Psalm 30:12 -"That my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God; I will give you thanks forever."
O Lord my God; I will give you thanks forever."
Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879) was a Christian devotional writer, poetess, hymn writer and musician. Havergal was born into an Anglican family, at Astley in Worcestershire. Her father, William Henry Havergal, was a clergyman, writer, composer, and hymn writer. Her brother, Henry East Havergal, was a priest in the Church of England and an organist.As a child, she did not attend school as other children did, for she was advanced far beyond her age level. She was reading by age four, and began writing verses at age seven. She studied English, German, French, Hebrew, Latin and Welsh, and memorised the Psalms, the book of Isaiah, and most of the New Testament. "Beside the rich chords and tuneful songs in our home," she wrote later, "there were wise and holy influences. Our parents' prayers and their fine example for living which they gave us, were the keynotes of our child life."
When Frances was eleven she was called to her dying mother's bedside. The mother urged the girl to give herself and her talents wholly to the Lord. "You are my youngest little girl," she said. "And I feel more anxious about you than the rest. I do pray for the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you. And, remember, nothing but the precious blood of Jesus can make you clean and lovely in God's sight." A little later she added, "Fanny, pray to God to prepare you for all that He is preparing for you." These words remained with the girl throughout her entire life. At the age of fourteen she was sent to a select school for girls at Belmont and it was while she was at this school that she took a definite stand for Christ.
"The sunless ravines were now forever past," she wrote of the experience of salvation, "and henceforth peace and joy flowed outward, deepening and widening under the influence of the Holy Spirit. It was the word "cleanseth" which opened a door of very glory and hope to me. Not a coming to be cleansed in the fountain only, but remaining in the fountain, so that it may and can go on cleansing. "The utterly unexpected and altogether unimagined sense of its fulfilment to me, on simply believing in its fullness, was indescribable. I expect nothing like it short of heaven." She was baptised by hymnist, John Cawood.
She became a brilliant singer and piano-player, and a glittering career in society was open before her. But she considered all her talents to be only loans from the Lord, to be used in His service. She would not even sing, except sacred music, and for the purpose of winning souls. She lavished her strength upon work for the Master, teaching in Sunday schools, writing letters, writing many leaflets and books, conducting religious meetings, and making public addresses. She was often sick, and her life was short, but she accomplished a wonderful amount of noble work. She does not occupy, and did not claim for herself, a prominent place as a poet, but by her distinct individuality, she carved out a niche which she alone could fill. Simply and sweetly she sang the love of God, and His way of salvation. To this end, and for this object, her whole life and all her powers were consecrated. She lives and speaks in every line of her poetry. Her poems are permeated with the fragrance of her passionate love of Jesus. The burden of her writings is a free and full salvation, through the Redeemer's merits, for every sinner who will receive it, and her life was devoted to the proclamation of this truth by personal labours, literary efforts, and earnest interest in Foreign Missions.
She led a quiet life, not enjoying consistent good health; she travelled, in particular to Switzerland. She supported the Church Missionary Society. At the close of 1873, Miss Havergal came to long for a deeper knowledge of God. On Sunday, December 2, of that year she was brought to see, as by a flash of light, that she could not have the full blessedness of a Christian without a full surrender to Christ. On the first of February, 1874, Miss Havergal was visiting in a home where there were ten persons, some of them not converted, some of them Christians but not very happy ones. A great longing seized upon Miss Havergal that all of these might, before she left, come to know her Saviour as joyfully as she had just come to know Him. That prayer was granted, and before she left the house. On the last night of her stay, February 4, she was too happy to sleep, and spent the night writing this hymn, closing with the triumphant line, "Ever, ONLY, ALL for Thee!" Miss Havergal made the hymn a standard for her own living. Years afterward she wrote in a letter, "I had a great time early this morning renewing the never-regretted consecration."
Frances took an active part in church work and taught a Sunday school class in her father's church for fourteen years. She kept their names, birthdays, something about their home conditions and the impression each child made on her in her roll book. A school-girl wrote the following account of a visit which Frances made to Celebridge Lodge, Ireland, in 1856. We were in a great state of delight at the thought of seeing "the little English lady." In a few seconds Miss Frances, carolling like a bird, flashed into the room! Flashed—yes, I say the word advisedly—flashed in like a burst of sunshine, like a hillside breeze, and stood before us...her eyes dancing and her great sweet voice ringing through the room. I sat perfectly spellbound as she sang, chant and hymn, with marvelous sweetness, and then played two or three Handel compositions which thrilled me through and through. When she finished, she said with a merry laugh, "The next time I come to Ireland, we will get up a little singing class, and then you can all sing with me."
Another of the class thought that there must be the music of God's own love in that fair singer's heart. There was joy in her face, joy in her words and joy in her ways. And the secret cry went up from that young Irish heart, "Lord, teach me, even me, to know and love Thee, too." "Take my voice, and let me sing, always, only, for my King" and she sang nothing but sacred music of the love of God and His way of salvation. Her life's mission was to sing and work for Jesus. She had both a great taste for music and a good knowledge of harmony, a natural and inherited turn for melody, a ringing touch on the piano, a beautiful and well-trained voice. These gifts she now entirely devoted to Christ; whether at home or in mixed society she always "sang for Jesus." Her prayer, "Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold," in the same hymn, was not lightly stated. In August, 1878, Miss Havergal wrote to a friend, "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 House, including a jewel cabinet that is really fit for a countess, where all will be accepted and disposed of for me ... Nearly fifty articles are being packed up. I don't think I ever packed a box with such pleasure.
Frances Havergal was a contemporary of Fanny Crosby (1820-1915). Although these two gifted women never met, each was an admirer of the other. In a letter sent by Miss Havergal to Fanny Crosby, she wrote:
Dear blind sister over the sea—
An English heart goes forth to thee.
We are linked by a cable of faith and song,
Flashing bright sympathy swift along
One in the East and one in the West,
Singing for Him whom our souls love best.
Singing for Jesus! Telling His love
All the way to our home above,
Where the severing sea, with its restless tide
Never shall hinder and never divide.
Sister, what shall our meeting soon be
When our hearts shall sing and our eyes shall see?
When Frances was sixteen, her father remarried. In 1870, her father died suddenly. Frail in health all of her life, Miss Havergal, one day, caught a severe cold which caused inflammation of the lungs. When told that her life was in danger, she exclaimed, "If I am really going, it is too good to be true!" At another time she responded, "Splendid to be so near the gates of heaven." At the very end, it is reported that she sang clearly, but faintly, another of her hymns, "Jesus, I Will Trust Thee, Trust Thee with My Soul." Then, according to reports by her sister, she looked up steadfastly, as if she saw the Lord; and surely nothing less heavenly could have reflected such a glorious radiance upon her face. For ten minutes we watched that almost visible meeting with her King, and her countenance was so glad, as if she were already talking to Him! Then she tried to sing; but after one sweet, high note her voice failed, and as her brother commended her soul into the Redeemer's hand, she passed away.
Frances Ridley Havergal died of peritonitis near Caswell Bay on the Gower Peninsula in Wales at age 42. She is buried in the far western corner of the churchyard at St Peter's parish church, Astley, together with her father and near her sister, Maria Vernon Graham Havergal, and on her tombstone is engraved, as she herself wished, her favourite text: "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." She wrote over Ninety songs and books. Some of her songs, so famous worldwide are:
Lord speak to me that I may speak
I could not do without Thee
Take my life and let it be
I could not do without Thee
Take my life and let it be
PRAYER
1. Father, thank You that Frances Havergal made the Lord Jesus her pursuit, her objective in life, and her focus. She reaped the immense joy of knowing and being with the Master. Her life and works reaped great harvest of souls when she was alive and is still doing till this day, over hundred and thirty years after her death. Please make us Your people worthy of Your calling and help us to understand that we have only but a short space of time to spread Your love and make you known as she did.
2. At the close of 1873, Miss Havergal came to long for a deeper knowledge of God. On Sunday, the second of December of that year, she was brought to see, as by a flash of light, that she could not have the full blessedness of a Christian without a full surrender to Christ, so she surrendered all her life to serving the Master.
HOW DO I ENTER INTO THE FULL BLESSEDNESS OF A CHRISTIAN?
John 15:4 -“Abide in Me, and I in you.”
John 15:8-11 -“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Lord, open my eyes to see that a full and complete, glorious and blessed life has been prepared, waiting for every child who will, by faith, come to abide in Christ. Let grace bring me to a full and total surrender to Jesus, and to continuously abide, in Jesus’ name.
b) John 10:10 - “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Frances Havergal said ‘No’ to the thief and all his purpose and said ‘Yes’ to abundant life in Christ.
Lord, may I know that life; that even weak and sickly, she accomplished great work for Your kingdom in a very short life; that life that is strengthened by the joy of the Lord.
c) She gave away all her gold and gems, trinkets and all, for mission work; she sang, wrote hymns and books; taught in Sunday schools and held meetings for her Master Jesus.
Lord, may I value nothing else on this earth save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3. Daniel 6:3 KJV – “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”
Lord, give us homes where every parent is strongly rooted in Christ to give the correct guidance, direction and indoctrination to their children, that they will have a clear sight and understanding of who Jesus is, just as the parents of Frances did.
Lord, let our children be set apart from their childhood like Frances Havergal; given an excellent spirit like Daniel; an intelligent heart, full of wisdom, knowledge and learning, in whom the Spirit of God dwells, and consecrated to God Almighty all their lives.
