Seventh-day Adventists have always taken seriously the charge of Jesus to the disciples, “Heal the sick” (Matt. 10:8). The church places much emphasis on healthful living; it has medical facilities all over the world, staffed by thousands of dedicated doctors, nurses, and medical technicians. The hymnal committee was most gratified to find this special hymn for those engaged in the healing arts.

This hymn’s opening line was “Father, whose will is life and good,” and it first appeared in A Missionary Hymn Book, 1922, published in London by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.

Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley was born September 28, 1851, the son of an Anglican minister at Shiplake, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he was ordained in 1875 and held the following positions: curate of St. Barnabas’, Bristol; vicar at Low Wray, Lancashire; vicar at Crosthwaite; and honorary canon of Carlisle. He published several books of poetry and a few hymns. A lifelong lover of nature, he organized the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest, and published 12 books on the beauty of the English Lake District. He died May 28, 1920, in the district of Grasmere.

BISHOPTHORPE was probably written by Jeremiah Clark (1669- 1707; see SDAH 19), the great organist of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Its earliest appearance in print was in H. Gardner’s Select Portions of the Psalms of David (undated, the second edition appeared in 1786). After some melody changes, it was in The Psalms of David for the Use of the Parish Churches. The Music Selected, Adapted, and Composed by Edward Miller, Mus. Doc., 1790. It was the setting for Psalm 15. So it could have been adapted or even originally composed by Miller, but most hymnals give credit to Clark.

SDAH has another tune by Clark, ST. MAGNUS, which SDAH uses twice, at No. 19 and 199.

📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.