Words: , 1882:

Mr. Long­staff, of Sun­der­land, Eng­land, wrote this hymn af­ter hear­ing a ser­mon at New Bright­on on “Be ye h­oly as I am ho­ly.” “Take Time to be Ho­ly” was first pub­lished in Gos­pel Hymns and Sac­red Songs and So­los, in 1891. It has been much used in ho­li­ness-meet­ings, both in [Amer­i­ca] and Great Bri­tain. Mr. Long­staff was the trea­sur­er of Be­thes­da Cha­pel, in Sun­der­land, when we held our first meet­ings in that town, and was the first one to write an­y­thing in re­la­tion to our meet­ings in Great Bri­tain.

Music: Ho­li­ness, , 1890.


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.

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.

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.

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.