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God moved in the heart of William
Kirkpatrick to write a hymn to lead the soloist in a great meeting
to Christ. Hear the story of Lord I'm Coming
Home in today's episode of Heritage Hymns. Welcome to the Hair to Tim's
broadcast with our speaker, Daniel Cox. Join us as we travel back
in time to learn of the great songwriters and the stories that
they told us through music. Stay tuned at the end of this
broadcast for more information. But for now, here's Pastor Cox. William J. Kirkpatrick was born
on February 27, 1838 in Duncanon, Pennsylvania. His father, Thomas Kirkpatrick,
was a music teacher, and young William was never very far behind
in his love for the sacred sound. At an early age, William learned
to play upon the fife, the flute, the violin, and later upon the
cello. William studied vocal music under
Professor Bishop, a foremost talent in the classical oratorios
and ballads. Kirkpatrick later went on to
serve as a member of the Handel and Haydn Sacred Music Societies,
where he heard the greatest singers of the day and became familiar
with the principal choral works of the great composers. Still
yet, his eyes were not upon the glitz and glamour of the classical
stage, but rather in the inconspicuous choir lofts and musical schools
of America's churches. To his credit is the writing
of music for the classic hymns such as Tis So Sweet to Trust
in Jesus, Blessed Be the Name, The Comforter is Come, Stepping
in the Light, Singing I Go, Meet Me There, and Jesus Saves. Kirkpatrick was equal parts spiritual
and discerning. His hymns run the gamut of human
emotions and touch every spiritual chord, producing a harmony of
hymns that place him in a very elite circle of friends in the
development of our hymnody. In the year 1902, Kirkpatrick
was serving in the Methodist camp meeting near Philadelphia,
and as was the case in the camp meeting tent revival days, music
played a key role in the meetings. Throughout time, Moody had a
Sankey, Torrey had an Alexander, and Sunday had a Rodeheaver.
And with few exceptions, the heavenly touch resided upon these
great men. except for the Methodist camp
meeting of Philadelphia in the year 1902. It was here that Kirkpatrick
became extremely concerned with the salvation of the key soloist
of the conference. it gravely alarmed him that the
soloist would not stay for Bible preaching, and that he did not
partake in any of the Christian fellowship that so defined the
meetings. And, as only sincere, selfless,
Savior-minded musicians can often detect, the soloist was not spiritual
at best, or lost at worst. This impulse drove him to his
knees for the soloist. Yet the soloist did not change.
Days had passed, and Kirkpatrick's prayers had not been answered.
What was he to do? Kirkpatrick later said, I became
very burdened for him, and the Lord led me to use an unusual
plan. He told me to write a special
song of invitation, just with the singer in mind, and then
I was to have him sing it. This I did, and the very evening
that he sang it, God so spoke to his heart that he either did
not go out after singing, but stayed to hear the message. Praise
God! He was the first to the altar,
letting Christ come into his heart. My new song had been the
Lord's means of answering my prayer. It was, Lord, I'm Coming
Home. God had moved the musician to
write a piece of music that led to the conversion of a soloist. But his music was not only the
means of a sinner coming home, but was also significant in his
home going to meet the Savior. Interestingly enough, on the
night of September 20th, 1921, Sarah Kirkpatrick awakened and
noticed that the light in her husband's study was still on.
She called to him the first time, to which he replied there was
a project he was working on that he did not want to leave before
he finished. She came the second time hours
later, calling her husband's name, except this time he did
not answer. Going over, she found 83-year-old
William J. Kirkpatrick slumped over his
desk, dead. And as usual, he had been working
on a piece of music. The last words he had penned
on earthly pages were these, Just as thou wilt. Which shall
it be? Life everlasting, waiting for
me? Or shall I tarry here at thy
feet? Just as thou wilt, Lord, whatever
is meet. God had called his servant home,
never more to roam. Oh, what a meeting, when the
songwriter met the subject of his blessed hymns, opening wide
his arms of love. Such a story makes us all also
exclaim, Lord, I'm coming home. What a Savior, what a story,
and what a heritage of hymns. The paths of sin, too long I
have trod. Lord, I'm coming home. Coming home. Coming home, never more to roam. Open wide thine eyes, home. If you enjoyed the broadcast
and would like to access more information regarding the music
ministry, please visit heritagehymns.info or pastordanielcox.com. God bless you and thanks for
listening.
Lord, I'm Coming Home
Series Heritage Hymns
| Sermon ID | 530171217322 |
| Duration | 07:57 |
| Date | |
| Category | Radio Broadcast |
| Language | English |
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