Take My Life and Let It Be

Lyrics

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.

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,
swift and beautiful for thee.

Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee,
filled with messages from thee.

Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose,
every power as thou shalt choose.

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,
it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee,
ever, only, all for thee.

History

Frances Ridley Havergal was born December 14, 1836, in Astley, Worcestershire, into an Anglican family. Her father, William Henry Havergal (1793-1870), served as an Anglican clergyman and was himself a noted composer and hymn writer who held positions as Rector of Astley, Rector of St. Nicholas in Worcester, and Honorary Canon of Worcester Cathedral. Frances grew up surrounded by music and faith, memorizing Scripture from age four and writing verses from age seven. She studied languages including Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, and though trained as a concert vocalist, she dedicated her talents to Christian service rather than secular fame.

The hymn was written on February 4, 1874, at Areley House near Stourport, Worcestershire, following Havergal's experience of what she called "the blessedness of true consecration" on the First Sunday in Advent 1873. During a five-day visit to Areley House, she prayed that all ten people in the household would find spiritual blessing, and by the final night, each person had experienced renewal or conversion. Too filled with joy to sleep, Havergal spent most of the night in prayer and praise, during which these couplets formed themselves in her heart, ending with "Ever, only, all for Thee." The text was first published in Charles Snepp's Songs of Grace and Glory Appendix (1874) in six four-line stanzas, with the heading from 2 Samuel 19:30. It also appeared in Havergal's own collection Loyal Responses (1878).

The hymn appears as #707 in The Hymnal 1982 of the Episcopal Church and has been included in Hymns Ancient and Modern and other major Anglican hymnals. It has become one of the most widely recognized hymns of Christian consecration and dedication, sung throughout the Anglican Communion and broader Christian tradition.

Sources: Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology - Take my life, and let it be; Hymnary.org - Take My Life, and Let It Be; Hymnology Archive - Take my life, and let it be; Wikipedia - Frances Ridley Havergal

Performance

HENDON was composed by Henri Abraham César Malan (1787-1864), a Swiss Protestant minister born in Geneva who became a leading figure in the evangelical Réveil movement. After ordination in 1810, Malan broke with Geneva's rationalist National Church and established his own chapel where he preached for 43 years. He composed over 1,000 hymn texts and tunes, publishing them in collections beginning in 1823 and culminating in his hymnal Chants de Sion (1841). HENDON dates to around 1827 and was brought to North America by Lowell Mason, who published it in his Carmina Sacra (1841). The tune's name comes from a village in Middlesex, England.

HENDON's five musical phrases require the text's fourth line to be repeated in each stanza to accommodate the melody. This five-phrase structure creates natural breathing points and allows for effective congregational singing when grouped as two phrases followed by three. The tune works well for antiphonal singing between choir and congregation, and the third stanza particularly suits unaccompanied performance. In Anglican worship, the hymn serves well during offertory, after Holy Communion, at baptisms and confirmations, or at the conclusion of service. The tune's gentle yet resolute character supports the text's themes of dedication without overwhelming the words.

Havergal originally preferred her father's tune PATMOS, composed specifically for this text by William Henry Havergal. She wrote strongly objecting to the pairing with Mozart's tune (properly attributed to Wenzel Müller), calling it "wearisomely hackneyed." Despite her preference, HENDON became the most common tune in North America, while PATMOS maintained use in some British and Commonwealth Anglican churches. For Anglican services, choose HENDON for its congregational strength and PATMOS when seeking connection to the Havergal family tradition and a more intimate setting. Organ registration should support but not overpower the congregation, with clear articulation of repeated tones and attention to the prayerful character of the text.

Sources: Hymnary.org - HENDON (Malan); Hymnology Archive - Henri Abraham César Malan; Hymnology Archive - Take my life, and let it be; Gresham Books - Take my life, and let it be