The Pilgrim's Wants

The Pilgrim's Wants

I want that adorning divine,
Thou, only, my God, canst bestow;
I want in those beautiful garments to shine,
Which distinguish thy household below.
Col. 3:12-17

I want, oh! I want to attain
Some likeness, my Savior, to thee:
That longed-for resemblance once more to regain.
Thy comeliness put upon me.
1 John 3:2,3

I want to be marked for thy own;
Thy seal on my forehead to wear;
To receive that "new name" on the mystic white stone,
Which only thyself canst declare.
Revelation 2:17

I want every moment, to feel
That the Spirit does dwell in my heart;
That his power is present to cleanse and to heal,
And newness of life to impart.
Rom. 8:11-16

I want a sweet sense of thy pardoning love,
That my manifold sins are forgiven;
That Christ, as my Advocate, pleadeth above,
That my name is recorded in heaven.

I want to so in thee abide,
As to bring forth some fruit to thy praise;
The branch that thou prunest, though feeble and dried,
May languish, but never decays.
John 15:2-5

I want thine own hand to unbind
Each tie to terrestrial things,
Too tenderly cherished, too closely entwined,
Where my heart too tenaciously clings.
I John 2:15

I want, by my aspect serene,
My actions and words, to declare
That my treasure is placed in a country unseen,
That my heart and affections are there.
Matthew 6:19-21

I want, as a traveler, to haste
Straight onward, nor pause on my way;
No forethought or anxious contrivance to waste,
On my tent, only pitched for a day.
Hebrew 13:5,6

I want (and this sums up my prayer)
To glorify thee till I die;
Then calmly to yield up my soul to thy care,
And breathe out in prayer my last sigh.
Phil. 8:8,9

—Anson D.F. Randolph, The Changed Cross and other religious poems, p 48, quoted in Martha Finley, Elsie Dinsmore, p. 330. You can currently preview a beautiful rendition here.