The hymn “Standing on the
Promises” was written in 1886 based on a study of 2 Corinthians. Some sources suggest this passage as the
basis for the hymn—“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen,
to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20, NKJV.)
Russell Kelso Carter (1849-1928), Lyricist & Composer
Russell Kelso Carter was
born November 18, 1849 in Baltimore, MD.
At the age of 15 he joined the Presbyterian Church which is where his
parents attended. He graduated from the
Pennsylvania Military Academy (now Widener University) in 1867. He as commissioned a Captain in the
Pennsylvania State Line so there may be reference to him as “Captain R. Kelso Carter”
in some writings. Upon graduation, he
became a teacher of chemistry and natural sciences until his health forced him
out to California for three years to regain his strength, but apparently this
did not help his condition. He would
regain his health and go onto teach civil engineering and advanced
mathematics. He resigned from the
Pennsylvania Military Academy in 1887.
Carter would eventually
leave the Presbyterian Church and joined the Methodist Church seeking more of
an experience driven religion. He
believed in divine healing and worked to promote these views. He held the incorrect position that Jesus not
only took our sins to the cross but also our sicknesses too. He believed that prayer would lead to
forgiveness and result divine healing. In
1887 he became a licensed preacher with the Methodist Episcopal Church which
was just after the publication of “Standing on the Promises”. In 1898 he contracted tuberculosis (also
called consumption), but he recovered due to a medical breakthrough to combat
this illness. This led him to believe
that God could heal through medicine as He can do so through prayer. His first wife was Josephine E. Carter. Around 1897, he divorced her which was a
major scandal at the time. Some sources
suggest that his wife suffered from mental illness. He remarried, and his second wife’s name was
Elizabeth H. Carter. Carter’s view on
healing would swing from the extreme of divine healing to advocating “medical
devices” that the USPS sued to have these devices banned as mail fraud. He would go onto study and practice medicine
which sources state he did until his death on August 23, 1928 in Catonsville,
MD. He is buried in Green Mount Cemetery
in Baltimore, MD with the words “Standing on the Promises” on his tombstone.
He is credited with writing
and composing 52 hymns, but he worked on writing and composing with others so
he has been involved with nearly 100 hymns.
His most well-known is “Standing on the Promises”. He was known for writing on subjects relating
to religion, science, mathematics, and novels.
Widener University still confers the R. Kelso Carter Award annually to a
citizen, who is not an alumnus, who has brought honor to Widener University.
Standing on the Promises
The concept of “Standing
on the Promises” reminds me of this statement by the evangelist Walter Scott preaching
on November 18, 1827 in Lisbon, OH. A
man came in late, missing
most of the lesson, and
sat in the back. When Walter explained
the plan of salvation as it appeared in Acts 2, he asked if anyone would come
forward and accept it by being baptized. The man came forward requesting to be
baptized. The man explained that if he ever heard the gospel presented as it
was in the New Testament, he would not hesitate to obey it. Here is what that
man, William Amend, wrote of that night:
I
had read the 2d of the Acts when I expressed myself to my wife as follows: "Oh, this is the gospel - this is the
thing we wish - the remission of our sins! Oh, that I could hear the gospel in
these same words - as Peter preached it! I hope I shall someday hear it; and
the first man I meet who will preach the gospel this, with him will I go."
So, my brother, on the day you saw me come' into the meeting-house, my heart
was open to receive the Word of God, and when you cried, "The Scriptures
no longer shall be a sealed book. God means what he says. Is there any man
present who will take God at his word, and be baptized for remission of
sins?" - at that moment my feelings were such that I could have cried out,
"Glory to God! I have found the man whom I have long sought for." So
I entered the kingdom where I readily laid hold of the hope set before me.
(William Baxter, Life of Elder Walter
Scott, p. 113)
According to some restoration
historians, William Amend was the first documented person to be immersed “for
the forgiveness of sins” in the Campbell Movement. (The Stone Movement had done
so a year prior.)
Our faith is not based on
some “leap in the dark” but upon the promises of God! The Bible is filled with verifiable example
after example that the Bible is trustworthy.
It contains the promises that God has made for us that we can stand
upon. Will you take that stand today?
--------------------------------------------
SOURCES:
http://cyberhymnal.org/bio/c/a/r/carter_rk.htm
http://digitalwolfgram.widener.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p270801coll17/id/399
http://healingandrevival.com/BioRKCarter.htm
http://www.hymnary.org/person/Carter_RK
http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/c/a/r/carter_rk.htm
John P. Wiegand, Editor, Praise for the Lord, Nashville, TN: Praise Press, 1997.
V. E. Howard, Editor, and
Broadus E. Smith, Associate Editor, Church
Gospel Songs & Hymns, Texarkana, TX: Central Printers & Publishers, 1983.
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