1 'Tis a point I long to know;
Oft it causes anxious thought;
Do I love the Lord, or no?
Am I his, or am I not?
2 If I love, why am I thus?
Why this dull, this lifeless frame?
Hardly, sure, can they be worse,
Who have never heard his name!
3 Could my heart so hard remain,
Prayer a task and burden prove,
Every trifle give me pain,
If I knew a Saviour's love?
4 When I turn my eyes within,
All is dark, and vain, and wild,
Fill'd with unbelief and sin,
Can I deem myself a child?
5 If I pray, or hear, or read,
Sin is mix'd with all I do;
You who love the Lord indeed,
Tell me, Is it thus with you?
6 Yet I mourn my stubborn will,
Find my sin a grief and thrall;
Should I grieve at what I feel,
If I did not love at all!
7 Could I joy his saints to meet,
Choose the ways I once abhorr'd,
Find, at times, the promise sweet,
If I did not love the Lord?
8 Lord, decide this doubtful case!
Thou who art the people's sun,
Shine upon thy work of grace,
If it be indeed begun.
9 Let me love thee more and more,
If I love at all, I'll pray;
If I have not lov'd before,
Help me to begin to day.
Text Information | |
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First Line: | 'Tis a point I long to know |
Meter: | P. M. |
Publication Date: | 1828 |
Topic: | Christian experience: Doubts and Fears; Lovest thou Me? |