Make Me A Captive, Lord

by George Matheson

Make me a captive, Lord,
and then I shall be free.
Force me to render up my sword,
and I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life's alarms
when 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 lacks the needed fire to glow,
it lacks 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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I was at the worship practice this evening and had the chance to browse through one of the new hymnals that Faith had bought for her congregation. This song caught my eye: in its seemingly paradoxical way, it encapsulates our relationship with God, that we are not free unless enslaved by His love; that our will is not found unless it is lost in His.

Read it. Savour it. Read it, again, aloud. Meditate upon it.

What makes you His captive? What does it mean to be another's captive? What compels you to do His bidding? What stands between you and His throne?