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
-
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. - 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. - 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. - 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.
I am always amazed when when see my dad’s burial site. He was born in 1876!!!!!!! That is just 100 years after the founding of the country and just after the Civil War. Incredible.
You have some great memories. None of the males on my dad’s side of the family lived past 71. I am 82. Lol. I think time is running out.
Thanks for sharing.
I think it would be fun to talk to them again. I also think they would be surprised to see the world as it is today.
My goodness, I agree that they would be surprised to see today’s world! It’s always fascinating to me to look back on anniversaries and wee how far we’ve come since ‘then.’ My mother said several times, before she died in 2010, that she disliked this century! I turned 75 at the end of last year — feel better now than I did most of last year! Happy birthday, tomorrow, Doris
So glad you are feeling better than last year. Thanks for the birthday wishes.
Hope you both have very happy birthdays. It seems like people are living longer now. I am 78. Tom was 78 when he died and he lived longer than his father did, or his grandfathers. That hymn is a beautiful one. Hardly anybody sings it anymore. We used to sing it in Africa. It is one of my oldest son’s favorites. He’s 55. The 2 younger boys (31 and 48) probably don’t know it.
The chorus is especially beautiful.