As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love (John 15:9 KJV).
When I was growing up, I often heard the phrase ‘simple is best’ more times than I can count. It is still true today. Why create a masterpiece only to hide the truth amid clutter?
The classic hymn “Jesus Loves Me” is one of those songs with simple words and simple notes revealing profound truth to the reader, singer, and musician. Discovering how this treasure came to be was a thrilling journey.
I first read about the Warners in Robert J. Morgan’s Then Sings My Soul Book 3. If you haven’t read his books. Go purchase them. They will feed your heart, soul, and mind. I use them for devotions, private worship, and references. The background stories have lifted my flagging spirit many times.
Let’s get started.
Author
Henry Warner was a New York lawyer. He purchased land on the east side of the Hudson River called Constitution Island. He and his brother planned to build a resort hotel. When Henry lost his money in a financial disaster, he moved his family there instead. When he couldn’t pay his bills, the sheriff confiscated most of their personal belongings. His wife and several children passed, leaving two teenage daughters. His sister became a surrogate mom for Susan and Anna.
The girls spent their time learning as much as they could about nature, life, and the Bible. Both became prolific writers. Susan’s first book, The Wide, Wide World, was published by George Putnam and sold in bookstores. Anna’s first book, Dollars and Cents, was published under a pseudonym. Later they coauthored a Victorian Christian romance novel published in 1860. Anna wrote the first verse of Jesus Loves Me for a scene in that book. People loved it. When William B. Bradbury read the novel, he created a tune and added a chorus. The song became what we sing today.
That should inspire all writers!
Anyway, back to the story. Their ancestors fought in the American Revolution alongside George Washington. Susan and Anna taught Bible classes to West Point cadets. Both women were buried at West Point.
There is so much more about these ladies. I would love to see a historical novel based on their lives!
Song
Jesus Loves me! this I know, For the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong, They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves me! He who died Heaven’s gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in.
Jesus loves me! He will stay Close beside me all the way; Thou has bled and died for me, I will henceforth live for Thee.
Anna B. Warner | William B. Bradbury | Public Domain | 1859
Note
My hymnals listed different verses. I included the ones that were in more than one book.
I hope you enjoyed finding out more about this beloved hymn. Do you still sing this song? Share in the comments.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11 KJV).
Hoarding Boards
In April, I decided it was time to create something beautiful from the aftermath of 2024. My plan was to clean up the remaining trees and limbs, repair the minor damage, and bring life to this sleepy farm.
I began preparing for our “new life” by cleaning and organizing the barn. Hubby suggested we start by throwing away my stack of 1 x 4 x 10 pressure-treated boards. Of course, Hubby knew that was an easy no. LOL.
Why do I hoard that stack of boards? Because we purchased them over twenty-five years ago when you could buy straight wood that lasted more than a year without warping or rotting. And because those same boards were the foundation of my first porch on this farm.
Years later, my son and I redesigned the front porch and used the old boards as the decking for our back porch. (I walk on it every day.) I have used the extra boards for several projects. One example is covering a pergola. My current DIY is using them to build a fence around our raised beds. 😊
In contrast, we have rebuilt the steps on our carport three times in thirteen years due to rotting and twisting wood. Get rid of my boards? Hardly!
Nothing beats a solid foundation!
Slippery Slopes and Shifting Sands
As a babe in Christ, I devoured Christian books and music. The biblical truths contained in the words changed my life. Sadly, I’ve watched Christian leaders walk away from the foundational truth they once shared, leaving people reeling and questioning what went wrong.
It would have been easy to let their decisions affect my walk with Christ. But God’s love held me and directed my steps. I kept what I knew to be true in their earlier books and songs and walked away from the rest.
My purpose for this post is not to spread gossip but to remind us that compromise is a slippery slope. It can be so subtle we fail to recognize the shift until it’s too late.
In today’s world, (then and now) we must not trust opinions or emotions to keep us anchored. The truth we hold must be the truth found in Jesus, our solid Rock.
He never fails. Just because leaders fall doesn’t mean our faith has to fail. God is faithful, true, and just. He will always be there for us, guiding and teaching us along the way. Let’s search and memorize Scripture. Then when storms arise, let us lean into the truth found between the pages of His Word.
The Song
Edward Mote knew nothing of Christ until later in life. After he became a Christian, he wrote “The Solid Rock” to encourage Christians to trust in Christ alone for their salvation. He served as a Baptist pastor in Horsham, Sussex.
The Solid Rock
My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the vale.
His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whelming flood; When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found; Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before his throne.
The Solid Rock | Edward Mote | 1834 | Public Domain
Thank You
After months of changes, blessings, and hard work on the farm, it is good to be back. Thank you for reading. As always, I appreciate you. You are a blessing!
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 KJV
If I asked you what you needed today, what would be your answer? For those I see and talk with, their answer is rest for a weary heart and mind. In today’s world, with twenty-four-hour news channels, it is easy to become overwhelmed. But God remains the same no matter our circumstances.
The Author
When researching her name, there’s not much you find about Katharina A. von Schlegel, except she was a German hymn writer who wrote twenty-nine hymns. But those hymns speak volumes about the woman. Her writing suggests she had a personal relationship with the Lord and relied on the Scriptures for comfort. The words imply she may have learned this particular lesson through difficult circumstances.
Be Still, My Soul was written in German and later translated into English by Jane Laurie Borthwick. The hymn is sung to the tune of Finlandia, written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
In his book, Then Sings My Soul, 250 of the World’s Greatest HymnStories, Robert J. Morgan shares the story of Virgil J. Bachman, a soldier in WWII. Bachman states that he and other soldiers sang Be Still, My Soul in a small stucco church in France. The news from the front wasn’t good, and the men were discouraged. The assurance found in the words was desperately needed. He writes the peace he felt when leaving that little church was a gift from the Holy Spirit.
Canva
The Song
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side: Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend Thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake To guide the future as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart, And all is darkened in the veil of tears, Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart, Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears. Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay, From His own fullness, all He takes away.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on When we shall be forever with the Lord, When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored. Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
Public Domain
Today’s Thoughts
There are truths in Katharina A. von Schlegel’s song that will help us through difficult days, just as they did Virgil J. Bachman in war-torn France. Truths such as keeping our hearts and minds on the Lord and not letting anything shake our confidence. The waves and winds know His voice. Faithful is the Lord!
Let those truths settle into your spirit, dear friend.
Interestingly, “be still” is the Hebrew word raphah (Strong’s H7503), which leads us to the Hebrew word rapha (Strong’s H7495).
Raphah: A primitive root; to slacken (in many applications, literally or figuratively): – abate, cease, consume, draw [toward evening], fail, (be) faint, be (wax) feeble, forsake, idle, leave, let alone (go, down), (be) slack, stay, be still, be slothful, (be) weak (-en). See H7495. Strong’s Concordance
Rapha: A primitive root; properly to mend (by stitching), that is, (figuratively) to cure: – cure, (cause to) heal, physician, repair, X thoroughly, make whole. See H7503. Strong’s Concordance
Why is this interesting to this writer? Because Rapha is translated as “heal” in Jeremiah 17:14.
Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Some of us know the healing properties of physical rest. Others, not so much. I can say that because I used to be the nonstop dynamo who thought breaks were for wimps. I avoided resting like the coughing customer over in the next checkout lane. Busyness allowed me to avoid the wounds and mistakes I had buried. But then I learned (and am still learning) that we heal when the body, mind, and spirit rest in God.
Only God can do certain things. In several stories in the Bible, the Lord told the people to be still because there was nothing the people could do. They had to let go and let God, as the saying goes.
Being still is an art. So what does it mean and how do we start?
Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. Psalm 62:1-2
The idea is there is no apprehension because our faith is in God, and we trust Him in all circumstances.
During my study, I came across Got Questions, Your Questions. Biblical Answers. In the article, the writer writes, “Faith is inseparable from trust; it’s the confidence that God can and will do what He says in His Word. Faith includes both intellectual assent to something and trust in it.”
Later, he writes, “Faith without trust is not faith. Belief without reliance is empty.” To demonstrate, he compares faith and trust to a trust fall. A trust fall is when you turn your back to someone you have faith in and fall backward, trusting they will catch you. (You can read the article here.)
After reading that, we must ask ourselves if we trust the Lord to do what He said He would do in His Word. If yes, why are our souls tossed about upon a sea of doubt? If the answer is no, then how can we learn to trust Him?
Trust is a decision, just like love. Trust increases with every trial. Faith multiplies with study and prayer. Perhaps when our souls learn to be still, we will find healing from our worries.
