Saturday, November 22, 2014

Wonderful Words of Life -- Philip P. Bliss



He paraphrased some basic words from an ancient follower, as he crafted something to complement a fellow believer’s venture. That’s the genesis of Philip Paul Bliss’ creation known as “Wonderful Words of Life” in 1874. Would Bliss have had as much of a challenge with his ‘words of life’ as their first speaker? Did he consult a dictionary (like one shown here)? Did the addition of ‘wonderful’ intentionally underscore their value, because His—the Lord’s-- words in their original context had proven so complicated and baffling? It is often tough to share words, especially God’s, that will elicit a positive response from the hearer who’s a skeptic. Bliss had a way with words, though, that allowed him to make music and draw hearers, a talent that his collaborator drew upon.

  
Philip Bliss was doing in 1874 what he’d recently come to believe was his life’s calling. He’d been engaged seriously in music for over 15 years, as a student, teacher, singer, and composer, but by his mid-30s he decided that spreading the story of Christ was paramount. He’d been associated with Dwight Moody’s efforts for a few years, and with some urging turned his life completely toward evangelism. Moody’s brother-in-law Fleming Revell must have also played a significant role in Bliss’ decision, too, so it wasn’t surprising that he thought of Bliss as he pondered how to best make his own evangelistic effort that year. He wanted a song to accompany a publication he was beginning, and suggested to Bliss that something to go with his “Words of Life” journal would work well. He also apparently suggested one episode in Jesus’ life of teaching (John 6:60-68) that culminated with the apostle Peter’s assertion that Jesus’ words are life. It’s interesting that this particular story occurred to Revell, since Jesus’ words there are actually pretty tough for many of His hearers to swallow. Their bizarre, even revolting, character make Peter’s response to them intriguing. What really made the apostle Peter assert with such apparent conviction that ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’ Could it be that Revell wanted to inspire the same sort of faith that Peter expressed? No doubt about it, right? Bliss, too, must have wanted his musical endeavor to have the same potency. So, a song was born to coax God-seekers that Jesus speaks words, however alien they may seem at first, that actually reach and bless us like no others.
  

Taken out of context, Peter’s statement to Jesus sounds like a warm compliment to the Son of Man, doesn’t it? But it really is audacious, particularly since Jesus’ words just before that are what repel many of His hearers. Wonderful words? Drinking blood and eating flesh – that’s enough to make most anybody murmur that their speaker must be a nut. But, what Fleming Revell and Philip Bliss, along with Dwight Moody, must have told thousands of people was ‘Keep listening’. He said many challenging things, but He did more than speak words. He lived them, and died them too. And, rose because of them. No one else has ever done all of that.        
  
       

Information on the song was obtained from the books  “Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990, Kregel Publications; and “The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 

See this site for biography of composer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Bliss

See following for memoirs of the composer:

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