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Christmas Morning

The lyrics and melody of a hymn have the power to unite and comfort believers – even in the most unlikely places. This was the case with a hymn first published in England in 1787.

On Christmas Eve in 1898, a memorable moment in time touched the lives of United States soldiers who were serving in the Spanish-American War. Northerners and Southerners, blacks and whites served together on the island of Cuba, more than thirty years after the United States Civil War. Lieutenant-Colonel Curtis Guild, Jr. was serving as Inspector-General of the Seventh Army Corps near Havana and described this incident.

It was a balmy, tropical night, and he, like many of his comrades, were talking of Christmas and home. Memories of family, sweethearts, and the celebrations of the season were surely part of their conversations. As the clock struck twelve to welcome Christmas Day, from the camp of the Forty-Ninth Iowa came a sentinel’s call, “Number ten; twelve o’clock and all’s well!”

The sentinel’s call had barely finished, when from the bandsmen’s tents of the same regiment there arose the music of an old, familiar hymn. This hymn, which first made its way to America from England in 1820, was frequently sung in many Christian churches. Northern soldiers would have learned this song as children from their mothers. To Southern soldiers, it was not only a beloved song, but the favorite hymn of General Robert E. Lee, and was sung at his funeral.

A single baritone voice started the song. Another voice joined in, and soon the whole regiment was singing – the Sixth Missouri followed, then the Fourth Virginia, and soon all of the rest of the army spanning the ridges of the camp. However, the song was not one of the popular Christmas carols of the day, but the words written more than 100 years earlier by a believer only identified as “K—“, who trusted in God and His promises. All of the verses would have been familiar to most of these men, but this verse particularly was mentioned by Lieutenant-Colonel Guild.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed;
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aide;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

The hymn, “How Firm a Foundation,” brought comfort and unity to American soldiers that Christmas morning. It has been published in over 1,900 hymnals and provided consolation and hope to Christians for over 200 years. The final verse states:

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!

Sources:
https://hymnary.org/text/how_firm_a_foundation_ye_saints_of
https://reasonabletheology.org/hymn-story-how-firm-a-foundation/
Benson, L. F. 1903. Studies of Familiar Hymns. Philadelphia, The Westminster Press.

This story was written by Jean Tonioli