Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Last updated
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
by Adelaide A. Pollard
Genre Hymn
Written1907
Based on Jeremiah18:1-6
Meter5.4.5.4 D
Melody"Adelaide" by George C. Stebbins

"Have Thine Own Way, Lord" is a Christian hymn with lyrics by Adelaide A. Pollard and music by George C. Stebbins. It was first published in 1907 in the "Northfield Hymnal with Alexander's Supplement". Later that year, it also appeared in two other popular hymnals, Ira Sankey's "Hallowed Hymns New and Old" and Sankey and Clement's "Best Endeavor Hymns".

Contents

Background

In 1902, Adelaide A. Pollard was hoping to go to Africa as a missionary but found herself unable to raise the needed funds to make the journey. Greatly discouraged, she attended a prayer service one evening and as she sat there, she overheard an elderly woman say "It really doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord, just have your own way with our lives." The elderly woman inspired Pollard and she contemplated the story of the potter from Jeremiah 18:3 and, upon her return home that evening, wrote all four stanzas before retiring for the night.

Five years later George Stebbins wrote a tune titled "Adelaide" to accompany the text.

Lyrics

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
  Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will;
  While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
  Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
  As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
  Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
  Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
  Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit ’till all shall see
  Christ only, always, living in me.

Recordings

"Have Thine Own Way, Lord" remains popular and has been recorded by such artists as: Mahalia Jackson, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Eric Copeland, Cristy Lane, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, John Fogerty, Ned Beatty and most, recently by, Ronnie Milsap on his 2009 gospel album, Then Sings My Soul .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanny Crosby</span> American mission worker, poet, lyricist, and composer

Frances Jane van Alstyne, more commonly known as Fanny J. Crosby, was an American mission worker, poet, lyricist, and composer. She was a prolific hymnist, writing more than 8,000 hymns and gospel songs, with more than 100 million copies printed. She is also known for her teaching and her rescue mission work. By the end of the 19th century, she was a household name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Ridley Havergal</span> British poet and hymn-writer (1836–1879)

Frances Ridley Havergal was an English religious poet and hymnwriter. Take My Life and Let it Be and Thy Life for Me are two of her best known hymns. She also wrote hymn melodies, religious tracts, and works for children. She did not occupy, and did not claim for herself, a prominent place as a poet, but she carved out a niche for herself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It Is Well with My Soul</span> Well-known Christian hymn penned by Horatio Spafford in the late 19th century.

"It Is Well With My Soul", also known as "When Peace, Like A River", is a hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. First published in Gospel Hymns No. 2 by Ira Sankey and Bliss (1876), it is possibly the most influential and enduring in the Bliss repertoire and is often taken as a choral model, appearing in hymnals of a wide variety of Christian fellowships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Lowry (hymn writer)</span> American songwriter

Robert Lowry was an American preacher who became a popular writer of gospel music in the mid- to late-19th century. His best-known hymns include "Shall We Gather at the River", "Christ Arose!", "How Can I Keep from Singing?" and "Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Just as I Am (hymn)</span>

"Just as I Am" is a Christian hymn, written by Charlotte Elliott in 1835, first appearing in the Christian Remembrancer, of which Elliott became the editor in 1836. The final verse is taken from Elliott's Hours of Sorrow Cheered and Comforted (1836).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian child's prayer</span> Easily memorable prayers recited by children

A Christian child's prayer is Christian prayer recited primarily by children that is typically short, rhyming, or has a memorable tune. It is usually said before bedtime, to give thanks for a meal, or as a nursery rhyme. Many of these prayers are either quotes from the Bible, or set traditional texts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing</span> 18th-century Christian hymn

"Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" is a Christian hymn written by the pastor and hymnodist Robert Robinson, who penned the words in the year 1758 at the age of 22.

"For the Beauty of the Earth" is a Christian hymn by Folliott S. Pierpoint (1835-1917).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty</span> Christian hymn written by Reginald Heber

"Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!" is a Christian hymn written by the Anglican bishop Reginald Heber (1783–1826).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William J. Kirkpatrick</span> Irish-American composer of hymns (1838–1921)

William James Kirkpatrick was an Irish-born American hymnwriter. He partnered with John R. Sweney to produce and publish over 1,000 gospel hymn songs and over sixty hymnal books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thine Be the Glory</span> Christian hymn

"Thine Be the Glory, Risen Conquering Son", also titled "Thine Is the Glory", is a Christian hymn for Easter, written by the Swiss Protestant minister, Edmond Budry (1854–1932), and set to the tune of the chorus "See, the Conqu'ring hero comes" from the third section of Handel's oratorio Judas Maccabaeus. The hymn is sometimes sung at weddings or funerals.

"Gwahoddiad" is a Welsh hymn of American origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hymn of Joy</span> 1907 poem by Henry van Dyke

"The Hymn of Joy" is a poem written by Henry van Dyke in 1907 in being a Vocal Version of the famous "Ode to Joy" melody of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's final symphony, Symphony No. 9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Coles Stebbins</span> American gospel songwriter

George Coles Stebbins (1846–1945) was a gospel song writer. Stebbins was born February 26, 1846, in Orleans County, New York, where he spent the first 23 years of his life on a farm. In 1869 he moved to Chicago, Illinois, which marked the beginning of his musical career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psalm 31</span> Biblical psalm

Psalm 31 is the 31st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust". In Latin, it is known as "In te Domine speravi". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible, and in its Latin translation, the Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 30. The first verse in the Hebrew text indicates that it was composed by David.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I am Thine, O Lord</span> Hymn by Fanny Crosby

"I am Thine, O Lord" is one of many hymns written by Fanny Crosby, a prolific American hymn writer. The melody was composed by William Howard Doane. The former was talking with the latter one night about the proximity of God and penned the words before retiring for the night. It has also been reported that Fanny Crosby, though blind, had a sunset described to her in words before writing the lyrics. Hebrews 10:22 is reported as being a source of inspiration for the hymn:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Day by Day (hymn)</span> 1865 Christian hymn by Lina Sandell

"Day by Day " is a Christian hymn written in 1865 by Lina Sandell several years after she had witnessed the tragic drowning death of her father. It is a hymn of assurance used in American congregational singing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thine for ever! God of love</span>

"Thine for ever! God of love" is an English confirmation hymn. It was written by Mary Fawler Maude in 1847. The original is in seven stanza of four lines. It is usually abbreviated, and stanzas two and three transposed, as in the S.P.C.K. Church Hymns, 1871; the Hymnal Companion; Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1875; Thring's Collection, 1882, and other hymnbooks. As a hymn for Confirmation its use in its day was extensive. The hymn was altered by various editors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed</span> 1707 hymn by Isaac Watts

"Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed" is a hymn by Isaac Watts, first published in 1707. The words describe the crucifixion of Jesus and reflect on an appropriate personal response to this event. The hymn is commonly sung with a refrain added in 1885 by Ralph E. Hudson; when this refrain is used, the hymn is sometimes known as "At the Cross". The final line of the first stanza has attracted some criticism, as it leads the singer to call themselves a "worm". Hymnals often change the line from "for such a worm as I" to "for such a one as I" or "for sinners such as I".

References