Throughout the world Mr. Moody’s name is associated with that of Ira D. Sankey. The names “Moody and Sankey” were household words for years, and even now they linger in the hearts of the devout everywhere. Mr. Moody preached and Mr. Sankey sang, while audiences of ten to twenty thousand were stirred to their very depths. Through their combined efforts thousands of people were converted, and cooling and indifferent church people were aroused to action. Mr. Sankey was a government officer in New Castle, Pa. He was thirty years of age when he and Moody met. He had heard enough of Mr. Moody to make him curious to see and hear him. The time came when his desire was to be satisfied. A religious convention was to be held in Indianapolis, Ind. It was announced that “Mr. Moody from Chicago” would conduct a prayer-meeting on Sunday morning at six o’clock. Notwithstanding the early hour, Mr. Sankey determined to go. The distance to the church was much greater than he had thought, and the service was half through when he arrived and took a seat near the door. At the conclusion of a rather lengthy prayer, a friend urged Mr. Sankey to start right in with a hymn, as there seemed to be no one in charge of the singing.
Without waiting for further invitation, Mr. Sankey arose and sang: “There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel’s veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains.” The congregation joined in heartily. At the close of the service Mr. Sankey was introduced to Mr. Moody. As he drew near Moody recognized him as the man who had led the singing, took his hand and said, “Where are you from?” “Pennsylvania,” replied Mr. Sankey. “Married?” “Yes. I have a wife and two children.” “What do you do for a living when you are at home?” “I am in the government service.” Still holding his hand and looking into his face with his keen eyes, he said, “Well, you’ll have to give up business. You’ll have to give up your government position, and come with me. You are the man I have been looking for for the last eight years. I want you to come and help me in my work in Chicago.” That was on Sunday. Sankey hesitated, and considered the matter from every angle; but the next morning found him still inclined to stick to the government job with its regular, guaranteed salary. Just at that moment a card was brought to him from Mr. Moody asking that he meet him that evening at a certain corner at six o’clock to sing. Sankey wrote his acceptance on the back of the card, and at the appointed time was there.
Soon Mr. Moody arrived. Without even stopping, he walked into a store, and asked for the use of a store-box for a pulpit. Permission being given, he rolled the box out on the street corner, and climbing upon it, asked Mr. Sankey to sing. After a few songs Mr. Moody preached. Very soon a large crowd of working men coming out of the shops had congregated there, and Mr. Sankey says that Mr. Moody preached that evening from that box as he had never heard anyone preach before. The crowd stood spellbound as the words flowed from Moody’s lips. He talked for about fifteen minutes, leaped down from the box, announced that he was going to hold a meeting at the Academy of Music, and invited the crowd to accompany him there. Mr. Sankey and his friend marched down the street, singing “Shall We Gather at the River?” The lower floor of the Academy of Music was soon packed. Mr. Moody saw that the men in their working clothes were seated before he ascended the platform to speak. His second address was as captivating as the one delivered on the street corner, and it was not until the delegates had arrived for the evening session of the convention that the meeting was brought to a close. Mr. Moody was fond of singing and valued it highly as a part of religious worship. He said: “I feel sure the great majority of people do like singing, and I purpose to make it a prominent feature of all my services. It helps to build up your audience. If you have singing that reaches the heart, it will fill the church every time.” He used to say that there is more said in the Bible about praise than about prayer, and that music and song not only accompany all Scriptural revivals, but are essential in deepening spiritual life. He said: “We owe some of our best hymns to seasons like those, when in the family and church, in the factory and street, the great truths of
the gospel are heard in song. Singing does at least as much as preaching to impress the Word of God upon people’s minds. During the forty years since God first called me, the importance of praise expressed in song has grown upon me.” The following incident illustrates his personal love of song. Accompanied by P. P. Bliss, Ira D. Sankey, and a few other friends, he was crossing the Connecticut River on a ferry, and as they crossed the beautiful stream, the valley sloping down on either side, and the blue hills and mountains beyond, Bliss and Sankey sang together, “Only Waiting for the Boatman,” and “There is a Land of Pure Delight.” Moody was helping the ferryman. The party thought they were crossing very slowly. After the third or fourth song Sankey looked around and discovered that Moody was holding on to the wire and pulling back while the ferryman pulled forward; his object was to put in a good many songs, not only for his own benefit but also for the good of the ferryman, a boyhood friend, in whose conversion he was interested. Moody greatly enjoyed Sankey’s discomfiture, and after a hearty laugh from all, they joined in the song “Pull for the Shore,” and by keeping a watch on Moody they finally reached the shore.