1
Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
For my very life art Thou;
Thee I take to all my problems
As the full solution now.
Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
In all things Thy will be done;
I but a transparent vessel
To make visible the Son.
For my very life art Thou;
Thee I take to all my problems
As the full solution now.
Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
In all things Thy will be done;
I but a transparent vessel
To make visible the Son.
2
Consecrated is Thy temple,
Purged from every stain and sin;
May Thy flame of glory now be
Manifested from within.
Let the earth in solemn wonder
See my body willingly
Offered as Thy slave obedient,
Energized alone by Thee.
Purged from every stain and sin;
May Thy flame of glory now be
Manifested from within.
Let the earth in solemn wonder
See my body willingly
Offered as Thy slave obedient,
Energized alone by Thee.
3
Every moment, every member,
Girded, waiting Thy command;
Underneath the yoke to labor
Or be laid aside as planned.
When restricted in pursuing,
No disquiet will beset;
Underneath Thy faithful dealing
Not a murmur or regret.
Girded, waiting Thy command;
Underneath the yoke to labor
Or be laid aside as planned.
When restricted in pursuing,
No disquiet will beset;
Underneath Thy faithful dealing
Not a murmur or regret.
4
Ever tender, quiet, restful,
Inclinations put away,
That Thou may for me choose freely
As Thy finger points the way.
Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
For my very life art Thou;
Thee I take to all my problems
As the full solution now.
Inclinations put away,
That Thou may for me choose freely
As Thy finger points the way.
Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
For my very life art Thou;
Thee I take to all my problems
As the full solution now.
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Mansfield, Ohio, United States
I enjoyed this hymn again this morning. “Live your life, Lord Jesus through me. ” This is a very deep love song. It is summed up when the writer says “live your life Lord through me for my very life art thou. ”This is a captured heart. Not that many have the experience of this kind of deep love. Not many are willing to be martyred. I was helped by the comment below by Anna Lara. Christ is the one who has this kind of love. Isn’t He constrained by us? He is deeply committed to us even now as we are betrothed or engaged to Him. We must return this kind of love back to Him. In a marriage, we can experience some of these things like being consecrated and committed to our wife or spouse and being constrained by that relationship as our love grows. This is why we hold marriage such high esteem. It is a picture of our relationship with Christ . And as our love grows we become more like our spouse. This is a picture of us becoming one with Christ. Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. He is our pattern.
Mansfield, Ohio, United States
I was really appreciating this hymn this morning. I recently saw a video by Michael Jackson about changing the world by looking at the man in the mirror. This is man’s thought that he can improve himself and change the world. We all know that doesn’t work. That is not what God is after. He wants His son to be magnified by us living Him out. We must become transparent so the world can see that Christ in us. We must be consecrated and give ourselves to Him that He may work in us. This is the change we need! The hymn shows how the writer was dealt with for this process to occur. We must stay under His faithful dealing and sometime be put away out of any lime light. That is not easy. This is a deep working in us. This is a life long process. We must redeem the time. I pray Lord that you would live your life through me! I must cooperate with your dealing and take the direction you point to. What a deep aspiration to be transparent and let that inner life shine out. Lord you are my very life.
Kottayam, Kerala, India
Every moment, every member,
Girded, waiting Thy command;
Underneath the yoke to labor
Or be laid aside as planned.
When restricted in pursuing,
No disquiet will beset;
Underneath Thy faithful dealing
Not a murmur or regret.
Fremont, California, United States
When we let go of our natural man, deny our self, and our natural being, the Lord will have a way to live in us and be expressed through us.
These days, as we are looking forward to the Lord’s return, He wants to gain the building, the built-up church, the Body of Christ that is prepared as the bride of Christ for Him to return.
For this, we need to become the expression of the life of Christ in our daily living. Praise the Lord! 😀
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
O Lord, come thru me!
Long Beach, CA, United States
“Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me, …Thee I take to all my PROBLEMS… Consecrated is Thy temple, Purged from every stain and sin; May Thy flame of glory now be Manifested from within. ”
Athens, Georgia, United States
Steven J,
Thanks for the original! It's so sweet to see a dear sister loving the Lord in this way and even able to poetically convey such feelings in pen and paper. It's so cool because it shows Watchman Nee's faithful rendering (in as much as translation allows) in Chinese to then be used back into English. Awesome fun fact.
Still, such a hymn is lacking and hope so many dear saints all over will come to find this particular hymn, it's original writing, and enjoy the Lord!
Centennial, CO, United States
Ana, that's a nice story, but this hymn was not written by Watchman Nee. It was written by a sister, Frances Ridley Havergal, who was associated with the Keswick movement. According to some of the ones who served full-time in China, brother Nee translated this hymn into Chinese to include it in their hymn collection, Hymns for the Little Flock. The hymn was never popular and was not included in many English hymn books, so in 1965 when the brothers compiled a collection of hymns for The Stream, they were unable to find the original lyrics to the song. Thus, they re-translated it from Chinese back into English. The original lyrics of the song (before double translation) are as follows:
1. Live out Thy life within me, O Jesus, King of kings!
Be Thou Thyself the answer to all my questionings;
Live out Thy life within me, in all things have Thy way!
I, the transparent medium, Thy glory to display.
2. The temple has been yielded, and purified of sin,
Let Thy Shekinah glory now shine forth from within,
And all the earth keep silence, the body henceforth be
Thy silent, gentle servant, moved only as by Thee.
3. Its members every moment held subject to Thy call,
Ready to have Thee use them, or not be used at all,
Held without restless longing, or strain, or stress, or fret,
Or chafings at Thy dealings, or thoughts of vain regret.
4. But restful, calm and pliant, from bend and bias free,
Awaiting Thy decision, when Thou hast need of me;
Live out Thy life within me, O Jesus, King of kings!
Be Thou the glorious answer to all my questionings.
Storrs, Connecticut, United States
Many spiritual songs of modern Christianity purport to be love songs to the Lord, but though they are filled with glowing terms of endearment, they are bereft of any genuine depth of commitment. Love is nothing if it does not require the dedication of the lover to the loved one—not an outward demand but an inner constraint generated out of the heart of love. This hymn, written by Watchman Nee, stands in stark contrast to the offerings in many modern Christian songs. The writer deeply experienced the constraining power of the lovely person of the Lord Jesus, and he expressed his profound devotion and allegiance as one who had been smitten with the attractiveness of the Savior. The feeling of the hymn is similar to the thought expressed by the apostle Paul in his second epistle to the Corinthian believers: “For the love of Christ constraints us because we have been judged this, that One died for all therefore all died; and He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to him who died for them and has been raised“ (5:14-15). Based on his attraction to the Lord Jesus, the writer of this hymn prays with intense longing, “Live Thyself Lord Jesus, through me, / For my very life art Thou. ”
(Affirmation and Critique, April 2001)
Church In Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
This life is the solution to all our problems, we have no say, letting Him call the shots may go against our natural man, but the result is the Glory of oness with Him eternally!