This
hymn was created in 1887 by Eliza A. Hewitt and John R. Sweney. I made the mistake
of confusing John R. Sweney with John S. Sweeney (1832-1908) who was a preacher.
I have a book of sermons by Sweeney published by Gospel Advocate years ago that
I found in an antique store in Akron.
Elisa Edmonds Hewitt (1851-1920), Lyricist
Elisa Edmonds Hewitt was
born June 28, 1851 in Philadelphia, PA to James Stratton Hewitt and Zeruiah
Edmonds Hewitt. She was a school teacher after she graduated valedictorian of
the Girl’s Normal School. She was a Presbyterian and served as a Superintendent
for their Sunday School Program at Calvin Presbyterian Church. At some point in
her life she was afflicted with severe back injury from a careless student hitting
her with a piece of slate which required her to be confined to bed in a cast
for six months. She had re-occurrences of injury at times. During this period, she
composed poetry which came to the attention of John S. Sweney and William J.
Kirkpatrick who published her first book of hymns. She was also friends with
Fanny J. Crosby. Her cousin, Edgar Page Stites was also a hymnist. She also
wrote under the pseudonym of Lidie E. Edmunds. In addition to “More About Jesus”
we sing “For Christ and The Church,” “Stepping in the Light,” “There is
Sunshine in My Soul,” “When We All Get to Heaven,” and “Will There Be Any Stars
in My Crown?” Elisa Edmonds Hewitt passed away on April 20, 1920 and is buried
in Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia. Her tombstone reads “Christian Hymn
Writer Author of ‘Sunshine in My Soul Today.”
John R. Sweney (1837-1899), Composer
John
Robson Sweney was born in West Chester, PA on December 31, 1837. He had a
definite aptitude for music and became a music teacher at a young age. He
studied under a professor Bauer of Germany and learned music on the piano and
violin. At 22 he taught music in Delaware until he was called into the service
of the Third Regiment of Delaware during the Civil War. He was then appointed
Professor of Music at the Pennsylvania Military Academy which facilitated his
return to West Chester. He was granted the Bachelor of Music and Doctor of
Music by the Academy. He was a music leader in the Bethany Presbyterian Church and
Sunday-school program which would lead to his connection with Hewitt.
William
J. Kilpatrick and Sweney published several hymnbooks. Some of John R. Sweney’s
hymns that are familiar to us include not only “More About Jesus” but “Sing On,”
“Tell Me The Story Of Jesus”, “There Is Sunshine in My Soul,” and some may know
“Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown.” The last two of these he also did with
Hewitt.
John
Sweney passed away April 10, 1899 in West Chester. He is buried in Chester
Rural Cemetery. He has been credited with 1,000 hymns. His tombstone reads “A
Sweet Singer of Israel.”
More About Jesus
The song is a simple
message, but it is not a message to be underestimated! The story of Jesus is
the story of Christianity! Have you ever thought about why we have four gospel
accounts? If you were to eliminate one of these, which would you do? A
Christian would never want to do so because we thrive on the life of Jesus and
should want to know more!
How do we know more about
Jesus? All that we have to know about Him is found in the Scriptures. There are
some extra-biblical references to Him by those considered among His foes.
Still, think of how many books have been written due to the influence of Jesus
of Nazareth and people’s desire to know more about Him.
Why do people want to
know more about Jesus? I am sure there are several reasons that could be cited,
but I often think of the phrase relating to military people who die in the line
of duty as “paying the ultimate sacrifice.” You sometimes hear this phrase in reference
to times such as these “No greater love hath no man than to lay down his life
for his friends.” I often wonder how many times people say that and fail to make
the connection to the one who said it best? “This is My commandment, that you love one
another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay
down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I
command you” (John 15:12–14 NKJV). John would reflect on this fact
when he wrote “By
this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to
lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16 NKJV). How much do
we care for one another? How much do we love one another? How much are we
willing to sacrifice to Christ and His church?
We encourage you to learn
more about Jesus, the sacrifice that He made for your redemption, and how you
can become a child of God.
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SOURCES:
“Eliza Edmunds Hewitt.” No Pages. Cited 29 September 2019.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6688760/eliza-edmunds-hewitt.
“Eliza Edmunds Stites Hewitt.” No Pages. Cited 29 September
2019. https://www.blueletterbible.org/hymns/bios/bio_h_e_hewitt_ees.cfm.
“Eliza Hewitt.” No Pages. Cited 29 September 2019. https://bereanbibleheritage.org/extraordinary/hewitt_eliza.php.
Hall, J. H. “Dr. D. Brink Towner.” Biography of Gospel Songs and Hymn Writers. New York: Fleming H.
Revell Company, 19147.
Howard, V. E., Editor, and Broadus E. Smith, Associate
Editor, Church Gospel Songs & Hymns,
Texarkana, TX: Central Printers &
Publishers, 1983.
“John R. Sweney.” No Pages. Cited 29 September 2019. https://en.wiki
pedia.org/wiki/John_R._Sweney
“John R. Sweney.”
No Pages. Cited 29 September 2019. https://hymnary.org/person/Sweney_John.
“More About Jesus.”
No Pages. Cited 29 September 2019. https://hymnstudiesblog.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/quotmore-about-jesusquot.
Wiegand, John P., Editor, Praise For The Lord, Nashville, TN:
Praise Press, 1997.
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