16 August Edition
History of the Hymn
“ HOLD TO GODS UNCHANGING HAND ” Jennie Wilson
“ Every good gift … cometh down from the Father … with whom there is no variableness , neither shadow of turning ” ( Jas . 1:17 )
INTRO .: A song which emphasizes the fact that there is no variableness with the God who lives in heaven is “ Hold to God ’ s Unchanging Hand ” (# 463 in Hymns for Worship Revised , # 346 in Sacred Selections for the Church ). The text was written by Mary Jane ( Jennie ) Bain Wilson , who was born on a farm at Cleveland , IN , near South Whitley , on November 13 , 1856 ( some sources say 1857 ), to Robert and Mary Frances Russell Wilson . Her father died in her infancy . When she was about four years old , an attack of spinal trouble resulted in her being rendered an invalid , confined to a wheel-chair and bed . Not being able to attend school , she studied at home , read much , and received some musical instruction . A natural love for music and poetry early in life led her to verse writing . Her earliest poems appeared in a local paper Her first hymn was entitled “ All the Way ,” and , not knowing of its publication , she was pleasantly surprised when it was found in new songbooks purchased by a Sunday School in her neighborhood . In 1881 , she was baptized by being carried on a chair into a beautiful , tree shaded stream , and , in her words , “ it gave me much joy to thus confess my dear Savior .”
Later , through the influence of a minister named Jacob D . Coverstone , Miss Wilson sent hymns to a publication in Dayton , OH . These attracted the attention of composers such as William J . Kirkpatrick and Edmund S . Lorenz , by whom she was invited to write hymns to be set to music . A prolific poet , she produced about 2,200 poems and hymn texts in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries . Yet , over the course of her life she never interjected sadness from her condition in her works . One exception is a poem entitled , “ A Memory Picture ,” which refers to scenery near the old home , and alludes to memories of the time when she could walk . Her mother died in 1902 . The mother ’ s grave is marked by a monument bearing the following verse written by the invalid daughter to whom she had given years of devoted care , reading , “ After her long life journey Cometh death ’ s dreamless sleep ; Over her rest may angels Ever a fond watch keep .” Even though wheelchair bound , she enjoyed attending Bible conferences at nearby Winona Lake , IN , and other locations . Sometime in 1904 , which is probably the year that she penned it , Miss Wilson sent “ Hold to God ’ s Unchanging Hand ” to Franklin Lycurgus Eiland ( 1860-1909 ).
Eiland ’ s tune ( Unchanging Hand ) was conceived in 1905 , when he was sitting under a tree in the backyard of the Palo Pinto County , TX , log cabin home of fellow hymn writer James Washington Gaines ( 1881-1937 ). The song first appeared in the 1906 New Hosannas , published by the Quartet Music Company Fort Worth , TX , edited by John E . Thomas . When Eiland died , his gravestone contained the carved figure of a hand that appears to be reaching downward , symbolizing God ’ s unchanging hand . In her later years , Miss Wilson continued to reside on the same farm of her youth with the family of her sister , Mrs . Jonathan ( Eliza Ann ) Ulrey . The words to one of her last hymns , “ I Shall Be at Home with Jesus ” beginning “ Years of time are swiftly passing … Soon I ’ ll be at home with Jesus …,” were written in 1908 at age 51 . Her death occurred September 3 , 1913 , at South Whitley in her 56th year . One source calls her “ a blind poet ,” and another says “ that she was from Georgia ,” but both appear to be incorrect . The song writer Jennie Wilson was an invalid , but there is no evidence of her being blind , and she spent her entire life in Indiana . Another song by her that has appeared in many of our older books is “ There Will Be Light at the River ,” beginning “ After the life-paths we ’ re treading ,” with music by Anthony J . Showalter .
Among hymnbooks published by members of the Lord ’ s church for use in churches of Christ , “ Hold to God ’ s Unchanging Hand ” has appeared in the 1940 / 1944 New Wonderful Songs edited by Thomas S . Cobb ; the 1940 Complete Christian Hymnal edited by Marion Davis ; the 1948 Christian Hymns No . 2 and the 1966 Christian Hymns No . 3 both edited by L . O . Sanderson ; the 1959 Majestic Hymnal No . 2 and the 1978 Hymns of Praise both edited by Reuel Lemmons ; the 1959 Hymns of Praise and Devotion edited by Will W . Slater ; the 1963 Christian Hymnal edited by J . Nelson Slater ; the 1965 Great Christian Hymnal # 2 edited by Tillit S . Teddlie ; the