Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net HYMN STORIES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY _by_ WILLIAM J. HART, M.A., D.D. _Member of the Hymn Society of America, author of “Unfamiliar Stories of Familiar Hymns”_ _With a Foreword by_ BISHOP W. EARL LEDDEN, D.D., LL.D. [Illustration: Publisher Logo] _Publishers_ W. A. WILDE COMPANY _Boston_ _Copyright, 1948_ By W. A. Wilde Company _All rights reserved_ Made in the United States of America _Dedicated to_ The Churches I Have Served as Pastor FOREWORD The most important musical feature of any service of worship is the singing of hymns by the congregation. When voices are united in Christian song, hearts may readily be joined in common worship. Then it becomes much more than a musical feature. It becomes an act of worship. And all who thus sing are builders of a Temple of Tone wherein their own hearts become the altar, high and lifted up. Before this great thing can come to pass, there must be a familiarity with the hymns—an appreciation of these “crown jewels of the church.” Anyone, then, who directs attention to Christian hymns and stimulates interest in them is adding to our resources for private and public worship. The author of this volume is continuing and extending his Christian ministry by calling attention to the use of hymns and gospel songs on various occasions and exhorting us all to sing. He is a retired member of the Northern New York Conference of The Methodist Church, honored for his long and fruitful ministry, and beloved for his unfailing devotion to the spreading of the gospel through the still wider use of Christian hymns. W. Earl Ledden. _Syracuse, New York_ TABLE OF CONTENTS