Sanctify Me

Backstory

Story Behind the Song

Born from a homework assignment for a theological class called History and Polity… the instructor, my Pastor at the time, wanted his students to use their talents to demonstrate what we learned during our semester. Practical application is always so much better than testing my ability to retain information in a multiple choice test which I forget the next day. And yes, I received an “A” for my grade, everyone did!

Homework

Because I am a life learner and love history I jumped on the opportunity to take this class on the History and Polity of the denomination where our family attended church services while living in South Carolina.

Consequently I met a few Protestant founding servants that came out of the Pentecostal Holiness & Methodist Holiness Movement at the turn of the 19th century. Moved by the faith and stories of people like Dr. Phineas Bresee, Bud “Uncle Buddy” Robinson, and Phoebe Palmer, I never expected to write a song from my studies.

When our Pastor and my instructor said for our final exam he wanted each of us to use our talents to demonstrate what we learned he suggested that I write a song. He was always encouraging and a strong supporter of the music God commissioned me to write. Hence, I loved the idea. Thanks to the support of this wonderful man and his family, I spent ten years of my live traveling and singing God’s praises as a Song Evangelist in the Church denomination.

It was the work of Dr. Bresee on “Entire Sanctification,” that got my attention. To demonstrate, he mentioned phrases like tune my tongue to praise you, search me & cleanse me, and my soul is thirsty for you. Drawing from scriptures and the words of the late Doctor I crafted the lyrics. First acknowledging that God is Holy and then building on that concept to craft the song as a cry for Holiness for the Lord.

History of Holy, Holy, Holy

“Holy, Holy, Holy” is one of my favorite Hymns. Written by Anglican bishop Reginald Heber (1783–1826) it is sung to the tune “Nicaea,” by John Bacchus Dykes. Originally the Hymn was written for Trinity Sunday paraphrasing Revelation 4:1-11. Written during his tenure as a vicar in the Anglican Church of Hodnet, Shropshire, England, the author died before it’s official publication.

In 1861, the Hymn was first published in “Hymns Ancient and Modern.” Today the Hymn is found in most denominational Hymnals. Altogether Heber went on to write over 100 Hymns with many still around in our day, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” is considered to be his best work. This song has been recorded by many modern day contemporaries of the 21st Century.

Production Notes

“Sanctify Me,” written, during the production of my last project “In Spirit and Truth,” is a pleasant surprise. Actually in between recording sessions in Atlanta, I parked myself at this old Baby Grand Piano with an amazing sound. Playing around with chords on the keys I landed on a chord progression that I really liked. I played around with the words on the chorus and finalized that part of the song. Afterwards, when I returned home the lyrics to the verses came to me. Because I was already in the process of completing “In Spirit and Truth,” I was just in the mindset of completing my homework assignment. As a result the song sat for a long time, embarrassingly 15 years.

Finally, too many years and a Masters Degree later the Lord wanted me to get back to my calling. As I was producing “Bigger than Me,” initially I had a hard time hearing what this song should sound like. Eventually it came to me to craft this song with a modern worship vibe. Now, I love harmonies and use them a lot in productions but for this one the Lord led me to stick with voices in unison.

As a result the final production is a fusion of soft rock meets Nuns in a convent. It has a 1970’s anthem vibe. To clarify I didn’t plan it that way. However, I have to say I love this song and it is often stuck in my head. Furthermore the idea to use part of the Hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy,” with just drums and vocals came to me during the production. Just another example of how the Lord downloads music and directs me in the production. Laugh if you want but I believe with all my heart it is truly a GOD THING!

Sanctify Me, from the Album Bigger Than Me | © 2005 Judith Baker (ASCAP) | Publisher LeBaker Music (ASCAP) | Music, Lyrics, Background Vocals, Production and Sound Recording by Judith Baker | All Rights Reserved