Treasure Chest

Treasure Chest

Friday, December 21, 2012

Poem by George Matheson — Make Me A Captive


Make me a captive, Lord,
  And then I shall be free;
Force me to render up by sword,
  And I shall conqueror be,
I sink in life’s alarms
   Where by myself I stand;
Imprison me within Thine arms,
  And strong shall be my hand.

My heart is weak and poor
  Until it master find;
It has no spring of action sure ---
  It varies with the wind.
It cannot freely move
  Till Thou hast wrought its chain;
Enslave it with Thy matchless love,
   And deathless it shall reign.

My power is faint and low
  Till I have learned to serve;
It wants the needed fire to glow,
  It wants the breeze to nerve;
It cannot drive the world
  Until itself be driven;
Its flag can only be unfurled
  When Thou shalt breathe from heaven.

My will is not my own
   Till Thou hast made it Thine;
If it would reach a monarch’s throne
   It must its crown resign;
It only stands unbent
   Amid the clashing strife,
When on Thy bosom it has leant
   And found in Thee its life.

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