The song dates to 1959,
and according to V. E. Howard’s Church
Gospel Songs & Hymns, the Firm Foundation secured a copyright for the
song in 1961 which, according to Praise
for the Lord, was renewed in 1987.
The song is composed in
6.4.6.4 D meter and the tune is called THOMAS since J. I. Thomas also composed
the music for this hymn. The numbers 6.4.6.4
indicate that a phrase of six syllables is followed by a phrase of four
syllables. The letter “D” means
“doubled” meaning the 6.4.6.4 pattern is repeated twice in each verse.
James Irving Thomas (1902-1977), Lyricist & Composer
For some hymn writers the
information available online is rather scarce.
Sadly, the sands of history cover our ability to learn about the lives
of some hymn writers. Fortunately, I was
able to contact Thomas’ daughter, Sharon Sheppard, and learn more about her
father, family and the songs he wrote.
Special appreciation is expressed to her for many of the details
relating to her father, J. I. Thomas.
Mrs. Sheppard stated that
James Irving Thomas was known as “J. I.” to those who knew him. He was born in Shiro, TX on September 10,
1902 to James J. Thomas and Effie Mae Martin Thomas. He married Nealy Annie Arnold on August 15,
1925, and they lived their lives in San Antonio, TX. Mr. and Mrs. J. I. Thomas had two children,
but one died at childbirth. The other child
was a daughter named Sharon who married and had two sons and now a grandson.
J. I. Thomas’ primary
occupation was that of a furniture salesman and he became a manager with the
Household Furniture Company. He studied
music and was also taught by Tillit S. Teddlie and his uncle, Clement C. Martin. J. I. Thomas wrote about 12 published hymns
including: “Savior I Look to Thee”, “It
Will Be Joy Someday”, “I’ll Praise My King” and “I Am Walking With My Savior”, “Over
There We’ll Never Grow Old”, and “’Twill Be Joy Some Day” (dedicated to Tillit
S. Teddlie).
Thomas worked to help
establish the Harlandale Church of Christ in San Antonio, TX as one of her charter
members. He was the congregation’s first
song leader and would lead singing for over 50 years. He taught singing schools, directed chorus
singing, and sang in quartets including on a radio program in Texas. He also served as an elder. One of the congregation’s preachers was Paul
Stevens who would take J. I. Thomas with him to work gospel meetings together. Stevens would preach, and Thomas would lead
the singing. The congregation at one
time was as large as 500 members; however, due to the development of San
Antonio, the congregation’s size diminished.
The congregation merged with the Southeast congregation and sold the
building in 2010.
J. I. Thomas died on
March 8, 1977 in San Antonio, Texas. The
family’s grief was compounded when his wife died two days later on March 10,
1977. They are buried together in Sunset
Memorial Park in San Antonio.
Savior I Look To Thee
This beautiful hymn
speaks about relationships, the most important of relationships—your
relationship with Jesus the Christ.
Jesus plainly stated that
our relationship on this earth with Him will have a direct bearing on our
relationship to Him and the Father in eternity—“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men,
him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will
also deny before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33,
NKJV.) Some are quick to respond that
they confess Jesus. They may be doing so
with their mouths, which is certainly important; Romans 10:10, but there is
more than merely confessing to claim that Jesus is your Savior. Jesus pointed out that we must obey His will
at least three times in the gospel of John:
(1) “If
you love Me, keep My commandments” (John
14:15, NKJV); (2) “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And
he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest
Myself to him” (John 14:21,
NKJV); and (3) “If
you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My
Father’s commandments and abide in His love”
(John 15:10, NKJV.) Sadly, there
are many who dismiss one of the clearest commands that Jesus taught in word and
in deed; cf., Matthew 3:14-16; Matthew 28:19; and Mark 16:16. Notice that the preaching of Christ involved
the response of submission to baptism—“But when they believed Philip as he preached the things
concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women
were baptized” (Acts 8:12, NKJV.)
Recall that Jesus
revealed to us the fate of a group that failed to understand that there is more
to a relationship with Him than merely claiming
one. Jesus revealed an alarming
sentence, one that we should give serious reflection on—“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in
heaven. Many will say to Me in that day,
‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?’ And
then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew
7:21-23, NKJV).
Remember, to have a
relationship with Jesus in eternity requires that you have a relationship with
Him in the here and now! If Jesus is not
your Savior, then please give serious thought to professing your allegiance to
Him and enjoy a relationship that will take your through this life, past death
and into eternity! What other
relationship is more precious than that?
--------------------------------------------
SOURCES:
Holland L. Boring, Sr., Christian Song Album: With Biographical Sketches, Rosebud, TX:
Holland L. Boring, Sr., 1968, p. 89.
Gene C. Finley, Our Garden of Song, West Monroe,
LA: Howard Publishing Company, 1980, pp.
473-475.
David R. Kenney, "Interview
of Sharon Sheppard, Daughter of J. I. Thomas," Telephone Interview, 23 February
2015.
V. E. Howard, Editor, and
Broadus E. Smith, Associate Editor, Church
Gospel Songs and Hymns, West Monroe, LA:
Central Printers & Publishers, 1983.
John P. Wiegand, Editor, Praise for the Lord, Nashville, TN: Praise Press, 1997.
G.H.P. Showalter, Editor,
“Harlandale Church of Christ, San Antonio Builds A New Auditorium,” Firm Foundation, May 4, 1948, p. 9.
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