I want that adorning divine

E402
1
I want that adorning divine,
  Thou only, my Lord, canst bestow;
I want in those beautiful garments to shine,
  Which mark out Thy beauty below.
2
I want every moment to feel
  Thy Spirit indwelling my heart,
His pow'r ever present to cleanse and to heal,
  And newness of life to impart.
3
I want, oh, I want to attain
  Some likeness, my Savior, to Thee;
That longed-for resemblance once more to regain;
  Thy comeliness put upon me.
4
I want to be marked for Thine own,
  Thy seal on my forehead to wear;
And have that new name on the mystic white stone,
  Which none but Thyself can declare.
5
I want, and this sums up my prayer,
  To glorify Thee till I die;
Then calmly to yield up my soul to Thy care,
  And breathe out in faith my last sigh!
3
Ana Lara

Storrs, Connecticut, United States

Miss Charlotte Elliot was born March 18, 1789, at Westfield Lodge, Brighton, England. The preacher Henry Venn was her maternal grandfather. His daughter Eling married Charles Elliot of Chapman and Brighton. Charlotte was the third daughter of six children. Two of her brothers became clergymen like their uncle Dr. John Venn.

As a child she was surrounded with culture and piety but was in a state of chronic illness. In 1821 she became and remained an invalid.

One day In 1882 her family was visited by Dr. Caesar Malan , a man of God from Geneva. Charlotte had not yet realized the full salvation of Jesus Christ. Seeing that she was held back from the Savior by her own self efforts, he said, “Dear Charlotte cut the cable, it will take too long to unloose it. ” She greatly resented his efforts to bring her to Christ perhaps because of the irritability caused by her poor health and at one point she was very abrupt with him for which she later apologized. She later told him she was miserable— “I want to come to Jesus but I don’t know how” Dr Malan answered, “Why don’t you come as you are? She soon found her resting place on the value of the blood of Christ.

Her father died in 1833 and from this time she was able to get much consolation from writing poems and prose. After the death of her mother and two sisters in 1845 she and her surviving sisters went to live in Torquay in Devonshire, England. A doctor under whose care she was, gave her a leaflet which had been printed by a Christian woman with her hymn “Just as I am. ” She was so surprised and happy when she recognized that it was her own hymn and he discovered she was the author!

On September 22, 1871, the Lord took her graciously to Himself to enjoy more fully what she had expressed in another of her hymns:

“Let me be with Thee where Thou art,

My Saviour, my eternal rest;

Then only will this longing heart

Be fully and forever blest. ”


Helen Breen

Nottingham, United Kingdom

I like this hymn! "I want, I want!"

I'm sure the Lord is happy when we come to Him and tell Him what we want.

" I want, Lord, every moment to feel Your Spirit indwelling my heart,

Your power ever present to cleanse and to heal, and newness of life to impart!"


Tammie Vince

Canada

Wow! how the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to create such prayers that we knew not were put to music.