Robert Cottrill on the Charles Wesley Hymn A Charge to Keep I Have

The comments by Matthew Henry that caught Wesley’s attention were:

“We have, every one of us, a charge to keep, an eternal God to glorify, an immortal soul to provide for, needful duties to be done, our generation to serve; and it must be our daily care to keep this charge, for it is the charge of the Lord our Master” (The Matthew Henry Commentary, p. 121).

CH-1) A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
Who gave His Son my soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.

CH-2) To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfil:
O may it all my powers engage
To do my master’s will!

Many things have changed, on this side of the cross. There is no longer a Levitical tribe of priests, or one central tabernacle (or temple) as Israel had. And because of the great sacrifice of Christ, God’s Lamb (Jn. 1:29), we no need to offer animal sacrifices. They were simply a foreshadowing of Calvary.

Read it all.

Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life, Christology, Church History, Liturgy, Music, Worship, Theology

3 comments on “Robert Cottrill on the Charles Wesley Hymn A Charge to Keep I Have

  1. AKMA says:

    I think you may mean “Robert [i]Cottrill[/i]” — Robert Cargill is the archaeologist.

  2. Kendall Harmon says:

    Many thanks AKMA for the correction, blessed Holy week to you

  3. AKMA says:

    And also to you, Kendall.