A Child of the King -- Harriet E. Buell

 

It must have been a sermon about an earthly king, compared to the heavenly one, that captured the attention of Harriet Eugenia Buell one Sunday morning in a small church in central New York state. Did she relate to the pastor the inspiration she received from him that prompted her to pen “A Child of the King” later that same day, probably in 1876 (finally leading to its publication in a magazine months later in early 1877)? Whether she realized it or not, she was following a pattern travelled by many other hymnwriters on either side of her era, as well as in her own time – a message preached for effect had indeed reached deep inside to the core of a hearer’s being. The musical result was in fact the fusion of several people’s exertions, including a Spirit that had helped translate something that Harriet recorded for us.    

 

Harriet Buell had heard a thought-provoking message, and she mused about it as she walked home from the Methodist worship service that had just concluded in Manlius, New York (shown in the county of Onondaga, see the map). Harriet had occasionally written poetry (a handful of texts are attributed to her), so this 43-year old was not a novice at this art form. Perhaps she had even submitted other poems to the same magazine, The Northern Christian Advocate, where she sent this poem (apparently, originally titled The Child of a King, then later changed to A Child of the King) after completing it. She must have felt the pastor’s sermon message and what she had gleaned from it were especially noteworthy, an impression that was endorsed when it was published by the magazine, and then later set to music by John B. Sumner. Her experience demonstrates that Harriet’s wasn’t the only handiwork responsible for what she’d write. The words the pastor used were obviously well-chosen, while the writer of the biblical passages he must have used were no less essential. Once the pastor’s words were spoken, they moved with the help of the Holy Spirit to spur Harriet, as she listened and absorbed the ideas that touched her ears, and as she walked home that day and felt Him nudge the words of four verses to emerge from inside. What was it that Harriet centered upon? The Father and the Son (vv. 1-2) were uppermost in her mind, the two persons and the family that were hers through a divine and sovereign sacrifice. Harriet had also been reminded of the stark contrast between this King’s family and herself, that she was once an ‘outcast stranger’, a ‘sinner’, and ‘alien’  (v.3), but now was an ‘adopted…heir’(v.3). She must have valued this relationship above all else, not caring if the abode up there was a ‘tent or cottage’ (v.4)…a ‘palace’ was how she thought of her eventual dwelling place, as long as God was the builder (v.4). Utter trust, as a child in a loving, wealthy family might feel at Christmas – that might be how Harriet’s feelings could be summed up.

 

What would it be like to be part of a Creator-King’s family, to want for nothing because you have everything as a consequence of an unshakeable tie to the absolute sovereign? No one can take or threaten any of your inheritance with this King, unlike what might happen inside a kingdom on earth. Was Harriet reminded of some of earth’s kings, from biblical times through the 19^th Century, and how untimely were the demise of many of them? What would it take to make certain your inheritance on earth? Some of them have been secured through force – through bloodshed, even. My Holy brother did the bloodshed part for me in the kingdom I inhabit, something I never need to repay with my own blood. It’s all about just staying close to Him. How’s that sound? You just need to ask to get into this kingdom; He’s holding the door open for you to enter. And, He’s already paid your entry fee. Come on in!

   

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; and Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.

 

See this link for information about the author and the song’s four verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/c/h/i/l/d/childkin.htm

I Love My Savior, Too -- J.R. “Pap” Baxter

 

This fellow nicknamed ‘Pap’ was 46, and was spending a good bit of time, and perhaps even living in Chattanooga (see its flag here) in 1933, because of the business he co-owned and was running there. He must have already written many songs by this time in his life, but Jesse Randall Baxter, Jr. evidently wanted to repeat what may have been pretty obvious when he said “I Love My Savior, Too”. Too? What was behind this one little extra word he inserted at the end of this statement of devotion? Was his partner in the music-publishing business, Virgil Stamps, somebody else Pap might have been thinking about as he said ‘too’? After all, Virgil was the one who had started this music enterprise (in 1924) in Texas, where the main office was located; Chattanooga, Tennessee and Pap came along two years later in 1926. No one would probably ever think of Pap as the junior partner, compared to Virgil, but since the Stamps-Baxter name became so common among gospel music lovers, could it be that Pap wanted to emphasize that he was just as fervent as Virgil, though his name came second? Or, was Pap really thinking about another person?

 

Pap Baxter was the creator of some 500 song texts over his lifetime of production in the field of gospel music, an endeavor that really did not end with his departure for eternity in 1960. His wife Clarice ran the company for another 12 years (it was subsequently sold in 1974), a time that only prolonged the reputation of Stamps-Baxter and its imprint on Southern Gospel. Pap’s induction into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1997 further recognized his contributions and really his lifestyle of attachment to God through the medium he so loved. This comes through in these words he fashioned into a song as a 46-year-old. We know not the precise details of what prompted Pap’s poetry in ‘I Love My Savior, Too’, yet he was a gifted songwriter surrounded by others, including his partner, who probably helped spur what Pap wrote, perhaps helping him see the God he served more clearly. Baxter’s musical output indicates he was someone who needed only a regular reminder of the source of his gift to coax an appreciation through song to the surface. One might say that his use of ‘too’ in his song’s title and in the refrain was really a reflection of Pap’s response to the Jesus who had first shown him love. Verse 1 suggests he saw His Divine Guide as the initiator of the rapport between them … ‘loves me I know’ (v.1), and Pap’s reciprocation is shown in the following two verses as he ‘walk (s) with Him each day (v.2), and ‘serve (s) His friend…and lean (s) on His arm’ (v.3). What is the ‘too’ in a believer’s life if it isn’t walking, and serving, and leaning on Him daily?

 

Pap did plenty to say ‘too’ in his life musically – over 500 songs -- in response to his Creator, as well as suggest a number of other ways in this one song to express ‘too’. How can one love God in return? Here’s some other verbs, besides the ones mentioned above, which Pap used to describe his answer to Him who loved first. ‘Sing(ing)’, ‘go(ing)’, ‘cling(ing)’ (v.1); ‘doing’, ‘kneeling’, ‘say(ing)’ (v.2) are other ways that Pap Baxter had found to say ‘I love you back, God!’ There’s so many more, that it’d be interesting to see what others Pap used in the hundreds of other songs he wrote. Would all of those verbs exhaust the possibilities? It prompts another question: How infinite is Him we serve? Let’s talk over that answer in another time and place and share them with Pap – after we’ve spent life here scoping out some of those methods!      

 

 

See biographic information on author here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/b/a/x/t/baxter_jr.htm

 

Here also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.R._Baxter

 

See here for information about the music company the author co-owned/operated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamps-Baxter_Music_Company

Light the Fire -- William Maxwell

 

He’s a drummer, perhaps not a position one would normally associate with songwriting and inspiration. After all, his part in the musical presentation of the message has always been what Bill Maxwell might readily say himself was a background part, not the lead voice firing up the audience. Nevertheless, Bill did not let that impede what he said in 1987 with the song “Light the Fire”. As a 38-year old transplanted Oklahoman, now living in Los Angeles, Bill had been through a lot in his life already, and was at a point where he knew God and His power to change lives was real. What had happened for himself and for other musicians close to him could be communicated to others who needed transformation, too.

 

Bill Maxwell had the music gene from an early age, but the Christian in him did not emerge until later after he’d hit a rough patch in the road. Perhaps that sequence of life events was a metaphor for what he would write in 1987 about a fire being lit. Bill indicates he’d grown up in Oklahoma with grandparents, and was making music as a drummer already when he graduated from high school in 1967. But, his life had some kinks, including lots of drug use and his wife’s illness and the breakup of a band while they lived in Nashville (in 1971), prompting Bill to return to Oklahoma briefly. It was at that time that Bill turned his life over to his Creator, as he sought peace and direction for his life. And, the same thing happened for the musician friends with whom he reacquainted himself. It was a time when the “Jesus Movement” was burning for people like Bill, and when he met Andrae Crouch, with whom he would make and produce music for many years. The Christian message and his life as a music producer among people like Crouch and many others flourished from that point on. Bill does not say exactly what prompted ‘Light the Fire’ as a 38-year-old, but his interviews include memories of how he got started and was turned around from a downward spiral. He’d been weak (v.1), and knew he needed the intervention of the Divine One during that time in 1971 in Nashville. He prayed for healing of his life, and admits that he was scared when he felt God’s response – perhaps like something ‘breath’(ing) in him like a ‘mighty rushing wind’ (v.2). When similar spectacular recoveries ensued for friends with whom he prayed, what else could Bill do except admit that a fire had been lit in his life? It was a chapter in his lifetime that he must have wanted to keep going. Was ‘Light the Fire’ Bill’s way of musically reminiscing, and of passing along the torch to others? Was it his way of sharing just a piece of his biography with those who would listen?

 

As a blogger, I’m really just engaging in some deduction regarding Bill Maxwell’s motivation for ‘Light the Fire’. And yet, Bill’s song words indicate he wanted a fire ‘again’ that, evidently, he had already experienced once before (see song’s refrain). Most people at the end of their rope no doubt remember in vivid detail when and how a turnaround begins, myself included. Prayer is a big part of it, with surrender (‘fall[ing] to my knees’, v.1) an essential emotional piece of a puzzle that once seemed so jumbled. If you know more details of Bill’s ‘Light the Fire’ story, I am eager to hear them, even if it means I have to edit this bit of speculation you’ve just read! Our stories are always evolving, and each of us may have new ways to examine how and why events have unfolded over time. He’s still working out my details, and yours too. He can use anything He needs to light a fire under me, or in me too. Just ask Bill Maxwell.            

 

 

 

Read a short biography of the author here: http://www.okjazz.org/index.cfm?id=141

Hear an interview with the author here: https://www.insidemusicast.com/musicasts/2015/8/17/bill-maxwell.html

A shorter interview here: https://scottkfish.com/2019/03/02/bill-maxwell-on-becoming-a-grammy-winning-producer/