Hymns for God’s Peculiar People That Keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus

In 1849, James White published the first hymnal for the Sabbath-keeping Adventists. This tiny volume, just three and one-half by five inches, had 48 pages filled with lyrics for 53 hymns, but no music. It had a long title: “Hymns for God’s Peculiar People That Keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.” It was drawn extensively from the Millennial Harp, or Second Advent Hymns, both published by Joshua V. Himes in 1842, 1843, and 1848. Back then, the small group didn’t have its own press yet, so the book was printed by Richard Oliphant in Oswego, New York. Initially, it came out in paperback, but later copies were bound in brown leather lined with brown paper and hand stapled with brass wire. The hymns didn’t have any authors listed, which was typical for that time, and there were no notes on what tunes to use. Ten hymns out of 53 are included in the current SDA Hymnal.