“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you” Deuteronomy 33:27 NIV

Sometimes you just get a song stuck in your head. Today, it was Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. Most of the songs rumbling around between my brain cells are old hymns. I am not sure why, but my guess would be that they rouse fond memories of my childhood. I still remember feeling safe and secure sitting on the pew in church between my parents. I guess my subconscious was relating the song between the seen and the unseen: the comfort from the arms of my parents and the comfort from the arms of Jesus.

I went to the all knowing computer search engine and typed in the hymn to see the origins. I learned one of the composers was from Dalton, GA. Anthony Showalter (1858-1924) was an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Dalton, GA, studied music in England, France and Germany and taught singing. First Presbyterian Church is only 15 minutes from my house. That just made me feel connected.

A former student of Showalter had lost his wife. Showalter was writing a letter of sympathy and chose Deuteronomy 33:27 to provide comfort to his student. Since this was for his music student, Showalter thought it would be best to compose a song based on this verse. He wrote the refrain to the hymn Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, then asked Reverend Elisa Hoffman (1839-1929) to write the stanzas. After Hoffman completed the stanzas, Professor Showalter wrote the music. https://www.christianmusicandhymns.com/2019/09/leaning-on-everlasting-arms-hymn-story.html

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.

Refrain:
Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

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.

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.

Anthony Showalter, refrain and Elisha A. Hoffman, stanza

Lean: to cast one’s weight to one side for support: to rely for support or inspiration. Merriam Webster Dictionary; December 7, 2021