Read Ebook: Hymns in Human Experience by Hart William J William John Joseph Oscar L Oscar Loos Editor

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Ebook has 1021 lines and 50520 words, and 21 pages

The second stanza was reached:

"When the soft dews of kindly sleep My wearied eyelids gently steep, Be my last thought, how sweet to rest Forever on my Saviour's breast."

Relatives, looking on the peaceful form, then observed that he had quietly answered the call of his Lord, and that the spirit had gone to the home of many mansions.

Here is an incident which recalls one of the bitter tragedies of the ocean. See also page 30.

Their Last Sing-Song

The passengers were asked to make their selections. It was significant that many of the hymns chosen had to do with dangers at sea. There was a hushed tone with which all sang: "For those in peril on the sea."

The service lasted until after ten o'clock, with wishes exchanged by all that they might soon reach the end of their pleasant voyage by landing in New York. Little did they realize at the time that only a few miles ahead lay one peril on the sea in the iceberg that sank the great liner. The leader of this service and his wife were among the hundreds who perished ere the dawn of the next day.

The power of hymns to calm and sustain is seen in

Other Refuge Have I None

An air raid of the enemy threatened the destruction of a munitions factory "somewhere in England" where thousands of women were working, according to Mrs. Burnett Smith. A very tense feeling prevailed, for it was realized that the worst might happen at any moment. Nerves began to break a little, while sobs and screams were being heard. Then some one in a far corner began softly to sing:

"Jesus, Lover of my soul, Let me to Thy bosom fly."

The others quickly joined in the song until all were singing softly and quietly. The danger passed, and the women were unharmed.

One can imagine the courage of that group of women rising as they prayerfully sang the words:

"Other refuge have I none; Hangs my helpless soul on Thee: Leave, ah! leave me not alone, Still support and comfort me: All my trust on Thee is stayed, All my help from Thee I bring; Cover my defenseless head With the shadow of Thy wing."

Their help in giving the fortitude of faith is illustrated by

An Unforgotten Song

A British writer has told us of an evening which he spent at a fashionable watering place in Scotland. The visitors were seated in the drawing-room, spending the evening in a leisurely manner in reading or conversing.

Presently two ladies walked up to the piano, one to sing, the other to play her accompaniment. Conversation still continued, as the air was played over. But as soon as the words were reached, a hush fell upon the audience. The piece was Topliff's setting of "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth." The drawing-room was a large one, capable of seating some hundreds of people, and furnished in a way calculated to deaden sound. Yet every word was heard distinctly.

The man who tells the story says that next to him was sitting a man, apparently from the west of England, "endowed with a wise and gracious Christlike spirit, the fruit of many years' experience in his Master's service." This man listened with rapt attention. Then he turned to his neighbor, and whispered in a hushed voice, "I can tell by the way that girl sings that she is a Christian."

The narrator of the incident, anxious to know more about the young lady, learned something of her experience. He records it as follows: "She had been engaged to be married to a medical man--a very fine Christian. One day, when he was staying at a place far distant from the home of his fianc?e, he was suddenly stricken with typhoid fever, and died almost immediately. The lady was not told about it till after the funeral was over. The shock was so great that she was prostrated for some days. When she was able to get about again, her lovely voice, her greatest gift, was gone. Something like paralysis of the throat prevented her speaking above a whisper. Many months after, the voice gradually came back. When she was able to sing once more with her old power, she made a solemn vow that she would devote her voice very specially to God's service. Thenceforth her most treasured possession was the Bible of her beloved. I saw it. It was crowded with notes from cover to cover, for the book was woven into its owner's life."

The secret of such a faith is finely expressed in

Sounding the Silver Trumpet

"I had read in the biography of Sir Edward Burne-Jones a legend which he had noted," said Dr. R. G. Gillie. "When Lucifer was cast out of the Holy City he founded a kingdom of his own, and one of his retainers, greatly caring, asked what he missed most now that he was shut out of Heaven. Pondering, the Prince of Evil paused and answered: 'I miss the sound of the silver trumpets in the morning.' According to the legend all the glad populace was called each day to labor and achievement by silver trumpets."

"Today on weary nations The heavenly manna falls; To holy convocations The silver trumpet calls."

The response to this call is touchingly related in an incident:

Grandchildren of Cannibals Praised God

Stirring reports were brought back from Africa by Mr. W. J. W. Roome when he went there in 1929 for the British and Foreign Bible Society. The main station of the great English Baptist Mission on the Congo is at Yakusu. When Mr. Roome arrived at this point the children of the mission, who were the grandchildren of cannibals, greeted him by singing Lyte's great hymn.

"Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven; To His feet thy tribute bring; Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, Who like me His praise should sing? Praise Him! praise Him! praise Him! praise Him! Praise the everlasting King!"

The irrepressible faith in missionary work was recently advertised by

A Song Which Belted the Globe

"The last great day opened with the communion service at 6:45, conducted by Bishop William F. McDowell. At 4:30 on that dark, rainy morning eight hundred women were standing on the steps of Memorial Hall. For nearly three hours the procession passed forward to receive the broken bread from the brass communion plates sent from Korea, and to drink the wine from the Chinese communion cups, and to stand a moment in prayer. And in the solemn hush one thought of the communion services being held around the world on this day, when the communion song, 'The Light of the World is Jesus,' would belt the globe."

This is the theme, announced with variations, concerning

The Wondrous Story

"They were gathered together on the after-deck of the steamer, singing the old hymns. Night had come down over the ocean, the myriad stars of a tropical sky were twinkling overhead, and more than one of the Sunday School Times party who were joining in the singing were thanking God for the precious memories the old hymns brought them. Stewards and stewardesses in the service of the ship were on deck near by, resting in steamer chairs, enjoying the cool breezes and listening to the hymns.

"It was interesting to note the deep interest with which the passengers on board listened to the singing of the old hymns. Some joined in; the lips of others were seen moving as words of the hymn were being repeated; one man removed his eyeglasses to wipe a certain mistiness from his eyes, then he rather timidly asked that a certain hymn might be sung, 'I Will Sing the Wondrous Story.'"

Some incidents are parables of life as when a congregation

Sang Amid the Darkness

Many years ago the Bishop of Ripon preached at Harrowgate on the text, "While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light" . Earnestly and impressively he presented Christ as the Light of the World. Those away from Christ were pictured as being out in the darkness. Tenderly urging the congregation to come into the light, he announced the hymn, "Abide With Me!" The large congregation had joined with the choir in singing the first line:

"Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide,"

when every light in the church suddenly went out.

Without a moment of pause, however, the choir continued to follow the organ, and sang:

"The darkness deepens--Lord, with me abide! When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me!"

While singing the next lines, a few of the gas jets were lit. These words were:

"Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day; Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;"

But the lights feebly flickered and died, and the congregation, again in darkness, continued:

"Change and decay in all around I see: O Thou, who changest not, abide with me!"

But the choir sang on to the end. When they reached the last stanza some of the gas jets were burning; and in the dim light the words were stirringly appealing:

"Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes: Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies: Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee: In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!"

"God Will Take Care of You"

A blind man was seen crossing the street at a dangerous place in the Bronx, New York City. When a friend approached he saw that the lips of the blind man were moving, and as he listened he heard him singing softly, "God will take care of you." When the friend made himself known to the blind man he carelessly inquired, "Why are you singing that hymn?" He replied: "The reason is that I must cross this dangerous crossing just ahead of me in about a minute, and I was thinking that possibly one of the many wagons or trucks might strike me and I would get killed. But the thought came to me that even if it did occur my soul would go straight to God. And if He led me across all right it would be just another evidence of His care of me. So I just could not help singing to myself, 'God will take care of you.' Hallelujah!"

A young woman who had lost both her husband and little daughter, and was left to support herself in sorrow, took a slip of paper on which was written the song, "God will take care of you," and pinned it over the place where she did her dishwashing, and testified to the great comfort the song brought to her.

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