Heritage Baptist Church - San Leandro, CA.

WRITER BACKGROUND:
P. P. Bliss was an American hymn writer and Gospel singer. He was born in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, July 9, 1838. He grew up as a poor country boy, but very fond of music. His father and mother were religious and musical, and the home influence was such as to make good and lasting impressions upon the boy. He early developed a passion for music, and would sit and listen with delight to his parents singing when but a child, and very early sang with them. He was religiously inclined from his earliest youth, and made a public confession of Christ at a Baptist revival in 1850.

After his marriage to Julie Young on June 1, 1859, and a short service in the Civil War, and a number of years spent in holding concerts, he became acquainted with D.L. Moody. Several years after this he was led to consecrate his entire life and services to God for the purpose of spreading the gospel in song.

The death of P. P. Bliss and his wife was almost like a translation to heaven by a chariot of fire. That Christian poet was permitted to spend several weeks with Moody and Sankey in Chicago, and to edit a hymnal. After some planning, Mr. Bliss and his wife hopped on a train and made their way to Chicago. While traveling to Chicago that railroad train of eleven cars crashed through the bridge over Ashtabula river on the night of December 29, 1876 and fell down seventy feet, a shapeless mass. They were in the first parlor car, and were either crushed at once or else consumed by the conflagration that arose from the stoves. The most diligent search failed to recover their remains. Our whole nation sympathized with the evangelists at Chicago in their great sorrow. The Sunday schools joined in a spontaneous collection for the benefit of the orphaned children, and $10,000 was collected in a few weeks. He and his wife were greatly beloved wherever they were known, and his songs were sung everywhere, and have continued to be sung.

HYMN HIGHLIGHT:
"Hold the Fort" was founded on an incident of the late war [Civil War, United States], 'which has been thus graphically described by Mr. Moody: "I am told that when General Sherman went through Atlanta towards the sea—through the Southern States—he left in the fort on the Kenesaw Mountain a little handful of men to guard some rations that he brought there. And General Hood got into the outer rear and attacked the fort, drove the men in from the outer works into the inner works, and for a long time the battle raged fearfully. Half of the men were either killed or wounded; the general who was in command was wounded seven different times; and when they were about ready to run up the white flag and surrender the fort, Sherman got within fifteen miles, and through the signal corps on the mountain he sent the message: 'Hold the fort; I am coming. W. T. Sherman.' That message fired up their hearts, and they held the fort till reinforcements came, and the fort did not go into the hands of their enemies." It was first narrated in public by Major Whittle in 1870, and was at once popularized by his companion. Six years later these yoke-follows visited Kenesaw Mountain, where they read the promises of the Lord's second coming, knelt in prayer, and then united in singing this battle-hymn of the Christian.

"Jesus Loves Even Me" was composed in June, 1870. Mr. Bliss at the time said that he was tired of singing of his poor love to God, and he now wished to sing of God's wonderful love for him. He further remarked to Major Whittle "that the peace and comfort of a Christian were not founded upon his loving Christ, but upon Christ's love for him, and that to occupy the mind with Christ's love would produce love and consecration in keeping with Romans 5:5: "The love of God [to us] is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given to us.

HYMN HISTORY - Philip P. Bliss

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