Introduction
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),
(1846–1945)
Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
Leviticus 19:2
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),
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
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.