On my who are still engaged in seeking the lost ones. last visit to England I had the pleasure of visiting this rescue home and singing for the inmates. "During the mission in 1884," writes M. C. Boardman, of Stratford, East London, "the hymn 'Nothing but leaves' was often sung. It brought conviction to one of the stewards. He said that this song disturbed him. For years he had been a professor of religion, but with personal interest in view. He said he trusted that henceforth there would be fruit as well as leaves in his life. From that time he has been an ardent Christian worker." O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing Words by Charles Wesley Music by Oliver Holden "O for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer's praise." When Charles Wesley consulted Peter Bohler as to the propriety of praising God, he replied, “Had I a thousand tongues, I would praise him with all "—an expression that is believed to have inspired the opening line of this hymn which Wesley wrote, in 1739, to commemorate the first anniversary of his new birthday, the day of his conversion. When John Wesley made his collection of hymns for the use of the Methodists, he selected this one to stand as the first hymn in the book. To this day it remains in that place of honor, and as the Rev. S. W. Duffield says, it "well deserves the prominence." Oh, to be Nothing Words by Georgiana M. Taylor Music by R. G. Halls. Arr. by P. P. Bliss "Oh, to be nothing, nothing, Only to lie at His feet." Miss Taylor writes me: "The idea for the hymn came into my mind through reading the expression, 'Oh, to be nothing,' in a volume of an old magazine. I think it occurred in an anecdote about an aged Christian worker. At all events the words haunted me; I mused on their meaning, and the hymn was the outcome." Some one has misinterpreted the true meaning of the hymn, and has written another entitled, “Oh, to be something." But it is not in accordance with the Master, who made himself nothing; nor is it in the spirit of the text which says that he that abaseth himself shall in due time be exalted. This hymn was much used as a solo in our meetings in Great Britain. Oh, what are You Going to Do? Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by Philip Phillips "Oh, what are you going to do, brother? Away back in 1867 this hymn was written and dedicated to the Young Men's Christian Associations of America. For many years I used it both in Great Britain and America. Many testimonies have been given of the blessing it has brought to young men who have heard it sung. "I have a young men's Bible-class," writes a Christian worker in Rotherham, England. "Some years ago one of my scholars brought a stranger to the class, who had just come to our town on business. He continued to attend very regularly for about a year. Having obtained a better business appointment in a distant town, he told me before leaving the class that when he first arrived he had fully made up his mind to shake himself free from all religious influence; as he had come to a strange town where no one knew him, he would enjoy himself any way he chose. But he consented to attend the class just once. The first hymn sung was, 'Oh, what are you going to do, brother? Say, what are you going to do?' He could not get it out of his head all the week, and it was the means of entirely setting aside his intentions. On arriving at his new home he immediately united with a Christian church. His steady, consistent life won for him further promotion in business, and he now fills a position of usefulness and responsibility in an important town. All the good he had received he attributed to that hymn on the first Sunday of his residence here." On Jordan's Stormy Banks Words by the Rev. Samuel Stennett Music by T. C. O'Kane On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, While visiting the Holy Land I sang this hymn on the banks of the Jordan, opposite Mount Horeb, where God showed Moses the promised land of Canaan. As the banks of the Jordan are not stormy, the word "rugged" has by many been substituted for 'stormy" in the first line. " |