Lord, in Thy Spirit, take and fill my heart

My heart an altar and Thy love the flame

"Who proves our hearts." 1 These 2:4c

In 1854, when George Croly was 74 years old, he wanted a new hymnal for his congregation. He prepared and published his own “Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship. ” This text is from that collection and was originally entitled “Holiness Desired. ” It is Croly’s only surviving hymn from that collection.

The five stanzas show the author’s personal desire for holiness which has an appeal for believers even today.

Stanza One-A desire to change the focus of one’s life from temporal things to spiritual things-“make me love Thee as I ought to love. ”

Stanza Two-A desire for no outward manifestation but that God would grant him

a “seeing” due to the soul’s blinding sway-“but take the dimness of my soul away. ”

Stanza Three-Complete consecration to God-“soul, heart, strength and mind. ”

Stanza Four-A prayerful concern for knowing fully the Spirit’s abiding presence as an antidote for the soul’s impatience when confronted with struggle, doubt, rebellion or a delayed answer to prayer-“teach me the patience of unanswered prayer. ”

Stanza Five-The last phrase of this verse is considered to be one of the most beautiful metaphors found in any hymn-“my heart an altar, and Thy love the flame. ”

The tune “Morecambe, ” was written by a church organist, Frederick C. Atkinson, in 1870. It was originally intended for Henry Lyte’s hymn, “Abide with Me”. It is though that the tune was named after an English town in the Midland district where music festivals were held periodically.

This lyric reminds me of one of the ministry messages:

“The Bible tells us that we have three different enemies: (1) the flesh—in us. (2) the world—outside of us, and (3) Satan—above and below us. According to the ascended position of the church, Satan is under us…. The flesh is set against the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:17). The world opposes the Father (1 Jn. 2:15). And Satan contends with Christ (1 Jn. 3:8). We thus see that the flesh is overcome by walking after the Spirit; the world is overcome by loving the Father; and Satan is overcome by believing in Christ… Unshaken by outward and inward forces, this is victory. No flesh activating itself within, no worldly attraction or instigation stirring without, and no Satanic ground being yielded to beneath—that is victory. Throughout His life, our Lord never lived according to the flesh. He had set the flesh so completely aside that He was the first man in whom Satan had absolutely nothing. Neither the flesh nor the world nor the devil had any place in Him…

Therefore, God’s overcomers must forsake all self-complacencies, pay the cost, let the cross cut off all that comes out of the old creation, and stand against the gates of Hates (Matt. 16:18).

Are you willing to hurt your own heart that you may gain God’s heart? Are you ready to let yourself be defeated so that the Lord may triumph? When your obedience is made full, God will quickly avenge all the disobedience (2 Cor. 10:6).”

It also reminds me of one sentence from a minister:

“Let my heart be broken with the things that break the Heart of God.”

George Croly came from Ireland to minister in a small parish church in London. During his 25 years of service there he had much time for writing and became known for poems, novels, biographies and plays. Then when he was 50 years old, he was asked to reopen a church in one of London's worst slums that had been closed for more than a century. Croly's preaching soon attracted crowds. At the age of 74, he prepared a new hymnal for the congregation, including this hymn under the title "Holiness Desired." In this hymn he shuts the door and asks for a fresh filling of the Spirit. - Great Songs of Faith by Brown and Norton