Handbook to the Mennonite HymnaryHostetler, Lester
Religion
Handbook to the Mennonite Hymnary
Hostetler, Lester
Hymns, English -- History and criticism; Mennonites -- Hymns -- History and criticism
Daniel W. Whittle was born in Chicopee Falls, Mass. At the age of 15, he
went to Chicago to work in a bank, but at the outbreak of the Civil War
he became attached to the Illinois Infantry and served for the duration,
going with Sherman, as a lieutenant, on his “March to the Sea.” At the
close of the war he was promoted to the rank of major. He was the
treasurer of a business firm, when, in 1873, he heeded the call of God
to enter the evangelistic field where he became associated with D. L.
Moody. He was a powerful speaker and lecturer; and frequently, with the
assistance of singers like P. P. Bliss, James McGranahan, and George
Stebbins, continued evangelistic campaigns begun by Moody, under the
latter’s direction. Whittle was a great friend of children and knew how
to put evangelical truth in words they understood, supplementing his
talks with wall maps, illustrations, and chemical experiments. His
daughter, Mary, became the wife of Will L. Moody, son of the evangelist.
He was a member of the Congregational Church. His hymns, written after
1877, mostly for McGranahan, reveal true poetic talent, though he made
no claim to be a poet. Among his best known hymns are: “I know whom I
have believed,” “Dying with Jesus,” “Moment by moment,” “Fierce and
wild.” The latter was translated into German by Ernst Gebhardt,
translator of “_Ich weiss einen Strom_.”
_MUSIC._ The tune is by James W. McGranahan, 1840-1907, who succeeded
the lamented P. P. Bliss as song leader in the evangelistic campaigns
conducted by Major Whittle. Between 1881 and 1885, Whittle and
McGranahan made two successful tours of England, Scotland, and Ireland,
and the chief cities of America. McGranahan, born at Adamsville, Pa.,
received only an elementary-school education. His native musical talent
and some assistance from men like Bassini, Webb, Root, and Zerrahn
enabled him to make rapid progress in music; and he soon taught music
classes of his own. He was gifted with a beautiful tenor voice and an
impressive personality to add to his power as a song leader.
451. O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found _Anonymous_
The authorship of this hymn remains unknown. That “gospel songs” are
often appreciated by highly educated and cultured people is illustrated
by the fact that this hymn was a favorite of Professor Henry Drummond,
who used it frequently at meetings for university students in Edinburgh,
1885-89.
_Music._ NONE BUT CHRIST was composed for this hymn and published in
McGranahan’s _Sacred Songs and Solos_, 1883.
For comments on James McGranahan see Hymn 450.
452. Low in the grave He lay _Robert Lowry_, 1826-99
The words and music of this Easter song are by Rev. Robert Lowry,
written while he was pastor of a Baptist church in Brooklyn, N. Y.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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