[sama smsma]

1. Make me a captive, Lord,
   And then I shall be free;
   Force me to render up my sword,
   And I shall conqu’ror be.
   I sink in life’s alarms
   When by myself I stand;
   Imprison me within Thine arms,
   And strong shall be my hand.
2. 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 has wrought its chain;
   Enslave it with Thy matchless love,
   And deathless it shall reign.
3. My pow’r 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 driv’n;
   Its flag can only be unfurled
   When Thou shalt breathe from heav’n.
4. 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.