Living Is Giving

Representative Text

1 Give! said the golden sun:
Up rose the mist,
Safe in the silver clouds
Cradled and kissed.
Give! said the thirsty earth:
Down came the show'r;
Give! said the raindrops bright,
Up sprang the flow'r.

Chorus:
Living is giving, giving is living;
All things would die if only receiving.
Give! this is the rule of love by which we live.

2 Give! said the little stream:
Up gushed the spring,
In shady forest nook,
Where robins sing.
Give! said the river wide:
Brooks hurried down.
Give! said the ocean tide:
Rivers flowed on. [Chorus]

3 Give! said the midnight moon:
Swift came the light
Borrowed from far-off sun,
Cheering the night.
Help! said the "Milky Way:"
Stars heard the call,
Orion, Pleiades,
Dipper and all. [Chorus]

4 Give! cried a sinful world:
Down came the Lord,
He who made everything
Just by his word.
Give! cries the heathen child,
Hungry for love:
Yes! say our pennies bright,
Lent from above. [Chorus]



Source: Christ in Song: for all religious services nearly one thousand best gospel hymns, new and old with responsive scripture readings (Rev. and Enl.) #575

Author: F. E. Belden

Belden was born in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1858. He began writing music in his late teenage years after moving to California with his family. For health reasons he later moved to Colorado. He returned to Battle Creek with his wife in the early 1880s, and there he became involved in Adventist Church publishing. F. E. Belden wrote many hymn tunes, gospel songs, and related texts in the early years of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Belden was able to rapidly write both music and poetry together which enabled him to write a song to fit a sermon while it was still being delivered. He also wrote songs for evang­el­ist Bil­ly Sun­day. Though Belden’s later years were marred by misunderstandings with the church leadership over his royal… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Give, said the golden sun
Title: Living Is Giving
Author: F. E. Belden
Language: English
Refrain First Line: Living is giving, giving is living
Copyright: Public Domain

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Christ in Song #d145

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Christ in Song #575

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