A story of the hymn, "A Charge to Keep I Have..." by William Petersen

If we wanted to write a hymn, most of us would not turn to the book of Leviticus for inspiration. But Charles Wesley wrote sixteen hymns derived from that Old Testament book. This hymn was composed after he had been reading Matthew Henry’s commentary on Leviticus 8:35.

In that verse, the Hebrew priests were commanded to be faithful in their duties in the tabernacle. “Keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not,” Moses had said (KJV). Matthew Henry commented: “We have every one of us a charge to keep, an eternal God to glorify, an immortal soul to provide for, a needful duty 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, who will shortly call us to an account about it, and it is our utmost peril if we neglect it.”

Scriptures: Leviticus 8:35; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; 1 Peter 4:10-11
Themes: Service, Christian Living, Holiness

Lyrics of the Hymn:
A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify,
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.

To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill;
O may it all my powers engage
To do my Master’s will!

Arm me with jealous care,
As in Thy sight to live,
And O, Thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give!

Help me to watch and pray,
And on Thyself rely,
Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall forever die.
By CHARLES WESLEY (1707–1788)

Reference for the Hymn:
Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (p. 166). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.