Hymns in Human Experience
IRA D. SANKEY
by WILLIAM J. HART, D.D.
Publishers HARPER & BROTHERS New York and London 1931
Copyright, 1931, by Harper & Brothers. Printed in the U. S. A. First Edition D-F
To My Wife and Daughters
There’s lots of music in ’em, the hymns of long ago;
An’ when some gray-haired brother sings the ones I used to know
I sorter want to take a hand—I think o’ days gone by—
“On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand and cast a wishful eye.”
There’s lots of music in ’em—those dear, sweet hymns of old,
With visions bright of lands of light and shining streets of gold;
And I hear ’em ringing—singing, where memory dreaming stands,
William J. Hart
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THE GOOD OLD HYMNS
PREFACE
The Supreme Hymn
When Two Hymn-Writers Met
John Wesley’s Last Hymn
Singing Their Farewell
In the Hospital
“Sun of My Soul”
Their Last Sing-Song
Other Refuge Have I None
An Unforgotten Song
Sounding the Silver Trumpet
Grandchildren of Cannibals Praised God
A Song Which Belted the Globe
The Wondrous Story
Sang Amid the Darkness
“God Will Take Care of You”
A Sexton’s Tribute to a Singer
The Author of “Beulah Land”
A Hymn of Consecration
Kindling the Torches at the Bonfire
“Onward, Christian Soldiers”
A Shrine Created by a Song
Played a Hymn on the Deck of a Sinking Boat
Rescuers Steered in the Direction Of the Singer
“Adrift on an Ice-Pan”
Dedicating a Lifeboat
What Led to “He Leadeth Me”
A German Girl Led in Singing “A Mighty Fortress”
What a Blind Soldier Wanted to Hear
Blind and Lonely, But Still Singing
Transfigured by Matheson’s Hymn
“Through Cheerful Years My Guide”
“Through Every Day” for A Thousand Days
“Sank in Blissful Dreams Away”
Hymns in Hospital
Patients Listened to “Precious Name”
Church Bells Reminded Her Of an Old Hymn
The Old Brown Book
“My Mother’s Song”
The Note of Assurance in the Old Hymns
Canadian Railroad Men Sang In Memory of Mother
Heard Mother’s Hymn in a Mission
Voices Husky With Emotion
Wanted to Hear the Hymns That Mother Loved Best
Saluted Her Favorite Hymn
Sang the Nicene Creed
Singing While Sleeping
“Peace, Perfect Peace”
A Mother Answered with a Hymn
Mother Held Her Place in Their Hearts
A Minister Requested His Favorite Hymn
Marching Song of Veteran Ministers
Ready for Another Day’s Work
When a Bishop Sang at the Ordination Service
“Thou My Daily Task Shall Give”
“All My Help From Thee I Bring”
Bishops Sang Their Special Hymn
“Land Me Safe on Canaan’s Side”
Ministers Sang Their Hope
A Memory of Pickett’s Brigade
The Song of the Defeated
A Chorus of Ten Thousand
Marching to Music
A Soldier Saved by Song
Sunshine Came Into a Soldier’s Heart
American Soldiers Greeted Christmas
Soldiers and Sankey’s Hymns
Marching Men
“Six Further On”
“Sing It Again, Laddie”
A Violinist in the Trenches
Prisoners Sang “The Glory Song”
The Hymn of the Prisoner
A Condemned Man Wanted “Face to Face” Sung
Hymns Selected by Prisoners
Judge and Criminals Listened To “The Holy City”
A Cripple Stood on Crutches
Song of the Man with the Wooden Leg
Sung for the Scrub Woman
What the Washerwoman Sang
Before Worship
When Lumberjacks Sang “Jesus, Lover of My Soul”
“Pass It On”
Saved by Sankey’s Singing
Hymns from the Bowery Mission
Singing of Christ, She Accepted Him
God Was the Seeker
A Song at Midnight
Handed a Copy of Her Own Hymn
“Throw Out the Lifeline”
In a Newspaper
“Jesus of Nazareth” Made an Extraordinary Impression
“One Sweetly Solemn Thought”
All Wanted the Same Song
Gospel Music in the Lumber Camps
The Cross Remains
“Rock of Ages”
Henry Drummond’s Hymn on His Last Sunday
The Only Word for Discord and Distress
What Frances Wanted Sung
The Influence of the Sunday School
Glad He Learned the Hymn in Sunday School
“Sing, Muzzer, Sing”
Children Sang of the Love of Jesus
A Youthful Daniel
Jazz and Sacred Music
Spiritual Experience in Song
Evening Prayer of Young Campers
Acknowledging God’s Claims
“Can the Lord Depend on You?”
Young America Made Music
Hymns Used at the Dedication of a College Chapel
Hymns Are Prayers
The Constant Companion of the Pilgrim Journey
“Lead, Kindly Light”
An Eventide Prayer
“Through the Long Night Watches”
“Why, That’s For Me”
The Satisfying Consciousness of God’s Presence
Not Alone
The Value of Negro Spirituals
Finding the Soul of the Song
How the Negroes Sing
Black Uncle’s Song Made a Minister
A Negro Family Sang at John Brown’s Funeral
An Incarnation Hymn that Fires the Imagination
The Joy of Christmas
Nurses Sang Carols
“Silent Night”
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
Carols Sung by Children
Easter Morning in America’s Bethlehem
Hymn Writers Tell of Heaven
Salvation Army Music on Easter Morning
Sung by and for Sankey
Hymn of Martyred President Sung by the Nation
President Wilson’s Favorite Hymn
Bells Played Hymns When Taft Was Buried
Comforted by His Own Hymn
Tennyson’s Hymn at His Funeral
Text Selected by Miss Havergal for Her Tombstone
When Parepa Sang at Annie’s Funeral
Each Member of the Family Sang a Verse
Played Her Father’s Favorite Hymn at a Memorial Service
Songs at a Missionary’s Grave
Hallelujah Chorus and Doxology at the Funeral Service
America, the Beautiful
A Praise Service
Sung on Memorial Day in France
“America” After the Battle
“Salute America!”
“Now Thank We All Our God”
A Singing Legislature
The Doxology on Armistice Day
FOOTNOTES
INDEX OF HYMNS
Transcriber’s Notes
