The mighty Charlemagne (742-814), King of the Franks, united most of western Europe under his crown. He was a visionary who advanced education and reformed the laws, economy, and culture of Europe. When Charlemagne died, his son, Louis I, assumed the throne. At first, all went well. But in 817, he began dividing the empire among his nephew and his four sons, causing no end of problems.  Twice he was deposed by his sons, and, though he regained his throne both times, he was never again able to rest securely. Caught in the middle of this epic family conflict was Theodulph, Bishop of Orlean ..read more

In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the ship’s captain called one of his passengers to the bridge and said, “To the best of my calculations, Mr. Spafford, this is where the tragedy occurred and your daughters were drowned.” Weeks earlier Horatio Spafford had planned a family trip to Europe in November of 1873. Last-minute business developments made it necessary for Spafford to remain in Chicago for a few days. He sent his wife and four daughters - Anna, eleven; Maggie, nine; Bessie, seven; and Tanetta, two - on the ship Ville du Havre to France with a group of friends. In midocean the Ville ..read more

“God Hath Spoken by His Prophets” by George Wallace Briggs (1875-1959) was published in 1953 by the Hymn Society of America, who searched for new hymns to celebrate the printing of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. This hymn was selected as one of ten hymns out of five hundred. George Wallace Briggs was born in Nottingham, England, on December 15, 1875, and died in Hindhead, Surrey, England, on December 30, 1959. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he took classes in classical studies; then he became a chaplain in the Royal Navy (1902-1909). He served English parish ..read more

“Either from the beginning or near the beginning Christians held some days and seasons as sacred,” writes historian Kenneth Latourette in A History Of Christianity. The church year developed around the celebration of the great redemptive acts of God: the Incarnation (Christmas) and Christ’s death and resurrection (Easter). It was early in the fourth century that a distinctive nativity festival developed on December 25th. The Christmas celebration was preceded by 4 weeks of Advent, during which the Sunday worship centered on the coming of Christ. The word “advent” is derived from the Latin adv ..read more

The author of the hymn, Henry Jackson van Dyke, was born in Pennsylvania in 1852, and became pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. Henry later became professor of English literature at Princeton.   In 1907, Henry van Dyke was invited to preach at Williams College in Massachusetts. At breakfast one morning, he handed the college president a piece of paper, saying, “Here is a hymn for you. Your mountains  (the Berkshires) were my inspiration. It must be sung to the music of Beethoven’s ‘Hymn of Joy.’ “   When he was later asked about his hymn, van Dyke replied ..read more

The music for “My Faith Has Found A Resting Place” was written by the prolific William J. Kirkpatrick, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1838. His father was his earliest music teacher, and William edited his first hymnbook, Devotional Melodies, at age 21. He went on to write the melodies of some of our favorite hymns, including: “A Wonderful Savior Is Jesus My Lord” “Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus” “Redeemed, How I Love To Proclaim It” On the evening of September 21, 1921, Professor Kirkpatrick huddled away in his study in Germantown, Pennsylvania, working on a poem he was planning to put to m ..read more

This is a twentieth century hymn, having been written in 1945 by Norman Clayton, who was born on January 22, 1903 in Brooklyn, New York, the ninth of ten children. He was converted at the age of six in the South Brooklyn Gospel Church (where his mother had been a founding member) and was church organist by the age of 12. He kept up the role of church organist for the rest of his life. Clayton’s profession was in the building industry, but he also created his own publishing house, Gospel Songs. In 1942 he was working with Jack Wyrtzen’s Word of Life organization, providing music for both the r ..read more

William Williams was born in Wales, the son of a farmer. His plans to be a physician were suddenly changed by the fervent preaching of Welsh evangelist Howell Harris. Williams was converted and soon thereafter changed his profession to become a physician of the soul - a preacher. He became an itinerant evangelist and during his 43 years of ministry, by his own records, traveled more than 95,000 miles. In addition to his preaching, Williams wrote over 800 hymns in the Welsh language and more than 100 in English. His best known is this autobiographical prayer with its many Old Testament allusio ..read more

Hymn writer Fanny J. Crosby wrote these lines in 1882. She and her husband, Alexander Van Alstyne, were living on Frankfort Street in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Fanny Crosby was an extraordinary person. She maintained a vigorous life throughout her ninety-five years. As an infant she was blinded by a quack physician who applied a strong poultice to her eyes.  Educated at the New York Institution for the Blind, she later taught there for several years. Her hymnwriting did not begin until she was almost forty years old. Her phenomenal memory, which was evident at an early age, was a ..read more

Edward H. Plumptre, born in London in 1821, became a well-known Anglican scholar, author, theologian, and preacher. For many years he served as chaplain of King’s College, where he also taught pastoral theology and New Testament exegesis. He wrote books on the classics, history, theology, biblical criticism, and biography. He served on the Old Testament Company for the Revision of the Authorized Version of the Holy Scriptures, and for the last ten years of his life (1881-1891), he was the dean of Wells Cathedral. Edward was also a poet. In May, 1865, he was preparing for the annual choir fest ..read more