Hymn of the Week: January 3, 2022
Hymn of the Week: Take Time to be Holy
Take Time to Be Holy
Text William D. Longstaff 1822-1894
Music George Stebbins 1846-1945
1. Take time to be holy,
speak oft with thy Lord;
abide in him always,
and feed on his word.
Make friends of God's children,
help those who are weak,
forgetting in nothing
his blessing to seek.
2. Take time to be holy,
the world rushes on;
spend much time in secret
with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus,
like him thou shalt be;
thy friends in thy conduct
his likeness shall see.
3. Take time to be holy,
let him be thy guide,
and run not before him,
whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow,
still follow the Lord,
and, looking to Jesus,
still trust in his word.
4. Take time to be holy,
be calm in thy soul,
each thought and each motive
beneath his control.
Thus led by his spirit
to fountains of love,
thou soon shalt be fitted
for service above.
As we consider the passing of another year, I thought we would take a look at a hymn I grew up singing in my little Baptist church in Springfield, Ohio. I love how it reflects on and encourages us to consider how we spend our time together. I am including two videos for this hymn. There is the tune that George Stebbins set, for which it is known, but I also invite you to listen to the Mormon Tabernacle sing to the tune of Be Thou My Vision. It fits poetically and musically and breathes new life into this text. The bulk of the article comes from Dr. Hawn’s online writings of the hymns that I use periodically.
This beloved devotional hymn comes to us from British layman William Dunn Longstaff (1822-1894). Since his father was a wealthy shipowner, Longstaff was a person of independent financial means. Due to his generous philanthropy, he was influential in evangelical circles. The Rev. Carlton Young, an editor of The United Methodist Hymnal, notes that he followed his friend and persuasive Welsh preacher Arthur A. Rees when he left the Anglican priesthood in 1842 after disagreements with his rector and bishop. As a result, Rees established the Bethesda Free Chapel in Sunderland, where Longstaff served as his church treasurer. He married Joyce Burlinson in 1853 and together they had seven children.
Longstaff befriended a number of well-known evangelists such as William Booth (1829-1912), founder of the Salvation Army. Some of Longstaff’s hymns were published in the official magazine of the Salvation Army magazine, The War Cry, during the 1880s. In 1873 the famous American preacher Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) and his chief musician Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908) arrived in England to hold a series of evangelistic meetings. The financial sponsor for their revivals died, leaving them with meager means to continue. They were desperately seeking funds, and Longstaff came to their rescue, helping to establish a donor base that allowed Moody to hold revivals in London and Scotland.
Methodist hymnologist Robert Guy McCutchan notes that Longstaff was inspired by the words of Griffith John, a missionary to China, repeated in a meeting in Keswick, England in the early 1880s. John cited I Peter 1:16, "Be ye holy; for I am holy" (KJV), a reference to Leviticus 11:44. The hymn text appeared in Hymns of Consecration, the collection of hymns used during the Keswick event.
Longstaff showed the hymn to Ira Sankey, who in turn passed it on to American songwriter George C. Stebbins (1846-1945) to set in 1882. Stebbins laid it aside and did not recall it until an evangelistic meeting in India, during which the theme of holiness was explored. Stebbins recalled Longstaff’s hymn and set it to music for the revival. He sent his tune HOLINESS to Sankey, who published the hymn in New Songs and Sacred Solos (1888).
Each of the four stanzas begins with the invitation, "Take time to be holy." The first stanza begins with a devotional request, "speak oft with thy Lord." The invitation to holiness extends to care for "God’s children" and "those who are weak," echoing the twin commandments, Matthew 22:36-40, to love God and neighbor.
The second stanza seeks to be alone with Jesus while "the world rushes on." Through time with Jesus, "like him we shall be," and, as a result, others will witness this "likeness." In Methodist theology, this might be seen as a journey toward Christian perfection.
In stanza three, Jesus becomes the "guide" that we follow and trust. The final stanza suggests that when we "Take time to be holy," our souls become calm. This calmness leads to Jesus' control in our lives. Control manifests itself in "fountains of love." This love in turn "fit[s us] for service above."
In addition, Longstaff’s sense of devotional holiness also does not embrace a Wesleyan sense of social justice. This hymn has appeared in Methodist hymnals in the United States since 1901, reflecting the evangelical roots of Methodism in this country.
Dr. Hawn is a distinguished professor of church music at Perkins School of Theology. He is also the director of the seminary's sacred music program.
