All my life long I had panted

Hallelujah! I have found Him / Whom my soul so long has craved!

Well of water, ever springing,
Bread of life, so rich and free,
Untold wealth that never faileth,
My Redeemer is to me.

Verse one comes from Psalms 42:1. The deer panting for the water is a metaphor for our heart’s longing for some cool spring. As Christians we know that spring is Christ. Verse two refers to the experience of the prodigal son who was so hungry he was eating the husks around him. The world will never satisfy our hunger. So in this hymn we see that man not only has a desire for water but also food. God has put this thirst and hunger in our spirit. So in this hymn we seen there is a thirst, a longing, a craving, a hunger, which should bring about a natural seeking for God. These things are something very deep that can only be satisfied by Christ. We must have Him for our spiritual food and drink. We must take Him in as the water of Life and the bread of Life to be satisfied. This is not by knowledge but by faith.

Here is the history of this wonderful hymn. It is her testimony and experience that many can relate to. The history contains scripture reference as well as quotes from others that were an inspiration for this hymn.

Author –Clara Tear Williams, 1858-1937

Composer –Ralph E. Hudson, 1843-1901

“For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. ” Psalm 107:9

The author, Clara Tear Williams, has given the following description of the writing of this inspirational testimony hymn:

“About 1875, I was helping in meetings in Troy, Ohio, where Professor R. E. Hudson conducted the singing, when, just before retiring one night, he asked me to write a song for a book he was preparing to publish. Before sleeping, I wrote “Satisfied. ” In the morning, he composed the music. ”

In his book, Songs That Lift the Heart, George Beverly Shea (See “I’d Rather Have Jesus, ” No. 42) gives the following account regarding the author of this hymn:

“My father, the Reverend A. J. Shea, and I were on an afternoon shopping trip for Mother, as I recall. When we came out of a store in Houghton, New York, where we had recently moved from Winchester, Ontario, we met a tall, elderly woman making her way slowly up the street. She was walking in that slow, mincing step older people sometimes do, cautious not to lose balance.

“Dad tipped his hat and said good-day to her as we passed. She stopped and looked up to see who was speaking. Smiling sweetly, she returned his greeting.

“‘Do you know who that was, son? ’ he asked me on up the way. I turned and watched as she continued her careful progress. Though a distinguished woman (whom I would now describe as looking a lot like Whistler’s Mother)–I had no idea who she was.

“‘That, ’ said Dad, ‘was Mrs. Clara Tear Williams. She writes hymns. ’ There was a near reverence in his voice, and though I was only eight years old, I was duly impressed. Already, I was fascinated by music and anyone who was involved in it. . When Dad and I got home that afternoon, I told Mother about meeting Mrs. Williams, the hymnwriter. She smiled knowingly and nodded her head. Then she went to the piano bench and found a hymnal that contained one of Clara Tear Williams’ compositions.

“She explained that Mrs. Williams–a Methodist like us–had written the words, but that the music had been written by Ralph E. Hudson, an Ohio publisher who also was an evangelistic singer.

“A few years later, when I was in my teens and began to sing solos, I memorized the hymn that Mother played that day and sang it. It was entitled “Satisfied. ”

The composer of this hymn, Ralph E. Hudson, was born on July 9, 1843, in Napoleon, Ohio. Following his discharge from the Union Army and the Civil War in 1864, he taught music at Mount Vernon College, Alliance, Ohio, for five years. He became licensed to preach in the Methodist Episcopal Church and was active in evangelistic work. He was also known as a singer, songwriter, and compiler, establishing his own publishing company at Alliance, Ohio. A strong prohibitionist, Hudson wrote several temperance songs and published The Temperance Songster, in 1886. Several of his hymnal collections include Salvation Echoes (1882), Gems of Gospel Song (1884), Songs of Peace, Love and Joy (1885), and Songs of the Ransomed (1887), all of which were later combined into one volume, titled Quartette.

Other gospel hymns for which Ralph Hudson has supplied music include: “Blessed Be the Name, ” “At the Cross, ” “A Glorious Church, ” and “I’ll Live for Him” (words only).

Clara Tear Williams’ text with Ralph Hudson’s music appeared in the first printing of Gems of Gospel Song (1881), compiled by E. A. Hoffman, J. H. Tenney, and Ralph E. Hudson. It is still widely sung today.

“Three things make us happy and content: the seeing eye, the hearing ear, and the responsive heart. ” –Missionary Digest

“Have your heart right with Christ, and He will visit you often, and so turn weekdays into Sundays, meals into sacraments, homes into temples, and earth into heaven. –Charles Haddon Spurgeon

“I have tasted heaven’s manna,
And I want no other bread.
In green pastures I am dwelling,
And my hung’ring soul is fed.
“At the living fount of waters,
I have quenched my thirst for aye.
I am living in God’s glory,
And my sins are washed away. ”
–Avis B. Christiansen
All my life I had a longing
For a drink from some clear spring,
That I hoped would quench the burning
Of the thirst I felt within.

Refrain
Hallelujah! I have found Him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
Through His blood I now am saved.
Feeding on the husks around me,
Till my strength was almost gone,
Longed my soul for something better,
Only still to hunger on.

Refrain
Poor I was, and sought for riches,
Something that would satisfy,
But the dust I gathered round me
Only mocked my soul’s sad cry.

Refrain
Well of water, ever springing,
Bread of life so rich and free,
Untold wealth that never faileth,
My Redeemer is to me.

Refrain

Hallelujah I found the most precious One! I Love you Lord.

I love it

Great thanks to the writer of this song because this song played a big role towards my seeing the light of God. I also appreciate the gaither vocal band singing group. may God bless you all and the gaither homecoming singing groups all. Bill Gaither and Gloria gaither thanks alot for endeavoring all you can. I love you all and I miss to see and sing with you.

Stanza 4 is a powerful summary of standard 1, 2 and 3. God bless the writer and every heart that has encountered Jesus as Lord and saviour. Even those who are yet to tell this beautiful testimony. “Hallelujah I have found Him. Whom my soul so long has craved.”

This is my testomony and praise to the LORD for his SALVATION ! It describes my whole life untill I found the LORDJESUS CHRIST at the age of 25. Or rather untill He found me a lost sinner. The last line of the chorus should read:

Through his Blood I now am saved. On the Cross He took my death sentence for the wages of sin is death. " But God commendeth his live toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified through his BLOOD , we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Rom. 5:8-11.

Well of water, ever springing,
Bread of life, so rich and free,
Untold wealth that never faileth,
My Redeemer is to me.