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"studied in situ." It may be that the general reading of the book was more hasty. The general verdict certainly was that its use in worship would be calculated to correct some infelicities of praise by killing the spirit of song itself.

"O Day of Rest and Gladness" was number one in The Holy Year, appearing under the head of "Sunday,” and certainly it was a real inspiration. Any one who loves the Lord's Day is pretty sure to love the hymn. It began to be copied into other hymn books almost immediately, and is now in general use in all the churches. It was introduced into this country in 1865 in Songs for the Sanctuary. Dr. Charles S. Robinson, the editor of that book, stated that he found the hymn upon the cover of a religious tract in London. The words were set by him to Lowell Mason's tune, Mendebras, and the association of the two has been popular ever since.

A friend of Bishop Wordsworth has written down a reminiscence which brings us a little closer to the making of the hymn than merely reading a printed copy of it can do. His friend writes: "I was with him in the library when he put his arm in mine, saying, 'Come upstairs with me; the ladies are going to sing a hymn to encourage your labors for God's holy day.' We all then sang from the manuscript this hymn. I was in raptures with it. It was some days before I knew it was written by himself."

SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION

(1) One verse of the hymn (the original fourth) was omitted from The Hymnal. It reads as follows:

"4 Thou art a holy ladder,

Where Angels go and come;
Each Sunday finds us gladder,
Nearer to Heaven, our home.
A day of sweet refection

Thou art, a day of love;

A day of Resurrection

From earth to heaven above."

Is this verse as good as the others? and if not, why

not?

(2) In our time, when the Lord's Day is threatened on all sides, we could hardly make too much of a good, effective Sunday hymn. Is there any other hymn which embodies so happily the true spirit of the Lord's Day? Note the "triple light" from heaven falling upon the day, and the triple response of men's hearts in rest, gladness, and worship.

(3) What is to be said of Bishop Wordsworth's views of avoiding personal hymns in public worship? Is it true that our favorite hymns are too egotistical? It would be worth one's while to make a list of his own favorites to discover how large a proportion have himself for their theme, and also to examine Bishop Wordsworth's hymns (there are eleven in The Hymnal-see its Index of Authors), all of which are entirely free from that personal element.

(4) There cannot be any question as to the teaching power of hymns. (“In all ages popular songs, sacred and secular, have been the most effective teachers." And see Colossians iii. 16.) If Christians realized this, would they not be much more particular as to the character of the hymns that are sung? But, after all, is not the teaching power of hymns only one side of their

influence and importance? And did not Bishop Wordsworth make too much of that side when he claimed that the first purpose of a hymn was to teach sound doctrine?

(5) In The Holy Year are many hymns no one cares to sing. Here is a specimen verse of one:—

66

Man fell from grace by carnal appetite,
And forfeited the Garden of Delight;
To fast for us our second Adam deigns,
These forty days, and Paradise regains."

Can you contrast this with a verse of “O Day of Rest and Gladness" to show why one is hymn-like and the other not? People often say to their pastor, “Please do not give out didactic hymns!" What do they mean by "didactic hymns"?

XX

TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE

THE TEXT OF THE HYMN

I Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days;
Let them flow in ceaseless 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.

Frances Ridley Havergal, 1874

NOTE. The text is that of Miss Havergal's Songs of Grace and Glory and of the authorized edition of her Poetical Works. As a poem

she arranged it in couplets; as a hymn, in four-line verses.

THE STORY OF THE HYMN

This hymn of Frances Ridley Havergal records a deep experience in her own spiritual life, of the sort that most of us prefer to hide among the secrets of the soul. But Miss Havergal both spoke and wrote freely of the experience, and gave an account of the hymn's origin. It was her way to be perfectly outspoken about such matters, because she thought her frankness would prove helpful to others. And after her death her family, no doubt for the same reason, opened to the world the last reserves of her soul, and printed her most intimate letters and conversations. We are thus relieved of any sense of intrusion in our study of the hymn.

Toward the close of the year 1873 a little book that came into Miss Havergal's hands awakened within her great longings for unreached depths of spiritual experience and a fuller entrance into God's peace. It was not long before she received what she called "the blessing," that lifted her whole nature into sunshine, and threw an uninterrupted gladness over the remaining years of her life. "It was on Advent Sunday, December 2nd, 1873," she wrote her sister, “I first saw clearly the blessedness of true consecration. I saw it as a flash of electric light, and what you see, you can never unsee. There must

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