Sunday Singing: Make Me a Captive, Lord

Make Me a Captive, Lord” is an 1890 hymn by Rev. George Matheson of Glasgow, Scotland. The tune was written in 1862 by George William Martin of London.

I’ve copied the words here. This performance skips the third verse.

  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 hast wrought its chain;
    Enslave it with thy matchless love,
    And deathless it shall reign.
  3. My pow’r is faint and low
    Till I have learned to serve;
    It lacks the needed fire to glow,
    It lacks the breeze to nerve.
    It cannot drive the world
    Until itself be driv’n;
    Its flag can only be unfurled
    When thou shalt breathe from heav’n.
  4. 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. 

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