So I go on in the dark, not knowing-- I would not if I might-- I would rather walk with God in the dark Than walk alone in the light; I would rather walk with Him by faith Than walk alone by sight.
Rev. Dr. Goodwin in speaking of this funeral, afterward said that he thanked God he had the privilege of going to it. “Not a shadow had come over his face or the face of the friends whom he went to see.
“There was the gray-haired grandmother of eighty-three years, her face already shining with the light of the Heaven to which she was so near. When the news was told her she said, ‘Only a step has Philip gone in advance of me.’ The parents of Mrs. Bliss walked calm, without a murmur, through the valley of the shadow.
“Of the thirty or forty relatives, with but one exception, all, old and young, accepted Jesus Christ as the foundation upon which they stood. The faces of these bereaved ones shone as faces never shine till God comes into the heart and banishes sorrow.
“Who ever saw a funeral service turned to an inquiry meeting? Yet at that service twenty-five persons avowed their determination to serve God, and at the evening service ten or fifteen more did the same.”
Another memorial service was also held at Chicago on January 15th, at Rev. Dr. Goodwin’s church, where Mr. Bliss began his public life as a singer, and where his memory is cherished tenderly, affectionately.
The large church was crowded, nearly three thousand people present.
His pastor on this occasion paid tribute to the character of his friend. He said:
1st. “He was one of the most hopeful men I ever knew. His life was unclouded, or at least the clouds came not to tarry. Not that he was exempt from trouble. He had his share of trial, discipline, and disappointment. He knew what it was to be misapprehended--to have mean and selfish motives imputed. He knew what it was to stand by the bedside of one who was dearer to him than life, whom he expected might at any time be called away. But his mind was in the promises of God. His heart was above the clouds and was assured of the truth. Mr. Bliss will be better known in the future as the singing pilgrim.
“As he went on in the Christian life the Hallelujah grew more frequent. There are few of his songs, wherever they begin, which do not before they close, land us in the glory of the Heavenly Land. Take even ‘Light in the darkness, Sailor.’ The last verse begins, ‘Bright glorious the morning, Sailor,’ and it ends with a ‘Glory, Hallelujah.’