Saturday, October 21, 2023

[New post] I Would Be Thine

I Would Be Thine

wrestlingwordblog

Oct 21

I found this old hymn in a Methodist hymnal¹ given to me by my sister. We don't talk about sin too much anymore, but the struggle these words illustrate spoke to me, especially the second stanza. Ah yes, I feel the rebellion still alive. I also wander while I pray.

The author, Elizabeth Holmes Reed, was a humble pastor's wife (nobody even is sure where she is buried). She worked alongside her more well-known husband, Andrew Reed (1787-1862), writing hymns, helping to found many charitable institutions, including several orphanages. They were active in righting wrongs of the native peoples of South Africa and in the anti-slavery movement of the 1830's. You wouldn't think that someone like that would write, "I would be Thine: but, Lord, I feel Evil still lurks within." Yet, this hymn echoes Paul's words in Romans, as does every seeking heart.

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:21-25

I would be Thine; O take my heart,

And fill it with Thy love;

Thy sacred image, Lord, impart,

And seal it from above.

I would be Thine; but while I strive

To give myself away,

I feel rebellion still alive,

And wander while I pray.

I would be Thine: but, Lord, I feel

Evil still lurks within:—

Do Thou Thy majesty reveal,

And overcome my sin.

I would be Thine; I would embrace

The Saviour, and adore;

Inspire with faith, infuse thy grace,

And now my soul restore.

-- Elizabeth Holmes Reed (1794–1867)

Turn me again to you and restore me (turn me, repair me, bring me back from the dead, bring back my heart, fetch me home), for you alone are the LORD my God. Jeremiah 31:18 (NLT)

¹Hymn, I Would Be Thine, found in Hymns for the Use of The Methodist Episcopal Church, Revised Edition. New York: Carlton & Lanahan, 1849. The hymn was first published in Hymn Book, Prepared from Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns and Other Hymns, with Some Originals (1842), Andrew Reed.

Image in the Public Domain