Francis Ridley Havergal (14 December 1836 – 3 June 1879 – England)
Song writer. Poet
Wikipedia Encyclopedia
Hymn (1874)
“Take my life, and Let It Be”
Short Sketch of Her Life
What an amazing woman she was in life and continues to be to all of us who read her writings sing her songs, read her poetry and biography. (Bobby Deason)
Full Text
1 Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.
2 Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee,
swift and beautiful for thee.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
Psalter Hymnal, (Gray)
3. Her Love of the Bible.
— God’s Holy Word was her constant companion. She “read” it. Her sister says: “At her study table she read her Bible by seven o’clock in the summer, and eight o’clock in winter; her Hebrew Bible, Greek Testament, and lexicons being at hand.” She “marked ” it. “Sometimes on bitterly cold mornings I begged that she would read with her feet comfortably to the fire, but she would say: ‘But then, Marie, I can’t rule my lines neatly. Just see what a find I’ve got. If one only searches, there are such extraordinary things in the Bible!'” In the memoir of her life there are two specimen pages from her Bible — one showing the way in which she underlined and marked the verses; the other is full of notes, the results of her diligent searchings. She “learned” it. She knew by heart the whole of the four Gospels, the Epistles, the Revelation, and all the Psalms. In later years she learned Isaiah and the Minor Prophets. She was fond of persuading children to commit the Holy Scriptures to memory. Once, to encourage some village children to learn God’s Word perfectly, she offered a new Bible to every child who could repeat to her the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. Good Friday was the day fixed when they were to come. But she was ill then. A few days afterwards she was delighted with the perfect repetition of many of them; and though she would not excuse a single mistake, she gave some another trial. Once she said to her sister: “Marie, it is really very remarkable, how everything I do seems to prosper and flourish. I thought this morning why it was so. I think I have the promise of the First Psalm. You know it says: ‘His delight is in the law of the LORD … and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ You know how I do love my Bible more and more; and so, of course, the promise comes true to me.”
4. Her Habit of Prayer.
— No one ever, I suppose, prayed more earnestly and regularly and systematically than she did. It was her joy to pray “three times a day.” She kept a paper in her Bible, on which were arranged the subjects of her prayers.
For Daily Morning Prayer.
Watchfulness. Guard over temper. Consistency. Faithfulness to opportunities. For the Holy Spirit. For a vivid love to Christ.
Midday Prayer.
Earnestness of spirit in desire, in prayer, and in all work. Faith, hope, love.
Evening Prayer.
Forgiveness. To see my sinfulness in its true light. Growth in grace. Against morning sleepiness as hindrance to time for prayer. She also distributed the initials of all her relatives and friends throughout the days; and added various special items of intercession, such as: “That my life may be laid out to the best advantage as to God’s glory and others’ good. For the Church Missionary Society and Zenana work. For the poor whom I visit. For my Sunday School class. For the servants.” Shall we not resolve to pray more than ever we have done, inspired by this holy and beautiful example? I will name one other matter before I give you, as briefly as I can, a short sketch of her life. Miss Havergal never kept a diary, but in 1879 (the last year of her life) a friend gave her A Journal of Mercies, and in her memoir her entries for the first three months are given. These are some of the mercies for which she gave thanks: “Able to come downstairs. Sleep. Marie and all her care of me. Opportunities of speaking of Christ. Finding great spoil in the Word. Milder weather. A happy Sunday. Our good maid. Fresh air. Beautiful sunset. Donkeys. Clearer views of Jesus. Preservation from fire. A Gospel sermon at church.” What a happy thing it is to “Praise the Lord and not to forget his benefits”: “Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”
Her accomplishments in forty three years of life are more than impressive they are inspiring to me.
Grace, and peace in Jesus,
Bobby Deason
Jesus Focused, Grace Oriented, Love Motivated
Lifecommunications.faithsite.com
www.lifecommunications.org
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