The Cyber Hymnal ‎#5355

5355. Oh, to Be Nothing

1. Oh, to be nothing, nothing,
Only to lie at His feet,
A broken and emptied vessel,
For the Master’s use made meet.
Emptied that He might fill me
As forth to His service I go;
Broken, that so unhindered,
His life through me might show.

Refrain
Oh, to be nothing, nothing,
Only to lie at His feet,
A broken and emptied vessel,
For the Master’s use made meet.

2. Oh, to be nothing, nothing,
Only as led by His hand;
A messenger at His gateway,
Only waiting for His command;
Only an instrument ready
His praises to sound at His will,
Willing should He not require me,
In silence to wait on Him still. [Refrain]

3. Oh, to be nothing, nothing,
Painful the humbling may be,
Yet low in the dust I’d lay me
That the world might my Savior see.
Rather be nothing, nothing,
To Him let our voices be raised,
He is the Fountain of blessing,
He only is meet to be praised. [Refrain]

Text Information

• First Line: Oh, to be nothing, nothing
• Title: Oh, to Be Nothing
• Author: Georgiana M. Taylor (1869)
• Refrain First Line: Oh, to be nothing, nothing
• Language: English
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Miss Taylor writes me: The idea for the hymn came into my mind through reading of the expression, Oh, to be nothing, in a volume of an old magazine. I think it occurred in anecdote about an aged Christian worker. At all events the words haunted me; I mused on their meaning, and the hymn was the outcome. Some one misinterpreted the true meaning of the hymn, and has written another one entitled, Oh, to be something. But it is not in accordance with the Master, who made himself nothing; nor is it in the spirit of the text which says that he that abaseth himself shall in due time be exalted. This hymn was much used as a solo in our meetings in Great Britain. Sankey, p. 208

Tune Information

• Name: [Oh, to be nothing, nothing]
• Composer: R. George Halls
• Arranger: Philip Paul Bliss
• Incipit: 54317 76565 65325
• Key: C Major
• Copyright: Public Domain