Article May 3, 1930 Issue

Our Hymnal—An Appreciation

WILLIAM R. RATHVON

Our Hymnal as it is to-day is much more than a mere book of tunes with appropriate words designed to be used only in our churches. It denotes the best aid to public worship and private devotion that a consecrated committee twenty years ago could prepare after long and prayerful endeavors; and now, after years of utility, steps are being taken to enlarge and enrich it by the addition of many new tunes and words.

As stated in the Preface of our present Hymnal, "It is believed that it is representative of the best religious and poetic thought in hymnology;" and as the announcement has been made that the new edition will be completed and ready for distribution sometime in 1932, it is timely that an appreciation of the good the Hymnal has accomplished in its present form should be made.

Apart from its being a necessary adjunct to every service, our Hymnal should be given an honored place in every Christian Science household. It has proved its worthiness to such hospitality, for wherever it has had an opportunity it has shown itself to be a wholesome helper, a friend in need, a guide to uplift and inspiration. It has provided the cradle song for many a dutiful mother putting her little one to rest for the night; its lines with healing in their wings have often entered the sick room and left there the consciousness of Love that "healeth all thy diseases."

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Our Hymnal—An Appreciation

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