George Sanville, who for many years was on thestaff of the Rodeheaver Company, in his Forty Gospel Hymn Stories, 1943, gives this account of writing of this gospel hymn. A young Jewish man had attended the evening evangelistic service of A.H. Ackley for five or six successive nights. One night he remained at the close of the service for further information about the divine presence of Jesus. “Why should I worship a dead Jew?” he asked. Ackley forthrightly answered, “He lives! I tell you, He is not dead, but lives here and now! Jesus Christ is alive today. I can prove it by my own experience, as well as the testimony of countless thousands.” In his rereading of the Resurrection stories of the Gospels, the words in in Matthew 28:6, “He is not her: for he is risen,” struck him with new meaning. Ackley said, “The thought of His ever-living presence brought the words and music promptly and easily.”

     The Rodeheaver Company included this song in Triumphant Service Songs,1933, and it has since traveled widely over the world.

     Alfred Henry Ackley was born January 21, 1887, at Spring Hill Pennsylvania. He learned music as a child from his father, and later studied in New York City and at Westminster Theological Seminary in Maryland. After ordination to the Presbyterian ministry, he served as a pastor in Pennsylvania and California. For a time, he was assistant to Hugh Thompson Kerr, editor of the Presbyterian Hymnal,1933. He and his older brother, B.D. Ackley (see SDAH 311), were very prolific in writing words and music of more than 1,000 hymns and gospel songs. They both worked for the Rodeheaver Company in compiling and publishing songbooks. Alfred received the honorary D. Sac. Mus. degree from John Brown University. He died at Whittier, California, July 3, 1960,