Putnam County herald. (Cookeville, Tenn.) 1903-1922, 1920-03-18
4JEsus LOVER OF MY SOUL"
By DIR. James E. Freeman in
Minneapolis Tribune


81 would rather have written this
hymn" said Henry Ward Beecher,
''than to have the fame of all the
kings that ever reigned on the
earth. 1t will go on singing until
the last trump brings forth the angel
band, and then think it will mount
up on some lip to the very presence
of God" 1t is said that Charles Wes-
ley, the author, was seated at his
desk when bird pursued by hawk
flew into the open window. The an
CRY and defeated hawk did not dare
to follow his quarry, whereupon the
poet took his pen and, inspired by
the incident, wrote this immortal
song. Someone has called 1.-THE fin-
est heart hymn in the English Ian
guage" 1t Is like the soothing mes
sage of lullaby sung out of the
throbbing heart of mother as she
rocks the cradle of her fevered and
frightened child Here again, as in
Rock of Ages" there is expressed
mans supreme confidence in the ul-
innate out-working of Gods plan and
the inevitabileness of hfe's repose
and triumph in the presence of its
supreme master. What sublimity OF
assurance, and what supreme trust
in the ever-keeping and supporting
power Of Christ is expressed in the
lines,
"Other refuge have / none;
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed;
All my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenceless head
With the shadow of Thy wing"
1t is not strange that the two great
est hymns in the English language
that have been more widely trans
lated and more universally sung
than any others, should express as
they do mans utter dependence up
on and confidence in higher and
divine power Even Matthew Ar
mold, confused as he was in his be-
4 lief, clearly recognized that there
was a power not of ourselves, that
alone makes for right living Said
the Frenchman, Sabatier, MAN is in
curablys religious" and there are
abundant demonstrations of this to
be found in all the varied circum-
stances of life. 1t is interesting to
note that where men will be lifted
UP by the sentiment of great hymn,
they will not respond to the stern
and often repellant dictum of theo-
logical formulae.
Does it not suggest the supreme
need Just now of re-accenting and
re-emphasizing those fundamental
things that constitute the very bas-
1 is of our whole religious belief?
There is no denominational or racial
! spirit about these great hymns.
I They are sung as readily by one
body as another, by one people as
another. Indeed, they furnish the
surest ground of Christian unity and
fellowship that we possess.
Here again, 1t is interesting to
note that these old. universally sung
4 hymns, appealed to all classes and
kinds of men in the great war. They
forgot their. isolation and their home
sickness as they lifted their VOICES
in these mighty hymns of praise
that bound them together more sure
ly than their comradeship in arms.
The acknowledgment in this hymn
of the Righteousness and fullness OF
the eternal Fathers love, and this in
the face of mans sin and weakness.
touches the deepest springs in the
1 human heart and makes them re-
sponsive. AS a people, we may have
grown blase and cold In our senti-
ment, we may have become uri-emo-
tional and in some respects unre-
sponsive to the high claims Of our
religious faith, but let us be assured
4 that we shall only experience re-
newal of the finer and nobler things
in our corporate and Individual life
when we shall once again, with a
full sense of their profound meaning,
] take upon our lips the words:
"Thou of life the fountain art,
Freely let me take Of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart,
Rise, to ali eternity"