More Love to Thee

SONG WRITER: Elizabeth Prentiss                    

MUSIC WRITER: William Doane                    

WHEN WRITTEN: 1870

HYMN HISTORY: This hymn was written by Elizabeth Payson Prentiss.  Elizabeth suffered from poor health most of her life, but showed promise as a writer even as a young girl.  She began submitting prose and verse at age 16 to a popular national magazine for young people, and the magazine published several of her submissions.  During her lifetime, she wrote five books, one of which became a best-seller.  Elizabeth was the daughter of a clergyman, and she married a Presbyterian clergyman, Dr. George L. Prentiss, pastor of the Mercer Street Presbyterian Church in New York City –– and later homiletics professor at Union Theological Seminary.

In 1856, tragedy struck –– two of the Prentiss children died of illness.  Elizabeth was devastated as she tried to come to grips with her loss –– and also her sense of the unfairness that God would allow her children to die.  She and her husband talked about it at length, and his encouragement gave her some help –– but her grief was profound.  Then one day she felt inspired to write some verse inspired by something that her husband had said in a sermon:  "Love can keep the soul from going blind."  She thought that if love could do that, she needed more love.  And so she began to write.

She quickly dashed off three verses and part of a fourth verse, and then she stopped.  She didn't do anything with her poem at that time, perhaps feeling that the solace that she received from writing it was enough. But thirteen years later, she showed her poem to her husband, and he encouraged her to have it printed in leaflet form, which she did –– after completing the fourth verse.  Even then she distributed the leaflets only to a few of their friends.

BIBLE VERSE:  Philippians 1:9 – “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more.”

HYMN LYRICS:

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Trust and Obey

SONG WRITER: John Sammis                    

MUSIC WRITER: Daniel Towner                     

WHEN WRITTEN: 1887

HYMN HISTORY: One night at a Dwight L. Moody evangelistic meeting in Brockton, Massachusetts, a young man stood up to testify about his confidence of salvation.  He said, "I am not quite sure," meaning that he wasn't really certain that God would save him from his sins –– and then he continued, "But I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey" –– meaning that he planned to trust God for his salvation and to do what he could to obey God's will.

"I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey."  Daniel Towner was the song leader for that meeting.  He was so impressed by the young man's testimony that he wrote down those words and stuck them in his pocket.  Later, he wrote a friend, John Sammis.  In his letter, he told about the young man's testimony and included the young man's words:  "I am not quite sure, but I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey."

Sammis quickly transformed those words into a hymn chorus:  "Trust and obey, For there's no other way To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey." Soon he had five stanzas to go with the chorus, and he sent them to Towner, who composed the tune that we still sing today.

BIBLE VERSE:  Romans 16:26 – “But has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.”

HYMN LYRICS:

When we walk with the Lord

in the light of his word,

what a glory he sheds on our way!

While we do his good will,

he abides with us still,

and with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:

Trust and obey, for there's no other way

to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear,

not a sorrow we share,

but our toil he doth richly repay;

not a grief or a loss,

not a frown or a cross,

but is blest if we trust and obey.

(Refrain)

But we never can prove

the delights of his love

until all on the altar we lay;

for the favor he shows,

for the joy he bestows,

are for them who will trust and obey.

              

(Refrain)

Then in fellowship sweet

we will sit at his feet,

or we'll walk by his side in the way;

what he says we will do,

where he sends we will go;

never fear, only trust and obey.

(Refrain) 

Softly and Tenderly

SONG & MUSIC WRITER: Will L. Thompson                   

WHEN WRITTEN: 1880

HYMN HISTORY: Thompson was a Christian, and while attending a Dwight L. Moody evangelistic meeting decided to devote himself to writing and promoting Christian music.  He wrote "Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling" in 1880.  It quickly became popular as a hymn of invitation in evangelistic meetings, and was soon incorporated into church hymnals as well.  Thompson wrote "Jesus is All the World to Me" in 1904, and it became quite popular as well.  He was as successful with Christian music as he had been earlier with secular music.  I am told that he sold two million books of quartet music.

Dwight L. Moody, the most famous evangelist of his day, used "Softly and Tenderly" as an invitation hymn in his meetings.  Thompson visited Moody as the latter was dying, and Moody told him, "Will, I would rather have written 'Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling' than anything I have been able to do in my life" –– quite a tribute from someone as accomplished as Moody.

Even though he became quite rich, Thompson continued to live a life of service.  He supported various civic and religious activities generously.  He was also aware of the fact that small town people had very little exposure to good music, so he loaded a piano on a horse-drawn wagon and went through small Ohio towns giving concerts of his music.

BIBLE VERSE:  Matthew 10:28 – “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

HYMN LYRICS:

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling—
Calling for you and for me;
Patiently Jesus is waiting and watching—
Watching for you and for me!

Refrain:

Come home! come home!
Ye who are weary, come home!
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading—
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies—
Mercies for you and for me?

Refrain

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing—
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, death-beds are coming—
Coming for you and for me!

Refrain

Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised—
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon—
Pardon for you and for me!


Refrain

The Old Rugged Cross

SONG & MUSIC WRITER: George Bennard                    

WHEN WRITTEN: 1913

HYMN HISTORY: George Bennard (1873-1958) was born in Youngstown, Ohio, but his family moved to Iowa, where he accepted Christ as his savior at a revival meeting sponsored by the Salvation Army.  George's coal-miner father died when George was sixteen.  George had hoped to become an evangelist, but instead went to work as a coal-miner to support his mother and sisters. 

Some years later, Bennard moved to Chicago, married, and began an evangelistic ministry with the Salvation Army.  Later still, he was ordained as an evangelist by the Methodist Church, and traveled through the northern states carrying out his ministry. In December, 1912, he was struggling with some sort of personal problem, which led him to reflect on Christ's suffering on the cross.  He later wrote, "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."

BIBLE VERSE:  Philippians 2:8 – “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

HYMN LYRICS:

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.

Refrain:

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.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,

has a wondrous attraction for me;

for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above

to bear it to dark Calvary.

(Refrain)

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,

a wondrous beauty I see,

for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,

to pardon and sanctify me.

(Refrain)

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,

its shame and reproach gladly bear;

then he'll call me some day to my home far away,

where his glory forever I'll share.

(Refrain)

O For a Thousand Tongues

SONG WRITER: Charles Wesley                    

MUSIC WRITER: Charles Glazer                     

WHEN WRITTEN: 1739

HYMN HISTORY: "O For a Thousand Tongues" is one of many hymns written by Charles Wesley.  He and his brother, John, became friends with a group of Moravian Christians as they returned by ship to England from the American colonies.  One of the Moravian leaders was a man named Peter Bohler -- a man that the Wesleys much admired for his deep faith.  Bohler made the comment, "Oh, Brother Wesley, the Lord has done so much for my life.  Had I a thousand tongues, I would praise Christ Jesus with every one of them."  Those words inspired Wesley to write this hymn.

BIBLE VERSE:  Psalm 35:28 – “Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.”

HYMN LYRICS:

O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

SONG WRITER: Joachim Neander                    

WHEN WRITTEN: 1680

HYMN HISTORY: The author of this hymn, Joachim Neander, was born in Bremen, Germany in 1650.  In his early years, he lived a lusty, immoral life.  Then he and a group of friends decided to attend a service conducted by a visiting preacher, Pastor Under-Eyke, and Neander was quickly converted.  He was then influenced by Philipp Jakob Spener, a Pietist who sought to return vitality to the Lutheran church, which in his opinion had become staid and barren.  The Pietists emphasized individual piety, and instituted small groups for prayer, scripture study, personal accountability, and good works.  They believed that trust in Christ rather than correct theology constituted the core of the faith.  This de-emphasis on theology brought the Pietists into conflict with the more traditional Lutherans.

            

In his mid-20s, Neander became director of the Latin School of Dusseldorf, where he served for several years.  He experienced considerable opposition there because of his pietism, and was eventually dismissed from that position.  He then suffered declining health, and died at age 30. 

Neander's life was tragic in the classic sense –– a life of great potential cut short by an untimely death.  However, he wrote 60 hymns –– most during his tenure at the Latin School.  Most are hymns of joyful praise, even though they were written at a time when Neander was living under considerable stress.  Several of his hymns can be found in hymnals today, having inspired Christians around the world for more than three centuries.  Few of us, regardless of longevity, can hope to have a legacy as enduring.  It seems fair to say that God made more of Neander's life than Neander could ever have expected.

  

BIBLE VERSE:      Revelation 4:8 - "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!"

HYMN LYRICS:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration. 

Praise to the Lord, Who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

Breathe On Me, Breathe of God

SONG WRITER: Edwin Hatch                    

MUSIC WRITER: Robert Jackson                     

HYMN HISTORY: Edwin Hatch, who wrote this hymn, was a great scholar.  An esteemed member of the Oxford University faculty, he became widely known for his Brampton Lectures, which were translated into German by the great Adolph von Harnack, a great German scholar.  Lectures of that sort tend to be challenging to read –– tough sledding, as they say. But when it came to expressing his faith in ways that would speak to the ordinary person, nobody has done it better than Edwin Hatch did with this hymn, "Breathe on Me, Breath of God." 

This hymn is a prayer.  The first line of each stanza is "Breathe on Me, Breath of God."  That phrase reminds us of the creation in which God "formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7).  It reminds us of Jesus breathing on his disciples and saying to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). 

BIBLE VERSE:  John 20:22 – “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

HYMN LYRICS:

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

fill me with life anew,

that I may love what thou dost love,

and do what thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

until my heart is pure,

until with thee I will one will,

to do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

till I am wholly thine,

till all this earthly part of me

glows with thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

so shall I never die,

but live with thee the perfect life

of thine eternity. 

Beneath the Cross of Jesus

SONG WRITER: Elizabeth Clephane                    

MUSIC WRITER: Frederick Maker                    

WHEN WRITTEN: 1868

HYMN HISTORY: Elizabeth Clephane was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1830 and lived most of her life in the village of Melrose.  Her father was the county sheriff.  She was a woman acquainted with grief, but never let that stop her.  Her parents both died while she was young, and she was never very healthy herself.  Nevertheless, she was one of those cheerful people who brighten every corner –– perhaps because she focused on what she could do for others rather than sitting and feeling sorry for herself.  Her friends called her "Sunbeam" –– a nickname that may have inspired the lines in this hymn that say:

"I ask no other sunshine than

The sunshine of His face."

Elizabeth loved poetry and wrote several hymns.  The other one with which you might be familiar is "The Ninety and Nine," a hymn inspired by Jesus' parable about a shepherd who had a hundred sheep, but left the ninety-nine to search for the one that was lost –– a parable about God's love (Matthew 18:12-14).

  
BIBLE VERSE:  John 19:25 – “But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”

HYMN LYRICS:

Beneath the cross of Jesus

I fain would take my stand,

the shadow of a mighty rock

within a weary land;

a home within the wilderness,

a rest upon the way,

from the burning of the noontide heat,

and the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus

mine eye at times can see

the very dying form of One

who suffered there for me;

and from my stricken heart with tears

two wonders I confess:

the wonders of redeeming love

and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow

for my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine than

the sunshine of his face;

content to let the world go by,

to know no gain nor loss,

my sinful self my only shame,

my glory all the cross. 

Count Your Blessings

HYMN WRITER: Jonathan Oatman, Jr       

MUSIC WRITER: Edwin O. Excel                      

HYMN HISTORY:   Rev. Johnson Oatman, Jr., was one of the important and prolific gospel song writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was born near Medford, New Jersey, on April 21, 1856. As a child he became acquainted with the hymns of the church through the singing talents of his father.

At the age of nineteen Oatman joined the Methodist Church and several years later was granted a license to preach in local Methodist congregations. Though he wrote over 5,000 hymn texts, Oatman was busily engaged throughout his life in a mercantile business and later as an administrator for a large insurance company in New Jersey. Other gospel favorites by Johnson Oatman include “Higher Ground, and “No, Not One!”

BIBLE VERSE:   Ephesians 1:3-6 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

HYMN LYRICS:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.


Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.


Refrain


When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.


Refrain


So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.


Refrain

For the Beauty of the Earth

SONG WRITER: Folliott Pierpoint                        

MUSIC BY: Conrad Kocher

HYMN HISTORY:
Folliot Sanford Pierpoint (1835-1917) was 29 years old when he returned to the city of his birth, Bath, England. The beauty of the countryside in the late spring inspired him to write the words to the hymn, “For the Beauty of the Earth.” Pierpoint included thanks for God’s creation, social blessings, and also thanked God for his spiritual blessings. This hymn was originally written for the communion service. Each stanza concluded with the words, Christ our God, to thee we raise this our sacrifice of praise, alluding to Hebrews 13:15.

BIBLE VERSE:  Hebrews 13:15-16 – “Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.”

HYMN LYRICS:

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth over and around us lies:
Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light:
Christ our God, 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:
Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the church that evermore lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore her pure sacrifice of love:
Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

We'll Understand It Better By and By

HYMN WRITER: Charles Tindley              

MUSIC WRITTEN BY: B.B. McKinney                      

HYMN HISTORY: Charles Tindley was born near Berlin, Maryland, in July of 1851, the son of a slave, Albert Tindley, and a freewoman, Hester Miller Tindley. Hester passed away when Charles was only four, and a year later he was separated from his father. When he became old enough to work, he was hired out to work with slaves, although his status as “freeborn” was recognized. Little did the people of Berlin realize that a theological and musical giant was springing up in their midst. Tindley is often called a founding father of American gospel music. In 1902, after finishing his educational ventures and pastoring several churches in Philadelphia, he became pastor of the church where he had served as janitor 25 years earlier. After bearing eight children, his wife Daisy, passed away in 1924, the very day the congregation entered the new sanctuary for the first time.  Initially struggling with her death, he would later explain, “one day I will understand it better by and by”.

BIBLE VERSE:  1 Corinthians 13:12 - For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

HYMN LYRICS:

Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand

all the ways of God would lead us to that blessed promised land;

but he guides us with his eye, and we'll follow till we die,

for we'll understand it better by and by.

Refrain

By and by, when the morning comes,

when the saints of God are gathered home,

we'll tell the story how we've overcome,

for we'll understand it better by and by.

Oft our cherished plans have failed, disappointments have prevailed,

And we’ve wandered in the darkness, heavy-hearted and alone

But we’re trusting in the lord, and according to His word,

We will understand it better by and by.

Refrain

Temptations, hidden snares, often take us unawares,

and our hearts are made to bleed, for a thoughtless word or deed;

and we wonder why the test, when we try to do our best,

but we'll understand it better by and by.

Refrain

When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder

HYMN WRITER: James M. Black         
              
HYMN HISTORY: James Black, a Meth­od­ist Sun­day school teach­er in Wil­liams­port, Penn­syl­van­ia, was call­ing roll one day for a youth meet­ing. Young Bes­sie, daugh­ter of a drunk­ard, did not show up, and he was dis­ap­point­ed at her fail­ure to ap­pear. Black made a com­ment to the ef­fect, “Well, I trust when the roll is called up yon­der, she’ll be there.” After speaking those words he began to ponder the words to this song, which he began to write later that day.

BIBLE VERSE:  1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 – “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

HYMN LYRICS:

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.

Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of His resurrection share;
When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

Refrain

Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun,
Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care;
Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

Refrain