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Vanity of earthly enjoyments
Meter: 8.6.8.6 Appears in 243 hymnals Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2 First Line: How vain are all things here below Topics: Duties and Trials Steadfastness and Growth in Grace
Vanity of earthly enjoyments
Worldly pleasures renounced
Appears in 49 hymnals Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2 First Line: Vain are all terrestrial pleasures Topics: Duties and Trials Steadfastness and Growth in Grace
Worldly pleasures renounced
Give to our God immortal praise
Author: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748 Meter: 8.8.8.8 Appears in 321 hymnals Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2 Lyrics: 1 Give to our God immortal praise,
mercy and truth are all his ways:
wonders of grace to God belong,
repeat his mercies in your song.
2 Give to the Lord of lords renown,
the King of kings with glory crown:
his mercies ever shall endure,
when lords and kings are known no more.
3 He built the earth, he spread the sky,
and fixed the starry lights on high;
wonders of grace to God belong,
repeat his mercies in your song.
4 He fills the sun with morning light,
he bids the moon direct the night:
his mercies ever shall endure,
when suns and moons shall shine no more.
5 He sent his Son with power to save
from guilt, and darkness, and the grave:
wonders of grace to God belong,
repeat his mercies in your song.
6 Through this vain world he guides our feet,
and leads us to his heavenly seat:
his mercies ever shall endure,
when this vain world shall be no more.
Topics: Adoration and Praise; Creation; Grace; Guidance; Redemption; Thanksgiving Used With Tune: TRURO
Give to our God immortal praise
O LORD MY GOD
Meter: 8.8.5.5.6 with refrain Appears in 1 hymnal Composer and/or Arranger: John L. Bell, 1949- Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1 Tune Key: C Major Used With Text: O Lord My God
O LORD MY GOD
Give to our God immortal praise
Author: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748 Hymnal: Together in Song #84 (1999) Meter: 8.8.8.8 Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2 Lyrics: 1 Give to our God immortal praise,
mercy and truth are all his ways:
wonders of grace to God belong,
repeat his mercies in your song.
2 Give to the Lord of lords renown,
the King of kings with glory crown:
his mercies ever shall endure,
when lords and kings are known no more.
3 He built the earth, he spread the sky,
and fixed the starry lights on high;
wonders of grace to God belong,
repeat his mercies in your song.
4 He fills the sun with morning light,
he bids the moon direct the night:
his mercies ever shall endure,
when suns and moons shall shine no more.
5 He sent his Son with power to save
from guilt, and darkness, and the grave:
wonders of grace to God belong,
repeat his mercies in your song.
6 Through this vain world he guides our feet,
and leads us to his heavenly seat:
his mercies ever shall endure,
when this vain world shall be no more.
Topics: Adoration and Praise; Creation; Grace; Guidance; Redemption; Thanksgiving Languages: English Tune Title: TRURO
Give to our God immortal praise
Vanity of earthly enjoyments
Hymnal: New Hymn and Tune Book #59d (1889) Meter: 8.6.8.6 Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2 First Line: How vain are all things here below Topics: Duties and Trials Steadfastness and Growth in Grace Languages: English
Vanity of earthly enjoyments
Vanity of earthly enjoyments
Author: Isaac Watts Hymnal: Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church #662 (1891) Meter: 8.6.8.6 Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2 First Line: How vain are all things here below! Topics: Vanity of earth; World Delusive Languages: English
Vanity of earthly enjoyments
Isaac Watts
1674 - 1748 Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2 Author of "Vanity of earthly enjoyments" in Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary labours. He did not retire from ministerial duties, but preached as often as his delicate health would permit.
The number of Watts' publications is very large. His collected works, first published in 1720, embrace sermons, treatises, poems and hymns. His "Horae Lyricae" was published in December, 1705. His "Hymns" appeared in July, 1707. The first hymn he is said to have composed for religious worship, is "Behold the glories of the Lamb," written at the age of twenty. It is as a writer of psalms and hymns that he is everywhere known. Some of his hymns were written to be sung after his sermons, giving expression to the meaning of the text upon which he had preached. Montgomery calls Watts "the greatest name among hymn-writers," and the honour can hardly be disputed. His published hymns number more than eight hundred.
Watts died November 25, 1748, and was buried at Bunhill Fields. A monumental statue was erected in Southampton, his native place, and there is also a monument to his memory in the South Choir of Westminster Abbey. "Happy," says the great contemporary champion of Anglican orthodoxy, "will be that reader whose mind is disposed, by his verses or his prose, to imitate him in all but his non-conformity, to copy his benevolence to men, and his reverence to God." ("Memorials of Westminster Abbey," p. 325.)
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.
=================================
Watts, Isaac, D.D. The father of Dr. Watts was a respected Nonconformist, and at the birth of the child, and during its infancy, twice suffered imprisonment for his religious convictions. In his later years he kept a flourishing boarding school at Southampton. Isaac, the eldest of his nine children, was born in that town July 17, 1674. His taste for verse showed itself in early childhood. He was taught Greek, Latin, and Hebrew by Mr. Pinhorn, rector of All Saints, and headmaster of the Grammar School, in Southampton. The splendid promise of the boy induced a physician of the town and other friends to offer him an education at one of the Universities for eventual ordination in the Church of England: but this he refused; and entered a Nonconformist Academy at Stoke Newington in 1690, under the care of Mr. Thomas Rowe, the pastor of the Independent congregation at Girdlers' Hall. Of this congregation he became a member in 1693.
Leaving the Academy at the age of twenty, he spent two years at home; and it was then that the bulk of the Hymns and Spiritual Songs (published 1707-9) were written, and sung from manuscripts in the Southampton Chapel. The hymn "Behold the glories of the Lamb" is said to have been the first he composed, and written as an attempt to raise the standard of praise. In answer to requests, others succeeded. The hymn "There is a land of pure delight" is said to have been suggested by the view across Southampton Water. The next six years of Watts's life were again spent at Stoke Newington, in the post of tutor to the son of an eminent Puritan, Sir John Hartopp; and to the intense study of these years must be traced the accumulation of the theological and philosophical materials which he published subsequently, and also the life-long enfeeblement of his constitution.
Watts preached his first sermon when he was twenty-four years old. In the next three years he preached frequently; and in 1702 was ordained pastor of the eminent Independent congregation in Mark Lane, over which Caryl and Dr. John Owen had presided, and which numbered Mrs. Bendish, Cromwell's granddaughter, Charles Fleetwood, Charles Desborough, Sir John Hartopp, Lady Haversham, and other distinguished Independents among its members. In this year he removed to the house of Mr. Hollis in the Minories. His health began to fail in the following year, and Mr. Samuel Price was appointed as his assistant in the ministry. In 1712 a fever shattered his constitution, and Mr. Price was then appointed co-pastor of the congregation which had in the meantime removed to a new chapel in Bury Street. It was at this period that he became the guest of Sir Thomas Abney, under whose roof, and after his death (1722) that of his widow, he remained for the rest of his suffering life; residing for the longer portion of these thirty-six years principally at the beautiful country seat of Theobalds in Herts, and for the last thirteen years at Stoke Newington. His degree of D.D. was bestowed on him in 1728, unsolicited, by the University of Edinburgh. His infirmities increased on him up to the peaceful close of his sufferings, Nov. 25, 1748. He was buried in the Puritan restingplace at Bunhill Fields, but a monument was erected to him in Westminster Abbey.
His learning and piety, gentleness and largeness of heart have earned him the title of the Melanchthon of his day. Among his friends, churchmen like Bishop Gibson are ranked with Nonconformists such as Doddridge. His theological as well as philosophical fame was considerable. His Speculations on the Human Nature of the Logos, as a contribution to the great controversy on the Holy Trinity, brought on him a charge of Arian opinions. His work on The Improvement of the Mind, published in 1741, is eulogised by Johnson. His Logic was still a valued textbook at Oxford within living memory. The World to Come, published in 1745, was once a favourite devotional work, parts of it being translated into several languages. His Catechisms, Scripture History (1732), as well as The Divine and Moral Songs (1715), were the most popular text-books for religious education fifty years ago. The Hymns and Spiritual Songs were published in 1707-9, though written earlier. The Horae Lyricae, which contains hymns interspersed among the poems, appeared in 1706-9. Some hymns were also appended at the close of the several Sermons preached in London, published in 1721-24. The Psalms were published in 1719. The earliest life of Watts is that by his friend Dr. Gibbons. Johnson has included him in his Lives of the Poets; and Southey has echoed Johnson's warm eulogy. The most interesting modern life is Isaac Watts: his Life and Writings, by E. Paxton Hood. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.]
A large mass of Dr. Watts's hymns and paraphrases of the Psalms have no personal history beyond the date of their publication. These we have grouped together here and shall preface the list with the books from which they are taken.
(l) Horae Lyricae. Poems chiefly of the Lyric kind. In Three Books Sacred: i.To Devotion and Piety; ii. To Virtue, Honour, and Friendship; iii. To the Memory of the Dead. By I. Watts, 1706. Second edition, 1709. (2) Hymns and Spiritual Songs. In Three Books: i. Collected from the Scriptures; ii. Composed on Divine Subjects; iii. Prepared for the Lord's Supper. By I. Watts, 1707. This contained in Bk i. 78 hymns; Bk. ii. 110; Bk. iii. 22, and 12 doxologies. In the 2nd edition published in 1709, Bk. i. was increased to 150; Bk. ii. to 170; Bk. iii. to 25 and 15 doxologies. (3) Divine and Moral Songs for the Use of Children. By I. Watts, London, 1715. (4) The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, And apply'd to the Christian State and Worship. By I. Watts. London: Printed by J. Clark, at the Bible and Crown in the Poultry, &c, 1719. (5) Sermons with hymns appended thereto, vol. i., 1721; ii., 1723; iii. 1727. In the 5th ed. of the Sermons the three volumes, in duodecimo, were reduced to two, in octavo. (6) Reliquiae Juveniles: Miscellaneous Thoughts in Prose and Verse, on Natural, Moral, and Divine Subjects; Written chiefly in Younger Years. By I. Watts, D.D., London, 1734. (7) Remnants of Time. London, 1736.
454 Hymns and Versions of the Psalms, in addition to the centos are all in common use at the present time.
--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
==================================
Watts, I. , p. 1241, ii. Nearly 100 hymns, additional to those already annotated, are given in some minor hymn-books.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
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Watts, I. , p. 1236, i. At the time of the publication of this Dictionary in 1892, every copy of the 1707 edition of Watts's Hymns and Spiritual Songs was supposed to have perished, and all notes thereon were based upon references which were found in magazines and old collections of hymns and versions of the Psalms. Recently three copies have been recovered, and by a careful examination of one of these we have been able to give some of the results in the revision of pp. 1-1597, and the rest we now subjoin.
i. Hymns in the 1709 ed. of Hymns and Spiritual Songs which previously appeared in the 1707 edition of the same book, but are not so noted in the 1st ed. of this Dictionary:—
On pp. 1237, L-1239, ii., Nos. 18, 33, 42, 43, 47, 48, 60, 56, 58, 59, 63, 75, 82, 83, 84, 85, 93, 96, 99, 102, 104, 105, 113, 115, 116, 123, 124, 134, 137, 139, 146, 147, 148, 149, 162, 166, 174, 180, 181, 182, 188, 190, 192, 193, 194, 195, 197, 200, 202.
ii. Versions of the Psalms in his Psalms of David, 1719, which previously appeared in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1707:—
On pp. 1239, U.-1241, i., Nos. 241, 288, 304, 313, 314, 317, 410, 441.
iii. Additional not noted in the revision:—
1. My soul, how lovely is the place; p. 1240, ii. 332. This version of Ps. lxiv. first appeared in the 1707 edition of Hymns & Spiritual Songs, as "Ye saints, how lovely is the place."
2. Shine, mighty God, on Britain shine; p. 1055, ii. In the 1707 edition of Hymns & Spiritual Songs, Bk. i., No. 35, and again in his Psalms of David, 1719.
3. Sing to the Lord with [cheerful] joyful voice, p. 1059, ii. This version of Ps. c. is No. 43 in the Hymns & Spiritual Songs, 1707, Bk. i., from which it passed into the Ps. of David, 1719.
A careful collation of the earliest editions of Watts's Horae Lyricae shows that Nos. 1, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, p. 1237, i., are in the 1706 ed., and that the rest were added in 1709. Of the remaining hymns, Nos. 91 appeared in his Sermons, vol. ii., 1723, and No. 196 in Sermons, vol. i., 1721. No. 199 was added after Watts's death. It must be noted also that the original title of what is usually known as Divine and Moral Songs was Divine Songs only.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
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See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
Isaac Watts
John Taylor
1750 - 1826 Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1 Author of "Father of our feeble race" in A Selection of Sacred Poetry Taylor, John, born July 30, 1750, was the son of Richard Taylor, of Norwich, and grandson of Dr. John Taylor (1694-1761, the eminent Hebrew scholar, who was for many years minister of the Octagon Chapel, Norwich, and afterwards Divinity tutor at the Warrington Academy. Dr. Taylor published A Collection of Tunes in Various Airs, one of the first collections of its kind, and his grandson was one of the most musical of Unitarian hymn-writers). Young Taylor, after serving his apprenticeship in his native place, was for two years in a banking house in London, at which time he was an occasional poetical contributor to the Morning Chronicle. In 1773 he returned to Norwich, where he spent the rest of his life, first as a manufacturer, and afterwards as a wool and yarn factor. For nearly fifty years he was a deacon at the Octagon Chapel. At the time of the French Revolution he joined in the support of The Cabinet, a periodical brought out by the Liberals of Norwich, in conjunction with Dr. Enfield, William Taylor, Miss Alderson (Mrs. Opie), and others, and, as a "poet of the olden time," he contributed five poems thereto. These, and other political songs and poems relating to family events, &c, together with 50 hymns, were collected in Hymns and Miscellaneous Poems, Reprinted for Private Distribution, 1863, with a Memoir taken from the Monthly Repository of Sept. 1826, by his son, Edward Taylor, then Gresham Professor of Music. An earlier and less complete edition, containing 43 hymns, he had himself caused to be printed by his sons, Richard and Arthur Taylor, London, 1818. He died June 23, 1826. Of his hymns the following 9 were contributed to Dr. Enfield's Selection of Hymns for Social Worship, Norwich, 1795:—
1. Far from mortal cares retreating. Divine Worship.
2. Father divine, before Thy view. Divine Providence.
3. Father of our feeble race. Christian Love. This begins in Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884, and others, with st. ii., "Lord, what offering shall we bring?"
4. Glory be to God on high. Divine glories celebrated. The first stanza is by C. Wesley, and the rest are by Taylor.
5. God of mercy, God of love [grace], Hear our sad repentant song. Penitence.
6. 0 sing to the Lord a new song. Praise to the Supreme Ruler and Judge.
7. Praise to God, the great Creator. Praise to the Father. The hymn "Saints with pious zeal attending" in Hatfield's Church Hymns, &c.,N.Y., 1872, begins with line 4 of stanza i. of this hymn.
8. Raise your voice and joyful sing. Praise.
9. Rejoice, the Lord is King. Providence acknowledged in the Seasons. The first stanza and 11. 5 and 6 of all are by C. Wesley, and the rest are by Taylor.
J. Taylor edited Hymns intended to be used at the Commencement of Social Worship, London, 1802. To that collection he contributed 10 hymns, including:—
10. At the portals of Thy house. Divine Worship. In a few American collections a cento from this hymn is given as, "Lord, before thy presence come."
11. Blessed Sabbath of our [the] Lord. Sunday.
12. 0 how delightful is the road. Divine Worship.
13. Supreme o'er all Jehovah reigns.. Divine Worship. All the foregoing, except No. 8, were re-published in the Norwich Collectionof 1814. That edition contained 33 of Taylor's hymns. To the 2nd ed., 1826, he added 9 more. To R. Aspland's Selection of Psalms and Hymns for Unitarian Worship, Hackney, 1810, he contributed 26 hymns, old and new, including :—
14. Like shadows gliding o'er the plain. Time and Eternity.
15. The Mighty God who rolls [rules] the spheres. God the Preserver of Man.
These 15 are the best known of Taylor's hymns, and are largely found in Unitarian collections. See especially Dr. Martineau's Hymns, &c, of 1840, and of 1873. [Rev. Valentine D. Davis, B.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
John Taylor
William Johnson Fox
1786 - 1864 Person Name: W. J. Fox Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2 Translator of "The seed of the Church" in Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church Fox, William Johnson, the son of a small farmer in Suffolk, was born in 1786. As a boy he worked as a weaver, but subsequently spent six years in a bank. He was educated for the ministry under Dr. Pye Smith, at Homerton. His first settlement was with an Orthodox Independent congregation; but he very soon became a Unitarian. In 1817 he settled in London as minister of the Parliament Court Chapel. In 1824 lie removed to a new chapel at South Place, Finsbury, where he remained until 1852. He was a prominent member of the Anti Corn-law League; joined in founding the Westminster Review, and from 1831 to 1836 was owner of the Monthly Repository. From 1847 to 1863 he sat in Parliament as member for Oldham. He died in 1864. In 1841 he published Hymns and Anthems, London, Charles Fox. This, collection contained 150 selections from various authors, including Mrs. Sarah Adams, who was a member of his congregation. He included 13 of his own hymns. A new and enlarged edition of his Hymns, &c, was published in 1873. A memorial edition of his Works was published in 12 vols. in 1865.
His hymns which have come into common use outside of his collection include:—
1. A little child in bulrush ark. Moses.
2. Call them from the dead. The Spirits of the Past.
3. Gracious Power, the world pervading. Public Worship.
4. In the plan divine. Perfection of God's designs.
5. Jews were wrought to cruel madness. Good Friday. B. V. M. at the Cross.
6. The sage his cup of hemlock quaffed. Resignation.
[Rev. Valentine D. David, B.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
William Johnson Fox
