Every year countless folks make a new Year’s Resolution to read through the entire Bible in the year ahead. They launch into Genesis and find themselves freshly challenged with the familiar stories of Adam and Eve, Noah and the flood, Abraham and Isaac, and Joseph with his coat of many colors. Then Exodus holds their attention around Moses, with the plagues in Egypt, the burning bush in the wilderness, the Ten Commandments at Sinai, and the instructions for the tabernacle and its furnishings.
But then people hit Leviticus, and it’s like hitting a brick wall. Within a few days they feel overwhelmed by all the legislation and are overcome with the frustration of not understanding what value is to be found. And so they give up there and forsake their intention of reading through the Bible that year, becoming content with just a few devotional verses here and there every few days throughout the rest of the year. If that’s been your experience, I hope you’ll find fresh encouragement to look at the book again with this hymn study that focuses on the central theme of Leviticus: holiness.
“Take Time to Be Holy” was written in 1887 by William Dunn Longstaff (1822-1894). It is based on 1 Peter 1:16, where the Lord has had it written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And Peter has drawn from numerous verses in Leviticus where the Holy Spirit had guided Moses to write that very thing (Leviticus 19:2; 20:7; 20:26; and 21:8). A similar idea fills the pages of the New Testament, such as in Romans 12:1, Ephesians 2:10; 4:24, and Hebrews 12:14 where we find the scripture teaching us that the goal of the Christian life is not merely to get to heaven, but to become like Christ in His holiness.
Longstaff was born at Sunderland, Durham, England, the son of a wealthy ship owner. As a person of independent financial means, Longstaff had everything he desired. But he still had an empty feeling in his life. Attending church one day, he was deeply impacted by words of a China missionary, Griffith John, who was on furlough to England, preaching at a service in Keswick, England, citing 1 Peter 1:16, “Be ye holy, for I am holy”. That resulted in Longstaff giving his heart to the Lord and beginning anew a devout Christian life, dedicated to God. He became a generous philanthropist and was influential in evangelical circles.
Following his friend, Rev. Arthur A Rees, a persuasive Welsh preacher, who left the Anglican priesthood after disagreements with his rector and bishop, Longstaff served as church treasurer for Ree’s Bethesda Free Chapel in Sunderland. He married Joice Burlinson in 1853 and they had eight children: William, Hannah, Rhoda, Amelia, Ernest, Nora, Marnia, and Minnie. Longstaff befriended well-known evangelists, including William Booth of the Salvation Army, to whose work he generously contributed. Some of Longstaff’s hymns were published in the Salvation Army magazine, “The War Cry” during the 1880s. He also financed Dwight Moody’s evangelical crusades in England and Scotland when Moody’s funding dried up after their financier died. During the crusade they preached to 20,000 people. Longstaff did not forget that first sermon he heard, and it prompted the writing of his hymn lyrics.
Longstaff showed the hymn “Take Time to Be Holy” to Ira Sankey (Dwight Moody’s song leader), who in turn passed it on to American songwriter George C. Stebbins (1846-1945) in 1882. Stebbins laid it aside and did not recall it until an evangelistic meeting in India a few years later, during which the theme of holiness was being explored. Stebbins recalled Longstaff’s hymn and set it to music for the revival. He sent his tune HOLINESS to Sankey, who published the hymn in “New Songs and Sacred Solos.”
The hymn conveys a different understand of sanctification from that of the perfectionism that has sometimes been a part of Wesleyan theology, the idea that conversion should result in a life free from sin. While that seems unattainable, some have sought to justify that expectation by rationalizing that while they no longer sin, they still make mistakes. But that should appear to all to be not only contrary to Paul’s experience in his testimony of on-going struggle with sin in Romans 7, it also is an exchange of one word (mistakes) for another (sins) that defies reasonable understanding.
No, in Longstaff’s hymn, he has rightly recognized that not only are believers called to a life of holiness, but that it is a goal which will never be fully attained in this life, and a goal which will involve continual spiritual struggles, even internal spiritual warfare, against the world, the flesh, and the Devil. This is what Paul must have had in mind when he wrote in Ephesians 6 about the spiritual armor God has given us for this battle. And it is why God has provided what is often called “the ordinary means of grace,” Scripture, prayer, and the sacraments, to help us grow toward that end. Holiness is not something that occurs instantly, but will be a life-long process, the process of sanctification. As Longstaff wrote in the hymn, it will “take time to be holy.”
Perhaps one of the most important things we should ask ourselves as we sing this hymn is, “How important to me is the matter of holiness?” The next thing we should ask ourselves is, “How willing am I to commit myself each day to the hard work of pursuing holiness?” As we consider these kinds of questions, we ought to remember the caution we find in Hebrews 12:14 that “without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” Obviously, this doesn’t mean that we will be saved by our personal holiness; it is only by Christ’s holiness in justification that we can be saved. But it does mean that unless a person has been serious about seeking and growing in holiness, there is good reason to fear that such a person has never been saved in the first place. Such persons would be deceiving themselves to think that they are children of God. This longing for and pursuit of holiness will always be one of the clearest marks that a person has actually been born again.
It’s always helpful when we sing a hymn to make sure at the outset that we stop a moment and think about the person who is being addressed in the lyrics. Many times it will the Lord Himself, in words of prayer or praise to Him, as in “Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners” or “Thine Is the Glory.” But in this instance, when we sing it, we are speaking to ourselves. It’s the same thing that we find in Psalm 103, which starts out, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” Here in Longstreet’s hymn, we are speaking to our own heart and mind, telling ourselves that we need to “take time to be holy.” These are the words we speak to ourselves at the beginning of each stanza.
In stanza 1 we tell ourselves that this pursuit of holiness will require four things: 1) time spent in prayer, speaking to the Lord, 2) time spent in the Scriptures, feeding on His Word, 3) time spent with other believers, befriending the weak, and 4) time spent in meditation, being sure to remember how much we need His blessing in all that we do in order for our efforts to bear the spiritual fruit of holiness that is our divinely-assigned goal.
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.
In stanza 2 we tell ourselves that at the heart of this pursuit of holiness is seeking the heart of Jesus. All around us is a world busily pursuing things that will not last. In contrast to that, we need to fight against that tendency to be like others, and instead to “spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.” The more time we spend with Him, looking to Him, the more our friends will see a difference in us as we become more and more like Jesus.
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.
In stanza 3 we tell ourselves that when we take the time to be holy, we will need to look to Jesus to be our guide, following where He leads us. We may be tempted to run before Him, leaving Him behind, forgetting that we need Him before us. And we must do this “in joy or in sorrow,” when it’s difficult as well as when it’s joyful. In all of this pursuit of holiness, we need to be “looking to Jesus,” believing His written promises in His Word every moment.
Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.
In stanza 4 we tell ourselves that when we take time to be holy, we will find that peace and calm in our souls that He has promised. That will come as we deliberately seek to bring “each thought and each motive beneath His control,” including those secrets that no one sees but Jesus. Doing so will result in a life led by the Holy Spirit, releasing “fountains of love” in our hearts, and fitting us better to serve Him in heavenly matters above.
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 shalt be fitted for service above.
As already noted, the music for this text was composed in 1890 by George Coles Stebbins (1846-1945) just a few years after Longfellow had written those words. Stebbins was a gospel song writer. He was born in Orleans County, New York near Rochester, where he spent the first 23 years of his life on a farm. In 1869 he moved to Chicago, where he began his musical career. He became the musical director of Chicago’s First Baptist Church in 1870, a position he held till the autumn of 1874, when he resigned to take up residence in Boston. During his residence in Chicago he became acquainted with Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey as well as with Philip Bliss and Major Whittle. Both of the latter joined Mood’s great evangelistic endeavors in those early years.
Shortly after his move to Boston, Stebbins became the musical director of the Clarendon Street Baptist Church where Adoniram Judson Gordon was minister. In January of 1876 he became the musical director of Tremont Temple, alongside George O. Lorimer. In the summer of that year Stebbins had occasion to spend a few days with Moody at his home in Northfield, Massachusetts, and during his visit Moody persuaded him to enter evangelistic work under Moody’s direction, which Stebbins did that autumn. Stebbins’ first work in this connection was to organize the choir for the meetings which Moody and Sankey were to hold in the great building erected for them in Chicago and which were to continue through October, November, and December. During the remainder of the season Stebbins assisted other evangelists, and in the summer following he became one of the editors of “Gospel Hymns” and subsequently of the series of hymnbooks used by Moody during the remainder of his life. Afterward Stebbins became the sole editor of “Northfield Hymnal.”
Stebbins married Elma Miller before commencing his musical career. When he began his evangelistic work, she became actively involved, assisting him most efficiently in his singing, besides conducting meetings and giving Bible readings for ladies. During the nearly 25 years of his association with Moody, Stebbins assisted Moody and Sankey in their work both in this country and abroad as well as working with other evangelists, among whom were George F. Pentecost and Major Whittle. In the autumn of 1890, Stebbins, with his wife and son, went with Pentecost to India for a season of work among the English-speaking inhabitants of that country. During their stay there Mr. and Mrs. Stebbins and their son gave services of song in several of the principal cities of the country. On their return home they gave services of song also in Egypt and Palestine and in Naples, Rome, Florence, Paris, and London.
From the beginning of Moody’s work in Northfield, Stebbins was one of the leaders of the singing at the summer conferences there and was the only one having official connection with the work at all general conferences for their first 30 years. He was also the last surviving member of the original group of men Moody had associated with him in his evangelistic work including Sankey, Whittle, Bliss, and James McGranahan.
Regarding Stebbins’ work, aside from his occupying important positions in churches and his leadership in the great movement with which he was connected for so many years, he was frequently engaged to lead the singing at international and state conventions of YMCA, Sunday schools, Christian Endeavor, and other religious gatherings. Among these gatherings were the two greatest of the Christian Endeavor conventions, one held in New York City‘s Madison Square Garden, at which there were thirty thousand delegates and one held in Boston when there were fifty thousand present. There was also the great Ecumenical Missionary conference held in Carnegie Hall and the 50th anniversary of the founding of the American YMCA, in Boston.
During these years his voice was not only heard in leading others, but it was also in constant demand in solo singing and on many occasions in singing with Sankey and others. Stebbins was well equipped in the musical department of his work, as well as in the others, for he studied voice with some of the most celebrated teachers in the United States. Much as his voice was heard in different parts of the world, he is remembered foremost by the music which he composed, which has long survived him and demonstrated an appeal across time and cultural boundaries. Stebbins’ lasting legacy is the hymns that have become gospel music classics. Among those are “Jesus Is Calling,” “Jesus I Come,” “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” and “Take Time to Be Holy.”
Here is a link to the singing of this hymn.