Preface xi I. A Singing Faith 1 II. Songs in the Night 29 III. Hymns Mothers Loved 52 IV. When Preachers Sing 67 V. Songs of Soldiers 80 VI. Heard within Prison Walls 95 VII. The Music of Submerged Lives 103 VIII. Songs of Salvation 113 IX. “The Old Rugged Cross” 127 X. Hymns of Youth 136 XI. Hymns As Prayers 153 XII. Songs of the Negroes 165 XIII. Christmas and Easter Melodies 173 XIV. Funeral Music 188 XV. Hymns on Patriotic Occasions 204 Index of Hymns 217 PREFACE Half a million hymns, it is estimated, are written in more than two hundred languages and dialects in which Christianity is preached. Some of these are translations, but many are original expressions of the Christian faith. This extraordinary production is an impressive testimony from Christian experience. Having for many years made a study of the influence of hymns in human experience, I have during that time gleaned material from newspapers, periodicals (both American and British) and books; and to both the authors and the publishers of these I here express my indebtedness. Little is said in this volume concerning the origin of hymns and tunes, or of their place in literature. These aspects of the subject are well discussed in “The English Hymn” by Louis F. Benson, “The Hymn as Literature” by J. B. Reeves, “The Story of the Hymns and Tunes” by T. Brown and H. Butterworth, “The Evolution of the English Hymn” by F. J. Gillman, “Stories of Great Hymns of the Church” by Silas H. Paine, “English Hymns: Their Authors and History” by S. W. Duffield, and many others. The chief purpose of this volume is to show how hymns have been actually used, and how people have been helped by them in different circumstances of life. Each chapter has a brief introduction bearing on the special topic, and the various incidents are linked together in a manner which gives continuity to the whole.