Saanich Peninsula Presbyterian

Take My Life and Let it Be, was the congregational hymn of choice last Sunday. Here is what Dr. Kirk had to say about it.


Scripture reading:  2 Corinthians 8. 1 - 9

        This is one of the best known hymns on the subject of Christian consecration and discipleship.  The occasion for the writing of the hymn was a five day visit Miss Havergal made to the home of some friends.  There were ten other guests at the home, some unconverted, others nominally Christian.  She prayed "Lord, give me all in this house!"  Before she left her prayer was wonderfully answered.  "Before I left," she wrote, "I . . passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration; and these little couplets formed themselves and chimed to my heart one after the other, till they finished with 'Ever, only, ALL for thee!'"

            We must never forget that the Christian is not only saved from something but also to something.  We are saved from a life of slavery to sin but we are also saved to a life of service.  Our salvation is not for ourselves but for the glory of God and the service of others.  Everything we have, everything we are, comprise God's gifts to us and we are the stewards of God's gifts.  They are held in trust and we are required to render an account of our stewardship.

            How do we use our time, our moments and our days?  Time is such a fleeting commodity.  If it is not used aright it can be rapidly squandered and before we realize it many precious years will have flitted by.  Time should be used "in ceaseless praise" to our great God.  And what about our bodies?  Do we use them as means of helping others?  There are many people who could use a helping hand in one way or another.  There are countless errands of mercy that could be a blessing to an incapacitated person if our feet were "swift and beautiful" for our Lord.  But we not only praise God in our actions we must also praise him with our voice.  Let us use our voice to sing his praises - and there is so much for which we should praise him!  Let us use our lips to impart messages of hope and joy and peace to others.  There is so much bad news abroad in the world; we can use our lips to bring the good news of the Saviour.

            There is no more searching examination of our Christian committment than in our use of money.  "The silver is mine and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts" (Hag. 2. 8).  Our bank book should be as much the Lord's as our hymn book.  And yet it is so often true that churches and missions are hampered in their outreach because of the niggardliness of God's people.  It is only when we can say, "Not a mite would I withhold" that we have begun to give in the same sacrificial manner as Christ gave to us.

            Our intellect, our will, our heart, all the influence of mind and heart that we have in relation to others must be subjected to his Lordship.  These are his own by right of our creation by him and also by right of our re-creation through his death.  It is only when we have enthroned Christ over every part of our life, having no personal ambitions of our own but placing him first in our affections that we have finally and truly consecrated ourselves to him.  That is summed up in the hymn's concluding lines.  There we pour out the "treasure store" of our love and allow Christ to be all in all for us.  Time, hands, feet, voice, lips, wealth, mind, heart and love are all re-integrated in the final prayer, "Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for Thee".  That is a difficult petition to pray but what joy is ours when we reach the place where we can make that act of consecration.

   These words have been set to a variety of tunes.  The one used on Sunday was Hendon, composed by H.A. Cesar Malan and first published one of Lowell Mason's hymnals in 1841.

   SPPC loves its hymns and we love to sing, so Sunday, August 25,  7:00 pm we're having a hymn-sing.  Come and join us, raise your voice, bring your friends and family.  Admission is free.  Lots of parking.