Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-10-28
HEART HYMNS AND
THEIR ORIGIN. ,
THE TITLE or An INTERESTING
AND ATTRACTIVE PRAISE >Ast-
VICE LAST EVENING
IN THE THIRD PRESBYTERIAN
Churcb-As Each HYMN Was Render
ed He Gave Brief ralL ON its
Origin aud Rccited Several Inter
estiug incidents i'm Connection
With it-A summary of the Talks
aud Resume of the Programme.


aud Resume of the Programme.
Last evening in the Third Preshy-
terrain church a special praise service
entitled. Heart Hymns aud Their Or
gin. was rendered. The service. which
was of rather unique nature, was un-
usually interesting and attracted an ex-
treme,y large audience,
For the occasion the pulpit was at
tractively decorated in flowers and au-
tumn leaves. The service consisted of
numerous familiar and world wide
known hymns rendered by the choir
and proceeding each the Rev. r. r.
Bigger, the pastor. gave brief talk up
! on the origon of each and reeited any
interesting incident connected with
/ them.
The service was opened with the rem
dertng of the anthem The Strife is
Ger" by Mendelssohn, by the choir.
rho invocation followed and after the
singing of the Gloria Patria the first
hymn was taken up.
My Faith Looks Up to Thee said
the Rev. Bigger is one of the most
! widely known of our American hymns,
and with its origin are three interest
| ing facts connected. DR.. Palmer the
author was in New York City at the
time. 1873, and was in extremely poor
health and while brooding over his con-
| dition finally gave expression to this
poem. for in that condition il first APP
| peared After writing it he placed It
In his pocket book and thought moth
ing more of it until between two and
| three years later. when he was ap-
! preached by Rev. Mason, in Boston,
who requested him to make some con-
tribution to a new book he was about to
publish. DR.. Palmer took the piece
from his pocket book and contributed
the poem.
DIR. Mason was so impressed with the
poem that he wrote the tune Olivet for
1t and in conversation with Dr. Palmer
| said. You may live many years and
do many good things. but you will be
known to posterity as the author OF
this hymn
The tune was not taken up at once
by the American people, and DR.. An
drew Reed, ID. D., of Scotland, hearing
II took It back To his country and pub
lished II in a book ANONYMOUSLY and
the real author was not known fol
years after. The hymn originally con
sisted OF six stanzas but the first and
second have been dropped. The hymn
has been translated into many foreign
languages and is known wherever the
American missionary has penetrated. II
was actively introduced into the Amer
lean churches by Dr. Thomas Hastings
and Dr. Lowell Mason.
The scripture lesson, the 14Sth
Psalm. was read by the Rev Bigger, al
ter which the anthem. 'Chere is a Holy
City" was effectively rendered by the
choir.
The second hymn discussed by the
Rev. Bigger was 'One Sweetly Solemn
Thought" of which Phoebe Carey is
the author. This sweet lyric, when
she wrote when only seventeen years
old will probably outlive all OF her
other literary works 1t was composed
upon a Sunday morning. She had Wis
tied the church that morning, and the
sermon had so stirred her heart
that when she reached the friend
home at which she was staying, she
Immediately retired to her room ana
with the result that she composed TINS
poem. she did not explain the mel
dent of its composition until eighteen
wears later. when both she and the
HYMN had grown famous. 1t can be
found in almost any book at present.
The Rev. Bigger then recited the
wonderful effect it had upon two
Americans who were deep in Chinese
gambling house. as witnessed by DR..
Conwell, and which ended IN Doth re-
nouncing their life and one OF them
became a most earnest Christian
worker.
After prayer, the hymn, Depths OF
Mercy Can There Be" was taken up
by the Rev. Bigger, and he told an in
cident of the wonderful effect it had
had upon the life of an actress. She
was passing down street when she
heard singing in house nearby. En-
tering at the door she perceived a small
gathering of people who were holding