The hymn is built around the verse: “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day” (II Tim. 1:12), which serves as a refrain. The general structure of the hymn is similar to Farrington’s “I know not how that Bethlehem’s Babe” ([No. 99]).
Daniel W. Whittle was born in Chicopee Falls, Mass. At the age of 15, he went to Chicago to work in a bank, but at the outbreak of the Civil War he became attached to the Illinois Infantry and served for the duration, going with Sherman, as a lieutenant, on his “March to the Sea.” At the close of the war he was promoted to the rank of major. He was the treasurer of a business firm, when, in 1873, he heeded the call of God to enter the evangelistic field where he became associated with D. L. Moody. He was a powerful speaker and lecturer; and frequently, with the assistance of singers like P. P. Bliss, James McGranahan, and George Stebbins, continued evangelistic campaigns begun by Moody, under the latter’s direction. Whittle was a great friend of children and knew how to put evangelical truth in words they understood, supplementing his talks with wall maps, illustrations, and chemical experiments. His daughter, Mary, became the wife of Will L. Moody, son of the evangelist. He was a member of the Congregational Church. His hymns, written after 1877, mostly for McGranahan, reveal true poetic talent, though he made no claim to be a poet. Among his best known hymns are: “I know whom I have believed,” “Dying with Jesus,” “Moment by moment,” “Fierce and wild.” The latter was translated into German by Ernst Gebhardt, translator of “Ich weiss einen Strom.”
MUSIC. The tune is by James W. McGranahan, 1840-1907, who succeeded the lamented P. P. Bliss as song leader in the evangelistic campaigns conducted by Major Whittle. Between 1881 and 1885, Whittle and McGranahan made two successful tours of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the chief cities of America. McGranahan, born at Adamsville, Pa., received only an elementary-school education. His native musical talent and some assistance from men like Bassini, Webb, Root, and Zerrahn enabled him to make rapid progress in music; and he soon taught music classes of his own. He was gifted with a beautiful tenor voice and an impressive personality to add to his power as a song leader.
451. O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found
Anonymous
The authorship of this hymn remains unknown. That “gospel songs” are often appreciated by highly educated and cultured people is illustrated by the fact that this hymn was a favorite of Professor Henry Drummond, who used it frequently at meetings for university students in Edinburgh, 1885-89.
Music. NONE BUT CHRIST was composed for this hymn and published in McGranahan’s Sacred Songs and Solos, 1883.
For comments on James McGranahan see [Hymn 450].
452. Low in the grave He lay
Robert Lowry, 1826-99