JESUS HOLD MY HAND

          "I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear, I will help you."  Isaiah 41:13.   Each of us have probably faced many situations where we needed a hand to help us.  Maybe it was stepping over an obstacle or walking on a slippery surface or climbing up something or keeping our balance on unfamiliar terrain.  As a child we may have needed a hand to guide us safely across a busy street or to protect us in a crowd.  As we age we often find that we need a helpful hand more often. That helpful hand can be a comfort or a guide or a source of safety. But it isn't always physical situations where we need help.  Often we need a hand in facing the problems of life which come our way. Albert Brumley (1905 -1977) probably faced similar experiences. and he must have experienced the joy and safety of holding on to the Lord's hand during challenging times in his life.  He spent much of his early life chopping and picking cotton on his family's farm. His life had weathered various hardships from the years of World War I and through the Great Depression. Predictably, he had little or no money, particularly when he set off from his Oklahoma home for schools in Arkansas and Missouri,  In 1926, he enrolled in the Hartford Musical Institute of Hartford, Arkansas, and studied there through 1931.  He also sang with the Hartford Quartet.  Brumley married Goldie Edith Schell in 1931. They lived on the banks of Big Sugar Creek in Powell, Missouri, where they raised six children.  It's said that she was largely responsible for keeping her disorganized, eccentric spouse on track as he routinely scribbled musical suggestions to himself on scraps of paper or whatever else was handy. Eventually Brumley was able to purchase the Hartford Music Company in 1948. During his years there he wrote over 800 songs, including "I'll Fly Away," "Turn Your Radio On," "If We Never Meet Again (This Side of Heaven)," "I'll Meet You In The Morning," "Rank Strangers," and "He Set Me Free". But this week's hymn choice, written in 1933, was his request for continued divine presence throughout his troubled life. Brumley experienced the 'sinking sand' and 'the foe' of which he wrote.  He had asked the Lord to hear his 'feeble plea', and 'protect him'. He gave Jesus the credit by presenting him as the friend and helper who daily walked with him.  Can you testify with the writer that as you travel through this pilgrim land that there is  Friend who goes with you and leads you safely through the sinking sand of this life?  For there's no other Friend on whom we can depend, Blessed Jesus, hold my hand.  And He will as He tells us "do not fear, I will help you."  Facing trials today?  Then hold on to His hand.

1.      As I travel through this pilgrim land 

there is a Friend who goes with me.

Leads me safely thro' the sinking sand, 

it is the Christ of Calvary.

This would be my prayer, 

dear Lord, each day to help me do the best I can,

For I need Thy light to guide me day and night, 

Blessed Jesus, hold my hand

Jesus, hold my hand, I need Thee every hour,

(Blessed Jesus, hold my hand) (

Yes, I need Thee every hour)

Thru this pilgrim land Protect my by Thy power.

(Thru this land, this pilgrim land  - By Thy saving power.)

Hear my feeble plea, O Lord, look down on me.

(Hear my plea, my feeble plea, 

Lord, dear Lord, Look down on me)

When I kneel in prayer I hope to meet you there,

(When I kneel in prayer)

Blessed Jesus, hold my hand.

2.     Let me travel in the light divine

 that I may see the blessed way;

Keep me that I may be wholly Thine

 and sing redemption's song some day.

I will be a soldier brave and true 

and ever firmly take a stand,

As I onward go and daily meet the foe, 

Blessed Jesus, hold my hand.

Jesus, hold my hand, I need Thee every hour,

(Blessed Jesus, hold my hand) (

Yes, I need Thee every hour)

Thru this pilgrim land Protect my by Thy power.

(Thru this land, this pilgrim land  - By Thy saving power.)

Hear my feeble plea, O Lord, look down on me.

(Hear my plea, my feeble plea, 

Lord, dear Lord, Look down on me)

When I kneel in prayer I hope to meet you there,

(When I kneel in prayer)

Blessed Jesus, hold my hand.

3.      When I wander thru the valley dim 

toward the setting of the sun,

Lead me safely to a land of rest

 if I a crown of life have won;

I have put my faith in Thee, dear Lord, 

that I may reach the golden strand,

There's no other Friend on whom I can depend, 

Blessed Jesus, hold my hand.

Jesus, hold my hand, I need Thee every hour,

(Blessed Jesus, hold my hand) (

Yes, I need Thee every hour)

Thru this pilgrim land Protect my by Thy power.

(Thru this land, this pilgrim land  - By Thy saving power.)

Hear my feeble plea, O Lord, look down on me.

(Hear my plea, my feeble plea, 

Lord, dear Lord, Look down on me)

When I kneel in prayer I hope to meet you there,

(When I kneel in prayer)

Blessed Jesus, hold my hand.

Listen to it here.     HAND