Friends Of The Prophets: More Holiness Give Me

Sunday, November 20, 2022

Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, Conservatory, Nashville TN

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 thy 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 shall be fitted For service above.

NOTES ON HYMN

I find it interesting comparing this song with "More Holiness Give Me" (see Part 9). Both songs have a 6,5,6,5 double meter, which alone means they can be interchangeable. Not only that, but both are in 6/8 time, and have the rhythm of dotted quarter note, three eight notes, two dotted quarters, repeat, with the even lines combining the two dotted quarters at the end. And is it coincidence both talk about holiness?
I mentioned my pattern of going in alphabetic order, and made a slight variation of moving "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus" forward a couple of weeks so it would be posted by Reformation Day/All Saints Day. This song happens to fall on the week before Thanksgiving. But isn't there a connection between gratitude and holiness, especially if that gratitude is to God for all He does? If we are truly grateful, wouldn't we separate ourselves to Him and His purpose?
I mentioned doing the first sixteen hymns in alphabetic order (again, with one variation). Yet there are half a dozen more installments! What will I be doing with those? Well, you'll find out next week!

Sunday, October 2, 2022

Southeastway Park, Indianapolis

More holiness give me, More strivings within,

More patience in suff'ring, More sorrow for sin,

More faith in my Savior, More sense of His care,

More joy in his service, More purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me, More trust in the Lord,

More zeal in His glory, More hope in His word,

More tears for His sorrows, More pain at His grief,

More meekness in trail, More praise for relief.

More purity give me, More strength to o'ercome,

More freedom from earth stains, More longings for home;

More fit for the kingdom, More useful I'd be,

More blessed and holy, More, Savior, like Thee.

NOTES ON HYMN:

This hymn was written by Phillip Bliss, whose contributions include lyrics ("I Will Sing Of My Redeemer"), music ("It Is Well With My Soul") or both (this song, "Wonderful Words Of Life). Bliss worked with Moody and Daniel Whittle in the late 1800's. He died in a train wreck in 1876; actually, he was thrown from the train and survived but ran into the fire to rescue his wife. Shortly before that, he had written a letter to his friend James McGranahan encouraging him to minister to the Lord in music rather than having a career in opera; McGranahan wrote the music for "I Will Sing Of My Redeemer" and several songs with evangelist Daniel Whittle (including "Showers of Blessing" and "I Know Whom I Have Believed."
Becky introduced me to this song from a Church of Christ hymnal, Christian Hymns Vol. 2. Even though Bliss' songs are in the other songbooks we regularly use, this song isn't in most of the others we use.😭

An exception to the above - We have a hymnal titled Gospel Hymns Nos. 1-6 Complete, published in 1894, and featuring songs from Moody era musicians like Phillip Bliss, Ira Sankey, and James McGranahan. In the Church of Christ hymnal above, it's titled by the first line "More Holiness Give Me;" in the 1894 hymnal, it was titled "My Prayer."
For those interested, the meter is 6,5,6,5,Doubled. I will mention more about that meter later in the series.