Mary Ann Baker wrote the hymn “Master, the Tempest Is Raging” with the incident of Christ stilling the tempest in mind (Mark 4:35–41). The text focuses on the story of the Jesus and his disciples on Sea of Galilee, when the Master “rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
John Julian writes that that Horatio R. Palmer requested Mary Baker write some songs for Sunday School lessons.[i] In 1874 Palmer included songs with nine hymns by “Miss M. A. Baker” (to which he had set the music) in his Songs of Love for the Bible School.[ii] Number 110 is Peace, Be Still with the caption underneath “Mark iv. 35—41. Christ’s Power over Nature.” According to Julian, the popularity of this song was increased by its use during the illness of President James A. Garfield, and then later at several memorial services held in his honor after his death.
Some modern hymnals change “my” to “thy” in the chorus. This removes the statement as a response of Jesus, the one who says “Peace, be still.” It then becomes a narrator speaking about the incident.
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadow’d with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh;
“Carest thou not that we perish?”
How canst thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threat’ning
A grave in the angry deep?
The winds and the waves shall obey my will,
Peace, be still (peace, be still).
Whether the wrath of the storm-toss’d sea
Or demons or men or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey my will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey my will,
Peace, peace, be still!
I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled,
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul;
And I perish! I perish! dear Master.
O, hasten and take control.
3. Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirror’d,
And heaven’s within my breast;
Linger, O blessed Redeemer,
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor,
And rest on the blissful shore.
Mary Ann (or Anna) Baker was born in New York, September 16, 1832, the daughter of Joshua Baker and Catherine Eddy.[iii] Mary was a Baptist, a hymn writer, and active in the temperance movement. She died September 29, 1925 at age 93 Baptist Old People’s Home in nearby Maywood, Cook County, Illinois. Mary is buried at the Forest Home Cemetery at Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois.
Horatio Richmond Palmer was born in Chenango County, New York, April 26, 1834, the son of Anson and Maria Palmer. He was a composer, author of several works on the theory of music, and a songbook editor – including Songs of Love for the Bible School and Book of Anthems. He earned a music degree from the University of Chicago in 1880. In addition to the music for “Master, the Tempest Is Raging,” as a hymnwriter he is best-known for “Yield not to temptation,” which was written in 1868. Horatio Palmer died 15 November 15, 1907 and was buried at the Black Creek Cemetery at Black Creek, Allegany County, New York.
[ii] Palmer’s Songs of Love for the Bible School: a Collection of Choice Hymns and Tunes adapted for the Use of Sunday-Schools, Prayer and Praise Meetings, Bible Classes, Sunday-School Concerts, Funeral Occasions, Anniversaries, Sunday-School Festivals, Etc., Etc., Cincinnati, OH: John Church & Co., 1874
[iii] Some sources state that Mary Ann Baker was left an orphan when her parents died of tuberculosis in 1839. However, only her father died that year. Her mother remarried twice, and died circa 1870. Mary Baker the poetess should not be confused with Mary Baker Eddy (1821 –1910), the founder of “The Church of Christ, Scientist” (Christian Science).
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