With rigorous abstinence austere
We serve, while only led by fear,
But Jesus doth the yoke remove,
And shews the nobler way of love,
Instructs his blessings to employ,
And gives us all things to enjoy.
With rigorous abstinence austere
Hymnal/Album: Originally titled “The Son of man came eating and drinking.”—[Matt.] xi. 19. Introduced in Charles Wesley, Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures, Vol. 2 (Bristol: Farley, 1762). 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 251.
Publishing: Public Domain