The words were written by Irwin Henry Evans who was born on April 10, 1862, in Michigan. He was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a lad of 12 years. He attended Battle Creek College and was licensed to preach in 1882; in 1886 he was ordained to the ministry. Five years later he was appointed president of the Michigan Conference and continued in administrative work until his retirement. He was manager of the Review and Herald Publishing Association from 1901 to 1904. At one time (1903-1909) he was treasurer of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He was president of the former Asiatic Division, 1909-1913; of the North American Division, 1913-1918; and of the Far Eastern Division, 1919-1930. From 1931 to 1941 Evans was head of the Ministerial Association. Simultaneous to that position, he was a General Conference vice president from 1931 to 1936, and a field secretary from 1936 to 1941, when he retired. He was chairman of the committee appointed to prepare Church Hymnal, which was published in 1941, and wrote four books. He died at Takoma Park, Washington, D.C., on November 24, 1945.

The tune, written especially for the words for Church Hymnal, 1941, and named EVANS after the author, was composed in 1939 by Irving Arthur Steinel (1884-1945), who was also a Seventh-day Adventist. He was a church organist and taught many years in California, after serving six years as a missionary teacher in the Philippines. He was the organist for the first Voice of Prophecy King’s Heralds Quartet, and composed many songs and anthems, mostly at night while sitting up in bed.

📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.