Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me

When we let go of our natural man, deny our self, and our natural being, the Lord will have a way to live in us and be expressed through us.

These days, as we are looking forward to the Lord’s return, He wants to gain the building, the built-up church, the Body of Christ that is prepared as the bride of Christ for Him to return.

For this, we need to become the expression of the life of Christ in our daily living. Praise the Lord! 😀

O Lord, come thru me!

“Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me, …Thee I take to all my PROBLEMS… Consecrated is Thy temple, Purged from every stain and sin; May Thy flame of glory now be Manifested from within. ”

Steven J,

Thanks for the original! It's so sweet to see a dear sister loving the Lord in this way and even able to poetically convey such feelings in pen and paper. It's so cool because it shows Watchman Nee's faithful rendering (in as much as translation allows) in Chinese to then be used back into English. Awesome fun fact.

Still, such a hymn is lacking and hope so many dear saints all over will come to find this particular hymn, it's original writing, and enjoy the Lord!

Ana, that's a nice story, but this hymn was not written by Watchman Nee. It was written by a sister, Frances Ridley Havergal, who was associated with the Keswick movement. According to some of the ones who served full-time in China, brother Nee translated this hymn into Chinese to include it in their hymn collection, Hymns for the Little Flock. The hymn was never popular and was not included in many English hymn books, so in 1965 when the brothers compiled a collection of hymns for The Stream, they were unable to find the original lyrics to the song. Thus, they re-translated it from Chinese back into English. The original lyrics of the song (before double translation) are as follows:

1. Live out Thy life within me, O Jesus, King of kings!

Be Thou Thyself the answer to all my questionings;

Live out Thy life within me, in all things have Thy way!

I, the transparent medium, Thy glory to display.

2. The temple has been yielded, and purified of sin,

Let Thy Shekinah glory now shine forth from within,

And all the earth keep silence, the body henceforth be

Thy silent, gentle servant, moved only as by Thee.

3. Its members every moment held subject to Thy call,

Ready to have Thee use them, or not be used at all,

Held without restless longing, or strain, or stress, or fret,

Or chafings at Thy dealings, or thoughts of vain regret.

4. But restful, calm and pliant, from bend and bias free,

Awaiting Thy decision, when Thou hast need of me;

Live out Thy life within me, O Jesus, King of kings!

Be Thou the glorious answer to all my questionings.

Many spiritual songs of modern Christianity purport to be love songs to the Lord, but though they are filled with glowing terms of endearment, they are bereft of any genuine depth of commitment. Love is nothing if it does not require the dedication of the lover to the loved one—not an outward demand but an inner constraint generated out of the heart of love. This hymn, written by Watchman Nee, stands in stark contrast to the offerings in many modern Christian songs. The writer deeply experienced the constraining power of the lovely person of the Lord Jesus, and he expressed his profound devotion and allegiance as one who had been smitten with the attractiveness of the Savior. The feeling of the hymn is similar to the thought expressed by the apostle Paul in his second epistle to the Corinthian believers: “For the love of Christ constraints us because we have been judged this, that One died for all therefore all died; and He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to him who died for them and has been raised“ (5:14-15). Based on his attraction to the Lord Jesus, the writer of this hymn prays with intense longing, “Live Thyself Lord Jesus, through me, / For my very life art Thou. ”

(Affirmation and Critique, April 2001)

This life is the solution to all our problems, we have no say, letting Him call the shots may go against our natural man, but the result is the Glory of oness with Him eternally!

Thee I take to ALL my problems as the FULL solution now! Hallelujah! Everyday we can apply Him as the all-inclusive Christ to solve our problems and save us from them! He really is our full solution. Amen!

Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me

Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,

In all things Thy will be done;

I but a transparent vessel

To make visible the Son.