11 111 fm V |Q. . Mm It 1 ■ I j V0I4EJME FORTY-EIGHT ARLOTTB. NORTH CAROUNA THURSDAY, JULY 24, 1924 Birth and History of Some Greatest Hymns* Rev. W. J. MacQuarrie Poet Credit, Ontario, Canada. One of our greatest hymn writers, Isaac Watts, has left behind him a Terse that neads as tollo^s: In vain we tube our formal songs, In vain We strive to rise* Hosannas languish on our tongues, And our devotion dies. If this is true of any of us today u would be well if we could discover a remedy. The one unfailing remedy, of course, is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit of the churches . A spir itual dearth, however, is never with out a cause, and• if the cause be re moved I am Confident^ that the old power will again flood the channels. In so far as we suffer from such spiritual drought it is due largely to our lack of knowledge of the great fountains of inspiration and of hope. Familiarity breeds formality and for mality is always sterile and barren. In no department of , our retfgious life is there greater evidence of this than in the swinging of ouf hymns. Henry Ward Beecher said: “Hymns are the exponents of the innermost piety of the church. They are the .jewels which the church has worn, the pearls, the diamond®, the. pre cious stones, formed v into amulets more potent against sorrow and ead ness than the most famous charm of wizard or magician. And he who knows the way that hymn® flowed knows where the blood Of true piety ran and can trace the veins and ar teries to tb® very heart.” some of our moat*'hfcistur tfymus; have been the outpourings of souls who were passing through the fur nace of affliction. Such is the hymn: "Commit thou all thy griefs me in that city and settling a pension upon Mm. Thus closed in sunshine and assurance the darkest day in all his life. Out of that dreary day came this triumphant song of faith to bring cheer and hope to all other anxious hearts. (Let us all sing it.) “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!” Is another famous old hymn. We know very Mttle about the author except that his name- was Edward, Perronet. He was borii in 17<56 and became a minister of the Anglican Church, but later drifed about among the other denominations. He died in 1792. There is an Interesting story con nected with this hymn that is worth recalling. One day Rev. E. P. Scott/ met on a village street a strange looking individual who proved to be a member of a ‘ tribe of murderous mountaineers who lived far in the to carry the Gospel to these people. Among a few other things he took with him hU violin. Afer some days of travel he found himself suddenly confronted by a band of these wild tribesmen who Immediately pointed their spears at his heart. Expecting to be killed he hurriedly took his violin and closing ffit eyds ,fhe b%an play' and taing, “All hail the power of Jesus’ name!” At the stanza beginning, “Let ev ery kindred, every tribe,’* he ven tured to open his eyes and found the situation completely changed. He had won them. It was the beginning of a stay of two and a half years with them, preaching the tJospel and bringing to them a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. As we sing this hymn let jis remember that it has lost none of its beauty and power. The next hymn we will sing-is one Ihaty goee hack some* two hundred and flftjy years. “Gome Thou Fount Of Every Blessing,*’ was composed hy Robert Robinson and there is a rath er pathetic story told concerning the hymn and its author. In his later lifei Mr. Robinson drifted into a somewhat- Careless manner of life and -made light of poetry and devotion. One day while he was traveling in a stage-coach, a lady passenger showed him this hymn which ®he had been reading, and, never dreaming that he yas the author, she asked him what he thought of it. He avoided an answer and changed the subject. In a few minutes, however, * she again referred to the hymn, and ex pressed, hCw. much benefit she had received from it and her great ad ™iraHoiV ;f?r Jhe tho^hts^ to j^iqb it gave utterance. While she talked the lady noticed that her' fellow passenge^ was be coming somewhat agitated by her remarks and at length entirely ‘over come by hi® feelings, he said. “Ma dam, I am the poor unhappy , man who composed that hymn many years ago; I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them to enjoy the feelings I then had.” • Romance is also wrapped up in the history of some of our old hymns ' and sometimes even our old tunes. There does not seem to be anything very rbmanttc about “OldHundred.” There is a little sto ry about ^t that is most interesting /nd instructive, however. »Many years ago a. (little Scotch boy learned to sing with his pious mother the old psalms that were then as household words both in the kirk and at the fireside. After he had grown up he wandered far away from home and loved ones, and was at last captured by .the* Turks and made a slave in, one of the Barbary states. But he never forgot the old psalms and he often sang them in that strange land to heathen ears One night whil6 he was thus com forting his lonely heart the atten tion Of some sailors on a British man o-war jvais attracted by the famliar tune Of “Old Hundred” floating over the moonlit watefi.,- Quickly surmis ing the truth that one of their coun trymen was languishing in slavery, they armed themselves and, launch* ing'a boat lost no time in bringing about his rescue. What a joy to^him after eighteen years of slavery to' be restored to his loved ones in this way! Is it any wonder that he afterwartl cherished “Old Hundred” as his fa vorite tune? _ Another beautiful hymn foil of ro mantic interest is Rev. George Math* eson’g “O Love That Wilt Not Let hfe^Go.” Matheson dfed just a few years ago, haying lived a life of singular sweetness and great usefulness, al though for many years he was stone blind. When he was a young man Mr. Matheson devoted himself with gre*?t diligence to the work of the minis try; Such was his devdtion that Ms eyes, whch were never strong, began to give fc Let Us Be Fair With Bishop J. W. Wood. “PEBBLES' FROM THE SEA SHRO&” - By Rev. N. X>. Crawford. An. article appeared in both the Birmingham Reporter and the Star of Zion described aa “An Open Let ter” to Bishop J. W. WotSd, B. 'D. I think w« should be f^ir, and more than commonly so in dealing with our chief pastors who are doing all. in their power with Gcii to help/ tb steer this Old Ship saf#y into port . As for Bishop Wood slid his activ ities In the State of Alabama, I can say he tried in every eogeaivable way to make an enviable record while serving us. It may t»e true he was, a little rough to- st|rt with, but further down the line ah he became better acquainted with the* work, I have never eerVed undef a more lov ing bishop. To serve/ the Church under the conditions t|at prevailed then and are still prevailing, any Bishop will find it an Uphill journey in this southand if he make® any re port worthwhile here, where we dre acquainted with empty churches Congregation* that used to be are no more. The majority of the real constituency q{ the Church four and five years ago are now in the north. Church starvation BOW.exists where It used to be hapine&s and pleasure to nieef a congregation. No on# ! knows more about the hard suffering condition of the present day Ghruch j in this southland than the hgrd work, i ed -pastors and prt f Niimbers^of theffiam*now^tBieateh ing to-give up . They cannot make a living. We can hardly make i# much less a Bishop and especially oite of ambition, energy and push as '“hjjas Bishop Wood. Yes, he did his best and deserves J praise, instead of .ston ing. ' . - g; ; Being one of the secretaries of one 'of his conferences, and a presiding elder too, I 'am in* the position to kr ow of these conditions, his reports and the disbursement^ of the monies raised. • . The pastors coming so short on their benevolences, the little that was raised on General Conference travel expense was placed (in to fill in such a way that at would give a; creditable showing. , \ . - As to the Tercentenary money, it was near financial, death to all other claims to mention that.to our peo ple. The amount raised was so email the Bishop would send it to the Gen eral Treasurer and at the same time aak'the conference to just credit dt self with an adequate sum so that we would show up to a creditable de gree. No, the money was not raised. Airing such conditions are^no help to ns any way, mid especially at an age when bui«dror sports, movies, —:-~ ularly so because he was engaged to be married. Under the circum stances Mr. Mathesop felt tha^there ,was onSy one tiling to do, so going to hie .fiancee he told her what his fate must be and offered to ‘release her from her promise to marry him. She accepted her release and he was left, to face the world blind and alone; George Matheson went home broken in heart, no doubt, as well in sight, hut not in faith, and crat ing himself on him whose, love never fails he sent | forth into the world this4 grteat hymn:. “O Love that "Will not let me go I resj my weary soul in thee; I give thee liack the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be.” ' 7 (This hymn was sung as a solo-)' Another-hymn, of graet beauty is, “Jesus toVpr of My Soul.” It>-was composed by Charles Wesley who out those vacancies. He tried to ar range what little monies was raised societies, style i plus fasMong an J every other worldly thing seems tc be preeminent among , our church folks. I am too fearful of God's an ointed to do other than all , in my power to encourage them* and df we are in doubt ‘ about these or other conditions, there ire other-ways the doubt can be removed than such pub Vip Bteps.. Let us be .brotherly an^do all in a Christianly way to save the Church. 7 So dear Bisbop. be encouraged. AH of us in Alabama are not forget ful of. your hard struggles in this near desolate section of our Church. Trust God, and continue your good work. The reward waitetb. Yonrs for God and Zion. Selma, Ala. Father and Son Week. Some one has said . that' these Father and Son Banquets and other affairs /in which fathers and their sons set together tor fellowship and good times are a great deal better than the conferences that the two used to have in the wood shed. Since 1920 Father and Son Week has been observed jointly by the In ternational Council' of Religiptfs' Ed ucation and the ’International Com mittee of the Y. M. C. A. during; the week that includes Armistice Day. This year the dates are November ^ to 15. This ! includes two Sundays. Each day in the wek is set apart ior lhfc observance of- a spepiljF^taW? The first Sunday is Armistice Sunday with emphasis upon the idea of true patriotism. The Second Sunday is given to emphasizing in church and Sunday School /the Father and Son relationship itself./ Wednesday is church day. Friday is banquet day, when tens of thousands of boys, and their fathers will come together for good times and inspiring addresses. Saturday will be given over to recre ation on the part of men and their sons together. And so throughout, the week dads and lads will come to know each other batter through’ shar ing life in happy experiences. The number of. churches, Sunday schools, and Associations that give an adequate observance to this week is increasing every year. Statistics cannot he gathered as the idea is tak en up and used in-all sorts of ways all over the country. Every indica tion for this year points to a wider observance of the week than ever. 5 Full inforamtion and literature as to observing day can be secured from the State Sqnda> School Association for Council), a local Y. M ;C. A., or the International Council of Reli gious Education, 5 South Wabash Ave., Chicago. * r * France Delicate* Monu-j ment to Negro Troops, j Rheims, July,——». (A. N. rt) In a speech dedicating a monument which Prance haf erected in honor of the Colored colonial droops who fought for her during the worth war, Gen. Archinard took occasion to re ply to German criticisms of the troops and to voice the admiration j^hich whit© Frenchmen feel, for ,th$ brothers of color, declaring that the African soldiers were “terrible to the Germaoi because they regarded the everything from love of evil" and world's Ninth Sunday S c.ho o 1 (Convention Strong For Golden Rule Sunday. When the World'* Ninth Sunday School Contention adjourried in St. Andrew’s Halls, ' Glasgow, Scotland, •'.Mfe it had pu^into^ts thinking and plane the grant Work being done by the Near Hast Nell^f • For the Convention not only laid Strang em phasis on the observance on an In ternational scald of Golden Rule Sunday, December 7, 1924, it also registered a growing conviction that the relief program, conducted so helpfully on 'such a large scale tor the past few years, must climax in a cooperative scheme of religious edu cation. . V • • ’ v On© hundred delegates' from Ko rea, Japan, China, the Philippines, South America, Syria, Scotland, England, Canada, Norway, Germany, Holland, . Czechoslovakia, France, Switzerland, Denmafk, Hungary, Austria, Sweden, Latvia and the United States, sat, down to the Near East luncheon at the Grosvenor* res taurant the Thursday of the r 'T convention week, presided p r-~*Z Mr. Arthur Black of Lor ' > ( The larger signiflca*- I..- ... of the Near Bast %^rkj out by Mr. Jo' General " R‘ VOffs> ASsocfa^ who r .^fetary, of New, York, ’..-•^resenting the United States, V* that the constructive traihing of tedr^i saved by Christian philan thropy. through thp Near ^Yasf Re of/ihe Armenian, Creek -a -, i Syrian " |_ lief, from an untimely- death, becomes challenging oportunity. Sixty thpus and orphans from 2 to sixteen yearn of age, still depend ' upon outside help for physical support. ' Forty thousand other, orphans have been placed in industries or homes. Tens of thousands of others have been partially supported. .. .-*r \ These children can- be trained'at little cost, through leadership'‘of their own people, provided a pro gram, equipment, training ani su- , pervisioii is given '$o their young na- * tive teacher®. With the support and leadership of the World’s Sunday School Association forces, and the International Council- of Religious Education the promise' of success is great 1 Add io this the help of many Teaders now in the Near East, who feel that" religious education must be given along with the industrial and agricultural training and the elemen tary education now being given, and the day seems near when there must come the sympathy arid cooperation of the foreign and native mission aries, the native Orthodox Church Loaders, the Near East personnel and the church leaders , of the na tions carrying bn this philanthropy and a generation of refugee orphans will be growing into Christian men and women, equipped physically, menially and spiritually for t genuine service ^n the world to which they ♦ were saved by Christian love. The following resolutions were enthusiastically adopted by the con vention: . # '' “The World’s Ninth Sunday^ School Convention would eppresg its deep , and abiding interest in the needy children dnd the ^refugees of the Near East made sacred by the earth ly life otour Lord and gives its hearty approval to the proposal to observe‘ December 7, 1924, as International Golden Rule Sunday. It would also express the hope that outr of the united'efforts of all concerned there