The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-08-02
Sing, Christian, Sing,

When Mr. Duncan Matheson was in the
Crimea, in the time of the recent war with
Russia, he did much for the temporal and
spiritual welfare of the soldiers, as well as
gave the New Testament in their own Ian
guage to the soldiers of the Sandman con-
tingent. He was daily engaged labOring
among the healthy, the sick, and the dying,
both in the camp and the fleet,
One night, as he was returning from be-
fore Sebastopol to his comfortless lodgings in
a poor hut at Balaklava, and wading almost
ankle-deep in the celebrated mud, and was
in circumstances of discomfort sufficiently
depressing, he lifted up his eyes and viewed
the bright, calm stars that shone overhead,
and his soul soaring beyond them, he cheered
his toilsome way by singing, to well-known
tune, the inspiring hymn, beginning
How bright these glorious spirits shine
Whence all their white array?
How came they to the blissful seats
Of everlasting day?
"LO! these are they from su9 rings great
Who cana rof light,
And have washed
70 bright"
Next day, as on his way to the
trenches, he fell in with poor soldier in
miserable circumstances. His clothing was
meagre, tattered and muddy, and his toes
were sticking out at the sides of his WORKOUT
shoes. Mr. Matheson asked, in his frank,
manly way, how he was getting on, and see
ing his wretched circumstances, gave him a
half sovereign to buy pair of shoes.
The soldier replied, that although he was
far from being well or comfortable in mind,
he was much better than he was yesterday
This excited Mr.. Mathesons curiosity, and
he pressed him to tell why he was so exces
sively wretched yesterday, which he did with
some hesitancy and apparent reluctance
His tale of that yesterdays misery was sub
stantially this:
GAS l thought" said the soldier, "Of all
we had passed through since we came out
here; that we had been before this place
so long, and that we appeared as far from
taking it as the first day we sat down before
it; that was perfectly miserable, and could
hardly be worse, death seemed preferable to
life, and l resolved l would do for myself,
and be done with it. l took up my musket,
and went down there about II o'clock last
night, and was making all ready to despatch
myself, when person l could not distinguish
in the darkness passed down near me, wad-
ing through the mud, but apparently in a
happy mood of mind; for he was singing
SO How bright these glorious spirits shinel'" &c
to a tune with which 1 was familiar; and l
said to myself, We'll, now, this is too bad of
me, it is very cowardly; for that fellows cir
cumstances are, no doubt, as bad as mine,
and yet he seems to be happy but on lis
tening to the words he was singing, L thought
he must be in possession of source of hap
piness, and have a something to support him,
to which l was quite stranger. wished
1 only knew how to be as happy as he; and
with that put my musket under my arm
and Returned, and feel better to-day, and
more resolved to bear the worst"
How great was his surprise to be told that
the singer who had charmed away from him
the evil spirit of yesterday was now before
him. "Was it you? Then 1 won't keep
your half-sOvereign. 1 won't keep it now;
for your singing last night has given me al
ready much more than 1 can express" Mr.
Matheson would, doubtless, embrace this IA
vOrable opportunity to lay before him the
way of salvation from sin and wrath.
But the great moral of the story which 1
wish now to apply is, Sing! Christian, sing i!
Yes, my Christian friend, sing, however
wretched you may be in outward circum-
stances, however gloomy may be your pros
poets, SINGI Rejoice in the Lord Away:
again, 1 say, Rejoice" and if you do SO,
you cannot tell the mighty effect it may have
in a world lying in wickedneSs and wretched-
ness, and bent on self-deStruction Never
despair Have confidence in the God of all
grace, and praise him always with all your
might 1t i'll becomes the heirs of a king