  “In the night I sang of him.” (Psa. 42:10, Moffatt).
A group of young men from an English theological college, the “Cliff College Trekkers,” went, during the summer of 1936, to Morecambe, and there this band of energetic youth held Sunday services on the slipway. Evening prayer was also held by them at the slipway, and one who was present expressed gratitude through the press for the privilege of sharing these moments of quiet devotion. Following prayers, the entire company united in singing: “All hail the power of Jesus’ name.” People who had listened to the inspirational hymn were doubtless singing in their hearts, as they walked to their seaside residences, the glowing words: “And crown Him Lord of all.” Nature Gave the Perfect TouchSome of the great moments of a lifetime were experienced by lovers of sacred music on an evening in late June, 1931, at the stadium of Cornell University. The Westminster Choirs, arrayed in their resplendent robes, sang under the leadership of the distinguished conductor, Dr. J. Finley Williamson. A representative of The Syracuse Post-Standard thus sketched the event for his newspaper:
During such sublime moments the musicians passed to the close of the hymn: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts! Heaven and earth are full of Thee! Heaven and earth are praising Thee, O Lord most high!” The music combined with the display of nature to induce The Bells of TrinityStartled as he wandered rather aimlessly amid lower New York, a distinguished visitor listened to the Bells of Trinity Church as they joyously pealed forth the strains of: “Hark, hark, my soul! angelic songs are swelling O’er earth’s green fields and ocean’s wave-beat shore; How sweet the truth those blessÈd strains are telling Of that new life when sin shall be no more!” The music fell with soul-stirring effect on the ears of Dr. John A. Hutton, long-time editor of The British Weekly, who was in the United States, as he frequently was in summer-time, to fulfill engagements in preaching and lecturing. The location of Trinity Church, whence came the eventide music, deepened the interest in the hymn. Said Dr. Hutton: “I was hearing the Lord’s song just where the Lord’s song stands in most need of being heard, and just where the Lord’s song sounds most sweetly. I was hearing the Lord’s song in a strange land.” Down opposite Wall street, “Where Mammon holds the throne, dwarfed and almost overshadowed by immense business and financial houses, rises the spire of Trinity.” Hence, “where men were engrossed in the things of time and sense, there fell upon the ear a song that spoke of heaven.” The most popular setting in America for this hymn is “Pilgrims” by Henry Smart, with what H. Augustine Smith calls its “plaintive wistfulness.” This hymn therefore, according to Boyd, “appeals to both the poetic sense and the musical ear.” Personally I have seen congregations deeply moved as they have joined in singing, at an evening service of worship: “Angels, sing on! your faithful watches keeping; Sing us sweet fragments of the songs above; Till morning’s joy shall end the night of weeping, And life’s long shadows break in cloudless love.” Singing SoldiersFifteen soldiers were gathered together on a Thursday evening in a little French village behind the line during the First World War. Forming themselves into a semicircle around the chaplain, Thomas Tiplady, who has described the scene in “The Cross at the Front,” they made choice of the hymn they would like sung to open their devotional meeting. Then they joined in singing: “At even, ere the sun was set, The sick, O Lord, around Thee lay; O in what divers pains they met! O with what joy they went away! “Once more ’tis eventide, and we, Oppressed with various ills, draw near; What if Thy form we cannot see? We know and feel that Thou art here.” The evening was still, and the voices of the men playing football not far away were heard, as well as the sound of guns. Yet as the men sang the birds were also singing in some neighboring trees. Chaplain Tiplady makes this observation: “To him who has only sung this hymn in a church much of its beauty must of necessity be hidden. It is revealed only in the light of the setting sun. The men “Thy touch has still its ancient prayer, No word from Thee can fruitless fall; Hear in this solemn evening hour, And in Thy mercy heal us all.” Hymn Discussion at Oyster BayCaptain Archibald W. Butt, personal aide to President Theodore Roosevelt, spending a week-end at the Roosevelt residence in Oyster Bay, N. Y., accompanied the family to a morning service of worship on July 27, 1908, at the Episcopal Church. Mrs. Roosevelt was a member of this church. Mr. Roosevelt was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, but when in Oyster Bay he used to worship with the family; and so, on this occasion, he took Captain Butt, also an Episcopalian, with him. Later in the day Captain Butt referred to the hymns sung in the service, and, being from the South, made this observation: “I think the South likes strong, sentimental hymns, while every one which was sung at Oyster Bay had some poetic value.” Theodore Roosevelt sang hymns with zest, and enjoyed variety. On this day, however, he declared that his favorite hymn was: “Christ is made the sure Foundation, Christ the head and corner-stone, Chosen of the Lord, and precious, Binding all the Church in one; Holy Sion’s help for ever, And her confidence alone.” This is a translation from an old Latin hymn by Dr. John Mason Neale. Information concerning this hymn by Dr. Charles S. Robinson is as follows: “It is more popular in England than it is on this side of the water, except, perhaps, among Episcopalians, who, as a denomination, seem very fond of it. It is used for corner-stone services, and for dedications and the like, with much acceptance.” “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!” was given by Mr. Roosevelt as his next choice. But he also expressed admiration for “Jerusalem the Golden,” and very naturally for a man of his type: “The Son of God goes forth to war.” Mrs. Roosevelt, on the other hand, named as her choice: “Nearer, my God, to Thee;” and also: “Art thou weary, art thou laden, Art thou sore distrest? ‘Come to Me,’ saith One, ‘and coming, Be at rest.’” “For the first time I realized that I had no favorite hymn,” said Captain Butt in a letter which he wrote to his mother that very night; and which, fortunately, has been preserved in “The Letters of Archie Butt.” He added: “I have thought of it during the day, and I believe that I shall take ‘Nearer, my God, to Thee,’ as my “I think I should like to have sung at my funeral, ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee,’” said Butt in this letter. Singularly enough, this was the last music which he heard played before he died. He was drowned when the Titanic sank; and the ship’s band, which had been playing popular music during the fateful period after the great ship had struck an iceberg on a Sunday night, rendered as its last selection, when the boat was going down and carrying hundreds of the passengers and crew to a swift death in the Atlantic: “Nearer, my God, to Thee.” The following interesting observation, which I have not elsewhere seen, is made by Lawrence F. Abbott, who edited “The Letters of Archie Butt”: “It is said by survivors of the Titanic that as the ship was going down Captain Butt ordered the band to play the music of this hymn.” Most fruitful was the discussion of hymns held at Oyster Bay on that July Sunday afternoon and evening. As a result we know the first choice of Theodore Roosevelt of the many hymns he loved; the hymns which most appealed to Mrs. Roosevelt; and on that eventful day Archibald Butt made his decision in favor of the hymn which went with him to his death in the Atlantic Ocean. |
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