Frances Ridley Havergal
1836–1879 · England · Romantic
English poet and hymn writer, daughter of a clergyman-composer, author of 'Take My Life and Let It Be'.
Life
Frances Ridley Havergal was born in 1836 at Astley, Worcestershire, daughter of the clergyman, composer and hymn writer William Henry Havergal. She was educated in Worcester and at schools in Düsseldorf and Oberkassel in Germany, and became a fine linguist, reading Scripture in Hebrew and Greek, and an accomplished singer and pianist. She committed her life to Christ as a teenager. Often in poor health, she wrote poems, hymns, tracts and books for children, and gave much of her time to evangelistic and charitable work. She died in 1879 at Caswell Bay, Wales, aged 42.
As a Hymn Writer
Havergal's hymns are marked by personal consecration: 'Take My Life and Let It Be' offers every part of the believer's life to Christ, and 'Lord, Speak to Me, That I May Speak' is a prayer for those who teach and witness. Her texts are warm and devotional; Lutheran use tends to favour those that keep Christ's grace in front of the believer's response.
In The Lutheran Hymnal and Lutheran Service Book (5)
- O Savior, Precious Savior
- Take My Life and Let It Be
- I Gave My Life for Thee
- I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus
- Now the Light Has Gone Away
Sources: Wikipedia, 'Frances Ridley Havergal'.