Sing As You Ride

(Loyal Pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana for over 42 years)

Dr. Charles Weigle was my good friend. Dr. Weigle lived to almost 100 years of age. He was one of the happiest men. He taught me how to shout. He taught me how to praise. He taught me how to life your hand with holy hosannas and sing glory to God. Charles Weigle was an evangelist. His wife decided that she no longer wanted to be a preacher's wife. He pleaded with her to stay with him, but she refused to do so. Charles Weigle, in the middle of his evangelistic success, had to say goodbye to his wife. His wife left him because she would no longer be a preacher's wife, never to return. As soon as she left, he sat down and wrote, “No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus.”

I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus
Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;
I would tell you how He changed my life completely,
He did something that no other friend could do.

All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me,
All my heart was full of misery and woe;
Jesus placed his strong and loving arms about me,
And He led me in the way I ought to go.

Every day He comes to me with new assurance,
More and more I understand His words of love,
But I'll never know just why He came to save me,
Till someday I see His blessed face above.

No one ever cared for me like Jesus,
There's no other friend so kind as He;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,
O how much He cared for me!

There was a day, 50 years ago, when no one knew me outside of East Texas, and no one knew my good friend, Lester Roloff, outside of the state of Texas. We were young men, just getting started. We used to call each other every Monday morning and discuss the day we had in our churches. Very few men have been as close to me as Lester Roloff. I recall the day he got his first invitation to preach out of Texas. He called me on the phone and said, “Brother Jack, I have got an invitation to preach way over in Chattanooga, Tennessee.” He was shocked to death and so very, very pleased. Everywhere he went, he sang- sometimes on key, sometimes off key- but he sang! Anytime he was preaching, he was apt to burst out singing, “Living By Faith.”

I care not today what the morrow may bring,
If shadow or sunshine or rain;
The Lord I know ruleth o'er everything,
And all of my worry is vain.

Tho' tempests may blow, and the storm-clouds arise,
Obscuring the brightness of life,
I'm never alarmed at the overcast skies;
The Master looks on at the strife.

I know that He safely will carry me thru,
No matter what evils betide;
Why should I then care tho' the tempest may blow,
If Jesus walks close to my side.

Our Lord will return to this earth some sweet day,
Our troubles will then all be o'er;
The Master so gently will lead us away,
Beyond that blest heavenly shore.

Living by faith, in Jesus above,
Trusting, confiding in His great love;
From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,
I'm living by faith and feel no alarm.

Probably the father of our modern missionary movement was a good friend of mine for many years, the very famous Canadian, Dr. Oswald J. Smith. Oswald J. Smith wrote many of the songs that you sing, but you are not aware that he wrote them. Likewise, Oswald Smith was the father of the “faith promise plan” and the modern missionary movement. Oswald Smith was the pastor for many years of the People's Church of Toronto, Canada. Every year, for many years, I preached there. I knew him well. I never knew a more stately and proper man. I never knew a man who looked like the Secretary of State-not the one we have now. (The one we have now reminds me of a movie star named Lassie.) Dr. Oswald Smith was the epitome of a Christian gentleman-tall, always proper, rather dignified. Some of the sweetest memories that I have are in the office of Oswald J. Smith. One day I walked into his office and I said, “Dr. Smith, do me a favor.” He said “What, Brother Hyles?” I said, “Sing me the song that you wrote.” He said, “Which one?” I said, “Sing for me, Dr. Smith, ‘Then Jesus Came.´”

One sat alone beside the highway begging,
His eyes were blind, the light he could not see;
He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows;
Then Jesus came and bade his darkness flee.

From home and friends the evil spirits drove him,
Among the tombs he dwelt in misery;
He cut himself as demon pow'rs possessed him;
Then Jesus came and set the captive free.

“Unclean! Unclean!” The leper cried in torment,
The deaf, the dumb, in helpless stood near;
The fever raged, disease had gripped its victim;
Then Jesus came and cast out ev'ry fear.

So men today have found the Saviour able,
They could not conquer passion, lust, and sin;
Their broken hearts had left them sad and lonely;
Then Jesus came dwelt Himself with in.

When Jesus comes, the tempter's pow'r is broken;
When Jesus comes, the tears are wiped away.
He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory,
For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.

        The most charming person I ever met, and certainly the most charming personality I ever met, was Dr. Bill Rice. I never met a man who could win an audience like Dr. Bill Rice could. He was a cowboy. Anybody that knew him knows that Bill Rice was a West Texas cowboy and one of the most amazing men. I loved him dearly. I spoke at his funeral service. He thought I was smart. He called me “Solomon.” I used to call him “Solomon,” because he was wise enough to think that I was wise. He would call me on the phone. “Hey, Solomon, I have got a problem that I need you to help me solve, neighbor.” He wrote as a cowboy. He wrote this song, “Sing as You Ride.”

Sing as your ride in the round-up of life.
Sing as you ride through the day and the night.
Sing as you ride, for with Christ by your side,
He will never once fail you to the end of the trail,
So just sing as you ride.

Many men who are just names in history to thousands of you today were my dear, personal friends. Everyone that I speak about in this book, unless I tell you differently, is someone that I knew not just casually, but personally. Now for these years, I have been privileged to have walked with these men, my personal dear friends. At the age of 29, I was thrust into conferences sharing the pulpit with the famous men that I am writing about. In this book I will tell you what they taught me. To some of you, I will be a boring old man reminiscing about his youth. To others, I will be a conduit through which can flow truths and experiences from them to you.

END

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 "I am an old-fashioned preacher of the old-time religion, that has warmed this cold world's heart for two thousand years." -Billy SUNDAY.