Let the Lower Lights Be Burning

Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.

Chorus
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling sea-man you may rescue, you may save.

Dark the night of sin has settled, loud the angry billows roar;
Eager eyes are watching, longing, for the lights, along the shore.

Trim your feeble lamp, my brother, some poor sailor tempest tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor, in the darkness may be lost.

BIBLE REFERENCE:

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalms 119:105

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. Colossians 1:12-13

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
John 3:20-21

Philip Paul Bliss - Lyrics and Composer
1838-1876

Born: July 9, 1838, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

Died: December 29, 1876, Ashtabula, Ohio.

Burial: Bliss and his wife died in a tragic train wreck caused by a bridge collapse. He survived the initial impact, but went back into the flames in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue his wife.
The remains retrieved from the Ashtabula disaster were placed in a common grave marked by a cenotaph in the Ashtabula Cemetery. A cenotaph in memory of the Blisses was also erected in the cemetery at Rome, Pennsylvania, July 17, 1877.

HYMN HISTORY:

Philip P. Bliss, a leading, gospel song writer of the 19th century, often received the inspiration for a hymn, while listening to a message during a church service. Once an idea struck his alert mind, he worked rapidly usually completing both the text and the music in one sitting.

One day, while traveling with Dwight L. Moody as the musician for an evangelistic campaign, Bliss was impressed by an illustration used by Mr. Moody for a message. Moody often told this moving story of a violent storm on Lake Erie:

On a dark, stormy evening, when the waves rolled like mountains and not a star was to be seen, a boat, rocking and plunging, neared the Cleveland harbor.

“Are you sure this is Cleveland?” asked the Captain, seeing only light from the lighthouse.
“Quite sure,” replied the pilot.
“Where are the lower lights?”
“Gone out, sir!”
“Can you make the harbor?”
“We must, or perish, sir.”

With a strong hand a brave heart, the old pilot turned the wheel, But alas, in the darkness he missed the channel, and, with a crash upon the rock, the boat was slivered and many a life lost in a watery grave.

“Brethren,” concluded Mr. Moody, “the Master will take care of the great lighthouse. Let us keep the lower lights burning.”

“Let the Lower Lights Be Burning” first appeared in Bliss’ earliest songbook, The Charm, in 1871, and later in the well-known collection, Gospel Hymns, published by Sankey and Bliss in that same year.

Philip P. Bliss was born in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, on July 9, 1838. His youthful days were spent on a farm or in a lumber camp, where he experienced severe poverty. At an early age, young Bliss displayed unusual talent and interest in sacred music. Although he never received a formal training in music, his self-study made him a knowledgeable and proficient musician, At the age of twenty-five, Bliss sent a letter and a copy of his first music manuscript to Dr. George Root, wondering if he could sell his song to the Root and Cady Music Company, a leading music publishing house, in exchange for a flute. Root recognized the talent of this young man and immediately encouraged him with a new flute.

The next year, Bliss moved with his family from Pennsylvania to Chicago and became actively involved with the Root and Cady Company, as their representative in conducting music conventions and training institutes throughout the Midwest. During this time, Bliss’ abilities as a gospel singer, song leader, and writer became increasingly recognized.

Bliss first met Dwight L. Moody in Chicago, during the summer of 1869, and soon began singing, frequently, in Moody’s evangelistic meetings. The effectiveness of Bliss’ singing in these services intensified Moody’s conviction of the importance of music in an evangelistic ministry. Although Moody himself was not a singer, he has left the following account regarding his attitude about music:

I feel sure that he great majority of people do like singing. It helps to build up an audience–even if you preach a dry sermon. If you have singing that reaches the heart, it will fill the church every time. There is more said in the Bible about praise than prayer, and music and song have not only accompanied all scriptural revivals, but are essential in deepening spiritual life. Singing does at least as much as preaching to impress the Word of God upon people’s minds. Ever since God first called me, the importance of praise expressed in song has grown upon me.

Philip Bliss continued to be a prolific composer of gospel hymns, until the time of the tragic train accident causing his untimely death, at the age of thirty-eight. Bliss and his wife died in a tragic train wreck caused by a bridge collapse. He survived the initial impact, but went back into the flames in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue his wife.

“We ought so to live Christ as to compel others to think about Christ.” - Unknown

“Salvation may come quickly, but we cannot remain quite about it.” - Unknown

“I do not ask for mighty words to leave the crowd impressed,
But grant my life may ring so true my neighbor shall be blessed,
I do not ask for influence to swat the multitude;
Give me a ‘word in season’ for the soul in solitude.

“I do not ask to win the great–God grant they may be saved!
Give me the broken sinner, Lord, by Satan long-enslaved.
Though words of wisdom and of power rise easily to some
Give me a simple message Lord, that bids the sinner come.” - Unknown

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

God has called us to light bearers in this dark and evil world in which we live. If we are serving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we can not hide our testimony any more than a city on top of a hill can be hid. Light is used to illuminate darkness and when we enter a room at night we turn on the light, we even purchase safety lights to light our yards. As we go about our daily lives we are constantly entering into different areas of spiritual darkness. We are commanded to shine forth the light that is within us to bring spiritual light and to illuminate every corner of darkness. One reason why so-called Christians are not being a light to the world can be found in the following Scripture.

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! Matthew 6:22-23

Anyone can say they know Christ as Savior, but does Jesus Christ know you. We need to examine ourselves daily to see if we are abiding in Christ. We cannot trust the fact that we were born into a Christian family, or that we were Baptized as an infant, or that we prayed a prayer but never truly repented of our sins. We must diligently seek him and shine forth the light that is within us.

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 2 Corinthians 13:5

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6

A Hymn and its History is a ministry that depends solely upon the Lord for his guidance.
Please help us to continue to touch lives and bring blessings to many others
24 hours a day all over the world. If you have been blessed by
this Ministry please give a donation as the Lord lays it upon
your heart, and share in the Blessings. By investing
in the lives of others you will reap benefits that
will last for all eternity.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________