December 31 

Standing at the Portal 

TEXT AND TUNE: Frances R. Havergal

b. December 14, 1836, Astley, Worcestershire, England

d. June 3, 1879, Swansea, Wales

Frances, or Fanny, Havergal was the youngest daughter of her family, raised during Britain’s Victorian period. Her father was a pastor and hymn writer. As a precocious child, she was nicknamed “Little Quicksilver” by her father. Even at a young age, she could quote from the Psalms, Isaiah, the Minor Prophets, and the New Testament. At age fifteen, Havergal wrote, “I committed my soul to the Savior, and earth and heaven seemed brighter from that moment.”⁴⁴ She attended college in Germany where she learned several modern languages, including Greek and Hebrew. She loved writing poems and music and developed into a talented singer and pianist.

When Havergal was eleven, she lost her mother to illness and was never healthy herself. When her doctor ultimately told her that she would not live much longer, because of her strong faith she replied, “That is too good to be true.” Because her life ended at only forty-two, she has been called “a bright but short-lived candle in English hymnody.” Over fifty of her hymns were published in various hymnals, but two of her most widely sung and loved hymns are “Take My Life, and Let It Be” and “Like a River Glorious.” In her own words, her primary goal was to be a “personal spiritual benefit upon others.”⁴⁵

Her hymn tune, HERMAS, was written in 1871 when she was thirty-five. It is more well-known as the tune for the hymn “On Our Way Rejoicing.” The tune ST. ALBAN is associated as well with “Standing at the Portal.” It was written by Franz Joseph Haydn, and adds a four-phrase refrain: “Onward then, and fear not, children of the day; for His Word shall never, never pass away.”

As you sing this hymn … you are obviously not singing a Christmas hymn, but instead one to be sung (or recited if you do not know the tune) on New Year’s Eve. The custom of the New Year’s Eve “Watchnight Services” is seldom practiced in churches today. There are few hymns written and almost none placed in modern hymnals that even mention this unique evening. Perhaps sadly any gatherings on that evening are given to parties and feasting. However, praying in the new year was the purpose of the traditional New Year’s Eve service and could still be a family’s practice, whether at the midnight hour or earlier in the evening. Prayers based on Scripture promises should be made, and this hymn provides a solid foundation for those prayers.

Jim Elliot, a missionary martyred for his faith, wrote regarding the new year: “I pray that the Lord might crown this year with His goodness and in the coming one give you a hallowed dare-devil spirit in lifting the biting sword of Truth, consuming you with a passion that is called by the cultured citizen of Christendom ‘fanaticism,’ but known to God as that saintly madness that led His Son through bloody sweat and hot tears to agony on a rude Cross … and Glory!”⁴⁶

That is a resolution! Our customary New Year’s resolutions of losing weight or changing a habit pale in comparison. God wants our continuing resolves to trust His faithfulness and love, not only on New Year’s Day but throughout the year. Jonathan Edwards wrote this resolution: “Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I will.”⁴⁷ As you “stand at the portal,” what is your resolve for the coming year?