MAKE ME A CAPTIVE

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.

My heart is weak and poor

Until its master find;

It has no spring of action sure,

It varies with the wind.

It cannot freely move,

'til Thou hast wrought its chain;

Enslave it with Thy matchless love,

And deathless it shall reign.

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.

My will is not my own

Till Thou hast 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.