Beautiful Words of Life

In 1874, Philip Bliss (1838–1876) was in high demand as a musician and composer. His primary income was in giving concerts and singing at conventions, accompanied by his wife Lucy, through which he could promote and sell his music. At the same time, he had been recruited to lead music part-time for the evangelistic campaigns of Major Daniel Webster Whittle (1840–1901). Over the winter of 1873–1874, another major evangelist, Dwight L. Moody (1837–1899), petitioned Bliss and Whittle to join forces with him. As biographer J.H. Hall noted, “They finally decided to try a meeting or two, letting the results help them decide. The first meeting was held in Waukegan, Ill., March 24th–26th. The meeting was a memorable one. Major Whittle says concerning it: ‘We returned to Chicago praising God; Bliss to find substitutes for his conventions, and I to resign my business position.’”

Also, in 1874, Bliss produced a Sunday School paper for the Fleming H. Revell company in Chicago called Words of Life. For the first issue of this paper, Bliss wrote one of his most enduring songs, “Wonderful Words of Life.” Unfortunately, no copy of this issue is known to survive. The song’s first known appearance in a songbook was in Songs for Sunday Schools and Gospel Meetings (Boston: White, Smith & Co., 1876 | Fig. 1), edited by James R. Murray.