Precious Lord, Take My Hand
The father of gospel music, Thomas A. Dorsey, wrote the classic hymn 'Take My Hand Precious Lord' while dealing with a great personal tragedy.
Welcome to Friday Classic Hymns. Today's song is more of a gospel blues song than a hymn, although I don't know what the terminology means. We've had this discussion before on my channel, and I suppose any song that glorifies God is a hymn, and this certainly glorifies God. This is a great song, and I don't even know where I got to know this song. I'm trying to think back, and I just know it. I think it's one of those songs that is kind of embedded in our culture, especially as a great American traditional song.
Where did you get to know this song, I wonder? "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" – do you remember it from a specific church, or remember it from a film or from history?
Please share below your memories of the song and your impressions of it. I've really enjoyed getting to learn it this week and have discovered what an important song it is in American history for various reasons. By the way, may I ask you to please subscribe to this channel if you haven't already? It is free, doesn't cost you a thing, and really helps these videos get out there. Thank you for doing that. Let's talk about "Take My Hand, Precious Lord."
The Story Behind "Precious Lord Take My Hand"
The great Thomas A. Dorsey is the man behind the song. He was born in the late 1800s into a household of religion and music. His dad was a preacher, and his mum used to play the organ at his dad's church services. Young Thomas became quite well-versed with the hymns of the day, as well as some country blues songs. His uncle was a travelling blues guitarist in the early days of the genre, so he got to know some of the music that his uncle would sing. Around the age of 12, Thomas dropped out of school and started hanging around local theatres where blues musicians would play and plays would be put on. He got to know the famous music of the time, or the popular music of the time. He would rush back home and try to work it out on the family organ, and he received in this way a very good education in music by just listening and trying to copy what he heard.
Before long, he was playing at local parties and local events. He wasn't paid much, but he became very popular, and the next thing he was travelling around all over the place playing blues music everywhere. But the more he did this, the more his soul emptied, and the more he found that he was getting quite depressed.
In 1928, he had a great spiritual moment. He went to a church service, and he says that the minister prayed for him and pulled something out of his mouth like a demon or serpent, and in an instant his spirits were lifted and he was changed. He was cured of this depression that he had been struggling with for the last few years. In that moment, he gave his life to God and said, "I want to use my life for gospel music now."
Before long, he was the leader of the gospel music movement. He was so good and so charismatic as a leader that everyone kind of followed him, and really it was through him that the gospel music movement became so big at that time. His influence was immense. In fact, look at one quote that I read in one of the books I used this week:
The full magnitude of the contributions of Thomas Andrew Dorsey to gospel music as an art form, of which he has been called the father, may only now [in the 1990s] begin to be realised. As a composer, pianist, organiser, and conductor of choirs, he must be ranked with the most notable innovators of 20th-century music. All gospel choirs and gospel music lovers owe a debt of appreciation to Mr Dorsey for his courage, vision, musicianship, and integrity at a time when gospel music did not enjoy the popularity it does today.
To put it plainly, here was a man who changed the genre and really took it forward in ways that nobody else could. He had a way of mixing this blues that he was so influenced by into Christian music, into words about Jesus and about glorifying God, in a way that would connect with the people who enjoyed that type of music.
But sadly, this song came out of tragedy. Dorsey's wife, Nettie, died giving birth to their son, and the little boy died shortly after that. Dorsey was very down and crushed by this, as you can imagine. But he speaks about it and says that when some friends came to speak to him and were talking to him about God, one of them said "precious Lord, precious Lord," and it was like something went off in Dorsey's mind when he heard that phrase "precious Lord." According to him, he heard that and just stood up and started to sing, "Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, help me stand."
The melody wasn't his. It was written by a man named George Allen in the 1840s, the tune called Maitland, but he put these words to it and it became synonymous with these words. He started to go around and sing the song, and everywhere he went, people went wild for the song. He would sing the song in a church and the people would just start yelling and shouting in awe because the song expressed something they all felt, and it became immensely popular.
Incredibly popular, in fact. I'm sure you know how popular this song is. It's been recorded by many artists. It was Martin Luther King Jr's favourite song, and he requested it often. It was sung at his funeral. It's been played in scenes in all sorts of TV shows and films. They often use the song to kind of throw back to the gospel movement. If they want a song to represent it, this will be the one they choose.
Of course, Dorsey was so widely respected over the years, as that quote earlier suggests. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, and all sorts of Halls of Fame because he was so well-respected. He died in 1993 of Alzheimer's, and it's said that he died listening to music on a Walkman – gospel music. This was his life, the great man of God, and we are richer for the work that he did.
Let's look at the words of this beautiful song that he wrote.
What Do the Lyrics of "Precious Lord Take My Hand" Mean?
Verse 1
The first verse goes like this:
Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand.
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
We can all relate.
Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light.
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
I like the way that he cries out to God, much like David does in the Psalms, and he says "precious Lord." That word "precious" – I spoke about it when I did a Friday Classic Hymns video on "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus," which also talks about "Precious Jesus." Is God precious to you? Valued above all things? To us, in this verse, he uses that phrase "precious Lord."
This picture of God taking your hand and helping you to stand when you've been knocked down by life's storms – that's very powerful. It's another biblical image of God taking our hand and leading us. Do you know God in this way? Have you experienced Him reaching out His hand and picking you up and dusting you off and helping you to go on through the storms of life?
This is what God offers us. As those who are saved, we get the great privilege of being led by God in our lives. Yes, life gets stormy, life gets dark. He talks about darkness here, through the night. When your soul is enveloped in darkness, God will take your hand and lead you on to the light.
Jesus is often referred to in the Gospels as the light, the light the darkness cannot overcome. If you'll just take God's outstretched hand, no storm and no darkness can overwhelm you completely. He will help you on. Oh, what a wonderful God!
Verse 2
Verse 2 says this:
When my way grows drear, precious Lord, linger near.
I love that – "linger." Don't go away, Lord, linger!
When my life is almost gone.
He feels close to death now.
Hear my cry, hear my call, hold my hand lest I fall.
Then that line is repeated: Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
He's crying and calling out, and this again reminds me of David. David in the Psalms would say, "I'm crying out to You, Lord, hear my call," and Dorsey here is David-like in that sense. God does hear.
Maybe you need to remember today that you can cry out and call out to God in your difficulties, and He will hear. He will reach out to you and take your hand and help you along your way. Do you know that He offers you this? Just cry out and call out and receive the help that He has for you. You don't need to fall and stumble the whole way. You can be holding on to God, and He will help you along the way.
Verse 3
The last verse says this:
When the darkness appears and the night draws near, and the day is past and gone.
At the river I stand, guide my feet, hold my hand.
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
It seems to me that he's picturing death here: the darkness taking over, the night drawing near, the day gone. He sees the day of his life is now gone, and now he's standing at the river, which is a good old figure that songwriters of the time would use to talk about crossing over from life to death – the river, like the River Jordan, separating the Israelites from the wilderness and the Promised Land.
A lot of blues musicians and gospel musicians write about our life on earth being like still in the wilderness, but then death will take us over the river to the Promised Land. He's saying, "I'm here at the river, I'm ready to now go over to the Promised Land. Lord, guide my feet, show me the way, hold my hand so that I can make it there. Lead me home."
That line is repeated in each verse, so he's saying, "Lord, lead me to my eternal home one day when the time comes."
Conclusion
This is a song of great comfort. It's a song that when you're in a dark place, helps you to remember that God is there for you and that He is reaching out His hand to help you along.
Maybe this has helped you in your life. Has the song touched your life and got you through some tough times? I'd love if you share that in the comments, or just share what word spoke to you. Did a particular line speak to you today? Maybe you want to share that below.
Come, let's sing the song together. I hope you'll sing it with me. May it be that it's a special time of prayer as you sing it. You know, whenever you sing a hymn, you're just praying to music. Sing it in covenant, pray these words, and just recognise that our God is with us and will lead us home and get us through the dark nights.
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References
We'll Understand It Better By and By: Pioneering African American Gospel Composers – Bernice Johnson Reagon (1992)
The Rise of Gospel Blues: The Music of Thomas Andrew Dorsey in the Urban Church – Michael W. Harris (1992)
