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Hymns

Today in 1945 – Harper Smyth Died

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Harper Garcia Smyth was a gifted musician who played with the Metropolitan Opera Company. He also served as choir director in a number of churches, as well as a song leader for the Salvation Army, and for evangelist Wilbur Chapman. Interestingly, he also led songs at the national convention of the Republican Party in 1924. In 1945 he was leading singing with a group of army inductees when he suffered a debilitating stroke, dying four months later.

Though he wrote about 25 songs, Smyth is known in Christian hymnody largely for the words and music of one gospel song he wrote in 1903, Is Your Life a Channel of Blessing?

Years ago, I used to visit a senior citizen whose final words to me many times were, “May the Lord bless you and make you a blessing. That identifies an important principle. It is only as the Lord blesses us that we have something we can pass on to others. God’s words to Abraham were, “I will bless you…and you shall be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2). And in the words of the Lord Jesus, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8). That is how it should be. We are to become channels of His blessing to others.

Is your life a channel of blessing?
Is the love of God flowing through you?
Are you telling the lost of the Saviour?
Are you ready His service to do?

Make me a channel of blessing today,
Make me a channel of blessing, I pray;
My life possessing, my service blessing,
Make me a channel of blessing today.

We cannot be channels of blessing
If our lives are not free from known sin;
We will barriers be and a hindrance
To those we are trying to win.

I have missionary friends serving in Brazil. This is especially for them, the singing of Harper Smith’s hymn in Portuguese (called Vaso de Bencao in that language). This is a large Presbyterian congregation, and the hymn is well sung, with the pacing dead on. (Love the pipe organ, too!)

(2) The Bright Forevermore (Data Missing)

I can recall singing The Bright Forevermore, many years ago (#984 in Ira Sankey’s Sacred Songs and Solos). Since then, it has passed into virtual obscurity, a simple song about heaven, and the believer’s future rewards. As Peter wrote to the church leaders of his day:

Shepherd the flock of God…and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

I Pet. 5:2, 4

Since this blog was posted originally, new information has come to light. Apparently, the author of the text is poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (circa 1864), and William Augustine Ogden composed the tune. Mr. Ogden (1841-1897) served in the American Civil War. Afterward, he taught school in both the United States and Canada. In 1887, he became Superintendent of Music in the public schools of Toledo, Ohio.

There is a land a sunny land,
Whose skies are ever bright,
Where ev’ning shadows never fall;
The Saviour is its light.

If the cross we meekly bear,
Then the crown we shall wear;
We shall dwell among the fair,
In the bright forevermore.

There is a clime, a peaceful clime,
Beyond life’s narrow sea,
Where ev’ry storm is hushed to rest:
There let our treasure be.

We long to leave these fading scenes
That glide so quickly by,
And join the shining host above,
Where joy can never die.

Today in 1795 – Samuel Stennett Died

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Samuel Stennett was a pastor in England who came from a long line of Baptist clergyman. He had a personal friendship with King George III, and with the famous philanthropist John Howard, a member of his congregation. Stennett was also an author of considerable skill who wrote books on a variety of spiritual topics, and produced 38 hymns. Two of them deserve at least a brief comment.

Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned, published in 1787, is a beautiful hymn of worship. The author’s original title was “Chief among Ten Thousand; or, The Excellencies of Christ,” with a reference to the Song of Solomon 5:10-16, where Solomon’s betrothed describes him as “Chief among ten thousand.” Stennett takes the bridegroom in the story as a picture of Christ.

Majestic sweetness sits enthroned
Upon the Saviour’s brow;
His head with radiant glories crowned,
His lips with grace o’erflow.

No mortal can with Him compare
Among the sons of men;
Fairer is He than all the fair
Who fill the heav’nly train.

To Him I owe my life and breath
And all the joys I have;
He makes me triumph over death
And saves me from the grave.

Since from His bounty I receive
Such proofs of love divine,
Had I a thousand hearts to give,
Lord, they should all be Thine.

The other song of Samuel Stennett’s found in many hymn books is On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand.

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan’s fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.

I am bound for the promised land,
I am bound for the promised land;
Oh who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the promised land.

It was the Jordan River that the nation of Israel crossed to enter the promised land of Canaan. And it is a fitting symbol of death–death to the old life of slavery and of wandering in the wilderness. However, Canaan does not make the most appropriate symbol of heaven. Canaan was full of wicked people, and warfare with the forces of evil lay ahead. In spite of a few hymns that identify Canaan with heaven, it is better to see it as a picture of abundant spiritual life, with the Jordan typical of conversion or dedication to Christ, and leaving the old life behind.

Having said this, we can still appreciate the sentiment of the hymn, and see Canaan as an imperfect foretaste of a more perfect dwelling place and greater blessings yet to come.

(2) Today in 1879 – Paul Rader Born

As a college athletics coach, Daniel Paul Rader knew what physical strength and ability could accomplish. Rader trusted Christ as his Saviour at an early age, but then he seemed to lose his way spiritually. And, in his own strength, he was able to do a lot of things. He once described himself as an “ex-bellboy, ex-cowboy, ex-prospector, ex-football player, and ex-pugilist”!

Then he went to New York and found a job that he believed would make his fortune. He wired his wife with the news, a bold telegram that said, “We are fixed for life.” But an error was made in the transmission, and the message received was “We are fixed for like.” Imagine his wife’s puzzlement. She immediately sent a reply asking, “Fixed for what?” And God used that message to change Paul Rader’s life.

He says, “There I was, standing on Wall Street, with a telegram held in my trembling hand. Three little words. Yet the question they asked shook me to my soul’s boots! They showed me up. They challenged all my philosophy of life. They challenged all my plans.” Fixed for…what? It was as he pondered that innocent query that God touched his life in a new way.

When Paul Rader came back to the Lord, he put the same kind of energy and commitment into serving Him that he had into his other pursuits. He became one of the most dynamic gospel preachers of his day. He pastored some large churches, headed up a whole denomination, toured the mission fields of the world, founded a Christian music publishing company, and pioneered Christian broadcasting in the earliest days of radio.

But through all of his many endeavours, Paul Rader never again lost sight of the real source of power. It wasn’t in radio waves, or printer’s ink, or even in his preaching. With another Paul long before, he would say, “Your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (I Cor. 2:5). It was out of that conviction Pastor Rader wrote the hymn Old-Time Power around 1916.

We are gathered for Thy blessing,
We will wait upon our God;
We will trust in Him Who loved us,
And Who bought us with His blood.

Spirit, now melt and move
All of our hearts with love,
Breathe on us from above
With old time power.

Today in 1712 – The Spacious Firmament published

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This great hymn, based on Ps. 19:1-6, appeared in The Spectator, a weekly paper edited by the author, Joseph Addison. It was appended to an article he wrote called “An Essay on the Proper Means of Strengthening and Confirming Faith in the Mind of Man.” There, he said,

Graphic Earth in Space

Faith and devotion naturally grow in the mind of every reasonable man, who sees the impression of divine power and wisdom in every object on which he casts his eye. The Supreme Being has made the best arguments for His own existence in the formation of the heavens and the earth.

Addison’s skill as one of the greatest writers in the English language reaches sublime heights in this hymn. The words are thrilling, even to read. And, if a congregation sings the hymn well and thoughtfully, it may raise some goose bumps! Appropriately, the tune used for the hymn (called Creation) is adapted from “The Heavens Are Telling,” a chorus in the 1798 oratorio The Creation, by Franz Josef Haydn.

The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame
Their great Original proclaim.
Th’unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator’s powers display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty Hand.

Soon as the evening shades prevail
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth;
While all the stars that round her burn
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.

What though in solemn silence all
Move round this dark terrestrial ball?
What though no real voice nor sound
Amid the radiant orbs be found?
In reason’s ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice,
Forever singing as they shine,
“The hand that made us is divine.”

Here is the original tune as it appears in Haydn’s masterful oratorio, The Creation. The music was adapted for congregational use with Addison’s hymn. (You can hear the hymn tune played on the Cyber Hymnal.)

The “Total Message” of a Song: Have you thought about what goes to make up the total message of a song? When we sing hymns and gospel songs, especially when they are presented to the people of God as a ministry in music, we need to consider how the message is communicated. Click on the title above to read about five important elements in the “total message.”

(2) Today in 1970 – Jack Vandall Died

Napoleon Bonaparte Vandall was known to his friends as Jack. Often with the gospel songs, for which he wrote both words and music, he is listed as N. B. Vandall. (We can perhaps sympathize with his desire to avoid using his given names!) Mr. Vandall was an evangelist with the Church of the Nazarene. He and his wife Margaret (who was instrumental in bringing him to faith in Christ) made their home in Akron, Ohio. They had four sons.

In the early years of his ministry, financial difficulties and other problems made it tempting for him to abandon full-time Christian service and return to a business career he had left behind. But in that time of testing the Lord reassured him that his faithful service would be fully rewarded one day. With his mind on that encouraging prospect, N. B. Vandall wrote the beautiful gospel song, My Home, Sweet Home. I can recall singing it in a men’s choir, long ago. Then, years later, I conducted a large choir in singing the song.

Walking along life’s road one day,
I heard a voice so sweetly say,
“A place up in heav’n I am building thee,
A beautiful, beautiful home.”

Home, sweet home,
Home, sweet home,
Where I’ll never roam.
I see the light of that city so bright-
My home, sweet home.

Life’s day is short–I soon shall go
To be with Him who loved me so;
I see in the distance that shining shore,
My beautiful, beautiful home.

Today in 1831 – William Cummings Born

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William Hayman Cummings was a British soloist, organist, and musicologist. He began his singing career as a boy soprano and matured into an outstanding tenor, acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1847 he was privileged to sing at the premiere performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s superb oratorio, Elijah, with the composer himself conducting. He taught voice at the Royal Academy of Music, and later became principal of the Guildhall School of Music.

Cummings is known in hymnody for one contribution only. Felix Mendelssohn had written a cantata in 1840 celebrating the 400th anniversary of Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press. William Cummings took one of the melodies and adapted it for use with the carol Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. It’s the tune we use to this day.  And fittingly, the tune is sometimes called Mendelssohn.

Graphic Christmas Angel

Mendelssohn, a born again believer, seems to have had an intuition that the melody might have a later usefulness. Several years before Cummings appropriated it, he wrote, “I think there ought to be other words to this tune. If the right ones are hit at I am sure the piece will be liked very much.” However, his crystal ball seems to have failed him at this point, because he added, “It will never do to sacred words.”

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing is recognized as one of the two greatest hymns of thousands written by Charles Wesley–rivalled only by his Jesus, Lover of My Soul. It is also one of the finest in the English language. The hymn was published by Wesley in 1739, with the now-familiar tune being added about a century later. Wesley’s original first line was “Hark, how all the welkin rings”–welkin being an old word for the heavens or sky. The alteration to what we know now was made 14 years later by evangelist George Whitefield.

The great hymn clearly speaks of the deity and incarnation of Christ, and of the salvation made possible through the new birth.

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

 (2) I Am Praying for You (Data Missing)

Ira Sankey discovered the poem when the Moody-Sankey team visited Ireland in 1874. He wrote a melody to suit it. We know little of the man who wrote I Am Praying for You, other than his wonderful name: Samuel O’Malley Gore Cluff [or Clough] (1837-1910). You can see the full text of this touching invitation hymn, and hear to tune, on the Cyber Hymnal.

I have a Saviour, He’s pleading in glory,
A dear, loving Saviour though earth friends be few;
And now He is watching in tenderness o’er me;
And oh, that my Saviour were your Savior, too.

For you I am praying,
For you I am praying,
For you I am praying,
I’m praying for you.

I have a Father; to me He has given
A hope for eternity, blessèd and true;
And soon He will call me to meet Him in heaven,
But, oh, that He’d let me bring you with me, too!

I have a robe; ’tis resplendent in whiteness,
Awaiting in glory my wondering view;
Oh, when I receive it all shining in brightness,
Dear friend, could I see you receiving one, too!

When Jesus has found you, tell others the story,
That my loving Saviour is your Saviour, too;
Then pray that your Saviour may bring them to glory,
And prayer will be answered—’twas answered for you!

Today in 1866 – Civilla Martin Born

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Civilla Durfee Martin was born in Nova Scotia, Canada. She taught school for several years, then married American evangelist and Bible teacher Walter Martin. With her musical gifts, she was a great support to him in his ministry, and they collaborated on the writing of a number of gospel songs. She wrote the texts and he wrote the tunes for: God Will Take Care of You, and The Old-Fashioned Way. For her song His Eye Is on the Sparrow, Charles Gabriel supplied the tune.

It was apparently a comment by Civilla’s son that led to the writing of one of these. She had taken sick, and was unable to accompany her husband to a preaching appointment. He hesitated to leave her alone. But their young son encouraged her with, “Don’t worry, Mother, God will take care of you.” Before Walter Martin returned that evening in 1904 she had written the words for a gospel song. He read them over, then sat down at their little Bilhorn organ and composed the tune for the encouraging song, God Will Take Care of You.

It is a good hymn. However, the third line of Stanza 3 must surely be qualified. (It is, in the first line of the verse, but the connection may not be clear.) Nothing we ask in prayer that is in accord with the will of God will be denied us. But sometimes we are like naive children, asking for things that would be hurtful to us or others. Aren’t you glad that our loving Father denies us such things? (When I am leading the singing, I usually have the congregation skip this stanza.)

All you may need He will provide,
God will take care of you;
Nothing you ask will be denied,
God will take care of you.

Graphic Sparrow

Another song of Civilla Martin’s came in 1905 from the comment of a friend. She and her husband were visiting a Mr. And Mrs. Doolittle in Elmira, New York. She had been bedridden for nearly 20 years, and her husband was wheelchair-bound. But the godly couple continued to have a joyful, positive outlook. When Walter Martin asked their secret, Mrs. Doolittle replied, simply, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

It is a reference to the words of Jesus. “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will….[“not one of them is forgotten by God,” Lk. 12:6] Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29, 31). The song that resulted from this encounter was later made famous by converted actress and legendary blues singer, Ethel Waters. She even entitled her autobiography, His Eye Is on the Sparrow.

Why should I feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely
And long for heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion?
My constant Friend is He;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Ethel Waters was one of the greats of the Jazz Age. A child born to a 12-year-old rape victim, she made a profession of faith in her younger years, but got caught up in the worldly ways of the entertainment business, and was known for her foul temper–until the Lord got hold of her life at a Billy Graham Crusade in 1957. God totally transformed her. (Originally, I had a later version of Ethel singing His Eye Is on the Sparrow–which became her signature song, but YouTube had to pull it, for copyright reasons. You can hear her singing a bit of it in the movie The Member of the Wedding.)

I want to add a word about the song The Old-Fashioned Way as well. Christians can so easily become enamoured with new teachers, new methods, new fads–and sometimes new doctrines. Churches too quickly abandon the old for fear of being labelled “old-fashioned.” As a result, in some services, the preaching and exposition of the Word of God has taken a back seat to spectacle, music, drama, with sermonettes rooted more in pop psychology than in the Scriptures. This song, written in 1914, still has a message for us.

They call me old-fashioned because I believe
That the Bible is God’s holy Word,
That Jesus, who lived among men long ago,
Is divine, and the Christ of God.

My sin was old-fashioned,
My guilt was old-fashioned,
God’s love was old-fashioned, I know;
And the way I was saved was the old-fashioned way,
Through the blood that makes whiter than snow.

Old-fashioned, because I believe and accept
Only what has been spoken from heav’n;
Old-fashioned because at the cross I was saved,
At the cross had my sins forgiv’n. 

(2) Welcome, Happy Morning (Data Missing)

This resurrection hymn was written by Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus, of whom we know little. He was born around AD 530, and died in about AD 609. Venantius was an important Latin poet of his day. He eventually invested this talent in the service of God, and later became Bishop of Poitiers, in Gaul. He wrote many hymns.

Welcome, Happy Morning was translated into English by John Ellerton in 1868. I am most familiar with Frances Havergal’s tune Hermas being used with it, though other tunes work as well. You can hear each of them on the Cyber Hymnal.

“Welcome, happy morning!” age to age shall say:
“Hell today is vanquished, heav’n is won today!”
Lo! the dead is living, God forevermore!
Him, their true Creator, all His works adore!

Maker and Redeemer, life and health of all,
Thou from heaven beholding human nature’s fall,
Of the Father’s Godhead true and only Son,
Mankind to deliver, manhood didst put on.

Thou, of life the Author, death didst undergo,
Tread the path of darkness, saving strength to show;
Come, then True and Faithful, now fulfil Thy Word;
’Tis Thine own third morning; rise, O buried Lord!

Loose the souls long prisoned, bound with Satan’s chain;
All that now is fallen raise to life again;
Show Thy face in brightness, bid the nations see;
Bring again our daylight: day returns with Thee!

Today in 1153 – Bernard of Clairvaux Died

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Bernard was a monk born in France during the Middle Ages. He was studious and reclusive, spending most of his life within the confines of one monastery or another. The one he himself founded at Clairvaux became world-famous, and his counsel was sought by kings and church authorities. Four centuries later, Martin Luther said of him that he was “the best monk that ever lived, whom I admire beyond all the rest put together.”

Several hymns attributed to Bernard are translations from a longer Latin poem entitled Jesu Dulcis Memoria (“Sweet Remembrance of Jesus”). Among these are: Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee; Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts; and O Hope of Every Contrite Heart. Other hymns said to be from Bernard are O Jesus, King Most Wonderful, and O Sacred Head Now Wounded.

Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills my breast;
But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.

Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find
A sweeter sound than Thy blest name,
O Saviour of mankind!

O hope of every contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek,
To those who fall, how kind Thou art!
How good to those who seek!

Jesus, our only joy be Thou,
As Thou our prize will be;
Jesus be Thou our glory now,
And through eternity.

Graphic Canadian Flag

(2) Today in 1926 – Robert Weir Died

The original name of my home country, the Dominion of Canada, was suggested to the politicians in 1866 by a verse of Scripture:  “He [the Lord] shall have dominion also from sea to sea” (Ps. 72:8). Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald, wrote to Queen Victoria, saying that the title was “a tribute to the principles we earnestly desire to uphold.”

To express a country’s vision it helps to have a national song. In Canada, such a selection was created, thirteen years after Confederation. But it would be another century before it was officially adopted as our national anthem. As you will see, there is an explicit prayer, in the refrain, and the last stanza, a prayer for divine aid and more. Sadly, the words have become a mere formality to many–and others would like to remove any reference to God for fear we might offend some atheists!

The anthem began with a French version, written in 1880. Many English translations were attempted in the years following. The one that eventually gained favour was written in 1908 by Justice Robert Stanley Weir. Mr. Weir was born in Hamilton, Ontario (my hometown). He authored both scholarly legal books and poetry. But his most famous work is the national anthem, O Canada. The little-used final stanza (the fourth) recognizes our country’s need to depend on God. Then, in 1968, a joint com­mit­tee of the Ca­na­di­an Sen­ate and House of Com­mons amend­ed Weir’s text to in­clude the words, “God keep our land,” in the refrain.

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Ruler Supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our Dominion in Thy loving care;
Help us to find, O God, in Thee
A lasting, rich reward,
As, waiting for the better day,
We ever stand on guard.

Today in 1856 – James Black Born

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James Milton Black was an American gospel songwriter with about 1,500 songs to his credit. He also edited a dozen songbooks. Trained in both voice and the organ, Black conducted singing schools, and was an active layman in his home church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Of his many songs, only one remains in common use, When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder (though he did also write the tune for several lyrics written by others). Of the writing of the song, Black says:

I one day met a girl [named Bessie], fourteen years old, poorly clad, and the child of a drunkard. She accepted my invitation to attend the Sunday School, and joined the young people’s society. One evening…when members answered the roll call by repeating Scripture texts, she failed to respond. I spoke of what a sad thing it would be, when our names are called from the Lamb’s Book of Life, if one of us should be absent. And I said, ‘O God, when my own name is called up yonder, may I be there to respond!’

When he returned home that evening, James Black wrote the song inspired by this incident. It turned out that Bessie had been absent because she was seriously ill, and she died shortly after. Black spoke of the above incident at her funeral service, and his song was first sung publicly at that time. Reportedly, it had a great impact on those gathered.

Ten years later, when asked for permission to include When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder in a new songbook, he asked for more money, claiming that it was “the greatest song that has ever been written for the last twenty-five years.” It wasn’t, of course. And when he was asked to join a committee to produce a new hymnal for the Methodist Episcopal Church, it is significant that not one of his own gospel songs was added to the book, including this one. Nevertheless, the song is a useful reminder to be sure our names are recorded in the Book of Life through faith in Christ (Rev. 20:15).

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound,
And time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather
Over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

James Milton Black is best known in hymn history as the author of When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder. But one of his songs, God Is Here and That to Bless Us (also known as Revive the Hearts of All) is a fervent prayer for renewal and revival. It was first published in 1889. You can see the full song, and hear the tune, on the Cyber Hymnal.

God is here, and that to bless us
With the Spirit’s quick’ning power;
See, the cloud already bending,
Waits to drop the grateful shower.

Let it come, O Lord, we pray Thee,
Let the shower of blessing fall;
We are waiting, we are waiting,
Oh, revive the hearts of all.

God is here! we feel His presence
In this consecrated place;
But we need the soul refreshing
Of His free, unbounded grace.

Saviour, grant the prayer we offer,
While in simple faith we bow,
From the windows of Thy mercy
Pour us out a blessing now.

There are two misconceptions concerning James Black. Author Phil Kerr in his book, Music in Evangelism, must have him confused with someone else. He has Black born in Scotland in 1882, kidnapped, and brought to Canada at the age of 8, where he was raised by an elderly clergyman! Not the same man, I’m sure. Also, in numerous hymn histories Black is wrongly credited with writing music for When the Saints Go Marching In, recorded by jazz musician Louis Armstrong in 1948. This error is easier to understand. Black produced a song with a similar title called When the Saints Are Marching In!

(2) Today in 1883 – Howard  Walter Born

Howard Arnold Walter provides a personal example of the kind of dedication described in the only hymn we have from him, I Would Be True. The song was written in 1906, while he was teaching English at Waseda University, in Japan. He entitled the lines of verse “My Creed,” and mailed them to his mother. The poem was published in Harper’s Bazaar the next year.

In 1913 Walter joined the staff of the YMCA. He was encouraged by John R. Mott to go and work among the Islamic students in Lahore, India. Doctors advised against this, due to his weak heart, but he insisted he must “be true” to his calling. He died in India during an influenza epidemic.

I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.

Today in 1856 – Charles Gabriel Born

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Mr. Gabriel was one of the outstanding gospel song composers of the first part of the twentieth century. Raised on an Iowa farm, he took an early interest in music. When his family obtained a small reed organ, he soon taught himself to play it. At the age of 16 he began teaching singing schools, and his gift for composing was soon recognized. He wrote many gospel songs during his lifetime. Equally skilled at writing verse or composing music, he often supplied both.

Beginning in 1912, Charles Hutchinson Gabriel was associated with the Rodeheaver Publishing Company. His output was amazing. He edited 35 gospel songbooks, 8 Sunday School songbooks, 7 books for men’s voices, and 6 for ladies voices, 10 children’s songbooks, 19 collections of anthems and 23 cantatas. When he published his own songs, he sometimes used the pen name Charlotte G. Homer. Here is a sampling of his work, songs still in common use. (For those marked with an asterisk, Gabriel wrote only the music.)

As a Volunteer*
Dear Little Stranger
He Is So Precious to Me
He Lifted Me
Higher Ground*
I Need Jesus*
I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go
Just When I Need Him Most*
More Like the Master
My Saviour’s Love (I stand amazed in the presence…)
O It Is Wonderful
O That Will Be Glory
Send the Light
Since Jesus Came Into My Heart*
Where the Gates Swing Outward Never

Space will not allow consideration of all these songs here, but I would like to comment on one of them. My Saviour’s Love is a fine hymn of praise. But it suffers from one particular characteristic, the high quality of its tune. It is so singable, that it is not unusual for a congregation to run away with it, gaining almost breakneck speed! But that does not suit the text of several stanzas. When the hymn is hurried, the required mood of reverent awe is lost.

I have literally wept in services when the following words have been sung at a jaunty pace, seemingly without due regard for their meaning. A jolly, rollicking pace is virtually sacrilege here.

For me it was in the garden
He prayed: “Not My will, but Thine.”
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.

He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calvary,
And suffered and died alone.

My counsel to song leaders is that you encourage the congregation to sing this hymn slowly and meditatively. The pace can be picked up appropriately with the last stanza.

(2) Today in 1959 – Haldor Lillenas Died

Lillenas was born in Norway, and was brought to America as a baby when his parents immigrated. After training, he became a pastor and an evangelist with the Nazarene denomination, but it is as a gospel songwriter that he is best known today. In 1924 he founded the Lillenas Music Company.

Haldor Lillenas wrote about 4,000 song texts and tunes. Among the better known are: Jesus Will Walk with Me, The Bible Stands, Wonderful Peace (“Coming to Jesus, my Saviour, I found…”), and Wonderful Grace of Jesus.

The Bible Stands, written in 1917, provides a rousing affirmation of the Bible’s authority and certain endurance. It needs to be sung more widely than it has been, given the many attacks on the Word of God today.

 The Bible stands like a rock undaunted
’Mid the raging storms of time;
Its pages burn with the truth eternal,
And they glow with a light sublime.

The Bible stands though the hills may tumble,
It will firmly stand when the earth shall crumble;
I will plant my feet on its firm foundation,
For the Bible stands.

Wonderful Grace of Jesus was written as a choral selection, but a medium-sized congregation can learn it and sing it with profit. If you are teaching it, it would be helpful to have a choir or small group introduce it in order to help the congregation sort out the men’s and ladies’ parts in the chorus. We need to celebrate God’s saving grace.

Graphic Newspaper

(3) Today in 1972 – Ruth Jones Died

One day in 1943, when the War was at its height, Ruth Caye Jones (affectionately known as Mother Jones) was meditating on the words of Second Timothy 3:1, “Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come”–perilous, meaning troublesome, harsh, dangerous times! That certainly describes 1943, she thought. With a war on, the daily newspaper seemed to present a litany of bad news. But the Lord gave her a message of hope and challenge, In Times Like These.

Taking a small pad from her apron pocket, she jotted down the words of a song. A self-taught organist and pianist, with no formal musical training, she wrote the tune as well! (It was only in later years she realized the first four notes of  her song about “time” matched the “ding … dong … dong … dong” of their clock in the living room, chiming the passing hours!)

The wife of Pastor Bert Jones, and mother of five children, she and her family had a unique ministry. A radio program was developed in 1948 called “A Visit With the Joneses,” which enabled those who tuned in to meet with them for family devotions week by week. Originally, the plan was to transmit the program from the radio station. But days before the first broadcast the station manager suggested using the phone lines to bring it to the listening audience directly from the Jones’s home. It worked so well the “visit” became popular for the next 55 years!

In times like these you need a Saviour,
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, yes, He’s the One;
This Rock is Jesus, the only One!
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the solid Rock.

Today in 1828 – George Warren Born

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Graphic Pipe Organ

Men from two churches with the same name contributed to the writing of the patriotic hymn God of Our Fathers. Rev. Daniel Roberts of St. Thomas Church, Brandon, Vermont, wrote the words–the only hymn text he ever produced. And George Warren, the organist at St. Thomas Church, New York City, composed the tune (called National Hymn) some years later.

When Roberts wrote the hymn for the 4th of July celebration in 1876, he set it to the majestic tune Russian Hymn. Either tune works well, though the stirring trumpet fanfare at the beginning of each stanza makes Warren’s unique. An American master of the pipe organ, though largely self-taught, George William Warren also wrote a number of choral anthems and other hymn tunes. When he died in 1902, no organ music was played at his funeral, as mourners believed they could find no organist to approach his abilities!

As with many national hymns, this one is cast as a prayer. “Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way,” is a worthy aspiration, even though America continues to fall far short of it (as do all nations). The Word of God reminds us, “Righteousness exalts [lifts up] a nation, but sin is a reproach [a shame and disgrace] to any people” (Prov. 14:34). We need to pray for our national leaders that they will lead us wisely and well.

God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendour through the skies,
Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.

Thy love divine hath led us in the past;
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast;
Be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide and Stay,
Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.

Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,
Lead us from night to never ending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine.

Ignorance… Blissful or Otherwise

It continues to trouble me that an increasing number of Christians know very few of the great hymns and gospel songs of the faith. Not only that, but they seem not to care to correct the deficit. They have bought into the propaganda of the contemporary religious marketplace that tells them ad nauseum that those songs are too old-fashioned and out-of-date. That we must have something fresh and new. That we need to get with it!

Well, I’m certainly not suggesting we reject good quality newer songs simply because they’re new. But neither do I believe we should abandon our traditional hymnody. It is simply too much of a devotional treasury to be missed. Centuries of church history have been poured into our hymns. Godly men and women have written out of a rich experience with the Lord. They have things to teach us yet. Hang onto the hymn book! And let’s determine to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem!

If you have not read my article Ignorance…Blissful or Otherwise, please click on the link and give it a look. There are a number of suggestions there for increasing our awareness and appreciation for these old songs. (You might also check out 77 Ideas for Promoting Hymn Singing.)

(2) When I See My Saviour (Data Missing)

Robert Harkness provided a tune for this song, with some lovely harmonies typical of his compositions. The words were written in 1911 by Maud Fraser Jackson, of whom we know nothing but her name. (It is a common name. But there is a Maud Fraser who was born around 1873 in Iowa that’s a possible match. She married a man named William Jackson in 1900.)

Many of our hymns and gospel songs call us to stand before the cross of Calvary, seeing with the eyes of faith the suffering Saviour. All the way from Watts’s exalted When I Survey the Wondrous Cross to Fanny Crosby’s Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross, these songs help us to keep Calvary in view. As we do so, we gain a fresh appreciation of what our salvation cost the Saviour, and a renewed desire to love and serve Him faithfully.

Maud Jackson’s song is not as well known, but it is worth a look and listen. You can hear the tune of When I See My Saviour played on the Cyber Hymnal.

When I see my Saviour, hanging on Calvary,
Bearing there for sinners bitterest agony.
Gratitude o’erwhelms me, makes mine eyes grow dim,
All my ransomed being captive is to Him.

I can see the blood drops, red ’neath His thorny crown,
From the cruel nail wounds now they are falling down;
Lord, when I would wander from Thy love away,
Let me see those blood drops shed for me that day.

“Why hast thou forsaken?” List to that sad, sad moan!
Oh, His heart was broken, suffering there alone;
Broken then that mortals ne’er need cry in vain
For God’s love and comfort, in the hour of pain.

Today in 1786 – John Wade Died

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The song discussed here, written by Wade, is the only one for which we know him today. In the early part of the twentieth century it appeared among the “Top 10” songs on the American hit parade not once, but on three separate occasions! It has been translated into over 100 languages and is sung in churches across Christendom–and across a wide theological spectrum.

Yet it was not until after World War Two that we knew who the author was. Careful research finally revealed his identity. John Francis Wade (1711-1786) was a music teacher and a copier of music. We can thank him for his work of preserving some of the ancient music of the church. And around the year 1743 he created both words and music for a Christmas carol called in Latin Adeste Fideles (which could be translated: Be Near, Faithful Ones). A century after Wade wrote it, it became our carol O Come, All Ye Faithful.

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
Lo, He shuns not the virgin’s womb;
Son of the Father, begotten, not created...

(2) Today in 1859 – Carl Boberg Born

The hymn How Great Thou Art was unknown in America until the Billy Graham team introduced it in Canada at their Toronto Crusade in 1955. However, it had a long journey before that.

Carl Gustaf Boberg (1859-1940) was a Swedish pastor, and later a senator in the Swedish parliament. He went for a walk one summer day in 1886 and got caught in a sudden thunderstorm. The rolling thunder and torrents of rain, followed by the return of the sunshine and the singing of the birds, overwhelmed him. He dropped to his knees in worship. Later, out of that experience, Pastor Boberg created a lovely poem about the greatness of God.

Several years after he penned the words, Boberg attended a church service and was surprised to hear his poem sung to an old Swedish melody. Shortly after the hymn was introduced in Sweden, it was translated into German. Then the German version was translated into Russian and published in a Russian hymn book in 1922. That is how it came to the attention of English missionary Stuart Hine a year or so later. He and his wife were serving in Ukraine when they heard the song, and they began using it as a duet in evangelistic services.

When war broke out in Europe in 1939, the Hines returned to England.  There Mr. Hine translated the hymn into English, adding a verse of his own about the return of Christ. The song was printed in leaflet form, and one of those leaflets was given to Cliff Barrows in 1954. He introduced the “new” hymn to an appreciative audience, a year later. From that point, its popularity grew steadily. By 1974, it was voted the number one hymn in America.

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed!

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Carl Boberg’s original poem had nine stanzas. Here is the translation of another, which has not been included as part of the hymn.

When burdens press, and seem beyond endurance,
Bowed down with grief, to Him I lift my face;
And then in love He brings me sweet assurance,
“My child, for thee, sufficient is My grace.”

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

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