Today in 1864 – Emily Crawford Born

Emily May Grimes went to South Africa as a missionary in 1893. In 1904, she married Dr. T. W. W. Crawford of the Christian Missionary Society in Kikuyu, British East Africa. She has given us the hymn Speak, Lord, in the Stillness (also called The Quiet Hour). It was first published in 1920.

Speak, Lord, in the stillness
While I wait on Thee;
Hushed my heart to listen,
In expectancy.

Speak, O blessèd Master,
In this quiet hour,
Let me see Thy face, Lord,
Feel Thy touch of power.

For the words Thou speakest,
“They are life” indeed;
Living Bread from heaven,
Now my spirit feed!

(2) Today in 1910 – Anna Waring Died

Likely the most familiar and beloved poetical passage in all the Bible is the Shepherd Psalm, Psalm 23. Not surprisingly, many hymn writers have made use of all or part of it, either in direct quotation, or paraphrase, or drawing upon its themes. Hymns such as He Leadeth Me, The King of Love My Shepherd Is, and Surely Goodness and Mercy are among them. One resource lists 39 songs based on the psalm, another lists 27.

A hymn from 1850, by Anna Laetitia Waring, provides a beautiful paraphrase, or devotional meditation on the 23rd Psalm. A paraphrase of Scripture restates the sense of a passage in other words, or expresses the meaning in another way. That is what we have with In Heavenly Love Abiding, which the author entitled “Safety in God.”

Anna Waring was born into a Quaker home in Wales, but at the age of 19 she joined the Church of England. In her youth, she mastered Hebrew, and made it a lifelong practice to read from Psalms in the original language each day. She published two books of hymns. Though reportedly shy and retiring, she had a great burden for those in prison. In addition to regularly visiting men and women behind bars in Bristol, England, she supported the Discharged Prisoners Aid Society.

In heavenly love abiding, no change my heart shall fear.
And safe in such confiding, for nothing changes here.
The storm may roar without me, my heart may low be laid,
But God is round about me, and can I be dismayed?

Wherever He may guide me, no want shall turn me back.
My Shepherd is beside me, and nothing can I lack.
His wisdom ever waking, His sight is never dim.
He knows the way He’s taking, and I will walk with Him.

 From 1854 comes Anna Waring’s thoughtful song, My Heart Is Resting, O My God. It is a lengthy hymn (eleven stanzas). You can see the full text in the Cyber Hymnal, but here are three stanzas:

My heart is resting, O my God—
I will give thanks and sing;
My heart is at the secret source
Of every precious thing.
Now the frail vessel Thou hast made
No hand but Thine shall fill—
For the waters of the Earth have failed,
And I am thirsty still.

I thirst for springs of heavenly life,
And here all day they rise—
I seek the treasure of Thy love,
And close at hand it lies.
And a new song is in my mouth
To long loved music set—
Glory to Thee for all the grace
I have not tasted yet.

Glory to Thee for strength withheld,
For want and weakness known—
And the fear that sends me to Thy breast
For what is most my own.
I have a heritage of joy
That yet I must not see;
But the hand that bled to make it mine
Is keeping it for me.

(3) Today in 1952 – Arthur Patten Died

In 1920, American Congregational pastor and author, Arthur Bardwell Patten (1864-1952), gave us a hymn suited to Mother’s Day that parallels the older hymn, Faith of Our Fathers. (The tune St. Catherine is used for both.)

Faith of our mothers, living still
In cradle song and bedtime prayer;
In nursery lore and fireside love,
Thy presence still pervades the air:
Faith of our mothers, living faith!
We will be true to thee to death.

Faith of our mothers, loving faith,
Fount of our childhood’s trust and grace,
Oh, may thy consecration prove
Source of a finer, nobler race:
Faith of our mothers, loving faith,
We will be true to thee till death.

Faith of our mothers, guiding faith,
For youthful longing, youthful doubt,
How blurred our vision, blind our way,
Thy providential care without:
Faith of our mothers, guiding faith,
We will be true to thee till death.