Trail Markers A Newsletter of The History Center
October 2010
Volume 10, No. 1
Swedish Baptist Hymnody:
Dr. C. Howard Smith and the Pietistic Tradition By G. William Carlson
(Adapted from an article in the Baptist Pietist Clarion, July 2004)
In the back of hymnbooks often found in Baptist General Conference (BGC) churches is a collection of Swedish hymns that emerged from the pietist roots of 19th century Scandinavian “free-church” traditions along with sympathizers in low-church Lutheranism. The Worship and Service Hymnal, published in 1964, included 15 favorite Swedish-translation hymns in an edition that was only available from Harvest Publications. These hymns were recommended by the hymnal study committee of the Board of Publication of the BGC. One of the major scholars of Scandinavian hymnody was Dr. C. Howard Smith, professor of music at Bethel College from 1948–1980, who was Dr. C. Howard Smith also a gifted conductor and organist. Singing in the male chorus under his direction was a wonderful experience for Bethel students. He frequently referenced the Swedish hymns as helpful to one’s Christian journey and often included them in the choir’s concert programs. Smith’s monograph, Scandinavian Hymnody from the Reformation to the Present, is an important contribution to an understanding of Swedish pietist hymnody and the origins and themes of the Swedish hymns. Pietist believers in the free-church communities
and their supporters in the Lutheran movement were appreciative of the great hymns of the Swedish revival movement. John Alexis Edgren, the first president of Bethel Seminary, often wrote about the value of pietist hymns, especially “The Lamb’s Songs.” These songs expressed a deep longing for experiencing the love of Christ and a desire to live like Jesus. “O, that I could see my Jesus” was a common theme throughout the pietist section of the early issues of Evangelisk Tidskrift (Evangelical Journal). The Christian faith, stated Edgren, “goes deeper than to the mind or the will; it reaches the heart’s deepest inclinations and puts up its throne there. It is a loving trust in Jesus, our once dead, but now living Lord and Savior” (September 1879). Several of the Swedish pietist hymnists were important to early Swedish Baptist churches. The hymns were the expression of songs from the hearts of the people. Two of the hymns, “God’s Mighty Wonders” and “I Have a Friend,” were written by Nils Frykman (1842–1911), a public school teacher in Sweden who became active in the revival meetings in the late 19th century. This was a time when “crowds of believers and seekers gathered in farmhouses where they preached, prayed, and sang of their faith and the desire for a fuller spiritual experience” (Smith, p. 166). Frykman eventually resigned from his teaching position “under pressure because of his obvious deviation from the teachings of the State Church.” He was eventually ex onerated of the charges and received his call to become pastor of the Swedish Mission Tabernacle in Chicago in 1887. More than 100 of his hymns were found in the early hymnal of the Mission Covenant Church. continued on p. 2 1