Francis Havergal

Like a River Glorious

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Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Matthew 13:45-46 KJV

When Francis Havergal wrote these lines, they were not a hymn, but a poem, which she composed most likely during her time of severe illness. The melody we sing was composed two years later by James Mountain. Her lines, “Every joy or trial, falleth from above.” were an expression of her entire confidence, that whatever the outcome of her illness would be, that her life was fully in the hands of God. God Himself, is that merchant in today’s verse. He searched for and found us, then He went and sold all that he had to purchase us with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Now, Jesus gives this peace with God as the Pearl of Great Price to “Those who trust Him wholly and find Him wholly true.” I pray that you will be blessed as you consider the words, no matter your circumstances. May you each have a blessed Thanksgiving tomorrow and rest in God’s peace that was purchased for us with such a great price.



Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace
Over all victorious in its bright increase
Perfect yet it floweth fuller every day
Perfect yet it growth deeper all the way

Stayed upon Jehovah
Hearts are fully blest
Finding as He promised
Perfect peace and rest

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand
Never foe can follow - Never traitor stand
Not a surge of worry - Not a shade of care
Not a blast of hurry touch the Spirit there

Every joy or trial falleth from above
Traced upon our dial by the sun of love
We who trust Him fully all for us to do
They who trust Him fully find Him fully true

Francis Havergal lyrics - 1874
 - James Mountain music


Take My Life Worship session One

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Take my life and let it be – Consecrated Lord to Thee… Francis Havergal 1873

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom thnew-alaska-pics-2_cropat cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe

 

As a worship leader myself I recognize my own tendency to push people. Sometimes I begin with a fast peppy song just to try and get people focused on church. I press people to clap, raise their hands or to say Amen, yet rarely have I paused to hush myself in the awesome presence of a Holy God. Rarely have I waited quietly till God sent the wind and the fire of the Holy Spirit. Francis Havergal had it exactly right when she began her now famous hymn with the words, “Take my life” Our worship is not just about having Jesus in our life, but it is about finding our life in Him. Until we offer our life, our worship will remain pretty superficial most of the time. When we ask God not only to take our life, but to ” let it be consecrated Lord to thee”, then He will truly begin to operate as both Lord and Savior of our life.

For those of you who haven’t read our about page, let me begin by saying that my wife and I serve as assistant pastors in a local Brazilian church. As Americans we find many things uniquely refreshing about some of the older customs from Brazil in our worship services. Though our Brazilian brothers and sisters are less than timely about when they enter the service, they retain the wonderful custom of pausing to kneel and dedicate themselves to the Lord upon their arrival. That kind of a sense of reverence and awe is also the very life and breath of our worship. From the times of Abraham to the Apostle John, the manifestation of the Holiness of God left them on their faces listening to what God had to say.

God wants us to be quick to hear and slow to speak. He does love to hear the voice of His children, but do we love to hear Him speak? Do we just rush to church, sing our three songs and go home checking our calendars for what new event we have to remember to include in our busy schedule? God is unchanging. God will not hurry to try and catch up with us as we run in circles. If we truthfully long to worship, we will discover that God is still truly seeking for us to fully yield in reverence and awe to Him!

Take My Life Hymn for Sunday

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Written in 1873 by Francis Havergal this hymn is more than mere words. The message of her surrender to God’s will resonated through more than the melody. Four years after writing this hymn Francis Havergal donated all her considerable jewelry to a mission organization. Here are her own words,  “The Lord has shown me another little step, and, of course, I have taken it with extreme delight. ‘Take my silver and my gold’ now means shipping off all my ornaments to the Church Missionary”

There is no greater peace than can be found in such surrender and no worship more pure than when we truly yield to God our life that He may chose for us the path ahead!