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1809-1874

“Take the Name of Jesus With You (Precious Name)”

Baptist missionary Eben Tucker is generally credited with helping Lydia Odell and her sister come to Christ. After their conversion, the sisters helped found the local Baptist Church in Petersburg, New York. When Lydia married, she moved from Petersburg to New York City where her home was a center for visiting preachers and evangelists. Her personality was such that people visited her in order to lift their spirits. Christian leaders often met in her home for prayer and Bible study. Though she was ill and homebound most of her adult life, she began to write at about age forty-five and contributed many hymns to collections for Sunday Schools and Evangelistic services. In 1855, she published Gems by the Wayside, a book of devotional poems. She is known as one of the forerunners of the Gospel Hymn movement of America.

Lydia was captivated by names and loved to discuss the significance of scriptural names with her friends. The name that meant the most to her was Jesus. If she was asked about her cheery attitude in spite of her physical ailments, she would say, “I have a special armor. I have the name of Jesus. When the tempter tries to make me blue or despondent, I mention the name of Jesus, and he can’t get through to me anymore. . . . The name means savior.” Thus, the title to her most famous hymn, “Take the Name of Jesus with You,” written in late 1870, fully described her mindset.