My Savior’s Love

I stand amazed in the presence

I. Origins

This hymn is by the prolific gospel composer Charles H. Gabriel (1856–1932), published in three collections in 1905: Praises (Chicago: E.O. Excell, 1905 | Fig. 1), edited by E.O. Excell; Songs of Praise Number Two (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1905), edited by J. Wilbur Chapman and O.F. Pugh; and Revival Hymns (Chicago: Bible Institute, 1905), edited by Daniel B. Towner and Charles M. Alexander. At the time of the hymn’s composition, Gabriel was living in Chicago, working as a professional composer and songbook compiler/editor. He gave a brief account of the hymn in his Personal Memoirs (1918):

Elijah P. Brown, founder of “The Ram’s Horn,” sent me these two lines: “He had no tears for his own griefs / But sweat drops of blood for mine,” saying he believed the theme might suggest words for a song. It did, and “My Savior’s Love,” published in 1905, was the outgrowth. His exact words are a part of the second stanza.

A certain minister of the gospel who now holds a responsible position in his denomination once said to me, “Gabriel, why do you put so much allegory in your hymns? We all know that while the Scripture says, ‘There appeared an angel comforting him,’ it was merely a figure of speech.” Yet we wonder why the church is not more spiritual than it is today![1]

The original version of the hymn had four stanzas and a refrain.

In 1910, Gabriel added another stanza, “He took my sins and my sorrows,” inserted as number 4. This five-stanza version was included in Alexander’s Gospel Songs No. 2 (NY: Fleming H. Revell, 1910 | Fig 2), in which the copyright had been purchased by Charles M. Alexander, a music evangelist and songbook compiler.

The five-stanza version also appeared in Gabriel’s text-only compilation The Slighted Stranger and Other Poems (Chicago: Rodeheaver, 1915), p. 69. In modern hymnals and songbooks, the third stanza is often omitted.

II. Analysis

In 1915, Gabriel offered this summary of “What constitutes an acceptable and useful gospel song”:

First, the text must be systematically constructed, be spiritual and devotional; it should begin with an immediate declaration of subject, followed by an explication presented in a logical and intelligent manner. There are usually three stanzas of four or more lines each; the corresponding lines in these stanzas must have the same number of syllables, and accentuation be of uniform occurrence. . . .

Next to the text, if not on equal ground with it comes the music. A gospel song will not succeed unless it has melody; especially is this true when applied to music for children and young people, and the more pleasing the melody the better it is liked and the more good it accomplishes. . . .

A subject presents itself, and, as it takes form in the mind a melody comes singing its way with the first stanza; the main thought is always in the chorus, which should become the crowning glory of the song.[2]

Based on his own criteria, the text is devotional in nature, written from the perspective of someone who is humbled by spiritual brokenness and in awe of redeeming love. The answer of how the Savior offered that love is presented in the next three stanzas, first describing Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36–56; Mark 14:32–52; Luke 22:39–53), quoting part of his prayer, and citing the blood-sweat of Luke 22:44. The third stanza references the angels tending to him in the garden, mentioned only in Luke 22:43. In the fourth stanza, the scene moves to the cross, where Gabriel seems to be alluding to Isaiah 53:4 (“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”). Finally, as with many gospel hymns, the focus shifts heavenward, where Gabriel appealed to Rev. 22: 4 (“And they shall see his face”). Keeping with Gabriel’s commitment to textual uniformity, each stanza has a regular pattern of syllables. The refrain is arguably the “crowning glory” of the song, an exclamation of appreciation and praise.

Baptist scholar Terry York once asserted, “The simplicity of Gabriel’s hymn tunes contributed, in part, to their success. The need for simplicity was acute in both the Sunday School and urban revival meetings.”[3] This hymn tune fits the bill. The melody follows a clear tonal pattern, built over a relatively basic harmonic structure (I, IV, and V). The tune is well crafted; in the stanzas, the melody is somewhat restrained, rising only to the third, but it is allowed to soar higher in the refrain, meeting exclamation with musical height.

by CHRIS FENNER
for Hymnology Archive
30 January 2020

Footnotes:

1. Charles H. Gabriel, Personal Memoirs (Chicago: K.G. Bottorf, 1918), p. 40.

2. Charles H. Gabriel, Gospel Songs and Their Writers (Chicago: Rodeheaver, 1915), pp. 11–13: Archive.org

3. Terry W. York, Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (1856-1932): Composer, Author, and Editor in the Gospel Tradition, dissertation (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1985), p. 79.

Related Resources:

Charles H. Gabriel, “My Savior’s Love,” The Slighted Stranger, and Other Poems (Chicago: Rodeheaver, 1915), p. 69: Archive.org

Charles H. Gabriel, Gospel Songs and Their Writers (Chicago: Rodeheaver, 1915), pp. 11–13: Archive.org

Terry W. York, Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (1856–1932): Composer, Author, and Editor in the Gospel Tradition, dissertation (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1985).

“I stand amazed in the presence,” Hymnary.org:
https://hymnary.org/text/i_stand_amazed_in_the_presence