Music

Music in the Home

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God has made parents responsible for their children—for feeding, clothing, housing, raising them correctly, and keeping them safe. If a child were to run out in front of a car, a parent would know what to do to protect them. The parent wouldn’t just wring their hands and ask, “What can I do?” If a child started to drink a glass of poison, smoke a cigarette, or drink a can of beer, a parent would not hesitate to take immediate action, because they are responsible. You must not hesitate to take proper action if your child is in danger. No excuses!

Equally important is the parents’ responsibility to protect their children from worldly music, whether it is a bedlam of noise or pretty, schmaltzy music, which is a mockery of Christ. Parents should not tell their child that it is all right for them to listen to strange music as long as they wear earphones or go to their bedroom and shut the door so they don’t have to hear it. And though it can be challenging, parents should teach their child to avoid it, even at friends’ homes. Parents must teach them to be bold and to stand up and say to their friends, “I can’t listen to music like this. If you have to listen to it, I can’t stay.” Do whatever it takes. It shouldn’t be any harder than to say, “No, I won’t smoke a cigarette,” or “No, I will not take a drug.”

My great-grandson, Adam, went with his mother and grandfather to eat in a Turkish restaurant. While Adam was ordering his meal, he noticed that there was terrible rock music playing, so he said to the waiter, “Will you please play some Turkish music? We are in a Turkish restaurant.”

The waiter said, “We don’t have any Turkish music.”

Adam, speaking in a voice like he was some kind of royalty and expected to be obeyed, said, “Well, then, I want classical music, please.” The waiter found a radio station that had classical music, and Adam’s mother said it was the best music she had ever heard in a restaurant in her life. Teach your children to stand boldly for what is right.

Musical Opportunities

Children need to have musical opportunities. When they are still very young, acquire small, inexpensive instruments for them to have at home. Do not force a child to take lessons, but if they show an interest, provide music lessons for them when they are a little older. As a music teacher, I know forcing a child to take up an interest in music will not work. To encourage an interest in music, parents should take their children to good music concerts. What kind of concerts? Good ones! There are a lot of bad ones; don’t go there.

What kinds of songs should our children listen to at home and in Sabbath School? Children should not be given little repetitious ditties, nor songs set to secular music. If children happen to know the secular songs, when they sing the tune—even with religious words—they will think about the secular words. Even if they don’t know the secular words, secular music is not appropriate for sacred songs. If the music used is not suitable for the words, chances are the words aren’t spiritual, either. This applies to adult music as well. You cannot legitimately mix sacred and secular music.

Parents must teach their children real songs—not songs that simply entertain. They should be taught songs like “O Worship the King.” It has meaning. Teach them what the words mean, making sure they understand. Teach them Seventh-day Adventist songs. Don’t downplay children’s capabilities. Teach them to sing as the angels sing. How do the angels sing?

“Their [the angels’] singing does not grate upon the ear. It is soft and melodious . … It is not forced and strained.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 333. Angels sing softly. Our children should sing softly, not shout or make a bedlam of noise.

“Some think that the louder they sing the more music they make; but noise is not music. Good singing is like the music of the birds—subdued and melodious.” Evangelism, 510

Musical Movement

If children need exercise, take them outside to play. A religious meeting is not the place for raucous, boisterous, rough-and-tumble movement. The best kind of movement parents can teach their children is choreographed movement and sign language to go along with the song. One such song is “I’m Too Young.” With this song, the children can march “in the infantry,” ride “in the cavalry,” shoot “the artillery,” and fly “o’er the enemy, … but I’m in the Lord’s army (ending with a salute).” Or “Only a Boy Named David” gives them the ability to gather “five little stones,” and swing the slingshot “round and round,” and then fall as the “giant came tumbling down.” “Praise Him!” and “Kum Bah Ya” teach children sign language as they sing. Children enjoy these songs.

Hymnals

Dr. Oliver Beltz once told me that he was on the committee to choose the songs for the 1941 Church Hymnal. Years later, John Thurber shared that he was on the committee to select the songs for the 1985 Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal. Review and Herald Publishing Association, in Washington, DC, publishes both hymnals. These conversations have given me a little insight into how the songs for each of these hymnals were chosen.

Despite the 40-year gap between each man’s experience, they both told me a similar story. Each said that there were times when the committee members wanted to include songs they knew Dr. Beltz and Mr. Thurber would not approve. So, without notifying either of them, they would call a committee meeting and approve the songs while they were absent. Both committees did that! You can’t take either of these hymnals and think that everything in them is good.

Parents might like to build a personal, family hymnal for use at home. Selecting the favorite songs each member of the family likes best would make a beautiful addition to family worship, as parents teach their children songs about Jesus’ love, creation, and salvation. Assembling a hymnal is a tough job, but you may find it well worthwhile. Let me offer principles and ideas that I believe will help parents choose the best songs for their home hymnal.

Guidelines

  1. Choose music that is worship-centered. There are only two beings in this universe to worship—God or Satan. The songs selected should be centered towards the being you choose to worship.
  2. Choose music that is Christ-centered and not I-centered. This can be a difficult concept to understand. As you examine a song, ask these questions: Who is the center of this song? About whom am I singing? Am I singing about myself, or am I singing about Christ? An example of a song that may be a challenge to judge is the song “Not I, but Christ.” It has the word “I” in it several times, but the message of the words is clearly centered on Christ.

I once presented a music seminar in a church in West Virginia. A man came to the meeting primed for an argument with me. He wanted to prove to me that it is all right to sing I-centered songs. In the seminar, we were discussing several songs, and regarding one of them, I said, “You know, I’m quite uncomfortable with this song. Although the music seems to sound all right, the words seem very I-centered to me.”

This man said, “We must have songs about our experience.” Do we? Let me share a personal experience that could easily become I-centered.

The devil doesn’t want me to share all these things with you, and for several months before camp meeting, he has been pouring out his whole arsenal on me. I have nearly gotten to the end of my rope. I knew God was taking care of me, but it still had an effect inside my body. It was affecting me both physically and emotionally.

After arriving at the camp meeting, we began having trouble with our computer. It was working beautifully when I left home. We spent a whole afternoon trying to get it to work, including a solid hour on the telephone with the computer service desk. That’s how much the devil has been working! Now that my computer is working again, do you think I should write a song about my experience—the lost afternoon, the hour on the phone, how I have suffered while the devil bombarded me with everything he’s had? No! I want to sing about how God has saved me, making this experience with my computer nothing at all. I want to sing, “Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow.”

  1. Don’t choose harmful music. Yes, music can harm you. It can hurt your body, your mind, and your spirituality. Don’t choose that kind of music.
  2. Choose music that will allow the angels to join in as you sing. We should sing and listen to music that is subdued and melodious, like the songs of the birds. At our house, we feed the birds, so we are surrounded by them. I love to hear them sing. We should sound like birds singing. I don’t think we could have any higher ambition than that. Birds sing softly and melodiously.
  3. Do not choose music meant for entertainment. What does this include? Pop music, nightclub, crooning music; music with warm fuzzies—that’s entertainment music.
  4. Do not choose music that is only emotion-based or sensual. I have had this theory for a long time, and I was so happy when I discovered it in the Spirit of Prophecy. All of our talks, all of our sermons, and all of our music should include both emotion and intellect. If you leave out one or the other, or overbalance one way or the other, we will be in trouble.

I heard a very prominent pastor preach a wonderful sermon about heaven, and I was emotionally moved by it. But I have found that sermons that only excite the emotions don’t last very long. You leave the church, realizing that the sermon’s emotional impact was all it had. There was no intellect in it at all. You don’t even remember what was in it, and you feel let down, perhaps empty, because you were not spiritually fed. That is why Mrs. White so often refers to the need for balance in our lives. [See Sons and Daughters of God, 161–163.]

  1. Do not choose music with false theology. Carefully review every word.
  2. Choose songs in which the words and the music match. Don’t mix secular and sacred. Beyond that, don’t choose a happy, uplifting tune to sing about something serious and solemn. For instance, don’t sing a song about marching to Zion when the words are saying something about the love of God. It doesn’t fit.
  3. Choose music that will draw each individual in the congregation closer to God.

“Jesus carried into His labor cheerfulness and tact. … Often, He expressed the gladness of His heart by singing psalms and heavenly songs. Often the dwellers in Nazareth heard His voice raised in praise and thanksgiving to God. He held communion with heaven in song, and as His companions complained of weariness from labor, they were cheered by the sweet melody from His lips. His praise seemed to banish the evil angels, and, like incense, fill the place with fragrance.

“With the voice of singing, He welcomed the morning light. He listened to the lark caroling forth music to its God, and joined His voice with the voice of praise and thanksgiving.

“Song is a weapon that we can always use against discouragement.

“The voice of thanksgiving, praise, and rejoicing is heard in heaven. The voices of the angels in heaven unite with the voices of the children of God on earth as they ascribe honor and glory and praise to God and to the Lamb for the great salvation provided.

“Let us learn the song of the angels now, that we may sing it when we join their shining ranks.” The Faith I Live By, 273

Juanita McElwain earned her PhD in Music Therapy from Florida State University. She has taught music on all levels from preschool to college graduate. She has worked as a music therapy clinician with individuals with intellectual disabilities. Her areas of expertise in research include the effects of music on brain waves and the effects of music on headache. She has given numerous seminars on the power of music, which include good and bad effects of music, rock music, sensual music, music in worship and mind control through music throughout the United States and in Europe. She and her husband are presently retired in West Virginia. She may be contacted by e-mail at: juamce@meer.net

Worship & Music

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Worship, music and counterfeits. A definition of terms may prove useful to assure that all readers understand these words in the same way.

For purposes of this article, music is a gift of God. It is a wonderful gift, because He has given us a part of Himself. Everybody knows that God is love. And God gives us that love. What about music? In Exodus 15:2 and Isaiah 12:2 it says, “The Lord is my strength and song.” God Himself is my song, and He gives me music.

Everybody has their own ideas concerning worship, but a definition can be helpful. R. C. Leonard provides one: “Worship is the central focus of a vital Christian faith, and the most distinctive activity of the church of Jesus Christ. The biblical words translated ‘worship’ (Hebrew shachah, Greek proskuneo) mean, literally, to bow down or bend the knee. Such was the ancient gesture of honor to a sovereign and superior authority. To worship is to offer the oath of covenant loyalty to the Great King, and to affirm our faithfulness as His servants. For this reason, the worship of God, through Jesus Christ, lies at the heart of all Christian expression.” R. C. Leonard, Worship in the Church, January 1997,  http://members.aol.com./laudemont/witec.hum. (April 15, 2001).

Now, consider counterfeits. One popular definition is that a counterfeit is a cheap imitation of the real thing. It is cheap, and it is an imitation. Whenever there is something important that comes from God, Satan has to counterfeit it. So, if you notice a counterfeit, it is a good idea to look at the real thing, because it must be very important for Satan to bother counterfeiting it. Do counterfeits look nice? Do they sound nice? Certainly! They are glittery and beautiful and meant to attract. Counterfeits are not good things to have, because they are not worth much and can even be dangerous. You do not want to be found using counterfeit money, do you?

True Worship

All through history, worship has been conducted in different ways, true worship and counterfeit, pagan worship. Even true worship has varied at different times and in different cultural settings. This article does not have time or space to examine historical worships. Presently, we are concerned with worship in the last days, in our own time. God gives us information concerning the worship He requires in the final days. We find it in Revelation 14, in the three angels’ messages. In fact, that is one of the basic things they are all about. God does not leave any significant chance of our misunderstanding what He wants.

Look at the three angels’ messages in Revelation 14:6–12, and read them through. In the first message, verse 7, the angel says, “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” There is that word—worship. We are commanded to worship, and who is to be the object of our worship? The Creator God. That is very plain. We are commanded to worship the One and only true God, the One who, down through history, has repeated His covenant with us to be our God and to claim us as His people. This is the first big message for us.

The second and third messages tell us that there is someone we are commanded not to worship—the beast. The scope of this article does not include identifying the beast, but the angels’ messages tell us the consequences of worshiping the beast—nothing but bad things, horrifying things. The end of that message gives the identifying marks of those who worship the true God—they keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.

It is reasonable to say that all of these identifying marks and commands lead to the conclusion that the worship of God is the true worship and the only true worship. Also, the worship of the beast is the false, or counterfeit, worship. Everything that goes with the worship of the beast is false or counterfeit worship. Some of the things this involves include the false sabbath and the false music. Although many other things could be included, the emphasis of this article is music, true God-based music and false, counterfeit music.

Where Does Music Come In?

Some may ask, Can you prove that music is a part of worship? There have been many people, throughout history, who have said that instrumental music should not be used. John Calvin, for example, claimed that the instrumental music used in the Old Testament times was meant for people who were tender and like children. “But in New Testament times Christ has come and the church has reached full age, it would only bury the light of the gospel should we introduce the shadows of a departed dispensation.” John L. Girardeau, Instrumental Music in the Public Worship of the Church, New Covenant Publication Society, Havertown, PA., 1983, 63, 64.

What about music in worship in the last days, in the setting of the three angels’ messages? Consider the following statements:

“As a part of religious service, singing is as much an act of worship as is prayer. Indeed, many a song is prayer.” Education, 168. Many other quotations could be cited which include instrumental music.

“Singing is just as much the worship of God in a religious meeting as speaking. …” Selected Messages, Book 3, 333

According to Mrs. White, music in worship includes speaking, prayer, and singing. Each of these aspects of music may be true worship or counterfeit worship. So, music is an important part of worship, making it an important part of the third angel’s message and what God wants from us in these last days. It does matter what our music is like. It shows our allegiance to God and our acceptance of His covenant, or it shows our allegiance to the beast. God does not accept any counterfeit in His worship.

The Roles of Music in Worship

Let us examine exactly what music accomplishes in the worship service. Actually, it plays many roles:

  1. Music sets the mood. The thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the people are controlled by the music. Alertness or sleepiness may be caused by the music. Music creates a proper frame of mind for the rest of the service. If a minister wants to introduce strange ideas of theology, he can use what we call celebration music to put the people into a hypnotic state, and they accept and retain in their minds whatever he wishes—without even knowing it is happening.
  2. Music creates unity and harmony. People feel and think together because of the music. It is a kind of group entrainment. What is entrainment? Scientists have discovered that when two rhythms are placed adjacent to each other they lock into each other and become the same rhythm. They first discovered this with pendulum clocks—back in the 1600s. If the clocks were close together, the pendulums would start swinging the same. Since then we have learned that we can control all kinds of body rhythms with music. Just play the music with the speed or vibration you want, and you can slow down or accelerate the heart rate, or any of the other rhythms in the body, including brain waves.

If you play fast, jazzy rhythms at the beginning of church, your whole body gears up to the same thing. Scientists have found ways to eject rhythms of whatever tempo they want, add certain tones into musical recordings, and nobody knows they are there, but their brains accept them and respond accordingly, maybe even slowing them down enough to become like zombies. One danger of this is that Satan can use his counterfeit in accompaniment tapes that vocalists buy, and nobody ever knows the difference. Recent research shows that group entrainment may take place. One study showed that, in a university class, the brain waves of the students entrained with those of the professor. This has serious implications for those who are using NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) to control others. “While preaching, praying, or conversing, some professed Adventists who had rejected present truth used mesmerism to gain adherents, and the people would rejoice in this influence, for they thought it was the Holy Ghost.” Early Writings, 44. Now the scientists are showing us it can really happen. Do not think it is foolish imagination. Satan is using his false, counterfeit worship and the music in it to control people’s minds. This fact makes it extremely important that we do not use Satan’s music in worship, and certainly not anywhere else either.

  1. Music creates a kind of people. You are what you eat; you are what you see; you are what you hear. You are the kind of music to which you listen.
  2. Music invokes the Holy Spirit and invites the presence of angels. “When the singing is such that angels can unite with the singers, an impression is made on minds that singing from unsanctified lips cannot make. … The songs in which every word is uttered clearly, in a musical tone, are the songs that they [angels] join us in singing. They take up the refrain that is sung from the heart with the spirit and the understanding.” Evangelism, 509, 510
  3. Most important of all, music is an act of worship. This places it as a significant part of true worship, which then makes it an important part of the three angels’ messages.

Praise Ye the Lord

What difference does it make what music we have in our worship services? If music is basically entertainment, why do we have music in worship at all? Many people have said that music is just a matter of preference. In other words, just choose what you like. The problem is there is a big difference. And it all goes back to God’s music for God’s worship and Satan’s music (counterfeit) for Satan’s worship.

A search of the Bible will reveal not only what God wants us to sing about but also how He wants us to sing. If music is an important part of the worship of God, He must have given us some instruction about it.

Praise is mentioned more often than anything else. “Praise ye the Lord. … Let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp.” Psalm 149:1, 3. “Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.” Psalm 147:1

Offer Thanksgiving for His Goodness

The thing mentioned most frequently after praise is thanksgiving. “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O most High.” Psalm 92:1. Does God get tired of hearing us thank Him? No, He does not.

We should use joyful songs. “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honor of His name: make His praise glorious.” Psalm 66:1, 2. “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy.” Psalm 67:4

What Should Our Music Include?

Majesty—“They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord. …” Isaiah 24:14

God’s Righteousness—“They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great goodness, and shall sing of Thy righteousness.” Psalm 145:7

God’s Power—“Be Thou exalted, Lord, in Thine own strength: so, will we sing and praise Thy power.” Psalm 21:13

God’s Mercy and Judgment—“I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto Thee, O Lord, will I sing.” Psalm 101:1

To God’s Name—“So will I sing praise unto Thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.” Psalm 61:8

Other verses give us the following: To the glory of God, God’s goodness, Ways of the Lord, Science of Salvation, Psalms, Holy songs, Words of the Law, Prophecy, Songs of Triumph and Victory, Faith and Holy Cheer, Hope and Trust. And the final song for the future: the Song of Deliverance.

Music of the Word

It seems that God has given us plenty to sing about without resorting to the devil’s counterfeit songs about our own selves and our own feelings. It would be a good idea if we would try to practice now for the music of heaven.

I have a dream that some might like to share with me. Imagine a few Seventh-day Adventist churches here and there who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus and are doing all they can to avoid the devil’s counterfeit music, becoming serious about their music being God’s music. Even a church or two could start it. What if these churches started making the music of their church Seventh-day Adventist music? How, you ask, could you do that? Well, there is the previous list that God gave us. With that, suppose we sing songs about the three angels’ messages, about Christ’s Second Coming, about the Sabbath, about the state of the dead, about the sanctuary, about the Spirit of Prophecy—the pillars of our faith. That is just a start. There are plenty of songs in our hymnal that we already know and more good songs that we could learn. For example, do you know the song about the judgment, “Christ the Lord, All Power Possessing,” found on page 415 in the new hymnal? The first verse is about Christ ascending to heaven; the second verse pictures the judgment; the third verse is about Christ coming back. The tune is an exciting, vigorous tune, and the song is well worth some effort to learn. After searching out all of the wonderful songs that truly tell of our own Seventh-day Adventist beliefs, we need to think about the words as we sing them and breathe new life into them. Our whole church will become invigorated!

Words with Meaning

Where Mrs. White wrote that song is an act of worship and song is prayer, she continues as follows: “If the child is taught to realize this, he will think more of the meaning of the words he sings and will be more susceptible to their power.” Education, 168. The older ones among us are not too old to learn the same lesson.

Are you and your church singing God’s music in your worship services, or is the devil’s counterfeit music sneaking in among you? Is your music preparing you for heaven?

Reproduced from Historic LandMarks of Adventism, March 2004.

Be Still, My Soul

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One of my very favorite songs is Be Still, My Soul set to the tune of Finlandia. The words to Be Still, My Soul were written by Katharina von Schlegel in 1752.

Not a lot is known about Katharina. She was born October 22, 1697. She was a Lutheran woman living in Germany a century after Martin Luther began the Reformation there. But movements begun with great passion often wane over time and this was true of the Lutheran church in Germany.

It is believed that Katharina was a “Stiftfräulein” in the Evangelical Lutheran Stift (similar to a convent) at Cöthen, but this cannot be confirmed.

While she wrote a number of hymns, Be Still, My Soul is the only one which has passed into English. She was inspired by God’s promise found in Psalm 46:10, first part, 11, “Be still, and know that I am God; The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

This hymn survived only because of the work of a British woman, Jane Borthwick, who translated Katharina’s words into English a century after it was written. Eventually, the words were paired with the tune The Finlandia Hymn by composer Jean Sibelius, which he composed from 1899-1900. Finlandia was written in protest of Russian oppression and to celebrate Finnish history. The piece is rousing and tempestuous until the final movement, where it calms and becomes The Finlandia Hymn.

During times of great suffering and distress, people look up to see the face of God. This remains true today just as it was in the 18th century.

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to your God to order and provide;

In ev’ry change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul; your best, your heav’nly friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; your God will undertake

To guide the future as He has the past;

Your hope, your confidence, let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He lived below.

 

Be still, my soul; when dearest friends depart

And all is darkened in the vale of tears,

Then you will better know His love, His heart,

Who comes to soothe your sorrows and your fears.

Be still, my soul; your Jesus can repay

From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hast’ning on

When we shall be forever with the Lord,

When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Sources: https://sermonwriter.com/hymn-stories/be-still-my-soul; Kathrina von Schlegel | Hymnary.org

 

Joy to the World

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A few years ago, a friend emailed me a story told about a mother who encouraged her young son to practice playing the piano, and specifically, to practice his scales. She told him to practice them not only forward, from middle C up the scale to C an octave higher, but to also practice them starting at the octave C and going back down to middle C. I’m not sure that I have everything exactly right about this story, but this part I know is right, she told him, as he played the descending scale, to put pauses at certain points in the scale. When the son did so, he recognized, not just a scale of notes, but the carol Joy to the World. As of right now, I’ve been playing the piano just shy of 60 years, and that was news to me. But let’s look at the real story behind this beautiful song.

The lyrics were written by Isaac Watts in 1719, though not with the intention of becoming a Christmas carol. It was written as a response to or reinterpretation of Psalm 98 and has more to do with Jesus’ second coming than His first.

“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

“The Lord has made known His salvation, His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.

“Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.” Psalm 98

An accomplished and well-known composer and arranger, Lowell Mason arranged the tune used today in 1848. This tune is somewhat reminiscent of a couple of musical phrases found in Handel’s Messiah; although Handel scholars dismiss as mere coincidence the idea that Mason might have “borrowed” these phrases for his arrangement of Joy to the World.

Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_to_the_World

A joyful and glorious hymn of praise to God for sending His Son, and a looking forward to His soon return, Joy to the World is a wonderful song to sing all throughout the year.

“Joy to the world! The Lord is come;

Let Earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.”

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

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Fanny Crosby was born on March 24, 1820, in Putnam County, New York. She became permanently blind at the age of six weeks after being prescribed the wrong treatment for her inflamed eyes. Always positive, Fanny turned her handicap into an asset; even commenting that her blindness was actually a blessing for it removed the many distractions around her. When she was eight years old, with the same feeling as Paul when writing in Philippians 4:11–13, she wrote:

Oh, what a happy child I am,

Although I cannot see!

I am resolved that in this world

Contented I will be.

At the age of 15 she attended the New York Institution for the Blind, and in 1847 became a teacher there until 1858. She taught English grammar, rhetoric, and American history. But Fanny’s true love was poetry.

Her poems have been used the world over, set to the music of the popular tunes of her day as well as tunes especially written for them, both secular and sacred. She could compose at any time. Always in possession of a book of paper just for that purpose; and her spur-of-the-moment poems often became her best hymns.

Her hymns have been the favorites of composers and evangelists like W. H. Doane, who composed the music for many of her most well-known hymns, and Ira D. Sankey, a gospel singer and composer long associated with Dwight L. Moody.

We are familiar with many of these songs: Tell Me the Story of Jesus; I am Thine, O Lord; Sweet By and By; To God be the Glory; Take the World, but Give Me Jesus; All the Way My Saviour Leads Me; Praise Him, Praise Him; Blessed Assurance; Redeemed; Near the Cross; Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour, and over four thousand more. Fanny’s personal favorite was Safe in the Arms of Jesus.

“Contented I will be” remained the governing principle throughout Fanny’s life. She loved her work and was happy doing it. She often reflected that had it not been for her blindness, she might not have obtained such a good education or had so great an influence. It also strengthened her memory. She committed to memory large portions of the Bible, including the first four books of the Old Testament and all four of the Gospels before she was ten years old.

 Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe on His gentle breast,

There by His love o’ershaded,

Sweetly my soul shall rest.

Hark! ‘tis the voice of angels,

Borne in a song to me,

Over the fields of glory,

Over the jasper sea.

Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe from corroding care,

Safe from the world’s temptations,

Sin cannot harm me there.

Free from the blight of sorrow,

Free from my doubts and fears;

Only a few more trials,

Only a few more tears.

Jesus, my heart’s dear refuge,

Jesus has died for me;

Firm on the Rock of Ages,

Ever my trust shall be.

Here let me wait with patience,

Wait till the night is o’er;

Wait till I see the morning

Break on the golden shore.

Safe in the arms of Jesus

Safe on His gentle breast,

There by His love o’ershaded,

Sweetly my soul shall rest.

Songs we Love – Great is Thy Faithfulness

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Thomas Obadiah Chisholm was born July 29, 1866, in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky. With only an elementary education, he became a schoolteacher at the age of 16 in the same country schoolhouse he had attended.

At the age of 27, he found Christ during revival meetings held by evangelist Henry Clay Morrison and began writing sacred poems, many of which became popular hymns still sung today.

Thomas’ health was unstable and he lived his life in bouts of illness.

He worked five years as the editor of the local paper in Franklin, as the business manager and office editor of the Pentecostal Herald in Louisville, Kentucky, and as a life insurance agent in Winona Lake and later in Vineland, New Jersey.

Thomas was ordained as a Methodist minister, and in 1903, entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, but a year later was forced to resign due to poor health.

Through all the ups and downs of his life, he discovered that God was faithful, with new blessings every morning. Lamentations 3:22, 23 became very precious to him:

“His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

There is no dramatic story behind the writing of this beautiful hymn, just a recognition of God’s faithfulness to man when we put our trust and our lives wholly in Him.

While serving the Lord in Vineland, New Jersey, Thomas sent several poems to his friend, musician William Runyan. William was so moved by this one poem that he prayed that the Lord would give him special guidance in the composition of the music. The hymn was published in 1923.

Thomas Chisholm wrote 1,200 sacred poems in all. He retired in 1953 and spent his remaining years at the Methodist Home for the Aged in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, where he died on February 29, 1960, at the age of 94.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

 Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above;
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

 Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Sources: hymnary.org; Wikipedia

It is Well With My Soul

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Imagine that everything in your life is just perfect. You’ve met and married your soulmate and have beautiful children and a thriving career. Life is grand and it would seem to be pretty easy to say to God, “It is well with my soul.”

But now imagine that peace and joy is taken away and all that remains is you and your spouse, grief-stricken and hearts broken. Would you then find it as easy to say those same words?

The words of this beautiful and moving hymn were written by Horatio Gates Spafford in 1873. A devout Presbyterian church elder, Horatio placed his trust in God, much like Job, during times of prosperity as well as calamity. He immersed himself in the Scriptures and lived a joyous life for many years. He was a successful attorney who owned several real estate properties throughout the city of Chicago. He and his beloved wife Anna had four beautiful daughters.

But faith, no matter how strong, does not spare us from adversity.

Just as Horatio was at the pinnacle of his professional and financial success, things began to change. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed nearly every real estate investment Horatio owned.

In 1873, to benefit Anna’s health, Horatio sent her and their daughters, Annie (12), Maggie (7), Bessie (4), and Tanetta (18 months), to Paris aboard the S.S. Ville du Havre, intending to join them after wrapping up some last-minute business in Chicago. But on November 21, the ocean liner on which Anna and their daughters were traveling was struck by the Lochearn, a British iron sailing ship, and sank in twelve minutes. Anna was saved by the crew of the Lochearn, but all four of their daughters were lost. The Trimountain arrived and transported the survivors to Cardiff, Wales, where Anna was able to send to Horatio the heart-wrenching telegram, “Saved alone. What shall I do?”

Immediately Horatio left Chicago to bring Anna home. During the crossing, the captain of the ship called Horatio to his cabin to tell him that they were passing over the spot where the Ville du Havre had gone down, taking with it his daughters. It was here that he put his pen to paper and this timeless hymn was born.

After the tragic loss of their daughters, they were blessed with two more daughters, Bertha and Grace, and two sons, Horatio and Jacob. However, Horatio died at the age of four in 1880.

The original manuscript of It Is Well With My Soul had only four verses, but a fifth verse was later added and the last line of the original song was modified. The tune was composed in 1876 by Philip Bliss, an American composer and well-known hymn writer. He titled the tune after the ship on which the Spafford daughters died, Ville du Havre.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows, like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”

 Though Satan should buffet, though’ trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

 My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought;
My sin not in part but in whole,
Is nailed to His cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh, my soul.

 For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou will whisper Thy peace to my soul.

 And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
“Even so” it is well with my soul.

 Chorus

It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him.” Psalm 62:5

Taken from The Library of Congress/The American Colony in Jerusalem: Family Tragedy; Wikipedia