This morning we sang a song in church that I have not heard in a long time.

It took me back many years – to August 1968 – when it was sung at my Grandpa Hawthorne’s funeral. (He is my mother’s father.) It was mentioned as one of his favorite songs.

That is when the song Ivory Palaces also became a favorite hymn of mine.

Ivory Palaces

1. My Lord has garments so wondrous fine,
   And myrrh their texture fills;
   Its fragrance reached to this heart of mine
   With joy my being thrills.
2. His life had also its sorrows sore,
   For aloes had a part;
   And when I think of the cross He bore,
   My eyes with teardrops start.
3. His garments, too, were in cassia dipped,
   With healing in a touch;
   In paths of sin had my feet e’er slipped—
   He’s saved me from its clutch.
4. In garments glorious He will come,
   To open wide the door;
   And I shall enter my heav’nly home,
   To dwell forevermore.

Chorus:
Out of the ivory palaces,
Into a world of woe,
Only His great eternal love
Made my Savior go.

When looking up the lyrics I found this interesting information:

Henry Barraclough wrote the words and Donald Paul Hustad composed the music.

In the summer of 1915 the famous Dr. J Wilbur Chapman was preaching at the Presbyterian conference grounds in North Carolina. With him was the pianist Henry Barraclough. Barraclough was twenty-four year old fellow from England. The evangelist spoke one evening on Psalm 45.

Psalm 45:8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

The spices and perfumes mentioned here were used for many purposes. They were poured on clothes for a perfume. ‘Myrrh’ was an exotic perfume. ‘Aloes’ was bitter herb used in embalming. ‘Cassia’ was a spicy perfume that was also a medication.

After the evening services, ‘Charlie’ Alexander and Henry Barraclough drove some friends to the YMCA a few miles away. Sitting in the front seat of the car, young Barraclough thought about the Psalm 45 sermon and three short verses of this hymn began to shape in his mind.

When they stopped, he quickly wrote down the words on a ‘visitor’s card,’ the only thing available. Once he returned to the conference grounds, he wrote the tune to the words, and the next morning Mr. Brown and Mrs. Alexander sang the new song at the conference meeting. Dr. Chapman then suggested that Barraclough add a fourth verse.

Back to my grandparents

This is how most of the oldest grandchildren remember them.

Another memory: each time we visited them, grandpa served root beer floats, pretzels, and bologna pieces.

Grandpa died nine days short of his 75th birthday.

Grandma died at the age of 71 years and nine months.

Oh, wow. In 2 1/2 months Cerwin will be 75. Tomorrow I will be 72.