Daniel March was invited to preach to the Christian Association on October 18, 1886, in his own church in Philadelphia.  He was greatly interested in foreign missions and chose for his text the missionary theme implied in the Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me,” He looked for a closing hymn that would reinforce his message, but failed to find one suitable.  On the impulse and inspiration of the moment he sat down and wrote this hymn in eight four-line stanzas, using the words of his words to complete both the first and the last stanzas.  Notice the reference to lay workers, who may not desire or be capable of leadership, but may nevertheless make a contribution to victory, as did Aaron and Hur when they “stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side, and his hands were ready”  (Ex. 17:12).  The hymn was sung from manuscript in the church, and published the next year in Bright Jewels for the Sunday School, 1869.

March was born July 12, 1861, in Millbury, Massachusetts.  He graduated from Yale in 1840 and was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1845.  Later he joined the Congregational Church and ministered in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.  He was world traveler and lecturer and wrote several religious books.  He was died at Woburn, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1909.

  FILLMORE, in honoring the composer of SDAH 539, was composed in 1886 by Franklin Edison Belden (1858-1945; see Biographies).  The form is AABA, scores 1, 2, and 4 being almost identical.