Leaning On The Everlasting Arms
BIBLE
REFERENCE:
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the
everlasting arms:
and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy
them.
Deuteronomy 33:27
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken:but the LORD
upholdeth the righteous.
Psalms 37:17
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests
thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money:
yet will they lean upon
the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
Micah 3:11
Elisha Albright Hoffman - Lyrics
1839-1929
Born:May 1, 1858, Cherry Grove, Virginia.
Died:November 16, 1924, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Buried:West Hill Cemetery, Dalton, Georgia
Anthony J. Showalter - Composer
Born: May 7, 1839, Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania.
Died: November 25, 1929, Chicago, Illinois.
Buried: Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois.
HYMN HISTORY:
The idea for this song came from Anthony Showalter,
principal of the Southern Normal Music Institute in Dalton, Georgia. Showalter, a Presbyterian
elder, was a well-known advocate of gospel music.
He published over 130 music books with combined sales of two million copies, and he became known
through the South for his singing schools in local churches.
Showalter took a personal interest in his students and enjoyed keeping up with them as the years
passed. One evening in 1887, he was leading a singing school in a local church in Hartselle,
Alabama. After dismissing the class for the evening, he gathered his materials and returned to
his boardinghouse.
Two letters had arrived, both from former pupils. Each of the young men was heartbroken,
having just lost his wife. Professor Showalter went to the Bible, looking for a verse to
comfort them. He selected Deuteronomy 33:27 -
"The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms..."
As he
pondered that verse, these words came to mind:
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all
alarms;
Leaning, Leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
He scribbled replies to his bereaved friends, then, reaching for
another piece of paper, he wrote his friend, hymnist Elisha Hoffman. "Here is the chorus for a good
hymn from Deuteronomy 33:27," his letter said, "but I can't come up with any verses."
Hoffman wrote 3 stanzas and sent them back. Showalter set it all to music, and ever since, these words
have sheered us in adversity.
What have I to dread, what have I
fear,/leaning on the everlasting arms.
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on
the everlasting arms.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the
everlasting arms.
Deuteronomy 33:27
The word refuge may be translated �mansion,� or �abiding� which
gives the thought that God is our abode, our home. The Bible often speaks of God as our refuge and describes
in detail the dwelling places that Christ is preparing.
God knows how important the feeling of security is to His children. We feel most secure in our homes that we
live, and move, and have our being. It is at home that we feel safe:we shut the world out and dwell in quiet
security.
Jesus told his disciples to "abide in me. He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding
refuge.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
John 15:4
At home, we take our rest; it is there we find calm after the
fatigue and struggles of the day. And so our hearts find rest in God, when, wearied with life's conflict, we
turn to Him, and our soul dwells at ease.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
At home, also, we let our hearts loose; we are not afraid of
being misunderstood, nor of our words being misconstrued. So when we abide with God we can commune freely
with Him, laying open all our hidden desires. It is the place of our truest and purest happiness:and it is
in God that our hearts find their deepest delight. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee
the desires of thine heart.
Psalms 37:4
We have joy in Him which far surpasses all other joy.t is also
for home that we work and labor. The thought of it gives strength to bear the daily burden, and quickens us
to perform the task. So it is when we labor for Christ.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart:and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:29-30
Many today labor for the things of this world and have little
time left for the things of God. In the book of John we are told that we must not labor for thing that
perish but we must labor for things that endure unto everlasting life.
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat
which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the
Father sealed.
John 6:27
There is coming a day soon when the saints of God will be
gathered and will enter unto a place prepared for them and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
and ever. We ought to live today as it was our last for the time is at hand and the appearing of our Lord
and Savior is emanate.
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man
fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints
and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:11-12
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life:and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Psalms 23:6