By Rev. Bob Holquist
Minister of Music
During my nearly forty-year tenure at First Baptist Church of Sylva, I have had opportunity to work with many fine colleagues in church leadership. One of our former youth pastors was Sandra Fambrough. While she was here, she gifted me with a book which I have referenced through the years, concerning the origin of 101 hymns--the stories behind the text, and musical sources, and how they made their way into several hymnals. I want to give credit to the author, and to all the people who completed the research on these statements of faith and expressions of Christian love. None of this is my original material, but a shortened version of the material found in the book, which I believe you will find interesting. At the end of my article, I will provide publication data, as some of you may want to investigate further, or get the complete information on two of my favorite hymns.
AMAZING GRACE, HOW SWEET THE SOUND The poetry is by John Newton (1725-1807), and the music is from Carrell and Clayton's Virginia Harmony (1831). The scripture reference is I Chronicles 17:16-17.
Newton provided this testimonial, which in etched on his tombstone: "John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and Libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy." He was a seaman, whose early years were marked by rebellion. He worked, for a time, collecting slaves for sale on the islands and mainland of Africa, to be sold to slave traders. Eventually, he became the captain of a ship, transporting slaves to America and the West Indies. He nearly lost his life (along with many others) in a bad storm at sea. Newton began studying a book by Thomas Kempis, Imitation of Christ, and the Holy spirit began to sow the seeds which, eventualy, led to his salvation. He continued in his work, trying to "justify" his work in his own mind, making efforts to improve conditions for the slaves in his transport, all the while knowing that it was simply inhuman and wrong. He returned to England, married, and began to preach the gospel, and study for ministry. At 39, he was ordained by the Anglican Church and began his first pastorate at Olney, near Cambridge (1764-1779).
He often shared his story and conversion experience. In addition to regular church services, he held night services in any large building he could secure in the area, which was largely unheard of among Anglican clergy of the day. The hymnody of his church included simple songs of the faith, rather than the chanting of Psalms, as was the practice elsewhere in Anglican gatherings. When he found that there were limited resources of "faith hymns," he began writing his own. He and William Cowper combined musical and literary efforts to publish the Olney Hymns hymnal, a significant contribution to evangelical hymnody. There were 349 hymns--76 by Cowper, and the remainder by Newton.
One of those hymns was Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound. Originally, it had six stanzas, and was entitled "Faith's Review and Expectation." The melody is an early American folk melody, named "Loving Lambs," (and, later, renamed Amazing Grace).
These two stanzas do not appear in most hymnals:
Yes, when this heart and flesh shall fail, and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil, a life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below, will be forever mine.
(Are you singing the melody--be sure to hold the long notes at the end of the lines!!)
This hymn is found in nearly every published hymnal.
HOW GREAT THOU ART! The words and the music were penned by Stuart Hine, based on a Swedish folk melody. The scripture reference is Psalm 145:3.
The song first appeared in America at a Bible conference in 1951. But it became universally well known following performances by the great artists Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea, as they sang it for Billy Graham crusades. The original Swedish poem (O Store Gud) was by Rev. Carl Boberg. His inspiration emminated from a visit to a beautiful country estate. He got caught in a thunderstorm of violent lightening and bangs, followed by a clear sunny afternoon. He heard the birds singing in the trees (as they do following periods of rain). He fell to his knees in awe of the mighty God. Many years later, he heard his poem being sung to the Swedish folk melody. Since that time, it has been translated into many languages.
The Rev. Stuart Hine and his wife were English missionaries stationed in Ukraine. They experienced the Russian translation there, and noted the telling effect it had on the unsaved. As they crossed the Carpathian mountains, changing location for their mission work, the first three English verses were written. (These followed the general themes that were present in the earlier poems, but also added thoughts and phrases.) When war broke out in 1939, the Hines returned to Great Britain. The fourth stanza was written after the war ended. "In April of 1974 the Christian Herald magazine, in a poll presented to its readers, named "How Great Thou Art" the No. 1 hymn in America."
This material is drawn, largely, from 101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck, published in 1982 by Kregel Publications.
Hymn texts contain so much solid theology and prayer substance, They express so many things, and the music is interesting and enjoyable. Not all of them have such a "rich and involved" history, but many of them are the result of significant stories and events in the lives of those who wrote poetry and music. The next time you sing these two, might they have additional meaning to you?
I'd be happy to share the Osbeck book with any interested parties. I look forward to leading our congregational singing each week.
