Heritage Sabbath Materials, October 16, 2004

Verse One:
Sing them over again to me
Wonderful words of life;
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of life.
Words of life and beauty
Teach me faith and duty;

Refrain:
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life,
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life.

Verse Two:
Christ, the blessed One, gives to all
Wonderful words of life;
Sinner, list to the loving call,
Wonderful words of life.
All so freely given,
Wooing us to heaven;

Verse Three:
Sweetly echo the gospel call,
Wonderful words of life;
Offer pardon and peace to all,
Wonderful words of life.
Jesus, only Saviour,
Sanctify forever;

Refrain:
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life,
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life.

Background Information to Hymn #286

Both words and music of this gospel song were composed in 1874 by Philip Bliss. The popularity of this music is no doubt a result of the singable melody in the soprano and the duet formed with the alto part.

Bliss was born in Pennsylvania on July 9, 1838, to religious and musical parents who lived in a log cabin. As a young lad he accepted Christ, joining the Baptist Church at age 12. For several years Bliss taught music during the winter months and farmed in the summer. In 1864 he sent an original song to Root and Cady Music Publishers, Chicago, offering it to them if they would send him a flute. Recognizing a budding talent, they sent him the flute, and later they employed him to hold concerts and conventions for the company. Still later he joined with evangelist Major D. W. Whittle as soloist and song leader. They held revival meetings in Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and several Southern states, and all the time he was writing message-filled gospel songs.

After accepting an invitation to go to England for some meetings, he and his wife Lucy went to Rome, Pennsylvania, and spent Christmas with his family. On December 29, 1876, they were on the trip back to Chicago where he was to sing in Moody’s tabernacle, when a bridge gave way; the train plunged into the icy river below and burst into flames. Bliss and his wife died in the accident. He was 38 years old.

Among Bliss’s musical publications was Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs, Nos. 1 and 2, which he compiled with Ira D. Sankey, and several collections with G. F. Root. He wrote many hymns and gospel songs, some of which are widely known today. He composed the music for “It Is Well With My Soul” (SDAH 530) and the words for “I Will Sing of My Redeemer” (SDAH 343).

Adapted from Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White, Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988).

The Whites had been traveling again. That was not at all unusual, for it seemed every church group wanted to hear both of them speak. Rumors of the marvelous messages they gave and of special blessings the hearers received kept the speaking invitations pouring in all the time.

It was spring of 1858, and James and Ellen White were at Lovett's Grove, Ohio, holding a funeral. Elder White spoke first, giving the funeral sermon, and then Mrs. White rose to add her own message of comfort for the family. She spoke of the resurrection at Christ's coming, and of the hope of seeing loved ones again.

All at once her message stopped as she seemed to be staring right through the ceiling. She was having a very special vision, a vision of the whole great fight between Christ and Satan. She saw the fall of Satan, the actual fighting between Satan and his angels and Christ and His angels. She saw Satan hurled out of heaven, then sitting on earth angrily trying to plot a way to get even with Christ. She watched as the world's history began and Satan tempted Eve and thus gained control of our planet Earth. She saw Cain kill Abel in the first murder.

Scene after scene appeared before her—the wars, the fights, the bombings, the persecutions—things that would happen to our planet until Christ came back to reclaim it. She had seen these pictures before, ten years earlier, but not in such detail. Now she was being reminded of every scene and was told, "Write it down! Write it all down! It will not be easy. Satan doesn't want the story told. He will try to stop you, but God will send angels to keep back the evil forces. You just go ahead and write."

When the vision was over, people crowded around asking questions. Mrs. White told them briefly about what she had seen and promised to write it all out soon. Funeral tears dried up as the mourners realized that God had been right there with them and had promised to come again and raise the dead someday.

Two days later the Whites were on the train headed back to Michigan. On the way they discussed this latest vision and made plans to write it out and print it at once. Mrs. White could hardly wait to get started. It was such a fascinating story!

When they arrived in Jackson, Michigan, Mr. Palmer met them at the station and took them to his home. Mrs. White climbed out of the buggy and hurried into the house to greet Mrs. Palmer while the men put away the horses.

The two ladies were chatting, catching up on the news, when suddenly Mrs. White stopped talking. A surprised look swept over her face. Her tongue would not form words. It felt thick and heavy. A strange, cold feeling came over her right side, and she fell, unconscious.

When she began to wake up, Mrs. White heard voices around her praying earnestly. She tried to move her arms. They wouldn't move. She tried to lift her legs. She couldn't. For a while she thought surely she would die and never again see her children just 50 miles (80 km.) away! So near home to die!

Still the Palmers and Elder White kept praying. Gradually a prickling began in her arms and legs, the feeling of blood starting to circulate again. Her tongue began to feel more normal, and soon she could talk and praise the Lord that she had not died. Still not well, she spent a miserable night with much pain.

In the morning she had regained some strength and decided to hurry on home to her children.

For several weeks after she got home she could not feel much. The children touched her arm, but she didn't know it. Her husband poured cold water on her head, trying to help her regain her sense of feeling. She didn't even know the water was there. Her balance was upset, too, and she staggered as she walked. Today we would call this kind of attack a "stroke."

In the midst of all this, something kept bothering her. It was the angel's command during that last vision. "Write it down, Ellen. Write it down. Satan will try to stop you, but write it down. Angels will help you."

All at once it became clear to her. Satan had tried to stop her. God hadn't let Satan kill her. She was still alive. She must write the vision.

At first she was so weak that she could only write one page a day and then she had to rest three days after that! As she kept at it the strength increased and she was able to write more. Soon she was writing 14 pages at a sitting, the words just rolling onto the paper.

That June, during another vision, the Lord showed Ellen White that Satan had tried to kill her before she could write the story of his great rebellion against heaven. The angels had surrounded her and saved her life. She could see right then that publishing this book wasn't going to be easy. And she was right.

It's no easy job to write the story of the whole world including what happened before Creation and what will happen after the end of the world! But slowly the book took shape. When the first copies came off the press, there was great rejoicing in the Whites' household.

Mrs. White continued to write more on this story throughout her life. She enlarged that original little book to tell the story more fully. In working on those later editions, many times she would forget what she had seen and have to think hard and pray about it before she could remember. Other times the Lord would show her again in a night dream some scene that she couldn't quite recall. Sometimes she would look through history books to find a description of the scene, and if it helped to express what she had seen, she would include that writer's account in her own story.

It has been almost one hundred fifty years since Ellen White first made so plain the truth about the fight between Christ and Satan. Thousands of copies of the enlarged book The Great Controversy have been spread around the world in many languages. Satan knows that this book will change lives because it is filled with truth from God. Even today he hates to have people read that book. It shows him up for what he really is-a liar and a murderer. It makes the reader love God and hate the devil. Is it any wonder that he tries to get rid of The Great Controversy?

Again and again Satan has tried to stop the sale of that book, but God has protected it and put it in the hands of those honestly seeking for truth.

Based on Life Sketches, pp. 161-163. Adapted from The Spirit of Prophecy Emphasis Stories, vol. III, pp. 49-53.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
Rev. 3:22.

By Tim Poirier
Vice-Director, Ellen G. White Estate, Inc.

Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther and his fellow reformers exalted the Holy Scriptures and challenged the people to obey the Word. Many heeded this call, but some claimed that they were directly instructed by the Holy Spirit and did not need to submit to the authority of ancient writings. They countered Luther’s challenge by raising the cry, “The Spirit! The Spirit!” “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” In chapter 10 of The Great Controversy, Ellen G. White describes how the reformers used God’s Word as a mighty weapon to overcome this opposition.

Today, an opposite heresy has gained a foothold in Christendom, with echoes heard even among some Seventh-day Adventists. In correctly extolling the Scriptures as the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice, there are some who cry, “The Bible, the Bible only,” denying the continuing prophetic voice of the Holy Spirit in post-New Testament times. The argument seems logical. If the Scriptures are all-sufficient, what need is there for extrabiblical revelations by a modern-day messenger? If all truths are found in the Word of God, what possible reasons are there for listening to one who claims to have received instruction from the Holy Spirit?

Seventh-day Adventists have stated as one of our fundamental beliefs that the Holy Spirit was at work in the ministry of Ellen G. White, providing “comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction” for the church. We have pointed to the teaching of the Scriptures that the gift of prophecy did not cease with the apostles, but that it would be present in the “last days,” as prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:28, 29). Furthermore, in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul stated that the gifts of the Spirit were to bless the church until “we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13. And John tells us that God’s people at the very end of time will possess the testimony of Jesus Himself, which the angel identifies as the Spirit of prophecy. Revelation 12:17, 19:10.

Seventh-day Adventists reject the position of the cessationists—those who believe that the gifts of the Spirit ceased with the death of the Apostles. Rather, we maintain that to subscribe to the motto “The Bible and the Bible only” means to accept all that the Bible teaches, and that this includes the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit through the gifts—especially in the last days. Yet, at a time when prominent theologians who are not Seventh-day Adventists are recognizing cessationist views as unbiblical, there are some voices within Adventism that, if heeded, would leave no room for a modern-day messenger. If one interprets sola Scriptura—“The Bible and the Bible only”—to mean that everything the Christian needs to pay attention to spiritually was already written 2,000 years ago—to the exclusion of what the Spirit says to the church today—then one is holding a position having no practical difference from the belief that the prophetic gift ceased with the apostles.

We must be clear. The Scriptures stand unique as God’s infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, and the revealer of doctrines. If this is true, then why the writings of Ellen White? We might ask the same question another way: If the Bible is all-sufficient, what need is there for the continuing special guidance of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus Himself presents the answer, as recorded in John 16:12, 13: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: . . . and he will shew you things to come.” We can see how this promise was fulfilled in the life and writings of the apostles, but we have also seen how the Scriptures teach that this testimony of the Spirit did not end with the last of the apostles. Not according to Paul’s testimony, or to John’s.

The pages of Scripture record how God instructed His people through special messengers to rebuke sin, to warn of coming dangers, to unmask Satan’s plans, and to reveal the results of misdirected choices—timely instruction from the Holy Spirit that was distinct from the light ultimately embodied in the canon, yet just as needful for the current crisis. In the days of the kings of Israel, we read of messengers like Ahijah, Shemaiah, Huldah, Nathan, and even unnamed “men of God” who saved the nation from defeat and brought conviction to erring rulers. In the New Testament church, we learn that the apostles were directed by the prophecies of Agabus, among others (see Acts 11:27-30).

Seventh-day Adventists believe that God has not left His end-time church without the special guidance of the Holy Spirit, and that this has been remarkably demonstrated in the life and writings of Ellen White. But the question is still asked: If God’s people have the Scriptures, what need is there for a modern messenger? Hasn’t God given us all that we need to know in the Bible?

It is because of His great love for His people that God continues to speak. He sees our need, even when we are blind to our true spiritual condition. He seeks to preserve us from self-inflicted calamities and from the wiles of the devil—our invisible but ever-watchful foe. He wants us to recognize His sovereign hand in the affairs of this world and how His church can most effectively fulfill its mission of carrying the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

On a practical level, let’s look at five areas in which the writings of Ellen White accomplish God’s purposes for us individually and as a church—purposes that are outlined in Scripture but are further illuminated through the prophetic gift today.

1. They reveal the enemy’s plans.

In the days of Elisha, the king of Syria was convinced that his army had been infiltrated by Israelite spies because the enemy seemed to know in advance when and where he would attack. The king was told, however, that it wasn’t human intelligence, it was Israel’s prophet—Elisha—to whom the Lord was giving “inside” information. 2 Kings 6:8-12.

In the writings of Ellen G. White there is perhaps no greater theme than that of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. The “Conflict of the Ages” series is unlike any other writing on the Bible story in that it shows how the conflict that began in heaven continues on our planet and in each person’s heart. We are given “behind the scenes” views of the issues at stake in this cosmic battle.

Bringing the instruction even closer, we are given insights into Satan’s strategies for his war against the remnant—the war described by John in Revelation 12:17. While we know from Peter that the devil is as a roaring lion seeking to devour his prey (1 Peter 5:8), the modern-day voice of the Spirit of prophecy unmasks his deceptions and traps so that we can be more fully equipped to follow the apostle’s admonition to “resist” the enemy and “be vigilant” (vss. 8, 9).

2. They show God’s hand in human history.

The prophets of old interpreted events of their day in the light of God’s dealings with His people and the surrounding nations. Daniel revealed God’s sovereignty in the succession of kingdoms that were to follow from Babylon to the breaking-up of the Roman Empire. And in the cases of individuals, it often required the prophetic voice to explain sudden sicknesses or unexpected blessings. In similar fashion, we find in Ellen White’s writings descriptions of events where God was directly involved. The sudden retreat of the superior Union army in the first Battle of Manassas (of the U. S. Civil War) was shown to Ellen White in vision, and what was inexplicable in human terms was revealed to be the work of angelic intervention. See Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, pp. 266, 267. Such knowledge could come only from prophetic insight.

In 1906, after San Francisco, California, suffered a devastating earthquake, Ellen White was instructed that the city had forfeited the protection of God’s restraining hand because of its wickedness, and that what happened in San Francisco would be repeated in other cities as we near the end of time. Hence her call to carry the gospel message to the large cities while there was still opportunity. While we know from the Scriptures that God holds cities and nations to account, it is only when He speaks through His special messengers that we can know with certainty the divine purposes behind human events. Amos 3:7 says, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”

3. They set forth the results of choices.

When Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonian army, King Zedekiah called the prophet Jeremiah from the prison court where he had been banished and promised to spare his life if only he would tell him the truth about the future of his kingdom. Jeremiah laid out two options: Surrender to the king of Babylon and live, or fight and the city would be destroyed and his own life ruined. Jeremiah 38:14-23. A call to surrender was not what Zedekiah wanted to hear from Jeremiah. He hoped the prophet would predict deliverance, announcing that God would fight for the protection of His people as He had done in the days of Joshua and the judges. Ultimately, Zedekiah made the wrong choice and Jeremiah’s unpopular words were proven true—words that were counter to all the king’s advisers and military officials.

In our own day, while the will of God is broadly revealed in His Word, there are occasions when God’s people need supernatural guidance to lead them toward a better course. Ellen White’s instruction on healthful living illustrates this in a practical way. Study after study has confirmed the positive results of choosing to live according to the principles of health outlined in her writings. These results are widely recognized today. Yet, if left to our own devices, we might choose a different lifestyle. Even though Scripture describes the diet of Eden and refers to our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, would we as a people have taken such passages seriously? Probably not. But the Spirit of prophecy elaborated on the principles in them, spelling them out in practical terms in the writings of Ellen G. White. Similarly, we would not likely have seen the close relationship between physical health and spiritual health apart from the attention that Mrs. White drew to it.

4. They rebuke sin.

There is perhaps no greater illustration of the Spirit’s work in bringing conviction to the human heart than the prophetic word that Nathan spoke to David. David was familiar with the seventh commandment, and the sixth—he had the Torah, the writings of Moses. Yet in His mercy, God sent His messenger to reveal the sin that David had been trying to conceal and to bring home to his heart the truth that he had been trying to ignore. Who knows whether David would have repented on his own, had it not been for the prophetic word communicated through Nathan?

Similarly, in the Scriptures we have God’s standard for character and His truth-detector, just as David had the instruction of the Torah. But God goes the second mile when He appeals to His modern-day people through the Spirit of prophecy. Knowing that we are experts at rationalizing our behaviors and that we can so easily fail to see where we are missing the mark (Revelation 3:19 depicts us as “blind” and ignorant of our true spiritual conditions), God did not abandon us to our self-delusions. Through the writings of Ellen White, our lives are held up before us as in a mirror, and in the light of the principles of God’s Word we are led to feel our deficiencies, to recognize our sinfulness, and to accept prayerfully the forgiveness and righteousness that Christ offers us.

5. They apply Scripture.

In presenting the righteousness of faith in contrast to the works of the law, Paul was led by the Spirit to describe the experience of Abraham and Hagar as an allegory. Galatians 4:21-31. This is one of many examples we find in the New Testament where the apostles drew attention to specific passages of Scripture that had special significance for their readers. The early Christians had the writings of the Old Testament which they could study for themselves, yet this did not preclude the working of the Spirit to draw their minds to a further application of particular passages, just as when Jesus announced that the words of Isaiah 61—setting free the captives—were being fulfilled that very day in their presence.

Today, while the Scriptures remain the believer’s source of truth and the test of experience, it is part of the work of the Holy Spirit to point out and apply particular themes and passages from the Word that have special significance for God’s people. In its broadest sense, Ellen White’s “Conflict of the Ages” series selects and applies Bible narratives that illustrate the great controversy theme. Mrs. White directs our attention to those scenes because they instruct us about the future as well as the past. But she was also led by the Spirit to highlight specific passages that are especially relevant to the last-day church. For example, speaking of Isaiah 58, she wrote, “The whole chapter is applicable to those who are living in this period of earth’s history. Consider this chapter attentively; for it will be fulfilled” (Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1149).

Believing that the Holy Spirit enlightened Ellen White through the gift of prophecy, we are led to give greater study to such passages, fulfilling God’s purpose in continuing to speak to His people through His Word.

In summary, we have considered how the Scriptures—God’s supreme revelation of His will—teach that the gifts of the Spirit will continue to guide God’s people till the end of time. While the canon of God’s Word is closed, He has not closed off communication with His church through the prophetic gift, particularly as the church faces the deceptions of the last days. And Seventh-day Adventists recognize Ellen G. White as one called by God to bear divine messages to His people.

We have seen how the sufficiency of Scripture does not preclude the Holy Spirit’s special direction and instruction in at least five ways:

1. By unmasking Satan’s strategies for deception

2. By opening to our view the cosmic conflict and God’s hand in history

3. By helping us choose the right course of action when our human sight is deficient

4. By bringing conviction where we are blind to our sinfulness

5. By directing us to Scriptural teachings that have special application to our experience and times.

Despite all that he had been through from fanatics claiming the Spirit, Martin Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress,” still included the line which affirms, “The Spirit and the gifts are ours, through Him who with us sideth.” Let us heed the counsel of the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, 20: “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings.” Above all, let us remember Christ’s message to the Laodicean church, our church: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 3:22).

Verse One:
A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing-
Our helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great;
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Verse Two:
Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He,
Lord Sabaoth His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

Verse Three:
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath will
His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

Verse Four:
That word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth;
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Background Information to Hymn #506

This “battle hymn of the Reformation” was written by Martin Luther, most probably just preceding the Diet of Speyer (or Spires) on April 20, 1529. It was on that occasion that the German princes opposed the papacy’s refusal to tolerate the new doctrine of Luther. They protested, that is, spoke on behalf of, their religious rights and so earned for posterity the name of Protestant. The name originally had the positive meaning of manifesting firm faith in God and truth.

Martin Luther was born at Eisleben, 20 miles west of Halle, Germany, on November 10, 1483. After training for the legal profession, in 1505 he began another course—he entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt, and was ordained priest in 1507. He was appointed professor at the University of Wittenberg in 1508. A visit to Rome disturbed him as he observed the corruption in the church, and on his return he spoke out against the practice of granting indulgences. The matter came to a head when Tetzel came to Wittenberg to sell indulgences, prompting Luther to prepare his 95 theses for public debate, denouncing certain corrupt practices in the church. Luther’s treatise on The Babylonian Captivity of the Church produced a papal bull, which Luther publicly burned in 1520. For this he was excommunicated.

In 1521 he was summoned before the Diet of Worms but held fast to his convictions, accepting only evidence from the Scriptures. He translated the Bible into German, completing the New Testament in 1522 and the Old Testament in 1534. He strengthened the Reformation movement by publishing the first hymnbook in the language of his people. It had eight hymns in the first edition of 1524, and 40 in the second edition the next year. In all, he wrote 37 original hymns and published nine hymnals, drawing from various sources, adapting and revising. In this way he furnished a foundation for the success of the Protestant Reformation. Luther died on February 18, 1546, while on a visit to his native Eisleben.

More than 50 translations of Luther’s hymn have been made into English, this one by Frederick Henry Hedge. Hedge was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1805, was educated at Harvard and in Germany, and became a pastor of the Unitarian Church. He was appointed professor of ecclesiastical history at Harvard in 1857, and in 1872 professor of German literature there. He made two other translations from German and wrote four original hymns. He died in 1890 at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The tune, aptly called EIN’ FESTE BURG (A Fortified Castle), was composed by Martin Luther. It is the national hymn of Germany and was sung at Luther’s funeral. On his tombstone at Eisleben is carved the first line of the hymn: “Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott” (“Our God is a strong fortress”).

Adapted from Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White, Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988).

Verse One:
Take time to be holy,
Speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always
And feed on His word;
Make friends of God's children,
Help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing
His blessing to seek.

Verse Two:
Take time to be holy,
The world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret
With Jesus alone;
By looking to Jesus,
Like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct
His likeness shall see.

Verse Three:
Take time to be holy,
Let Him be thy Guide,
And run not before Him,
Whatever betide;
In joy or in sorrow,
Still follow thy Lord,
And, looking to Jesus,
Still trust in His word.

Verse Four:
Take time to be holy,
Be calm in thy soul
Each thought and each motive
Beneath His control;
Thus led by His Spirit
To fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted
For service above.

Background Information to Hymn #500

William Dunn Longstaff, a wealthy Englishman, heard a sermon preached by Griffith John, a missionary returned from China, on the text: “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16). The verse is a direct quotation from the Old Testament (Lev. 11:44), where it appears as a description of a future event rather than an imperative command. Longstaff was a friend of D. L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey, and when this evangelistic duo visited the northeastern part of England he showed them the poem he had written as a result of hearing the sermon.

The poem was written in 1882 and given to Sankey. He passed it on to George Coles Stebbins, who laid it aside for further attention. Not until eight years later, in 1890, when Stebbins was in India, did he remember its existence. He was leading the music in an evangelistic revival meeting and the subject of holiness was mentioned, triggering his memory. He searched for the poem among his papers, found it, and set the words to this tune, “Holiness.” He sent the complete hymn to Sankey, who published it later that same year.

Longstaff was born on January 28, 1822, in Sunderland, England, the son of a wealthy ship owner. He was a faithful steward of his riches and was known to be a most philanthropic and generous individual. He was a friend of Moody and Sankey, and also of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. He died on April 2, 1894, in his hometown of Sunderland.

Adapted from Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White, Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988).