Precious Lord, Take My Hand

In the mid-1990s, Dory and I got together with a Christian Friend, Gary Whitlatch, who is a gifted musician, and put together this presentation of the beautiful Spiritual "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."  

It was our way of telling people the reason this song was written, hopefully to encourage them to look at it, not as a dusty old hymn - but as a living testimony of how God works in the lives of those who love Him and know that they need Him.

I wrote the script and with Gary on guitar and acting as co-narrator, I read the part of Thomas Dorsey and Dory led us in singing. 

This took on new meaning tonight when I listened to Joey Feek, who passed away yesterday of cancer at the age of 40, singing this beautiful Spiritual with her husband and partner, Rory Feek.

Joey+Rory - Take My Hand, Precious Lord (Live)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2XHCpLFtxo

Thomas Dorsey wrote this song shortly after losing his wife and baby when both died in childbirth.  Through the pain of his double loss and his love for God, this song "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" was born.

So, as a memorial to the beautiful lady, Joey Feek, I have shared the video above of her singing "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" and our presentation of that Spiritual. God bless, Bill

PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND

BILL:               The apostle Paul, in Colossians 3:16, instructs us, "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, sing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Again in Ephesians 5:18-19 Paul urges us, ". . . but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;"

GARY:             What did Paul mean in those words in Ephesians and Colossians when he gave this instruction to the first century Christians, to sing "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs"?  The psalms refer to the rich heritage of Jewish music of that time from the book of Psalms and other Old Testament scripture, directing man's worship to the greatness and majesty of God the Father. 

His reference to hymns was an encouragement for those early believers to also sing musical expressions concerning New Testament truths and doctrines which reflect the person and redemptive work of Christ. 

BILL:               But to give a proper balance to their worship, Paul wisely suggested the use of spiritual or experiential songs, those more spontaneous expressions that flow from one's innermost being, out of a very personal love relationship with the Lord, prompted by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Isn't that what our praise songs are today?  The spirituals of that generation eventually become part of today's hymnals and, as such, get classified as "old music!"  Perhaps we should take another look.  We just might find that they contain a lot of spiritual "meat."

GARY:             Isn't Paul really saying, "When you sing and make melody with your heart to the Lord, make it a mix of the old, -- the Psalms; and the new -- the hymns, songs about what is happening now; and the spiritual songs -- songs of emotion and praise for the Lord."

BILL:               The song we are featuring today is one of those very intimate spiritual expressions, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand.”

GARY, ON GUITAR, PLAYS FIRST VERSE OF "PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND."

GARY:             "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" was written in 1932 by Thomas Dorsey, a black Gospel musician.  In Thomas Dorsey's own words,

BILL:               "I was born in the year 1899.  I grew up in a Christian home in Georgia.  My father was an itinerant preacher and my mother played the pump organ in the church.  By the time I was ten or twelve, I had learned to play that organ too.  As a preacher's kid, I was exposed to quite a bit of religious activity, and maybe that got into me some way, but I didn't follow it."

GARY:             Dorsey became interested in jazz music and during the first World War he began composing songs for blues singers, achieving considerable fame and financial success.  He put a band together and traveled quite a bit while writing over 150 blues songs.

But Thomas Dorsey could never forget the influence of his early religious training nor the memory of his godly parents.  Even when busily playing in bars and clubs around the country, he still thought a great deal about his early life.  Then as a young man in his twenties, Dorsey began to reflect seriously about himself; how God had preserved him on so many occasions, and that he was now foolishly wasting his time and his talents.

As Dorsey said,

BILL:               "It was in 1924 that I started to come back to God.  I knew that I was ruining my life.  That year I wrote 'If I Don't Get There,' a Gospel song that is still in the books today.  Today I can say that all that I am, and all that I ever will be, all that I have, all that I will ever possess, I owe to God.  He brought me out of my sin."

GARY:             For the next few years, Thomas Dorsey was actively involved in singing for church services and writing gospel songs.  One day while ministering in a revival meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, he received a telegram that his wife Nettie had just died delivering their first child.  Arriving home in South Chicago that same night, he was met with further bad news, his infant son had also died.  Both were buried in the same casket.  The sorrow was more than Dorsey could bear.

BILL:               "That was double trouble, and I couldn't take it.  I said, 'God, You aren't worth a dime to me right now.'  I felt as if He had treated me wrong.  A few weeks later I was sitting with a friend, Theodore Frye, the Gospel singer, trying to get over my grief.  As I fingered the keyboard of a piano, I picked up a tune, which wasn't so original, but the words were.  I called it 'Blessed Lord.'  After I had gone over it and over it, I said, 'Come here, Frye.  How do you like this song?'" 

GARY:             Theodore Frye responded, "Well, the words are good, but the 'Blessed Lord' won't work.  Why not call Him 'Precious Lord?"

BILL:               The next Sunday Frye's choir sang it at the Ebenezer Baptist Church with Dorsey accompanying on the piano and in Dorsey's words, "It tore up the church!"

DORY SINGS FIRST VERSE OF "PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND"

GARY:             Until his death in 1965 Thomas Dorsey wrote approximately 250 gospel songs, including the popular spiritual, "Peace In The Valley."  All of his songs were written with much conviction as shown in his own words,

BILL:               "My business is to try to bring people to Christ instead of leaving them where they are.  I write all my songs with a message,  If there is no message, there is no need for having a song.  I don't write for races, I don't write for colors, I write for all of God's people.  I want them all to use it.  I want the blessings to go to everybody.  All people are my people.  What I share with people is love, that is, the power of love.  I try to lift their spirits and let them know that God still loves them.  I want them to understand that God is still in business.  He's still saving, and He can still give that power."

GARY:             Thomas Dorsey left these instructions for enjoying gospel music:

BILL:               "To listen to a Gospel song properly, you've got to be in the mood.  You have to give God your whole intelligence, your whole heart, your whole feeling.  You have to be able to bring yourself inside the realm of this expression that is being handed out, so it will reach you."

GARY:             Yes, spiritual songs like "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" are born in the heart of one believer, often out of much adversity, and then they minister to the heartfelt needs of countless others who may be sharing a similar experience.  That is why the apostle Paul instructed us to sing spiritual songs to one another as an important source of learning and encouragement.

BILL:               You'll find a copy of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" in your bulletin.  Please stand and join us in singing this beautiful spiritual song.

PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND

Written by THOMAS A. DORSEY

Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, help me stand;
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Thru the storm, thru the night,
Lead me on to the light,
Take my hand,  precious Lord, lead me home.

When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near;
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall;
Take my hand,  precious Lord, lead me home.

© 1938 Hill and Range Songs, Inc.