Hymns in Human ExperienceHart, William J. (William John)
Religion
Hymns in Human Experience
Hart, William J. (William John)
Hymns -- History and criticism
Illness and suffering had been the lot of its author. She worked under
difficulties and might well have said with the Apostle Paul, “Most
gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power
of Christ may rest upon me.” Her characteristic confidence was, however,
expressed in the
Text Selected by Miss Havergal for Her Tombstone
Her last days found her at Caswell Bay, Swansea, Wales, where she had
gone for a rest. When informed that she was approaching the end of her
sufferings, she is said to have answered, “If I am going, it is too good
to be true.” Death came on June 3, 1879, in the forty-third year of her
age; and she was laid to rest in the Astley churchyard beside her
father, and close to the church and home of her childhood. By her own
desire her favorite text was carved on her tombstone: “The Blood of
Jesus Christ His Son Cleanseth Us From All Sin.”
It was an unusual scene, according to _The Standard_, that comforted the
bereaved mother as well as the few persons present
When Parepa Sang at Annie’s Funeral
This famous singer, through a friend, attended the funeral of Annie, the
only daughter of a poor widowed mother, in the East End of London. This
friend’s description is worth quoting:
“The undertaker came and bustled about. He looked at myself and Parepa,
as if to say, ‘It’s time to go. The wretched funeral service is over.’
“Without a word, Parepa rose and walked to the head of the coffin. She
laid her white scarf on an empty chair, threw her cloak back from her
shoulders, where it fell in long, soft, black lines from her noble
figure like the drapery of mourning. She laid her soft, fair hand on the
cold forehead, passed it tenderly over the wasted, delicate face, looked
down at the dead girl a moment, and moved my flowers from the stained
box to the thin fingers, then lifted up her head, and, with illumined
eyes, sang the glorious melody:
“‘Angels ever bright and fair,
Take, oh, take me to thy care.’
“Her magnificent voice rose and fell in all its richness and power and
pity and beauty. She looked above the dingy room and the tired faces of
the men and women, the hard hands and the struggling hearts. She threw
back her head and sang till the choirs of paradise must have paused to
listen to the music of that day. She passed her hand caressingly over
the girl’s soft, dark hair, sang on and on; ‘Take, oh, _take her_ to Thy
care.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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