The Light of the World is JESUS

Author: Philip P. Bliss (1838-1876)

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

The lyrics revolve around the idea of rescue from sin’s darkness, spiritual sight (moving from blindness to seeing), and the illuminating grace of Christ.

History

Philip P. Bliss (1838–1876), one of five children born to John and Lydia Bliss, grew up in a humble log cabin in northern Pennsylvania. Though formal schooling was limited, the home was rich in love and grounded in Christian teaching. From an early age, Philip displayed a deep hunger for both knowledge and music, eagerly pursuing any chance to learn. By the age of 18, he was already teaching school and beginning his first formal music training. Gifted with a strong baritone voice and a natural talent for composition, his abilities flourished rapidly, and by 1860 he was teaching music himself.

As a young boy, Philip P. Bliss left home to earn a living, working on farms and in lumber camps while still striving to further his education. At just twelve years old, he experienced a life-changing conversion at a revival meeting. In time, Bliss pursued his love for music as an itinerant teacher, traveling from home to home on horseback during the winter months. Summers were devoted to study, as he attended the Normal Academy of Music in Geneseo, New York.

Philip P. Bliss saw his first song published in 1864. Just a few years later, in 1868, evangelist Dwight L. Moody encouraged him to dedicate his talents to the work of gospel music. Following that counsel, Bliss spent the final two years of his life traveling with Major D. W. Whittle, leading music at revival meetings throughout the Midwest and the South.

Many of Philip P. Bliss’s songs were embraced by Dwight L. Moody and Ira Sankey during the great revival campaigns of the 1870s in England. One of his most enduring works, “The Light of the World Is Jesus,” was written specifically for a revival meeting and first introduced to the public by Sankey himself. According to Bliss’s biographer, Major D. W. Whittle, the hymn came to Bliss in a moment of inspiration—both words and melody together—as he walked through a hallway to his room one morning. He immediately wrote it down, capturing the song just as it had come to him.

In November 1876, Philip and his wife traveled to Peoria, Illinois, for a series of meetings with dear friends and fellow laborers in ministry. By mid-December, they returned home to New England to celebrate Christmas with their young sons, with Philip joyfully taking on the role of Santa Claus. Their plans were to head back to Chicago for services with Dwight L. Moody and then continue on to England. But those plans were never fulfilled. On December 29, 1876, while their children remained safely at home, Philip and his wife lost their lives in a tragic train accident.

The Light of the World Is Jesus

1 The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin;

The Light of the world is Jesus.

Like sunshine at noonday His glory shone in;

The Light of the world is Jesus.

Refrain:

Come to the Light; ’tis shining for thee.

Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me.

Once I was blind, but now I can see.

The Light of the world is Jesus.

2. No darkness have we who in Jesus abide;