Scripture References:
st. 1 = John 15:16, Eph. 1:4, 2 Thess. 2:13
st. 2 = I John 4:10, 19
Originally beginning "'Tis not that I did choose thee," this hymn by Josiah Conder (b. Aldersgate, London, England, 1789; d. St. John's Wood, London, 1855) was published in Leifchild's Original Hymns (1843). Although not as well known as other hymn texts by Conder (e.g., "Bread of Heaven, On Thee We Feed" or “The Lord Is King, Lift Up Thy Voice”), this text has been treasured in the songbooks of the Christian Reformed Church because of its focus on the doctrine of election. The text simply confesses that God chose us as his people long before any of us responded to his love.
A prolific poet and author of books on a variety of topics, Conder was a Congregational layman who took over his father's bookshop and for some twenty years edited the Eclectic Review. His hymns were published posthumously in Hymns of Praise, Prayer, and Devout Meditation (1856). Isaac Watts' (PHH 155) hymns had dominated the Congregational Church for many years, but in 1836 the Congregationalist Union published The Congregational Hymn Book, a supplement to Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns edited by Conder. That hymnbook contained fifty-six of Conder's hymns.
Liturgical Use:
During the service of confession/assurance; with confessional preaching on the doctrine of election.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook