Hilltops of Glory – John Roy Harris

 

Did he write something that perhaps emerged from his own experience and-or from the stories he read from a book in his hands? Something in his own circumstances or study led John Roy Harris to visualize “Hilltops of Glory” when he was 29 years old in 1944. By this time in his life Roy was most likely in north-central Kansas (perhaps in or near Cawker City, in Mitchell County – see the map-picture), where he taught school and preached bible messages as a young man. He had learned something about climbing hills, apparently, and so he persuaded others to do the same. Look upward and press onward toward that goal, though its location may require physical and emotional energy that challenges and even threatens you with overexertion. Judging from what Roy had to say, he thought the objective was worth the effort.  

 

Roy Harris’ upbringing and his apparent awareness of biblical scripture must have contributed to his outlook and what he would write in 1944. Some brief biographical information about Roy indicates he was raised on a southern Missouri farm surrounded by the Ozarks, a moderately mountainous region in the southeastern plains of the American continent. Roy probably could tell of many times when climbing hills was part of daily life as a youngster engaged in farm chores. Harris didn’t stop climbing hills even after he left the farm and went to Indiana University and Southwest Missouri State College. And, singing schools and preaching were part of the hike for Roy. From what he wrote in three verses and a refrain of poetry, Roy was also very familiar with bible stories that tell of ancient characters who likewise needed to hike steep terrain for one reason or other. Two episodes could have been in Roy’s mind when he wrote about Moses (Exodus 17:9-10) in his second verse; and about Jesus (verse three) who reminded His followers to be lights upon a hill that everyone can see (Matthew 5:14). Can you hear the farm kid and the bible teacher emerging from Roy’s poetry? Others might have complained that the terrain caused muscle ache, but Roy speaks of ‘rejoicing’ and of an assurance that everything is ‘new’ (v.1) on the hilltop. While others might have noticed that the hilltop spot makes its occupant obvious to even one’s enemies, Roy considered that position ‘safe…’ (refrain). For Roy, the uphill journey evidently engendered a physical and emotional fitness that doesn’t end once the peak is conquered. That’s because the expedition is ongoing, like it was for Moses, who was ‘…always ascend (ing)’ (v.2), and for Jesus’ followers who are on a ‘life’s journey…on the upward trail’ (v.3). We don’t stop exercising and begin relaxing on the sofa because we’ve ‘arrived’. That’s because Roy didn’t see a single hilltop, but multiple ones. Apparently, Roy would climb one hill, and then look for the next one. He climbed many hills on that southern Missouri farm, probably urged on by others nearby who were doing the same.

 

And, is it possible that Roy heard and learned about something else from the time in which he wrote, in the early and mid-1940s? Millions of men went off to war, an event that touched virtually the entire civilized world. Even if Roy was not in uniform, he may have heard about sergeants who drilled their troops with a song on their lips, in order to motivate each other onward and upward. And, the folks at home who rationed food and other products so that the troops could be supplied must have also felt they were linking arms with the soldiers, joining in the struggle of World War II. This generation may have thought this was the biggest hill they ever climbed, and rightfully celebrated when it was over and they realized they had survived. But, does climbing really end? Comradeship, shared struggle and triumph, toning the mind and body – all that happens by climbing. That part came through to Roy; he recommended this for ‘each passing day’ (v.1), and ‘never turn (ing) backward’ (v.2). That’s the perspective one gains as you take more steps, and go higher and higher up that slope. Is that peak closer than it was yesterday?

 

 

See brief information on the author here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/h/a/r/r/i/s/harris_r.htm

 

See biography on composer in Our Garden of Song, edited by Gene C. Finley, Howard Publishing Company, West Monroe, Louisiana, 1980.

A Mansion, Robe, and Crown -- Sylvia Rose

 

It was a Christmas wish, and she was already at work to make it come to fruition. That’s the short version of  how “A Mansion, Robe, and Crown” that Sylvia Rose had begun to consider writing in December 1984 was conceived, 30 years after she was born in Atlanta, Georgia. While she was living in Michigan, in a place called Inkster (near Detroit), her mind was probably in Valdosta, Georgia, where her father lived. What she wrote in the next few months, however, showed that her mind was also in the afterlife. Here, in her own words, is how Sylvia came to write about three things all of us believers can look forward to receiving one day.

In December of 1984, I was called aside by my father at our family Christmas gathering and asked a special request.  He wanted me to write songs for his funeral. He was not ill but said he wanted me to not wait until his death in order to do it.  I was honored by the request and said as much. What my father did not know was that I was in the process of writing a hymnal of original songs that would be suitable for congregational singing.  Upon receiving his request, I wrote four songs that were included in the hymnal, Songs of Faith: “God Is Gonna Take Us Home”, “My Heavenly Home”, “We’ll Live Again” and “A Mansion, Robe & Crown”.  But it was the latter that was written specifically as a tribute to my father’s life using the promises of three things that Christ has said that his saints would enjoy.  The three verses of the song refer to each of those things.

I first considered the homes that my father had lived in.  Because he had twelve children, by necessity they were always of substantial size.  However, I knew that they would not compare to the new house (a mansion) that he would have after death.  And so I wrote: I’m gonna trade my earthly home for a better one bright and fair…Although the family had lived in the north for many years, my father had returned to his home town in the South after my mother died.  It was there that he boasted of the better weather than what we had in the north and his preference for the warmth and sun. Therefore verse two speaks of that love: The weather there is always fair there is sunshine day and night…  The reference to the heavy garment was his fleshly body which would be left behind on earth: “I’ll need no heavy garment I’ll just wrap my robe around”.  The third verse was very personal in that it described the difficulties that my father had in ministry.  He had been scorned and rejected by many throughout the latter years of his preaching, but without resentment or bitterness, he remained steadfast and faithful to God and His church. Thus I wrote: My head is bowed and bloody now from the work that I’ve tried to do, but one day I’ll be rewarded with a crown so bright and new. I’ll wear a smile so bright for there’ll be no cause for a frown…

Not only was the book printed almost ten years before my father’s death, but the most popular song in the entire book that was sung throughout the country was the one written to his honor, “A Mansion, Robe and Crown”.

 

Thanks to Sylvia for that story! She and her dad, as well as countless other believers, have leaned on the promises of our God, and what he tells us He’s gonna do for us. Here’s some that go well with Sylvia’s song-message to us.

John 14:2 – Jesus said he’d go to arrange for my mansion, and one for each believer.

Luke 15:2 – I am like the prodigal (or lost) son, yet my Father will give me a robe to wear when I repent and come home to Him.

1 Peter 5:4 – The apostle reminds me that the Chief Shepherd will give me a crown to reward my faithfulness.

Merry Christmas, fellow Christians!

 

The song story is from here, the original source: https://www.srosepublishing.com/copy-of-stories-behind-the-songs

 

See another recitation of the song story here: https://dwillis1957.wordpress.com/2020/05/31/a-mansion-robe-and-crown/

 

See here for biography of the author, Sylvia Rose: https://www.srosepublishing.com/sylviarose

Where the Spirit of the Lord Is -- Stephen R. Adams

 

Maybe he believed in the significance or the perfection of the number seven? After all, if Stephen R. Adams had read his bible many times, including some of its first words, he might have concluded that God thought the same way in the very beginning. And Stephen might have surmised that he was in the same place as Him when he described “Where the Spirit of the Lord Is” in 1973, even as a 30-year-old living in middle America on planet Earth (we’ll assume he was somewhere in Indiana, where one source suggests he was living until arriving in Urbana, Ohio in 1974). From where had Stephen gathered his thoughts about the impact of the Spirit’s presence? He had probably heard lots of presentations on this and related subjects from childhood, so by his 30^th year, Stephen must have already had his own experiences with and impressions about this Spirit and what He provides. See if you agree with what he says about this.

 

We know a few things about Stephen R. Adams and his background that give us some clues to the circumstances surrounding the one-verse poem-song that he gave the world in 1973. Though the precise context of that time in 1973 is unknown, we know that he was the son of a pastor, had studied and played organ church music practically his whole life, was schooled in Greek philosophy and English literature in college, and lived in Massachusetts and Indiana up until 30 years of age. His own father’s sermons must have played a large role in young Stephen’s upbringing and awareness of God’s impact on life. This life would have been filled with the church music that Stephen played weekly, something that apparently stayed with him into adulthood, including when he eventually moved to western Ohio where he was an organist and choirmaster in a church in Xenia, near Urbana. ‘Where the Spirit…’ was apparently not Stephen’s first effort at songwriting, something he’d been doing since at least 1968. He had seven thoughts about the Spirit in this brief verse, things he had probably heard while sitting under the sound of his father’s voice, and perhaps experienced himself while seated at an organ or teaching a choir. These must have made Stephen’s life full and complete, these seven gifts from the Spirit. ‘Peace’, ‘love’, ‘comfort’, ‘light’, ‘life’, ‘help’, and ‘power’ certainly do not exhaust what believers receive from Him, but they felt especially notable to Stephen Adams when he summed up His impact on his own life that day. Did it occur to Stephen that other 7’s in scripture are notable? God resting on the 7^th day when creating (Genesis 1-2); Jesus’ 7 statements while on the cross (Matthew 27, Luke 23, John 19); Jesus’ metaphorical descriptions of Himself (John 6-15); and many, many others. One doesn’t have to superstitiously acknowledge some magic about number 7 to accept that God makes things full and complete (perhaps with other numbers, like 3, as in the Trinity), even perfect when He’s involved.

 

Stephen Adams had concluded that he was in a good spot in 1973. What moved him to craft a song of devotion to the Spirit? Is it too much conjecture to say that the Spirit Himself was involved with the words and the music that Adams penned? No specific date or time of day is really relevant when He’s engaged, since He lives inside of a believer, especially a songwriter. Others have that One inside them, including one named David (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22), even if he did make lots of mistakes and even stray from God egregiously at times. But, as Stephen Adams probably knew, when He’s been with you, you tend to know Him and what He provides. He’s hard to ignore, in this respect. Stephen knew seven truths about His presence. Do your insides tell you that you possess those things today?          

 

 

See brief information on the author here:  http://composers-classical-music.com/a/AdamsStephenR.htm

 

Some biblical concepts re: the number 7, see here: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-is-the-biblical-significance-of-the-number-7.html