Refreshing an old thread, and an old debate:

I believe Sandy Paton when he says it is not a "Quaker Hymn." At the time the song was written, most Quakers (or at least the ones vocal enough to write tracts explaining Quaker beliefs) were downright hostile to music -- even religious hymns.

However, the song does express ideas which fit well with Quaker theology, and if it is now a favorite to be sung at some modern Quaker gatherings (we're much more relaxed, these days), I can see why.

Central to Quaker belief is the idea of Inner Light -- a spiritual light which comes from God, yet is part of every person as soon as they're born. As William Penn wrote, in his pamphlet Primative Christianity Revived:

If that which may be known of God is manifest in men, the people called Quakers cannot, certainly, be out of the way in preaching up the light within; without which, nothing can be manifested to the mind of man

So the verse

Above the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing
It sounds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singing?

has always struck me as very "Quakerish in spirit," even if it was never sung in Meeting until 100 years after its composition.