Take Time to Be Holy
By: William D. Longstaff
Take time to be holy. Speak oft with thy Lord; Abide in Him always, and feed on His word. Make friends with God's children; Help those who are weak, forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
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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.
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Take time to be holy. Let Him be thy guide; And run not before Him, whatever betide. In joy or in sorrow, still follow thy Lord, and looking to Jesus, still trust in His word.
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Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul; Each tho't and each motive beneath His control; Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love, thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.
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William Longstaff was born on November 26, 1822 in Sunderland Durham, England. Williams' father was a very wealthy ship owner in England. William inherited his father's fortune, and though he had access to everything money could buy, he had an empty feeling in his heart. One day, he attended church and the sermon was preached by a missionary from China who was on furlough. The missionary preached from 1 Peter 1:16 - Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. After meditating on this verse, William accepted Christ as his Savior and dedicated himself to doing the will of God. He attended church services every Sunday, and when revivals were held in his hometown, he attended those as well. He couldn't get enough of the truth of the gospel, and was dedicated to the service of winning the lost to Christ. William never let wealth distract him from a life devoted to Christ and His work. William had a chance to meet William Booth, and they became good friends. William Longstaff wrote several poems and hymns to be printed in periodical of the Salvation Army's War Cry. William Longstaff's wealth was used by God as William donated money to support the Salvation Army's causes and also the Rev. Dwight L. Moddy's crusades across England.
The inspiration for the hymn "Take Time to Be Holy" was the sermon William heard preached by the missionary from China at his home church before he got saved. The music for this hymn was written by George Stebbins, who was born on February 26, 1846 in East Carlton, New York.
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Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
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I hope you enjoyed reading about this wonderful hymn, and hope you all have a most joyful week in the Lord!
In His grace, mercy, and truth,
Ashley
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Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
~~~~~
I hope you enjoyed reading about this wonderful hymn, and hope you all have a most joyful week in the Lord!
In His grace, mercy, and truth,
Ashley
Beautiful, I enjoyed the bio on this man too. I love stories of inspiration, they touch my heart. Hope you have a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for sharing the stories behind the beautiful hymns that mean so much to us. The stories make them even more special. God bless you. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ashley, for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteHello Ashley,
ReplyDeleteThis is Shirley from Teach The Younger Women. I love your sweet blog...the photo on top of the daffodils is so pretty. They are my favorite flower.
So happy to meet you today and I look forward to many more visits here.
Have a blessed day...
Dear Shirley,
DeleteThank you so much for visiting and commenting. I was very glad to have met you as well. :)
God bless you.
Much love,
Ashley
I do so love this hymn! I appreciate hearing about the history of how this hymn came to be written and well known! This has been a hymn I sing quite often when I play the piano, such a wonderful message. Thanks for sharing this today :)
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this. How neat. Thanks for sharing, Ashley.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great song! It was interesting to learn about William Longstaff. How neat. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't believe there has ever been a time that it has required so much of a press to "take time to be holy". We have to really put forth a concentrated effort to set aside the time He deserves. I love the part about how our friends will see the proof in our conduct...it makes me think of the disciples in Acts and where it says that they knew they were ignorant and unlearned men, but they could tell that they had been with Jesus. Oh, that is the cry of my heart! That others will know I have been with Him! And the only way this will come about is to actually spend much time at His feet. Thank you ever so much for all you do here...you are a bright, shining light for Him, and it is plain to see that you are taking time to be holy. Keep up the great work, and stay sweet like you are.
ReplyDelete