It was one of many songs this 49-year composed that year in the early 20
th
Century using the name Charlotte G. Homer. He was saying something in the hymn’s
poetry, something that he’d probably already said in one way or another in
other songs he’d written by mid-life in 1905. With a resume like his, Charles
Hutchinson Gabriel had a lot going for himself, but he seemed to know that he
needed to direct his hearer’s attention elsewhere in order to maintain the
proper focus, as he composed “In Loving Kindness Jesus Came” that year. His
hymn’s alternate title, “He Lifted Me”, must have had a personal testimony, a
story to it. What do you think it might have been?
Gabriel was a farm kid from Iowa (see its flag here), whose career in
writing some seven or eight thousand songs in his three-quarters of a century
of life could largely be owed to his upbringing in the eastern end of that Midwestern
state. He might have epitomized the definition of ‘prodigy’, for those who knew
Charles Gabriel as a child and teenager could tell he had the capacity for a prodigious
future. His musical muscle was certainly exercised by his father, who was a
singing school teacher and farmer, but it was said that young Charles’ ability
to play the family’s reed organ was self-taught. He wasted little time, even
while doing the farm chores, as he mentally crafted songs and later recorded
them in the evenings. Upon his father’s demise while he was still a teenager,
Gabriel walked in his father’s footsteps to continue teaching others to sing,
even as it took him outside of Iowa for the next several years. He eventually
returned to live there for periods or for many visits, while living also in
California and in Chicago in the neighboring Illinois. His renown was perhaps
most prominent when he was paired with Billy Sunday, the popular evangelist of
the early 20
th Century, with whom he often worked during revival campaigns.
It’s not clear when Charles gave himself to God, but probably this happened
during his early years in Iowa, possibly at the local First Presbyterian Church
in Wilton, for which he apparently had written a song to match the pastor’s
sermon one week while still a youth. Perhaps it was these early memories and
his frequent visits to his boyhood home state that spurred his memory, as he
hearkened back to his conversion with the refrain ‘he lifted me’. Visiting or
recalling one’s childhood home might be cause for reminiscing for any 49-year
old.
Gabriel’s 4
th verse of “In Loving Kindness…” is interesting, and
makes one wonder if the composer was spiritually transported while writing its
words. ‘Now on a higher plane…’was Gabriel imagining being in eternity already
in 1905, or was he recognizing that his life had indeed changed while still on
earth? This sensation must have been one that stuck with Gabriel throughout his
long life. How else would one explain the output of someone with little or no
formal training in his chosen life pursuit? He wasn’t just gifted, but
compelled.
Charles Gabriel knew he was meant for something higher, for a life lifted
beyond his own abilities. His words sound like someone who was aware of his
condition, and how he got there. You could say his was an engine fed by a
supernatural fuel. Hook me up to this fuel pump!
Information on the song was also obtained from the books Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories
for Daily Devotions, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990, Kregel Publications; The
Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs,
by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
See also
the following sites:
http://www.angelfire.com/ks/landzastanza/chg.html#chgbio
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