Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising

Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising. Anonymous, 20th century, perhaps Traditional.  This praise song has been commonly used in Britain and elsewhere by worshippers who wish to express something of their delight in singing their belief together. The ‘my’ and ‘me’ in line 1 of each stanza become subsumed into a collective happiness, just as the initial prayer, ‘Give me...’ is seen as a response to the concept of living a life of continual praise. ‘Give me...’is succeeded by ‘keep me...’, indicating that the singers are already in a state of accepting the blessings of assurance in the love of God. Its message can be accompanied by hand clapping, and the tune is easily learned and...