Take my Life and Let it Be - Hymn by Frances Havergal
This is a characteristic hymn from the pen of Miss Havergal, who has sometimes been called “The Theodocia of the 19th Century.”
“She was the daughter of a Church of England clergyman, born at Astley, Worcestershire, England, December 14, 1836. The type of her hymns is interesting and is by some accredited to an incident of her girlhood. When quite a young girl she visited the art gallery of Dusseldorf, Prussia, where she was attending school. She saw and was deeply impressed by the great picture of the head of Christ, the “Ecce Homo."[behold the man] The sight of this picture … evidently influenced her entire life.1
Video
Lyrics Take my Life and Let it Be
1 Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
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.
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.
4 Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
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.
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.
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William Lee Hunton. Stories of the Origins, Authorship, and Use of Hymns we Love. Philadelphia: General Council Publishing House, 1917. Lutheran Library Edition forthcoming in 2018. ↩︎