I'd Rather Have Jesus -- Rhea F. Miller

 

It was something her father had said that stuck with her. He’d had enough courage to reform himself and admit some years later that “I’d Rather Have Jesus” than anything he could set his eyes upon. His daughter Rhea F. Miller still remembered that testimony years later as she took a walk, probably not too far from where her father had made such a radical statement about his life in Brooktondale, New York (near Ithaca, see map here). His statement was not just an empty pledge, but one that had profoundly affected his life and those family members around him. Rhea’s father, Martin J. Ross, had made a choice, and what he said indicates he had considered other options. His own deliberations must have been the subject of more than one sermon he delivered, especially since his life’s previous trajectory was notorious to so many. At what point does a person reflect and make a rational decision? That must have been one question Rhea asked herself, and others to whom she told the story of her dad.  

 

One can surmise from reading the biographic material offered at Rhea Miller’s memorial (see the findagrave link below) that her father’s life turnaround was an extraordinary event in her own life. As a 28-year old, Rhea shared the story of her father’s alcoholism and repentance into a life of ministry as she strolled in the area where she’d grown up. Perhaps he’d said repeatedly the words of the poem she would write, even during sermons or in personal testimonies, so that she just couldn’t possibly forget them. Her mother, Bertha, was a believer even while Martin was a drunk, something that must have gnawed at the family and been the subject of more than a few episodes of public embarrassment. One can imagine the family’s outpouring of appreciation to fellow believers for answered prayer when Martin’s radical life-change took shape. Maybe it was a minister or another believer who convinced Martin that the alcohol to which he was addicted would be worthless as life wore on, but that the offer of Jesus would only grow more tangible and meaningful, and would really be healthier for himself and his family in the here and now. His assumption of ministry as his rehabilitated life’s calling was a further stamp on the genuine nature of this change; Rhea would also marry a man committed to ministry, perhaps a reflection of what had happened to her father. Rhea would spend much of her own life as a music teacher, including writing several hymns in addition to ‘I’d Rather…’.  One can imagine that she may have related the story of her father’s transformation to her students, many of whom no doubt would have had life goals that she tried to steer in positive ways.

 

What would Rhea’s recollection of her father’s transformed-life words have said to young music students she taught? Don’t be entranced with chasing wealth (v.1), the esteem of others (v.2), or power over others (chorus). Those things won’t last. ‘Rather…’, Rhea and her father said over and over. The poem invites one to weigh the choices, and it’s always Jesus on one side of the scales versus the items I can observe here. The glitzy thing I have now tarnishes, becomes dusty, or just wears out after years of use, forcing me to buy a new one. So, is what I can see today reliably fresh and gratifying years from now? Rhea’s dad had discovered what any one of us can confirm – things here don’t last. It’s time to try on Him whom I cannot yet see, except through faith vision.         

 

See the song story according to the author here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42445380/rhea-f.-miller

 

See here for birth/death dates and places of the author: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/m/i/l/l/e/miller_rf.htm

 

See more information on the song story’s musical composer 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; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990;101 More Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985; Then Sings My Soul, by Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN, 2003; and Stories Behind Popular Songs and Hymns, by Lindsay Terry, Baker Book House, 1990 .

Trust and Obey – John H. Sammis

This one traveled through two other people before lodging in the imagination of John H. Sammis, a 40-year old minister. It conveys two directives that an anonymous young man vocalized for a crowd in Brockton, Massachusetts, really on the spur of the moment. Daniel B. Towner was spending one evening as he had probably on many other occasions, directing singing at a revival, when he heard these two words, “Trust and Obey”. They stuck, and he must have sensed that they were something special, or he wouldn’t have related the story to his acquaintance and friend, John. What was it in John’s makeup that made Daniel think his friend would craft a poem worth putting to music? Perhaps it was the coalescence of events that made this song’s birth special.

‘Trust and Obey’ has a story that is widely known, and probably represents one of the more commonplace methods of songwriting. Someone hears or speaks something from a sermon, and just like that, little else needs to be understood. Someone says ‘Yes, but He’s at work nonetheless.’ ‘Trust and Obey’ is like that, for who put the attitude inside the heart of an anonymous young fellow who stood up in that moment in Brockton when asked to share, and testified that he would just follow those two words’ instructions? He evidently heard something in Dwight Moody’s sermon, or in the songs that Daniel Towner was directing, that resonated inside himself. Perhaps he’d been wayward enough, and experienced the opposite side of life, so that he appreciated the novelty and the delight of receiving God’s favor just by being compliant. Daniel shared the experience with John Sammis, evidently because he thought the words, and the perhaps the simplicity of their delivery also, would stir a poem. John had been in professional ministry only five years, having trusted and obeyed himself to leave a successful career in business because he felt ‘a call’. And so, John could identify with what following divine orders might mean to someone – he’d done it. He crafted five verses to acknowledge and provide his own testimony for others to consider. ‘Do you want to know the secret of happiness?’, John seems to be asking in his five verses. It’s interesting that John chose to share so many ‘not’ things in his testimony. Count ‘em – no less than a dozen (vv. 2-3) had been cast out of his experience as a result of following what the song’s title words directed be done. Shadows, clouds, doubts, fears, sighs, tears (v.2); burdens, sorrows, griefs, losses, frowns, and crosses (v.3) – does that cover everything that might torment a person? Maybe John had more, but instead chose to dwell more on the ‘secret’ formula contained in the song’s name. After penning his poem, John collaborated with Daniel, laying it in his lap to formulate the music to underscore the message of his words.

Did the original speaker of the trust and obey theme ever realize his contribution to Towner’s and Sammis’ inspiration? The story has been so widely circulated that one might believe so. What might have been that man’s reaction? Did he conjure up other emotions or physical impediments that he’d overcome by trusting and obeying? John’s list is not exclusive – there’s more that you or I could add, unique to an individual’s experience. I just need to make certain I incorporate the first two words that the young man in Brockton first spoke. John and Daniel thought they were well worth repeating.

  

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; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; 101 More Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985; and Then Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

Also see this link, showing all five original verses, and a brief recitation of the song’s story: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/t/r/u/s/trustobey.htm

Mansion Over the Hilltop -- Ira F. Stanphill

A little poverty-stricken girl and a businessman, probably unaware that their chance encounter would motivate a songwriter, met in a rural area near Dallas, and that’s where this multi-pronged story began to take shape. Their names remain unrecorded, but what they said was unforgettable to Ira Stanphill’s ears, as he thought one morning about a “Mansion Over the Hilltop” that the child and the businessman had mentioned on two different levels. That this song’s genesis involved three different people, each from a different circumstance, illustrates yet again how much like a fingerprint a song can be. A songwriter like Ira may often hear a story that captures his imagination, but the path each song travels is unique, allowing us as to appreciate that each one is special, with twists and turns not unlike the loops, whorls, and arches (forensic terms in the science of fingerprint analysis) that whet the appetite of a musical detective. Yum!

The circumstances that coalesced one evening when Ira Stanphill attended a revival are the fingerprint of ‘Mansion Over a Hilltop’. Ira was in his early 30s in 1945 when he was doing what a preacher, musician, and songwriter in the Gospel genre like himself would consider normal: He was attending a conference that he probably expected would stimulate his passion, and hopefully that of many others, for God. A businessman who’d had a rough time, but who’d also had an epiphany, was speaking. Business had been bad, and this struggling entrepreneur had sought some relief in a drive through a rural area. He found more than he’d thought he would, and unexpectedly from a small child, too. Her appearance perhaps reminded him of his own situation – a poor waif, with a broken doll, standing next to a ramshackle house she called home. Yet, she smiled. Why? Because she had hope, with her father building a brand-new home not far away, over the nearby hill. What a gift hope is, the downtrodden man thought, not just for what we might attain in this world to overcome destitution, but especially how this world’s cruelties will be overcome by what awaits the believer in the afterlife. ‘My mansion is secure’, the businessman reassured himself when he thought of his future with God. That spoke to Ira similarly, and after sleeping on the message he’d heard, he quickly wrote “Mansion Over the Hilltop”.

From a little girl’s hopeful answer, through one discouraged adult’s heart, and into the soul of a poet-songwriter who could put a musical exclamation mark at the conclusion of this episode, this account reiterates for us that He’s at work. Is it just coincidental how things happen for good, even in difficult times? The businessman noted as he related his story to Ira and the assembled crowd, that his heart was pierced by the unsuspecting girl’s hope-filled words. Could that, in fact, be God nudging you and me, as if to say ‘I’m here…and I haven’t forgotten you’? I’ve had at least one life episode in which I thought I felt that nudge. Coincidentally, the first one that I remember, like the businessman’s situation, involved my professional/vocational life. ‘Will I be a failure?’, I remember calling out to Him in my angst one day. He answered ‘No, you won’t be’, not too soon thereafter, and I skipped like a deer, rejoicing that He’d touched me that way. I’ve never forgot that He sent me on my way, to live my vocational dream, and to experience life in a kind of mansion for the last three decades. You and I just need to remember that another hilltop’s view will reveal an altogether different edifice – words cannot do it justice. Climb that hill!      

The primary source for the story on this song is the book Stories Behind Popular Songs and Hymns, by Lindsay Terry, Baker Book House, 1990. Also, see The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006.