Scripture Verse

Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. Leviticus 19:2

Introduction

portrait
William D. Longstaff
1822–1894

Words: Will­iam D. Long­staff, 1882.

Music: Ho­li­ness George C. Steb­bins, 1890 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Longstaff (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
George C. Stebbins (1846–1945)

Origin of the Hymn

Mr. Long­staff, of Sun­der­land, Eng­land, wrote this hymn after hear­ing a se­rmon at New Brigh­ton on Be ye ho­ly as I am ho­ly.

Take Time to be Ho­ly was first pub­lished in Gos­pel Hymns and Sac­red Songs and So­los, in 1891. It has been much used in ho­li­ness-meet­ings, both in [Am­er­ica] and Great Bri­tain. Mr. Long­staff was the trea­sur­er of Be­thes­da Cha­pel, in Sun­der­land, when we held our first meet­ings in that town, and was the first one to write any­thing in re­la­tion to our meet­ings in Great Bri­tain.

Sankey, pp. 337–38

Lyrics

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.

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.

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.

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.