Nearer, My God, to Thee

     The nineteenth of September, when this great republic stood hushed and reverent by the grave of its martyred President, will always be remembered as a remarkable day in its history. Not the least striking feature of the day was the singing of Sarah F. Adams’s hymn, “Nearer, my God, to Thee.” The beautiful words that faltered from the lips of the dead President in his last conscious hours touched the heart of humanity all over the world. In the great cathedrals, in the humblest homes, in the city street and by the country roadside, from unaccustomed lips, on unaccustomed ears, the words of faith and praise arose to the Eternal Father of us all. Coming as they did from the inmost hearts of a sobered, stricken people, it would seem that they could not fail to have a permanent softening and elevating influence; that this great nation should be lifted distinctly nearer to the Christian’s God. Even those holy ones who live nearest Him must have felt the power of his presence as never before; more at one with him in love, in purpose, in labor. If there could follow in its train a revival of pure and undefiled religion, the noble Christian head of the nation will not have died in vain. To those who feel the responsibility of promoting the kingdom of our Lord in the world, it has long been apparent that nothing will place their efforts on an absolutely safe and firm basis except a spiritual tone among individual Christians, so high that devotion [504][505] to the interests of that kingdom shall be the all-absorbing purpose of their lives. A special uplift toward this high standard would bring untold blessings on our beloved foreign missionary work. Let us pray for it.