Take time to behold Him

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1
Take time to behold Him,
  Speak oft with Thy Lord,
Abide in Him always,
  And feed on His Word.
Wait thou in His presence,
  Submissive and meek,
Forgetting in nothing
  His blessing to seek.
2
Take time to behold Him,
  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.
3
Take time to behold Him,
  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.
4
Take time to behold Him,
  Be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each temper
  Beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit
  To fountains of love,
Thou then shalt be fitted
  His mercy to prove.
29
Huilin

China

In joy or in sorrow, still follow Jesus my Lord!


NVK

Evanston, Illinois, United States

This hymn has been playing inside me for almost 2 weeks—fragmented in remembering the words!!

A sister asked that we sing this as prayer after a message that included II Corinthians 3:17. Lord, If I neglect making time then time is wasted. I just want to behold You, gaze on You.

I like the change from "be holy" to 'behold Him." If you understand that "be holy" is not an act or trained behavior; but a Person, a key quality of Him, the the original is better. But so many have warped the understanding of "Holy".

Lord, in this darkening age keep the eyes of your people fixed on YOU, trusting Your unchanging Word.

Thank you for the short history of this hymn.


Matt

San Francisco, California, United States

I know that most of us are very very busy. But brothers and sister take at least 3-5 a day to behold Him. Some little duration of time is better than no duration of time at all. AMEN


Gerd H Aasen

Lansing, NY, United States

Thanks for playing this!. I think this is a great song to sing at my funeral!


Roger Hsu

Arcadia, CA

Let us take time to behold Lord Jesus our Savior!


Nelson Liu

Irvine, CA, United States

"Take time" brothers and sisters!!


Steve Miller

Detroit, MI, United States

As Albert, 3/16/2009, said, the original says, "Take time to be holy". Both are good, but I think "take time to be holy" is more meaningful. We need to take time to be holy, and a big part of that is to take time to behold Him.

In stanza 1, lines 5-6 in the original are more down to earth:

Make friends of God's children;

Help those who are weak;

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The son of a wealthy ship merchant, William Longstaff was treasurer of his church and gave liberally to Christian causes. When evangelists D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey came to England, he assisted them financially, and he also wrote reports of the meetings for the Christian press.

A few years later Longstaff heard a sermon on the text "Be ye holy, for I am holy" and wrote down what holiness meant to him. A businessman at heart, Longstaff wrote no flowery or pious-sounding verses, but these down-to-earth thoughts.

The hymn appeared in a Christian newspaper in 1882 and was promptly forgotten. But years later composer George Stebbins, who was leading music in India in connection with evangelistic services there, remembered the poem when he was asked if there was a good hymn on living a holy life. Retrieving the newspaper clipping he had saved, he set the poem to music. - Great Songs of Faith by Brown & Norton


Hudson

Oh to behold His face, to see Him in His glory, to love Him, to hold Him, to embrace Him always.


Albert Meyer

Plano, TX, United States

I know this hymn as: Take time to be holy, but I must admit that it is fixing our eyes on Jesus that the world fades away. Take time to behold Him is an excellent derivation of the original. Oh, I want to see Him, look upon His face!

Piano Hymns