The Cyber Hymnal ‎#794

794. A Charge to Keep I Have

1. A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.

2. To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill:
O may it all my powers engage
To do my master’s will!

3. Arm me with jealous care,
As in Thy sight to live;
And O Thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give!

4. Help me to watch and pray,
And on Thyself rely,
Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall for ever die.

Text Information

• First Line: A charge to keep I have
• Title: A Charge to Keep I Have
• Author: Charles Wesley (1762)
• Meter: SM
• Language: English
• Source: Short Hymns on Select Passages of Holy Scripture, 1762
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: The text is based on Matthew Henry's commentary on Leviticus: We have every one of us a charge to keep, an eternal God to glorify, an immortal soul to provide for, needful duty to be done, our generation to serve; and it must be our daily care to keep this charge, for it is the charge of the Lord our Master, who will shortly call us account about it, and it is our utmost peril if we neglect it. Keep it that ye die not; it is death, eternal death, to betray the trust that we are charged with; by the consideration of this we must be kept in awe. Alternate tunes: GALWAY, Edward Miller, 1790; KENTUCKY, Jeremiah Ingalls, 1764-1828)

Tune Information

• Name: BOYLSTON
• Composer: Lowell Mason (1832)
• Meter: SM
• Incipit: 53456 51176 65534
• Key: C Major
• Source: The Choir, or Union Collection of Church Music, 1832
• Copyright: Public Domain