Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

Thomas Ken

Thomas Ken (1637-1711) was an Englishman and an ordained Anglican priest. He served as Rector of several parishes, was briefly chaplain to Princess Mary, and later to the British fleet. He published many poems, along with a Manual of Prayers.

After his parents died, Thomas was enrolled by his sister into an all- boy's school, Winchester College. He would return to the same school as Chaplain many years later. In order to motivate his students in their devotions, Thomas wrote a three stanza hymn -- one verse to be sung upon waking and one before bed. The third verse was to be sung at midnight, if a boy found sleep difficult.

Today, the writing of this hymn may seem an innovative way to motivate teenage boys. In Thomas' day however, the writing of this hymn for such a purpose was somewhat revolutionary. For centuries hymns of the church were sung only by monks. Although at this point in history protestant churches in some countries were beginning to introduce hymns into congregational singing, it would be several years before England would officially sanction the practice (See: History of Hymns). For this reason, Thomas Ken has been called 'England's first hymnist.'

The refrain to all three verses of Thomas' hymn has since become one of the most widely-sung songs in the world, and is referred to in many circles simply as, The Doxology

Towards the end of his life, Thomas Ken was imprisoned by King James II, for his forward Protestant thinking. Upon his release, he quietly retired from the priesthood and went to live with some friends until his death, on March 11, 1711. When he was buried at sunrise, The Doxology was sung at his funeral.



Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow (The Doxology)

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen

Precious Lord Take My Hand

Thomas Dorsey

Thomas Dorsey (1899-1993 - not the famous ball player) has an honored title of 'The Father of Gospel Music', and his music is loved around the world. The journey to this title and fame was a very difficult one.

Thomas loved music. At a very early age, long before his music education at the Chicago College of Composition and Arranging, he was playing piano in a Vaudeville act. After college, he frequented the jazz clubs, gaining quite a reputation as the very talented 'Georgia Tom'.

In 1921, at the age of 22, Thomas gave his life to Jesus. Almost immediately he left the jazz clubs and began writing Gospel music. He took great effort to circulate his musical scores, but it was three long years before anyone started to notice. Little by little his reputation grew, not only as a songwriter but as a church music director.

In 1932 while the now Reverend Dorsey was leading a church service, a man came on to the platform to hand him a telegram - his wife had just died in childbirth. Within 24 hours his newborn baby died also. Thomas quickly spiraled downward into the depths of despair, doubting the goodness of God and determining never to write another hymn.

A week after that horrible, life changing day, Thomas was deep into his grief, sitting alone at a piano, in a friend's music room. Into the room came a heavy peace such as he had never known before. As that peace enveloped him, Thomas felt the urge to play the piano. His fingers found a familiar melody and the words to Precious Lord, Take My Hand began to well up from his heart and to spill out of his mouth. God had given him a song that would not only lift him from despair, but would also change the course of his music career.

Precious Lord, Take My Hand has been translated into more than 40 languages, has been sung by some of the biggest names in Gospel music, including Mahalia Jackson and Elvis Presley, and it was Dr. Martin Luther King's favorite hymn. Reverend Thomas Dorsey went on to write many more hymns, including the famous Peace in the Valley, which when recorded by the Sunshine Boys in 1951, became the first Gospel song recording in history to sell more than one million copies.

“I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, 'Fear not; I will help thee.” (Isaiah 41:13)

Precious Lord, Take My Hand

Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light:
Take my hand, precious Lord,
Lead me home.
When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near,
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall:


When the darkness appears
And the night draws near,
And the day is past and gone,
At the river I stand,
Guide my feet, hold my hand:

Take my hand, precious Lord,
Lead me home.
When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near,
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall:

Revive Us Again

William Paton Mackay

William Paton Mackay (1839-1885) originally worked in Scotland as a medical doctor. He resigned that position to become an ordained Presbyterian minister of the Gospel. Mackay was a staunch believer that the Word of God means what it says. This quote from one of his publications is an example of his straightforward, no nonsense Gospel message of grace and commitment: Creed, or the belief in a certain amount of doctrine, has made Christendom, but never made a Christian. Ye must be born again.

Some of Mackay's writings are still in print today: Abundant Grace: Selected Address (1885) and The Seeking Saviour and Other Bible Themes (1904). He is remembered best for one of his hymns, Revive Us Again.


We praise Thee, O God!
For the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus Who died,
And is now gone above.

Refrain:
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.

We praise Thee, O God!
For Thy Spirit of light,
Who hath shown us our Savior,
And scattered our night.

Refrain

All glory and praise
To the Lamb that was slain,
Who hath borne all our sins,
And hath cleansed every stain.

Refrain

All glory and praise
To the God of all grace,
Who hast brought us, and sought us,
And guided our ways.

Refrain

Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.

Refrain

“Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?” (Psalm 85:6)

Rock of Ages

Augustus Montague Toplady

Augustus Montague Toplady (1740 to 1778), was an unusual child. His father died when he was very young and so he was raised by his mother who adored and spoiled him. He was not very well liked by his peers or his relatives, partly because they did not relate to his extreme intelligence, and partly because he was sickly and neurotic.

Controversy followed Toplady throughout his short 38 years of life, but he did not let that stop him. At a very young age he showed a keen interest in developing a relationship with God. By age 12 he was preaching sermons, and at age 14 he began writing hymns. He was ordained as an Anglican priest at the age of 22. Although some thought him to be arrogant and obstinate, excerpts from his writings verify that he was a devoted and humble follower of Christ.

An example of one of the many poems Toplady wrote between the ages of 15 and 16 years:
Refining Fuller, make me clean,
On me thy costly pearl bestow:
Thou art thyself the pearl I prize,
The only joy I seek below.

An excerpt from his personal journal, at age 27:
O, my Lord let not my ministry be approved only, or tend to be no more than conciliating the esteem and affections of my people to thy unworthy messenger; but to do the work of thy grace upon their hearts: call in thy chosen; seal and edify thy regenerate; and command thy everlasting blessing upon their souls! Save me from self-opinion, and from self-seeking; and may they cease from man, and look solely upon thee.

Toplady was a staunch Calvinist, and a very outspoken opponent of John Wesley's Arminian theology. In 1776, two years before his death, he wrote an article on God's forgiveness. The purpose of this publication was to rebut statements made by Wesley. The article concluded with Todlady's poem, Rock of Ages; a poem that would many years later find its way into the very same hymnals as many of John's brother, Charles Wesley's (Arminian) songs.



Rock of ages, cleft for me
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law's commands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.

“The Lord is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer.” (Psalm 18:2)

Shall We Gather at the River

Robert Lowry

Robert Lowry (1826-1899) was a professor of literature, a Baptist pastor of several large churches and a music editor at Biglow Publishing Company. He wrote close to 500 hymns, including I Need Thee Every Hour and Low in the Grave He Lay.

One hot afternoon in July 1864, as Pastor Lowry was resting on his sofa, visions of heaven pervaded his senses. He saw the bright golden throne room and a multitude of saints gathered around the beautiful, cool, crystal, river of life. He was filled with a sense of great joy. He began to wonder why there seemed to be many hymns that referenced the river of death, but very few that mentioned the river of life. As he mused, the words and music to Shall We Gather at the River came to his heart and mind.

Shall We Gather at the River, also known as The River, has become a favorite song of camp meetings, water baptismal services and funerals. It was sung at the funeral of American Supreme Court Justice William Douglas, and in two Academy Award Winning Hollywood movies: Trip to Bountiful (1986), and Three Godfathers (1916).

Shall We Gather at the River

Shall we gather at the river,
Where bright angel feet have trod,
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God?M

Refrain:
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God.

On the margin of the river,
Washing up its silver spray,
We will talk and worship ever,
All the happy golden day.

Refrain

Ere we reach the shining river,
Lay we every burden down;
Grace our spirits will deliver,
And provide a robe and crown.

Refrain

At the smiling of the river,
Mirror of the Savior's face,
Saints, whom death will never sever,
Lift their songs of saving grace.

Refrain

Soon we'll reach the silver river,
Soon our pilgrimage will cease;
Soon our happy hearts will quiver
With the melody of peace.

Refrain

“A pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” ( Revelation 22:1-2)

Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

George Duffield

Episcopalian Reverend Dudley A. Tyng (1825-1858) was a dynamic preacher known for taking strong stands against evil, no matter what the cost. His sermon regarding the evils of slavery in America is still in print today. This sermon resulted in him being removed from one of his pastorates.

On Tuesday, March 30, 1858, Tyng preached a sermon on Exodus 10:11, “Go now ye that are men and serve the Lord”, at a YMCA noon mass meeting. Tyng delivered his message to 5,000 men that day. More than 1,000 of those men responded to the altar call, to receive Jesus as their Savior.

Just over a week later, Tyng visited a barn on his farm. Stretching out to pat a mule that was working a machine shelling corn, his sleeve caught in the cogs and tore off his arm. Hours later he was discovered, slowly bleeding to death. In his last moments, he whispered to one of his assistants, George Duffield (1818-88): "Tell them to stand up for Jesus."

The Sunday following Tyng's death, Presbyterian Pastor George Duffield (1818-1888) preached a sermon on Ephesians 6:14, as a tribute to the final words of his friend Tyng. He concluded his sermon with a six-stanza poem. Duffield's Sunday School superintendant printed copies of the poem and distributed them to all the congregation.

One of the pamphlets fell into the hands of the editor of a Baptist periodical. The editor was so impressed with the verses that he printed them in his widely read publication. The poem Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus, has since become one of the most recognized hymns in all English-speaking Christendom.

Several melodies have been written for Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus. The one used in most hymnals today was written by George J. Webb (1803-1907), founder of the Boston Academy of Music.



Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the solemn watchword hear;
If while ye sleep He suffers, away with shame and fear;
Where'er ye meet with evil, within you or without,
Charge for the God of battles, and put the foe to rout.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day.
Ye that are brave now serve Him against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, each soldier to his post,
Close up the broken column, and shout through all the host:
Make good the loss so heavy, in those that still remain,
And prove to all around you that death itself is gain.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle, the next the victor's song.
To him who overcometh a crown of life shall be;
They with the King of Glory shall reign eternally.

“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” ( Ephesians 6:14)

Take My Life and Let it Be

Frances Havergal

Of Advent Sunday, December 2, 1873, she said: “I first saw clearly the blessedness of true consecration. I saw it as a flash of electric light. There must be full surrender before there can be full blessedness. God admits you by the one into the other. He showed me this most clearly.”

Shortly after this, in 1874, Frances Havergal had a five day visit to a house that had 10 people in it. Some of them were unsaved, but ones that long prayer had been invested. Others were saved, but not rejoicing Christians. Frances prayed that the Lord would give her all in the house, and all received the blessing of salvation, before her stay ended. Her last night there was such a happy one, she could not sleep, and so she passed the night renewing her consecration. While doing so, the poetic couplets formed in her mind, and the poem was written. The poem was a complete commitment to God for her all to be God’s.

Every December 2 after that she would sing that hymn and make changes in her life to move deeper in consecration to God.

In August of 1879, she decided to put the words “take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold,” and put them to practice once again. Instead of hanging on to her precious and very valuable collection of jewelry and family heirlooms, she decided to pack it up and donate it to the church mission house, to be sold for evangelizing the lost. She wrote that she never had so much fun as the time spent wrapping up those precious pieces!

Take my life and let it be                                                                                                                                  consecrated, Lord, to Thee;                                                                                                                                       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 voice and let me sing                                                                                                                               always only, for my King.

Take my lips and let them be                                                                                                                                      filled with messages for Thee;                                                                                                                               take my silver and my gold—                                                                                                                                         not a mite would I withhold.

Take my love—my God, I pour                                                                                                                                                              at Thy feet its treasure store;                                                                                                                                             take myself—and I will be                                                                                                                                                      ever, only, all for Thee,                                                                                                                                                            ever, only, all for thee.

Take Time to be Holy

William Longstaff

William Longstaff was an active member of the church at New Brighton, England. One day a preacher said the following words that left a lasting impression on Mr. Longstaff. He said:

My text is found in I Peter 1:16, ‘Be ye holy, for I am holy.’ If you will turn in your Bibles to the Old Testament, and read Leviticus 11:44, you will find the words which St. Peter quoted in his first letter in the New Testament. For the writer of the third Book of Moses said these words in that passage, ‘For I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore and be holy, for I am holy.’ The forty-fifth verse concludes with the very same admonition, couched in these words, ‘For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.’

As he thought about the sermon, He came to this conclusion:

Since holiness is the life of God in the life of man, surely we need not scream and shout as if God were deaf, nor make fools of ourselves in our services of public worship as if God Himself were a fool …. We are not to be holy as idiots are holy, or as drunkards and fools are holy, but we are to be holy as God Himself is holy.

Later, a missionary to China, Dr. Griffith John, spoke at a Keswick Conference in England and used the phrase, ‘take time and be holy,’ Mr. Longstaff changed the phrase just a little bit to form a personalized command: “Take time to be holy.” In meditating on the message, he wrote out what it meant to him to be holy as a businessman. It was not long before the words and phrases began to form and the poem began to take shape.

In 1873, Moody and Sankey were looking for a second church to use to conduct their evangelistic meetings.  Rev. Arthur A. Rees, pastor of Bethsaida Chapel of Sunderland, England, was willing for D.L. Moody to come preach at the church, but not Ira Sankey! He explained that his people thought the organ was the devil’s box of whistles, and so not only did they rule out instruments but also solos in worship. It was suggested that the pastor in fairness give Ira Sankey a “trial solo” and William Longstaff’s house was chosen for the event. Sankey came and sat at Longstaff’s harmonium and played and sang, passing the test with high honors. As a result, Bethsaida Chapel became the second church to host Moody and Sankey.

But while Sankey was there in Longstaff’s house, he noticed the personal poem Longstaff had written, and insisted on getting his own copy of “Take Time to Be Holy.” Because of Longstaff’s persistence in making time to be holy, his devotion was evident to all those that came within his influence.

The poem was published in 1882 and found their way into several Christian journals from the files of Sankey. A friend clipped the poem for Stebbens, who put them with his other papers and then while in India with George Pentecost at evangelistic meetings, set the words to music.

To Longstaff’s surprise, the hymn appeared in 1892 in the Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs and Solos, with the tune composed the year before by Stebbins for the poem called “Holiness.”

Take time to be holy,
Speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always,
And feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children;
Help those who are weak;
Forgetting in nothing
His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy,
The world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret
With Jesus alone;
By looking to Jesus,
Like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct
His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy,
Let Him by thy Guide,
And run not before Him,
What ever betide;
In joy or in sorrow,
Still follow thy Lord,
And looking to Jesus,
Still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy,
Be calm in thy soul;
Each tho’t and each motive
Beneath His control;
Thus led by His Spirit
To fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted
For service above.

The Solid Rock

Edward Mote

Edward Mote wrote the hymn in 1834. It was published anonymously at first under the title of “The Immutable Basis of a Sinner’s Hope.”  Later, Edward Mote published the hymn in his own hymnbook and under his own name, and admitted he was the original author of the poem.

The poem has been very popular, and the words are quoted extensively by writers to this very day. It is also a favorite “old hymn.”

Mote was a hard working cabinet maker, and at 34 had recently opened his own shop. Having more control as to how he spent his time, he liked to take a moment here and there to write an article or poem. As he walked to work one morning, he developed the chorus. Upon arriving at his shop, he gave instructions to his workers, and then slipped into his office to pen the words. He wrote four verses that day, and then later added two more verses before the poem was finished. He gave his local newspaper a report of the account of this hymn The Solid Rock it said:

One morning it came into my mind as I went to labor, to write an hymn on the “Gracious experience of a Christian.” As I went up Holborn I had the chorus, ‘On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.’

In the day, I had the first four verses complete, and wrote them off. On the Sabbath following, I met Brother King as I came out of the Lisle Street Meeting who informed me that his wife was very ill, and asked me to call and see her. I had an early tea and called afterwards. He said that it was his usual custom to sing a hymn, read a portion, and engage in prayer, before he went to the meeting. He looked for his hymnbook, but could find it nowhere. I said, ‘I have some verses in my pocket; if you like, we could sing them.’ We did, and his wife enjoyed them so much that after the service he asked me, as a favor, to leave a copy of them for his wife. I went home, and by the fireside composed the last two verses, wrote them off, and took them to Sister King.

The poem was so well received, he printed out 1,000 copies to distribute!

There are those that criticize hymns because they tend to be based on feelings instead of fact when it comes to our assurance of salvation. This hymn is the very opposite. It states clearly where our faith lies, on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, and His shed blood and righteous life. The hymn however does mention that there are times when “our soul gives way” and we emotionally do not feel saved. But then the chorus reminds the singer that it is not our feelings but the solid rock of Christ on which our salvation and hope stands.

The music commonly used with the hymn was written by William B. Bradbury in 1863. An alternative tune sometimes used is “Melita” by John B. Dykes, which is more commonly remembered as the music to “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” or otherwise known as “The Navy Hymn.”

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain

’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Louisa M. R. Stead


       “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” was written by a woman, Louisa M. R. Stead. Out of one of her darkest hours—the tragic drowning of her husband—this hymn was penned.

       Louisa Stead was born in England. She felt the call of God upon her life for missionary service. She arrived in America in 1871. In 1875, Louisa married a Mr. Stead, and to this union was born a daughter, Lily. When the child was four years of age, the family decided one day to enjoy the sunny beach at Long Island Sound, New York.

       While eating their picnic lunch, they suddenly heard cries of help and spotted a drowning boy in the sea. Mr. Stead charged into the water. As often happens, however, the struggling boy pulled his rescuer under the water with him, and both drowned before the terrified eyes of wife and daughter.

       And out of her struggle with God during the ensuing days, flowed these meaningful words—“Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.”

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Refrain

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

Refrain

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Trust and Obey

by John H. Sammis

 

Sammis (1846-1919), gave up his life as a businessman and part-time YMCA worker to study for the ministry. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1880 and then served at several pastorates. In his later years, Sammis taught at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles.

Daniel B. Towner (1850-1919) was music director for several well-known churches and schools, including the Moody Bible Institute. He published several music books and wrote the music for many well-loved hymns, including At Calvary and Only A Sinner Saved By Grace.

In 1887, just following an evangelistic meeting held by Dwight L. Moody, a young man stood to share his story in an after-service testimony meeting. As he was speaking, it became clear to many that he knew little about the Bible or acceptable Christian doctrine. His closing lines, however, spoke volumes to seasoned and new believers alike: I'm not quite sure. But I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey.

Daniel Towner was so struck by the power of those simple words that he quickly jotted them down, then delivered them to John Sammis, who developed the lyrics to Trust and Obey. Towner composed the music and the song quickly became a favorite. It remains popular with hymn singers today.


Refrain:

Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

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

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Refrain

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 blessed 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

“Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You.” (Psalm 84:11-12)

We Shall Behold Him

Dotti Rambo


       In 1981, Dottie Rambo had reached what seemed to be the zenith of her song-writing career. She and a young lady were traveling to a revival meeting from their motel. This is her story—

       As we pulled out of the driveway of the motel it was about sunset. I saw one of the most beautiful and unusual cloud formations. I have always loved beautiful cloud formations. I saw colors that I had never seen in my lifetime. It seemed that the clouds almost took on the form of angels. The colors were so brilliant and unusual—blues, azures, and amber.

       Presently the clouds parted. By this time I was weeping so much that I couldn’t see to drive. It seemed, as the clouds parted, as if I could see the Savior coming in the clouds, with trumpets sounding.

       I said to my young companion, “Patty, you’re going to have to drive. I can no longer see.”

       She didn’t know that the Lord was giving me a song. It was being written in my heart because I had nothing on which to write.

       Before we reached the tent meeting, the Lord had given me the whole song. When I got there I could play the entire piece on my guitar. Every phrase was exactly as it should be. Changes were not necessary. It just came like a dayspring:

The sky shall unfold, preparing His entrance
The stars shall applaud Him with thunders of praise
The sweet light in His eyes shall enhance those awaiting
And we shall behold Him, then face to face

O we shall behold Him, yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face in all of His glory
O we shall behold Him, yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face, our Savior and Lord

The angel will sound the shout of His coming
And the sleeping shall rise from their slumbering place
And those remaining shall be changed in a moment
And we shall behold him, then face to face

We shall behold Him, yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face in all of His glory
We shall behold Him, yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face, our Savior and Lord
We shall behold Him, our Savior and Lord
Savior and Lord!

  1. What a Friend We Have in Jesus
  2. When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder
  3. Abide With Me
  4. Universities Started by Church Organizations

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