Category: Christian Education

Edward Hopper (1816-1888)

by Terry Conley

First published in The Sailor’s Magazine (1871) and The Baptist Praise Book (1871).  The Sailor’s Magazine was a periodical magazine which contained information regarding information and updates on commercial ships and their crews, and associated information.  It was available to the general public by subscription or purchase and the proceeds were used as a source of income for endeavors that provided a safe haven for sailors and their families during life’s difficulties and separations.  The magazine also kept everyone up to date on churches that had been established in cities and towns serving the sea-faring community.  At one time Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me was a popular hymn appearing in over 1,000 publications.

The text was written by Edward Hopper, who was born in New York City, on February 17, 1816.  He was the son of a merchant.  Following his education at New York University and Union Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1842, he became a Presbyterian minister.  He preached for about 10+ years at churches at Greenville, NY, and at Sag Harbor on Long Island.  In 1870 he became Pastor of a small congregation known as the Church of the Sea and the Land in New York City, where he served his remaining years of life.  This church was specifically located within walking distance of the harbor area and in an area frequented by the sailors.  The Church of the Sea and the Land had been established in 1866 at New York City harbor as a mission for sailors, in whom Hopper had always been deeply interested, probably through due to his contact with them through his father’s business. The congregation consisted mainly of seamen who made their way to and from their ships. In this way, Hopper ministered to sea-faring men from around the world.  He produced this hymn, probably in 1870, for the spiritual needs of his flock.  It first appeared anonymously in the March 1871, edition of The Sailor’s Magazine. Later that year, it was published in The Baptist Praise Book, with the tune (Pilot) composed by John Edgar Gould (1822-1875).

Edward originally wrote six stanzas, but today, only three of them are generally used for the hymn (1, 5, and 6).  I think that the other verses make an important component of his complete thought that even when we have smooth sailing for a time, we still need Christ as our Pilot, to be in control.  The complete song puts spiritual ideas in terms the men he ministered to could understand.  Every seasoned sailor knew what it was to face the peril of a storm and sea, and the hymn helped them to apply that imagery to their lives. The song is based on a couple of incidents recorded in the Gospels (Matt. 8:23-27; 14:22-33). The former passage says: “Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’”

To this we can add the assurance of the Lord’s presence with His children now, in His final promise given in Matthew’s Gospel, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). That’s like the pledge made to the nation of Israel, centuries before: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10).  This scripture reference was also used for that wonderful hymn, How Firm a Foundation.

In original verse one (hymn stanza 1), Hopper began by writing of the reality of an unsettled life, of the seas being rough and stormy.  There are hidden and treacherous areas that capture us when we are least expecting it.  At any time, our life may be overturned by something that just seems to appear, but we are reminded that all our direction comes from our Lord and Savior.  From experience, we sailors know that there are treacherous parts of our journey.  We do not always know exactly what kind of waves the seas will bring with them, just as we do not know what the challenges of life will bring us.  However, whether facing storms of life or peaceful days, we can always look to the Lord to provide for what we need each day.

The original verse two follows up that idea with the story of Jesus calming the storm as an example of the promise that Jesus will use His power to help us as well.  I think this should remind us that we can struggle with the problem for as long as we like but when we look for Him in our storm, He is there with us.  This is amply illustrated by the fact that the Bible records that on least two occasions, Jesus was with the apostles during a storm on the Sea of Galilee.  On one of these occasions, He even walked across the water to aid and comfort them.  And He gave them that same opportunity while they kept their eyes on Him and looked to Jesus.  Nothing can hinder Him.  If we actively make Him our life’s Pilot, God has promised us He will guide and protect us.

The original verse three reminds us that we need to have Christ as our pilot even when there are no disturbing storms and life seems calm.  Hopper wrote: “Though the sea be smooth and bright, Sparkling with the stars of night, And my ship’s path be ablaze With the light of halcyon days, Still I know my need of Thee; Jesus, Savior, pilot me.”  Paul wrote about this in Philippians.  He said he knew how to be abased and how to abound.  He knew that in life, whether he was facing the storms of life or peaceful days, he would always look to the Lord to guide him.

The original verse five (hymn stanza two) equates the love of Jesus and His actions to that of a loving mother hushing and comforting her child.  We have all witnessed this love in play when a parent takes a child and holds them and speaks softly and calmly to them in a time of trouble or hurt.  Jesus will do the same for His children if we let Him.  The same divine power which Christ manifested to still the storms on the Sea of Galilee is available to assist us in our problems if we ask.  We can make our journey on the seas of life with trust in God rather than in constant fear.

Verse six (hymn stanza three) talks about our destination, the shore where we will find peaceful rest.  The last promise is a blessed, blessed relief to all Christians: “When at last I near the shore, And the fearful breakers roar ‘Twixt me and the peaceful rest, Then, while leaning on Thy breast, May I hear Thee say to me, Fear not, I will pilot thee.”

If we truly trust in the Lord, He will show us the path of life to a land where there will be the fulness of joy in His presence and pleasures evermore.  Luke recorded that promise Jesus made to the thief hanging next to Him:

“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

So what are the duties of the pilot spoken of in the hymn?  Today we have aviation pilots and ship pilots but of course Hopper is writing of and the Bible is speaking of a ship’s pilots.  As an officer in the US Navy, I had primary responsibilities and duties and secondary ones.  My secondary duties included specific locations and responsibilities that came into play during emergency situations or as the ship was entering or leaving port.  They were different from my main duties and responsibilities.  When the ship was entering and leaving port or underway, I was part of the team that was stationed on the bridge of the ship.  The bridge is positioned at the highest point of the ship to provide clear vision.  Teams are trained and assigned “watches” to make sure everything was done correctly to ensure a safe transit.  As a junior officer, some of my duties included making sure all the other required stations were staffed and communications in place.  I also made sure the senior officer (Officer of the Deck) had all the correct, current information that was needed and during normal activity, he instructed me for my next step up in responsibility.  Of course, the Captain of the ship always had the ultimate and overall responsibility and authority, but he trusted the bridge crew.  We were all well trained and “in control.”  But as well trained and experienced as we all were, we were not qualified to provide the level of experience, safety, and security required and provided by the Pilot during those times that we were entering or leaving port.  In maritime law, a Pilot is a person who assumes responsibility for a vessel from a particular geographic point for the purpose of navigating the ship through a river or channel, to a particular point or place.  When this Pilot comes aboard, everyone on board is in “his hands.”  We placed our security and safety in his capabilities.

This is a position you can’t just assume.  There are qualifications for a Ship’s Pilot license. The Pilot must exhibit skill in all areas related to providing a safe passage within his assigned area.  A pilot must have the highest degree of skill as a sailor and may be tested on that knowledge. The individual may be required to submit written references from persons who know of him and his abilities.  In addition, the applicant must obtain a reference from a licensed pilot.  The pilot may also be required to post a bond.  God gave those signs of approval and posted the bond in His Word in Matthew 3:17, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

How wonderful to know that we have a Pilot who is sovereign over the tempests and able to guide us safely to our final harbor!  We certainly do not expect Jesus to perform miracles today such as He did on the stormy Sea of Galilee. Those miracles are recorded in scripture as written references and directions and provide all the evidence that we need to believe on Him, His skills and abilities.  This hymn’s simple and direct statement and of the reality of the world today points me to the need to look to Jesus for guidance in my pilgrimage and should motivate me always to say, “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me.”

Source:

A Treasure of Hymns, Amos R. Wells; United Society of Christian Endeavor; 1914

The Story of Hymns and Tunes, Theron Brown and Hezekiah Butterworth; American Tract Society, 1906

A Dictionary of Hymnology, John Julian, D.D.; Dover Publications, Inc.; 1907

 

 

 

G. F. Handel

by Terry Conley

(February 1685 – April 1759)

It is true that for many of the wonderful Gospel Hymns and Songs we know and sing, it is the combination of the words and music that thrills and blesses us.  No less so than in the music we know as Handel’s Messiah.  All we need to hear are the first few notes or words and immediately, our spirit is touched.  But in truth, Handel’s Messiah should be better called Handel’s and Jennens’ Messiah.  We shall see why.

Handel was born in Halle, Germany, February 23, 1685, the son of a barber-surgeon.  He showed an early gift for music and learned to play the violin, organ, harpsichord, and oboe at an early age.  He also learned the principles of keyboard performance and composition.  But George Handel’s father did not see that music was a way to support a family and he wanted more for his son.  His plans were for his son to be a lawyer and he discouraged George’s study of music at every turn.  In order to please his father, George studied law until he was 18, even though his father died when Handel was 11.  His musical ability would not be denied.  During the next five years, he was employed as a musician, composer, and conductor at various courts and churches throughout Italy and Germany.  During one period, he also was the organist of the Reformed (Calvinist) Cathedral (Market Church) in Halle, known as The Cradle of the Reformation.

In 1710, at age 25, he was appointed orchestra and choir director to the Elector of Hanover, the future King George I of England.  In 1712 Handel moved to London and became a permanent resident.  The next year, he gained royal favor with his Ode for the Queen’s Birthday and was granted an annual allowance of £200 by Queen Anne.  In February 1727, he became a British subject and was appointed composer of the Chapel Royal.  His life had many interruptions but the year 1741 gave the world what many consider to be his greatest oratorio, Messiah.

Charles Jennens (1700 – 1773), the man behind the words, was an English landowner and patron of the arts.  Jennens was brought up in Leicestershire, in the mid-lands of England.  He was educated at Oxford but did not graduate.  He was known in the community as a devout Christian and identified as an anti-Deist with an interest in primitive or early Christianity.  Jennens had a deep knowledge of the Bible and from about 1735, he contributed many Biblically-based books to Handel’s music.  These include oratorios such as Esther, Saul, Samson, Joseph and His Brothers, and Belshazzar.  He had a background in music and literature and always made notes on his copies of Handel’s works giving suggestions that he thought would make the entire work more Scriptural.

Their most famous collaboration is Jennens’ text for Messiah.  By his account, he wrote the book focusing on Jesus as Messiah with the text taken entirely from the Bible.  The work is structured in three parts originally named The Promise of Redemption, The Price of Redemption, and The Power of Redemption.  Part I begins with the prophecy of the Messiah and his birth, the annunciation to the shepherds, and reflects the Messiah’s deeds on earth.  It is taken from the books of Isaiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Matthew, and Luke.  Part II covers the Passion and includes mentions of Jesus being despised of men, His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension in Heaven.  Part II also includes a section on the spreading of the Gospel and its rejection.  The Hallelujah Chorus concludes Part II in a scene called God’s Triumph.   Part II includes Psalms, Lamentations, Isaiah, John, Romans, and Hebrews.  The Hallelujah Chorus was drawn from the Book of Revelation.  Part III includes verses from Job 19 concerning the coming Messiah.  The remainder is drawn from Paul’s teaching of the resurrection of the dead and Christ’s glorification in heaven from Romans, I Corinthians, and Revelation.  The work concludes with the Amen Chorus.  Jennens described his work as “a meditation of our Lord as Messiah in Christian thought and belief.”  Handel first estimated that it would take a full year to compose the music, but the 260 pages were completed in an astoundingly short period of about 24 days during August and September 1741.  He made a note in his writings when he finished writing what would become known as the Hallelujah Chorus.  He said, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself”.

Messiah was originally conceived as an Easter oratorio and was first performed at the Music Hall in Dublin on April 13, 1742.  Later, Handel conducted 30 performances of Messiah but not at Christmas since both Handel and Jennens had composed it as music for Easter.  On August 17, 1758, in the year preceding Handel’s death, John Wesley attended a performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Cathedral in Bristol, England, after the yearly Methodist Conference ended.  Wesley wrote about the performance, “I doubt if that congregation was ever so serious at a sermon as they were during this performance.  In many parts, especially several of the choruses, it exceeded my expectation.”

At first all his oratorios were met with outrage from the established Church with many leaders prohibiting their members from participating in any way.  They did not think it appropriate that a Bible story was being told by common actors and singers and the Word of God being used as the text.  The Bishop of London prohibited the oratorios from being performed.  When Royal Family attended, they were met with success but despite the support of the Royal Family, churches remained angry and continued to tear down the advertisements and disrupt the performances.

On April 6, 1759, while directing a performance of Messiah, Handel was taken ill.  He died in his London home on April 14.  One of his last statements recorded his hope to “meet his good God, his sweet Lord and Savior, on the day of his Resurrection.”  His funeral was attended by about 3,000 people with music by the choirs of Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral.  He was buried in Westminster Abbey in the Poet’s Corner.  Handel had previously paid for and given instructions for the statue that stands over his grave.  It shows him working on the score for Messiah with the score open at the passage “I know that my redeemer liveth. (Job 19)”

 

Hallelujah Chorus

(excerpts and verse source)

And he shall reign forever and ever,

King of kings and Lord of lords.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!

 

The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ;

and He shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15, KJV)

Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.

(Revelation 19:6, KJV)

And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

(Revelation 19:16 KJV)

 

Sources:

Christianity Today website, November 2018

1. F. Handel, Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com

The Story of the Hymns and Tunes, Theron Brown and Hezekiah Butterworth; New York, 1906

The Glorious History of Handel’s Messiah, Jonathan Kandell, Smithsonian Magazine, December 2009

 

 

Elisha Hoffman

by Terry Conley

Elisha Albright Hoffman was born May 7, 1839, in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania.  Hoffman’s parents, Francis and Rebecca Hoffman, were of German descent.  His father worked as a minister in the Evangelical Association for more than 60 years.  This group was founded in 1800 by the Rev. Jacob Albright, a German-speaking Christian of Pennsylvania.  Albright was influenced by John Wesley and the Methodist movement.

Hoffman never attended a music school.  He was apparently a natural musician with his musical direction and education obtained from his parents at home during their daily family worship time and hymn singing or from his experiences at his father’s church.  It was during those times that he developed a love for sacred music and a belief that singing was a natural function of the soul, used to express his love for his Savior.

Hoffman attended public school in Philadelphia and graduated from Central High School. He then attended Union Seminary in New Berlin, Pennsylvania.  Upon graduation, he began working with the Evangelical Association’s publishing house in Cleveland, Ohio.   After serving in this position for 11 years, he followed his father’s footsteps and surrendered his life to the preaching of the gospel.  He was ordained by the Presbyterian Churches in 1873, at the age of 34.  From 1880 until his retirement in 1922, Hoffman pastored several churches in Cleveland and Grafton, Ohio; Benton Harbor, Michigan; and Central Illinois.  His longest ministry position was held at the Benton Harbor Presbyterian Church in Michigan where he served as Pastor for 33 years.

It was during these years in ministry that Hoffman composed the bulk of his more than 2,000 hymns.  Many of these hymns composed by Hoffman are still being used today.  Among his most popular and widely recognized songs are: What a Wonderful Saviour!, Are You Washed in the Blood?, No Other Friend Like Jesus, I Must Tell Jesus, and Is Your All on the Altar?  Hoffman also assisted in the compilation and editing process of 50 different song books.

In the majority of his compositions, Hoffman is the author and composer of both the words and music.  In his songs, he sought to create music for congregational worship.  According to Hoffman, a hymn is “a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to be sung and which expresses the worshipper’s attitude toward God or God’s purposes in human life. It should be simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, spiritual in quality, and in its ideas so direct and so immediately apparent as to unify a congregation while singing it.”  This is most evident in his recounting of how he was led to write I Must Tell Jesus.  As he often did as a Pastor, he spent hours visiting those who could not come to the services.  One day he was visiting and talking with people from the poorer communities.  He was visiting with a poor mother who was in much mental suffering and distress.  As was his habit, he prayed with her and read the Bible but she remained in much mental distress.  He then suggested the best she could do was take it to Jesus.  He urged her to “take it to Jesus and tell Him of her sorrows.”  As they prayed together, he said he sensed a relief coming over her spirit as she told Jesus of all her trials, heartaches, and sorrows.  He said that he carried that with him the rest of the day and later was able to capture that memory in song.

While his ministry in the churches where he served was fruitful, his songs continue to reach and preach to many thousands who never heard his voice.  Elisha Hoffman was 90 years old when he died November 25, 1929, in Chicago, Illinois.  During his life, he composed over 2,000 hymns, and edited 50 gospel song books.  What a song service we could have with: Are You Washed, What A Wonderful Savior, Glory to His Name, Is Thy Heart Right with God?, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, When I See the Blood, Is Your All on the Altar?, and, of course,

I Must Tell Jesus

I must tell Jesus all of my trials;

I cannot bear these burdens alone;

In my distress He kindly will help me;

He ever loves and cares for His own.

 

References:

Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers; Jacob Henry Hall; Fleming H. Revell Company, New York, NY; 1914.

Gospel Songs and Their Writers; Charles H. Gabriel; The Rodeheaver Company, Chicago, IL; 1915.

Hymn Stories For Programs; Ernest K. Emurian; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI; 1963

Music in Evangelism; Phil Kerr; Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI; 1962