My God Accept My Heart This Day
My God, accept my heart this day
My God Accept My Heart This Day is a hymn text by Matthew Bridges (1848) in C.M. meter. Found in h82 697, tlh 336. Sung to HURSLEY.
The hymn emphasizes the Reformation principle of presenting one's whole self as a living sacrifice to God, reflecting Luther's theology of Christian vocation and sanctification. It balances divine grace with human response, calling believers to genuine interior devotion rather than mere external observance.
History & Background
Written by Matthew Bridges in 1848 as a hymn of personal consecration and heart dedication to God. It appeared in various 19th-century hymnals and was included in The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) as hymn 336.
Hymnal Appearances
- The Hymnal 1982 — 697
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 336
Bulletin Note
Matthew Bridges (1848) captures Reformation theology: God desires the inner gift of a surrendered heart, not external ritual. The tune ISAAK WATTS carries this plea from congregation to throne with clarity and strength.
Preaching Connection
This hymn embodies the Reformation tension: the Law demands complete self-surrender, yet the Gospel assures us that Christ's mediation makes our faltering devotion acceptable to God.
Overview
A dedication hymn by Matthew Bridges (compare TLH 165), used for confirmation. Accept my heart and keep it from straying (st. 1); prostrate before the cross, I ask that every sin be crucified and Christ be all (st. 2); anoint and seal me with the Spirit (st. 3); may the blood shed for me prove my atonement, so that I am 'the purchase of Thy love' (st. 4); let every thought, work and word be yours, so that life is service and death the gate of heaven (st. 5).
Central theme: Self-dedication grounded in Christ's cross and blood, sealed by the Spirit
Structure
Five common-meter quatrains. Accept my heart (1) — at the cross (2) — sealed (3) — purchased (4) — life and death (5).
Law & Gospel Shape
Law: straying; 'every sin be crucified' (1-2). Gospel: 'the dear blood once shed for me'; 'the purchase of Thy love' (4).
Confessional Connections
Ps 119:10 (TLH's text): 'let me not wander from your commandments.' Dedication follows from grace: the heart is offered because it was purchased (st. 4; 1 Cor 6:20). St. 2: 'Let every sin be crucified' — daily mortification of the old Adam, the meaning of Baptism (SC IV; Gal 5:24). St. 3: 'seal me for Thine own' — the Spirit's seal given in Baptism (Eph 1:13; 2 Cor 1:22); confirmation prays for the strengthening of that gift (Ap XIII). St. 4: atonement through the blood (Rom 3:25; AC III).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Confirmation; dedication; Holy Communion.
Historical Notes
Bridges published it in Hymns of the Heart (1848), the year of his conversion to Rome; the hymn itself is thoroughly evangelical.
About the Tune
WINCHESTER OLD (Thomas Este's Psalter, 1592).
Scripture References
Ps 119:10 Prov 23:26 Gal 2:20 Gal 5:24 Col 3:11 2 Cor 1:21-22 Eph 1:13 Rev 22:4 Rom 3:25 1 Cor 6:19-20 Acts 20:28 Rom 14:8 Phil 1:21
Stanza by Stanza
My God, accept my heart today and make it always yours, so that I may no longer stray from you or turn away from you.
'My son, give me your heart' (Prov 23:26). 'Let me not wander from your commandments' (Ps 119:10).
- Scripture
- Prov 23:26, Ps 119:10
- Imagery & language
- Heart accepted; no more stray.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — God keeps the heart.
- Connection to previous
- Accept my heart.
Look, I fall flat before the cross of him who died; let every sin be crucified and Christ be all in all.
'I have been crucified with Christ' (Gal 2:20). 'Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh' (Gal 5:24). 'Christ is all, and in all' (Col 3:11). SC IV: the old Adam drowned daily.
- Scripture
- Gal 2:20, Gal 5:24, Col 3:11
- Imagery & language
- Cross; prostrate; sin crucified; Christ all.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — sin to be crucified; Gospel — Christ all.
- Connection to previous
- Sin crucified.
Anoint me with your Spirit's grace and seal me as your own, so that I may see your glorious face and worship near your throne.
'He has anointed us… and has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit' (2 Cor 1:21-22). 'Sealed with the promised Holy Spirit' (Eph 1:13). 'They will see his face' (Rev 22:4).
- Scripture
- 2 Cor 1:21-22, Eph 1:13, Rev 22:4
- Imagery & language
- Anointed; sealed; glorious face.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the Spirit's seal.
- Connection to previous
- Sealed.
May the dear blood once shed for me prove to be my blessed atonement, so that from first to last I may be the purchase of your love!
'Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood' (Rom 3:25). 'You are not your own, for you were bought with a price' (1 Cor 6:19-20). 'Obtained with his own blood' (Acts 20:28).
- Scripture
- Rom 3:25, 1 Cor 6:19-20, Acts 20:28
- Imagery & language
- Blood once shed; atonement; purchased.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — redemption.
- Connection to previous
- Purchase of love.
Let every thought, work and word be given to you forever; then life will be your service, Lord, and death the gate of heaven.
'Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's' (Rom 14:8). 'To live is Christ, and to die is gain' (Phil 1:21).
- Scripture
- Rom 14:8, Phil 1:21, Col 3:17
- Imagery & language
- Thought, work, word; service; gate of heaven.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — life and death in Christ.
- Connection to previous
- Life and death.
Themes
Consecration and dedication Personal devotion Surrender to God's will Heart religion