9/12 Hymn - "Hiding In Thee"

O safe to the Rock that is higher than I,
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;
So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine, would I be;
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.

Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,”
I’m hiding in Thee.

In the calm of the noontide, in sorrow’s lone hour,
In times when temptation casts o’er me its power;
In the tempests of life, on its wide, heaving sea,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.

Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,”
I’m hiding in Thee.

How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe,
I have fled to my refuge and breathed out my woe;
How often, when trials like sea billows roll,
Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul.

Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,”
I’m hiding in Thee.

BIBLE REFERENCE:
Psalms 9:9
Proverbs 14:26
Psalms 32:7
Psalms 94:22
Psalms 119:114
Psalms 145:20

Lyrics - William O. Cushing
Born: December 31, 1823, Hingham Center, Massachusetts
Died: October 19, 1902, Lisbon Center, New York

Composer - Ira David Sankey
Born: August 28, 1840, Edinburg, Pennsylvania
Died: August 13, 1908, Brooklyn, New York

HYMN HISTORY:

William O. Cushing was for more than twenty years a successful pastor in the eastern area of the United States. Following the death of his wife in 1870, ill health forced his retirement from the active ministry. During this time he became intensely interested in hymn writing and wrote more than three hundred hymns, cooperating with such gospel musicians as Ira Sankey, Robert Lowry, George Root, and others.

Mr Cushing has left the following account regarding the writing of “Hiding in Thee”:

“Hiding in Thee” was written at Moravia, New York, in 1876. It must be said of this hymn that it was the outgrowth of many tears, many heart conflicts, and yearnings of which the world can know nothing. The history of many battles is behind it. But the occasion which gave it being was the call of Mr. Sankey, He said, Send me something new to help me in my gospel work.” A call from such a source, and for such a purpose, seemed to be a call from God. I so regarded it and prayed, “Lord, give me something that may glorify Thee;” It was while thus waiting the “Hiding in Thee” pressed to make itself known. Mr Sankey called forth the tune, and by his genius gave the hymn wings, making it useful in the Maser’s work.

William C. Cushing is also the author of “Ring the Bells of Heaven” and “When He Cometh.”

Ira D. Sankey is often called the “father of the gospel song” because he made extensive use of this new type of music in his evangelistic campaigns with D. L. Moody, and he worked hard in widely publishing and distributing gospel songbook collections. One collection alone Sacred Songs and Solos, is said to have sold more the eighty million copies in the first fifty years following its initial publication. This book is still being published and used today. This collection, as well as a series of publications in which Sankey collaborated with P. P. Bliss and George C. Stebbins, Gospel Hymns Numbers 1-6, has had an extraordinary influence on evangelical church music to the present time.

Although the singing of the Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs had always been an important part of public worship since the time of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation, Sankey introduced a style of congregational singing that was “calculated to awaken the careless, to melt the hardened, and to guide the inquiring souls to Jesus Christ.” It was frequently said that Sankey was as effective a preacher of the gospel of salvation with his songs as his associate, D .L. Moody, was with his sermons.

For nearly thirty years Sankey and Moody were inseparable in the work of the gospel, both in the United States and throughout Great Britian. Sankey's smooth, cultured ways complemented and made up for Moody’s poor English and impulsiveness. They were often referred to as the “David and Jonathan of the gospel ministry.” More...