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Part 12 of the Series:
From my childhood, I fondly recall Sacred Songs and Solos, a slim hardback volume containing an astonishing 1200 hymns. This book is more commonly known as Sankey’s, after the name of its compiler. In this article, we will explore the remarkable life of Ira David Sankey.
Born in the USA in 1840, Sankey was brought up as a Methodist. He was born again at the age of 19. Sankey had a fine baritone voice, which he used for Sunday School work and church choirs.
Sankey fought in the American civil war on the side of the Union. During this conflict, General Sherman sent a signal to a besieged group of soldiers in his army. They were surrounded by Confederate enemies, who were intent on capturing their defensive position. Sherman’s signal, held aloft on a pine tree trunk, read, ‘Hold the fort; I am coming’. Philip Bliss repurposed this famous story as a Christian hymn, which later became one of the most frequently performed songs in Sankey’s repertoire.
‘Hold the fort, for I am coming,
Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to heaven,
By Thy grace we wlll’.
In 1870, the renowned evangelist, D. L. Moody heard Sankey singing in Indianapolis. Moody immediately invited Sankey to join him, although the invitation sounded more like a demand. In his autobiography, Sankey recalls the encounter:
‘Upon telling him that I lived in Pennsylvania, was married, had two children, and was in the government employ, [Moody] said abruptly, “You will have to give that up”.
I was amazed, at a loss to understand why the man told me that I would have to give up what I considered a good position. “What for”? I exclaimed.
“To come to Chicago and help me in my work”, was the answer.
When I told him that I could not leave my business, he retorted, “You must; I have been looking for you for the last eight years” 1
After much prayer and pondering, Sankey moved to Chicago, where Moody was based. Within a year, the Great Fire of Chicago struck, devastating the city and bringing a pause to Sankey’s musical ministry. However, the pair soon reunited and continued their gospel witness.
Starting in 1873, Moody and Sankey made several visits to Britain. Their meetings were attended by royal family members and famous politicians. Ordinary people also crowded to hear the two Americans.
Moody and Sankey hired large buildings to preach to thousands at a time. They held meetings in prime locations, including Glasgow’s Kibble Palace, London’s Royal Opera House and Cambridge’s Corn Exchange.
Each meeting followed a similar pattern: Moody preached and Sankey ‘sang the gospel’.2 Sankey’s hymns had a powerful spiritual effect. Here is the testimony of one young man, ‘It was a few evenings ago … when Mr. Sankey was singing in the Free Trade Hall “Jesus of Nazareth Passeth By”, that I was made to feel the need of my Saviour … and I took him to my heart there and then’.3
While many of Sankey’s compositions were carefully prepared, sometimes he resorted to spontaneity, making up tunes on the spot. Sankey describes how he read a poem called,The Ninety and Nine in a Scottish newspaper, and the next day he was compelled to set it to music during a meeting.
‘At this moment I seemed to hear a voice saying: “Sing the hymn you found on the train”! But I thought this impossible, as no music had ever been written for that hymn. Again the impression came strongly upon me that I must sing the beautiful and appropriate words I had found the day before, and placing the little newspaper slip on the organ in front of me, I lifted my heart in prayer, asking God to help me so to sing that the people might hear and understand. Laying my hands upon the organ I struck the key of A flat, and began to sing. Note by note the tune was given’.4
‘There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold —
Away on the mountains wild and bare,
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care’.
On the day Sankey died in 1908, he was heard singing under his breath, ‘But oh the joy when I awake within the palace of the King’.
His rich musical legacy lives on. There are plenty of Sankey tunes available to stream on Spotify and YouTube.The Sacred Songs and Solos hymn book remains in print and is used widely across the UK.
