Welshman David Evans attended University College in Cardiff, Wales, and received a Doctor of Music Degree from Oxford. He played the organ in a Presbyterian church in London, and was a professor of music at University College. Evans was also a choral conductor, and served as a judge at the National Eisteddfod, the largest festival of competitive music and poetry in Europe, eight days of performances entirely in the Welsh language. Evans arranged a traditional Spanish melody and it became the hymn tune Madrid, used with the song, Come, Christians, Join to Sing.
Come, Christians, join to sing Alleluia! Amen! Loud praise to Christ our King; Alleluia! Amen! Let all, with heart and voice, Before His throne rejoice; Praise is His gracious choice. Alleluia! Amen!
Praise yet our Christ again, Alleluia! Amen! Life shall not end the strain; Alleluia! Amen! On heaven’s blissful shore, His goodness we’ll adore, Singing forevermore, “Alleluia! Amen!”
(2) Today in 1910 Harriet Buell Died
Harriett Eugenia Peck Buell pondered what it meant to belong to the family of God as she walked home from church on a Sunday morning. By the time she reached home, she had formed her thoughts into some lines of verse. She wrote them out and sent them to a Christian magazine.
Miss Buell often did that. But unknown to her, in this case, a musician named John Sumner spotted her poem and wrote a tune for it. A few months later, when attending a church other than her own, Hattie Buell was startled to hear a soloist sing her poem! It has since become a hymn entitled A Child of the King.
My Father is rich in houses and lands, He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands! Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold, His coffers are full, He has riches untold.
I’m a child of the King, A child of the King: With Jesus my Saviour, I’m a child of the King.
I once was an outcast stranger on earth, A sinner by choice, an alien by birth, But I’ve been adopted, my name’s written down, An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.
Mr. Moody was not a musician. Far from it. One evidence of his lack of musical ability came to gospel song writer George Stebbins in an unusual way. At one of Moody’s meetings, Stebbins was accompanying the congregational singing on a reed organ. But he was bothered by a strange, rasping sound during the singing. He worried that there was something wrong with the organ. During an interlude when there was no singing, he listened carefully to the sound coming from the instrument, but it seemed fine. Stebbins says:
I was not long in doubt, however, for I soon heard the voice of Mr. Moody, singing away as heartily as you please, with no more idea of tune or time than a child. I then learned for the first time that he was one of the unfortunates who have no sense of pitch or harmony, and hence are unable to recognize one tune from another or to sing in unison or harmony with others.
But in spite of this handicap, Dwight Moody had a great appreciation for the value of music in his ministry, and keen insight into what would serve best in that area. He usually asked his musicians to lead in 45 minutes to an hour of singing at his meetings, before he got up to preach–and it was not unusual for him to hold four meetings in a single day! Moody’s stamina was legendary, but this schedule frequently taxed the endurance of his singers!
Along with his music director and soloist, Ira Sankey, the evangelist did a great deal to popularize the singing of gospel songs on both sides of the Atlantic. A number of songs were introduced in his meetings, such as The Ninety and Nine. To God Be the Glory, by Fanny Crosby, remained virtually unknown until Moody and Sankey started using it in Britain. Many years later, the Billy Graham team brought the song back to America. (For more of the story, see the second item under Today in 1847.)
(2) Today in 1867 – John Fearis Born
John Sylvester Fearis had a great love for music. He took organ lessons, and was soon playing for Sunday School and church. Later, he became the director of the church choir, and taught singing classes in the towns around. Fearis wrote his first hymn at the age of 16, and went on to become an editor of choral music with the Lorenz Publishing Company.
Mr. Fearis wrote the tune of Jesse Pounds’s gospel song, Beautiful Isle of Somewhere. The author of the text sounds a little vague about the location of heaven, but it was not her intention to pin that down. She wanted to focus more on the hope of the Christian for deliverance from the trials of this life. Nevertheless, because the song is non-specific in doctrine, it is not surprising that it has been recorded by many secular artists. Here is a well rendered version by British entertainer Sir Harry Secombe.
John Fearis also wrote a tune for Fanny Crosby’s beautiful Trinitarian hymn, Be Thou Exalted–though personally, I prefer Al Smith’s tune for the latter, found in his hymnal, Living Hymns.
Be Thou exalted, forever and ever, God of eternity, Ancient of Days! Wondrous in majesty, perfect in wisdom, Glorious in holiness, fearful in praise.
Be Thou exalted by seraphs and angels, Be Thou exalted with harp and with song; Saints in their anthems of rapture adore Thee, Martyrs the loud hallelujahs prolong.
Be Thou exalted, O Son of the Highest! Gracious Redeemer, our Saviour and King! One with the Father, co-equal in glory, Here at Thy footstool our homage we bring.
Rhabanus Maurus was educated in France, and became the director of the Benedictine school at Fulda, Germany. He was ordained in 814 and went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He served as abbot at Fulda for 20 years, and was later appointed archbishop of Mainz.
Many hymns are credited to Rhabanus Maurus, including Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire. This English version by John Cosin comes from the Latin hymn Veni Creator Spiritus (Come, Creator Spirit), attributed to Maurus. Bishop Cosin produced it for the coronation of Charles I in 1625, at which he officiated. The hymn is strongly Trinitarian, and the “sevenfold gifts” mentioned are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They come from Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Messiah (with piety, or holiness, added to the list).
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
Isa. 11:2
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire, And lighten with celestial fire; Thou the anointing Spirit art, Who dost Thy sev’nfold gifts impart.
Praise to Thy eternal merit, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Teach us to know the Father, Son, And Thee, of both, to be but One; That through the ages all along This, this may be our endless song.
(2) Today in 1873 George Bennard Born
The crucifixion of Christ was not an ignominious defeat, but an eternal and infinite victory. Jesus’ cry, “It is finished!” (Jn. 19:30), was not one of baffled disappointment, but an announcement that His mission was complete. He had said, “The Son of Man [came] to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). Now it was done. The debt of sin had been paid. What looked like a shameful end would become a glorious new beginning for all who would trust in Him.
Those ideas led to the creation of one of the most popular hymns ever written. The author is George Bennard (1873-1958). George was only sixteen years old when his father died, leaving him to be the “man of the house” for his mother and four sisters. That seemed to instill in him a sense of responsibility, and a marked dependability in whatever he put his hand to. Later, George Bennard entered the Christian ministry. He wrote many hymns, but he is known for one in particular.
As with many of our hymns, this one was given birth during a time of great trial in the author’s life. He does not reveal what it was, but says he gave himself to prayer, and out of his hours of meditation his attention turned in a special way to the cross of Christ. It was a place of “suffering and shame,” an object “despised by the world.” Yet he says:
“I saw the Christ of the cross as if I were seeing John 3:16 leave the printed page, take form and act out the meaning of redemption. The more I contemplated these truths the more convinced I became that the cross was far more than just a religious symbol, but rather the very heart of the gospel.”
In the glow of that truth George Bennard penned The Old Rugged Cross in 1913.
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suffering and shame; And I love that old cross where the dearest and best For a world of lost sinners was slain.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown.
(3) Today in 1874 – Take My Life and Let It Be written
English hymn writer Frances Ridley Havergal went to visit some friends for a few days in 1874, and she says:
There were ten persons in the house; some unconverted and long prayed-for, some converted but not rejoicing Christians. I prayed ‘Lord, give me all in this house’ [meaning give me an opportunity to minister to each one here]. He just did! Before I left the house, everyone had got a blessing. The last night of my visit I was too happy to sleep.
Frances passed the night reaffirming her own dedication to the Lord. Also, during those hours, the Lord gave her the words of the hymn Take My Life and Let It Be.
Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love. Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne. Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store. Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.
(4) Today in ? – Warren Cornell Died
Warren D. Cornell was a Methodist Episcopal pastor in the United States. In 1880 he married Jennie Roberts, and the couple had five children, a boy and four girls. [NOTE: This article originally had Cornell’s date of death as 1901. Later evidence suggests that the one who died in 1901 was Pastor Cornell’s son (also named Warren). The father died in the 1920’s or 30’s. The rest of the article seems to be correct.]
The one hymn for which Pastor Cornell is known is Wonderful Peace. It was written at a Methodist camp meeting near West Bend, Wisconsin. And, in truth, credit for the words of the song must also be given to the composer of the tune, George Cooper. Warren Cornell was sitting in the meeting tent, meditating on the peace of God. He took a piece of paper and jotted down some ideas that came to him regarding the subject. But when he got up to leave the tent, he was unaware that his notes fell to the floor. They were discovered later by Mr. Cooper, who fleshed out the poetry of the words, and added a tune.
Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm; In celestial strains it unceasingly falls O’er my soul like an infinite calm.
Peace, peace, wonderful peace, Coming down from the Father above! Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray In fathomless billows of love!
What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace, Buried deep in the heart of my soul, So secure that no power can mine it away, While the years of eternity roll!
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was a masterful German composer, pianist, and conductor, born of wealthy and prominent Jewish parents who had become Lutherans. He began to compose music at the age of ten, and completed many of his greatest works before the age of 20. He made ten trips to England where he performed or conducted his compositions. Queen Victoria and her husband were great admirers of his music.
In 1837 Mendelssohn married the daughter of a Protestant pastor, and the couple had five children. Both Mendelssohn and his wife Cecile were sincere Christians. The truths of Scripture were the foundation of their lives. Felix died prematurely at the age of 38.
Felix Mendelssohn’s music is still popular, and he wrote a great variety of it. His masterpiece is the oratorio Elijah, considered by some to rank next to Handel’s Messiah. It is certainly the greatest oratorio of the nineteenth century. If you have never heard it, in performance or on a recording, it is well worth the effort to seek it out.
As with a number of classical composers, though Mendelssohn was not a hymn writer, his music is used with several hymns. The tune Consolation, by Mendelssoh, is commonly used for the hymn Still, Still with Thee.
Still, still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh, When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee; Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight, Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee.
(2) Today in 1832 – William Doane Born
William Howard Doane was a successful Christian businessman, the president of the J. A. Fay Woodworking Machinery Company. In a way, gospel music was a sideline, but it is the one for which he will be remembered, long after the company he headed has been forgotten. Mr. Doane composed over 2,000 hymn tunes, and he was a frequent collaborator with Fanny Crosby. In 1875, Dennison University conveyed on him the degree of Doctor of Music.
To show how productive the association with Fanny Crosby became, among Fanny’s songs for which he supplied the music are the following:
Draw Me Nearer Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour Rescue the Perishing Safe in the Arms of Jesus Saviour, More Than Life to Me Though Your Sins Be as Scarlet ‘Tis the Blessed Hour of Prayer To God Be the Glory Will Jesus Find Us Watching?
Here is one example of the Crosby-Doane collaboration, Saviour, More Than Life to Me. In this particular case, William Doane wrote the tune first, in 1875, then asked Fanny to supply some lyrics.
Saviour, more than life to me, I am clinging, clinging, close to Thee; Let Thy precious blood applied, Keep me ever, ever near Thy side.
Every day, every hour, Let me feel Thy cleansing power; May Thy tender love to me Bind me closer, closer, Lord to Thee.
Let me love Thee more and more, Till this fleeting, fleeting life is o’er; Till my soul is lost in love, In a brighter, brighter world above.
Though I am not Pentecostal in doctrine, I appreciate the holy fervour of these brothers and sisters in Christ. Listen to this informal and unaccompanied rendering of the above hymn and you may never feel the same again when you sing it. If we will encourage our congregations to learn to sing parts, this is what fellowship in song can be like [link no longer available].
Wendell Phillips Loveless was an officer in the Marines during the First World War. Afterward, he toured the United States for six years with a group of entertainers, gaining experience in voice, piano playing, drama and more. He trusted Christ as Saviour as a result of reading and studying the Bible at home. For many years afterward he served as the director of WMBI, the radio station of Moody Bible Institute, in Chicago.
Mr. Loveless also pastored a number of churches, and wrote many gospel songs and choruses. He often provided tunes for texts written by other authors. For instance, he did this for Trust in the Lord, by Thomas Chisholm, and for Precious Hiding Place, by Avis Christiansen.
I was straying when Christ found me In the night so dark and cold; Tenderly His arm went round me, And He bore me to His fold.
Precious hiding place, Precious hiding place, In the shelter of His love; Not a doubt or fear, Since my Lord is near, And I’m sheltered in His love.
With His nail-scarred hand He brought me To the shelter of His love; Of His grace and will He taught me, And of heav’nly rest above.
Mr. Loveless also gave us the little chorus, All Because of Calvary.
All my sins are gone, All because of Calvary; Life is filled with song, All because of Calvary; Christ my Saviour lives, Lives from sin to set me free; Some day He’s coming, O wondrous, blessèd day, All, yes, all because of Calvary.
(2) Today in 1906 Jemima Luke Died
Jemima Thompson Luke’s father, Thomas Thompson, was known as “a friend of every good cause.” He founded the British and Foreign Sailors’ Society, and was superintendent of a local Sunday School. One day the children there asked to sing a particular song. They did so, and Mr. Thompson inquired where the lovely hymn came from. He was astonished to learn it had been written by his own daughter, Jemima.
Jemima Thompson began writing early on, and was first published in the Juvenile Magazine when she was only 13 years old. At the age of 20, she married Congregational clergyman Samuel Luke, and became editor of The Missionary Repository. Mrs. Luke did not consider herself a poet, and she has given us only one song. (But whatever she may have thought of her poetic gifts, this is excellent work!) Most of it was written during a trip she made by stage coach. She says:
On the back of an old envelope I wrote in pencil the first two of the verses now so well known, in order to teach the tune to the village school supported by my stepmother, and which it was my province to visit. The third verse [which eventually became a later stanza] was added afterward to make it a missionary hymn.
I think, when I read that sweet story of old, When Jesus was here among men, How He called little children as lambs to His fold, I should like to have been with them then.
I wish that His hands had been placed on my head, That His arms had been thrown around me, And that I might have seen His kind look when He said, “Let the little ones come unto Me.”
Yet still to His foot stool in prayer I may go; And ask for a share in His love; And if I thus earnestly seek Him below, I shall see Him and hear Him above.
But thousands and thousands who wander and fall, Never heard of that heavenly home; I wish they could know there is room for them all, And that Jesus has bid them to come.
This patriotic song, that became the battle cry of the Union in the American Civil War, first appeared in the February edition of The Atlantic Monthly, in 1862. The composer of the tune is unknown. It had been used for many different lyrics previously, including the abolitionist song that begins, “John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave.” It was to give a more uplifting text to the fine tune that Julia Ward Howe wrote her Battle Hymn.
(2) Today in 1909 – Bev Shea Born
Though he has been associated with American evangelist Billy Graham for about 60 years, George Beverly Shea was born in Winchester, Ontario, Canada. He had a rich baritone voice, enhanced by careful training. (Early on, his vocal coach was renowned operatic baritone John Charles Thomas.)
Mr. Shea’s style is plain and unaffected, uncluttered by vocal tricks or fancy arrangements. His diction is crisp and clear–you can understand every word. He looks his audience squarely in the eye and delivers a message, using music. A modest and godly man, to many of us he sets the standard. He defined what it meant to minister in song, rather than simply perform. When this post was originally written (in 2010), Bev had celebrated his 100th birthday, was in good health, and was still singing.
The Wonder of It All is a song for which Bev Shea wrote both words and music. It celebrates the love of God for us as an incredible thing above all others.
There’s the wonder of sunset at evening, The wonder as sunrise I see; But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul Is the wonder that God loves me.
O the wonder of it all, the wonder of it all– Just to think that God loves me! The wonder of it all, the wonder of it all– Just to think that God loves me!
The song most often associated with Bev Shea is his testimony song, I’d Rather Have Jesus. He wrote the tune to accompany a poem by Rhea Millar. Listen to this incomparable minister of the gospel below.
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands, I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand.
Than to be the king of a vast domain And be held in sin’s dread sway. I’d rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today.
America had its “Quaker Poet” in John Greenleaf Whittier, and Bernard Barton was given the same title in England. Barton went into a corn and coal business with his brother. But he abandoned that enterprise in great sorrow, when his wife died after only one year of marriage. He obtained work as a tutor for awhile, and then got a job as a bank teller, work he continued for 40 years. A man of regular habits, it was said that when he returned home for lunch each day, housewives along the road as he passed knew it was time to put the potatoes on to boil!
Bernard Barton was a prolific poet, writing 10 volumes of devotional verse. He was also a friend of many literary figures of the day, including Charles Lamb, Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Southey. Edward Fitzgerald (who translated The Rubdiydt of Omar Khayyam) married Barton’s daughter.
Quite a number of Bernard Barton’s poems were turned into hymns, among them Walk in the Light, and Lamp of Our Feet. The latter reminds us of the great blessing God has given us in the Scriptures. It is, among other things, “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105).
Lamp of our feet whereby we trace Our path when wont to stray; Stream from the fount of heav’nly grace, Brook by the traveler’s way.
Bread of our souls whereon we feed, True manna from on high; Our guide and chart wherein we read Of realms beyond the sky.
Pillar of fire, through watches dark, Or radiant cloud by day; When waves would break our tossing bark, Our anchor and our stay.
Word of the ever living God, Will of His glorious Son; Without Thee, how could earth be trod Or heav’n itself be won?
Yet to unfold thy hidden worth, Thy mysteries to reveal, That Spirit which first gave thee forth, Thy volume must unseal.
Lord, grant us all aright to learn The wisdom it imparts And to its heavenly teaching turn With simple, childlike hearts.
(2) Today in 1834 – Charles Spurgeon Born
There is no question that Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a remarkable man. Converted on January 6th, 1850, he preached his first sermon the same year, at the age of sixteen. Two years later, he became a pastor, moving on at the age of twenty to a life-long ministry in London. Soon he was preaching to audiences of ten thousand people (in the days before electronic amplification).
By the time he was twenty-two Spurgeon was the most popular preacher of his day. His sermons, still available, contained strong doses of Bible doctrine, combined with sound biblical scholarship. Yet they were anything but dry. Hearers sensed his good humour, his heart for God, and his love for the people. Many consider him to be the greatest English-speaking preacher of all time.
And Spurgeon’s preaching was only part of the contribution made by this outstanding man. He established orphanages that housed 500 children, and founded a college for training pastors (seeing about 900 graduate from it before his death). He operated 21 city missions providing the poor with food, clothing and free education. He authored 135 books and edited 28 others–many of these are still in print. His sermons were published, selling 25,000 copies each week, and eventually being translated into 40 languages.
All of this and more occupied his 18-hour work days until the time of his death at the age of 58. At his passing 100,000 filed past his coffin to pay their respects, and the two-mile funeral procession through the streets of London rivalled that of royalty. Spurgeon penned a number of hymns, including the lovely Communion hymn, Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands.
Amidst us our Belovèd stands, And bids us view His piercèd hands; Points to the wounded feet and side, Blest emblems of the Crucified.
What food luxurious loads the board, When at His table sits the Lord! The wine how rich, the bread how sweet, When Jesus deigns the guests to meet!
(3) Today in 1932 – Annie Barker Died
Annie Herbert Barker was a school teacher, and she also wrote a number of songs. She and her husband were pioneer settlers in Montana. They moved to San Rafael, California in 1888, where she lived the remainder of her life.
Mrs. Barker has given us one gospel song, When the Mists Have Rolled Away, which is still found in some books. The idea of the song is that things that puzzle us here will be made clear in heaven. There is an allusion to the words of the Apostle Paul, “Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (I Cor. 13:12).
Many years ago, I stood with my own father on the summit of one of the Adirondack Mountains. The early morning mist was still settled in the valley below, and my father was inspired to sing Annie Barker’s song. But a more remarkable incident relates to the author herself.
In January of 1932, the hymn was used on a Christian radio program beamed out from Los Angeles. And before the soloist sang he said, “We wish to dedicate this song to its author, wherever she may be.” At the time, Annie Barker was the resident of a seniors home, penniless, alone and forgotten. Providentially, she heard the words of the singer, and the rendition of her song. Then, she asked one of the attendants to help her into bed. A few moments later, she passed into eternity, ushered into the presence of the Lord, where the mists of time were swept away.
When the mists have rolled in splendour From the beauty of the hills, And the sunlight falls in gladness On the rivers and the rills, We recall our Father’s promise In the rainbow of the spray: We shall know each other better When the mists have rolled away.
We shall know, as we are known, Never more to walk alone, In the dawning of the morning Of that bright and happy day, We shall know each other better, When the mists have rolled away.
We shall come with joy and gladness, We shall gather round the throne. Face to face with those that love us We shall know as we are known. And the song of our redemption Shall resound through endless day When the shadows have departed And the mists have rolled away.
Joseph Bromehead was educated at Queen’s College, Oxford, and served as curate of Eckington, Derbyshire, until his death. He produced one of several versions of a longer hymn that was at least two centuries old in Bromehead’s time. Renowned hymn historian John Julian considered this hymn so historically important that he devoted more than three pages to it. The original manuscript is now in the British Museum, in which the author is identified as F.B.P. One hymnologist claims this stands for Francis Baker, Pater (Father Francis Baker).
Jerusalem, my happy home! Name ever dear to me; When shall my labours have an end, In joy, and peace, and thee?
When shall these eyes thy heaven built walls And pearly gates behold? Thy bulwarks, with salvation strong, And streets of shining gold?
There happier bowers than Eden’s bloom, Nor sin nor sorrow know: Blest seats, through rude and stormy scenes, I onward press to you.
Apostles, martyrs, prophets there Around my Saviour stand; And soon my friends in Christ below Will join the glorious band.
O Christ do Thou my soul prepare For that bright home of love; That I may see Thee and adore, With all Thy saints above.
The “Jerusalem” of the hymn is, of course, a reference to the heavenly kingdom, described in the book of Revelation as New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2; cf. Heb. 12:22; Rev. 3:12). Some versions of the song from the early nineteenth century attach the stanza (by an unknown author) that now concludes the hymn Amazing Grace. Though not part of the original, it certainly fits the theme.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we’d first begun.
(2) Today in 1928 – Handel Parker Died
Handel Parker lived in the small village of Oxenhope, in West Yorkshire. He was one of a large family of musicians, most of whom were named after famous composers. Having left school at the age of 13, he went to work in a textile mill as a wool sorter, but after seven years he turned to music as a profession. He taught flute and violin. To those instruments he added the trombone. He assisted many brass bands in the West Yorkshire area, both as player and conductor, gave organ recitals and conducted choirs.
Parker was also a composer of sacred music, and he produced a number of hymn tunes. His beautiful Deep Harmony, written around 1900, is sometimes used with Isaac Watts’s hymn, Sweet Is the Work. I can remember singing the hymn in a male choir, back in the 1960s. (For more on Isaac Watts, and a list of some of his hymns, see Today in 1674.) Deep Harmony also became part of the standard repertoire of the legendary Black Dyke Mills Band in England. They played it at all their concerts for many years. Sit back and enjoy another brass band version of the tune below.
Sweet is the work, my God, my King, To praise Thy name, give thanks and sing, To show Thy love by morning light And talk of all Thy truth at night.
My heart shall triumph in my Lord And bless His works and bless His Word. Thy works of grace, how bright they shine! How deep Thy counsels, how divine!
Thomas Shepherd was a clergyman in England. He began ministry in Anglican churches, but in 1694 he became pastor of the Independent Castle Hill Baptist Meeting, Northampton (a congregation later pastored by hymn writer Philip Doddridge). Shepherd also wrote a number of hymns, but only a fragment of one remains in common use.
The hymn Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone? is based on the Lord’s call to discipleship:
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Matt. 16:24
This is not a popular message today, but it is still in the Scriptures! The Lord is issuing a call to discipleship. And for a believer to “deny himself” is not the same as self-denial (e.g. refusing a second piece of pie, or a trip to Disneyland). To deny the Self is to reject selfishness and self-interest at its very root, submitting to the will of God in all things. The follower of Christ is to be totally committed to Him, even if it means persecution and death.
The stanzas of the hymn have at least four different authors. But Thomas Shepherd is credited with giving us the first of them.
Must Jesus bear the cross alone, And all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone, And there’s a cross for me.
The consecrated cross I’ll bear Till death shall set me free; And then go home my crown to wear, For there’s a crown for me.
(2) Today in 1866 – Tell Me the Old, Old Story written
Arabella Katherine Hankey, better known as “Kate” to her friends, was a wealthy banker’s daughter who lived in England. In her early thirties, she took gravely ill, and was told that if she didn’t spend at least the next year in bed she would die. She agreed to the confinement, but took with her a stack of writing paper. While bedridden, Miss Hankey wrote a long (50-stanza) poem on the life of Christ. Part I she called “The Story Wanted,” and Part II was entitled “The Story Told.”
From the first section, which hymn historian John Julian says was completed on this date, comes our hymn, Tell Me the Old, Old Story. The second section, completed on November 18th of the same year, has given us a second hymn, I Love to Tell the Story.
Tell me the old, old story of unseen things above, Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love. Tell me the story simply, as to a little child, For I am weak and weary, and helpless and defiled.
Tell me the old, old story, tell me the old, old story, Tell me the old, old story, of Jesus and His love.
Tell me the story slowly, that I may take it in, That wonderful redemption, God’s remedy for sin. Tell me the story often, for I forget so soon; The early dew of morning has passed away at noon.
Katherine Hankey was devoted to Sunday School work. She also made a trip to South Africa to care for an infirm brother. That trip awakened as well a keen interest in foreign missions, leading her to commit all of the profits of her literary efforts to worldwide evangelism.
Sabine Baring-Gould was brilliant–though sometimes eccentric. He was a kind of Renaissance man who dabbled in many things and did them well. Born into the English upper class, he mastered six languages, and became an Anglican clergyman at the age of 30. He wrote over 100 books, including 30 novels, and a 16-volume work called Lives of the Saints. He was also known as an architect, an archeologist, an artist, a collector of English folk songs, and a teacher. (Apparently, he sometimes taught classes with his pet bat perched on his shoulder!)
John H. Parker’s recent book Abide With Me (New Leaf Press, 2009), tells us that Sabine Baring Gould fell in love with a beautiful mill worker named Grace Taylor. But, before he would consider marrying her, so she would fit into upper-class society, he sent her to school to learn to pronounce English properly. George Bernard Shaw used Baring-Gould and Grace Taylor as models for his characters Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle in his play Pygmalion (which later became the musical My Fair Lady).
Two of the hymns of Sabine Baring-Gould have remained in use: Onward Christian Soldiers, and a lovely evening hymn called Now the Day Is Over.
Now the day is over, Night is drawing nigh, Shadows of the evening Steal across the sky.
Jesus, give the weary Calm and sweet repose; With Thy tenderest blessing May mine eyelids close.
Grant to little children Visions bright of Thee; Guard the sailors tossing On the deep, blue sea.
Comfort those who suffer, Watching late in pain; Those who plan some evil From their sin restrain.
Through the long night watches May Thine angels spread Their white wings above me, Watching round my bed.
When the morning wakens, Then may I arise Pure, and fresh, and sinless In Thy holy eyes.
Here is an interesting version of this hymn: a men’s “quartet,” which is actually one singer in a multi-track recording. Not professional, but nicely done.
2) Today in 1896 – Joseph Barnby Died
Joseph Barnby was an acclaimed composer, conductor and organist in nineteenth-century England. From his early teens, he was an outstanding choirmaster and he served as an organist in four London churches. Mr. Barnby was knighted in 1892. He edited several hymnals, and wrote 246 hymn tunes. Among the latter are Sandringham, for the hymn O Perfect Love, Merrial, for the above hymn (Now the Day Is Over), and Laudes Domini for When Morning Gilds the Skies.
When morning gilds the skies my heart awaking cries: May Jesus Christ be praised! Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair: May Jesus Christ be praised!
Does sadness fill my mind? A solace here I find, May Jesus Christ be praised! Or fades my earthly bliss? My comfort still is this, May Jesus Christ be praised!
