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Hymns

Today in 1834 – In the Hour of Trial written

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James Montgomery wrote this hymn with Luke 22:31-32 in mind, and the words of Jesus to Peter: “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” the song begins:

In the hour of trial, Jesus, plead for me,
Lest by base denial I depart from Thee.
When Thou seest me waver, with a look recall,
Nor for fear or favor suffer me to fall.

Should Thy mercy send me sorrow, toil, and woe;
Or should pain attend me on my path below;
Grant that I may never fail Thy hand to see;
Grant that I may ever cast my care on Thee.

We know that the Lord Jesus prayed much while on earth. The Gospels show us that. But does He pray for us now? Even James Montgomery seems to have been uncertain about that. A year later, he rewrote the opening line as: “In the hour of trial, / Jesus, stand by me.” The Holy Spirit prays for us (Rom. 8:26-27). But Christ’s advocacy with the Father on our behalf seems more related to the eternal effectiveness of His payment for our sins (I Jn. 2:1-2). And it is the Spirit of God who strengthens us in trials (Eph. 3:16). Even so, there is much to recommend at least the sentiment of this hymn.

The following piano rendition is interesting–and probably brilliant. But the sprightly jazz stylings seem completely at odds with the text of this sober hymn. As I have pointed out numerous times, the text of our hymns is their most important element. It should be both biblical and clear. Then, think of the words as a great painting, and the music as the frame. The frame should help to draw our attention to the painting, and enhance its meaning, not be distracting, or carrying a complete different message. Skilled as this performance is, it utterly fails in that regard.

(2) Today in 1877 – Who Is on the Lord’s Side? written

Written by Frances Ridley Havergal, the original title of this hymn was Home Missions. Miss Havergal took her inspiration from the declaration of loyalty by a member of David’s army. “Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said: ‘We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.’” (I Chron. 12:18). She thought of it as applying to Christians working and warring under their Commander, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will serve the King?
Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world’s side? Who will face the foe?
Who is on the Lord’s side? Who for Him will go?
By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Saviour, we are Thine!

Not for weight of glory, nor for crown and palm,
Enter we the army, raise the warrior psalm;
But for love that claimeth lives for whom He died:
He whom Jesus nameth must be on His side.
By Thy love constraining, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Saviour, we are Thine!

Today in 1843 – Bourne Draper Died

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Bourne Hall Draper’s parents hoped he would enter Christian ministry. However, funds were lacking for his education. He became a printer’s apprentice for a time, but eventually was able to take training and become a pastor in England, in 1804. He also wrote three dozen books, several of which were for children. The one hymn for which he is known today is Ye Christian Heralds, Go Proclaim.

Ye Christian heralds, go proclaim
Salvation through Emmanuel’s Name;
To distant climes the tidings bear,
And plant the Rose of Sharon there.

God shield you with a wall of fire,
With flaming zeal your breasts inspire,
Bid raging winds their fury cease,
And hush the tumult into peace.

(2) Today in 1882 – Jean Pigott Died

Little is known today of Irish poetess and hymn writer Jean Sophia Pigott. We know her brother Thomas was a missionary in China, and that he was killed in the Boxer Rebellion in 1901. Jean Pigott wrote a number of hymns, but only one is still in common use, the beautiful Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting.

Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.

O, how great Thy loving kindness,
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O, how marvellous Thy goodness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Belovèd,
Know what wealth of grace is Thine,
Know Thy certainty of promise,
And have made it mine.

(3) Today in 1895 – Cecil Alexander Died

If you came across the name Cecil Alexander in a hymn book, you might conclude the person referred to was a man. However, Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander (1818-1895) was born in Ireland, the daughter of Major Humphreys of the Royal Marines.

Perhaps the Major had hoped for a boy that could follow in his footsteps and join the military. But Cecil sought a career in quite another direction. She became a pastor’s wife, and a noted hymn writer–especially of songs for children. Practically all of the 400 poems she wrote were for the young, and were meant to put profound truths in simple terms for them. Among her hymns still in use are: All Things Bright and Beautiful, Jesus Calls Us, Once in Royal David’s City, and There Is a Green Hill Far Away.

Regarding the last of these, whenever she took a carriage into Derry to shop, Mrs. Alexander had to pass a small grassy hill, near to the wall surrounding the old Irish city. It had always reminded her of Calvary. Actually, we do not know for certain that the original Calvary was a hill. It was “outside the gate” of the city of Jerusalem (Heb. 13:12). But the exact location is uncertain, since the city wall has shifted a number of times over the centuries.

Graphic Gordons Calvary

The place was called “Calvary” in Greek (Lk. 23:33), “Golgotha” in Hebrew (Jn. 19:17), both meaning a skull. But whether this is because it was a place of execution, or because some indentations in the ground gave the area a skull-like appearance, we do not know for sure. Over a century ago, Charles Gordon researched the biblical record and believed he had found the site. The rocky prominence seen here, now known as Gordon’s Calvary, does have indentations that give it something of the appearance of a skull.

There is a green hill far away,
Outside a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.

O dearly, dearly, has He loved,
And we must love Him, too,
And trust in His redeeming blood,
And try His works to do.

Another of Mrs. Alexander’s hymns for children dealt with that part of the Apostles’ Creed that describes God as the “Maker of heaven and earth.” It is a little unusual in that the hymn is to begin with the refrain (“All things bright and beautiful…”), as well as including it after each stanza.

The sixth stanza of the song is usually omitted, so that it will not seem to rule out city children–who may never even have seen a “meadow,” and play their games on asphalt and concrete! It says:

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day.

Without these lines, the song provides a fine hymn that reminds children (and all of us) of the beauty of God’s creation.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings.

The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Today in 1895 – Avis Christiansen Born

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Avis Marguerite Burgeson was a lifelong Chicago resident who attended the great Moody Church, pastored for many years by Dr. Harry Ironside. In 1917, Avis Burgeson married Ernest Christiansen who became a vice president of Moody Bible Institute. A modest and retiring woman, Mrs. Christiansen sometimes used pen names–Avis Burgesson, Christian B. Anson and Constance B. Ried. She began writing poems in childhood, and before her death in 1985 had written thousands of them–many of which were turned into insightful and singable gospel songs. Here are a few that she has given us.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
Blessed Calvary
Blessed Redeemer
Come, Come, Ye Saints*
Fill All My Vision
How Can It Be?
It Is Glory Just to Walk with Him
Jesus Has Lifted Me
Love Found a Way
Only One Life to Offer

*This is a much revised version of a Mormon hymn, rendering it more in keeping with orthodox Christianity.

One Sunday evening at Moody Church, Avis Christiansen heard a message by Paul Rader on John 3:16. He emphasized the love of God that provided for our salvation in the cross of Christ, and said, “Love found a way.” Musician Harry Dixon Loes was struck by the words, and quickly jotted down a few phrases. He gave them to his friend Avis, and the ideas later became her song,

Wonderful love that rescued me, sunk deep in sin,
Guilty and vile as I could be—no hope within;
When every ray of light had fled, O glorious day!
Raising my soul from out the dead, love found a way.

Love found a way, to redeem my soul,
Love found a way, that could make me whole.
Love sent my Lord to the cross of shame,
Love found a way, O praise His holy Name!

Space won’t permit a discussion of many of Christiansen’s fine songs, but consider Blessed Calvary for a moment. The words are Avis’s. The tune was supplied by Lance Brenton Latham. Latham was an accomplished concert pianist. (I was privileged to hear him when he was in his eighties, and his playing even then was amazing!) He was also a pastor. But his most recognized accomplishment was his founding of a children’s club that eventually became the worldwide Awana Youth Association. The Christiansen and Latham hymn says:

I look at the cross upon Calvary,
And O what a wonder divine!
To think of the wealth it holds for me–
The riches of heaven are mine.

Blessed Calvary, precious Calvary!
‘Neath thy shadow I’ll ever abide;
Blessed Calvary, precious Calvary!
‘Twas there Jesus suffered and died.

The cross is my hope for eternity–
No merit have I of my own;
The shed blood of Christ my only plea–
My trust is in Jesus alone.

(2) How Blest Was That Life (Data Missing)

Both the author of the words and the composer of the tune are unknown for this little song. (You can hear the tune played on the Cyber Hymnal.)

How Blest Was That Life reflects on how wonderful it would have been to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His teaching, during His days here upon earth. But it reminds us as well that we serve a living Saviour, who continues to be accessible to us, and whom we will one day see.

How blest was that life once lived upon earth,
The life of the Saviour of men!
What joy was their part who learned at His feet,
Who loved and who worshipped Him then!

I know that He liveth, Redeemer and Friend,
To bless and to comfort our way;
I know the glad song of the heavenly throng—
He liveth, He liveth today!

The Friend of our need, the Hope of the world,
Abides with us still as of old;
When wandering far in sorrow and sin,
He leadeth us home to the fold.

Thou art not afar, in regions unknown:
Our faith reacheth up unto Thee;
And still, through the mists of ages long past,
The Saviour of sinners doth see.

Today in 1841 – William Ogden Born

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William Augustine Ogden showed a talent for making music early on. He began studying the subject at the age of 8, and was reading music with some facility in two years. Not long after, it was discovered he was able to write down the music notation of a melody after hearing it played or sung. In adulthood, with the outbreak of the American Civil War, he enlisted, organizing a male choir that became well known throughout the Army of the Cumberland.

After the war, Ogden resumed his study of music. Hymn writers Lowell Mason and Thomas Hastings were among his teachers. He published numerous songbooks of his compositions, and taught music at many schools in the United States and Canada. In 1887, he because Superintendent of Music in the public schools of Toledo, Ohio.

A number of William Ogden’s gospel songs, or ones for which he provided the melody, are still in use. Among them are:

Bring Them In
He Is Able to Deliver Thee
Look and Live
Seeking the Lost

Ogden has given us songs of invitation, calling sinners to look to Christ for salvation, as well as songs of exhortation to carry the gospel to those who need to hear it.

Look and Live speaks of the perceptive look of faith. It draws upon an incident in the Old Testament (Num. 21:5-9, especially vs. 9), which the Lord Jesus later used as a picture of Himself (Jn. 3:14-15). That same “look” of faith for salvation is also reflected in a text that was the means of bringing Charles Haddon Spurgeon to Christ: “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth!” (Isa. 45:22).

I’ve a message from the Lord, Hallelujah!
The message unto you I’ll give;
’Tis recorded in His Word, Hallelujah!
It is only that you “look and live.”

Look and live, my brother, live,
Look to Jesus now and live;
’Tis recorded in His Word, Hallelujah!
It is only that you look and live.

Life is offered unto you, Hallelujah!
Eternal life your soul shall have,
If you only look to Him, Hallelujah!
Look to Jesus Who alone can save.

Seeking the Lost finds its inspiration in the parable of the Lost Sheep (Lk. 15:3-7). I can remember singing this song with a male choir 50 years ago. (There is a nice melody section for the basses in the chorus.)

Seeking the lost, yes, kindly entreating
Wanderers on the mountain astray;
“Come unto Me,” His message repeating,
Words of the Master speaking today.

Going afar upon the mountain,
Bringing the wanderer back again,
Into the fold of my Redeemer
Jesus the Lamb for sinners slain.

Thus would I go on missions of mercy,
Following Christ from day unto day,
Cheering the faint and raising the fallen,
Pointing the lost to Jesus, the Way.

(2) Today in 1958 – George Bennard Died

George Bennard’s name will be forever linked to his gospel song, The Old Rugged Cross. That hymn became almost an instant favourite after its publication around 1915. It has remained so, ever since.

Bennard was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1873. When he was young, he trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, in a Salvation Army meeting. He and his wife later worked with the Salvation Army for a number of years. Then he entered evangelistic work on his own, holding meetings in the United States and Canada. Hymn writer Al Smith speaks of meeting him in a drugstore, in his latter years, and describes him as “an elderly man with flowing snow white hair and very thick glasses.”

We are indebted to Mr. Bennard for other songs in addition to his best-known one. One that you will find in some songbooks is the challenge to evangelism and missions, Speak, My Lord. It is based on the vision of Isaiah in Isa. 6:1-8. There, when God sought for a messenger, the prophet responded, “Here am I! Send me.” May we be as ready to do the Father’s will.

Hear the Lord of harvest sweetly calling,
“Who will go and work for Me today?
Who will bring to Me the lost and dying?
Who will point them to the narrow way?”

Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,
Speak, and I’ll be quick to answer Thee;
Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,
Speak, and I will answer, “Lord, send me.”

Soon the time for reaping will be over;
Soon we’ll gather for the harvest home;
May the Lord of harvest smile upon us,
May we hear His blessèd, “Child, well done.”

(3) More from James Montgomery

The son of a clergyman, born in Ayrshire, Scotland, for many years he turned his back on his early upbringing, and abandoned the church of his youth. But the Lord kept seeking the prodigal, and eventually he repented of his backslidden ways, and recommitted himself to Christ. Desiring restoration to church fellowship as well, he wrote:

People of the living God,
I have sought the world around,
Paths of sin and sorrow trod,
Peace and comfort nowhere found.
Now to you my spirit turns–
Turns a fugitive unblessed:
Brethren, where your altar burns,
O receive me into rest.

By God’s grace, James Montgomery became one of the great hymnists of the evangelical church. In his Christian Psalmist, published in 1825, he included a beautiful hymn for the Lord’s Supper. Called According to Thy Gracious Word, It was inspired by the words of the Lord Jesus in Lk. 22:19, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”

According to Thy gracious word,
In meek humility,
This will I do, my dying Lord,
I will remember Thee.

Thy body, broken for my sake,
My bread from heaven shall be;
The testamental cup I take,
And thus remember Thee.

When to the cross I turn mine eyes,
And rest on Calvary,
O Lamb of God, my sacrifice,
I must remember Thee;

Remember Thee, and all Thy pains
And all Thy love to me;
Yea, while a breath, a pulse remains,
Will I remember Thee.

Today in 1958 – Margaret Simpson Died

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Margaret Mae Simpson was the daughter of Albert Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination. Delicate as an infant, she nonetheless lived until the age of 80.

Margaret wrote the tune for her father’s missionary hymn, The Regions Beyond, published in 1904. The phrase is taken from II Cor. 10:16, where Paul expresses his purpose “to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you [i.e. areas beyond Corinth].”

To the regions beyond I must go, I must go
Where the story has never been told;
To the millions that never have heard of His love,
I must tell the sweet story of old.

To the regions beyond
I must go, I must go,
Till the world, all the world,
His salvation shall know.

To the hardest of places He calls me to go,
Never thinking of comfort or ease;
The world may pronounce me a dreamer, a fool,
Enough if the Master I please.

(2) More from John Newton

An encouraging–though little known–hymn of John Newton’s, that he entitled The Lord Will Provide, was published in his hymn book, Olney Hymns, in 1779.

Though troubles assail us and dangers affright,
Though friends should all fail us and foes all unite,
Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide,
The promise assures us, “The Lord will provide.”

The birds, without garner or storehouse, are fed;
From them let us learn to trust God for our bread.
His saints what is fitting shall ne’er be denied
So long as ’tis written, “The Lord will provide.”

No strength of our own and no goodness we claim;
Yet, since we have known of the Saviour’s great name,
In this our strong tower for safety we hide:
The Lord is our power, “The Lord will provide.”

Today in 1865 – Hugh Stowell Died

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Hugh Stowell, born in 1799, on the Isle of Man, was an Anglican clergyman who served his denomination in a number of positions. He was also a great man of prayer. His son wrote, “My father’s last utterances abundantly showed his love of and delight in prayer. Almost every word was prayer…The morning of his death the only articulate words that we could catch, uttered two or three hours before his decease, were ‘Amen! Amen!’”

His passion to commune with God is indicated by the only hymn of his that is still in common use, From Every Stormy Wind That Blows. Because it uses the imagery of the Old Testament “mercy seat,” let’s take a moment to look at the Scripture regarding that.

The context is God’s instruction to Israel for building a worship centre called the tabernacle. The most sacred item in the tabernacle, kept by itself in an inner sanctuary called the holy of holies, was the ark of the covenant. In the ark, among some other things were to be placed the stone tables inscribed with the Ten Commandments. The lid of the ark, made of solid gold, was called the mercy seat. (Note: the “cubit” [kewbit] is about 18 inches.)

The High Priest and the Ark of the Covenant

You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim [angelic beings] of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat….And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat….And there I [the Lord] will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat.

Exod. 25:17-22
Graphic Mercy Seat Diagram

In between the two golden cherubim, Jehovah God manifested His presence in the form of a glorious light that the Jews called the shekinah. Picture the arrangement, referring to this simplified drawing. Above, was the revealed presence of a holy God. Below, his righteous and holy Law, broken many times by the people. How could such a holy One meet and have fellowship with a sinful people? The answer: The only way was for the shed blood of a substitute to intervene. This was symbolized in an annual ceremony under the Law of Israel.

Once a year, the high priest entered the holy of holies and applied the blood of a sacrifice to the mercy seat. This portrayed the way that the shed blood of a substitute came between a holy God and His broken Law. And this symbolism was finally fulfilled in reality at the cross of Calvary. “Christ died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3). We are able to have our sins forgiven, and find acceptance with God, through faith in the sacrifice of Christ.

Hugh Stowell pictured his fellowship with God as an approach to the mercy seat, where the justice of a holy God was satisfied through Christ. Through the blood of Christ shed on the cross, he was able to have access to God.

From every stormy wind that blows,
From every swelling tide of woes,
There is a calm, a sure retreat;
’Tis found beneath the mercy seat.

There is a place where Jesus sheds
The oil of gladness on our heads;
A place than all besides more sweet;
It is the blood bought mercy seat.

There, there, on eagles’ wings we soar,
And time and sense seem all no more;
And heaven comes down, our souls to greet,
And glory crowns the mercy seat.

(2) More from Isaac Watts – Jesus Shall Reign

Isaac Watts was both a brilliant man and a very significant hymn writer. For good reason he has been called “the Father of English Hymnody.”  His Jesus Shall Reign, a paraphrase of Psalm 72, pictures the coming reign of Christ. But nearly two centuries ago there was a remarkable illustration of the transforming power of the gospel that foreshadows the blessings of the Messiah’s coming kingdom

By 1821, missionary work had already been taking place on the Pacific island of Fiji. Many had come to Christ. Then, one day, the people there were terrified to see a Tonga war canoe appear on the horizon. No wonder they were fearful. The Tonga warriors were ferocious head-hunters and cannibals. But incredibly they had not come that day to kill. They wanted to buy a Bible. Somehow they had heard about Christ, and wanted to know more.

Even more remarkable, this was their second attempt to reach Fiji. A canoe had been sent out some time before, only to vanish without a trace. Now, a second boat had made the perilous journey across 250 miles of open ocean on the same urgent quest. They had not even realized that a Bible would be completely useless to them. Not one of them could read! But a solution was proposed.

Seeing in their earnestness the call of God, a missionary named John Thomas agreed to return with them to teach the Word of God. Over the next twenty years, on Tonga and the neighbouring islands, that ministry was visited with such blessing that thousands put their faith in the Saviour. Then, on Whit-Sunday (Pentecost) of 1862, an amazing worship service was held.

Under the spreading umbrella of a banyan tree, some 5,000 native Christians assembled. The meeting was led by “King George,” a local ruler who had himself been a cannibal in his younger years. He too was now a dedicated follower of Christ. Around him sat a coterie of old chiefs, warriors who had fought many a grisly battle in days gone by.

All rejoiced in God’s gracious salvation, and their faces radiated with sublime joy. King George announced that the islands would now be governed according to Christian principles. Formerly bound by wicked cruelty and dark superstition, they now bowed the knee to Christ.

One hymn chosen to be sung that day was Jesus Shall Reign. Picture the scene in 1862. As the sunlight beamed down on that South Sea island, dancing and sparkling on the incoming waves, 5,000 native believers lifted their voices and sang, in their own tongue, “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun doth his successive journeys run.” Delivered from heathen darkness by the power of Christ, they were the living embodiment of the words.

Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Doth his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

From north to south the princes meet
To pay their homage at His feet;
While western empires own their Lord,
And savage tribes attend His Word.

To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.

Peoples and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name.

Blessings abound where’er He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.

Today in 1810 – Henry Alford Born

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Henry Alford was an Anglican clergyman, born in London. At the age of 16, he wrote in his Bible: “I do this day, in the presence of God and my own soul, renew my covenant with God, and solemnly determine henceforth to become His, and to do His work, as far as in me lies.” He became an eloquent preacher in Victorian England. In addition, he wrote a scholarly four-volume commentary on the Greek New Testament, translated a number of hymns, and wrote some of his own. Before his death, Alford specified what he wanted on his tombstone. In English translation the Latin inscription reads: “The inn of a traveller on his way to Jerusalem.”

Dean Henry Alford has given us two fine hymns that are still in use: Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand, and Come, Ye Thankful People, Come. The former hymn, a thrilling depiction of the saints triumphant in the heavenly kingdom, was sung at the author’s own funeral.

Ten thousand times ten thousand in sparkling raiment bright,
The armies of the ransomed saints throng up the steeps of light;
’Tis finished, all is finished, their fight with death and sin;
Fling open wide the golden gates, and let the victors in.

Bring near Thy great salvation, Thou Lamb for sinners slain;
Fill up the roll of Thine elect, then take Thy power, and reign;
Appear, Desire of nations, Thine exiles long for home;
Show in the heaven Thy promised sign; Thou Prince and Saviour, come.

The second hymn appears, in the beginning, to be a thanksgiving hymn, a harvest hymn. But Dean Alford saw the prophetic application of the words, based on the Parable of the Tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43).

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God’s own field, fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown unto joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take His harvest home;
From His field shall in that day all offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store in His garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come, bring Thy final harvest home;
Gather Thou Thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified, in Thy garner to abide;
Come, with all Thine angels come, raise the glorious harvest home.

Graphic Thanksgiving (1)

(2) Today in 1835 – Folliot Pierpont Born

Folliot Sandford Pierpont was a distinguished classical scholar in England. He taught for a number of years, and published some poems, but he is known in hymnody for one song only, the hymn of thanksgiving, For the Beauty of the Earth.

In the song he lists many of the blessings for which we should be grateful to God. And of course we need more than an annual Thanksgiving Day for this. Each day of the Christian’s life should be thanksgiving day (I Thess. 5:18).

For the beauty of the earth
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild.

Today in 1816 – William Bradbury Born

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The name of William Batchelder Bradbury may not be too familiar to some, but he made a great contribution to our hymnody. Bradbury was a pioneer in music for children, both in the public school system and in the Sunday School. And it was this man who first encouraged Fanny Crosby to begin writing hymns.

A church organist, William Bradbury also organized singing classes, and taught music in the public schools. With his brother, he founded the Bradbury Piano Company. He devoted much time to composing and editing, and was the composer of dozens of gospel hymn tunes, such as those for Jesus Loves Me, Holy Bible, Book Divine, Even Me, Saviour, Like a Shepherd Lead Us, The Solid Rock, Sweet Hour of Prayer, and many more.

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known;
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer.

(2) Today in 1818 – Silas Vail Born

Silas Jones Vail, born in Brooklyn, New York, trained as a hatter. He clerked in a store, and later had a successful business of his own. Vail also compiled and published collections of songs. His book The Athenaeum Collection included 10 new songs by popular composer Stephen Foster. Then, in 1874, in collaboration with Horace Waters and W. F. Sherwin, Vail published Songs of Grace and Glory, a book of Sunday School songs.

In the book was printed, for the first time, Fanny Crosby’s lovely song, Close to Thee. Silas Vail composed the tune for it. Well, actually, he composed the tune before the words were written. Then Vail went to see Fanny Crosby, and played it for her, asking that she think of some words to go with it. While he was playing it, Fanny said, “That refrain says ‘Close to Thee; close to Thee.” The composer agreed, and a new song was born.

“‘Then I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord. ‘You shall be My people, And I will be your God.’” (Jer. 30:21-22)

“Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith.” (Heb. 10:22)

Thou my everlasting portion, more than friend or life to me,
All along my pilgrim journey, Saviour, let me walk with Thee.
Close to Thee, close to Thee, close to Thee, close to Thee,
All along my pilgrim journey, Saviour, let me walk with Thee.

Not for ease or worldly pleasure, nor for fame my prayer shall be;
Gladly will I toil and suffer, only let me walk with Thee.
Close to Thee, close to Thee, close to Thee, close to Thee,
Gladly will I toil and suffer, only let me walk with Thee.

(3) Today in 1945 – George Stebbins Died

American musician George Coles Stebbins was born in 1846, and lived through almost a century of the development of gospel music. He studied music in Buffalo and Rochester, New York, then moved to Chicago, where he became acquainted with many of the gospel songwriters of the day, George Root, Philip Bliss, and Ira Sankey.

He served as the director of music in a couple of churches, but in 1876, evangelist Dwight L. Moody persuaded him to focus on evangelistic ministry. He directed the choir for Moody’s first evangelistic campaign in that year. And for the next quarter of a century he was associated with Mr. Moody and other evangelists.

In addition to serving as a choir director and song leader, George Stebbins composed hundreds of hymn tunes, and assisted in the publication of a number of song collections. Among many others, he wrote tunes for:

Calling Today
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
I’ve Found a Friend
Jesus, I Come
Must I Go and Empty-handed?
Saved by Grace
Saviour, Breathe an Evening Blessing
Take Time to Be Holy
There Is a Green Hill Far Away
Throw Out the Lifeline
Ye Must Be Born Again

Fanny Crosby’s fine gospel song Saved by Grace had an interesting beginning. In his book, Reminiscences and Gospel Hymn Stories, Mr. Stebbins tells what happened.

During the August Conference at Northfield in 1893, Fanny Crosby, who was a guest in Mr. Sankey’s summer home, was invited to address the conference at one of its sessions. At the close of her remarks, she quoted the verses of Saved by Grace….That evening Mr. Sankey asked, “Fanny, where did you get the hymn you quoted?”…She replied, with a smile, that she had stored it away in her memory, to use when she was asked to address meetings, and added, “I don’t intend to let any of you singers have it, either.” Meaning thereby that she did not want it set to music, lest it become well known and less desirable for her individual use.

However, there was a reporter at the meeting, who took down the words in shorthand. Not knowing of Fanny’s wish to keep the poem for her exclusive use, he published it in the paper. Ira Sankey and George Stebbins spoke of this afterward. Sankey felt that since they had become widely known, they should be set to music, and he asked his friend Mr. Stebbins to write a tune. It became a song much used in Dwight Moody’s meetings–and there’s no evidence that Fanny Crosby objected in the end.

Some day the silver cord will break,
And I no more as now shall sing;
But oh, the joy when I shall wake
Within the palace of the King!

And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace;
And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace.

Some day my earthly house will fall.
I cannot tell how soon ’twill be;
But this I know—my All in All
Has now a place in heav’n for me.

Some day: till then I’ll watch and wait,
My lamp all trimmed and burning bright,
That when my Saviour ope’s the gate,
My soul to Him may take its flight.

Today in 1864 – Hold the Fort inspired

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Hymn writer Philip Paul Bliss has given us a couple of songs based on contemporary incidents. Hold the Fort relates to something that happened during the American Civil War.

Graphic Civil War

A company of Union soldiers was commanded to defend an important supply depot at Altoona Pass. (A million and a half rations were stored there.) Soon surrounded by a much stronger force of Confederate troops, it looked as though the cause was hopeless. But suddenly, an officer caught sight of a white signal flag being flown from Kenesaw Mountain, 20 miles away. Soon, a message was conveyed across the miles: “Hold the fort; I am coming.” (William Tecumseh Sherman). A cheer went up from the men, and they redoubled their efforts and were able to hold on until Sherman arrived with reinforcements and drove the enemy back. (If you’d like to see a picture of the man who sent the signal, and a picture of his actual signal flag, check here.)

Bliss took this as an illustration of our spiritual conflict, and of the need to remain faithful to our charge, and continue on until Christ comes again.

Ho, my comrades! see the signal waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh.

“Hold the fort, for I am coming,” Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to heaven, “By Thy grace we will.”

There is also a fascinating story behind Philip Bliss’s song, Let the Lower Lights Be Burning. A harbour on Lake Erie, at Cleveland, was set up with a series of lights to guide ships in safely. Above the harbour was a lighthouse. Then, along the channel that led to an inner basin that was the Cleveland harbour there was a series of lamps lit.

But one day, the man responsible for lighting the lower lights carelessly neglected his duty. He reasoned that the lighthouse was good enough, and no one had ever yet failed to make the harbour. So he decided not to bother igniting the channel lights.

That night a terrible storm blew up, with waves rolling in like mountains, and the moon and stars obscured by black clouds. Nearing the harbour was a ship, and on deck this conversation took place between the captain and the pilot, amid the roar of the storm:

“Are you sure this is Cleveland?” asked the captain.
“Quite sure, sir,” replied the pilot.
“Where are the lower lights?”
“Gone out, sir.”
“Can you make the harbor?”
“We must, or perish, sir!”

But they did not make it. And the ship went down with great loss of life. Bliss applied this story to the need for Christians to share their faith. From heaven shines the great light of the gospel, through the Word. But we bear the lesser lights along the shore, commissioned to guide sinners into the safe harbour of God’s salvation.

Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning!
Send a gleam across the wave!
For to us He gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.

Graphic Riverside Church

(2) Today in 1930 – God of Grace and God of Glory written

Modernist pastor Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote this hymn for the opening service of Riverside Church, in New York City (pictured to the left). On one occasion, when our family was visiting friends in the city, my father and his friend attended a concert given by renowned organist Virgil Fox at the large and magnificent edifice

In his day, Fosdick stoutly denied the inspiration of Scripture, seeing the Bible rather as a record of the evolution of religious thought. In a famous sermon, “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?” he opposed those who held to the fundamental doctrines of the apostolic faith. While many of us would disagree with Fosdick’s theology, and with that of Riverside Church over the years, the hymn in question has some merit–and a certain irony in its defense of Christ, given the views of the author!

God of grace and God of glory,
On Thy people pour Thy power.
Crown Thine ancient church’s story,
Bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the facing of this hour,

Lo! the hosts of evil ’round us,
Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways.
From the fears that long have bound us,
Free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the living of these days.

Today in 1226 – Francis of Assisi Died

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Francesco Bernardone was born in central Italy. At the age of 22 he had a significant spiritual experience and determined to devote himself to a life of poverty and service for Christ.

A few years later, he formulated his lifestyle into a set of rules, applying to Pope Innocent III for permission to found a religious order along these lines. It was granted, and the Franciscan order was born. Barefoot, and having given up all earthly possessions, members went out two by two, preaching the need for repentance, and aiding the poor and the sick wherever they went, frequently working compassionately among lepers. They slept in hay lofts or leper houses along the way.

Francis died at the age of 44, but his great love of the natural world is commemorated in his hymn, All creatures of our God and King.

All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

(2) Today in 1837 – Mary Maxwell Born

At least, we think Mary E. Maxwell was born then. There is a bit of a mystery surrounding the authorship of the hymn Channels Only. Nowhere is data available for the woman credited with writing it. However, there was a popular author in England whose name was Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1837-1915). She married a John Maxwell in 1874, and it is thought that she may be the “Mary E. Maxwell” credited with the hymn-poem.

Whatever the authorship, this song says some important things. Preeminently, that we have nothing of spiritual worth to give needy people. Rather, the Lord wants us to be channels of His love and blessing to them. The Bible speaks of being “a vessel for honour, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work” (II Tim. 2:21). That is what God expects of us–to His glory, not our own.

Using a slightly different gardening analogy, the Apostle Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase” (I Cor. 3:6-7). He says, “I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (I Cor. 15:3). And he adds later, “I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (vs. 10). Are you a channel the Lord can use?

How I praise Thee, precious Saviour,
That Thy love laid hold of me;
Thou hast saved and cleansed and filled me
That I might Thy channel be.

Channels only, blessèd Master,
But with all Thy wondrous power
Flowing through us, Thou canst use us
Every day and every hour.

Emptied that Thou shouldest fill me,
A clean vessel in Thy hand;
With no power but as Thou givest
Graciously with each command.

(3) Today in 1888 – Homer Rodeheaver Born

Homer Alvan Rodeheaver began his gospel music ministry as a song leader with evangelist Billy Sunday. Uniquely, he held his trombone in one hand, as he led. Another gospel musician, George Stebbins, called it his “magic wand.” Stebbins said he was impressed with:

His great gift as a leader and…the ease with which he controls vast multitudes of people; also his winsome personality which renders him a worthy and invaluable associate of the great evangelist with whom he has been working for many years.

Mr. Rodheaver appears briefly (with his signature trombone) at the beginning of this very old film clip, as he introduces Billy Sunday to a waiting audience. Billy speaks of the reasons for his support of Prohibition.

Homer Rodeheaver wrote the music for a number of gospel songs. Among them, Good Night and Good Morning, and Then Jesus Came. In later years he founded the Rodeheaver-Ackly Company (eventually becoming the Rodeheaver Hall-Mack Company), publishers of gospel music.

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