214. A charge to keep I have
Charles Wesley, 1707-88
One of the greatest of Wesley’s short hymns taken from Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures, 1762, where it is headed, “Keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not” (Lev. 8:35).
The hymn strikes a much-needed note regarding the serious significance of this life. Thomas Carlyle expressed the same thought in his old age when he said: “The older I grow, and now I stand upon the brink of eternity, the more comes back to me the sentence in the catechism which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper its meaning becomes: ‘What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’”
For comments on Charles Wesley see [Hymn 6].
MUSIC. BOYLSTON was composed by Lowell Mason and named after one of the towns in his native state. It appeared in The Choir, 1832, set to “Our days are as the grass.” The tune is widely used with “Blest be the tie that binds.”
For comments on Lowell Mason, see [Hymn 12].
215. Take my life and let it be
Frances R. Havergal, 1836-79
One of the finest hymns of consecration and service. It has been translated into many languages, including Russian, and many of Africa and Asia.