_Hymns of Youth_
The questioning attitude of youth is impelled by a desire for deeper
reality. Some of their words and ways may scandalize the conventional,
but back of it all we find eager sincerity and animated purposefulness
to make life count for more. We need to show the patience of confidence
towards skeptical young people. We must encourage them to work out their
problems not by holding up danger signals, but by magnifying the ways of
sure deliverance. We are not wedded to methods but are inspired by
motives. So long as these latter are right we might well disagree about
how they are to be expressed.
An interesting sidelight on the essential loyalty of young people was
recently given when, at a summer institute attended exclusively by them,
a popular vote was taken of the best ten hymns. The following were
named: "Holy, Holy, Holy;" "Nearer, My God, to Thee;" "Rock of Ages;"
"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross;" "Abide With Me;" "Sweet Hour of
Prayer;" "Jesus, Lover of My Soul;" "O Love, That Wilt Not Let Me Go;"
"Just As I Am;" "Lead Kindly Light."
This is certainly not the choice of erratic radicals, but of rational
conservatives who desire to retain what is best in the past while going
forward with characteristic adventuresomeness to new fields of activity
and of achievement.
The new program of religious education is an attempt more satisfactorily
to meet the needs of children and adolescents. Previous efforts had
their limitations but all who grew up under the conditions of the former
generation will appreciate this testimony from Sir Harry Lauder in
_Roamin' in the Gloamin'_ about
The Influence of the Sunday School
"I forget many of the hymns we sang at the Band of Hope, but such
favorites as 'Shall We Gather at the River?', 'Throw Out the Life Line,'
and similar haunting airs stand out in my memory. I loved every note of
them and yelled them out most lustily. The old Scottish psalm tunes we
occasionally sang at the Band of Hope, and also at the Sunday School I
attended, likewise made an extraordinary appeal to me. 'All People That
On Earth Do Dwell,' to the tune of the 'Old Hundred;' 'O, God of Bethel
by Whose Hand' to the tune of 'St. Kilda,' were among my favorites. The
last mentioned melody is in a most unusual minor key. It was written by
a young Scottish musician named Bloomfield, who died early in life and
whose body, I have been told, is lying in an ancient cemetery in
Aberdeen."[25]
These words recall an experience of Captain John Lauder in France, which
led him to declare he was
Glad He Learned the Hymn in Sunday School
While convalescing in the hospital he went one day to the piano and
began playing very softly. One of the nurses then came up to him and
said a Captain Webster of the Gordon Highlanders who knew his father,
Sir Harry, wanted to see him. What followed had best be stated in his
own words, quoted in _A Minstrel in France_[26] by Harry Lauder:
"This man had gone through ten operations in less than a week. I thought
perhaps my playing had disturbed him, but when I went to his bedside, he
grasped my hand, pressed it with what little strength he had left, and
thanked me. He asked me if I could play a hymn. He said he would like to
hear 'Lead, Kindly Light.' So I went back to the piano and played it as
softly and as gently as I could. It was his last request. He died an
hour later. I was very glad I was able to soothe his last moments a
little. I am very glad that I learned the hymn at Sunday School as a
boy."
Dr. R. J. Campbell tells a touching story about a mother and her only
child whose request was
"Sing, Muzzer, Sing"
This young English mother made a living for herself and child by singing
in the concert halls of London, and so at night she was compelled to
leave him while meeting her engagements. One night she had a foreboding
of evil but she had to keep her appointment. The rapture of the crowds
and the encores were nothing to her as on this night she hurried back to
the lad. She took him up in her arms and held him as if he could never
slip away. But he was dying, and his broken words were, "Sing, muzzer,
sing." What an ordeal! But she responded. Her clear sweet voice broke
upon the hush of that tenement room in the words of the matchless hymn
of the children:
"I think when I read that sweet story of old,
When Jesus was here among men;
How He called little children like lambs to His fold,
I should like to have been with Him then."
Another hymn made a moving impression upon a large congregation when
Children Sang of the Love of Jesus
A group of fresh-air children from New York City were being entertained
at East Northfield, the home of the schools established by D. L. Moody.
One Sunday, sitting in a body in the great auditorium, they were
presented to the audience, and then invited to the platform to sing for
the assembled company. The little folks marched to the front of the
building, faced the many hundreds of people, and gleefully sang:
"I am so glad that our Father in heaven
Tells of His love in the Book He has given,
Wonderful things in the Bible I see;
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me."
Children of parents who came from many different nations across the
Atlantic, living amid hard conditions in the great city of New York,
life had not afforded them much in the form of pleasure. But their faces
fairly radiated happiness as they lustily sang:
"I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me,
I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves even me."
This incident is given in _Through Jade Gate_, by M. Cable and F.
French, about
A Youthful Daniel
In our city-visiting we soon discovered that the first difficult plowing
of the ground was being done for us by the children. Everywhere we were
welcomed, and mothers, whom we had never seen, repeated Scripture texts,
hymns, and sentences of prayer with surprising accuracy. One little
fellow, unconscious that he was being watched, walked down the street
singing at the top of his voice, "Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand
alone," then coming to a stop before a peanut vendor and looking him in
the face, said, "Did you _know_ that there is only one God, and one Lord
Jesus Christ?"
"Why, no," said the man bewildered.
"Well, it is true," answered the child, and passed on singing, "'Dare to
have a purpose firm, dare to make it known.'"
Here is a suggestive story quoted from _The Sunday School Times_ about
Jazz and Sacred Music
A Christian mother recently found no little difficulty in leading her
'teen-age girls to overcome the habit of singing jazz. It is what they
heard over the neighbor's radio, in school, on the street, everywhere.
And in order to cure the habit there seemed to be need for something
more than the negative command, "Don't sing such songs, girls!" At
length she hit upon a solution to the problem. When the girls burst into
"Carolina moon, keep shining," the mother would begin, very quietly and
with apparent lack of purpose,
"He leadeth me! oh! blessed thought!
Oh, words with heavenly comfort fraught."
And it was not long until the singing voices began to follow her.
The central message of the Gospel is well illustrated in this
Spiritual Experience in Song
At a world's convention of Christian Endeavor Societies, the various
delegations went to their respective places in the tent, singing
different hymns. The New Zealand deputation marched in singing,
"O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumph of His grace!"
They were listened to in silence, until they reached the stanza:
"He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean;
His blood availed for me."
Then the vast audience could no longer refrain from joining them, for
the verse truthfully expressed the spiritual experience of all the
company.
It was an impressive experience which strengthened the bond of unity
when a group joined in this
Evening Prayer of Young Campers
The young people who had spent the evening together were about to
separate and go to their several tents and cottages. "Why not a
song-prayer together?" asked one. The suggestion was favorably received.
These were the words they sang just before they retired:
"Glory to Thee, my God, this night,
For all the blessings of the light:
Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,
Beneath the shadow of Thy Wings.
Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son,
The ill which I this day have done;
That with the world, myself, and Thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.
. . . . . . . . .
O let my soul on Thee repose,
And may sweet sleep mine eyelids close;
Sleep which shall me more vigorous make,
To serve my God, when I awake."
The culminating moment at a missionary meeting was reached when the
assembly sang a hymn,
Acknowledging God's Claims
It was at one of the anniversaries of the London Missionary Society at
Queen's Hall, London. There were present a number of young men and women
who were about to leave for their several mission fields. Instead of
some modern hymns which are convicted of false sentiment, there was
selected Doddridge's hymn for this notable occasion. The first verse is:
"My gracious Lord, I own Thy right
To every service I can pay,
And call it my supreme delight
To hear Thy dictates and obey."
One can imagine the enthusiasm of those prospective missionaries as they
sang:
"'Tis to my Saviour I would live
To Him who for my ransom died;
Nor could all worldly honor give
Such bliss as crowns me at His side."
The courage of conviction was strikingly exhibited in connection with a
well-known chorus,
"Can the Lord Depend on You?"
Three thousand people had gathered in a beautiful grove for the annual
reunion of one of the State societies of Los Angeles. The musical
program consisted of old sacred melodies with variations and they were
received with enthusiasm. The president then announced that three young
ladies would perform a special dance and he requested the pianist to
play for the dancers. Much to his surprise and chagrin a polite negative
reply was given. "But there is no one else here to play for the dance,"
said the president.
The pianist insisted on refusal, declaring that he had never used his
talent in that connection and never so intended. The president then
threatened to expose him to the vast audience, and no sooner had he done
so than the pianist took the platform and said: "My reason for not
playing for the dance is that my talent is not my own. It is dedicated
to a far higher and nobler service. It is devoted wholly to the service
of Christ." The impression produced upon the gathering had an effect
different from that of the president of this state society. On
adjournment, several got into conversation with the pianist, which led
to complete decisions for Christ.
The great heart of the nation was heard on a notable occasion when, in a
spirit of unity,
Young America Made Music
This took place during the sessions of the National Education
Association at Dallas, Texas. It was on the last evening of the
convention, which for five days had engaged in earnest discussion on the
education of children in the United States.
Five thousand persons applauded when the curtain rose; and the
spectators were thrilled when they saw on the stage eight hundred boys
and girls dressed in pure white. These were the best singers in the
Dallas elementary schools. For an hour they sang, never missing a word
or a note, without a scrap of paper before their eyes. The last third of
the program was the cantata of "Rip Van Winkle," which was rendered with
a sweetness possible only to the unspoiled voices of children who sing
because they love to sing.
The curtain rose the second time, and the scene changed. The National
High School Orchestra appeared for the first time in history before the
National Education Association. Two hundred and sixty-six boys and girls
from thirty-nine states sat there "with their handsome instruments."
They were selected from six hundred who were competent and anxious to
attend. It was a thrilling sight to watch these young people who sat
together regardless of the states from which they came, and whose faces
had "the features of every nation under heaven." The program was
arranged to recreate the moods of life--of play, heroism, questioning,
hope, despair, fantasy, and religious fervor. The musical selections
were from the masters, and they were rendered with perfect harmony.
For two hours these young people stirred the depths of their vast
audience. It was like a glimpse of the great scene described in the
Bible, "of the company out of every nation and kindred and tribe before
the throne of God, whose anthem of praise is like the sound of the sea."
The closing number was most impressive. Led by the youthful orchestra,
the audience sang the evening hymn of Sabine Baring Gould:
"Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh,
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky."
So the music swept on until the closing stanza was reached:
"When the morning wakens,
Then may I arise
Pure, and fresh, and sinless
In Thy holy eyes."
This incident is fully described in _Yankee Notions_, by Henry T.
Bailey.[27] He concludes his account with an impressive sentence: "I
heard the great heart of my country singing as never before, and the
harmony was as rich and deep as human brotherhood itself."
Here is a testimony to faith and hope suggested by
Hymns Used at the Dedication of a College Chapel
Hendricks Memorial Chapel of Syracuse University was dedicated on June
8, 1930. It is the third in size of all college chapels in the United
States and is to be the center for the religious guidance of the
students.
The hymns used on this occasion were full of significance. The first had
a national application and was written by a physician, Dr. Alfred A.
Woodhull. Six thousand voices blended in singing:
"Great God of nations, now to Thee
Our hymn of gratitude we raise;
With humble heart and bending knee
We offer Thee our song of praise."
This was followed by "Faith of Our Fathers." The closing hymn was
written by Dr. M. W. Stryker, one of the distinguished presidents of
Hamilton College:
"Almighty Lord, with one accord,
We offer Thee our youth."
At the afternoon service of dedication the first hymn was
"Glorious things of Thee are spoken
Zion, City of our God."
The next was Professor Caleb T. Winchester's striking hymn:
"The Lord our God alone is strong,
His hands build not for one brief day;
His wondrous works, through ages long,
His wisdom and His power display."
Deeply prayerful was the last stanza:
"And let those learn, who here shall meet,
True wisdom is with reverence crowned,
And science walks with humble feet
To seek the God that faith hath found."
The hymn of dedication was most appropriate. It was written by William
Cullen Bryant, who was a student in Williams College. And it was from
occasional summer afternoons of meditation in the chapel of this college
that Senator Francis Hendricks conceived the idea of providing this
memorial chapel for Syracuse University. Here are two stanzas:
"Thou, whose unmeasured temple stands,
Built over earth and sea,
Accept the walls that human hands
Have raised, O God, to Thee.
. . . . . . . . .
May faith grow firm, and love grow warm,
And pure devotion rise,
While round these hallowed walls the storm
Of earthborn passion dies."
At night was held the installation service of the Dean of Hendricks
Chapel. It began with the immortal hymn of Isaac Watts:
"O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home!"
The last hymn on that eventful day was one which came from Dr.
Washington Gladden, a man who exercised a large influence in our
national religious life. The desires and hopes of all were thus deeply
expressed as they sang:
"O Master, let me walk with Thee,
In lowly paths of service free;
Tell me Thy secret; help me bear
The strain of toil, the fret of care.
. . . . . . . . .
In hope that sends a shining ray
Far down the future's broadening way;
In peace that only Thou canst give,
With Thee, O Master, let me live."