Discovering the Christian Science Hymnal
Some years ago we went on a family vacation to an entertainment park. After a wonderful first day, we were waiting outside a restaurant when our daughter slipped off a ledge and fell on her chin. The deepness of the cut and the amount of blood were disturbing, but we had full confidence in God’s power to care for her.
Back in our hotel room, my wife and I cleaned the wound, and with our arms around our daughter, prayed to know that it was impossible for any of us “under the government of God in eternal Science” to fall from our “high estate” and that “accidents are unknown to God …” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 258 , 424 ). Our firm awareness of God’s presence spilled over to our daughter, who also remained calm.
After our daughter went to sleep, and I was putting our son to bed, my wife spent several hours reading a words-only Christian Science Hymnal she had brought along on the trip. She told me later that she had recalled a hymn that spoke about “each wound and smart,” and after a determined search found those words by James J. Rome in Hymn No. 69 . The last two lines gave her confidence that our daughter’s wound was perfectly and gently bound by Truth and Love, and by the healing touch of the Christ: “And with Thy healing touch, each wound and smart / With Christly bands of Love and Truth to bind.”
This quiet time brought my wife extraordinary peace of mind, and she soon fell asleep, knowing all was well. In the morning, there was almost no trace of injury to our daughter’s chin or the inside of her mouth, and later, no scar. After a quiet morning affirming the truth about the situation, we enjoyed a fun day at the park.
The healing potential of the Hymnal made quite an impression on me that trip. Although my wife had used it regularly in her study and prayer, it had never meant quite so much to me. However, our daughter’s healing stuck with me, and some years later I felt urged to research the Hymnal in greater depth. I wanted to make it real to me, to feel the spirit and energy of the words and music.
The themes of love, harmony, and trust in God are timeless.
So I began with a study of the writers and composers. Among many fresh insights was the Hymnal’s relationship and relevance to the present day. I was soon reminded that Mary Baker Eddy mentioned music often in her writings, observing that “music is the rhythm of head and heart” and that “harmony in man is as real and immortal as in music” (Science and Health, pp. 213 , 276 ). She considered music a vital part of Christian Science church services, and required that the music in The Mother Church be “of a recognized standard of musical excellence” (Church Manual, p. 61 ).
Mrs. Eddy expressed an interest in having music by outstanding classical composers in the Hymnal, so it’s not surprising that the 1932 compilation includes work by such composers as Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Mendelssohn, Handel, Haydn, Schubert, and Schumann. It’s also interesting that although many of us think first of Sir Arthur Sullivan as a composer of operettas, he was well known in his day as a composer of hymns, six of which are in the Christian Science Hymnal. As I explored the Hymnal, I also couldn’t help recalling how many pop artists of our time—including Pete Townshend, Sting, and Paul McCartney—acknowledge the influence on their work of classical composers. Each time I uncovered an interesting modern-day connection to the Hymnal, I realized more fully how music unites all ages in uplifting humanity to a sense of Soul—the beauty and harmony that music inspires. Most of us naturally respond to the fluent arranging of tones and clever rhythms. Music, especially hymns, has the power to stir us to action, comfort us when we’re sad, direct us when we’re confused, and most important, point us to God and His goodness and power.
Also uplifting is the human response to finely crafted poetry and prose, especially when supported by music. Such work emanates from the sense of Soul that surpasses mere emotion to reach higher realms of expression. Mrs. Eddy enjoyed writing poetry, and seven of her poems are included in the Hymnal, with a total of 41 musical settings of her words (including the Hymnal Supplement).
The interesting background stories of the men and women who shaped the Christian Science Hymnal helped me see its connection to the present day, as the themes of love, harmony, and trust in God are timeless. These themes infuse the Hymnal with its healing quality today, as it did for our family at that entertainment park years ago.
