Earnest Desire

Representative Text

1 I want that adorning divine
Thou only, my God, canst bestow;
I want in those garments to shine
Which mark out thy household below.

Refrain:
O speak, O speak while before thee I pray!
And, O Lord, just what seemeth thee good
Reveal, and my heart shall obey.

2 I want, O I want to attain
More likeness, my Saviour, to thee;
That longed-for resemblance to gain,
Thy comeliness put upon me!

3 I want to be marked for thine own,
Thy seal in my forehead to wear,
Each talent and grace thine alone,
Each act thy approval to bear.

4 I want every moment to feel
Thy Spirit indwelling my heart,
Thy power ever present to heal
And newness of life to impart.

5 I want, and this sums up my prayer,
To glorify thee till I die;
Then yield up my soul to thy care,
And breathe out in faith my last sigh.


Source: The Song Book of the Salvation Army #589

Author: Charlotte Elliott

Elliott, Charlotte, daughter of Charles Elliott, of Clapham and Brighton, and granddaughter of the Rev. H. Venn, of Huddersfield, was born March 18, 1789. The first 32 years of her life were spent mostly at Clapham. In 1823 she removed to Brighton, and died there Sept. 22, 1871. To her acquaintance with Dr. C. Malan, of Geneva, is attributed much of the deep spiritual-mindedness which is so prominent in her hymns. Though weak and feeble in body, she possessed a strong imagination, and a well-cultured and intellectual mind. Her love of poetry and music was great, and is reflected in her verse. Her hymns number about 150, a large percentage of which are in common use. The finest and most widely known of these are, "Just as I am” and "My God… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: I want that adorning divine
Title: Earnest Desire
Author: Charlotte Elliott
Language: English
Refrain First Line: I want and this will be my prayer
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

I want that adorning divine. Charlotte Elliott. [For Purity.] This poem on "The Pilgrim's Wants" appeared in the Christian Remembrancer pocket book, 1848, and as one of J. Groom's leaflets, 1848, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines. Each stanza is based upon a passage of Holy Scripture.

i. Col. iii. 12-17; ii. Rom. viii. 11, 16; iii. 1 John iii. 2, 3; iv. Rev. ii. 17; vi. John iv. 2, 5; vi. 1 John ii. 15; vii. Matt. vi. 19, 21; viii. Heb. xiii. 5, 6; ix. Philip iii. 8, 9.

It is also given in Leaves from the Christian Remembrancer, 1871, and in Leaves from Unpublished Journals, Letters and Poems of Charlotte Elliott, Lond., n.d. (cir. 1870). In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, it is given in two parts, Pt. ii. being, "I want Thine own hand to unbind." [William T. Brooke]

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

DENNIS (Nägeli)

Lowell Mason (PHH 96) arranged DENNIS and first published it in The Psaltery (1845), a hymnal he compiled with George. Webb (PHH 559). Mason attributed the tune to Johann G. Nageli (b. Wetzikon, near Zurich, Switzerland, 1773; d. Wetzikon, 1836) but included no source reference. Nageli presumably pu…

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[I want that adorning divine] (Mountain)


[I want that adorning divine] (Phillips)


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The Song Book of the Salvation Army #589

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