Frances Ridley Havergal

Frances Ridley Havergal (December 14, 1836 - June 3, 1879) was born in the small village of Astley, Worcestershire. She followed in the footsteps of her father, William Henry Havergal, also a writer and composer of hymns, and though she remained in his shadow during his lifetime (where her stepmother wanted Frances to remain), today she is more well known and her hymns are more widely sung.

As she once described her own hymnwriting process: Writing is like praying for me; for I never seem to write even a verse by myself [...] Very often I have a most distinct and happy consciousness of direct answers.

Havergal recorded the completion of this hymn in November, 1870, though it was not published until 1874 in her collection titled Under the Surface. Its theme comes from 1 Peter 1:8 -- Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

O Savior, precious Savior,
Whom yet unseen we love!
O Name of might and favor,
All other names above!
We worship thee, we bless thee,
To thee, O Christ, we sing;
We praise thee, and confess thee
Our Life, our Hope, our Spring.

O Bringer of salvation,
Who wondrously hast wrought,
Thyself the revelation
Of love beyond our thought;
We worship thee, we bless thee,
To thee, O Christ, we sing;
We praise thee, and confess thee
Our Life, our Hope, our Spring.

In thee all fullness dwelleth,
All grace and power divine;
The glory that excelleth,
O Child of God, is thine;
We worship thee, we bless thee,
To thee, O Christ, we sing:
We praise thee, and confess thee
Our Life, our Hope, our Spring.

O grant the consummation
Of this our song above,
In endless adoration,
And everlasting love!
Then shall we praise and bless thee
Where perfect praises ring,
And evermore confess thee
Our Life, our Hope, our Spring.

Frances Ridley Havergal, 1870; alt.
Tune: WATERMOUTH (7.6.7.6.D.)
Arthur Henry Mann, 1881

In his study of women hymnwriters, Songs From the Hearts of Women (1903), writer Nicholas Smith writes of Havergal: From her consecrated girlhood to the hour of her departure, her prayer was that her life might be one anthem unto her Redeemer.


One Year Ago: Frances Ridley Havergal

Undimming and Unsetting

We are still in the season of Epiphany -- a long one this year because Lent does not start until late February. One of Epiphany's ongoing themes is light, deriving from the star over Bethlehem that led the Eastern sages to the manger, light that reveals Jesus to those who have not yet known him. Many hymns about light are often used in the later weeks of the season so we aren't singing about the three kings all the way to Ash Wednesday.

In John 8:12 Jesus makes a famous proclamation: "I am the Light of the world," a phrase that has given inspiration for many creations of prose, poetry, and music (naturally including hymns).

Light of the world!
Forever, ever shining,
There is no change in thee;
True Light of life,
All joy and health enshrining,
Thou canst not fade nor flee.

Thou hast aris'n,
But thou descendeth never;
Today shines as the past;
All that thou wast
Thou art and shalt be ever,
Brightness from first to last.

Night visits not
Thy sky, nor storm, nor sadness;
Day fills up all its blue --
Unfailing beauty,
And unfaltering gladness,
And love forever new.

Light of the world!
Undimming and unsetting,
O shine each mist away;
Banish the fear,
The falsehood, and the fretting;
Be our unchanging Day.

Horatius Bonar, 1861
Tune: WILTON (4.7.6.4.7.6.)
Arthur Henry Mann, 19th c. (?)