Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

Elisha A. Hoffman; music Anthony J. Showalter · 1887 · tune SHOWALTER
Key of G · public domain

Words

The story

Anthony Showalter was running a singing school in Hartselle, Alabama when, by his own telling, he received a single letter from two former pupils in South Carolina, telling him that on the same day each of them had buried his wife. He wrote back to both, and the verse he reached for was Deuteronomy 33:27, the eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. The refrain came to him while he was writing those letters. He had the chorus but not the verses, so he sent it to Elisha Hoffman, a Presbyterian minister and prolific hymn writer, who supplied them. It was published in 1887. The word underneath is the whole hymn. Not around, not above. Underneath, where you fall to.

Chords in G

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Common questions

Who wrote Leaning on the Everlasting Arms? Elisha A. Hoffman; music Anthony J. Showalter wrote the words in 1887.

What tune is it sung to? SHOWALTER, set here in the key of G.

What scripture is it built on? Deuteronomy 33:27.

Is Leaning on the Everlasting Arms free to use in church? Yes. The words are public domain, which means any church may sing them, print them in a bulletin, put them on a screen or record them, without asking permission and without paying anyone.

Themes

Comfort · Grief · Safety