MY GOD, ACCEPT MY HEART THIS DAY; a Hymn for Ash Wednesday, 4 February 2025 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

 

            This hymn of Lenten solemnity is the authorship of Matthew Bridges (1800-1894) and was first published in 1848. The original tune is St. Peter composed by Alexander R. Reinagle (1799-1877) conceived as a setting for Psalm 118.

MY GOD, ACCEPT MY HEART THIS
DAY

 

1 My God, accept my heart this day,
and make it always thine,
that I from thee no more may stray,
no more from thee decline.

 

2 Before the cross of him who died,
behold, I prostrate fall;
let every sin be crucified,
and Christ be all in all.

 

3 Anoint me with thy heavenly grace,
and seal me for thine own;
that I may see thy glorious face,
and worship near thy throne.

 

4 Let every thought and work and word
to thee be ever given:
Then life shall be thy service, Lord,
and death the gate of heaven.

 

1 My God, accept my heart this day, and make it always thine, that I from thee no more may stray, no more from thee decline. One leading truth presented in this hymn and stanza is the imperative that one’s heart to be crucified with Christ – we must die in Christ before we can live in Christ. When Christ first owns our hearts, He does not become a casual visitor, but rather He comes to abide forever in His Temple of our hearts. When Christ owns our heart, it is no longer available for either sale or vacancy to the world and its devil.

2 Before the cross of him who died, behold, I prostrate fall; let every sin be crucified, and Christ be all in 

all. The cross of Christ is not an ornate object composed of valuable metals to be proudly flaunted, but 

rather a crude, wooden instrument of torture to be revered as the altar of our once-and-for-all sacrifice. That cross belonged to us as sinners, but Christ bore it in our stead. “ The Lord is my strength and song,

And ^tis become my salvation.” Psalms 118:14

3 Anoint me with thy heavenly grace, and seal me for thine own; that I may see thy glorious face, and worship near thy throne. “He anointest my head with oil” are the words of our Communal Prayer repeated in worship services. As His lambs, He anoints our head with oil when the horns of our salvation have been severed. We are sealed with the Seal of God in our foreheads – the seat of our reason and moral judgment – the mark of the devil is erased so completely that it can never be re-imposed. 

4 Let every thought and work and word to thee be ever given: Then life shall be thy service, Lord, and death the gate of heaven. “Pray always “ sayeth the Lord in Luke 21:36. If we do so, no words or works of impurity will be uttered or acted out in the life of the believer. Our good works will not be our own, but His. Only the evil thoughts and desires of the errant Christian can be claimed as their personal ownership. “²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 6:21 Without offending, may I ask where is your treasure? If in Heaven, than I know already that your heart is there.