Count Your Blessings (When Upon Life's Billows) -- Johnson Oatman

This New Jersey businessman (in the Burlington County area – see map) had been engaged in a pretty recently adopted, and semi-serious venture, for about five years near the end of the 19^th Century. Johnson Oatman, Jr. must have been thinking some about how his life’s physical benefits so often appeared to be inadequate, and so he tried a different strategy to evaluate himself and his surroundings. Johnson had much that he cherished, though his four verses suggested this calculation was not always clear-cut. Was it only a curiosity, this songwriting that Johnson was practicing that generated “Count Your Blessings” (alternately known as “When Upon Life’s Billows”) in 1897? Certainly by the end of his life, one could say that it didn’t appear that way.  

Johnson Oatman was a well-known name in the Lumberton, New Jersey area, though you might have needed to specify whether it was Junior or Senior you pictured, and thought about how one name fed off the other. Johnson, Senior was reportedly the best singing voice, as well as a reputable businessman in central New Jersey, two attributes that no doubt impacted Johnson, Junior’s life. The younger Johnson followed in his father’s spiritual and business footsteps as an adolescent and young man, being ordained as a minister and taking part as a merchant in his father’s business. He’d apparently been at this up into his mid-30s, when he began to expand into songwriting, and it couldn’t have been long before others took notice, with the prolific output this effort showed. He wrote some 5,000 hymns by the end of his life in 1922, indicating he was composing several per week. That “Count Your Blessings” was published in a songbook for children could suggest he was trying to impart some wisdom to young people regarding how unfair earthly life might seem. He stayed in the business world, rather than completely devoting his life to church ministry, perhaps because of the experience working in commerce that his father had modeled for him. Could that choice have made an impact on his testimony in “Count Your Blessings”? He writes of challenges, as a guy engaged in industry might, in all of his verses. Though apparently successful, he must have winced a few times, seeing the greater success of others (…’lands and gold’, v.3), and noting how his own experience was not without hurdles (…’life’s billows…tempest tossed’, v.1; ‘burdened…load of care’, v.2; and ‘amid the conflict’, v.4). Maybe it was wisdom his own father had first passed along to Johnson, which said to consider the positives when you started to notice the negatives. It sounds like something the younger generation might need to hear from a pair of Johnsons old enough to be their father and grandfather.   

How often does one need to re-examine the columns of checkmarks and ‘x’s? Was it the first time Johnson Oatman, Junior had done so, when he was 41 years old in 1897? I think I had done so countless times by that age, how about you? Perhaps when one begins to pass along some of the good things, you begin to really see their value. An oft-forgotten blessing may need only a little dusting off for a needy individual to welcome its arrival with renewed joy. Can you picture a 40-something fellow, who’d seen his share of blessings? By that time, maybe Johnson had observed others who needed his perspective – challenges, sure, but outranked by those things in his own plus-column. It may have made his own blessings seem new again for him to engage in this accounting exercise. How’s your accounting sheet look today?

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 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 four original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/c/o/u/countyou.htm

Take the Name of Jesus with You -- Lydia Baxter

It was a time when she felt like giving away some advice, as she lay sick in bed in the New York City area. (Check out the picture here of NYC that the composer may have seen in the mid-1800s on one of her better days.) That might be the best way to describe in one sentence what motivated 61-year old Lydia Baxter to recommend a course of action to those she knew. “Take the Name of Jesus with You”, she said in 1870, just a few years before she went to be with Him. That adds some poignancy to what she wrote, knowing that she may have been sensing the mortality she clung to was near its conclusion. How might she have felt, given that her life had been a long struggle? Was this a gasp of pain that she uttered, a fight that drew others to her side to commiserate with her? Or, was it wisdom from a deep well that few others could access themselves, drawing their curiosity?

From all accounts, it appears that Lydia Baxter had grown accustomed to her physical shortcomings by the time she’d lived three-score years in the New York area. She was used to being flat on her back, a sickly body confining her to a life largely prostrate. But her attitude about this state of affairs was not typical, and perhaps that was what most attracted others to her. Cheerfulness was Lydia’s calling card, or perhaps more accurately what others who called upon her could depend on discovering when they greeted her. Had she discovered some sort of happiness potion? If she was ever so asked directly, she might have answered ‘yes, the potion’s name is Jesus’. Baxter was well-known as a seeker of names, especially Biblical ones that bore some special meaning in the message to God’s people. You think maybe she might have researched her namesake’s impact on others, and responded as that 1^st Century Philippian woman did when met by Paul (Acts 16:13-15) – with generosity and thankfulness?  The 19^th Century Lydia certainly knew many other names and their significance, but one moniker outranked all the others in her mind. That she wrote four verses about this name to capture what was deep inside her tells us she had not just thrown down gaily what she felt, however. No, it’s said that Lydia often told others that His name was what kept her spirits up when her condition would have otherwise made her dejected. The four verses she composed tell us she had used His name in various ways to gird her spirit. He’s much more than a one-trick God, she implies. This God is worth my endurance, worth my tolerance of bedsores, worth it for me to tediously stare at the same scenery from my bed for many days, over a stretch of 60 years. From Lydia’s vantage point, you think she was casually throwing around Jesus’ name?  

No, just read her words, and one can see Lydia used his name for many powerful reasons. Like anyone whose own body has become the enemy, Lydia used His name when she needed sympathy (v.1) to soothe her misery. But, she got so much more, as well. She warded off wrongdoing (v.2), experienced enthusiasm (v.3), and worshipped in expectation of the next life (v.4). This multifaceted God was more than a hand-holder for Lydia when she felt pathetic. He imputed to her energy, and it showed to the many who visited her. They got something from her when they sat next to her bed. It—or rather, He--was just something she was letting flow through herself to anyone else who bothered to take notice. Have you taken notice of Him, lately?

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; and 101 More Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985.

Also see this link, showing all four original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/t/i/s/tissweet.htm 

To Christ Be True -- Elisha A. Hoffman

What was on the mind of a 61-year old minister who’d held several positions and had taken on a new position not too many years earlier, as the 20^th century dawned? It shouldn’t have been too surprising that Elisha Albright Hoffman considered what human characteristics someone carries with himself from one place to another, and probably more importantly what he leans upon through difficult circumstances. Hoffman had been through many places and various situations, and so no doubt had concluded that he needed the words of “To Christ Be True” as much as others who would sing its words, as the 1900s developed.   

Many years, songs, churches, and experiences were in Elisha Hoffman’s rearview mirror in 1900, coloring what he would write as his newest ministry effort was developing. He was in Benton Harbor, Michigan at the time, a place on the far southeastern shore of Lake Michigan (see map), where he and his family had been for some five years. The strong sense of duty and loyalty of which he wrote in “To Christ Be True”, as well as the musicality he demonstrated in it, was inbred probably during his upbringing by Christian parents, including his father who was also a minister. Perhaps it was Hoffman’s first evident exhibition of duty and loyalty, albeit a short one, that showed itself when he volunteered in the Union Army in 1863 during the Civil War. His postwar education at Union Seminary was a precursor to his work at the Evangelical Association in Pennsylvania, following loyally in his father’s footsteps. During the next decade, his first wife died, leaving him a widower with three sons. Elisha would remarry and begin the first of four church ministry efforts by 1880; Benton Harbor was the third. Along the way, Hoffman would edit scores of hymnals and write some 2,000 hymns of his own, most of them probably while he was in the Michigan ministry. He must have encountered countless numbers of people in ministry by the time he reached three-score years, worshipped in various churches, and thought about what God wanted from him and fellow believers. How does one endure service in a war, suffer the loss of a young wife and have single-parenthood thrust upon you, and move around to take on new ventures in one’s chosen profession? By the time he reached 61, Elisha must have surmised that God provides. Why wouldn’t some choose to enlist in His army? Though his stint as a private in the Union Army had been brief (about a month, reportedly), perhaps its imprint on Hoffman was one of the most enduring of his life, including as he thought about loyalty to his God. Were those battlefield images still in his thoughts as he wrote about unfurling the Lord’s banner in conquest (v.1), volunteering for service (v.2), and especially about confronting conflict (refrain)? Does God provide difficult experiences so they propel us toward Him, and forward for the rest of life?   

Elisha may have asked himself, as any individual might after three decades, has this been worth it? What other way has a better track record? One might imagine Elisha telling others of his own episodes, and how he managed to come out the other side. He’d had good examples, apparently, including his parents, but he was molded by his own unique set of experiences too. In Benton Harbor, Elisha reflected and realized, probably not for the first time, that he was God’s tool, wielded in various places and despite—or perhaps because of—the challenges he’d met. No one is like me, exactly. But, I have the same God available to me as you. He can meld us all together to Himself, with this glue called Christ-loyalty.

See biography of composer here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha_Hoffman

Brief biography and list of composer’s works here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/h/o/f/hoffman_ea.htm

 
Site describes where composer was during the time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benton_Harbor,_Michigan

Take Time to Be Holy -- William Dunn Longstaff

Had 60-year old Englishman William Dunn Longstaff just realized what purity before God meant in 1882? Surely he’d been around long enough to know what it took to “Take Time to Be Holy” in everyday life, but there must have been something in particular that prompted him to put pen to paper after three score years. It may have been someone else’s words spoken in New Brighton (see this coastal town on Britain’s west coast, along the Irish Sea, in the picture-painting that preceded Longstaff’s prose by some 40 years) that captured his attention, spurring his poetry. What does a wealthy, business-minded man think it takes to stand before the Great Judge? From William’s perspective, perhaps he was just vocalizing what he thought was already at work in his life in the presence of the one who’d been blessing him for so long.  

William Longstaff’s active life in a church and in his community in Sunderland, England had long been in progress by the time he composed his thoughts on holy living in the late 19^th Century. Longstaff was a prosperous businessman, son of a ship owner, and philanthropic member of his congregation of believers. His financially blessed life allowed him to routinely contribute to Christian work, including when Ira Sankey and Dwight Moody visited the British Isles on a campaign in the decade before he crafted “Take Time…”. Perhaps it was one of these or another sermon on holiness (1 Peter 1:16) he heard in New Brighton that spurred Longstaff’s creativity. He reportedly also may have been inspired through hearing the words of a missionary to China. His verses may be likened to someone making a diary entry, a reflective assessment of an individual striving to improve his servant nature. How’s that happen, Longstaff must have pondered, to which his four verses respond in a common thread throughout: be in His presence. Perhaps William had arrived at a point that he thought his devotion, though already significant, could go deeper. His spirit was already genuinely engaged, including through his role as the treasurer of his congregation, so what else did he need to do? Remember to pray, study, and fellowship with other believers (v.1). Then, be with Him some more, to mimic Him (v.2), and be directed by Him (v.3). If, despite his walk, William had at times felt the stress of his world, he found His serenity (v.4) in this renewed effort at holy living. ‘I’ll just let Him rub off on me’ might be the best way to encapsulate what Longstaff was saying.

William Longstaff doesn’t sound like what we might imagine as the wealthy businessman today. Some people plateau if they’ve been hitting on all cylinders the way Longstaff might have appeared to others. Instead, he aimed to go deeper by looking higher. No need to stop doing the good things he was doing, but rather to build on them, and see what more God could do if he strove to draw still closer. Perhaps this businessman reasoned that God was waiting to see if he was willing to refine his serve, to make a further investment. Are you approaching 60, like William, and wonder if there’s more space God has set aside for you? Is there a message there for 2016 dwellers?        

The following website has all four verses for the song, and a brief account of the song’s story: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/t/a/k/taketime.htm

See more information on the song discussed above in 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; and Then Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

We Declare that the Kingdom of God Is Here -- Graham Kendrick

Sometime during 36-year-old Graham Kendrick’s life in the mid-1980s he felt a need to celebrate. So, he did this the way only a songwriter can do – by writing enough songs to fill an album. It was no accident that his inspiration came from a bible, where he read about another celebration centuries earlier, when something was first uttered, and then repeated later, as if a whole chorus had joined in to say “We Declare that the Kingdom of God Is Here”. Some might think it odd that he could say that in 1980s England (see picture of the nation’s coat of arms here), where he was born, lived, and still resides, because of the secularist movement in the nation, and indeed among many places in the world. How would one answer skeptics who scoff at God and at faith in a being one cannot physically see?   

Graham Kendrick must have been well-prepared by 1986 to defend his faith, following a childhood upbringing and an already multi-decade career writing Christian songs. He’s the son of a Baptist pastor, from which his faith roots must have been dug deep, spawning his own career as a public man of faith, through songwriting, by the late 1960s. By 1987, Kendrick and some international collaborators had bred something called the March for Jesus, including one through London in 1987. Was it possible that Kendrick and his fellow believers at the time were troubled by the secularism they observed, including in England where nonbelievers were prevalent, including the author Richard Dawkins who penned The Blind Watchmaker in 1986? One can imagine these circumstances in which Kendrick lived, and see him reading prophecy and Jesus’ preaching in his bible (Isaiah 61:1-3, Matthew 4:17) as he considered how to respond to cynics of religious faith. Kendrick’s album Make Way for The King of Kings - A Carnival of Praise, in the same year as Dawkins’ book may indeed have been Kendrick’s way to answer the cynic. His words were not his own in “We Declare…”, one of the album’s songs, but instead were akin to how Jesus responded to Satan in the wilderness – with scripture. It must have made any criticism easier for Graham to endure, knowing that he was following a well-worn path in 1986 made by the one he still follows today.  

                       

What might Graham say today is the best way to say what he did in 1986? Taking a page out of Jesus’ way to declare His kingdom – with healing and care for the needy – Graham has been promoting something called Compassion International. By tackling poverty, especially among children worldwide, Kendrick says that over 127,000 children became believers via Compassion International’s efforts in the last year. How is the kingdom of God near, you say? It’s through us who believe, and put that faith out there for others to grab onto. Graham’s song is one of action, not just words. It’s a celebration of how He’s helped us poor beggars to help others. Amen.   

Composer’s biography here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Kendrick

Composer’s official website: http://www.grahamkendrick.co.uk/

Link shows the album theme on which song appears: http://www.invubu.com/music/show/song/Graham-Kendrick/We-Declare.html

See link here to a movement the composer and others organized in the mid-to-late 1980s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_for_Jesus

A counter-faith movement was part of the era in which the composer operated in mid-1980s England, represented by a book at this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blind_Watchmaker