Acquaint thee, O mortal. W. Knox. [Invitation.] As a hymn on "Heavenly Wisdom," and based on Job xxii. 21, 27-28, it appeared in his Harp of Zion, 1825, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. It was also repeated in his Poems, 1847, p. 162, where it is said in a footnote to have been “written for Mr. Pettet." The use of this hymn in Great Britain is very limited. In Kennedy, 1863, No. 1140, it is given as, "Acquaint thee, my child, acquaint thee," &c. In America, as in Robinson's Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865, 2nd ed., 1872, No. 504, and others, it is: —"Acquaint thyself quickly, O Sinner," &c., and, in common with nearly every collection, the second stanza of the original is omitted. This stanza reads:—
Acquaint thee, O mortal!
Acquaint thee with God,
And the prayer of thy spirit
Shall reach His abode;
And the wish of thy bosom
Shall rise not in vain;
And His favour shall nourish
Thy heart like the rain."
This hymn is also sometimes in common use as:— “Acquaint thee, O Spirit, acquaint thee with God," as in Longfellow and Johnson's Book of Hymns, Boston, 1846, and later eds.
--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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