Article August 21, 1965 Issue

The Value of the Hymnal

ARTHUR ROY BEDIENT

The art of both poet and musician is combined to provide hymns for religious worship of all faiths. Many of these hymns are loved because they strengthen faith, hope, and aspiration and bring a sense of comfort and joy that defies description. One of the sacred experiences recorded in the Bible, the foretelling of the holy birth of Jesus to Mary, caused her to exclaim, "My soul doth magnify the Lord" (Luke 1:46). Hymns found in the Christian Science Hymnal have been selected to aid each of us to magnify God with song and joy.

The Christian Scientist of today should not be unmindful of the love and care Mrs. Eddy gave to providing a hymnal for her Church. The first edition of the Christian Science Hymnal was published in 1892, the year when The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, was organized in its present form. It included two hymns with words by Mrs. Eddy. The 1904 edition included five hymns by her.

Many Christian Scientists will recall the time of the last revision of our denominational Hymnal in 1932. In this edition there are seven hymns by our Leader. Many churches held song-practice sessions in order to give congregations opportunity to become acquainted with the many unfamiliar tunes.

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