The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-02-02

every day since. / dom, undo stand
ginning to learn the A BIC out of
which to coin few words with which
10 thank God for the blessings that
nave come to me-
Another man called it a minstrel
psalm. and as such 1t has gone and
Still u singing and winging its way
up and down this earth causing peo-
pie to forget their sorrow and their
GRIEF. and l think 1t has charmed
away more grief. dried more tears
and driven away more sinful thought
from the hearts of men and women.
sent more comfort into the great
army OF the discouraged and the dis
sipated, and I think it has charmed
more drunkards from their cups
more gamblers from their cards. more
prostitutes from their lives OF sin,
more tnf1dels from their blatant inf
deity, and as such 1t Is still sing
Ing and winging its way up and down
the earth, and it will never cease un-
I'll in the providence of God. it's mis-
sion Is complete. and 1t will turn and
wing its flight back again to the
throne of God like tired dove and
ioid It's wings TO go up and down the
land no more.
Another man called it the psalm
of the lark. Well, that's a mighty
good name. for that bird, they tell
me, never sings except when on the
wing. II don't mean our common
lark. but our English songbird.) As
the bird mounts higher, the song in
craases In sweetness
Years ago In Detroit a man received
cabiegram TO go over to London
TO hurry to see his mother, who was
very ILL.,. He jumped on the steamer
IN New York and hurried over to Lon
don, and three days after his arrival
she died. They carried the body to
the cemetery. They had the grave
near ciuster OF shrubbery. and rs
they were lowering the body out from
| started to circle round and round, and
as they did they began to sing: and
ne said they forgot their sorrow and
grief and the occasion OF their visit
10 the cemetery. and they threw their
heads back and gazed off into the
iiltmitable space and watched the
birds as they mounted higher, ana
aztec they had passed the point Of
vision they stood with their hands
behind their ears, straining to catch
the sweet song that fell upon their
! ears
Buried Ambitions.
rhete are men and women today
who stand by the graves where they
buried their ambition their hopes
and virtue, and buried the things that
are noble. But there carr be a resur-
rection through the song that will
cheer and inspire.
Three thousand years ago he wrots
these words We are positive that
David wrote II and that he wrote
seventy-two other psalms that bear
his name. l remember hearing John
| Mcneil say that he thought II David
hadn't written that psalm, he must
have written it. for il was a perfect
counterpart OF Gods dealings with
him.
| After you have read the psalm. you
say, there Is man who was sub
ject to all the passions that were. and
| therefore you feel that somebody Is
more in sympathy with you than ever.
because there Is man that passed
through the various experiences to
which human flesh Ia heir. He may
have written 1t when a youth. watch
ing the sheep. He may have written
II ms song to sing for old King Saul.
and l have often tried TO imagine the
sweet singer OF Israel. David, with
his rudy cheeks standing before this
old grouchy Saul. singing his psalm
and many of the psalms were written
and sung az songs in the temple
have tried to imagine hearing David
put the emphasis ON the personal pro-
nouns. for this psalm had been
forged on the anvil of experience
Some fellows when they give their
experience. stand up and pull their
bird-tail whiskers, clear their throat
and say well. forty years ago I
started brethren, on this good old
way" Yes. and he hasn't gotten
three miles from where he started.
David wrote this psalm and then
sang 1t az song:
The Lord is MY Shepherd: I shall
not want.
He maketh ME- to lie down in
green pastures: He leadeth ME- be-
side the still waters"
That was forged on the anvil OF
ing that song. he was only telling in
melody what God had done for his
soul
Don't Lose Common Touch.
l read the other day OF the Persian
monarch. who had been elevated ia
his Shigh position from very humble
surroundings. ana, A. Kipling says.
Lest We forget" he had in the pal
ace what was known a. the "shep-
herds ROOM" and in that room he had
reproduced every hill, and valley. rock
had known them when a lad herding
his sheep and leading the sheep to
graze In the pasture. And he used
to go into that room and nit for one
hour a day and case upon those
scenes which reminded him Of the fact
that he At one time had been a shep-
herd. He didn't want TO lose touch
and sympathy with the people; he
didn't want to become exalted over