A Song in the Ruins

   

  If you were to go back in time, approximately 184 years, and travel to a serene forest in Northern Pennsylvania, you might just stumble upon a cozy little cabin. If you happen to have gone to a warm summer day in early July, you might just see a couple cooing over their newborn son as he rocks back and forth in his wooden cradle. The couple is Isaac and Lydia Bliss, and the baby is Philip Paul Bliss, who would eventually write some of the most beloved hymns and tunes.

     As Philip grew, his father led the family in daily prayers and instilled in him the need to pray everyday. Philip loved the Lord, and at age of twelve, made a public confession of his faith before joining the Baptist Church of Cherry Flats, PA. 

     Isaac Bliss also passed down a love for music to his children, giving them a passion for singing. One day when Philip was ten years old, he was walking house to house selling vegetables, when suddenly, he heard one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. Tip-toeing into a large house unobserved, he stood in awe as he watched a woman playing something he had never seen before—a piano. When she finished playing, he cried out, "O lady, please play some more!" The lady gasped as she saw him standing there, and quickly yelled, "Get out of here with those big, bare feet!" Sadly, he left, but he never forgot that day, nor the beautiful music of the piano.

     At the age of eleven, Philip had to leave home to make a living. He was a strong boy, and spent several years at lumber camps and sawmills, originally as an assistant cook, but later working at the wood himself. He worked hard, and traveled a lot, getting tutored in many different trades. He was able to use some of the money he used to learn music. Soon he began to compose music. In return for one of the songs he composed, he received a flute. Eventually, he was also able to buy a melodeon. In 1858, the year he turned twenty, he became a teacher, Soon after, he married Lucy Young.

     Philip became a musical teacher and composer, traveling with Lucy to various musical conventions and schools. Music, a passion since childhood, had become his career. Why should anything change?

     One day while attending a revival, Philip met Dwight L. Moody, the evangelist. Mr. Moody told Philip that he should give up his music business and instead become a singing evangelist. They kept in contact, and a few years later Moody again wrote in a letter, "I think you should devote your entire time to evangelistic singing." Philip wasn't sure what to do. He finally decided to go with Major Whittle, another evangelist friend, to sing. During one song, Almost Persuaded, it seemed like the Holy Spirit was filling the room. Many sinners came to know the Lord that night, and the next afternoon, Phillip surrendered his life to God. He gave up positions and work and decided to travel with Whittle full-time.

     He continued in full-time evangelistic work for several years. One day at the Moody Tabernacle in Chicago, he told the group there, "This may be my last time traveling here." Together they sang,  I'm Going Home Tomorrow. His words proved to be true.

     On December 29, 1876, Philip and Lucy were on a train back to Chicago. They had left their two young sons at home with Philips mother. While crossing a deep ravine, the bridge suddenly broke, causing the train to fall, crashing to the ground. A blazing fire quickly erupted, spreading over the scene. Philip crawled out of the mess; he had survived the crash, but quickly ran back in search of his wife. By this time the raging fire was huge, and both were killed in what was later known as the Ashtabula Bridge Disaster.

     Among the remains, someone found Philip's luggage containing many poems. One of them was I Will Sing of My Redeemer. This was soon put to music and in 1916 became one of the first hymns to ever be recorded, using Thomas Edison's new invention: the phonograph. It is a beautiful song that is still sung today.

I will sing of my Redeemer, And His wondrous love to me; On the cruel cross He suffered, From the curse to set me free. Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer, With His blood He purchased me, On the cross He sealed my pardon, Paid the debt, and made me free. I will tell the wondrous story, How my lost estate to save, In His boundless love and mercy, He the ransom freely gave. Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer, With His blood He purchased me, On the cross He sealed my pardon, Paid the debt, and made me free.