For the Living of These Days, 4

It is a season for "heart work." Today's seasonal prayer hymn may not normally be associated with Lent, so I was interested to see it in that section of one of my hymnals. If you associate this text with the robust tune AZMON (O for a thousand tongues to sing) - as it is in Hymns for the Living Church - you may miss the aptness of this text for today. A common meter text, I suppose there are many possible melodic options. The tune BELMONT serves nicely.

O for a heart to praise my God,
a heart from sin set free;
a heart that always feels thy blood
so freely spilt for me.
   A heart resigned, submissive, meek,
   my dear Redeemer's throne;
   where only Christ is heard to speak,
   where Jesus reigns alone.
A humble, lowly, contrite heart,
believing, true, and clean,
which neither life nor death can part
from him that dwells within.
   A heart in every thought renewed,
   and full of love divine;
   perfect and right and pure and good,
   a copy, Lord, of thine.
My heart, thou know'st, can never rest
till thou create my peace;
till of mine Eden repossest, [sic]
from self, and sin, I cease.
   Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart,
   come quickly from above;
   write thy new name upon my heart,
   thy new best name of love.

Charles Wesley (`1707-88)

I have left the text intact as I found it, with a couple of verses we don't normally see in the hymnals, and with presumably fewer hymnal editors' emendations. I find that taking it out of the context in which we normally sing it has brought fresh meaning to my experience of it.

Sing on!