“I could not do without Thee” words by F.R.H. set to “Goldbach”
In the very rich—full of true gold from the Lord—hymnbook Songs of Grace and
Glory edited by Charles Busbridge Snepp (words) and F.R.H. (music, more than
1,100 scores prepared by her for this hymnbook), Frances set her hymn “I could
not do without Thee” to the old German hymn score “Goldbach.” This score was
attributed to Melchior Vulpius (ca.1570-1615) and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
(1714-1788), in the Hamburg Choral Book, and was harmonized by her father William
Henry Havergal (1793-1870). This was published as hymn number 1049 in Songs of
Grace and Glory. (The score without words was published as No. 130 in Havergal’s
Psalmody and Century of Chants, a volume of music primarily by W.H.H., edited by
F.R.H.) After this hymn, two other poems by F.R.H. are given.
1. I could not do without Thee,
O Saviour of the lost!
Whose precious blood redeemed me,
At such tremendous cost.
Thy righteousness, Thy pardon,
Thy precious blood must be
My only hope and comfort,
My glory and my plea!
2. I could not do without Thee!
I cannot stand alone,
I have no strength or goodness,
No wisdom of my own.
But Thou, belovèd Saviour,
Art all in all to me;
And weakness will be power,
If leaning hard on Thee.
3. I could not do without Thee!
For oh ! the way is long,
And I am often weary,
And sigh replaces song.
How could I do without Thee?
I do not know the way;
Thou knowest and Thou leadest,
And wilt not let me stray.
4. I could not do without Thee,
O Jesus, Saviour dear!
E’en when my eyes are holden,
I know that Thou art near.
How dreary and how lonely
This changeful life would be,
Without the sweet communion,
The secret rest with Thee!
5. I could not do without Thee!
No other friend can read
The spirit’s strange deep longings,
Interpreting its need.
No human heart could enter
Each dim recess of mine,
And soothe and hush and calm it,
O blessèd Lord, but Thine!
6. I could not do without Thee!
For years are fleeting fast,
And soon, in solemn loneliness,
The river must be passed.
But Thou wilt never leave me,
And, though the waves roll high,
I know Thou wilt be near me,
And whisper, “It is I.”
The six verses of this hymn were written by F.R.H. on May 7, 1873, and published
by her in her volume of poetry Under the Surface in 1874. She also wrote two
others, “What will you do without Him?” (thirteen stanzas of eight lines each, dated
April 9, 1876), and “Without Christ” (fourteen stanzas of eight lines each, undated,
published by her in The Royal Invitation in 1878). These other two are given next.
“What Will You Do Without Him?”
I could not do without Him!
Jesus is more to me
Than all the richest, fairest gifts
Of earth could ever be.
But the more I find Him precious—
And the more I find Him true—
The more I long for you to find
What He can be to you.
You need not do without Him,
For He is passing by,
He is waiting to be gracious,
Only waiting for your cry;
He is waiting to receive you—
To make you all His own!
Why will you do without Him,
And wander on alone?
Why will you do without Him?
Is He not kind indeed?
Did He not die to save you?
Is He not all you need?
Do you not want a Saviour?
Do you not want a Friend?
One who will love you faithfully,
And love you to the end?
Why will you do without Him?
The word of God is true,
The world is passing to its doom—
And you are passing too.
It may be no to-morrow
Shall dawn on you or me;
Why will you run the awful risk
Of all eternity?
What will you do without Him,
In the long and dreary day
Of trouble and perplexity,
When you do not know the way,
And no one else can help you,
And no one guides you right,
And hope comes not with morning,
And rest comes not with night?
You could not do without Him,
If once He made you see
The fetters that enchain you,
Till He hath set you free:
If once you saw the fearful load
Of sin upon your soul—
The hidden plague that ends in death,
Unless He makes you whole.
What will you do without Him
When death is drawing near?
Without His love—the only love
That casts out every fear;
When the shadow-valley opens,
Unlighted and unknown,
And the terrors of its darkness
Must all be passed alone!
What will you do without Him,
When the great white throne is set,
And the Judge who never can mistake,
And never can forget,—
The Judge whom you have never here
As Friend and Saviour sought,
Shall summon you to give account
Of deed and word and thought?
What will you do without Him,
When He hath shut the door,
And you are left outside, because
You would not come before?
When it is no use knocking,
No use to stand and wait,
For the word of doom tolls through your heart,
That terrible “Too late!”
You cannot do without Him
There is no other Name
By which you ever can be saved,
No way, no hope, no claim!
Without Him—everlasting loss
Of love, and life, and light!
Without Him—everlasting woe,
And everlasting night.
But with Him—oh ! with Jesus !
Are any words so blest?
With Jesus, everlasting joy
And everlasting rest!
With Jesus,—all the empty heart
Filled with His perfect love;
With Jesus,—perfect peace below,
And perfect bliss above.
Why should you do without Him?
It is not yet too late;
He has not closed the day of grace,
He has not shut the gate.
He calls you !—hush ! He calls you !
He would not have you go
Another step without Him,
Because He loves you so.
He would not do without you!
He calls and calls again—
“Come unto Me ! Come unto Me!”
Oh, shall He call in vain?
He wants to have you with Him;
Do you not want Him too?
You cannot do without Him,
And He wants—even you.
F.R.H. April 9, 1876 This was listed as one of her
hymns in the Nisbet edition of The Poetical Works
of Frances Ridley Havergal.
Without Christ.
“At that time ye were without Christ.”—Ephesians 2:12.
| John 6:68 | I could not do without Thee, | |
| Luke 19:10 | O Saviour of the lost! | |
| I Peter 1:18,19 | Whose precious blood redeemed me, | |
| Revelation 5:9 | At such tremendous cost. | |
| Romans 3:22 | Thy righteousness, Thy pardon, | |
| Ephesians 1:7 | Thy precious blood must be | |
| Hebrews 6:19 | My only hope and comfort, | |
| Galatians 6:14 | My glory and my plea! | |
| Psalm 73:23 | I could not do without Him! | |
| Song of Solomon 5:10 | Jesus is more to me | |
| Philippians 3:8 | Than all the richest, fairest gifts | |
| Matthew 13:44 | Of earth could ever be. | |
| I Peter 2:7 | But the more I find Him precious, | |
| Psalm 18:2 | And the more I find Him true, | |
| Psalm 34:8 | The more I long for you to find | |
| John 1:46 | What He can be to you. | |
| Hosea 13:9 | You need not do without Him, | |
| Matthew 20:30 | For He is passing by; | |
| Isaiah 30:18 | He is waiting to be gracious, | |
| Isaiah 30:19 | Only waiting for your cry. | |
| II Corinthians 6:17 | He is waiting to receive you,— | |
| Isaiah 43:1 | To make you all His own! | |
| Hosea 11:8 | Why will you do without Him, | |
| Hosea 14:2 | And wander on alone? | |
| Hosea 13:10 | Why will you do without Him? | |
| Titus 3:4 | Is He not kind indeed? | |
| Romans 5:8 | Did He not die to save you? | |
| John 4:14 | Is He not all you need? | |
| Acts 5:31 | Do you not want a Saviour? | |
| John 15:14 | Do you not want a Friend? | |
| Hosea 2:20 | One who will love you faithfully, | |
| John 13:1 | And love you to the end? | |
| Jeremiah 4:30 | Why will you do without Him? | |
| Matthew 24:35 | The Word of God is true; | |
| I John 2:17 | The world is passing to its doom, | |
| Psalm 144:4 | And you are passing too. | |
| James 4:14 | It may be, no to-morrow | |
| Proverbs 27:1 | Shall dawn for you or me; | |
| Proverbs 29:1 | Why will you run the awful risk | |
| Isaiah 33:14 | Of all eternity? | |
| Hosea 9:5 | What will you do without Him | |
| Ecclesiastes 12:1 | In the long and dreary day | |
| Isaiah 59:9,10 | Of trouble and perplexity, | |
| Hosea 2:6 | When you do not know the way; | |
| Hosea 13:9,10 | And no one else can help you, | |
| Jeremiah 2:17 | And no one guides you right, | |
| Jeremiah 2:25 | And hope comes not with morning, | |
| Job 7:4 | And rest comes not with night? | |
| Romans 7:24 | You could not do without Him, | |
| John 8:33,34 | If once He made you see | |
| II Peter 2:19 | The fetters that enchain you | |
| Romans 8:2 | Till He hath set you free; | |
| Psalm 38:4 | If once you saw the fearful load | |
| Ezekiel 33:10 | Of sin upon your soul,— | |
| Jeremiah 17:9 | The hidden plague that ends in death, | |
| Jeremiah 17:14 | Unless He makes you whole! | |
| Jeremiah 12:5 | What will you do without Him | |
| Ecclesiastes 12:3 | When death is drawing near, | |
| Song of Solomon 8:6,7 | Without His love—the only love | |
| I John 4:18 | That casts out every fear; | |
| Jeremiah 13:16 | When the shadow-valley opens, | |
| Job 8:13,14 | Unlighted and unknown, | |
| Job 10:21,22 | And the terrors of its darkness | |
| Psalm 23:4 | Must all be passed alone? | |
| Revelation 6:17 | What will you do without Him | |
| Revelation 20:11 | When the great White Throne is set, | |
| Romans 2:16 | And the Judge who never can mistake, | |
| Hosea 7:2 | And never can forget,— | |
| II Corinthians 5:10 | The Judge, whom you have never here | |
| Matthew 7:23 | As Friend and Saviour sought, | |
| Romans 14:12 | Shall summon you to give account | |
| Matthew 12:36 | Of deed, and word, and thought? | |
| Matthew 25:11 | What will you do without Him | |
| Revelation 3:7 | When He hath shut the door, | |
| Hebrews 3:19 | And you are left outside, because | |
| John 5:40 | You would not come before; | |
| Luke 13:25 | When it is no use knocking, | |
| Hebrews 12:17 | No use to stand and wait, | |
| Revelation 22:11 | For the word of doom tolls through your heart, | |
| Luke 16:26 | That terrible “Too late”? | |
| John 14:6 | You cannot do without Him! | |
| I Timothy 2:5 | There is no other name | |
| Acts 4:12 | By which you ever can be saved,— | |
| Ephesians 2:12 | No way, no hope, no claim! | |
| Mark 8:36 | Without Him—everlasting loss | |
| John 3:36 | Of love, and life, and light! | |
| Matthew 25:41 | Without Him—everlasting woe, | |
| Matthew 8:12 | And everlasting night. | |
| Song of Solomon 4:8 | But with Him—oh ! with Jesus!— | |
| John 17:24 | Are any words so blest? | |
| Isaiah 35:10 | With Jesus—everlasting joy | |
| I Thessalonians 4:17 | And everlasting rest! | |
| Psalm 107:9 | With Jesus—all the empty heart | |
| Ephesians 3:19,20 | Filled with His perfect love! | |
| Isaiah 26:3 | With Jesus—perfect peace below, | |
| Psalm 16:11 | And perfect bliss above! | |
| Jeremiah 5:31 | Why should you do without Him?— | |
| Revelation 3:20 | It is not yet too late; | |
| II Corinthians 6:2 | He has not closed the day of grace, | |
| Matthew 7:13 | He has not shut the gate. | |
| Mark 10:49 | He calls you!—hush! | |
| John 6:67 | He calls you!—He would not have you go | |
| Hosea 2:14 | Another step without Him, | |
| John 15:13 | Because He loves you so. | |
| Ezekiel 33:11 | Why will you do without Him? | |
| John 7:37 | He calls and calls again— | |
| Matthew 11:28 | “Come unto Me! Come unto Me!” | |
| Isaiah 65:1,2 | Oh, shall He call in vain? | |
| Matthew 23:37 | He wants to have you with Him; | |
| Psalm 13:1,2 | Do you not want Him too? | |
| I John 5:12 | You cannot do without Him, | |
| Jeremiah 31:3 | And He wants—even you! |
Frances Ridley Havergal,
Eighteenth Day of The Royal Invitation