A charge to keep I have
A charge to keep I have. Charles Wesley* (1707-1788).
First published in Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures (1762), in two 8-line DSM verses. It is one of 21 hymns on Leviticus, mostly one-verse hymns but including ‘O thou who camest from above’*. This one is based on Leviticus 8:35: ‘Keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not.’ Its original ending followed the last phrase: ‘Assur’d, if I my trust betray,/ I shall for ever die.’ The severity of these lines (based on Matthew 25:30) has caused problems. A&M (1904) altered them to ‘And let me ne’er my trust betray,/ But press to realms on high’ and HP to ‘So shall I not my trust betray,/ Nor love within me die.’ The...
If you have a valid subscription to Dictionary of Hymnology, please log inlog in to view this content. If you require a subscription, please click here.
MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "A charge to keep I have."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 19 Mar. 2019.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/a/a-charge-to-keep-i-have>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "A charge to keep I have."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed March 19, 2019,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/a/a-charge-to-keep-i-have.