What multitudes to God draw near

Verse 1
What multitudes to God draw near
In forms devoid of life or power,
Usurp the sacred character,
Themselves instead of Christ adore!
From self their whole religion flows,
Their worship is all false and vain,
Who dare on simple souls impose
The doctrines, rules, and laws of man.

Verse 2
Thee, Lord, that I may serve aright,
Still let my heart approach to Thee,
Find in thy will its whole delight,
And pant for all thy purity!
The honour which Thou dost require,
The worship which Thou wilt approve,
Is, following with an heart intire
The God of holiness and love.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. How but in vain do they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’—[Mark 7,] v. 6, 7.” 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. 11 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1871), page 4.
Publishing: Public Domain