Whoe’er the gospel hate

Verse 1
Whoe’er the gospel hate,
And virtue disapprove,
Will loath the men that vindicate
The truth, and goodness love:
But happy he who sees
His calling’s heavenly prize,
And, suffering on for righteousness,
With Jesus lives and dies.

Verse 2
This happiness is mine,
If Thou my Lord appear,
And arm my soul with faith divine
With strength to persevere:
Supported by thy grace
I shall thy cause maintain,
Abhor’d of all, the cross embrace,
Till I the kingdom gain.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “‘Ye shall be hated of all men for my name sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.’—[Mark 13,] v. 13.” 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 62.
Publishing: Public Domain