DATELINE: Rochester, New York, 1853: It is 2:00 in the morning, and a young man, working by the light of a simple oil lamp, is daubing ink on an inking board. When the right amount of ink is evenly applied by a roller to a heavy tray of type, the wooden tray or galley is…
Category: REPRINTS
There was someone else whom Annie loved: the handsome young preacher, John Nevins Andrews. John lived in Rochester during the time Annie was there. They were about the same age, and both were bright and intellectually ambitious. There are indications that Annie had high hopes for her future with John, but he disappointed her, turning…
Let none this humble work assail,Its failings to expose to view,Which sprung within Misfortune’s valeAnd ‘neath the dews of Sorrow grew. Thus does Annie Rebekah Smith, the early Adventist hymnist, beg indulgent tolerance of the little book of poems she completed on her deathbed in 1855. Her wishes will be honored here in favor of…
Pop tunes in an Adventist hymnal? Who would allow such a thing? How about James White and Uriah Smith, two of our most revered pioneers? Uriah Smith had been the class poet at Phillips Exeter Academy, one of the top New England prep schools of the day. He was ready to enter Harvard University as…
There are many kinds of hymns in the hymnal. Some are to be sung slowly and others faster. Some are rugged and powerful; others are gentle and quiet. How the hymns should be sung should be given careful study. To have most effect, the hymns that are chosen should be the most appropriate for a…
It was the common custom of Johann Sebastian Bach to begin each one of his musical compositions with the Latin phrase Soli deo gloria — to God alone be the glory. This was done not out of pious custom. It was because of an overwhelming conviction that what he had composed was chiefly offered to…
The twin virtues of worship are prayer and praise. “The melody of praise is the atmosphere of heaven; and when heaven comes in touch with the earth, there is music and song, — ‘thanksgiving and the voice of melody’ (Isaiah 51:3)…As a part of religious service, singing is as much an act of worship as…
The place of music in worship is a question of direct concern to each of us. Is music merely a time-filler, something to drown the conversation while the congregation assembles, or is it a part of worship itself? To some people, music conveys even more of a religious meaning than the spoken word. We would…
The firm but gentle molding power of music is described by Lord Byron in the following lines: “It softened men of iron mold, It gave them virtues not their own. No ear so dull, soul so cold That felt not, fire not to the tune Till David’s lyre grew mightier than his throne.” Plato, in…
“Music,” said Tschaikovsky, “is the most beautiful of all heaven’s gifts to humanity, a candle in the darkness, it calms, enlightens and stills our souls.” Music is a science and an art, and as such its contribution to our enjoyment and refinement may be immeasurably increased by our study and development of its intricacies. The…