"A great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." 1 Kings 19:11-12
Words: John Greenleaf Whittier, in the Atlantic Monthly, April 1872.
The words are from a long, narrative poem, "The Brewing of Soma." It describes Vedic priests going into the forest and drinking themselves into a stupor with a concoction called "soma." They try to have a religious experience and contact the spirit world. It is after setting that scene that Whittier draws his lesson: "Dear Lord, and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways…" This hymn is as relevant today as when it was written. In a modern context, it speaks to the drug culture, and all those looking for an "experience" to prove the reality of God.
Music: "Rest (Maker)," Frederick Charles Maker, 1887
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"Repton," Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1888
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"Hammersmith," William Henry Gladstone (1840-1891)