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S K ETC H
07 TUB
LIVES AND WORK
07 MESSRS.
MOODY & SANKEY
THE AMERICAN REVIVALISTS.
PRICE ONE PENNY.
LONDON: J. CLARKE, 31, KENNINGTON PARK ROAD, S.E.
f
TO BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS THROUGHOUT THE KINGDOM.
ALSO OF
J. CLARKE, 10, BED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
�SKETCH OF THE HIVES AND WORK
OF
0
MESSRS. MOODY & SANKEY.
If success is the test of merit, how can we sufficiently eulogise the labours of these
gentlemen who are the subject of this sketch ? In what terms can we describe the
marvellous gift which they possess of drawing crowds to their services, and with an ever
increasing interest—an interest which shows no flagging, no signs of diminution, but
gaining strength from each succeeding series of Gospel meetings ?
It will be well to consider the means by which this great movement is sustained, and
directly we do so this solution suggests itself : it is the embodiment of simplicity, both as
regards the address of the speaker and the music with which the service is interspersed ;
nothing is employed by which the attraction of the audience is diverted from that portion
of the work which is before it: the thousands are spellbound by the unadorned oratory
of Mr. Moody—equally so by the flowing melodies of the solos sung by Mr. Sankey, to
an equal extent, when in a body they offer their tribute of praise in the hymns which have
become popular to all. With these few remarks we present our readers with a sketch of
the men ; their lives and their work. With reticence which is the characteristic of most
workers, they are remarkable for saying little of their own lives apart from their labours
in the good work. But sufficient is known of their antecedents to enable the world at
large to become acquainted with much relating to them which cannot fail to be interesting.
Both Messrs. Moody and Sankey were born in the United States of America. Mr.
Moody, who is in the 3Sth year of his age, was born in one of the New England States,
in the district which was the scene of the great awakening, under Johnathan Edwards,
about a hundred years before.
But so far from his inheriting anything from that
remarkable movement, he was brought up a Unitarian, and had not even heard the Gospel
of the grace of God till he was about seventeen years of age. Going, about that time, to
Boston, to be trained for business in the establishment of an uncle, he one day went into
the church of Dr. Kirk, a Congregational minister in that city. There, for the first time,
he listened to an evangelical sermon. It had the effect of making him uncomfortable,
and he resolved not to go back. He felt that his heart had been laid bare, and he
wondered who had told the preacher about him. Not long after this Mr. Moody left
Boston and proceeded to Chicago, where he entered into business for himself. Being full
of the desire to be useful, he went into a Sunday school, and asked the superintendent if
he would give him a class. In this school there were twelve teachers and sixteen pupils ;
and the answer to this application was that if he could gather a class for himself he
would be allowed to teach them. Mr. Moody went out to the streets, and, by personal
application, succeeded in bringing in a score of boys. He enjoyed so much the work of
bringing in recruits, that instead of teaching the class himself he handed it over to
another teacher, and so on, until he had filled the school. Then he began to entertain
the notion of having a school of his own. He went to work in a neglected part of the
city, where Roman Catholics and Germans abounded. Chicago contains a large number
of each, and, among other things for which they are notorious, disregard of the (Sabbath is
conspicuous. Sunday is the day devoted by many to concerts, balls, and pleasure
generally. Mr. Moody saw that, to succeed in such a population, a school must be
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exceedingly lively and attractive, and, as he observed that the Germans made constant
use of music in their meetings, he was led to consider whether music might not be
employed somewhat prominently in the service of Christ. Not being himself a singer, he
got a friend who could sing to help him, and for the first few evenings the time was spent
between singing hymns and telling stories to the children, so as to awaken their interest
and induce them to return. An earnest student of the bible, and with the rare gift of
imparting to others that which he himself had acquired, he became a leader amongst them
with whom he was acquainted, and from being a student grew to be sought after as a
teacher.
The opportunity for carrying out a work so dear to his heart was not, to a man of
Mr. Moody’s stamp, allowed to slip, and, throwing his whole energy into the self-imposed
task, we nexfc hear of him holding services at a place which during the week was a music
and dancing g-floon, and so blessed was his ministrations that he speedily became ‘ ‘ a
leader in Israel,” and his gift of swaying the hearts and interesting those to whom he
addressed himself at once pointed him out as a man whose success in the ministry was
assured. Beloved alike by young and old—his hearers went out into the highways and
brought in the stragglers that they might also participate in the blessed truths as
expounded by him, in language as truthful as earnest, in example as edifying as his
precept was convincing, and the result was that he was installed pastor of a.church which
was erected especially for him—a well deserved tribute to the self-taught minister.
This arrangement necessitated his giving up the the situation which he had until then
held as clerk in a boot and shoe store, and he had accomplished the great wish of his life
—to be a servant, a worker in the vineyard of the Lord he loved so well—that, untram
melled by the cares of business, he could devote his time to the service of his divine
master.
The civil war found in Mr. Moody, one who could share the dangers of the field of
battle that he might be the means of affording consolation and spiritual comfort to those
who were participators in that great strife; and, bible in hand, and the Gospel of Peace on
his lips, he did much to the glory of his Lord. These services with the army were of no
little use, not only in producing direct fruit but also in developing that prompt and urgent
method of dealing with men, that strenous endeavour to get them to accept immediate
salvation, which is so conspicuous a feature of his mode of address. With wounded men
hovering between life and death, or with men on march, resting for an evening in some
place which they where to leave to-morrow, it was plainly, so far, at least, as he was
concerned, the alternative of “now or neverand as he could not allow himself,or allow
them to be satisfied with the “never,” he bent his whole energies to the “now.”
Mr. Moody’s labours in the army were often much blessed. Of all his campaigns of
this kind there was none on which he looked back with more pleasure than one in the
State of Tennessee, in connection with troops under the command of General Howard.
That General being in the fullest sympathy with Mr. Moody, their work together was
very earnest and much blessed. It is pretty well-known that after the war was over
General Howard became President of the Freedman’s Bureau, and gave a great impulse
to the operations for educating the slaves.
The cessation of hostilities found Mr. Moody again at Chicago in pastoral charge of
a large chapel; but his labours there were terminated for a time by the fire in that city
in 1871, and their building was destroyed, his own house being also amongst those which
were burnt; but the Lord raised up friends, and a short time saw him again at the head
of a congregation more numerous and influential than before, upwards of twenty thousand
?ounds being expended on the building of the church alone. . H is labours through the
fnited States had endeared him to those who had both heard him and heard of him, and
he was not suffered to abate one jot of his usefulness.
A pleasing fact is related in connection with the rebuilding of the church. It is that
one subscription ife said to be from five hundred thousand Sunday school children.
Mr. Moody’s shrewd common sense seems never to fail him. It is customary at
what are called the “ all-day ” meetings, to set apart one hour for Mr. Moody to answer
■questions. What could be fresher and finer than the following replies?—“Ought not
Christian women to be more encouraged to work in the Lord’s vineyard ?—Yes ; and
especially mothers’ meetings pre-eminently afford scope for the exercise of their gifts, as
mothers are best addressed by a mother ; and a class of young women is most suitably
addressed by a young woman, who can enter into their feelings and sympathise with them
in their difficulties.—What is to be done with'persons who make long, cold prayers at
prayer-meetings ?—They must, at all hazards, be induced to refrain from killing the
•»
�meeting by such an injurious course of procedure. The Revival of 1857-58 in America
completely revolutionised many prayer-meetings, which before had been dull, tedious,
and cold ; and brought in the plan of having short, lively addresses and prayers, of three
or five minutes, from a number of different speakers. The prayer-meeting should be
thrown open for any one, briefly to speak or pray, who may feel led to do so.”
Mr. Moody on one occasion alluded to an incident connected with a young converts’
meeting, held the preceding evening. Last night, he said, a young woman, who is a
domestic servant, rose, and said one morning when she got up she felt a great desire to do
something for the Master. She had received so much herself that she wanted others to
share her happiness. There was another servant with her cleaning the window and
she thought she would speak to her. They stopped cleaning the windows, and went
down on their knees together. The case of a fashionable and worldly-minded lady in
Newcastle also deserves mention. She attended one of Mr. Moody’s meetings, and was
) asked by him, “ Are you a Christian ?” She curtly replied “lam not, and don’t want to
be.” He spoke to her, and said, “I shall pray for you.” Two days afterwards she came
again to the meetings. A few days later she began to address meetings of working men
upon their religious condition, beseeching them, as kindly women can do so well, to
secure for themselves that peace of mind and blissful prospect she could now claim as
hers.
An exceedingly large number of appeals for special prayer is made at most meetings.
The requests presented at one of the gatherings—and this tabulated statement is given
only as a specimen of what frequently happens—were as follow: Three persons for them
selves ; three wives for their husbands ; nine persons for their families ; two daughters
for their parents; nine brothers for sisters ; nine sisters for brothers; for two nephews ;
four persons who were in anxiety on behalf of six persons who felt themselves unconcerned
about their souls; one who lamented that he was in a backsliding state; for a person
present who felt himself to be bordering on despair; seven teachers for Bible-classes ;
and on behalf of an aged widow lady occupying a high position, who desired to consecrate
her all to Christ. At a meeting in Glasgow, the Rev. G. Stewart said there had just
come ia five earnest requests for prayer. One was from some undergraduates of
Cambridge, who were to have a meeting that night; another was from a number of
divinity students who were at that hour holding a prayer meeting; and a third was for a
young woman who had become insane in a ball-room, and was then in a dying state.
Mr. Moody is of a robust habit, with thick dark beard and moustache, and impresses
you with the idea of being a man of great energy and decision of character ; his love of
work is marvellous, and his activity untiring. Who, but a man upheld by a vigorous
mind, in a body equally insensible to fatigue, could, for week after week, address two,
three, sometimes even four large gatherings, and in buildings capable of holding, as at
Bingley Hall, 15,000 people, yet his voice seems as fresh at the conclusion of a day’s
course of service as if he had ascended the platform after the repose of a week. His
delivery is more rapid than the great majority of preachers in this country : his accent
slightly marked with the American twang ; (this is the best term as being the one most
easily understood,) his illustrations and anecdotes always to the purpose, always
interesting, and couched in language as simple as if he had written, re-written, and
written again, for the purpose of omitting any one word that might present the slightest
difficulty to the understanding of the most illiterate amongst the thousands whom he
might be addressing. Hesitation seems to be unknown to him ; without any claim to
rank as an orator, he has in the highest degree the gift of speaking to children, and that
is no mean compliment. One may listen to him without being led to draw any com
parison between him and the popular preachers who are household words with us, and
this is a great advantage. He is a man without mannerisms, nor does he seem to have
adopted any of the mannerisms of other speakers. A good voice, an earnest manner,
rapid speaking, and enunciation well nigh perfect, are recommendations which may well
bespeak the favourable verdict of all who go to hear, even if inclined to be critical.
Much that has been written of Mr. Moody, applies equally to his companion in his
tours, Mr. Sankey, a good natural voice, good enuniciation, so perfect indeed,that
the words are as distinct in his rendering them as if they were being read, is saying more
for Mr. Sankey than can be said of many whose pretensions rank far higher than his? It
would be unjust to criticise when criticism is disarmed by the great simplicity of songs
rendered by Mr. Sankey; the songs are all that can be desired for the purpose, and the
singing is all that can be desired for the music, and as a leader of very large numbers of
persons, but a small per-cep*age of whom can be expected to know anything at all of
�music Mr. Sankey’s manner leaves little to be desired. The musical portion of the ser
vice is under the supervision of Mr. Sankey, who uses an American organ to accompany
the solos sung by himself and the hymns in which the audience take part, and the un
obtrusive way in which this instrument is handled by him leads one to suppose that he is
adverse to the displays of instrumental music in the Gospel Meetings presided over by
Mr. Moody and himself.
Mr. Sankey, who in personal appearance is very unlike his colleague, is some years
younger than Mr. Moody, having been bom in 1840. Brought up to business, he took
great interest in the concerns of a Sunday School attached to the Chapel, which as a
youth he attended, and in maturer years continued his connection with it. Having a
taste for music and possessed of a good voice, he was much in request at musical services,
and his endearment in that portion of the worship of the Lord were much appreciated.
Some years since, meeting Mr. Moody at a Conference at Indianopolis, they became much
attached to each other, and from the date of their meeting their lives have run in the same
groove. Their originality and success became more and more widely known ; and at
length—chiefly through the solicitations of the Rev. Mr. Pennyfather, a well-known Lon
don clergyman, and Mr. Cuthbert Bainbridge, a merchant of Newcastle-upon-Tyne—they
were induced to visit England. Unhappily, however, both Mr. Pennyfather and Mr.
Bainbridge died before the Evangelists landed at Liverpool. The Americans, on reaching
our shores, were strangers in a strange land. “We arrived in York on a Saturday night
in July, 1873,” Mr. Moody himself states, “ and did not know a soul in the place.”
Nevertheless, their aim was so unselfish and noble, and their powers and gifts were evi
dently so extraordinary, that ere long they were surrounded by numerous friends? Having,
moreover, come here to preach and sing the Gospel, they were not the men to fold their
arms in despair and return to America without doing the work which they felt themselves
divinely commissioned to perform. In York they, therefore, commenced to hold their
meetings, and soon they became almost as well known in religious circles in the United
Kingdom as in the United States. Pressing invitations poured in for them to visit other
towns, and so in succession they have laboured in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Dundee, Belfast, Cork, Manchester, Sheffield, and a goodly number of smaller
places—Mr. Moody everywhere stirring great gatherings by his bold, yet simple, enuncia
tion of the truth, and Mr. Sankey giving to many new insight into Divine mysteries by
his power of song.
Although the place assigned fo Mr. Sankey in the service is conducting the musical
portion of it, he is no mean speaker, and occasionally officiates on the platform in the ab
sence of Mr. Moody—he is a pleasant speaker and addresses himself to the feelings of the
audience with much success.
The portraits of Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey, were taken at Bingley Hall, during one
of the revival meetings, and may be relied upon as faithful representations of these eminent
men.
One great feature in the movement set on foot by Messrs. Moody and Sankey is the
harmony which exists between them and the whole body of clergy of all denominations in
the services which have been rendered by them. It is not an unusual occurence to find a
body of 50 or 60 ministers surrounding these gentlemen at their meetings, and for a time
all doctrinal differences seem to be forgotten. This may be accounted for by the fact
that the addresses given by Mr. Moody are entirely free from any approach to theological
disputations, the whole subject seeming to be from Christ, the Saviour of the World, the
Sinner’s Friend, the Shepherd seeking the lost sheep, the God who reigns in that Heaven
where there is more joy among the angels over one sinner that repenteth than over ninety
and nine just men who need no repentance. Unlike many men equally zealous for the good of
souls, Mr. Moody does not attempt to allure men to heaven by frightening them about
hell and its terrors and fire and brimstone for ever and ever, but invites them to “ Come
to Jesus,” for the sake of the love of Jesus. Take but one step towards the Lord and
you will find him.
It is a great sight to look upon one of these revival meetings—the doors of a vast hall
opened an hour and a half or two hours before the time advertised for the service to
commence ; the people are ever more flocking in, some from parts of the country afar off:
they noiselessly seat themselves. There are no reserved seats excepting a few chairs and
forms for the clergy. Presently a hymn is begun, and from time to time singing
beguiles the time until the hour for commencing has arrived ; then, looking round, every
available nook and corner of a building holding, perhaps, 10,000, 12,000 or 15,000 people
is found to be crowded, and the service begins. From its commencement until its close.
�6
•every minute is occupied. A portion of a chapter read by Mr. Moody will be followed
at once by a solo or hymn ; not once does the service flag, and the mind is so occupied
that when the service is concluded the expression on most faces is surprise that the time
has been so shortened.
We will conclude this sketch of Messrs. Moody and Sankey and their work, with
some extracts from the Birmingham Morning News, a paper, the proprietors of which have
been most energetic in advocating the good cause, and in reporting all that could be
interesting during the stay of these American evangelists in Birmingham.
TRACING THE REVIVAL WAVE.
In concluding these articles it may be useful to give a more succinct and detailed
account than has hitherto appeared, of the movements of Messrs. Moody and Sankey in
this country, so that the reader may trace with ease the direction taken by the present
Revival wave.
The Evangelists arrived in England, from America, about the middle of 1873, and at
■once commenced to break ground in the city of York. The two gentlemen who invited
them to cross the Atlantic having been carried off by death before they reached our shores,
Messrs. Moody and Sankey were at first placed at considerable disadvantage. But they
by no means lost heart, and in course of time, as their powers came to be known, large
congregations were drawn to their different services.
It was not, however, until they began to labour in Newcastle-on-Tyne that they
attracted general attention.
.
Leaving the North of England, the Revivalists next proceeded to Scotland, holding
services in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Greenock, and numerous
other towns. Wherever they went a wonderful work was done. Sectarian differences
and jealousies disappeared, and thousands, both outside and inside the pale of the
Christian Church, confessed and showed in their lives that they had received much good.
A well qualified witness (Professor W. G. Blakie) said some time ago :—It is certainly
not beyond the mark to say, in point of extent, power, and wide-spreading influence, the
religious movement of the last six months is unprecedented in the history of Scotland.
We mean that never within the same space of time has so large a harvest been gathered
into the Christian garner.” Dr. Horatio Bonar writes :—“We can call tnem (ministers
cf religion) by hundreds, and they will bear testimony. Is this testimony not to be
believed ? If not, what is to believed, or who ? There is another class of witnesses, no
less credible and important—the Sa'obath-school teachers of Scotland, amounting to
thousands. They can tell of the wonderful changes in their scholars, such as they never
saw before—changes which betoken the Spirit’s hand, and indicate genuine renovation of
heart. There is yet another class of witnesses whom I would summon the parents of
Scotland. One of the remarkable things about this work, especially in Edinburgh and
Glasgow, is, that so many of the children of pious parents have been gathered in. What
changes in families have been accomplished ! W’hat different households do we now see.
There are hundreds of fathers and mothers who could come forward as witnesses to tell of
the fruit among their children.”
.
,
From Scotland—where their laoours extended over about nine months tney crossed
to Ireland. It may be doubted, whether they were not even more successful—especially
taking all the circumstances of the case into consideration—in Ireland than they had been
in England and Scotland. In Belfast, Dublin, and Londonderry, they not only attracted
large audiences, but accomplished a great work. At some of the meetings in the
Exhibition Palace in Dublin, as many as from 15,000 to 20,000 were present. The Witness
of September 25, 1874, stated, speaking of the work in Belfast“ One remarkable case
�7
of conversion is that of an entire Roman Catholic family, who heard Mr. Moody, webelieve, at one of the open-air meetings, and have left the Church of Rome.” Of their
labours in the capital of Ireland, the Dublin Hail wrote :—“ For some weeks past twomissionaries, sell-moved to the work of persuading sinner^, have occupied a Dublin plat
form, and have gathered round them literally tens of thousands. Is there in the strangersany singular quality—an intellectual pre-eminence, an oratorical skill, a novelty in doc
trine, a magnetic force—which leads strong minds captive, and which draws the labourer
from his squalid home who had never darkened a church door, and quenches the critical
spirit of the scholar, cold and severe, whose religion is of regulation pattern, and his es
timate of human nature according to rigid rule ? The speaker and the singer alike aresimple men—almost fishermen in want of scholastic fitness—and their method is as simple
as themselves. Their hymns are sweet and touching, but not more tender or suited tovaried feeling than many of the ancient melodies of penitence or prayer which modern
composers of hymnals have rashly put aside. The style of singing is equally without spe
cial characteristic. The leader is heard by the largest congregation—that is the most of.
it. The force is not in the preacher, steady and full as is the stream of his earnestness—
strong as is the grasp he takes of his hearers by making their reason captive—fertile as are
his illustrations, often quaint, always familiar, never wanting in reverence. The message
it must be which has this influence. ” As is known, some of the leaders of the Roman
Catholic Church strongly opposed the movement; but even they were helpless in the
matter.
Afterwards visiting Manchester and Sheffield, the same power accompanied them.
Immense congregations gathered in the Free Trade Hall of Manchester to listen to the
Evangelists, and one witness declared they had really “ set the city on fire.” At their
first meeting in Sheffield, on the last day of 1874, Mr. Moody is reported by the Sheffield
Daily Telegraph to have said :—“When at Edinburgh last year, he prayed that 1874
might be the most successful they had had in their work, and it had been. It had been
worth more more than ten or twelve years of their former life. He was anxious that 1875
should be even more successful than 1874. What they wanted the Church to do was to
wake up. They must work in Sheffield, go round Jericho, and take it. These was not adrunkard reeling in the town that night but whom God could save. It was as easy for
God to save a drunkard as it was for him to bring down the walls of Jericho. What they
wanted was perseverance and holy enthusiasm—and men willing to die for Christ. If they
went out to fight the enemy, who should stand before the Lord's anointed ?”
It may not be much out of place to state that the succees which has attended the
meetings at which Messrs. Moody and Sankey preside, has extended to all matters with
which these gentlemen are connected, and that as well in a pecuniary as in a religious sense
have they reason to be well satisfied with the results of their mission, a very large sum
being derived from the sale of the various editions of hymns and music books which havebeen published for use at the various places where they have held services. The pricecharged for the book mostly in use (one shilling,) has been the means of inciting others topublish books with the same music and words at a price more in keeping with the con
tents, and one such book in particular, “71 Revival Songs, ” sung by Mr Sankey and others,
for the low price of 3d., and certainly well adapted for use at the meetings, is a marvel of
cheapness, and got up in a very attractive style.
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A correct and cheap edition of all the Solos, Sacred Hymns, 4e., sung by Mr. Sawkby
and others at Gospel Meetings; the object of its publication being to supply them at
the least possible, cost. To be had of all Musicsellers, Booksellers, or News Agents
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SELECTED SACRED SONGS SUNG BY MR. SANKEY
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And others. Fourteen of the most popular in full Vocal Score, Twopence.
Published by J. Harwood, 4, Marsh Hill, Homerton, London, E.
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PEAttlS OF
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stiff cover, full Music size, of the following Sacred sfcgs^-2'‘T"‘
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Safe in theArmsof Jesus.
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Room among theA A^ils.
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Jesus of Nazareth P/sseth by. «
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Each of the foregoing Songs are arranged as a Solo, with Chor&s, and'to each a separaw
arrangement for American Organ or Harmomum is added, forming a handsome and useful
selection of Revival Songs for home.use.
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■ yf?''* J’/Pitman, 20, Paternoster RoW/Londcin. .■ **
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PRICE WU^SHlLLINGS 4TW0 MU*LINGS*SET). 7
PRICE FOU£KSHlLLIN£S 4TW0 $HiPJJNG^ET)/
favonte .Songs, transcribed for
:
The following favonte'Songs, ti’anscribedfor Pianoforte by Mason Williams •—
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“Safe in the Arms of Jesus,”
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“Held the Fort,” “Scatter Seeds of
6, Kindness,” “Jesus of Nazareth Passeth By,” “Room Among the
Angela” '‘Sweet By-and-Bye.”
Very acceptable to Pianoforte players as a nicely-arranged transcription of the most^
- • popular Revival ~ igsi Publishetbby F. Pitman, 20, Paternoster How.
Songsi PublishecPby
aternoster Row.
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Who WILLVIIEtP ME O’ER, ti4e RIVER
Sacred Song and Chorus, dedicated to Mr. SANKEY, and sure to become universally
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
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Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Sketch of the lives and work of messrs. Moody & Sankey the American revivalists
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 8 p. : ill. (ports.) 22 cm.
Series number: no. 29161; no. 29161.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Pages 7-8 annotated in pencil. The annotations on the final page are written over text and are very difficult to read. P.7 has a pencil drawing of a woman's head. List of works published for use at Moody & Sankey's meetings on unnumbered back page. No author given.
Publisher
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J. Clarke
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1878
Identifier
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G5329
Subject
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Evangelism
Creator
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[Unknown]
Rights
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Sketch of the lives and work of messrs. Moody & Sankey the American revivalists), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
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English
Conway Tracts
Dwight Lyman Moody
Evangelists-Biography
Ira David Sankey
Revivalism
-
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PDF Text
Text
SIGNS OF THE TIMES.
APRIL, 1875.
ILENCE is brooding over the world ecclesiasti._ cal, and there are no “signs” of any impor
tance to chronicle. The month has been singularly
deficient in stirring events, and there is a general
hush of expectancy among the people. The two
armies of Free Thought and of Superstition lie face
to face, but no general engagement is threatening
just at present. Here and there, there is a slight
skirmish ; now and then two champions, such as Dr.
Tyndall and the Archbishop of Canterbury, charge
out, strike a few sharp blows at each other, and
then disappear. But none the less are the two
parties hard at work, entrenching the positions they
hold, undermining the fortress of the opposing army,
burnishing up their shields, and sharpening anew the
keen edges of their swords. Professor Lightfoot and
the Author of 1 Supernatural Religion ’ keep up a
somewhat bitter duel in the Contemporary and the
Fortnightly. The attack of the orthodox Defender of
the Faith lacks interest because of its pettiness; it
does not even shake that heavy wall of evidence built
up by the rationalist. The whole affair reminds us
of the charge by cavalry against British infantry
squares: here and there a man may go down, here
and there a momentary flaw may be detected in the
defence ; but at once the stern line closes up again,
and the firm square is as strong and as unbroken as
ever. Professor Lightfoot is proving how impreg
nable are the positions taken up, and entrenched so
carefully, by the Author of ‘Supernatural Religion.’
S
�2
The Contemporary is, as usual, full of theological
articles. Mr. W. R. Greg contributes a short paper
on “ Can truths be apprehended which could not
have been discovered p” He appears to answer the
question in the negative; but the article is in his
worst style, and totally unworthy of his fame. Then
we have an interesting article on “ The Laws of
England as to the Expression of Religious Opinion,”
by Mr. Fitzjames Stephens, Q.C. This essay is very
good, barring the cynicism and patronising tone
which disfigures it here and there, and which is in
separable from all which this author writes; and it
closes with a short Act of Parliament, proposed by
Mr. Stephens as a remedy for the present state of
things, which strikes us as very suitable to its pur
pose, and one which a Liberal member of Parliament
would do well to take up, and bring to the notice of
the Legislature. The present state of the law as
regards blasphemy and cognate offences is simply
disgraceful. The law is a dead letter wherever
the “ blasphemer ” is a man of mark or of power;
while, on the other hand, it can be invoked to crush
such a helpless and foolish offender as Thomas
Pooley. A law, the general enforcement of which
would outrage public opinion, is a disgrace and a
serious injury to any country; for it discredits all
law by its own uselessness, and weakens that rever
ence for law which is the safeguard of a free com
munity. A law which is constantly and openly
broken ought to be abolished if public opinion will
not allow it to be enforced. A law against “ deprav
ing the Christian religion,” and against denying
“ the divine authority of the Holy Scriptures,” is an
absurd anachronism in a country where Colenso
undermines the Pentateuch, and Huxley and Tyndall
sap the foundations of popular belief, and crowds of
cultivated and refined men and women openly turn
their backs on the churches, and devote themselves
�to spreading and popularising rational and scientific
Free Thought.
The controversy on “Is man an automaton ? ” is
raging fiercely in the scientific world. Professors
Huxley and Clifford have contributed able papers on
the one side, while Dr. Carpenter fights boldly on
the other. The automatism of man is, of course, an
inference from that of animals, the arguments for
which were so powerfully stated by Professor Huxley
in his address at Belfast, before the British Associa
tion. All those who see no gaps in natural order,
who trace one unbroken line of gradually ascending
organisations from the lowest form of animal life to
the crowning-point of highly-developed human intel
ligence, will naturally accept, as regards man, the
automatism which is almost proved as regards the
lower phases of animal life. The clear proofs afforded
by repeated experiment, that actions which have been
considered as conscious and purposive, are simply
due to what is termed reflex action, in which con
sciousness has no share—these proofs are naturally
making people ask, “ How far, then, is man an auto
maton ?” Science here, as in so many other places,
is invading the dominion which theologians thought
their own; she is beginning to speak in that old con
troversy of Free Will and Determinism, which has been
so fruitful a field for argument; she is having her
say on human responsibility. Naturally, theologians
do not like it, and they are thundering out anathemas
against the bold pioneers of Science; but Huxley
pushes them out of his way with a scornful defiance,
and Clifford blandly declines to leave any portion of
ground uncultivated by the ploughshare of Science ;
and so the Truth-seekers go on, peering into nature’s
secrets, and telling out all their discoveries. We
cannot but hope that in time Science will prove that
all crime is only a disease, of which men may be
cured as of any other disease, so that we may at last
�4
have some hope of grappling with the terrible human
degradation which religion has failed to cure, and
that men may at last be able, generations hence, to
look back on the brutality and on the ruffianism
which now disfigure society, as we look back upon
the plagues and black death which once decimated
our ancestors. Truly, Science is becoming the hope
of men, the true revelation, the true saviour, the
future king of the world.
Mr. Gladstone has struck another blow at his
enemies, and, ingeniously picking up their own
stones flung at him, has armed his sling with these
same pebbles, and with their own missiles has he
slain them. His generous and noble courtesy to Dr.
Newman is a pleasant feature in the warfare, and the
chivalrous tone of the antagonism between the two
great men is an example to all controversialists. Mr.
Gladstone is perfectly successful in maintaining his
original position, and he has absolutely fortified it
with his enemies’missiles. The answers to his “Ex
postulation ” have proved the justice of the original
challenge, and the necessity for the appeal to the
loyalty of Englishmen. He has shaken the Roman
Church in England more than could have been
thought possible; and he has, however unwittingly,
encouraged that spirit of free inquiry which, when
once it truly inspires a man, leads him through the
wilderness of doubt, and across the river of despair
into the fair land of truth and rational freedom.
The Pope, on the other hand, true to his logical
position of Defender of the Faith, as against human
knowledge, champion of the supernatural, as against
the natural, leader of the forlorn hope of theology, as
against science, has spoken fiercely against the educa
tion of the young in schools which are not controlled
by the priesthood, and bitterly complains that the
lambs of the Church are being turned into devouring
wolves. Wise is the Pope in his generation, wiser,
�5
unfortunately, than many of the children of light; he
knows the vast importance of impressing dogmas on
the ductile childish mind, and appreciates the advan
tages gained by the Church, if the priest be allowed
to mould the minds of the children. The question of
education is a question of tremendous importance to
all those who are interested in the spread of Free
Thought; yet, over and over again, do we find freethinking parents sending their children to schools
where they become indoctrinated with orthodox
beliefs. The cowardly fear of inj ury to social position
drives parents to inflict this great mental and moral
inj ury on their children; but if only free-thinkers
would be a little braver, if only they would speak out
publicly that which they believe privately, they would
find themselves so strong, both in numbers and in
position, that they would not need to trouble them
selves about these petty social considerations.. Never
yet in history has a great religious movement triumphed
where its pioneers have always been asking them
selves, “ Will this line of thought or this action be
considered by the people about me as thoroughly
respectable ? ” All great reforms must be carried in
the teeth of the world; always, when carried, they
become popular, and then the cross, borne by the
reformer as the symbol of the lowest degradation is
transformed into the symbol of victory, shines on
the topmost spires of the temples, and adorns the
crowns which circle the brows of kings.
It would not be right to omit all mention of the
glory shed upon the Church, of which he is a
minister, by the Rev. Mr. Coley, the vicar of Cowley,
near Oxford. This truly pious man had had his
righteous soul vexed day by day, by the ungodly
deeds which one Moses Merritt had ungodly com
mitted. Moses appears to have been given to in
toxication ; Moses’ language was not always of the
most refined description ; and Moses had once, alas!
�6
for the depravity of human nature, “brawled” in
Church. When this ungodly Moses died, it became
necessary to bury him, even as though he had been
a saint of the Lord. But Mr. Coley refused. Day
after day went on, and still Moses remained unburied,
tying aU this time in his poor cottage, where, around
the coffin, the survivors must eat, and drink, and
sleep. When ten days had passed, authority stepped
in, and ordered burial within twenty hours. Mr.
Coley then had it borne in upon his mind, that Moses,
on his death-bed, had spoken words of repentance,
and he thought himself justified, therefore, in allow
ing the burial. Why Mr. Coley took ten days to
find this out, deponent sayeth not: perhaps Moses
had visited the parson spiritually, and rapped out on
the clerical table a message of regret for his past
offences. Even then, however, Mr. Coley could not
give way entirely, but locked the Church doors against
the eleven-days-dead sinner. So the disgraceful busi
ness ended with a final struggle • the people broke
open the Church doors, and carried the coffin in ;
after that all went quietly. We scarcely wonder at
reading that Merritt’s widow had to be supported
at the grave ; between being obliged to live for eleven
days in a small cottage with a corpse, and the pain
ful scene at the funeral, the poor woman must have
sustained serious injuries both to mind and body.
It will be wrong if such conduct as this of Mr. Coley’s
be allowed to go unpunished. Probably, however, it
will serve as a new argument to help on the Burials’
Bill, and so Mr. Coley may have done good service
despite himself. Such parsons work hard for dis
establishment, and they help forward disendowment
too, for Parliament will scarcely be foolish enough to
consider men like Mr. Coley fit custodians of national
property. Every parson who discredits the Church
does us more service than our most energetic propa
gandists. We ought to elect Mr. Coley, by acclama-
�7
Mon, one of the provincial agents of the Liberation
Society.
“ Wrath is gone out against the people ; the plague
is begun.” Messrs. Moody and Sankey are now in
London, and the Agricultural Hall at Islington
and her Majesty’s Opera House are already engaged
“ for the Lord’s work.” Moody has asked—modest
man!—for 15,000/., and already 8,000Z. has been col
lected. These Christians shame us by the liberality
with which they support an antiquated superstition.
London is being mapped out into districts, and to
each district a certain number of visitors are appointed,
who are to call at each house in their “ vineyard,”
and “ present a leaflet with a few loving words, so
that every one may know that Jesus of Nazareth
passeth by.” This is a trying prospect, and doubt
less these “messengers of the Lord ” will not always
find that their “ paths are paths of peace.” If the
excitement in London equal that which has swept—
in a hysterical wave—over provincial towns visited
by these two spiritual mountebanks, Moody and
Sankey will become a downright nuisance. People
rushing about the streets, accosting harmless passers
by with the question, “ Have you found him ? have
you got the blood ?” ought to be handed over to the
police. From Salford and from Prestwich we hear
of cases of religious mania “ due to attendance at the
recent meetings of Moody and Sankey,” and the un
fortunate sufferers have to be sent to the lunatic
asylums. It is pitiful that, in this nineteenth cen
tury, crowds of men and women should be carried
away by a spiritual epidemic that reminds one of the
excesses of the devotees of the Middle Ages, and
should bend their necks under a yoke of coarse and
blatant superstition. We have searched in vain
through Mr. Moody’s discourses for the secret of his
influence; he appears to string together silly little
stories, with here and there a touch of drollery that
�8
reminds one of his American extraction, but of true elo
quence, or even of passion, there seems no trace what
ever. Mr. Sankey’s power is more easily understood ;
he has, we believe, a really fine voice, and uses it well
and effectively, and as he starts off his choruses with
the true music-hall appeal to the audience to “join in,”
the hymns carry all before them. They are generally
plaintive melodies, of the Christy Minstrel type, such
as “Lay me in my little bed,” or “Just before the
battle, mother;” and we know, by long experience of
the “ Original Christy Minstrels,” how strangely
attractive these songs are to the crowd. It is popu
larly reported, that before Moody and Sankey sailed
for England, they tossed up to see if they should
come as Revivalists or as Christy Minstrels : si non
e vero, e ben trovato, but we fear the story is too good
to be true. It appears that these gentlemen once
before favoured us with a visit, in 1870, I believe, but
no one appears to have been aware of their presence;
this time they have “ come with power,” and by vast
outlay in advertising and puffing they have made
their visit a success. A few more years of this work
and they may retire with handsome fortunes, for
truly, in their case, it is proved that “ Godliness is
great gain.”
The Church Disestablishment movement is quietly
gathering strength, and it is rumoured that a party
is being formed in Parliament, under the leadership
of Mr. John Bright, whose “cry” is to be, “Dis
establishment and the Repeal of the 25th Clause.” If
this be true, stirring times are coming for all those
interested in theological matters, and soon we shall
hear the trumpet-call which sounds the summons to
the assault. “ God defend the right! ” used to be
the ancient device ; “ Man fight for the right 1 ” must
be the motto of the modern champions.
PRINTED BY 0. W. REYNELL, LITTLE PULTENEY STREET, HAYMARKET.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Signs of the times. April, 1875
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 8 p. ; 18 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Printed by C.W. Reynell, Little Pulteney Street, London. Includes a humorous and satirical account of Moody and Sankey revival meetings. p.7-8.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
[Thomas Scott]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1875
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G5500
Subject
The topic of the resource
Christianity
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
[Unknown]
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Signs of the times. April, 1875), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
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application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Christianity-Controversial Literature
Conway Tracts
Dwight Lyman Moody
Ira David Sankey
Revivalism