The Cyber Hymnal ‎#12869

12869. 'Tis a Point I Long To Know

1 ’Tis a point I long to know,
Oft it causes anxious thought;
Do I love the Lord, or no?
Am I His, or am I not?

2 If I love, why am I thus?
Why this dull and lifeless frame?
Hardly, sure, can they be worse,
Who have never heard His name!

3 Could my heart so hard remain,
Prayer a task and burden prove;
Every trifle give me pain,
If I knew a Savior’s love?

4 When I turn my eyes within,
All is dark, and vain, and wild;
Filled with unbelief and sin,
Can I deem myself a child?

5 If I pray, or hear, or read,
Sin is mixed with all I do;
You that love the Lord indeed,
Tell me: Is it thus with you?

6 Yet I mourn my stubborn will,
Find my sin, a grief, and thrall;
Should I grieve for what I feel,
If I did not love at all?

7 Could I joy His saints to meet,
Choose the ways I once abhorred,
Find, at times, the promise sweet,
If I did not love the Lord?

8 Lord, decide the doubtful case!
Thou who art Thy people’s sun;
Shine upon Thy work of grace,
If it be indeed begun.

9 Let me love Thee more and more,
If I love at all, I pray;
If I have not loved before,
Help me to begin today.

Text Information

• First Line: ’Tis a point I long to know
• Title: 'Tis a Point I Long To Know
• Author: John Newton
• Meter: 77.77
• Language: English
• Source: Olney Hymns (London, W. Oliver, 1779)
• Copyright: Public Domain

Tune Information

• Name: ALETTA
• Composer: William Batchelder Bradbury (1858)
• Meter: 77.77
• Key: F Major or modal
• Copyright: Public Domain