HYMN OF THEÂ MONTH:
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
by Anthony Showalter (1858-1924) & Elisha Hoffman (1839-1921)
Anthony J. Showalter grew up in Virginia and learned to love music from his father when he was just a boy. By the time he was only fourteen years old, he was already helping teach shape-note singing schools!
Singing schools were a popular feature of church and community life throughout the 1800s. For a few weeks each year, a traveling music teacher would come to town and gather children and adults to learn the basics of music reading and hymn singing.
Many of these schools used shape-note songbooks, which assigned different shapes to the notes of the scale. By singing the syllables "fa, sol, la, and mi" while following the shapes on the page, students could learn to read music without formal training.
Years later, while teaching a singing school in Alabama, Showalter opened two letters from former students. Both letters carried very sad news: each man had recently lost his wife.
As Showalter wrote letters back to encourage his friends, he thought about Deuteronomy 33:27. In this passage, Moses gives one final blessing to God’s people before his death and reminds them that God’s everlasting arms hold and protect His children.
Those comforting words stayed in Showalter’s mind, and soon he began writing a chorus:
“What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms…”
Showalter wrote the tune and chorus, then reached out to his friend and fellow hymn writer, Elisha Hoffman, to help complete the hymn. Hoffman gladly wrote the verses, and together the two men created a hymn that still reminds Christians today that they can trust Jesus through every joy and sorrow.
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Read & Relate
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
By Anthony Showalter (1858-1924) & Elisha Hoffman (1839-1921)
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
 1 John 1:3; Rom. 5:1-2; Ps. 16:11; Phil. 4:4; John 15:4-5
Chorus:
Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
 Prov. 3:5-6; Deut. 33:27; Isa. 41:10; Ps. 56:3-4; John 10:27-29
Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.Â
Ps. 119:105; John 8:12; Prov. 4:18; Heb. 11:13-16; Ps. 84:5-7
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.Â
Isa. 41:10; Ps. 23:4; Heb. 13:5-6; Phil. 4:6-7; Rom. 8:38-39
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