Kneeling before Thee, Lord, I am praying,
Claiming a closer communion with Thee,
Longing to sever from selfish ambition;
Break Thou each fetter and set my soul free.
CHORUS:
Into Thy hands, Lord, take me and mold me,
E’en as the potter handles the clay;
Make me a vessel fit for Thy service;
Cleanse me and fill me, and use me today.
Fruitless has been the way of my choosing;
Now I am leaving the future with Thee;
Treading the pathway of joyful obedience,
Lord, see me ready Thy servant to be.
Not in my own strength can I accomplish
All Thou art planning for me, day by day;
Owning the limit of human endeavour,
Humbly I seek, Lord, the grace to obey.
Here is a lovely collaboration by a wife and husband team, Jessie and Herb Mountain. Jessie wrote poems and songs, and for some of them Herb composed the music. Many were published in The Musical Salvationist , a publication for Salvation Army Songster Brigades (choirs).
Jessie Gilberthorpe was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England in 1895. As a child, she participated in youth activities at the corps, and later became a Bible class leader. She was one of the founding members of the Sheffield Citadel Songster Brigade. In 1920 she married Herb Mountain, who was Deputy Bandmaster and later, Bandmaster. Herb led a musical group called The Melody Makers , and Jessie joined him in ministering at various locations. The couple moved to Blackpool, Lancashire, in 1940, and again Jessie led a Bible class. No doubt she impacted her students with the humble spirit and attitude of surrender to the Lord that this song promotes. The Mountains then lived in Boscombe from 1945-50, but returned to Blackpool, where Jessie died in 1981.
