MHB 596 – MAKE me a captive, Lord

Methodist-Hymns-596

1: MAKE me a captive, Lord,
And then I shall be free;
Force me to render up my sword,
And I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life’s alarms
When by myself I stand;
Imprison me within Thine arms,
And strong shall be my hand.

2: My heart is weak and poor
Until it master find;
It has no spring of action sure –
It varies with the wind.
It cannot freely move,
Till Thou has wrought its chain;
Enslave it with Thy matchless love,
And deathless it shall reign.

3: My power is faint and low
Till I have learned to serve;
It wants the needed fire to glow,
It wants the breeze to nerve;
It cannot drive the world,
Until itself be driven;
Its flag can only be unfurled
When Thou shalt breathe from heaven.

4: My will is not my own
Till Thou has made it Thine;
If it would reach a monarch’s throne
It must its crown resign;
It only stands unbent,
Amid the clashing strife,
When on Thy bosom it has leant
And found in Thee its life.