Hymns With A Message: MORE HOLINESS GIVE ME

Philip Paul Bliss lived in a log cabin on a homestead in a rural Appalachian mountain region of northern Pennsylvania. His father was a devout Christian and a musical man who was always singing gospel songs.  Young Philip learned to sing with his father and to whistle and play on reeds or other rude instruments he would make himself.   He showed a love of music early in life.
          At the age of eleven, it is said that Philip left home to work on a farm, carrying all of his clothing done up in a handkerchief.  For the next five years he worked on farms and in lumber camps, meanwhile taking every opportunity for schooling that presented itself.
           After a Baptist minister conducted a revival at a school he attended, he was baptized at the age of twelve by a minister of a nearby Christian Church.  He is reported to have said, however, that he never could remember the time when he did not love the Savior
          Philip P. Bliss and Lucy J. Young were married in June of 1859 in the parlor of a minister's house at Wysocks, PA.  Lucy was about eighteen years of age at that time and he was twenty. Neither of them had money, so they continued to live with Lucy's parents, and Philip worked on the farm for his father-in-law for the typical wage of thirteen dollars a month.  That winter he also taught music lessons in the evenings, and he had a great desire to learn more about music.
          In the summer of 1860 a "Normal Academy of Music" was held at Geneseo, New York, offering instruction from some of the notable musicians of the area.   Philip despaired of being able to attend, lacking the thirty dollar fee, and was disheartened at his future prospects.  However, Lucy's Grandmother, Allen, who lived there with the family, hearing his distress and listening to his plight, kindly gave him the silver coins she had been saving for years in an old stocking. This amounted to more than the fee. This was a pivotal moment, and he spent six weeks of the hardest study of his life there.   Bolstered with this training, he became a professional music teacher the following winter.  It is said that his father-in-law gave him a twenty-dollar melodeon, and with the small, foot pedal powered reed organ, and a horse named Fanny, he traveled about the area giving lessons.
          Philip's travels and associations increased, and he visited Boston, New York and Brooklyn.  In the summer of 1869 in Chicago, he and Lucy happened upon a gospel meeting of Dwight L. Moody. Their decision to attend the meeting changed the course of their life.  Mr. Moody was without his leader for the singing that night and Philip helped as he could from the audience, which drew Mr. Moody's attention.  In shaking hands on the way out, Mr. Moody got him to promise to come and help in the singing as often as he could.  This he did and Philip continued in association with Mr. Moody.
          In December of 1876, Philip and Lucy spent a very happy Christmas with their two sons, ages four and one, and their extended family at Rome. Then, leaving their sons with the grandparents and aunt, were required to leave for Chicago as they had engagements there.  They traveled by rail and shortly before eight o'clock on the cold stormy evening of December 29, 1876, the connecting train in which they traveled from Buffalo, New York around Lake Erie, approaching Ashtabula, Ohio, plunged into a ravine as the bridge gave way.  Some of the 160 passengers escaped from the seven cars through broken windows into the icy water and snow, but it is said that within five minutes, the stoves and lamps in the varnished wooden cars had set them ablaze, and the remainder of the passengers perished in the intense heat of the ensuing fire.  A survivor reported that Philip had escaped through a window, but went back to find Lucy and did not return.  They both died in the flames and no trace of their remains was found.

Philip P. Bliss was only thirty-eight years old at the time of his death, yet it is said that he authored hundreds of hymn texts and composed many of their tunes. The story of his life shows that he was not only a great example of a man who, through divine providence, raised himself from poverty to national acclaim, but a great example of the Christian attributes he expressed in his hymn More Holiness Give Me. The basic structure of the piece is the repeated prayerful entreaty for "more" of the essential Christian attributes he describes.

At first glance the lines may seem to be an unrelated list tied together by rhyme. However, note in the first verse that there is a connection between having faith in the Savior and a sense of his care, to having patience in suffering, feeling sorrow for sin, having a desire to strive within, praying with purpose and finding joy in service.
The lines of the second verse speak of what the Savior has done for us, and refer to His teachings (hope in his word), example (meekness in trial), crucifixion (sorrows, grief), atonement (praise for relief), and resurrection (glory), for which we are grateful. The third verse effectively describes the requirements for being like the Savior and coming home to his kingdom: serving, overcoming the stains of earth life, and becoming pure and holy.
          Bliss wrote a tune that he named MY PRAYER for More Holiness Give Me, and in some early publications the hymn had the title, My Prayer.   The completed work is believed to have been first published in 1873,
          Take time this week to study these powerful words.  May they be your prayer.

1. More holiness give me,

More strivings within,

More patience in suff'ring,

More sorrow for sin,

More faith in my Savior,

More sense of his care,

More joy in his service,

More purpose in prayer.

2. More gratitude give me,

More trust in the Lord,

More pride in his glory,

More hope in his word,