As regular readers will know, Sunday morning once again brings a new entry in my series, Then Sings My Soul: The Hymns of My Youth. This week it’s a hymn by Thomas Obadiah Chisholm, who was born in 1866 in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky. Without even attending high school, he began teaching school at the age of sixteen. Later on after his conversion, Chisholm was ordained as a Methodist, but had to resign his pastorate because of poor health. During his lifetime, he wrote over 1200 poems, several of which became well-known hymns; “O to be like Thee” was published in 1897.
My recollections of this hymn from my youth omits most of the verses but for a few lines. Mainly I remember the chorus — always the easiest part of a hymn to recall. Always the last time through the chorus, we would close our hymnals and slip them back into the little shelf on the pew-back in front of us, and sing the last three lines or so from memory.
O to be like Thee
O to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.O to be like Thee, O to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.O to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.O to be like Thee, lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.O to be like Thee, Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th’ anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing,
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.O to be like Thee, while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love,
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Hi Brother Maynard … from your blog posts I’m intrigued about your background … a love of old hymns, discussion about “post-charismatic” spirituality and so on … what are the key shaping influences in your spirituality? (I ask because it sounds like a similar mix to myself).
Thanks,Richard
Richard,
My background would be fundamentalist, migrating to evangelical, then to nondenominational charismatic (still fairly evangelical) and now post-charismatic and somewhat post-evangelical. It’s been a long road, but I still have my faith intact, if not all of the specific doctrines I’d been served along the way! ;^) I did a degree in Biblical Studies at an evangelical college/seminary along the way, so that’s in the mix for good measure.
Hello! It is a nice hymn, Right to the point. I see the ref.s to fund/evang/nonden/post/”pre-post”/ and suppose you are still learning for good measure. remember, 1Cor. 12:13-end , now put hands & feet to the thinking. God bless you as you serve Him.