PFTL #124
Words: Mary A. Kidder, 1875
Music: William O. Perkins, 1875
Born Mary Ann Pepper, Mrs. Mary A. Kidder (1820-1905) grew up in the literary ferment of Boston, and was soon publishing poetry in local magazines.(Hopkins, 123) She married Ellis Usher Kidder in 1844,(Massachusetts Marriages) a printer who probably worked with his older brother Andrew in the music publishing firm Kidder & Wright, active in Boston from about 1837-1860. Mary and Ellis had three children, May (or Mary?) F. (1845), Edward E. (1848), and Walter B. (1853).(1855 Massachusetts State Census, and see family tree of James Kidder) This would seem to have been a happy match, with Mary able to engage in songwriting and other literary pursuits as part of her husband's business. By 1860 the Kidders had moved to New York City, living in the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan.(1860 U.S. Census)
Like so many other families of that era, however, their home was torn apart by the Civil War. Ellis enlisted in the 4th New York Infantry on 30 May 1861, a 40-year-old private. He survived that unit's action at the horrific engagement along the "Sunken Road" on 17 September 1863 during the Battle of Antietam,(Antietam on the Web) but died of dysentery just five days later.(Widow's Certificate)
Mary Kidder had three children still at home, and the poetry that had been her recreational creative outlet became the family's bread and butter.(Hopkins, 124-125) Worldcat Identities has established a works list showing her publications of patriotic and temperance songs, in addition to sacred works. It was her song "Victory at last" (music by William Bradbury) that was sung at the formal raising of the Stars and Stripes over Fort Sumter at the end of the war. Later on she was poetry editor for the New York Ledger literary monthly.(Sanjek, 209)
But tragedy struck this family again and again; in the same year the war ended, Kidder's 12-year-old son Walter drowned while visiting Massachusetts.(Massachusetts Deaths, volume 184, page 146) Her daughter May died in 1883 at the age of 38.(New York Herald) She was left with her older son Edward Kidder, who became a notable playwright, and seems to have formed an attachment to her daughter-in-law Augusta Kidder. An article in the New York Evening World (April 23, 1890) shows that both were involved in the Sorosis Club, New York City's first professional organization for women, and were present together at the very first meeting of the Federation of Women's Clubs, a major force in the push for women's suffrage.
At her death in 1905, however, Mary Kidder was best remembered for her hymns.(New York Tribune, 26 November 1905, page 7) Fanny Crosby, writing the following year, remembered their association together writing lyrics for William F. Bradbury:
Stanza 1:
Ere you left your room this morning,
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ our Savior,
Did you sue for loving favor,
As a shield today?
The text follows a very simple pattern: it suggests a situation in the daily life of a Christian, then asks the question that occurs in the second line of each stanza: "Did you think to pray?" In the first place, she counsels, we should engage in prayer every morning as the day begins. In Mark 1:35 we read of Jesus that, "Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed." In this as in all other things He set us our best example. We sometimes find ourselves too "busy" to pray, but who could have been more busy than Jesus in those three rushed years of ministry? On some occasions Jesus was too busy to even take time to eat!(Mark 3:20, 6:31) But I seriously doubt that He neglected prayer. On the night before He called the apostles, He even spent the entire night in prayer.(Luke 6:12) If Jesus himself needed daily prayer, how much more do we?
Mrs. Kidder notes in particular our need to seek God's favor "as a shield today." Jeremiah told us that "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning."(Lamentations 3:22-23) That "loving favor" is present every morning when we awaken, and is ready to meet whatever challenges the day may bring. I remember having a field trip to the fire station when I was in grade school, and being mightily impressed with all the firefighters' equipment. They explained how they carefully checked over their gear, every day, so they could be sure it was ready when they were called into action. People in that line of work would never think of answering a call to a fire without suiting up in their protective clothing, and they would be certain it was in good order well before it was needed!
In the same way, we need to take up the shield of prayer every day, and the sooner the better. The mind itself is a battlefield, and the sooner we take the offensive, the more likely we are to have the momentum of battle in our favor for the day. At the end of the great passage on the "Christian armor," Paul tells us that the first duty of the armed Christian soldier is, "praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance."(Ephesians 6:18) Colossians 4:2 echoes the thought: "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." There is no better way to start the day, than by presenting ourselves for duty in the Lord's service.
Refrain:
O how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day;
So when life seems dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray.
The apostle Paul provides a great example of how to "pray through" our troubles. After his life-changing encounter with Christ, during those days of blindness in Damascus, the preacher Ananias found him praying.(Acts 9:11) It is worth noting here, of course, that prayer alone could not save him from his sins; he was still told by Ananias, "Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name."(Acts 22:16) But Paul's instinct, in his distress over discovering his great error, was to turn to God. In the jail at Philippi, their fates unknown, Paul and Silas were "praying and singing hymns to God."(Acts 16:25) And in a storm on the Mediterranean Sea, on the verge of shipwreck, Paul and his companions "prayed for day to come."(Acts 27:29) On each of these occasions, prayer was a help and comfort to Paul; and it is noteworthy as well that in each case these times of prayer in the dark were preludes to amazing works of God. Paul's whole life was evidence of the truth he spoke to the Philippian Christians:
When you met with great temptation,
Did you think to pray?
By His dying love and merit,
Did you claim the Holy Spirit
As your guide and stay?
(Refrain)
The hymnist turns next to another great application of prayer--as a guard against temptation. Often Satan's best course against Christians is not to assault their faith directly, trying to get them to reject God out of hand, but rather to snag them with "little sins." After a time, "little sins" can become so commonplace that the child of God is wrapped up in them without realizing them--a desperate situation. And when the person realizes these sins, repents of them, and asks God's forgiveness, all too often he or she falls back into the same sins, again and again.
Jesus meant what He said when He told the apostles, "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."(Matthew 26:41) We dare not ignore our weaknesses, or the activity of our adversary. Jesus said we need to "watch" for temptation, not wait until it is upon us. Ephesians 5:15 warns us as well, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise." I cannot help thinking here of my little cat. Every day before going outside, she pauses a moment in the doorway to sniff the wind and look around carefully. She instinctively keeps a sharp lookout when she is outdoors, practicing Proverbs 22:3, "The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it." We should have the same attitude toward temptation, and "flee these things!"(1 Timothy 6:11) Prayer is a guard against it, and Jesus taught us to pray for help in avoiding the encounter with temptation in the first place.(Matthew 6:13)
But even if we deny Satan the favor of running headlong into it, temptation will still find us. Try as we might, we will face these trials. Yet though temptations may be strong, we are well equipped to resist them if we will just use what God has given us. Paul assures us that, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."(1 Corinthians 10:13) We are also told by James, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."(James 4:7-8)
How do we find that "way of escape?" James also tells us, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God."(James 1:5) How do we "draw near to God," causing Satan to flee? Where better to start, than in prayer? And here is where Kidder's advice in this stanza is so pertinent. Even under the strongest duress of temptation, if we will just turn to God in prayer, the Holy Spirit is there at our side assisting us: "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."(Romans 8:26) Jude reassures us of this help as well: "But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."(Jude 20-21) When we are worn down by temptation, prayer will help to build us up again--not by our own power, but by the power of Him who promises to help our prayers.
In this war over our souls, there are two things that will never agree: "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."(Galatians 5:17) Which of the two will we allow to have the upper hand? Paul's answer is, "walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."(Galatians 5:16) Satan will do his best to distract us by the flesh. But through prayer, we have access to the very presence of God, by the intercession of the Son, with the aid of the Spirit. We can win the battle of temptation, if we will use the power available to us in prayer.
Stanza 3:
When your heart was filled with anger,
Did you think to pray?
Did you plead for grace, my brother,
That you might forgive another
Who had crossed your way?
(Refrain)
Here is another application of prayer, which we would do well to heed! Personally, I don't have the kind of anger problem that causes me to lash out at people; I have the kind that can eat at me inside, day after day, if I let it run unchecked. So, if there is one verse of Scripture I have inscribed on my heart in the last few years, it is this: "The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."(James 1:20) That anger may be intense; it may even be justified; but does it produce the righteousness that God expects? Does it make me more into the Christian that God would have me be? Even common sense tells us that anger is counterproductive. The Proverbs speak of this frequently:
But anger is worse than a waste of time and energy. In Ephesians 4:26-27 we are warned, "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." Anger unsettles the mind and leaves us unguarded against temptations. It can cause us to consider words and actions--even if they are never carried out--that are beneath a child of God. King David (who no doubt had plenty of experience dealing with anger) said, "Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil."(Psalm 37:8) Instead, David counsels, "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him."(Psalm 37:7) In Psalm 4:4 he famously said, "Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent." Mrs. Kidder's lyrics give the same advice--turn it over to God. A grudge usually does as much (often more) harm to the person who holds it as to the person against whom it is held. Christians cannot affor to indulge anger; we are called to deal with it in a much different way.
Jesus set a high bar when He said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment."(Matthew 5:22) In the same vein He said, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."(Matthew 6:14-15) On another occasion He told the disciples the extent of this forgiveness: "Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."(Luke 17:3-4)
Can I really forgive someone that many times in one day? The question comes back to me, hauntingly, "Have I not asked God's forgiveness that many times in one day?" And if I balk at forgiving someone who has hurt me deeply, who may even yet be unrepentant, how can I face the Man on the cross who said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do?"(Luke 23:34) When we pray, we bring ourselves in tune with the example of Jesus: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."(Eph 4:32)
Stanza 4:
When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was bowed in sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow
At the gates of day?
(Refrain)
"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray."(James 5:13) Simple advice, but not always followed. Though people are more likely to pray when they are in trouble than when they are not, their attitude is often summed up in the expression, "All we can do now is pray." To many people, prayer is something you do after you have exhausted all other options. In contrast to this, consider the example of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings, chapter 19. Jerusalem was threatened by the Assyrians, who had rolled over enemy after enemy in their latest series of military campaigns. The Assyrian representatives brought an ultimatum demanding the surrender of Jerusalem. But Hezekiah did not immediately assemble his generals, or send orders for reinforcements, or draft a reply to the Assyrians. We read instead that, "Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD."(2 Kings 19:14)
For Hezekiah, prayer was his first resort, not his last. He was humble enough to realize that he could not handle the crisis on his own strength or wisdom. In contrast, his contemporary Isaiah prophesied of a later time when the kings of Judah would not follow this example: "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!"(Isaiah 31:1) Like his ancestor Solomon (in the better days of his youth), Hezekiah's action said, "Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of Yours, which is so great?"(2 Chronicles 1:10) If only more of those in positions of authority in our world would follow his example!
The "sore trials" that have us awake until "the gates of day" sometimes come in the form of a sudden, shocking crisis such as Hezekiah faced; but just as often, they are lengthy periods of waiting, and of bearing up under physical and emotional pain. In these more personal struggles we can look to the example of David in the Psalms; pick nearly any Psalm in the first half of the book, where his work is concentrated. In between the jubilant Psalms of celebration and faith we hear David crying out in pain and frustration, sometimes even asking God if He actually wants David to be destroyed. There are times when David's words are startling--and I wonder if it is just that reason they are included in Scripture. The Psalms teach us that there are times when even a "man after God's own heart" is nearly ready to give up, and expresses frustration or even anger toward God's will. But an important thing to observe here, too, is that David was praying. No matter how angry or confused he was, he was talking to his Lord. Here again, "the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."(Romans 8:26) And as David prayed, things got better. Often a Psalm shows us this process playing out. Consider Psalm 6, in which David says,
About the music:
William Oscar Perkins (1832-1902) was one of eight children, three of whom became well known musicians. His brother Henry Southwick Perkins (1833-1914), a noted conductor, was an early Professor of Music at Iowa State University, and a founder of the Music Teachers' National Association. Their youngest brother, Julius Edson Perkins (1845-1875) was internationally acclaimed as one of most promising operatic basses of his generation, before his untimely demise.(Rust Family, 180ff.) Both William and Henry attended the Boston Music School in the 1850s,(Rust Family, 180) and the brothers joined the Boston Handel & Haydn Society at the same meeting, 29 December 1860.(History, appendix p. 40) William served several terms on the board of directors of that influential institution during the 1860s and 1870s.(History, appendix pp. 17-19)
A search of Worldcat.org reveals about four dozen hymnals edited by William O. Perkins, almost all published in Boston, and primarily by the Oliver Ditson Company. At first William co-edited with his brother Henry S. Perkins, though the two pursued separate projects after Henry relocated to Chicago in 1872.(Rust Family, 181) Though both worked with secular as well as sacred music, William's publishing career was more devoted to church music. Besides "Did you think to pray?," Perkins is remembered for his music to Josephine Pollard's "Beyond the sunset's radiant glow" (PFTL #73) and "Here we are but straying pilgrims" (PFTL #247). His association with Mary Kidder is evidenced by the inclusion of no fewer than 23 of her hymns in his Starry Crown of Sunday School Melodies (New York: William A. Pond & Co., 1869).
Despite all Perkins's editing activity, which must have involved a great deal of composition--he contributed no fewer than 42 musical settings to The Shining River, in which "Did you think to pray?" first appeared--relatively few of his melodies have remained in use. Looking over several of these tunes, it seems fair enough to say that Perkins did not always have at his disposal the melodic gift that he displayed in the striking rhythms and chord outlines of "Here we are but straying pilgrims," or in the sweet simplicity of "Did you think to pray?"
What worked, in the latter case, was a particular melodic shape, presented in the first phrase and referred to again throughout the tune. The opening phrase is a little unexpected, with its flowing, stepwise beginning followed by the distinctive leaps downward and back up at the end of the phrase (on "morn-ing"). Perkins followed this with a shorter, more strident phrase for the titular words, "Did you think to pray?" Then, following the unusual five-line a b c c b rhyme scheme of Kidder's stanzas, he inserted a new melodic phrase in the 3rd line, seeming to grow out of the narrow stepwise motion of the preceding phrase. The return of the opening phrase is thus delayed to the fourth line, rather than the third line of the stanza, where it is repeated note-for-note except for the next-to-last pitch ("lov-ing FA-vor"). With this parallelism established (after the delay created by the 3rd line), Perkins closes with a variation on the second phrase. The musical form is thus: a b x a' b'.
The refrain opens with a soprano-alto duet in 3rds, which becomes just a little too precious as it leads through the "barbershop" diminished 7th chord on the word "rests." (This one chord, along with the tendency of singers to slide up to the high F in the soprano, has soured at least one person I know toward the song as a whole. I respectfully disagree with her opinion.) The second phrase of the refrain--probably quite by accident, but who knows?--is almost a retrograde of the third phrase in the stanza (compare the melodic outlines of "In the name of Christ our Savior" from the first stanza, and "Prayer can change the night to day" from the refrain). The final two phrases of the refrain are the same as the final two phrases of the stanza. The combination of repetition and variation of ideas, as well as the contrasting shapes of the different repeated phrases, give this tune an interest and cohesion that lacks in some of Perkins's lesser work.
References:
Hopkins, Alphonso Alva. Waifs and their Authors. Boston: D. Lothrop, 1879.
http://books.google.com/books?id=V0OV9XmNaM4C
Marriage record for Ellis W. (thus) Kidder and Mary Ann Pepper. " Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910. Familysearch.org
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FH8N-PYX
"James Kidder." Busby, Sherman, Isetts, Lambrecht, Pomeroy Connections. Rootsweb.com.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=lauras_genealogy&id=I61&style=TABLE
1855 Massachusetts State Census. Charlestown, Ward 3, page 5.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11662-44874-3?cc=1459985&wc=10520319
1860 U.S. Census, New York. New York City, District 2, Ward 16, page 127.
http://archive.org/stream/populationschedu807unit#page/n393/mode/1up
"4th New York Infantry." Antietam on the Web. http://antietam.aotw.org/officers.php?unit_id=378
Widow's Certificate File #WC8647. Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Civil War Veterans, ca. 1861 - ca. 1910. National Archives and Records Administration.
Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915. Familysearch.org. https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11773-4328-13?cc=1463156&wc=12502541
Words: Mary A. Kidder, 1875
Music: William O. Perkins, 1875
Born Mary Ann Pepper, Mrs. Mary A. Kidder (1820-1905) grew up in the literary ferment of Boston, and was soon publishing poetry in local magazines.(Hopkins, 123) She married Ellis Usher Kidder in 1844,(Massachusetts Marriages) a printer who probably worked with his older brother Andrew in the music publishing firm Kidder & Wright, active in Boston from about 1837-1860. Mary and Ellis had three children, May (or Mary?) F. (1845), Edward E. (1848), and Walter B. (1853).(1855 Massachusetts State Census, and see family tree of James Kidder) This would seem to have been a happy match, with Mary able to engage in songwriting and other literary pursuits as part of her husband's business. By 1860 the Kidders had moved to New York City, living in the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan.(1860 U.S. Census)
![Victory at last. Words by Mrs. M. A. Kidder, music by Wm. B. Bradbury [song sheet]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vaU6LP8M9j0bQiuUCGExqwThw4upKCAFheSSa5H_f9MtjnyqAiMfWW8Mp9ixlWB2aqnElvEH5xob8irPoGhIM8ouJjOisyAfFj9Y29yniGH3ZGZEQoPeTSW2OJoSpe7AmJwun7aXfPqg=s0-d) |
| From Performing Arts Encyclopedia, Library of Congress (view larger image) |
Mary Kidder had three children still at home, and the poetry that had been her recreational creative outlet became the family's bread and butter.(Hopkins, 124-125) Worldcat Identities has established a works list showing her publications of patriotic and temperance songs, in addition to sacred works. It was her song "Victory at last" (music by William Bradbury) that was sung at the formal raising of the Stars and Stripes over Fort Sumter at the end of the war. Later on she was poetry editor for the New York Ledger literary monthly.(Sanjek, 209)
But tragedy struck this family again and again; in the same year the war ended, Kidder's 12-year-old son Walter drowned while visiting Massachusetts.(Massachusetts Deaths, volume 184, page 146) Her daughter May died in 1883 at the age of 38.(New York Herald) She was left with her older son Edward Kidder, who became a notable playwright, and seems to have formed an attachment to her daughter-in-law Augusta Kidder. An article in the New York Evening World (April 23, 1890) shows that both were involved in the Sorosis Club, New York City's first professional organization for women, and were present together at the very first meeting of the Federation of Women's Clubs, a major force in the push for women's suffrage.
At her death in 1905, however, Mary Kidder was best remembered for her hymns.(New York Tribune, 26 November 1905, page 7) Fanny Crosby, writing the following year, remembered their association together writing lyrics for William F. Bradbury:
Miss Josephine Pollard and Mrs Kidder also wrote many hymns for Mr. Bradbury, and his successors, the Biglow and Main Company; and the three of us worked together so well that they were in the habit of calling us 'the trio.'"(Crosby, 136)Hymnary.org lists 181 texts by Kidder, and the frequency of their appearances in hymnals shows a steep climb in the second half of the 1860s, the years immediately following her husband's death. A significant number of her texts were set to music by prominent gospel musicians such as William Bradbury and William Doane. Mrs. Kidder's hymn most frequently appearing in the Hymnary.org database is "Lord, I care not for riches" (PFTL #418), followed by "Did you think to pray?," the children's song "Open the door for the children," and "We shall sleep, but not forever." Other songs by Kidder that have maintained currency among the Churches of Christ in the U.S. are "Fear not, little flock" (PFTL #149) and "The Christian's welcome home" (PFTL #626). "Did you think to pray?" first appeared in The Shining River: A Collection of New Music for Sunday Schools (Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1875).
Stanza 1:
Ere you left your room this morning,
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ our Savior,
Did you sue for loving favor,
As a shield today?
The text follows a very simple pattern: it suggests a situation in the daily life of a Christian, then asks the question that occurs in the second line of each stanza: "Did you think to pray?" In the first place, she counsels, we should engage in prayer every morning as the day begins. In Mark 1:35 we read of Jesus that, "Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed." In this as in all other things He set us our best example. We sometimes find ourselves too "busy" to pray, but who could have been more busy than Jesus in those three rushed years of ministry? On some occasions Jesus was too busy to even take time to eat!(Mark 3:20, 6:31) But I seriously doubt that He neglected prayer. On the night before He called the apostles, He even spent the entire night in prayer.(Luke 6:12) If Jesus himself needed daily prayer, how much more do we?
Mrs. Kidder notes in particular our need to seek God's favor "as a shield today." Jeremiah told us that "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning."(Lamentations 3:22-23) That "loving favor" is present every morning when we awaken, and is ready to meet whatever challenges the day may bring. I remember having a field trip to the fire station when I was in grade school, and being mightily impressed with all the firefighters' equipment. They explained how they carefully checked over their gear, every day, so they could be sure it was ready when they were called into action. People in that line of work would never think of answering a call to a fire without suiting up in their protective clothing, and they would be certain it was in good order well before it was needed!
In the same way, we need to take up the shield of prayer every day, and the sooner the better. The mind itself is a battlefield, and the sooner we take the offensive, the more likely we are to have the momentum of battle in our favor for the day. At the end of the great passage on the "Christian armor," Paul tells us that the first duty of the armed Christian soldier is, "praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance."(Ephesians 6:18) Colossians 4:2 echoes the thought: "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." There is no better way to start the day, than by presenting ourselves for duty in the Lord's service.
Refrain:
O how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day;
So when life seems dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray.
The apostle Paul provides a great example of how to "pray through" our troubles. After his life-changing encounter with Christ, during those days of blindness in Damascus, the preacher Ananias found him praying.(Acts 9:11) It is worth noting here, of course, that prayer alone could not save him from his sins; he was still told by Ananias, "Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name."(Acts 22:16) But Paul's instinct, in his distress over discovering his great error, was to turn to God. In the jail at Philippi, their fates unknown, Paul and Silas were "praying and singing hymns to God."(Acts 16:25) And in a storm on the Mediterranean Sea, on the verge of shipwreck, Paul and his companions "prayed for day to come."(Acts 27:29) On each of these occasions, prayer was a help and comfort to Paul; and it is noteworthy as well that in each case these times of prayer in the dark were preludes to amazing works of God. Paul's whole life was evidence of the truth he spoke to the Philippian Christians:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:6-7)Stanza 2:
When you met with great temptation,
Did you think to pray?
By His dying love and merit,
Did you claim the Holy Spirit
As your guide and stay?
(Refrain)
The hymnist turns next to another great application of prayer--as a guard against temptation. Often Satan's best course against Christians is not to assault their faith directly, trying to get them to reject God out of hand, but rather to snag them with "little sins." After a time, "little sins" can become so commonplace that the child of God is wrapped up in them without realizing them--a desperate situation. And when the person realizes these sins, repents of them, and asks God's forgiveness, all too often he or she falls back into the same sins, again and again.
Jesus meant what He said when He told the apostles, "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."(Matthew 26:41) We dare not ignore our weaknesses, or the activity of our adversary. Jesus said we need to "watch" for temptation, not wait until it is upon us. Ephesians 5:15 warns us as well, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise." I cannot help thinking here of my little cat. Every day before going outside, she pauses a moment in the doorway to sniff the wind and look around carefully. She instinctively keeps a sharp lookout when she is outdoors, practicing Proverbs 22:3, "The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it." We should have the same attitude toward temptation, and "flee these things!"(1 Timothy 6:11) Prayer is a guard against it, and Jesus taught us to pray for help in avoiding the encounter with temptation in the first place.(Matthew 6:13)
But even if we deny Satan the favor of running headlong into it, temptation will still find us. Try as we might, we will face these trials. Yet though temptations may be strong, we are well equipped to resist them if we will just use what God has given us. Paul assures us that, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."(1 Corinthians 10:13) We are also told by James, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."(James 4:7-8)
How do we find that "way of escape?" James also tells us, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God."(James 1:5) How do we "draw near to God," causing Satan to flee? Where better to start, than in prayer? And here is where Kidder's advice in this stanza is so pertinent. Even under the strongest duress of temptation, if we will just turn to God in prayer, the Holy Spirit is there at our side assisting us: "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."(Romans 8:26) Jude reassures us of this help as well: "But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."(Jude 20-21) When we are worn down by temptation, prayer will help to build us up again--not by our own power, but by the power of Him who promises to help our prayers.
In this war over our souls, there are two things that will never agree: "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."(Galatians 5:17) Which of the two will we allow to have the upper hand? Paul's answer is, "walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."(Galatians 5:16) Satan will do his best to distract us by the flesh. But through prayer, we have access to the very presence of God, by the intercession of the Son, with the aid of the Spirit. We can win the battle of temptation, if we will use the power available to us in prayer.
Stanza 3:
When your heart was filled with anger,
Did you think to pray?
Did you plead for grace, my brother,
That you might forgive another
Who had crossed your way?
(Refrain)
Here is another application of prayer, which we would do well to heed! Personally, I don't have the kind of anger problem that causes me to lash out at people; I have the kind that can eat at me inside, day after day, if I let it run unchecked. So, if there is one verse of Scripture I have inscribed on my heart in the last few years, it is this: "The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."(James 1:20) That anger may be intense; it may even be justified; but does it produce the righteousness that God expects? Does it make me more into the Christian that God would have me be? Even common sense tells us that anger is counterproductive. The Proverbs speak of this frequently:
Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.(14:29)
A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.(15:18)
Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.(16:32)
Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.(19:11)Ecclesiastes 7:9 also states this in uncompromising clarity: "Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools."
But anger is worse than a waste of time and energy. In Ephesians 4:26-27 we are warned, "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." Anger unsettles the mind and leaves us unguarded against temptations. It can cause us to consider words and actions--even if they are never carried out--that are beneath a child of God. King David (who no doubt had plenty of experience dealing with anger) said, "Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil."(Psalm 37:8) Instead, David counsels, "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him."(Psalm 37:7) In Psalm 4:4 he famously said, "Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent." Mrs. Kidder's lyrics give the same advice--turn it over to God. A grudge usually does as much (often more) harm to the person who holds it as to the person against whom it is held. Christians cannot affor to indulge anger; we are called to deal with it in a much different way.
Jesus set a high bar when He said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment."(Matthew 5:22) In the same vein He said, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."(Matthew 6:14-15) On another occasion He told the disciples the extent of this forgiveness: "Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."(Luke 17:3-4)
Can I really forgive someone that many times in one day? The question comes back to me, hauntingly, "Have I not asked God's forgiveness that many times in one day?" And if I balk at forgiving someone who has hurt me deeply, who may even yet be unrepentant, how can I face the Man on the cross who said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do?"(Luke 23:34) When we pray, we bring ourselves in tune with the example of Jesus: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."(Eph 4:32)
Stanza 4:
When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was bowed in sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow
At the gates of day?
(Refrain)
"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray."(James 5:13) Simple advice, but not always followed. Though people are more likely to pray when they are in trouble than when they are not, their attitude is often summed up in the expression, "All we can do now is pray." To many people, prayer is something you do after you have exhausted all other options. In contrast to this, consider the example of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings, chapter 19. Jerusalem was threatened by the Assyrians, who had rolled over enemy after enemy in their latest series of military campaigns. The Assyrian representatives brought an ultimatum demanding the surrender of Jerusalem. But Hezekiah did not immediately assemble his generals, or send orders for reinforcements, or draft a reply to the Assyrians. We read instead that, "Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD."(2 Kings 19:14)
For Hezekiah, prayer was his first resort, not his last. He was humble enough to realize that he could not handle the crisis on his own strength or wisdom. In contrast, his contemporary Isaiah prophesied of a later time when the kings of Judah would not follow this example: "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!"(Isaiah 31:1) Like his ancestor Solomon (in the better days of his youth), Hezekiah's action said, "Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of Yours, which is so great?"(2 Chronicles 1:10) If only more of those in positions of authority in our world would follow his example!
The "sore trials" that have us awake until "the gates of day" sometimes come in the form of a sudden, shocking crisis such as Hezekiah faced; but just as often, they are lengthy periods of waiting, and of bearing up under physical and emotional pain. In these more personal struggles we can look to the example of David in the Psalms; pick nearly any Psalm in the first half of the book, where his work is concentrated. In between the jubilant Psalms of celebration and faith we hear David crying out in pain and frustration, sometimes even asking God if He actually wants David to be destroyed. There are times when David's words are startling--and I wonder if it is just that reason they are included in Scripture. The Psalms teach us that there are times when even a "man after God's own heart" is nearly ready to give up, and expresses frustration or even anger toward God's will. But an important thing to observe here, too, is that David was praying. No matter how angry or confused he was, he was talking to his Lord. Here again, "the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."(Romans 8:26) And as David prayed, things got better. Often a Psalm shows us this process playing out. Consider Psalm 6, in which David says,
Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;David is at his wit's end, and does not understand why God has not delivered him. He even goes so far as to say, "For in death there is no remembrance of You; in Sheol who will give You praise?"(Psalm 6:5) But by the close of the Psalm he has prayed through his grief and anger, and found faith again:
Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD--how long?
(Psalm 6:2-3)
Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
For the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
The LORD has heard my plea;
The LORD accepts my prayer.
(Psalm 6:8-9)
Though God has given us other means of regaining spiritual strength--study of His word, the fellowship of other Christians--there is a help found through prayer that is different from any other. Do we take advantage of it as we should? The next-to-last line of Mrs. Kidder's stanza references the "balm of Gilead" quote from Jeremiah 8:22, "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?" Though is not certain today what the "balm of Gilead" was, it was certainly known in Jeremiah's time for its healing properties.(Musselman) The prophet is asking metaphorically, "When you know the solution to your problem, why do you not make use of it?" Prayer is certainly like a "balm of Gilead," a restorative and healing power, and one that is easily at hand, but must be used to have its effect.
William Oscar Perkins (1832-1902) was one of eight children, three of whom became well known musicians. His brother Henry Southwick Perkins (1833-1914), a noted conductor, was an early Professor of Music at Iowa State University, and a founder of the Music Teachers' National Association. Their youngest brother, Julius Edson Perkins (1845-1875) was internationally acclaimed as one of most promising operatic basses of his generation, before his untimely demise.(Rust Family, 180ff.) Both William and Henry attended the Boston Music School in the 1850s,(Rust Family, 180) and the brothers joined the Boston Handel & Haydn Society at the same meeting, 29 December 1860.(History, appendix p. 40) William served several terms on the board of directors of that influential institution during the 1860s and 1870s.(History, appendix pp. 17-19)
A search of Worldcat.org reveals about four dozen hymnals edited by William O. Perkins, almost all published in Boston, and primarily by the Oliver Ditson Company. At first William co-edited with his brother Henry S. Perkins, though the two pursued separate projects after Henry relocated to Chicago in 1872.(Rust Family, 181) Though both worked with secular as well as sacred music, William's publishing career was more devoted to church music. Besides "Did you think to pray?," Perkins is remembered for his music to Josephine Pollard's "Beyond the sunset's radiant glow" (PFTL #73) and "Here we are but straying pilgrims" (PFTL #247). His association with Mary Kidder is evidenced by the inclusion of no fewer than 23 of her hymns in his Starry Crown of Sunday School Melodies (New York: William A. Pond & Co., 1869).
Despite all Perkins's editing activity, which must have involved a great deal of composition--he contributed no fewer than 42 musical settings to The Shining River, in which "Did you think to pray?" first appeared--relatively few of his melodies have remained in use. Looking over several of these tunes, it seems fair enough to say that Perkins did not always have at his disposal the melodic gift that he displayed in the striking rhythms and chord outlines of "Here we are but straying pilgrims," or in the sweet simplicity of "Did you think to pray?"
What worked, in the latter case, was a particular melodic shape, presented in the first phrase and referred to again throughout the tune. The opening phrase is a little unexpected, with its flowing, stepwise beginning followed by the distinctive leaps downward and back up at the end of the phrase (on "morn-ing"). Perkins followed this with a shorter, more strident phrase for the titular words, "Did you think to pray?" Then, following the unusual five-line a b c c b rhyme scheme of Kidder's stanzas, he inserted a new melodic phrase in the 3rd line, seeming to grow out of the narrow stepwise motion of the preceding phrase. The return of the opening phrase is thus delayed to the fourth line, rather than the third line of the stanza, where it is repeated note-for-note except for the next-to-last pitch ("lov-ing FA-vor"). With this parallelism established (after the delay created by the 3rd line), Perkins closes with a variation on the second phrase. The musical form is thus: a b x a' b'.
The refrain opens with a soprano-alto duet in 3rds, which becomes just a little too precious as it leads through the "barbershop" diminished 7th chord on the word "rests." (This one chord, along with the tendency of singers to slide up to the high F in the soprano, has soured at least one person I know toward the song as a whole. I respectfully disagree with her opinion.) The second phrase of the refrain--probably quite by accident, but who knows?--is almost a retrograde of the third phrase in the stanza (compare the melodic outlines of "In the name of Christ our Savior" from the first stanza, and "Prayer can change the night to day" from the refrain). The final two phrases of the refrain are the same as the final two phrases of the stanza. The combination of repetition and variation of ideas, as well as the contrasting shapes of the different repeated phrases, give this tune an interest and cohesion that lacks in some of Perkins's lesser work.
References:
Hopkins, Alphonso Alva. Waifs and their Authors. Boston: D. Lothrop, 1879.
http://books.google.com/books?id=V0OV9XmNaM4C
Marriage record for Ellis W. (thus) Kidder and Mary Ann Pepper. " Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910. Familysearch.org
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FH8N-PYX
"James Kidder." Busby, Sherman, Isetts, Lambrecht, Pomeroy Connections. Rootsweb.com.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=lauras_genealogy&id=I61&style=TABLE
1855 Massachusetts State Census. Charlestown, Ward 3, page 5.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11662-44874-3?cc=1459985&wc=10520319
1860 U.S. Census, New York. New York City, District 2, Ward 16, page 127.
http://archive.org/stream/populationschedu807unit#page/n393/mode/1up
"4th New York Infantry." Antietam on the Web. http://antietam.aotw.org/officers.php?unit_id=378
Widow's Certificate File #WC8647. Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Civil War Veterans, ca. 1861 - ca. 1910. National Archives and Records Administration.
Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915. Familysearch.org. https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11773-4328-13?cc=1463156&wc=12502541
Sanjek, Elizabeth. American Popular Music and its Business: The First Four Hundred Years. Volume II: From 1790 to 1909. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
May F. Kidder death notice. New York Herald, 12 April 1883, page 8.
http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2014/New%20York%20NY%20Herald/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201883/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201883%20a%20-%200911.pdf
"Club women in council." Evening World (New York, New York), April 23, 1890, extra edition, page 2.
Mary A. Kidder obituary. New York Tribune, 26 November 1905, page 7.
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1905-11-26/ed-1/seq-7/
Musselman, Lytton John. "Cistus." Plants of the Bible. Old Dominion
http://ww2.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/bible/cistus.php
Rust, Albert D. Record of the Rust Family. Waco, Texas: Albert D. Rust, 1891.
History of the Handel and Haydn Society. Volume I. Boston: Alfred Mudge, 1883-1893. http://books.google.com/books?id=-MMwAQAAMAAJ
May F. Kidder death notice. New York Herald, 12 April 1883, page 8.
http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2014/New%20York%20NY%20Herald/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201883/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201883%20a%20-%200911.pdf
"Club women in council." Evening World (New York, New York), April 23, 1890, extra edition, page 2.
Mary A. Kidder obituary. New York Tribune, 26 November 1905, page 7.
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1905-11-26/ed-1/seq-7/
Crosby, Fanny. Memories of Eighty Years. Boston: James H. Earle, 1906.
http://books.google.com/books?id=MpoYAAAAYAAJMusselman, Lytton John. "Cistus." Plants of the Bible. Old Dominion
http://ww2.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/bible/cistus.php
Rust, Albert D. Record of the Rust Family. Waco, Texas: Albert D. Rust, 1891.
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ReplyDeleteThank you for this beautiful post!
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