Lord, I'm Coming Home -- William J. Kirkpatrick

 

Did ever a song written have such an immediate personal impact on the singer? We could say that its author, 54-year-old William James Kirkpatrick, certainly hoped that “Lord, I’m Coming Home” would do, the first time it was sung, what other methods had not yet accomplished. And, that effect would be convincing the young fellow who helped Kirkpatrick premier the song to be one of those answering the song’s call. The scene was a camp meeting outside of Philadelphia (in Lancaster County) in 1892. The song’s construction had not arrived in William Kirkpatrick’s head by random chance. He’d been burdened, and found the words he penned were just what he’d been seeking, and hoped the singer of the words would react the same way. He wasn’t disappointed.

 

William Kirkpatrick was a music veteran in the early 1890s in the Philadelphia area. This was where he’d studied music and had been a minister for over three decades by the time he felt a need to compose something special for one person. Perhaps he’d never encountered such a person previously, and that was what bothered him during the days-long assembly in the rural area known as Rawlinsville. The soloist who sang for the crowd each evening tended to leave directly after his vocal performance was finished, and that’s apparently what got underneath William’s skin. The singer had a wonderful voice, but William sensed that no commitment to the God for whom he sang lay beneath this physical gift. And so, William prayed for a solution, which arrived in the poem and accompanying music for one evening’s song, one which William hoped would pierce the shell of this fellow who would sing it for the first time. One would imagine that William, because of his role as the musical director at the assembly, had probably talked with and perhaps even recruited this young man to sing nightly at the gatherings. Was there a void or a yearning in this person’s spirit, because why else would such a person agree to sing at a church gathering? And yet, some reluctance to bind himself to God and a Christian family was still evident in the man’s life. After multiple occasions in which the singer left the assembly before hearing a speaker’s message, William prayed for days for this man, that something could move him to accept God. Was it an accident that William’s gift was music, and that after praying, the answer he found was a song that he crafted one morning for use that same evening? Since it was designed for this one singer, William must have somehow discovered or suspected that the man had ‘wandered’ (v.1) for some time. In fact, had this man hinted that he wanted to be able to say he was ’coming home’, since this is repeated so often (30 times) throughout the song? Was this the specific impulse that ultimately drew him to God? Who doesn’t want to be home?

 

Other facets of William’s song suggest additional motivations may have been present in the singer’s life. Was his own ‘sin’ (vv. 1, 3) gnawing at him, as he pondered from a distance God’s ‘love’ (v.3); his need to ‘repent’ (v.2) and receive ‘His cleansing blood’ (v.6); and that he no longer needed to be ‘sick’ and ‘sore’ (v.4)? William must have hit all of these notes and more in his song, because the man reportedly joined those who responded to the message and became a believer that same night. Look inside, William suggested, and not just to this one man. All the things he penned were probably true about himself at one point. And, none of William’s words are unique to just one individual. Besides ‘home’, who doesn’t need ‘strength’ (v.4) and ‘hope’ (vv.4,5)? Only one place to find it all; that’s where William Kirkpatrick was pointing. Is that place in your sights yet?   

 

 

The song story is found in the following books: Stories Behind Popular Songs and Hymns, by Lindsay Terry, Baker Book House Company, 1992; and The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006.

 

See about the author here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/k/i/r/k/kirkpatrick_wj.htm

 

See six verses and the refrain here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/l/c/o/m/lcomingh.htm

A Beautiful Prayer -- Luther G. Presley

 

He just might have been inside his Pangburn, Arkansas home in 1937 (in rural White County), and could he have been engaged in his own prayer when he considered the prayer of another? Was it indeed a personal experience that Luther G. Presley had, which prompted him to write about “A Beautiful Prayer” that God Himself spoke? Luther must have had a variety of methods and stories that he could relate about how and why his 1,000 + songs were penned. His immersion in the music business, on top of his gift for musical poetry since his teenage years, provided a deep well of resources that Luther accessed daily, including on this occasion. This well had not run dry for 50-year-old Luther Presley; indeed, he had many more years of inspiration remaining in his musical life, a life that could be called a beautiful prayer of its own.

 

It is said that Luther often wrote many of his songs following a personal experience, but whether ‘A Beautiful Prayer’ arose this way too is a mystery. What we can say with certainty, however, is that the verses he crafted must have emerged as he read from his bible the prayer that Jesus spoke so earnestly a short time before His death. Gethsemane (otherwise referred to as a garden, or a place on the Mount of Olives) was the scene that Luther did not need to imagine all on his own, for its events are recorded in four accounts (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 18:1) that Luther could have read, providing a rich insight into the most troubling time in the Divine One’s life. Maybe that’s what drew Luther to this prayer – because the most meaningful and poignant conversations between us earth-dwellers and our Maker is when life itself is in the balance. And, that was no different for God the Son when He spoke with His Father on this occasion. His prayer was multi-faceted. He was concerned for His followers, as Luther reminds us with the refrain words ‘…the anguish death would bring to His own’. His emotions of ‘wonderful love’ (v.1) were mingled with ‘sad (ness)’ (v.2) and ‘deep agony’ (v.3), a reminder that such a time is so difficult perhaps because of the conflicting emotions. Jesus was willing to proceed with ‘thy will, not my own’ (v.2), yet was haunted and asked to be relieved of ‘this cup’ (refrain), if possible. His insides were a twist, even for God. A deathbed experience often has loved ones nearby for comfort, while departure’s inevitability intrudes. Were similar episodes from his own life still in Luther’s thoughts, even from 15 years earlier (in 1922) when his first wife and third son died in childbirth? Was a more recent loss on his mind? Some might say Luther and others who dwell on a prayer about death’s approaching impact are being unnecessarily morbid. Why would God want us to know in detail what was being said, and how Jesus felt in His tormented prayer? Was Luther aware of an answer, as he wrote and thought about this prayer?

 

What did Luther think about Jesus’ prayer? He thought it was ‘beautiful’, that much we know. And, though this is a deathbed-like prayer, Luther doesn’t try to avoid its realities. Jesus was sad, He agonized over this impending event, and yet was submissive. Read that in your bible – the Almighty was submissive. Seems like a contradiction in terms, right? How can our Creator, the Maker of all things, be a willing victim of death? Luther’s poetry reminds us that Jesus wasn’t immune to those feelings that hover over and sometimes swallow up my sense of balance. Death can do that. Is that why I am allowed to see Jesus struggling here? And yet, He prayed. Luther Presley wasn’t morbid. He just showed me another reason to love and trust my God even more, why I and everyone else can be drawn to this Sacrificial Lamb.

 

See brief biography on author here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/p/r/e/s/presley_lg.htm

 

More lengthy bio here: http://www.ucalldatmusic.com/L_G_Presley.htm

 

Biography here also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_G._Presley

God Is Calling the Prodigal -- Charles Hutchinson Gabriel

 

Thirty-three years old, was he. And, he was reading a particular story from his bible that sparked his thoughts for a song called “God Is Calling the Prodigal” (abbreviated title is “Calling the Prodigal”; depicted in this 18^th Century masterpiece by Pompeo Batoni). Charles Hutchinson Gabriel would travel a musical road for several more decades, but this was one of the earliest steps he took on that journey. Was he thinking of himself or maybe someone else as he wrote three verses about responding to a patient and expectant father, a parent who has open arms for a child who has been flagrantly reckless in all his financial habits? He’d just moved far away from his native Iowa, when his words about someone who’d wandered far afield made it onto a page. Could Charles have thought of himself as prodigal at the time? Maybe it was just a sermon topic that grabbed his attention, as it had in the rural Iowa community where he'd been raised, and where he had a reputation for that specific method of song-writing since his teenage years.

 

We won’t know with total clarity, on this side of eternity, why Charles Gabriel composed a song about the Prodigal Son –unless someone reading has some further insight!. And yet, we can gather something key from what he gave us in 1889. Gabriel reportedly wrote thousands of songs over his lifetime, to the point of using several pseudonyms in order to promote their publication. So, one can imagine that Charles Gabriel must have used some well-worn modes of songwriting, if thousands could be attributed to him. Sermon topics and bible stories must have been one of the more common approaches in his repertoire. This story of a prodigal son – a wildly extravagant offspring, who was so self-focused and ill-disciplined, that it was not a surprise that he quickly blew all of his resources – presents a quandary for the responsible Christian. Like others who heard the story Jesus told, and which was recorded in just one of the gospel accounts (Luke 15), Charles must have heard hearers cheering that the irresponsible son had gotten what he deserved when he found himself in a pigpen. But, if that were the end of the story, you can imagine that Charles asked himself, ‘What would that say about God’? What if each of us got his due for even the one time that we made a mistake, especially a big one? Could that internal question have been one Charles asked himself, as he composed his three verses? Rather than focus on the great joy the sinner has in receiving grace, Gabriel instead concentrates on ‘the loving voice’ of the Father (all three verses). The story, as printed in most bibles today, says ‘The Lost Son Parable’, but was that how Charles saw it? I, the weary prodigal, do indeed need to recognize my condition. But Charles also emphasizes the key to a life-saving maneuver: hearing and responding to a Father’s love. Seek to recover a place in ‘His presence’ (v.1); appreciate that He’s a ‘patient, loving, and tender’ being (v.2); understand that His house always has ‘bread’, indeed an abundance that reflects His character (v.3). And, He’s eager to share.  

 

Charles Gabriel must have heard the story so many times by the time he was 33. You and I get a reprieve, a grace that is crucial, and yet one that is impossible to repay. How far down can one fall, and still get redemption? It’s a bottomless cavern, this well of His grace. It’s like hitting the lottery, with millions beyond what I could possibly spend in my account. For Charles, the prodigal needs to realize one thing about himself – you get ‘weary’ (refrain), and there is a bottom. That’s the difference between God and me. He doesn’t get tired, or come to a place where there’s no more to give me. He’s always calling, and inviting, and blessing. That’s God. I may be a prodigal, reckless in my attitude and behavior. Thank God that He’s even more lavish toward me and you.    

 

Biography on the author: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/g/a/b/r/gabriel_ch.htm

 

More biography here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_H._Gabriel

 

And here: https://hymnary.org/person/Gabriel_Charles

 

All the song’s verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/c/a/l/l/callprod.htm