THE CROSS AND THE CHURCH
A large group of Christian men gathered in Chicago early in 1938 for a
convention. Said one who was present: "The mood and point of view were
indicated by the opening hymn:
"'Ask ye what great thing I know
That delights and stirs me so?
What the high regard I win?
Whose the name I glory in?
Jesus Christ, the crucified.'"
The great and inspiring gathering closed with the same hymn, and thus
before they separated these same men sang:
"This is that great thing I know;
This delights and stirs me so:
Faith in Him who died to save,
Him who triumphed o'er the grave,
Jesus Christ the crucified."
"But His lone cross and crown of thorns
Endure when crowns and empires fall.
The might of His undying love
In dying conquered all."
--_John Oxenham._
Building Gone, but Hymn Remains
"Above the hills of time the cross is gleaming,
Fair as the sun when night has turned to day;
And from it love's pure light is richly streaming,
To cleanse the heart and banish sin away."
"The church where that hymn was first sung is utterly destroyed, but the
hymn remains. In this thought I take comfort." Thus wrote the Rev.
Thomas Tiplady, superintendent of the Lambeth Mission, London, to The
Hymn Society of America a few weeks after the end of World War II. He
explained thus: "Had not the Church of England friends granted the use
of a tiny chapel and a wooden hut the congregation would have been
entirely homeless, for the wrecking of the entire buildings of the
Mission was completed by a rocket bomb." The building was historic, and
dated back to the ministry of the notable commentator, Dr. Adam Clark.
The author has written a fairly large collection of hymns, and they are
rapidly finding places in new hymnals. But "Above the Hills of Time"
continues to be the favorite. Congregations sing with enthusiasm:
"To this dear cross the eyes of men are turning
Today as in the ages lost to sight;
And so for Thee, O Christ, men's hearts are yearning
As shipwrecked seamen yearn for morning light."
Visits to the United States have been made by the author; and the writer
was privileged to hear him speak at Columbus, Ohio, to an immense
audience. Hearers were profoundly moved as this chaplain in World War I
told the story which is found in his book, "The Cross at the Front."
This beautiful tribute appeared in a review of one of his little
collections of hymns, where an English periodical made this comment:
"Hymns are rarely poetry, say the critics, but there is poetry of a high
order here ... and frequent evidence that the poet has been inspired not
by the muse alone, but also by the Holy Spirit." No one doubts this when
he hears a great congregation sing:
"Like echoes to sweet temple bells replying,
Our hearts, O Lord, make answer to Thy love."
An Army with Banners
A monster rally of the Salvation Army for the raising of needed funds
was held in New York City in March, 1938, when something dramatic
occurred which brought the vast audience to its feet. Among the speakers
were many noted people, including Walter Lippmann, the renowned
philosopher, and General Hugh S. Johnson, experienced soldier and
distinguished writer.
The speakers had been talking about the need of peace. Then, at one
point, the Salvation Army officer in charge, asked: "Is there no
solution for the world's woes but bayonets in the hands of soldiers?" He
paused. Quickly the answer came as the band began to play:
"The Church's one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is His new creation
By water and the word;
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.
'Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace for evermore;
Till, with the vision glorious,
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious
Shall be the Church at rest."
Emphasis was given to the song when a group of "eager and exalted" young
soldiers of the Salvation Army marched into the building carrying their
own colors and the national emblem. These youthful soldiers, enlisted in
the cause of Christ, were militantly engaged in service for the Prince
of Peace. And the parade of the singing soldiers "touched everybody
deeply."
Church Cross Inspired Grocer's Song
A church which he served in his early ministry is thus described by Dr.
William L. Stidger, professor in Boston University: "There was a little
church on the top of a hill in the sand dunes of the Sunset District of
San Francisco, California. On the top of that beautiful little church,
covered with ivy vines, a white revolving cross flashed its light
through the night across the dunes." I visited that church when I
attended the great Exposition in the city mentioned, and heard Dr.
Stidger preach. In fact, I received great kindness at his hands during
the few days I was in the city. Through him I was privileged to attend a
meeting at which Edwin Markham spoke.
In one of his articles Professor Stidger related this story: "At the
foot of that little hill there was a grocery store. The light of that
revolving cross, when it turned west, flashed through the front windows
of that grocery store. The proprietor of the store, Robert Mobbs, as he
waited on his customers at evening time, could look up and see the flash
of that white cross and it always gave him a comfortable feeling. He
liked that cross, he liked to have it flash its message into his store
when the twilight fell across the sand dunes looking toward the Golden
Gate.
"Robert Mobbs, tall, angular, had been born in Prince Edward Island, and
he had grown up in a church-going family. His mother had taught him to
memorize the great hymns of the church and he loved them. As he worked
in the grocery store he liked to hum the hymns of the church over to
himself as he waited on his customers. The hymn he loved best of all was
'In the Cross of Christ I Glory.' He would hum that hymn to himself as
the evening shadows gathered and the light of Calvary's Cross flashed in
through the wide windows. One of his customers, hearing him, said, 'I go
out with little songs singing in my heart. I like it.'" He had heard the
grocer sing:
"In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o'er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gather round its head sublime."
Visiting Singer Familiar with the Hymn
Nelson Eddy, famed for his singing voice, was far from his American home
when he gave a concert to the United States Army on a Saturday evening
at Aden. But an interesting sidelight of this visit to the troops was
given in _The British Weekly_ in February, 1944, and also referred to
the next morning, when he sang in the little Scots Kirk.
The explanation was made to the soloist to the effect that the place of
worship was only a small building. But, accepting the invitation, he
said that the size of the church made no difference, as it was his
personal wish to sing the Lord's Prayer in the Scottish Church. He,
therefore, slipped quietly into the building just as the congregation
had begun to sing the hymn, "Crown Him With Many Crowns." "Not only did
he join in," said the one who reported the incident, "but he practically
led the singing, and without a hymn book."
After the scripture lesson, Mr. Eddy rendered his solo, a musical
setting of the Lord's Prayer, "And it was magnificently sung as if it
were a prayer." The soloist remained while another hymn was sung, and
then he quietly left the sanctuary, as he had to leave Aden immediately.
It was interesting to learn that the visiting singer was so familiar
with the hymn, "Crown Him With Many Crowns," and that he sang it so
heartily. It is one of stirring hymns of the Christian Church, and with
the tune to which it is set, "Diademata," it makes a jubilant song of
praise. Hymn and tune form "a perfect union." Said Covert and Laufer:
"The tune fully conveys the triumphant and ecstatic joy of the text, and
yet its great dignity and solidity are preserved. It is a tune which
organists like to play and which choirs and congregations enjoy
singing." Even in wartime, doubtless, all enjoyed singing:
"Crown Him the Lord of peace,
Whose power a scepter sways
From pole to pole, that wars may cease,
And all be prayer and praise."