Great Hymns Of The Faith: Thy Life Was Given For Me

 This was copied from the bulletin of Calvary Baptist Church on 472 Ocean Road in Portsmouth NH 03801. (603) 436-7736. The bulleting is dated December 15, 2024.


Great Hymns Of The Faith
"Thy Life Was Given For Me"
Frances Ridley Havergal 1836-1879

        The first real hymn written by Miss Havergal was composed when she was but a month past her twenty-first birthday. On January 10, 1858, while visiting Germany, she entered the study of a German minister. Quite tired, she sat down and her eyes lit upon an inscription, which had been placed under a picture of Jesus Christ; "I did this for thee: what hast thou done for Me?" As she gazed on the face of suffering Redeemer the lines of the hymn framed themselves in her mind and taking a pencil, she wrote them on the back of a circular. But when she read them over she felt that they expressed her emotions of that hour so inadequately that she exclaimed to herself: "This is not poetry. I will not go to the trouble to copy this." She crumbled up the circular and cast it into the fire. But immediately something impelled her to rescue it, and she seized it, singed as it was by the flame, and a moment later placed it in her pocket.

        Her father, Pastor W. H. Havergal, ever since her mother died when Francis was eleven years old, had been her confidant and had encouraged the development of her talents. When she returned home one day she showed these verses to him. He was so delighted with them that he composed a tune, called "Baca", for this hymn. It was published two years later in a leaflet. Originally her fist line was, "I gave my life for thee.". But when in 1871 it was included in the church hymns, she was induced to change the line to its present form, "Thy life was given for me."

        Years later she wrote: "I was so overwhelmed on Sunday grew of my hymns touchingly sung at Perry Church. I never before realized the high privilege of writing for the "great congregation", especially when they sang "I gave my life for thee" to my fathers tune, "Baca".



TomLeeM

2024 / 12 / 26









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