Hymns in Human Experience :: CHAPTER VIII Songs of Salvation

CHAPTER VIII Songs of Salvation

It has been rightly observed that the three ideas most frequently expressed by Jesus are translated by the words lost, last, least. He constantly repeated the message that the lost shall be found, that the last shall be the first, that the least shall be the greatest. This is the Gospel of the World’s Saviour who saw possibilities in what others called hopeless lives. He appealed to what was latent in them and secured a response from the despised, the outcast, the depraved. To all appearances they were incapable of better things but Jesus knew better and He was not disappointed.

These unfortunate individuals belong to the “broken earthenware” of humanity. Scarred by sin, hurt by temptation, haunted by fear, torn by passion, repressed by prejudice, their lives have been redeemed by the Saviour, and transformed. So much so that their present has not the slightest resemblance to their past, and their future has the glow of greater progress toward holiness and happiness. As long as such results are obtained by the Gospel it is certainly good news to all classes and conditions, and should be broadcast to earth’s remotest bounds. Here are some recent proofs of the glory of the divine grace.

There are no hopeless cases as seen in the instance of one who was

Saved by Sankey’s Singing

Mrs. Emily Sullivan Oakey was a well-known writer but she is best remembered by her hymn, “Sowing the Seed by the Daylight Fair.” In the winter of 1876, W. O. Lattimore, who had been separated from his wife and child by drink and had become a miserable drunkard, stumbled in an intoxicated condition into Moody’s Tabernacle in Chicago. When he came to, he realized his mistake and was about to leave when Sankey’s solo held him. He was singing the stanza:

“Sowing the seed of a lingering pain,

Sowing the seed of a maddened brain,

Sowing the seed of a tarnished name,

Sowing the seed of eternal shame:

O, what shall the harvest be?”

These lines followed Lattimore even to the saloon and he returned to the Tabernacle and was converted. He went back to his family, engaged in active work at the Moody meetings, accepted the call to the ministry and was pastor of a flourishing church in Evanston, Illinois, for twenty years.

This hymn was doubtless suggested by the Apostle’s words: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

The insight of Jesus is finely illustrated by

Hymns from the Bowery Mission

Fanny Crosby was a friend and devoted worker at the Bowery Mission for several years and many of her hymns were inspired by experiences at this center of aggressive evangelism. Few hymns by any writer show deeper sympathetic insight than “Rescue the Perishing,” especially the lines:

“Down in the human heart,

Crushed by the tempter,

Feelings lie buried that grace can restore:

Touched by a loving heart,

Wakened by kindness,

Chords that were broken will vibrate once more.”

The circumstances under which this hymn was written are worth recounting in her own words:

“I recall the period of more than sixteen years ago when it was my privilege to be a humble worker in the Bowery Mission. The world is still, and I am holding communion with the past; sweet, hallowed communion, carrying me back to the fervent heartfelt testimonies of those who, evening after evening, told of the peace flowing like a river which had entered their stained lives, had washed away their sins, and made them clean through the precious blood of our Lord’s atonement.

“One evening a man for whom we had been praying, said, his face radiant with joy, ‘Now I can meet mother in heaven, for I have found her God.’ That night I wrote my hymn, ‘Rescue the Perishing.’”

Here is a remarkable case of one who, while

Singing of Christ, She Accepted Him

In the absence of the organist at East Northfield, Massachusetts, at one of the meetings during the summer gathering, a woman stepped forward and volunteered her services. She made a deep impression by her playing and also by the sweetness of her singing, with the result that she was in constant demand at the other services. When urgently requested she related her experience.

She used to be one of the leading singers of New York, going from place to place, singing classical and operatic music, but hymns she disliked. One evening, while attending a mission service, she was invited to sing a solo, which she did with pleasure. Then someone asked her to sing a Gospel hymn. She first laughed at the idea, and refused. Later she consented. Opening the book at random, she began:

“My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;

For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.”

The words caused her to think of her past life. She continued:

“I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,

And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath.”

These words struck her forcefully, and she began to wonder if she really meant them. The last verse followed:

“In mansions of glory and endless delight

I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;

I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.”

It was enough. She arose from her seat at the organ a Christian woman, and henceforth served Christ whole-heartedly.

The initiative is always taken by God, as seen in the story where

God Was the Seeker

“How long since ye sought and found God, Jamie?” said some of the friends of an old Scotch elder as he lay dying.

“Oh, Robin, Robin, I never sought and found him,” answered the dying man.

“Oh, his mind is gane, and he will never recognize us again,” remarked the friend sadly.

But the old saint opened his lips, and faintly said: “Listen! Not I—not I—I never sought Him:

‘Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God,

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.’”

The old Scotchman had grasped the fundamental fact of Christianity, that Christ came to seek and to save the lost.

Dr. Charles A. Blanchard once related the conversion of a friend of his through

A Song at Midnight

This friend was for many years an infidel, a hard drinker, a Sabbath breaker, unkind to his wife. One day, after a debauch, he went out on a stringer belonging to a wharf in process of building, drank two bottles of whisky, and lay down on the stringer, expecting to fall asleep, and roll over into the water in his sleep. He wanted to end his miserable existence, but had not the courage to do it in any other way. He did fall asleep, but did not turn over, and awoke with the stars shining in his face. He went home at midnight, saw his wife through the window still at work ironing, and heard her singing, “What a Friend we have in Jesus.” The thought came to him, “If Jesus can make my wife sing at midnight, He can make me stop drinking whiskey.” He never touched a drop of intoxicating liquor after that, and he became a sincere, trusting Christian.

The truth of the words, “Cast thy bread upon the waters and thou shalt find it after many days,” finds an illustration in this story of a writer who was

Handed a Copy of Her Own Hymn

Charlotte Elliott first published her famous hymn,

“Just as I am, without one plea

But that Thy blood was shed for me,”

in a volume entitled The Invalid’s Hymn Book. The sister of the author related this incident:

“A lady was so struck with it that she had it printed as a leaflet and widely circulated without any idea by whom it was composed. It happened rather curiously that while we were living at Torquay, our valued Christian physician came to us one morning, having in his hand this leaflet. He offered it to my sister, saying, ‘I am sure this will please you;’ and great indeed was his astonishment on finding that it was written by herself, though by what means it had been thus printed and circulated she was utterly ignorant. Shortly after we became acquainted with the lady who had printed it.”

Mr. Sankey saved many hymns from obscurity by singing them at the Moody meetings. Here is the story of

“Throw Out the Lifeline”

This hymn and the tune were written by the Rev. E. S. Ufford of Springfield, Massachusetts, although it was greatly popularized by Mr. Sankey’s singing of it with such signal results. Mr. Ufford relates that he lived for many years near the seashore in a little village thirteen miles from Boston. In the summer he would often stroll along the beach and see an old wreck half hidden in the sands and rubbish and wonder whether such a wreck might have been avoided if a life line had been thrown out to the passengers and crew. He wished that he might write a hymn with a searching message. After a meeting held on the sands by the old wreck, he offered the help of the Gospel to the wrecks of manhood who were present.

The inspiration of this service so stirred him that he sat down and in fifteen minutes wrote four stanzas of the hymn which has justly become famous. Sankey got hold of this hymn and at once began to sing it. It was Moody’s favorite. When Mr. Ufford later took a trip round the world the fact that he was the author of this hymn gave him a welcome everywhere. It was his privilege to hear it sung by the natives of Honolulu in their own tongue.

Mr. Sankey also popularized another hymn which he casually came across

In a Newspaper

It was in 1874 that he discovered “The Ninety and Nine” in a weekly newspaper which he bought at the Glasgow railway station. He cut out this poem, hoping to use it if he could get a suitable tune. After an address on “The Good Shepherd,” Mr. Moody turned to him with the request for an appropriate solo. To quote his own words: “At this moment I seemed to hear a voice saying, ‘Sing the hymn you found in the train.’ I thought this impossible as no music had been written for the hymn. Again the impression came strongly upon me that I must sing the beautiful appropriate words I had found the day before, and placing the little newspaper slip on the organ, I lifted my heart in prayer, asking God to help me to sing that the people might hear and understand. Laying my hands on the organ, I struck the chord of A flat and began the song. Note by note the tune was given, which has not been changed from that day to this. Mr. Moody was greatly moved. Leaning over the organ, he looked at the little newspaper slip, and with tears in his eyes said, ‘Sankey, where did you get that hymn? I never heard the like of it in my life.’”

This hymn was written by Miss Elizabeth C. Clephane of Melrose, Scotland, who died in 1869. Her sister was present at this noon meeting at the Free Assembly Hall, and later wrote to Mr. Sankey, thanking him for singing the hymn.

Here is another story by Andrew Stewart in The British Weekly about these same meetings and how the hymn

“Jesus of Nazareth” Made an Extraordinary Impression

“I remember Mr. Sankey in Edinburgh in 1874. Mr. Moody and he were conducting meetings in Broughton Place Church. It was their first visit to Scotland, and Dr. Andrew Thomson had bravely opened the great church to the strangers. A small boy, sitting in our family pew, facing the pulpit, I can recall the effect of the great crowds and the intense impression. One of the hymns used was ‘Jesus of Nazareth Passeth By.’ My father told long afterwards how he met a commercial traveler one morning on the ferry steamer that crossed from Granton before the Forth Bridge was built. The traveler spoke of having attended the evangelistic services the previous night. He said: ‘I am not a religious man and not easily moved, but when that man sang “Jesus of Nazareth Has Passed By” it made an extraordinary impression on me.’ The fact is that the success of the evangelists had more connection with Sankey’s singing than most people realize. He had a powerful baritone voice and sang with deep feeling.”

The first verse of the hymn is:

“What means this eager, anxious throng,

Which moves with busy haste along—

These wondrous gath’rings day by day,

What means this strange commotion, pray?

In accents hushed the throng reply,

‘Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.’”

From far-off China comes this striking incident in connection with

“One Sweetly Solemn Thought”

Dr. Russell H. Conwell was traveling in China and one day he entered a gambling house in a Chinese city. Two Americans were there, betting and drinking; the older one frequently using the filthiest profanity. The younger man had lost in two games and the third game had just begun. While the winner was shuffling the cards his companion sat lazily back in his chair. There was delay in dealing out the cards and while waiting, the other looked carelessly about the room and began to hum a tune and then to sing almost unconsciously. The words were:

“One sweetly solemn thought

Comes to me o’er and o’er;

I am nearer home today

Than I ever have been before.”

While the young man sang, his fellow gambler stopped dealing out cards, stared at the singer and exclaimed: “Harry, where did you learn that song?” “What song?” “Why, the one you have been singing.”

He said he did not know what he had been singing. The other repeated the words, with tears in his eyes, and the younger man said he had learned them in the Sunday School in America.

“Come,” said the elder gambler, getting up; “come, Harry, here’s what I have won from you; go and use it for some good purpose. As for me, as God sees me, I have played my last game and drunk my last bottle. I have misled you, Harry, and I am sorry. Give me your hand, my boy, and say that for old America’s sake, if for no other, you will quit this infernal business.”

This hymn was written by Miss Phoebe Cary while visiting a friend. She had attended church and was deeply stirred, and on returning to her friend’s house she retired to “the little back third-story bedroom” and wrote this expression of her experience. This incident in China gave her much happiness. After her death the older man in the above story wrote to Dr. Conwell saying that he was now a “hard working Christian” and that Harry had renounced his evil ways.

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