Fourteen years after Cluff wrote this poem, Ira Sankey, who was the music director for evangelist Dwight L. Moody, happened to see the leaflet with Cluff’s poem. The Moody-Sankey team had just arrived in Ireland for the first time, and Ira Sankey was looking, as always, for some homegrown hymns to sing at their crusades. When Sankey saw these words, he quickly set them to music. It was the second hymn he wrote the music for. Soon they were sung not only all over Ireland, Scotland, and England but also all over America.
Cluff was born in Dublin, Ireland, in
1837. He attended Trinity College and became a minister in the Anglican Church
of Ireland.
He pastored at various locations in
Ireland. In 1884 he became leader of the Plymouth Brethren. He married Anne
Blake Edge. They had four children. He wrote poems and about 1000 songs. He composed many melodies and oratories.
Little else is known of this man who
wrote the words of this hymn that has brought salvation to so many individuals.
Sankey was born in 1840, in Edinburg, Pennsylvania. He didn't grow up in a Christian home but got saved at the age of 16 at the King's Chapel, three miles from his home. The family moved to Newcastle, PA, around 1857. Sankey began leading the choir at the local Methodist Episcopal Church. His reputation as a sing drew people in to hear his voice.
In 1860, Sankey enlisted in the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment, serving for the Union in the Civil War. While in the army, he led the singing for religious services. Once his term was up, he went back to Pennsylvania, where he assisted his father at the IRS. He also began helping out at the YMCA. He married Fanny Edwards in 186t3, and she was a help to him throughout his life.
In 1870, Sankey wen to Chicago as a delegate to the YMCA convention. His singing of "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood," attracted the attention of D. L. Moody. The following exchange took place between the two: "As I drew near Nr. Moody, he stepped forward and taking me by the hand looked at me in that keen, piercing fashion of his as if reading my very soul."
"Then he said abruptly, 'Where are you from?' 'I am a government officer. 'Well, you'll have to give it up!' I was too much astonished to make any reply and he went on as if the matter had already been decided. 'I have been looking for you for the last eight years. You'll have to come to Chicago and help me in my work.'"
I took a lot to convince Sankey, but in 1871, he agreed to spend seven days with moody in Chicago, and y the end of the week, he had resigned his IRS job and accepted the position. When asked about Sankey's contribution, Moody is reported to have said, "If we can only get people to have the words of he Love of God coming from their mouths, its well on its way to residing in their hearts."
Sankey moved his family to Chicago the next year. He and Moody sailed for England in 1873, where they toured the United Kingdom holding meetings. It was while they were in England that Reverend A.A. Rees of Sunderland coined a new phrase when he said that Sankey was "singing the gospel." Sankey's "gospel songs" caught on in Scotland, where the former practice of singing only psalms was soon disregarded, as gospel songs were added to the repertoire.
Sakey's first actual composition came in Edinburgh, as famed hymnwriter Horatius Bonar wrote a set of words for him. In 1874, he wrote his most famous, "The Ninety and Nine." He first got the idea while on a train ride from Glasgow to Edinburg, when he read the poem in a newspaper. A week later, Moody preached on the Prodigal Son and, at the end of the sermon, asked Sankey to sing a hymn. Sankey seemed to hear a voice inside telling him to sing 'The Ninety and Nine,' so he sat down at the organ and wrote the words to it.
Oher well-known hymns Sankey wrote the music too are: "the Cross of Jesus, A Shelter in the Time of Storm," "Faith is the Victory," and "Under His Wings."
Verse One
"I have a Savior, He's pleading in glory,
A dear, loving Savior, though earth-friends be few;
and now He is watching in tenderness o'er me,
but O, that my Savior were your Savior too!"
Daniel 12:3
"Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever."
Studylight.org, Clarke's Commentary: And they that be wise -- Those who are thoroughly instructed in Christ's word and doctrine, shall shine -- shall be eminently distinguished in the Christian Church by the holiness of their lives, and the purity of their creed . . . hey who, by preaching Christ crucified among their brethren, shall be the means of converting them to the Christian faith; shall be as the stars - bright luminaries in the Gospel kingdom of Jesus Christ. This also may be applied to the case of holy and useful men, particularly the faithful ministers of the Gospel, in the day of Judgment.
Verse Two
"I have a Father; to me He has given,
A hope for eternity, blessed and true;
And soon will He call me to meet Him in heaven,
but O, that He'd let me bring you with me, too!
Titus 1:1-2
"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness--in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time."
Biblehub.com, Benson Commentary: Hope: The grand motive and encouragement of every apostle and every servant of God.
Biblehub.com. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible: This is another end of the Gospel ministry, as to bring God's elect to faith in Christ, and to the knowledge and acknowledgement of the truth, as it is in Jesus, so to the hope of eternal glory and happiness: in a state of nature, they are without the grace of hope, or any true ground and foundation.
Verse Three
"I have a robe, 'tis resplendent in whiteness,
Awaiting in glory my wondering view;
O, when I receive it all shining in brightness,
Dear friend, could I see you receiving one, too!"
James 5:19-20
"My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the true and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins."
Enduringword.com, David Guzik, Spurgeon: One reason God uses human instruments is because it brings Him more glory than if He were to do His work by Himself. In this way God is like a skilled workman who makes incredible things using the worst of tools. After the same pattern, God uses earthen vessels to be containers of His glorify . . . Let us not therefore believe that God will often work without instruments; let us not sit down silently and say, 'God will do His own work.' It is quite true He will; but then He does His work by using His children as instruments.
Verse Four
"When He has found you, tell others the story,
That my loving Savior is your Savior too;
Then pray that your Savior may bring them to glory,
and prayer will be answered -- 'twas answered for you."
Colossians 4:12
"Epaphras, who is one of you, and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of god, mature and fully assured."
Studylight.org; Dr. Constable's Expository Notes: Epaphras holds the unique distinction among all the friends and co-workers of Paul of being the only one whom Paul explicitly commended for his intensive prayer ministry. The passage quoted above may well be called his diploma of success in this ministry . . . Epaphras grasped, what many of us are slow to realize, that the tactics of the Christian battle are born of the strategy of prayer . . . the humblest and least significant Christian can pray, and as 'prayer moves the Hand that moves the world,' perhaps the great power we can exert is that which comes through prayers.
Verse Five
"Speak of that Savior, that Father in heaven,
That harp, crown, and robe which are waiting for you --
That peace you possess, and that rest to be given,
Still praying that Jesus may save them with you."
Philippians 4:7
"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding . . ."
Biblehub.com, Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary: The peace of God, the comfortable sense of being reconciled to God, and having a part in His favor, and the hope of the heavenly blessedness, are a greater good than can be fully expressed. This peace will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus; it will keep us from sinning under troubles, and from sinking under them; keep us calm and with inward satisfaction.
Refrain
"For you I am praying,
For you I am praying,
For you I an praying,
I'm praying for you."
Sankey said: "At the close of a gospel service in Evanston, Illionois, the minister was requested to visit a man who was not likely to live many days, and who was a spiritualist. Though pressed by other engagements, the minister said, 'I will take time.' He called but thought it not best to introduce the subject of religion because of the patients known hostility to evangelical views. Seeing a little organ in the room, the minister asked if he might sing a song. Consent being given, he sang 'I have a Savior, He's pleading in glory.' The sick man seemed pleased and asked the minister to sing it again. This he did, and then gave other songs. Thus, he sang the truths which he had not the courage to mention in conversation. The songs evidently accomplished their work; for when the minister called again the sick man's heart had been opened, and the truth had been savingly received through their instrumentality.
By His Grace . . .
I am indebted to the following resources:
Hymnary.org
Hymntime.com
Christianmusichymns.blogspot.com
Baptistbiblebelievers.com
www.fee-scores.com
