Leaning On The Everlasting Arms
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
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.
Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
O, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O, 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.
ONE AFTERNOON in 1887, music teacher A. J. Showalter dismissed his class and returned to his rooming house in Hartsville, Alabama. There he found letters from two former students, each with a similar story. Both of them had lost their wives, and both wives had died on the same day. Showalter began writing letters of condolence. The Scripture that came to mind was from Deuteronomy, the assurance of God’s “everlasting arms” supporting us.
Then he wrote a third letter, to Elisha Hoffman, a hymnwriter in Pennsylvania. Showalter suggested that Hoffman write a hymn on that theme. He even suggested the wording of the chorus. Hoffman responded quickly with three stanzas, and Showalter supplied the music.
With God’s arms beneath us, and His love surrounding us, we can find strength in even the most sorrowful situations.
There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you.
Deuteronomy 33:26-27
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