Born: De­cem­ber 14, 1836, Ast­ley, Wor­ces­ter­shire, Eng­land.

Died: June 3, 1879, Cas­wall Bay, near Swan­sea, Wales.

Buried: Ast­ley, Wor­ces­ter­shire, Eng­land, the ci­ty of her birth. On her tomb­stone was the Script­ure verse she claimed as her own:

The blood of Je­sus Christ cleans­eth us from all sin.
1 John 1:7

Daughter of Will­iam Havergal, Fran­ces was a bright but short lived can­dle in Eng­lish hym­no­dy. She was bap­tized by hym­nist John Ca­wood, was read­ing by age four, and be­gan writ­ing verse at age se­ven. She learned La­tin, Greek and He­brew, and mem­o­rized the Psalms, the book of Isai­ah, and most of the New Test­a­ment. Her works in­clude:

Sources

PRELUDE TO HAVERGAL’S Ministry of Song, 1870

Amid the broken waters of our ever-restless thought,
Oh be my verse an answering gleam from higher radiance caught;
That where through dark o’erarching boughs of sorrow, doubt and sin,
The glorious Star of Bethlehem upon the flood looks in,
Its tiny trembling ray may bid some downcast vision turn
To that enkindling Light, for which all earthly shadows yearn.
Oh be my verse a hidden stream, which silently may flow
Where drooping leaf and thirsty flower in lonely valleys grow;
And often by its shady course to pilgrim hearts be brought,
The quiet and refreshment of an upward-pointing thought;
Till, blending with the broad bright stream of sanctified endeavor,
God’s glory be its ocean home, the end it seeketh ever.

Lyrics

  1. Another Year Is Dawning
  2. Begin at Once! In the Pleasant Days
  3. Certainly I Will Be with Thee
  4. Church of God, Beloved and Chosen
  5. From Glory unto Glory
  6. God Almighty, King of Na­tions
  7. God Doth Not Bid Thee Wait
  8. God in Heaven, Hear Our Singing
  9. God Will Take Care of You
  10. God’s Reiterated All
  11. Golden Harps Are Sounding
  12. Half Has Never Been Told, The
  13. Happy New Year, A
  14. Have You Not a Word for Jesus?
  15. He Hath Spoken in the Darkness
  16. Hear the Father’s Ancient Promise
  17. Holy and Infinite! Viewless, Eternal
  18. Holy Brethren, Called and Chosen
  19. Holy Father, Thou Hast Spoken
  20. I Am Trusting Thee
  21. I Bring My Sins to Thee
  22. I Could Not Do Without Thee
  23. I Gave My Life for Thee
  24. I Love, I Love My Master
  25. In Full and Glad Surrender
  26. In God’s Great Field of Labor
  27. In the Evening There Is Weeping
  28. Increase Our Faith, Beloved Lord
  29. Is It for Me?
  30. Israel of God, Awaken
  31. Jehovah’s Covenant Shall Ensure
  32. Jesus, Blessed Savior
  33. Jesus, Mas­ter, Whose I Am
  34. Jesus, Only! In the Shadow
  35. Jesus, Thy Life Is Mine
  36. Joined to Christ by Mystic Union
  37. Just When Thou Wilt, O Mas­ter, Call
  38. King Eternal and Immortal
  39. Light After Dark­ness
  40. Like a River Glor­i­ous
  41. Live Out Thy Life With­in Me
  42. Lord, Speak to Me
  43. Master, How Shall I Bless Thy Name?
  44. Master, Speak! Thy Ser­vant Hear­eth
  45. New Mercies, New Blessings
  46. Not Your Own, But His Ye Are
  47. Now Let Us Sing the Angels’ Song
  48. Now the Daylight Goes Away
  49. Now the Sowing and the Weeping
  50. O Glorious God and King
  51. O Savior, Pre­cious Sav­ior
  52. O Thou Chosen Church of Jesus
  53. O What Everlasting Blessings
  54. On Our Way Re­joic­ing
  55. Only a Mortal’s Power
  56. Our Father, Our Father
  57. Our Savior and Our King
  58. Precious, Precious Blood of Jesus
  59. Resting on the Faithfulness
  60. Sing, O Heavens, the Lord Hath Done It
  61. Singing for Jesus, Our Savior and King
  62. Sit Down Beneath His Shadow
  63. Sovereign Lord and Gracious Mas­ter
  64. Standing at the Port­al
  65. Take My Life and Let It Be
  66. Tell It Out
  67. Thou Art Coming, O My Sav­ior
  68. To Thee, O Com­fort­er Di­vine
  69. Truehearted, Whole­heart­ed, Faith­ful and Loy­al
  70. Through the Yes­ter­day of Ages
  71. What Know We, Ho­ly God, of Thee
  72. Unfurl the Christian Standard
  73. Unto Him That Hath Thou Givest
  74. What Thou Hast Done for Me
  75. Who Is on the Lord’s Side?
  76. With Quivering Heart and Trem­bling Will
  77. Will Ye Not Come to Him for Life?
  78. Worthy of All Adora­tion
  79. Ye Who Hear the Blessed Call
  80. Yes, He Knows the Way Is Dreary

Music

  1. Eirene
  2. Epenetus
  3. Hermas