Here we have a Sabbath hymn written especially for Sabbathkeepers by two Seventh-day Adventist who had never met.
Gem Fitch, presently a piano teacher at Kingsway College, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, gives her account of the writing of the words of this hymn:
“I was impressed for some time to write a hymn on the Sabbath, and when I found out E. A. (Bud) Roberts [college Place, Washington, Village SDA Church] was going to be preaching on that topic in May of 1982, I quickly formulated my ideas so that he could use the hymn to conclude his sermon. Realizing that so many of the pioneers wrote their own hymns for the occasion, I was happy to help him, the congregation responded very favorably. (We used a single verse as a vesper benediction for a time at Kingsway College.) … I am a joyful person who wants to share beauty with enthusiasm. This is the approach I have taken to the Sabbath hymn. There is not a shred of legalism connected to this view of Sabbath. It was never created as a test, though we know it will be the final issue in the battle between the forces of good and evil. However, I feel if it is viewed in the light of being the most precious gift the lord has bestowed on us for all time and eternity, then it will draw people to realize how gracious and loving the Lord is, and not a tyrant who is just waiting for people to step over the line!”
Regarding the third stanza, she wrote: “I feel the idea of having to learn how to observe the sabbath is a unique one I have not found duplicated in another hymn. (Adam and Eve were taught of God. We need the Lord’s guidance in this regard today. We will need to learn this in heaven.) The word ever means the sabbath peace and blessings will form a very cocoon around our entire existence, not only now, but in the life to come. In this life of change, it is the one constant we can relate to for time and eternity!”
She submitted her hymn in the New Hymn Poem Search conducted by the SDAH Committee. At their suggestion, she revised the second stanza, which then became the final one.
Born March 5, 1934, to Anna F. and John M. O’Brien, in Winnepeg. Manitoba, Canada, Worthie Gem Lenore O’Brien was the youngest of seven daughters. Naturally gifted in music, she was already playing piano for church and evangelistic meetings in her pre-teen years. At 15 she was the pianist for the Canadian Youth Congress of 1949. She took training as a concert pianist in Vancouver, British Columbia, and holds the ARCT degree in piano performance and teaching from Royal Conservatory of Music, University of Toronto. Her career includes teaching posts at Walla Walla, Washington; church organist in Vancouver, British Columbia, at Canadian Union College, and College Place, Washington. She says that one of her most rewarding periods was the seven years she was minister of music for the First C0ngregational Church, Walla Walla, Washington.
Fitch’s husband is the director of education, Canadian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
To Wayne Hooper (1920- : see Biographies), the executive secretary of the SDAH Committee, fell the responsibility, which he shared with his wife, Harriet, of being the “clearinghouse” for all submitted materials. When Gem Fitch’s Sabbath hymn came in the mail, Wayne was immediately struck by the first line, comparing the beauty of the Sabbath to the finest of the jewels that might adorn a monarch’s crown. So he set the poem to music and submitted it at the next meeting of the committee. They made a few suggestions for its improvement, he took it home for a complete rewrite, and at the next meeting the tune was approved as here printed.
