The Shadow of His Wing
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Ps. 91:1).
Two Americans were crossing the Atlantic and were singing the hymn, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” They were joined by a third man having an exceedingly rich tenor voice. When the music ceased one of the Americans turned to this third party to ask if he had been in the Civil War. The man replied that he had been a Confederate soldier.
“Were you at such a place on such a night?” asked the first man.
“Yes,” he said, “and a curious thing happened that night; this hymn recalled it to my mind. I was on sentry duty on the edge of a wood. It was a dark night and very cold, and I was not a little frightened because the enemy was supposed to be near at hand. I felt homesick and miserable, and about midnight, when everything was still, I was beginning to feel weary and though I would comfort myself by praying and singing a hymn. I remember singing this hymn—
All my trust on Thee is stayed
All my help from Thee I bring
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of Thy wing.
After I had sung those words a strange peace came down upon me, and through the long night I remember having felt no fear.
“Now,” said the first man, “listen to my story. I was a Union soldier, and was in the woods that very night with a party of scouts. I saw you standing there in the woods, my men focused their rifles upon you, but then you sang out that song. We listened. We never fired. I said, ‘Boys, put down your rifles; we will go home. I couldn’t kill after that.’”
Two Americans were crossing the Atlantic and were singing the hymn, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” They were joined by a third man having an exceedingly rich tenor voice. When the music ceased one of the Americans turned to this third party to ask if he had been in the Civil War. The man replied that he had been a Confederate soldier.
“Were you at such a place on such a night?” asked the first man.
“Yes,” he said, “and a curious thing happened that night; this hymn recalled it to my mind. I was on sentry duty on the edge of a wood. It was a dark night and very cold, and I was not a little frightened because the enemy was supposed to be near at hand. I felt homesick and miserable, and about midnight, when everything was still, I was beginning to feel weary and though I would comfort myself by praying and singing a hymn. I remember singing this hymn—
All my trust on Thee is stayed
All my help from Thee I bring
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of Thy wing.
After I had sung those words a strange peace came down upon me, and through the long night I remember having felt no fear.
“Now,” said the first man, “listen to my story. I was a Union soldier, and was in the woods that very night with a party of scouts. I saw you standing there in the woods, my men focused their rifles upon you, but then you sang out that song. We listened. We never fired. I said, ‘Boys, put down your rifles; we will go home. I couldn’t kill after that.’”