MOODY AND SANKEY HYMNS

Seventh-Day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Thursday, January 8, 1880

FromThe Review and Herald, Vol. 55, No. 2

MOODY AND SANKEY HYMNS.

UNDER the heading of “The Manners,” the Alliance of Dec. 20, 1879, uses the following severe language respecting the reduplication and republication of the Moody and Sankey hymns and hymn-books, and the unworthy course of those who produce this kind of literature professedly in the cause of Christ and for the good of the people. Who will say that it is not just? The avarice of the publishers is exhibited to a degree which well might cause even angels to weep, and which will meet at last its just recompense of reward. But what means this lamentation over widespread spiritual dearth right on the heels of the great excitement and so-called revivals raised by these modern traveling evangelists? It shows that the root of genuine Christian reform is not in that work. And the lack lies upon the very surface. There must be more of the law of God, and less of the merely sensational. The Alliance says:—

“Our reference to the Moody and Sankey hymns evoked a reply from a correspondent who writes: ‘Be careful; these books are popular because they have many first-class hymns and tunes, and partly because of a general interest among Christians.’ He also states that only forty-eight hymns and twenty-seven tunes are reduplicated in volume second. That is only forty-eight hymns out of one hundred and thirty-three, or nineteen less than one-half, and twenty-seven out of one hundred and four tunes, or four more than one-fourth of the whole. We are told on authority that at least eight or nine millions of copies of these books have been sold, so that not less than three or four millions of these reduplicated hymns have been imposed upon the gullible American public, and still they continue to come like the added plagues of Egypt. Oh, for some new Moses to command them back to destruction and eternal silence!”

‘A new edition has just appeared which unites all three volumes without the reduplications, and now we are threatened with a new plague. A large army of these Moody hymnized people will be tempted to a repurchase, because of the added third volume. It is simply a new dodge of the publishers to scatter more of their light trash over the land. The third volume is relied on to sell the other two. As Bradbury said, ‘We publish a few good tunes to sell the trash!’

‘The fraud of the whole affair appears when we consider that these hymns were written as revival hymns, and now that they have entered a multitude of Sabbath-schools and prayer-meetings, the few hymns which are adapted to prayer-meetings the publishers hold with an iron grasp of remorseless avarice. They have a truly Christian (?) interest in the public welfare. If the Sunday-schools or churches want the good hymns, they must buy the whole triple bundle of trash, or do without. The publishers even declare, ‘The Sunday-school Union has no right to publish a Sunday-school hymn-book.’ Therefore the whole truth is that the publishers are interested in bleeding the Christian public millions of dollars to gratify their over-reaching avarice. It is high time the public understood it. The reason why the few good Moody and Sankey hymns do not appear in Robinson’s collection is because the publishers will not sell them at any price. They have too good a thing to part with it, even to accommodate the millions of American Christians. Fellow-Christians, read and understand. It is well known that the present is full of spiritual dearth, and these hymns are largely accountable for it. They will kill the spirit of any prayer-meeting; there is no stimulation in them. Let any pastor try them a year, and he will find dearth has gradually settled over his prayer-meeting. If they are good and helpful, why, with the millions spread all over the land, is there so much spiritual dearth? Sweep out these books which teach so little truth, and that little under a perverted imagery, and the Spirit of God may again return to the land. Remove the plague, and the people may again live.’