Welcome Home!

He lifted me out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock. 

In loving-kindness Jesus came, my soul in mercy to reclaim; and from the depths of sin and shame, through grace He lifted me.

He called me long before I heard, before my sinful heart was stirred; but when I took Him at His word, forgiv’n He lifted me.

His brow was pierced with many a thorn; His hands by cruel nails were torn when from my guilt and grief, forlorn, in love He lifted me.

Now on a higher plane I dwell, and with my soul I know ‘tis well; yet how or why, I cannot tell, He should have lifted me.

REFRAIN             

From sinking sand, He lifted me, with tender hand He lifted me; from shades of night to planes of light, O, praise His name, He lifted me!

Charles Hutchinson Gabriel, third of 7 children, was born on August 18, 1856, to Isaac and Cleopatra Gabriel in Wilton, Iowa. Charles grew up on a farm and helped his father. Many neighbors and friends would go to the Gabriel farm to sing songs led by his father. He taught himself to play the family reed organ.  There is a story that one day the local pastor saw Charles walking in town early in the week and asked him if he knew a good song to go along with his sermon.  The pastor shared the sermon topic and by the end of the week, the boy had written lyrics and music of a song for that Sunday.  When he turned seventeen, he began hosting singing classes and schools in the North, West, and southern states. Without having any formal training or schooling, he became a music teacher, composer, and editor of music. 

In 1887, Charles moved to San Francisco, California.  Once he settled in California, he became the Sunday school music director for Grace Methodist Church. While still living in California, Charles was known as the leading composer of the Coast.  Later, in 1892, he moved to Chicago, IL. In Chicago, Charles began editing operas, cantatas, and songs. He wrote and composed approximately seven thousand songs and was also known to use pen names: C. D. Emerson, Charlotte G. Homer, S. B. Jackson, A. W. Lawrence, and Jennie Ree. He also wrote Christmas cantatas, sacred cantatas, operettas, song books, primary song books, and his autobiography.

Some of his most famous songs are: "Send the Light", "What a Savior", "He is So Precious to Me", "O That Will Be Glory", and "My Savior's Love" and his most famous cantata, "Saul, King of Israel". Charles is also known for composing music to many hymns written by other songwriters:" His Eye is on the Sparrow", "Since Jesus Came into My Heart", and "Will the Circle be Unbroken". 

He married Francilla Woodhouse in 1876. The marriage did not last long and ended in divorce. The couple had one child, a girl, Verra, together.  In 1889, Charles married Amelia Moore. The couple had one child, a son, named after his father. In 1931, Amelia passed away. One year later, Charles Gabriel passed away on September 14, 1932, at the age of 76, in Los Angeles, CA.    In 1982, Charles H. Gabriel was posthumously inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.