'Tis not that I did choose thee,
for, Lord, that could not be;
this heart would still refuse thee,
hadst thou not chosen me.

Thou from the sin that stained me
hast cleansed and set me free;
of old thou hast ordained me,
that I should live to thee.
 

'Twas sov'reign mercy called me
and taught my op'ning mind;
the world had else enthralled me,
to heav'nly glories blind.

My heart owns none before thee,
for thy rich grace I thirst;
this knowing, if I love thee,
thou must have loved me first.
  Josiah Conder, 1836