This Little Light of Mine -- Harry Dixon Loes

This student, author, composer, and teacher was inspired to write this song based on something he heard, if we can reason that he often generated his songs after listening to a sermon. That method is reportedly what Harry Dixon Loes sometimes employed in his writing, so was that also true for “This Little Light of Mine” that he wrote sometime around 1920? Though where he first wrote the poetry for this song is uncertain, the 30ish Harry drew upon the influence that the Moody Bible Institute (see a contemporary picture of it here, in 2006) had exercised over most of his adult life, so maybe it was there that he gained the inspiration for the words he would pen. Is there a place or a people that move you to words that have lasted for 100 years? One wonders if Harry Loes knew what would transpire and for how long when he sat down to compose this poem.

Harry Loes studied at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago in the early 20^th Century, and later served on the musical faculty of the school, episodes that must have been formative in his songwriting career. He also studied at the Amer­i­can Con­ser­va­to­ry of Mu­sic (Chicago); the Me­tro­pol­i­tan School of Mu­sic; and the Chi­ca­go Mu­sic­al Col­lege. Anecdotal accounts indicate Harry wrote at least two of the 1,500 songs attributed the him (‘Blessed Redeemer’ and ‘All Things In Jesus’) as a result of hearing sermons, including one at the Moody Church, a phenomena common among countless other composers and poets. Could it be that Harry was listening to a sermon or was studying from his bible on the passages from two writers regarding light and the analogous act of spreading God’s message? Matthew (5:14-16) and Luke (11:33) both indicate believers should ‘shine’, illuminating all the area and a message that inhabits such a place. Harry’s first few words suggest that he himself or others he knew felt inadequate to participate in God’s mission. A ‘little light’ (v.1) might sound on the surface like something a timid character holds, until the rest of what Harry wrote is examined. Verses 2 and 3 relate how the light is taken ‘everywhere I go’, and that ‘Jesus gave it…’, hardly the words of a shy and uncertain individual. So, was Harry perhaps trying to coax someone who lacked some confidence, at least initially with the ‘little light’? ‘Hold just that much, and see what it can do, then understand what verses 2 and 3 communicate about your assignment with the light’, Loes seems to say. His simple, repetitive poetry might seem too elementary – lots of school kids sing this, after all – until his strategy for conveying the light is put into action. Do you and I have only a little corner of our own world to influence, or is it bigger than that? Most of us probably would say we’re in a small world. Presumably, that’s what Harry thought, too.

‘This Little Light…’ has such an uncomplicated message that other artists have used it in other venues, interestingly to help make the little light grow into something larger. Civil rights organizers used it in the 1950s and ‘60s to help promote this movement. Besides several secular offshoots of the song, Harry’s words have spurred additional recitations of the song for children that include hand motions, helping perpetuate its life among believers. Undoubtedly, its appeal is that kids can learn it effortlessly, while persuading even adults that none of us are powerless. He just needs me to hold that light. That’s all. He’ll do the rest.    

      

   

See the following link for history of the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Little_Light_of_Mine

See also this site for information about the author: https://hymnary.org/text/this_little_light_of_mine_im_gonna_let

And, this site also for author information: https://hymnary.org/person/Loes_Harry

And, this site also: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/l/o/e/loes_hd.htm  

Jesus Loves the Little Children -- Clare Herbert Woolston

He must have known the origin of the tune, but he wanted some words that children could sing in the church where he ministered. It was no longer wartime, after all, so Clare Herbert Woolston was in agreement with the tune’s writer (George Root) that the notes and rhythm first created for a Civil War song should evolve into something else, namely “Jesus Loves the Little Children”. Even so, Clare kept an echo of the war in the words he penned, perhaps to remind us that though we’re all children, our world does not respect the innocent and naïve. In fact, we all need a Divine Love – God – to care for us with the watchful eye of a parent on guard like a sentry. (Notice in the 19^th Century painting, shown here, by Carl Bloch, how Jesus protects the little ones.)  Woolston probably preached on more than one occasion that God will care for us until we arrive in a time and place where His rule has evicted danger and anxiety.    

Clare Herbert Woolston was a Baptist minister, in either the East Bunswick, New Jersey or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area when he was prompted by his composer-friend and collaborator George Root to write some words for the Civil War tune that had grown old in the latter part of the 1800s. Other details of what was on his mind and the precise year he put pen-to-paper for ‘Jesus Loves…’ are unknown, but Woolston’s purpose is clear. He was thinking of children, and in two of his three verses (only the well-known chorus is what people typically sing today, over 100 years later) he describes a God who welcomes, guides, and protects little ones; in his third verse, Clare the minister, who undoubtedly was speaking to parents and other adults, has the child courageously voicing a pledge to behave more like an adult. ‘Your soldier I will be’, ‘…Your cross…I’ll bear’, and ‘’..do and dare’ spring from the emboldened spirit of this youngster, making it seem as though the one speaking these brave words might have been a warrior. Was Clare thinking of someone, even a child, who needed a shot of courage therapy? These would be words of someone who felt the shield of Him about his torso, one who indeed considered God’s promise of safety as utterly dependable. ‘For you love the little children of the world…’ Woolston writes, a condition that this minister must have believed was foundational for a believer’s courage. The Civil War was over, probably beyond the memory of children to whom Woolston gave this song, yet did some of them witness other strife, even racism? ‘Red, and yellow, black, and white…precious…’ suggests Clare was articulating this issue, despite the outcome of the war, that he wanted Christians to help address at the time.  

When one believes He loves, what does that do for the one who’s loved? Pluck. Determination. Resolve. They’re all synonyms that might describe the result of embracing the love offer He makes to you and me.  It’s unfortunate that the verses Clare wrote are often ignored in favor of singing the chorus exclusively. Do I merely bask in His love, or does His care for me move me to do something, to express my gratitude and newfound purpose? Find verse 3 when you recall ‘Jesus Loves…’ in the future. Yes, he leads (v.1) and protects (v.2), and loves me unconditionally (chorus), and Clare concludes in verse 3 that those truths transform me into His tool -- strong, sacrificial, and obedient. Aren’t those qualities you want to see in your kids?    

See more information on the song story in these sources:

Then Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

See the link here, for three original verses and the chorus and alternate chorus: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/j/e/s/l/jesloves.htm

Also see this site author information: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/o/o/l/woolston_ch.htm  

Jesus Loves Me -- Anna Bartlett Warner

So easy that a child could understand it? How about an army cadet? Maybe someone asked Anna Bartlett Warner those questions in 1860 when the subject of her poem “Jesus Loves Me” came up in conversation, for she and her sister Susan had encountered and tried to teach both children and military men in their life on Constitution Island in Highland Falls, New York (see a picture here of the island). They spent a good deal of time teaching the bible to army cadets at West Point, but they also wrote works intended for children, the apparent motivating factor in what they both did to bring life to this title phrase that is so elemental to Christian faith. It’s so simple a child could grasp it, but not too juvenile for young men in uniform to hold fast to it, too.    

Anna Warner was 33 years old by the time “Jesus Loves Me” appeared in print, perhaps one of the highlights of the Warner sisters’ efforts spanning several decades in southeastern New York state. Perhaps decades earlier, when both of them were children living in New York City with their wealthy attorney-father, they could not have imagined the life they would eventually pursue out of need. The collapse and loss of most of their family’s treasure in 1837 ushered in radical changes for the Warners, including a move to the island that sits adjacent to the U.S. Military Academy. An uncle had been the academy’s chaplain, a connection that probably gave the sisters an entrance to bible instruction for the young men attending there. But, making financial ends meet was also necessary, thus spurring Anna and Susan to write as their chief means of provision. The two objectives – teaching bible and making a living –at least occasionally intersected, including when ‘Jesus Loves Me’ was penned. Say and Seal was a novel, with an episode relating a Sunday school teacher’s attempts to console a child who is facing death, that Susan had in work. The poem that Anna wrote was this fictious character’s solution for the angst-ridden child whose departure is certain. Yes, death may be sure, but Anna’s poetry makes other facts about life and death abundantly clear, thus transmitting courage to a fearful child – and the rest of us, too -- about to enter the unseen. An unshakeable truth emerges from Anna’s heart via her pen. The God-Son who died and arose loves me, and has paved the way for me to join Him. Is anything more consequential at the end than this knowledge? Was it just a child’s perspective that Anna and Susan had in mind with this, or could the gravity of life, and what might await of group of army cadets in their pursuits, also have been at work in the mid-19^th Century? We’re all children, particularly when death approaches with a brutal, numbing certainty.

How does anyone face death with composure? A minister at my mother’s wake reminded us that death is an ‘appointment’, one that none of us can miss. The Warner poetry acknowledges this as well, that life’s end has an unavoidable poignancy. But, Anna says, that’s not all. That’s not even a wisp compared to what He says to me. Perhaps that’s why William Bradbury (he wrote the chorus to Anna’s poem) has us vocalize those three words repeatedly and innocently, yet boldly. It’s not something I need to gloat about, but it is reassuring. If you still have no peace when you think of the end, you need this. No one needs to miss this.

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, 1982; 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 and a brief account of the song’s development: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/j/e/s/u/jesuslme.htm

Also see here for song information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Loves_Me

Also see this site author information: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/a/r/n/warner_ab.htm

Here also for biography of author/composer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Bartlett_Warner