Details
Hymnal / album
Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures, Vol. 1
Publisher
Farley
Copyright
Public Domain (Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. The publication year, if correct, suggests that this work may be in public domain in the U.S..)
Notes
Originally titled “Keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not.”—[Lev.] viii. 35. Introduced in Charles Wesley, Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures, Vol. 1 (Bristol: Farley, 1762). Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 9 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1870), page 60.
Scripture connections
Expository
This passage is the main idea of the songReferences
Verses this song directly draws fromAllusions
Verses this song echoes or alludes toPsalm 37:5Proverbs 3:5Ezekiel 18:26Matthew 7:21Matthew 12:36Matthew 12:50Matthew 26:31Mark 13:33Mark 14:38Luke 21:36Romans 14:12I Corinthians 6:20I Corinthians 10:31II Corinthians 2:17II Corinthians 11:2Ephesians 4:1Ephesians 6:18Colossians 4:2II Timothy 1:14Hebrews 4:13I Peter 3:12I Peter 4:5I Peter 4:7
Lyrics
Verse 1
A charge to keep I have, (Lev. 8:35, I Tim. 6:20, II Tim. 1:14)
A God to glorify, (I Cor. 6:20, I Cor. 10:31)
A never-dying soul to save, (James 5:20)
And fit it for the sky;
To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfil: (Eph. 4:1)
O may it all my powers engage
To do my Master’s will! (Matt. 7:21, Matt. 12:50)
Verse 2
Arm me with jealous care, (II Cor. 11:2)
As in thy sight to live, (II Cor. 2:17, I Pet. 3:12)
And O! Thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give: (Matt. 12:36, Rom. 14:12, Heb. 4:13, I Pet. 4:5)
Help me to watch and pray, (Matt. 26:31, Mark 13:33, Mark 14:38, Luke 21:36, Eph. 6:18, Col. 4:2, I Pet. 4:7)
And on thyself rely, (Ps. 37:5, Prov. 3:5)
Assur’d, if I my trust betray,
I shall for ever die. (Ezek. 18:26)