Ye Must Be Born Again

Short Name: William T. Sleeper
Full Name: Sleeper, William T. (William True)
Birth Year: 1819
Death Year: 1904

William True Sleeper was an American Congregational minister, hymn writer, and religious author active during the nineteenth century. He was born on February 9, 1819, in Danbury, New Hampshire. His early education reflected the standard academic path of New England clergy of his era. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, one of the leading preparatory schools in the United States, and later pursued higher education at the University of Vermont. He completed his formal theological training at Andover Theological Seminary, a major center for Congregationalist ministerial education in the nineteenth century.

Following his ordination, Sleeper engaged in home missionary work in Massachusetts and Maine. This work involved preaching, teaching, and pastoral care in established and developing congregations, a common assignment for Congregational ministers during a period of expansion and revival within American Protestantism. His early ministry laid the foundation for a long and stable pastoral career.

Sleeper later became pastor of the Summer Street Congregational Church in Worcester, Massachusetts. He served this congregation for more than thirty years, indicating a sustained and influential pastoral relationship. During his tenure, he was involved in regular preaching, church administration, and religious instruction. His long service suggests that he was regarded as a reliable and capable minister within the Congregational tradition.

In addition to his pastoral duties, Sleeper was active as a religious writer. He authored devotional and theological works, including The Rejected King and Hymns of Jesus, published in 1883. These writings reflect the evangelical emphasis of his theology and his interest in presenting biblical themes in accessible literary form.

Sleeper is best remembered for his contributions to hymnody. He wrote numerous hymn texts, many of which were widely circulated through nineteenth century hymnals and gospel song collections. His most enduring hymn is “A Ruler Once Came to Jesus by Night,” a paraphrase and meditation on the account of Nicodemus in John chapter 3, emphasizing the doctrine of the new birth. This hymn was included in Ira D. Sankey’s Sacred Songs and Solos in 1881, which greatly expanded its reach and usage in revival meetings and congregational worship. Another widely known text by Sleeper is “Out of My Bondage, Sorrow and Night,” which also enjoyed broad international circulation and translation.

William T. Sleeper died on September 24, 1904, in Wellesley, Massachusetts. His legacy rests primarily in his hymn texts, many of which were translated into multiple languages and continue to appear in hymnological records as representative examples of nineteenth century evangelical hymnody.