The Ambassador Book of Great Hymn Stories (Belfast, North Ireland: Ambassador Publications, 2001), pp. I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, What have I to dread, what have I to fear,.O how bright the path grows from day to day, O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,.What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, All we need to do is trust Him, and relax so we are not so stiff, and thus, make ourselves easier to carry! The Poem God's arms are strong enough to carry us through the most difficult times in the most difficult places. It is not His hands, but his arms holding us. Some of us have seen drawings of God's hands holding us. He did not mean that they were around us, supporting us in times of trouble, but underneath us, carrying us in hard times. They understood what Moses meant when he said the everlasting arms are underneath. They each had their sheep to take care of, and other animals.

Moses was speaking these words that this hymn comes from in a final blessing on Israel before his death. Usually, they do not want to go, even though they need to go with you to stay healthy. Those of you who have taken care of animals know that there are times when you must carry those animals somewhere.

A bronze plaque was made commemorating his composition of the music of the hymn in the Oak Hill Brethren Church, of which he was a charter member in 1900. Anthony Showalter was Sam's uncle, and the piece along with several others was later published under the name of the professor, and mention of the students who did the composing was not made. That evening the teenager wrote the tune. Sam was given an assignment in class to write music to the poem. Duncan, who was a student at Bridgewater College, near Harrisonburg, Virginia, under Professor of Music, Anthony Showalter. The actual uncredited composer of the music was Sam E. The hymn has appeared in over 1000 hymn books and translated in just about every language. Pastor Hoffman sent back the verses and Professor Showalter wrote the music.Įlisha Hoffman published the hymn in 1887 in the Glad Evangel for Revival, Camp and Evangelistic Meeting Hymnal. He finished his letters and then wrote to Elisha Hoffman, telling him he had the chorus, but did not have any verses.

He thought about the words of that verse and the chorus of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” came to mind. “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms ….”

He looked for a verse to use to end his replies, and found Deuteronomy 33:27: Two letters had come and the young men from South Carolina, who wrote were heartbroken, each having lost his wife. Afterwards he gathered up his hymnbooks and returned to his boardinghouse room. Showalter was in Harstelle, Alabama, leading a singing school in a church.

Brethren by W.A. Hoffman