Our Sure Defense Forever Be

I recently acquired a new (to me) hymnal, pictured here. Hymnal: A Worship Book (1992) was a joint project of the Church of the Brethren, the General Conference Mennonite Church, and the Mennonite Church in North America (it appears that those last two denominations merged in 2002 but I could be wrong).  Anyway, it's an interesting book to me because, in addition to many new hymns of the 1980s and 90s it also has many hymns from earlier days that had not survived in the hymnals of other denominations but which were apparently still being sung.

The hymnal opens with a section of hymns called "Gathering," which caught my eye for some reason, though I'm sure it's not the only hymnal with such a section.  These are suggested for use as the opening hymn in worship, which I've always just thought of as "opening hymns," but "Gathering" sounds much nicer.  Also, it seems like a good theme for summer Sundays here, so even though I have already written about many such hymns before, we'll see some more this year.

Working together, Fanny Crosby and composer William Howard Doane probably collaborated on dozens of songs, including Pass me not, O gentle Savior, Jesus, keep me near the cross, and To God be the glory, but I had never encountered this one, which I like very much.

God of our strength, enthroned above,
The source of life, the fount of love;
O let devotion’s sacred flame
Our souls awake to praise thy name.

Refrain
God of our strength, we sing to thee,
Our sure defense forever be.

To thee we lift our joyful eyes,
To thee on wings of faith we rise;
Come thou, and let thy courts on earth
Ring out thy praise in holy mirth.
Refrain

God of our strength, from day to day
Direct our thoughts and guide our way;
O may our hearts united be
In sweet communion here with thee.
Refrain

God of our strength, on thee we call;
God of our hope, our light, our all,
Thy name we praise, thy love adore,
Our rock, our shield, forevermore.
Refrain

Fanny Crosby, 1882; alt.
VISION (L.M. with refrain)
William H. Doane, 1883

This hymn was first published in the Baptist Hymnal (1883), for which Doane was the musical editor.  Although the Cyber Hymnal suggests that Doane's tune was written earlier, this appears to have been a new text for Crosby.  At this point she was probably the most famous writer of gospel songs and hymns in her day, having been successful for about fifteen years. Though she lived until 1915, her most popular songs (mostly the ones we still know today) were written in those early years.  By 1883, the songs she was writing did not gain the same traction as the earlier ones and are generally less known, though I have written about several of these as well.   

     

William Howard Doane

William Howard Doane, who was born on this date in 1832, has often been described in hymn histories as an enthusiastic amateur, but the hundreds of gospel song melodies he composed have been sung by many thousands of people over the last 150 years.  He worked for more than forty years in the manufacturing field, but continued composing and editing collections of gospel and Sunday school songs in his spare time.

He composed his first music at age sixteen, and by the age of twenty he was the conductor of the Norwich Harmonic Society in Connecticut.  The first collection he compiled, Sabbath School Gems, was published in 1862, but by that time he had already been employed for more than a decade by the J. A. Fay Company, and had been the managing partner of the firm for two years.

A later collection, Pure Gold for the Sunday School (1871), which he edited with Robert Lowry, contained this popular song, which is probably still remembered by many.

Take the name of Jesus with you,
Through your sorrow and your woe,
It will joy and comfort give you;
Take it then, where’er you go.

Refrain

Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heav’n.
Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heav’n.

Take the name of Jesus ever,
As a shield from every care;
If temptations round you gather,
Breathe that holy name in prayer.

Refrain

O the precious name of Jesus!
How it thrills our souls with joy,
When his loving arms receive us,
Blissful songs our tongues employ!

Refrain

Lydia Baxter, 1870; alt.

Tune: PRECIOUS NAME (8.7.8.7. with refrain)

William H. Doane, 1871

Many of Doane's most well-known songs were written to texts by Fanny Crosby, but he composed tunes for many other writers, and even wrote a number of texts himself.  He also wrote a series of Christmas cantatas which were widely sung, and some of these were secular, including one called Santa Claus (1879).

Some of Doane's papers, including correspondence with other gospel song writers and composers, are preserved at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, IL

Four Years Ago: William Howard Doane

Three Years Ago:  William Howard Doane

Fanny Crosby

We have come around again to the birthday of Fanny Crosby, the prolific gospel song writer whose works continue to be loved and sung around the world. I've already written a fair amount about her which you can revisit by clicking on her name in the tags below this entry.

In her autobiography, Memories of Eighty Years, Crosby writes of her hymnwriting career with typical modesty:

That some of my hymns have been dictated by the blessed Holy Spirit I have no doubt; and that others have been the result of deep meditation I know to be true; but that the poet has any right to claim special merit for himself is certainly presumptuous.

But she surely know how deeply her work had touched so many people, as she recounts many stories told to her in letters and personal meetings. The writings of her contemporaries in the field also refer to many similar anecdotes from Fanny's admirers who were comforted, inspired, and brought to a closer relationship with God through her songs.

She was contracted by the publishing firm of Biglow & Main to produce three song texts per week but by all accounts she exceeded that number over the more than forty years she was associated with them, and even wrote for other publishers as well. Often she was given a theme to write on, and sometimes the music was given to her first, to set words for. Some of her most enduring songs were written this way (even though more "sophisticated" writers will tell you that that method doesn't work well), such as Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, Safe in the arms of Jesus, and even today's selection.

This song was first published in Bright Jewels for the Sunday School (1869) after composer William Howard Doane had played the music for her. A favorite of many, it's also well-suited for the season of Lent, I think.

Jesus, keep me near the cross,

There a precious fountain
Free to all, a healing stream
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.

Refrain
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Shed its beams around me.
Refrain

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadow o’er me.
Refrain

Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the heav'nly land,
Just beyond the river.
Refrain

Fanny Crosby, 1869; alt.
Tune: NEAR THE CROSS (7.6.7.6. with refrain)
William H. Doane, 1869

For many years it was a tradition of some of Fanny's friends and fellow writers and composers to write for her a poem on her birthday, and I've chosen some excerpted stanzas.

William J. Kirkpatrick, in 1887, began:

Dear Fanny, I would send a line

In warm congratulation;

And join the many friends that hail

Your birthday celebration.

Eliza Hewitt, in 1905, concluded with the stanza:

So we'll gather 'round our Fanny,

With smiles and greetings sincere,

May she have the sweetest birthday

She has had for many a year.

Some were more serious, such as Ira Sankey's 1893 offering:

A few more years to sing the song

Of our Redeemer's love,

Then by His grace both you and I

Will sing His praise above.

but Hubert P. Main was often more comic:

Still March the twenty-four comes 'round

In spite of earth or heaven,

And you keep coming also, too

For now you're seventy-seven.

It's in the tradition of these birthday tributes (particularly Mr. Main's) that we have another one today, which I first mentioned last year on William H. Doane's birthday when we heard another of his collaborations with Crosby, Pass me not, O gentle Savior. I hope you'll take it in the affectionate spirit in which it was intended.

Sing a song by Fanny Crosby
Ev’ry Sabbath day;
Pay no heed to those who claim that
She is déclassé.

Refrain:
Pastor, Pastor,
Hear my irate cry:
When you pick the hymns for Sunday,
Don’t pass Fanny by.

Gregory the Great is no saint
To good Protestants;
We’ve abandoned all his dogmas –
Why intone his chants?
Refrain

Lutheran chorales are boring,
Lengthy and morose;
Fanny’s hymns are twice as peppy,
And half as verbose.
Refrain

Calvinists transformed the Psalter
Into metric verse;
Though the texts may not be noble,
Yea, the tunes be worse.
Refrain

Folk Mass music is atrocious,
Lacking tune and rhyme,
And they massacre the meter,
Cramming extra words in all the time.
Refrain

J. Thomas Sopko, 1988
Tune: PASS ME NOT (8.5.8.5. with refrain)
William H. Doane, 1870
Text © 1988 J. Thomas Sopko.
Used by permission

Thanks to Tom for his light-hearted tribute to Fanny Crosby and her songs.

One Year Ago: Fanny Crosby

Another Birthday Today: Jennette Threlfall

William Fisk Sherwin

William Fisk Sherwin was born today in 1826, in Buckland, Massachusetts. He is primarily known today for only two tunes which were written for two long-lasting hymns by Mary Lathbury: Break thou the bread of life and Day is dying in the west. Like so many of his contemporaries, however, he produced many other songs and hymns that are forgotten.

He studied music with Lowell Mason and later became an instructor at the New England Conservatory of Music. He was active in Sunday school work, teaching and leading special assemblies throughout New York and New England. In later years he was remembered by George C. Stebbins in Reminiscences and Gospel Song Stories (1924):

I remember well his singing very effectively and artistically the old classic among sacred songs Flee as a bird to your mountain. His manner of rendering and his well trained and sympathetic voice made a lasting impression upon me.

Sherwin was a friend of the Methodist Bishop John Heyl Vincent, who founded a camp in 1874 for Sunday school teachers on the shores of Lake Chautauqua in western New York and asked Sherwin to serve as the camp's music director. This camp soon developed into the prestigious Chautauqua Institution, and Sherwin maintained his connection to it for many years. Many of his compositions, not just those with Lathbury, were popularized here first.

Sherwin was also a musical editor at the Century Company and at Biglow & Main, who published many of his songs. One of his collections there, co-edited with Robert Lowry and William H. Doane, was titled Chautauqua Carols (1878) and was used both at the Institute and thoughout the country where numerous "tent chautauquas" sprang up in connection with the original. Though mostly known today as a composer, Sherwin did write many of his own texts for his tunes as well, such as this one.

Grander than ocean’s story,
Or songs of forest trees;
Purer than breath of morning,
Or evening’s gentle breeze;
Clearer than mountain echoes
Ring out from peaks above,
Rolls on the glorious anthem
Of God’s eternal love.

Dearer than any friendship
Our truest comrades show;
Stronger than all the yearning
A mother’s heart may know;
Deeper than earth’s foundations,
And far above all thought;
Broader than heav’n’s high arches—
The love that Christ has brought.

Richer than all earth’s treasures,
The wealth my soul receives;
Brighter than royal jewels,
The crown that Jesus gives;
Wondrous the condescension,
And grace beyond degree!
I would be ever singing
The love of Christ to me.

William F. Sherwin, 19th c.
GOD'S LOVE (7.6.7.6.D.)

Robert Lowry

The Reverend Robert Lowry was born today in Philadelphia in 1826. His parents were Presbyterians, but at age eighteen he joined a Baptist church, and following his 1854 graduation from the University at Lewisburg (now Bucknell University) he was ordained as a Baptist minister, going on to lead churches in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York over the rest of his life.

He was interested in music from an early age, but as a pastor he became interested in the use of music in the church, especially the Sunday school music that was becoming popular in the mid-nineteenth century (the precursor to gospel songs as we know them). He began to write and compose his own songs, which soon became quite successful. Often he wrote both words and music, such as Shall we gather at the river, probably his most popular song, but sometimes he wrote the tune only, or in the case of Marching to Zion, adapted an older text (by Isaac Watts, in this case) into a gospel song by adding a refrain and a compelling melody.

Following the 1868 death of William B. Bradbury, who had been the leading proponent of Sunday school music development, his publishing company hired Lowry to replace him as editor. At first, Lowry was not sure he was qualified, but he undertook more musical study and eventually edited or co-edited (often with William Howard Doane) more than twenty song collections. His own body of work expanded greatly; he continued to write songs of his own and tunes in collaboration with most of the well-known text writers of the day. The company, now known as Biglow & Main, solidified its position as the most successful publisher of Sunday school music and gospel songs for the rest of the nineteenth century.

Looking though his songs for something to present today I came upon this one, for which he originally wrote both words and music for the collection Royal Diadem for the Sunday School (1873). Since Lowry's tune is not available as a sound file, I've matched the text to this older hymn tune which suits it well.

My soul shall rest in hope
Rejoicing in your love
Who, in my sorrow, gives me joy
And lifts my soul above.

My soul shall rest in hope
And live in faith divine,
Supremely blessed, which I can feel,
Your saving love is mine.

My soul shall rest in hope,
Though mortal strength may fail,
Your gentle hand that leads me now
Will guide me through the vale.

My soul shall rest in hope
Until you bid me rise
To see your face and sing your praise
Beyond the earthly skies.

My soul shall rest in hope
Rejoicing in your love
Who, in my sorrow, gives me joy
And lifts my soul above.

Robert Lowry, 1873; alt.
Tune: CAMBRIDGE (S.M.)
Ralph Harrison, 1784
arr. Samuel Sebastian Wesley, 1872

In researching Lowry for this entry, I came upon the following, which I hope you will enjoy. Apparently Shall we gather by the river so impressed Canadian Dr. D. Morrison of Ontario that he translated it into Latin (for what purpose I can only imagine). The first stanza, all that I could unearth, goes like this:

Fluvione colligemus

Qua'sint seraphim sancti,

Fluvio amœna cujus

Fons est throno Domini?

Two Years Ago: Gregory the Great

One Year Ago: Paul Gerhardt

William Howard Doane

The prolific gospel song composer and writer William H. Doane was born today in 1832 in Preston, CT. He attended the nearby Woodstock Academy, a private high school, and directed the school choir there at the age of fourteen. At twenty he began conducting the Norwich Harmonic Society for two years.

His musical endeavors might have been considered a sideline, since his primary career was with J.A. Fay & Company, a manufacturer of woodworking machinery, where he worked his way up to the presidency. For most of his life he lived in Cincinnati, where he was also the Sunday School superintendent at the Mount Auburn Baptist Church. But it's surely Doane's music, sideline or no, that makes him still remembered today.

He composed more than two thousand gospel song tunes, many to words by Fanny Crosby, a close friend who visited him in Ohio several times. He also edited more than forty collections, including the Baptist Hymnal for Use in the Church and Home (1883).

This song by Doane and Crosby appeared in one of his early collections, The Silver Spray (1868), which was a great success; the royalties from the book went to purchase a large pipe organ for the YMCA Hall in Cincinnati. This song is not so well-known as some of his others, but worth hearing, I think.

Come to the fountain of mercy and live,
Come, and a pardon receive;
Drink of the water that Jesus will give,
Freely to those that believe;
Weary and burdened with sorrow,
Sweet is the message to thee,
"Learn of the meek and the lowly,
Come, heavy laden to me."
Refrain
Come to the clear flowing river,
Drink of its waters forever,
Hungry and thirsty, O, never,
Blessèd are they that believe!

Look unto Jesus, ye nations of earth,
Victor o'er death and the grave,
Though he was humble, and lowly his birth
Jesus is mighty to save.
Christ is our Rock and Salvation,
Christ is our Strength and our Song,
Onward from glory to glory,
Leading us ever along.
Refrain

Fanny Crosby, 1868; alt.
Tune: BLESSED BELIEVERS (10.7.10.7.8.7.8.7. with refrain)
William H. Doane, 1868
Some of Doane's correspondence with his fellow song writers, including Crosby, Ira Sankey, and Robert Lowry, is preserved at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton University.

One Year Ago: William Howard Doane

William Howard Doane

William H. Doane (February 3, 1832 - December 23, 1915) was a prolific and popular composer of gospel songs (perhaps as many as six hundred) who also wrote some texts and edited at least forty-three collections. However, he was also quite a successful businessman who ran a woodworking company in Cincinnati, so his extensive musical endeavors were "only" a sideline.

In Cincinnati he belonged to the Mount Auburn Baptist Church, where he was also the superintendent of the Sunday school for many years. He received a Doctor of Music degree in 1875 from Denison University in Granville OH. In later years he was a major donor to Denison, the William Howard Doane Library (original building pictured below) being one of his gifts.

He worked with many of the important gospel song writers and composers of his day, particularly Robert Lowry and Fanny Crosby. Doane wrote the tunes for some of Crosby's most well-known songs, including this one.

Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.

Refrain
Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.

Let me at thy throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief,
Kneeling there in deep contrition;
Help my unbelief.
Refrain

Trusting only in thy merit,
Would I seek thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by thy grace.
Refrain

Thou the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside thee?
Whom in heav’n but thee?
Refrain

Fanny Crosby, 1868
Tune: PASS ME NOT (8.5.8.5. with refrain)
William H. Doane, 1870

There's an affectionate parody song written some years ago by J. Thomas Sopko that uses this tune that begins "Sing a song by Fanny Crosby/Every Sabbath day..." with the refrain:

Pastor, Pastor,
Hear my irate cry:
When you pick the hymns for Sunday,
Don't pass Fanny by!

It continues for three verses, I believe. I suppose I should try to locate Mr.Sopko sometime to get permission to post the whole thing (he has a few other more serious items that would fit in here as well).