"Take My Life and Let It Be"
Frances Ridley Havergal, 1874
Take my
life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my
moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my
hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my
intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose,
Every power as Thou shalt choose,
Every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my
heart; it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my
love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.
About the Hymn
Frances
Ridley Havergal, daughter of a British minister, consecrated her life to Jesus
as a teenager in the mid 1800’s. A teacher, Mrs. Teed, had an indelible
spiritual influence on her. Frances
never married, and only lived until age 42.
She was incredibly accomplished not only in academics but in personal
ministry. Though due to her poor health,
she didn’t receive much formal education, she learned six languages, including
Greek and Hebrew. She was an excellent
musician and wrote over 100 hymns. Of
the writing of this hymn, she is quoted here:
I went for a little visit of
five days [to Areley House, Worcestershire, in December 1873]. There were ten
persons in the house, some unconverted and long prayed for, some converted but
not rejoicing Christians. [God] gave me the prayer, "Lord, give me all this house." And He just did! Before I left the house, everyone had
got a blessing. The last night of my visit... I was too happy to sleep and
passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration, and
these little couplets formed themselves and chimed in my heart, one after
another, till they finished with "Ever, only, all, for Thee."
Why I Picked This Hymn
I picked this particular hymn for my Strength in Hymn series because I’ve been thinking
lately about the topic of consecration – presenting yourself to God for his
set-apart service. So many of us started
well in the Christian life but have wandered in one area another away from a
whole-hearted devotion to Jesus and his ways.
Yet consecration is not a once in a lifetime offer. It is something we do continually, in small
ways from day to day, as well as more momentous recommitment and repentance at
certain crossroads of life. I am seeking
ways to draw closer to God during a difficult season of life when it is more
challenging to see his purposes and providences.
About the Photographs
All of these pictures were taken at Leu Gardens in Orlando, Florida. I have visited there countless times over the past 30 years, often with several children, and especially enjoy the free admission on the first Monday of each month. I’d been meaning to visit for a long time, but something always came up. A few weeks ago, while my children were in school, I went all by myself and strolled around at my pleasure – through the lovely plant displays, past the sculptures, to the lake to feed the turtles with bits of stale tortillas and watch the stately heron. I also toured the historic Leu House, decorated in Victorian style. I’ll save those photos for another post. I enjoy being refreshed with the beauty of God’s Creation as well as the creativity of people.
Other botanical garden posts:
Other flower posts:
Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles
That statue of the apple picker is wonderful! I also love the words of this beautiful hymn. (I'm right after you at Deidra's this week.)
ReplyDeleteThank you for unearthing this old but very dear hymn this weekend, Virgina. It brings back memories ... and brings forth hope!
ReplyDelete