The Touch of the Master's Hand

The Touch of the Master's Hand, also sometimes called The Old Violin,^[1] is a Christian poem written in 1921^[2] by Myra Brooks Welch.^[3]

The poem tells of a battered old violin that is about to be sold as the last item at an auction for a pittance, until a violinist steps out of the audience and plays the instrument, demonstrating its beauty and true value. The auctioneer then significantly increases the bidding (from the nomimal $1-$2 to $1,000-$2,000) only to have the audience ask why the bidding suddenly increased. The poem ends by comparing this instrument touched by the hand of a master musician to the life of a sinner that is touched by the hand of God.

Theological Terms

Mess of pottage is used to describe the wrongs and mistakes committed by a sinner before his soul is saved. This term was first coined by John Capgrave in reference to the Biblical story of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for lentil stew,^[4] found in Genesis 25:29-34.

Influence

Welch's famous poem inspired other works. Contemporary Christian artist Wayne Watson recorded a song by the same name, with lyrics adapted to the music based on this poem. The song was written by John Kramp in 1974 while a freshman at Baylor University and recorded on Waton's album How Time Flies.^[5] The poem inspired two movies as well. Touch of the Master's Hand, directed by Jimmy Murphy, was released in 1980,^[6] and The Touch of the Master's Hand was released in 1998 and directed by T.C. Christensen.^[7]

About the Author

Myra Brooks Welch was born in 1877 and died in 1959.^[8] While she authored many other poems,^[9] she is best known for this work.^[2]

References