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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Man of Sorrows!

Our communion hymn this past Sunday was Man of Sorrows! by Philip Bliss. Tomorrow is Philip Bliss' birthday (July 9, 1838). Bliss was born in Pennsylvania, and left home at the age of 11 to become a logger. He did that job for a number of years and then became a school teacher. After that he was an itinerant music teacher. He was a great composer of Christian hymns . . . eventually he settled in Chicago and traveled with D.L. Moody and Whittle in their ministries. Many were converted through the hymn ministry of Bliss.

In 1876, Bliss and his wife were traveling by train to Chicago to meet up with Moody. A bridge the train was traveling on collapsed . . . Bliss was thrown from the train . . . his wife was trapped inside the burning train. Bliss went back in to save her . . . they both died in the fire.

For a fuller account of his life go to Mars Hill web-site.

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