Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1892-05-21
ACOOMAC c. H. VA. SATURDAY. MAY 2l 1892

flow" When Commodore Perry, will
his warship. the Mississippi, lay off the
coast of Japan, he bombarded tho shores
with "Old Hundred" played by the
marine band. Glorious "Old Hundred,
composed by William Franc, of Ger
many. In a war prison, at ten o'clock
ut night, the poor fellows far from home
and wounded and sick anu dying, one
prisoner started the "Old Hundred Dox-
ology,r and then score Of voices joined,
then all the prisoners OIL all the floors
took up the acclaim until the building,
from foundation to topstone, fairly
uualied with the Inelotlious inscription.
A British nlan-of-w.r, lying off Il for
eign coast. heard u voice singing that
doxology, and Immediately guessed, ard
guessed Alright, that there WIS an Eng
lishman in captivity to the Mohamme-
dams; and in the small boats the sailors
rowed to shore and burst into Il guard
house and SET the captive free. ! don't
know what tune the trumpets Of res,lr-
rection shall play. but it may be the dox-
: ology which is now sounding across
Christendon. How much more hearty
we would Ike III our songs, and how
easily we" could drive back the dumb
devil from all our worsh;ping assem-
blages. if we could realize that nearly
all our hymns have II stirring history.
That glorious hymn, Stand Up for
Jesus" was suggested BY the last words
of Dudley Tying, who was dying from
having his right arm torn off in a
thrashing machine That hymn, what
a Friend We Have in Jesus" heard
through a telephone, converted an OBJ
durate soul. "Shall We Gather at the
RIVER was a hymn first sung in our
Brooklyn Prospect park, at the chill
dren's May anniversary, and then started
to cncircle the world. "Whero Is My
Wandering Boy Tonight" is song that
has saved hundreds of dissipatcd young
men.
Tom, the drummer boy in the army,
was found crying, and ali officer asked
him what was the matter! "Oh," he
said, II had dream last night. Fly
sister died ten years ago, and my moth
er never was herself again and she died
soon after. Last night drealnt | was
killed in battle. and that mother and
sister camo down to meet me-" After
the next battle was over, some one
crossing the field heard voice that lie
recognized as the voice of Tom, the
drummer boy, singing "Jesus, Lover of
My Soul" But at the end of the first
verso the voice became very feeble,
and at the end of tie second verse it
stopped, and they went up and found
Tom, the drummer boy, leaning against
Il stump and dead.
That hymn, "Oh, for Thousand
Tongues TO Sing" was suggested to
Charles Wesley by Peter Boiler, who.
after his conversion, said, Il had bet
ter keep silent about it," No" said
Wesley, "if you had ten thousand
tongues you had better use them for
Christ" And then that angel Cf
hymnology penned the words;
Oh, for u thousand tongues to sing
My dear ltcuccincrS praise,
The goTits If my God md king,
The trumphs of his grace.
Jesus, the naIno that Gains our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
IT'S music in The sinners ears,
iris life nrrl hceiih nnl=pence.
While much of the modern music is
q religious doggerel, a cousecrated non-
sense, sacred tonfoolery. would like
to see some great musician Of our time
lift the baton and marshal Lutlier's
Judgment Hymn. Yarmouth, Dundee.
Ariel. Brattlc Street, UxbridGe. Plcyel's
Hymn, Harwell. Antioch. Mount Pis-
cah and Coronation, with few rcgi-
incnts of mighty tunes made in our own
time. and storm Asia. Africa and Amer
lea for the kingdom of God. But the
first thing to do is to drive out the dumb
devil Of the text from all our churches.
PERSONAL. MATTER.
Do not, however. let us lose ourselves
in generalitics. Not one of us but has
had our lives sometimes touched by the
evil spirit of the text--this awful dumb
devil. We had just one opportunity of
saying Christian word that might have
led a nan or woman into Il Christian
life. The opportunity was fairly put
before MS. The word of invitation OF
consolation or lrliinS came to the il
side gate of l., mouth. but there it
halted. Some, ,ndering power locked
the jaws together SO that they did not
open. TIE tongue lay flat and still in
the bottom of the mouth as though
struck with paralysis. We were mute.
Though God had given Us the physio-
logical apparatus for speech, and our
lungs were filled with air which. by the
command of OUT will. could have made
the lalyngcal muscles move and the vocal
organs vibrate. we were wicl,cdly and
fatally silent For all lime and eternity
VIC missed our chance.
Or it was prayer meeting, and the
service was thrown open for prayer and
remarks, and there was adead llalt--ev-
erything silent as q graveyard ut mid
night. Indeed it was a graveyard and
midnight An embarrassing pause took
place that put wet blanket on all the
meeting. Men, bold enough on business
exchange or in worldly circles, shut
their eyes as though they were praying
in silence, but they were not praying at
all. They were busy hoping somebody
else would do his duty. The women
flushed under the awful pause and male
their fans more rapidly tlutter. SoIie
brother with no cold coughed. by that
sound trying to fill up the time, and the
meeting was slain. But what killed it?
the dumb devil.
This is the way account for the fact
that the stVpidest places on earth are
some prayer meetings | do notsee how
man keeps any grace if he regularly
attends them. They are spiritual re-