God’s direction for our lives is very definite. It is found on a solid and firm foundation. The foundation is the Word of God. Upon the precious promises of this marvelous foundation, this song was formed.
Verse Two was taken from Isaiah 41:10, “Fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God…”
Verse Three was taken from Isaiah 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee…”
Verse four was taken from 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness…”
Verse Five was taken form Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee…”
The authorship of this hymn is a mystery. It first appeared in a 1787 Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, published by Dr. John Rippon.
Dr. John Rippon was pastor of Carter Lane Baptist Church in London, England for sixty-three years, and was one of the most influential and popular ministers (outside of the Established Church) of his time.
This hymn anonymously appeared under the name K, which in later edition was changed to Kn and then to Keene. The music director of John Rippon’s church was named Robert Keen (Keene), who served there from 1776-1793 and was a close friend of Pastor Rippon.
Pastor Rippon’s Selection of Hymns and Hymn Tunes from the Best Authors, 1791 (on the authority of Dr. W.T. Whitley, Baptist Quarterly, London, October, 1941) was actually compiled by Robert Keene. He was probably a tune composer rather than a hymn writer.
Eleven editions of this hymn were printed in England, and an American edition was printed by the Baptist Churches in Philadelphia before Rippon died in 1936.
This hymn became well known throughout the country especially in Baptist churches. It was a favorite of Theodore Roosevelt, and Andrew Jackson requested that it be sung as he was dying. Robert E. Lee also requested it to be sung at his funeral, “as am expression of his full trust in the ways of the Heavenly Father.”
The song originally had 7 stanzas. Stanzas 2 and 6 have been omitted which are:
In every condition, in sickness, in health
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand shall thy strength ever be!
Even down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be born.
Sources
Kenneth W. Osbeck, Amazing Grace (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publication, 1990). p. 14.
Wlliam J. Reynolds, Companion to the Baptist Hymnal (Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1976), p. 90.
Kenneth W. Osbeck, 101 Hymn Stories (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1982), p 97.
