Take My Life And Let it Be
Is it possible to sing this classic hymn lightly? No greater words of consecration and commitment to God have been written. Let's look at its history, and the meaning of Frances Havergal's lyrics, here today.
For my “Canaan Melody” recording of this song, click here.
It's Friday, which means it's time for another Friday Classic Hymn. I don't know if there's ever been a song that so summarises committing yourself to God as this wonderful hymn. Rarely, if ever, has such a passionate song about committing to God been written or been sung. I have to wonder to myself: if we who sung this song really meant it every time we sang it, the world would change.
This is "Take My Life and Let It Be." Do you have a memory of the song? Do you remember the first time you sang it? I'd love for you to share that in the comments below, but let's get into the history behind the song now.
The Story Behind "Take My Life and Let It Be"
The song was written by Frances Havergal. She was a daughter of an Anglican minister and musician, and from a young age she seemed to have a knack for writing poetry. She had a real gift for putting words together in a special way. She was also a very good musician, as was her father, and she wrote a lot of books—very influential books that have become classics in Christian writing.
One day she went to a local care facility called Areley House. She spent some time with the people there, and an amazing thing happened. Here's how she wrote about it:
I went for a little visit of five days. There were 10 persons in the house, some unconverted and long prayed for, some converted but not rejoicing Christians. He gave me the prayer: "Lord, give me all in this house," and He just did. Before I left the house, everyone had got a blessing.
The last night of my visit, after I'd retired, the governess asked me to go to the two daughters. They were crying, etc. Then and there both of them trusted and rejoiced. It was nearly midnight, and I was too happy to sleep and passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration—that's an important line—renewal of my own consecration. And these little couplets formed themselves and chimed in my heart one after another until they finished with "ever, only, all for Thee"—the words of that hymn.
She took these words very seriously all her life. She really meant these words when she wrote them, and you could see it in her life. She wrote these words to a friend of hers about one of the lines in the song:
The Lord has shown me another little step, and of course I've taken it with extreme delight. "Take my silver and my gold"—one of the lines from Him—now means shipping off former ornaments, including a jewel cabinet which is really fit for a countess, to the Church Missionary House where they will be accepted and disposed of for me. I retain only a brooch or two for daily wear which are memorials of my dear parents, and also a locket with the only portrait I have of my niece in heaven, my Evelyn, and her two rings mentioned in "Under the Surface" [one of the books she wrote]. But these I redeem so that the whole value goes to the Church Missionary Society. I had no idea I had such a jeweller's shop—nearly 50 articles are being packed off. I don't think I need to tell you I never packed a box with such pleasure.
Her life really matched the words of the song. In fact, because of this hymn she became known as the "Consecration Poet." Her life was so truly consecrated to God that people saw Jesus in everything she did.
Now it is said that she and Fanny Crosby—one of the other great hymn writers of the day—though they never met, were great admirers of one another. In fact, many people were admirers of Havergal because of her truly consecrated life.
Her father wrote a tune to this hymn, and her great desire was that when she died, the song would keep being published with the tune that her father had written. But sadly, that wasn't to be. The tune that was written and that we sing it to, and that became very popular, was actually written by a Swiss minister named César Malan. That's the one that everybody knows, so unfortunately that wish of hers didn't come true. But her song is still very popular and very well loved today.
Now, at the age of 42, Havergal was told that she didn't have much longer to live. Her health had failed for a little while, and at this point there was nothing more anyone could do for her. Her reply to hearing those words was this: "If I am really going, it is too good to be true."
Too good to be true that I'm finally going to meet my Saviour.
What wonderful words to end your life with. What faith, and what a life of consecration she truly lived. So let's look at the words of this beautiful song she wrote.
What Do the Lyrics of "Take My Life and Let It Be" Mean?
Verse 1: Consecrating Every Moment
"Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise."
I love this because this is full consecration. "Take all my life," she says. "All my moments, all my days—let everything about me be one continuous stream of praise to God." Isn't that what the Christian life should look like?
To consecrate, by the way, means to devote or dedicate something to God. So to say "let my life be consecrated" means let it be dedicated and devoted to God entirely.
Whenever we have the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, we consecrate the bread and wine, and that is to dedicate them to God—to take something which is ordinary and devote it to God so that it becomes something extraordinary. That's what we do when we consecrate our lives to God. We ask Him to come and touch our lives so that they become extraordinary for Him.
Is your life a consecrated life, dedicated to God so that His glory shines forth in everything you do?
Verse 2: Hands and Feet for His Service
"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."
My hands and my feet, she says—let them move in rhythm with His love and only go where He wants them to go. Isn't this a lovely verse? Have you ever consecrated your hands and your feet to God's glory?
I went on a men's camp last year, and I remember the team met the day before and we had a service the night before—just consecrated ourselves and got ready for the weekend that was going to take place. One of the amazing things we did in that service was we washed each other's hands. That was actually a very powerful moment, being able to, as brothers in Christ, consecrate each other to God like that.
I remember that vividly. It was a moment of saying, "Lord, whatever these hands do this weekend, let them honour You. Let them glorify You and let them do Your work."
Have you ever consecrated your hands and feet to God?
Verse 3: Voice and Lips for His Glory
"Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King. Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee."
Notice this: she offers her hands and feet first. It's as if she's saying, "If I can do Your work and Your will with my hands and my feet without saying a word, I will do that. Let my life honour You, Lord, first before my words."
But then she says, "Yes, take my mouth and my lips and my tongue, and let my words always honour You."
Do you need to consecrate your lips to God today? Do you need to dedicate them to Him? Is it time to stop saying some of the words you say? Is it time to stop speaking the way you do to certain people or of certain situations?
Jesus once said that we will all have to account for every empty word we speak. How about that? Are you watching your words? Because they are precious, and they must be used to build up rather than break down.
Maybe today you need to sing this line in this verse and consecrate your mouth to God so that it speaks blessings and honours Him in everything you do.
Verse 4: Silver, Gold, and Intellect
"Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect and use every power as Thou shalt choose."
I love this: "Not a mite shall I withhold"—not the tiniest bit will I withhold from God. "All I have is Yours, Lord." Can you say that today? That all you have is God's?
It's often been said that the last part of a person to be converted is their wallet. We find it very hard to dedicate all of our money to God—not just the tithe which goes to the church, but all of your money is God's. Can you give it all to God?
It doesn't mean you give it all away—you use some to care for yourself and your family—but you use everything you have. You see it as a blessing from God, and as if you're a steward, which you are. You're a steward of the gifts that He's given you. If you can say that, you can say, "Lord, take my silver and my gold. Take whatever I have and use it for Your glory."
How about your intellect, as the second part of this verse says? Can you give your intellect, your mind, to God and say, "Lord, use my mind only for good"?
What are you using your mind for? What are you filling your mind with? Is it consecrated so that it is primarily receiving the things of God—and only actually receiving the things of God—or are you filling your mind up with other things?
Consecrate your mind so that it is God's glory that fills it at all times. You know what? Then your intellect will be used for good things. It'll be used for great things in this world if you consecrate it to God's work.
Verse 5: Will and Heart
"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."
Verse 5 starts going even deeper. She says, "Take my will. Let my will align with Yours."
Do you remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane saying, "Not My will, Lord, but Yours be done"? Isn't that our prayer as well? Take my will, let my will be aligned to Your will.
What about your heart, as she says here? "Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne."
Who is on the throne of your heart? Is it you? Are you number one in your life? Do you do everything seeing how it benefits you? Or is Jesus on the throne of your heart, and everything you do is for His glory and to give Him praise and to show Him to the world?
That's consecration right there.
Verse 6: Complete Surrender
"Take my love; my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store. Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee."
She gets to the crux of it here at the end. "Take my love. My love, be the One that I love the most, Lord, more than anything. Be my deepest joy, my deepest delight. Let it always be You—You who is first and most wonderful in my life."
I like this picture of her pouring her treasures at God's feet and saying, "Whatever I treasure, Lord, let it all be second to You. Let You be my greatest treasure in this life." That is the Christian life.
Then lastly she says, "Take myself." Take myself—take everything, in other words. "I want all of my life to ever only be for You."
Wow. What dedication. What a song.
You cannot actually sing words like this lightly. These are words that, if we really mean them, our lives will change. If we truly consecrate ourselves to God like this, our lives will change, and they will really be amazing, God-honouring lives. There are people who have lived their lives like this, as she clearly did.
I pray that you and I will be like that—that we will be like Frances Havergal, who lived a truly consecrated life and gave her all to God.
Conclusion
If you mean it, sing along, and may this be a great moment of consecrating our lives to God—starting anew as we honour Him in all we do.
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References
Take my life and let it be - Lyrics by Frances Havergal (1874)
