Kingdom View, Volume III, Issue 8
In 1887, Anthony Showalter, principal of the Southern Normal Musical Institute in Dalton, Georgia, wrote the beloved hymn, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” What inspired this hymn were two letters that he had received from former students who had just lost their wives. Desiring to bring them some comfort, he found in God’s Word this passage taken from Deuteronomy 33:27a, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms . . . .” (KJV) As he pondered the verse, these words can to mind:
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms (chorus)
Showalter was unable to get beyond the lyrics for the chorus. He wrote to his friend, hymnist Elisha Hoffman concerning his dilemma, the inability to formulate verses. He friend replied with the following:
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.
Thus, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” becomes one of the church’s most beloved hymns. This hymn emphasizes the security that all believers enjoy in the arms of God. Likewise,in today’s text taken from Psalm 37:25, David declares the security that all believers experience when they place their trust in God. The principle revealed here is that “the righteous trust in the security of the Lord.” This truth should anchor the souls of all believers in times of trials and great testing in life. Hence, I would like to share three reasons why this assertion is true: first, because we have experienced His time-honored faithfulness, Psalm 37:25a; secondly, because He will never abandon us in the midst of life’s trials and tests, Psalm 37:35b, and thirdly, because God is sufficient to provide for all of your needs, Psalm 37:25c.
In summary, a popular song that is sung in many African-American congregations today is “Jesus said you can lean on me. I won’t let you fall if you lean on me.” In these challenging times, we must all lean on Him and His everlasting arms for He promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) oh, what security!