Today in 1831 – Edward Hammond Born
American preacher, Edward Payson Hammond, was converted to Christ through the singing of Isaac Watts’s hymn, Alas, and Did My Saviour Bleed? He became an evangelist who ministered not only in America, but in Scotland, and on the European Continent, as well as in Egypt, and Palestine. He was especially interested in children, and became known as the Children’s Evangelist.
Mr. Hammond reports that in a meeting at Utica, New York, he explained how the Lord Jesus loves us, and how He gave Himself to die for our sins. He says, “I noticed a bright-looking girl bursting into tears.” After the meeting, he was privileged to lead her to faith in the Saviour. The day after, he received a note from her hand which said:
I think I have found the dear Jesus, and I do not see how I could have rejected him so long. I think I can sing with the rest of those who have found him, Jesus is mine [i.e. Fanny Crosby’s Blessed assurance, Jesus Is Mine]. The first time I came to the meetings I cried, but now I feel like singing all the time.
It was that last statement that inspired Edward Hammond to write the song Praise Him all the Time (sometimes called Singing All the Time). It was a favourite of Charles Spurgeon’s.
I feel like singing all the time,
My tears are wiped away;
For Jesus is a friend of mine,
I’ll serve Him every day.
I’ll praise Him, praise Him,
Praise Him all the time!
Praise Him, praise Him,
I’ll praise Him all the time!
When on the cross my Lord I saw,
Nailed there by sins of mine;
Fast fell the burning tears; but now,
I’m singing all the time.
The wondrous story of the Lamb,
Tell with that voice of thine,
Till others, with the glad new song
Go singing all the time.
(2) Today in 1925 – John Moore Born
Some experiences in our lives stand out as especially memorable. That happens to hymn writers too. And they are able to bless us all by describing what they experienced or learned in a hymn that many can enjoy.
In 1952, a young pastor visited a critically ill sailor in a Glasgow hospital. After chatting with him a few minutes, the pastor, whose name was John Moore, reached in his bag for a tract he might leave with him. What came to hand was a little summary of John Bunyan’s classic story, The Pilgrim’s Progress.
On the front was a picture of Pilgrim coming to the cross with an enormous sack tied to his back. Pastor Moore explained how the weight of sin rolled off Pilgrim’s back at the cross. “And do you feel that kind of burden on your heart today?” asked the visitor. The young man nodded, with tears running down his cheeks. The pastor prayed with him, and was privileged to lead him to faith in Christ that day.
Back home, John M. Moore (1925- ) could not get the thrill of the experience out of his mind. “His burden is lifted!” he said to himself. And taking a piece of paper, he began to write the words and music for a song which, he reports, just seemed to flow from his pen.
Days are filled with sorrow and care,
Hearts are lonely and drear;
Burdens are lifted at Calvary–
Jesus is very near.
Cast your care on Jesus today,
Leave your worry and fear;
Burdens are lifted at Calvary–
Jesus is very near.
The choir in the following clip sits down to sing–which was new to me. And the gentleman who sings one verse as a solo forgets his words, much to the amusement of a woman near him. Nevertheless, it’s an adequate rendering of Pastor Moore’s hymn.
After traveling back and forth across the Atlantic a number of times on speaking tours, Pastor Moore emigrated to Canada, where he served as a Baptist pastor in the Toronto area. He continued writing hymns, including Why Did They Nail Him to Calvary’s Tree?
1 September 2009 @ 10:28 am
Thank you for sharing the story and thanks be to God for removing our burden of sin.
Tom
armchair-theology.blogspot.com
1 September 2009 @ 11:29 am
Amen to that! I often think of the words of Peter. Many who had followed after Christ had deserted Him (Jn. 6:66), and the Lord asks the twelve, rather wistfully I think, “Do you also want to go away?” But Peter responds, “Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life” (vs. 67-68). God bless you, brother.
1 September 2009 @ 10:28 am
Thank you for sharing the story and thanks be to God for removing our burden of sin.
Tom
armchair-theology.blogspot.com
1 September 2009 @ 11:29 am
Amen to that! I often think of the words of Peter. Many who had followed after Christ had deserted Him (Jn. 6:66), and the Lord asks the twelve, rather wistfully I think, “Do you also want to go away?” But Peter responds, “Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life” (vs. 67-68). God bless you, brother.
1 September 2010 @ 7:25 am
Have you seen those 30 minute Gather Homecoming tv specials? The lead singers stand up, but the back-up choir sits down. I think they are trying to go for a “just sitting around the livingroom singing hymns” kind of feel. Hard to do with over 100 in the back-up choir, though.
These are very faithful old-time gospel renditions of hymns. I enjoy listening to them. Still, my “homecoming choir” will be standing, should I ever get one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ5iH9GEPgw
1 September 2010 @ 4:05 pm
What the Gaither team gives us is kind of a cross between congregational singing and a concert, between worship and entertainment. I struggle sometimes with the kind of pious, eyes-closed (sometimes pained-looking) expressions, that look rather put on in some cases. But the music is well done over all.
1 September 2010 @ 7:25 am
Have you seen those 30 minute Gather Homecoming tv specials? The lead singers stand up, but the back-up choir sits down. I think they are trying to go for a “just sitting around the livingroom singing hymns” kind of feel. Hard to do with over 100 in the back-up choir, though.
These are very faithful old-time gospel renditions of hymns. I enjoy listening to them. Still, my “homecoming choir” will be standing, should I ever get one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ5iH9GEPgw
1 September 2010 @ 4:05 pm
What the Gaither team gives us is kind of a cross between congregational singing and a concert, between worship and entertainment. I struggle sometimes with the kind of pious, eyes-closed (sometimes pained-looking) expressions, that look rather put on in some cases. But the music is well done over all.
2 September 2010 @ 3:42 pm
Don’t know if you get this BBC production in Canada, but here in the States we catch clips of youtube. It strikes me almost as an “Anglican Gather Homecoming.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHVv79W_EpA
2 September 2010 @ 5:36 pm
Don’t think we do get the program here–though perhaps they air it on PBS at a time when I’ve missed it. However, in my own opinion, anything I’ve seen from the Gaithers pales in comparison! Is it my old age? Or my English roots? Don’t know. But while I wouldn’t care to be a part of the Gaither Homecoming audience, I’d love to be one of the thousands in the clip you sent. Good, solid congregational singing, of a great hymn. A foretaste of heaven! 🙂
2 September 2010 @ 3:42 pm
Don’t know if you get this BBC production in Canada, but here in the States we catch clips of youtube. It strikes me almost as an “Anglican Gather Homecoming.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHVv79W_EpA
2 September 2010 @ 5:36 pm
Don’t think we do get the program here–though perhaps they air it on PBS at a time when I’ve missed it. However, in my own opinion, anything I’ve seen from the Gaithers pales in comparison! Is it my old age? Or my English roots? Don’t know. But while I wouldn’t care to be a part of the Gaither Homecoming audience, I’d love to be one of the thousands in the clip you sent. Good, solid congregational singing, of a great hymn. A foretaste of heaven! 🙂
2 September 2010 @ 5:38 pm
You will notice they all stand up, too 😉
2 September 2010 @ 5:38 pm
You will notice they all stand up, too 😉