Jesus, I Come -- William True Sleeper

He was a missionary at heart, seeking and coaxing those who were outside to come inside. And, that’s just what William True Sleeper said with the words in the song poem “Jesus, I Come” that he wrote in the latter decades of 19^th Century America. (The song may also be known by the first words of the first verse, ‘Out of My Bondage’.) He stayed in the American Northeast, in Massachusetts and Maine, to conduct his work in people’s homes and also to establish permanent churches, so it’s not entirely certain where he was when he first sang to Jesus that he was coming (since he ministered at the Worcester Congregational Church in Massachusetts for 30 years, we’ll assume he might have been there). But, does the earthly location really matter to one such as William? Home is wherever Jesus lives.

William Sleeper had a name that belied how he approached his mission on earth. In short, he wasn’t content to slumber and drift along. One of his great-nephews has written of him (see blog link below), a reputed hardy individual well-suited for the work he chose to pursue in 19^th Century northern Maine, as well as Massachusetts. His schooling in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts also reflected this lifestyle, as he garnered a higher education while refusing to be stopped, despite few financial resources to accomplish this. He had a way with people, rallying many to a cause (church building, for instance), while personally charming others with his singing voice. William’s missionary character flowed easily, to put it simply. Perhaps his longest stint anywhere was in Worcester, Massachusetts, where one can imagine he drew many to belief during his three decades of ministry there. It’s said he wrote the words for ‘Jesus, I Come’, sending them to his friend George Stebbins for the accompanying music. It wasn’t the first time the two had collaborated – Stebbins had asked Sleeper some years earlier for words to match a tune he had in mind to invite seekers to commit to God. So, when William had the same idea years later (perhaps when he was in his late 60s), he knew who had the God-given talent to bring his poem to fruition in a song. William was still inviting people to come inside, out of many things obstructing their lives – the message we can imagine he spoke and then underscored in song.

What hinders people, according to William Sleeper? Bondage, sickness, poverty (v.1), and lots of other things in between that are bracketed by sin and ‘dread of the tomb’ (v.4). William recommended an exchange be made – Jesus, instead of all of those earth-born mishaps. While the precise circumstance that brought William these words is not known, understanding the nature of the author tells one all that’s really necessary. He sought out people, much as himself, who’d felt the want of life. Yet, he’d found the answer, and that’s all a missionary is – a discoverer who has found a better offer. Have you found a better one today?               

Information on the song was obtained from 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 biography of composer here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/s/l/e/sleeper_wt.htm

See also here for the four verses of the hymn: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/j/e/s/u/jesusico.htm

See here a more thorough rendition of the author’s biography when he was in Maine, as well as some tangential information on the song: https://www.stevesleepermusic.com/blog/2015/6/2/william-true-sleeper-bio