear,
Censorious, hasty, and unkind
Judge by the hearing of the ear,
And oft as sway’d by hate or love,
The good condemn, the ill approve.

Verse 3
Jesus, send forth thy truth and light,
That with thy love of equity
Inspir’d, we may pronounce aright
The sentence which proceeds from Thee,
As partners in thy judgment join,
And reign in righteousness Divine.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.’—[John 7,] v. 24." This hymn appears in the 1763-64 manuscript “MS John.” 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 1977/573, 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. 11 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1871), page 404.
Publishing: Public Domain