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Thomas Gibbons

1720 - 1785 Hymnal Number: d113 Author of "My brethren, from my heart beloved" in Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. Gibbons, Thomas, was born at Beak, near Newmarket, May 31, 1720; educated by Dr. Taylor, at Deptford; ordained in 1742, as assistant to the Rev. Mr. Bures, at Silver Street Chapel, London; and in 1743 became minister of the Independent Church, at Haberdashers' Hall, where he remained till his death, Feb. 22, 1785. In addition to his ministerial office he became, in 1754, tutor of the Dissenting Academy at Mile End, London; and, in 1759, Sunday evening lecturer at Monkwell Street. In 1760 the College at New Jersey, U.S., gave him the degree of M.A. and in 1764 that of Aberdeen the degree of D.D. His prose works were (1) Calvinism and Nonconformity defended, 1740; (2) Sermons on various subjects, 1762; (3) Rhetoric, 1767; (4) Female Worthies, 2 vols., 1777. Three volumes of sermons were published after his death. His poetical works were:— (1) Juvenilia; Poems on various subjects of Devotion and Virtue, 1750, was published by subscription. Among the subscribers is found the name of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, B.A. It was dedicated to the Countess of Huntingdon, and bears her coat of arms. In this volume are included versions of six of the Psalms, and a few hymns. (2) Hymns adapted to Divine wor¬ship in two books. Book I. Derived from select passages of Holy Scriptures. Book II., Written on sacred subjects and particular occasions, partly collected front various authors, but principally composed by Thomas Gibbons, D.D., 1769. (3) Hymns adapted to Divine worship in two books. Book I. Derived from select passages of the Holy Scriptures. Book II. Written on sacred subjects and particular occasions by Thomas Gibbons, D.D., 1784. (4) The Sermons, published in 1762, included fifteen hymns, one being appended to each sermon. (5) The Christian Minister in three poetical epistles to Philander, 1772. This volume included (i.) Poetical versions of several parts of Scripture, (ii.) Translations of poems from Greek and Latin writers, (iii.) Original pieces on various occasions. (6) An English version of the Latin Epitaphs on the Nonconformist's Memorial, with a poem to the memory of the 2000 ministers ejected in 1662, 1775. (7) Select Portions of Scripture, and Remarkable Occurrences, versified for the Instruction and entertainment of Youth of both Sexes, 1781. Reprinted in America, 1805. Dr. Gibbons may be called a disciple in hymnwriting of Dr. Watts, whose life he wrote. His hymns are not unlike those of the second rank of Watts. He lacked "the vision and faculty divine," which gives life to hymns and renders them of permanent value. Hence, although several are common use in America, they are dying out of use in Great Britain. The most popular are, "Now let our souls on wings sublime"; "Great God, the nations of the earth"; "Thy goodness, Lord, our souls confess"; "To Thee, my God, whose presence fills." [Rev. W. Garrett Horder] The less important of Dr. Gibbons's hymns, which are still in common use are:— 1. And be it so that till this hour. Hope. This is No. 50 in Book ii. of his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, &c, 1769, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed, "Encouragement against Despair; or, Hope still set before us." Originally a Sacramental hymn in Rippon's Selections, 1787, No 230, it was altered to a general hymn, with special reference to "Hope." 2. Assist us, Lord, Thy Name to praise. Life, a race. In Rippon's Baptist Selections, 1787, No. 326, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. 3. Eternal life, how sweet the sound. Eternal Life. This is one of three hymns on Titus iii. 7, in his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, &c, 1784, Book i., No. 156, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. In the American Dutch Reformed Hymns of the Church, 1869, No. 843 begins with st. ii., "Eternal life, how will it reign?" 4. Father, is not Thy promise pledged? Missions. This is Pt. iii.of his hymn, "Great God, the nations of the earth" (q. v.). 5. Forgiveness, 'tis a joyful sound. Pardon. From his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, &c, 1769. Book i., No. 69, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines into several modern collections in Great Britain and America. It is based on St. Luke, vii. 47. 6. From winter's barren clods. [Spring.] Appeared in his Hymns, &c, 1784, Book ii., No. 27, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed, "The Return of the Spring celebrated in the Powerful and Gracious Work of God." In 1787 it was repeated anonymously in Rippon's Baptist Selections, No. 499. The hymn, "Great God, at Thy command, Seasons in order rise," begins with st. iii. of this hymn. 7. Happy the men in ancient days. Public Worship. In his Hymns adapted to Public Worship, &c, 1784. 8. On Zion, his most holy mount. Gospel Feast. From his Hymns adapted for Divine Worship, &c, 1769, Book i., No. 35, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. It was originally a Sacramental hymn, but in its abbreviated form, as in use in America, that element is eliminated. 9. Our Father, high enthroned above. Lord's Prayer. Appeared in the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans, 1769, No. 41, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines. In 1772 it was reprinted in a revised form, and with an additional stanza, in Gibbons's Christian Minister, p. 74. 10. Thy goodness, Lord, our souls confess. Providence and Grace. Appeared in the Gospel Magazine, 1775, and in his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, &c, 1784, Bk. ii., No. 11, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. In Dobell's Selections, 1806, st. i.-iv., and vi. were given with alterations, which were not improvements, as No. 9. This arrangement is repeated in modern hymnbooks, including the Baptist Hymnal, 1879, and others. 11. When Jesus dwelt in mortal clay. Jesus our Example. From his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, &c, 1784, Book i., No. 128, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines into a few American collections, including the Baptist Praise Book, 1871. The more important of Dr. Gibbons's hymns are annotated under their respective first lines. [William T. Brooke] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ====================== Gibbons, Thomas, p. 420, i. From his Hymns, &c, of 1784, are also in common use:— 1. Lord God, omnipotent to bless. Divine Help desired. 2. Now may the God of peace and love. Close of Service. (1769. Pt. i.) 3. O what stupendous mercy shines. Benevolence. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

John Fawcett

1740 - 1817 Hymnal Number: d81 Author of "How precious is the book divine" in Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. An orphan at the age of twelve, John Fawcett (b. Lidget Green, Yorkshire, England, 1740; d. Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, 1817) became apprenticed to a tailor and was largely self-educated. He was converted by the preaching of George Whitefield at the age of sixteen and began preaching soon thereafter. In 1765 Fawcett was called to a small, poor, Baptist country church in Wainsgate, Yorkshire. Seven years later he received a call from the large and influential Carter's Lane Church in London, England. Fawcett accepted the call and preached his farewell sermon. The day of departure came, and his family's belongings were loaded on carts, but the distraught congregation begged him to stay. In Singers and Songs of the Church (1869), Josiah Miller tells the story associated with this text: This favorite hymn is said to have been written in 1772, to commemorate the determination of its author to remain with his attached people at Wainsgate. The farewell sermon was preached, the wagons were loaded, when love and tears prevailed, and Dr. Fawcett sacrificed the attraction of a London pulpit to the affection of his poor but devoted flock. Fawcett continued to serve in Wainsgate and in the nearby village of Hebden Bridge for the remainder of his active ministry. Bert Polman =============== Fawcett, John, D.D., was born Jan. 6, 1739 or 1740, at Lidget Green, near Bradford, Yorks. Converted at the age of sixteen under the ministry of G. Whitefield, he at first joined the Methodists, but three years later united with the Baptist Church at Bradford. Having begun to preach he was, in 1765, ordained Baptist minister at Wainsgate, near Hebden Bridge, Yorks. In 1772 he was invited to London, to succeed the celebrated Dr. J. Gill, as pastor of Carter's Lane; the invitation had been formally accepted, the farewell sermon at Wainsgate had been preached and the wagons loaded with his goods for removal, when the love and tears of his attached people prevailed and he decided to remain. In 1777 a new chapel was built for him at Hebden Bridge, and about the same time he opened a school at Brearley Hall, his place of residence. In 1793 he was invited to become President of the Baptist Academy at Bristol, but declined. In 1811 he received from America the degree of D.D., and died in 1817, at the age of 78. Dr. Fawcett was the author of a number of prose works on Practical Religion, several of which attained a large circulation. His poetical publications are:— (1) Poetic Essays, 1767; (2) The Christian's Humble Plea, a Poem, in answer to Dr. Priestley against the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1772; (3) Three hymns, in the Gospel Magazine, 1777; (4) The Death of Eumenio, a Divine Poem, 1779; (5) Another poem, suggested by the decease of a friend, The Reign of Death, 1780; and (6) Hymns adapted to the circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion, Leeds, G. Wright & Son. 1782. They are 166 in number, and were mostly composed to be sung after sermons by the author. Whilst not attaining a high degree of excellence as poetry, they are "eminently spiritual and practical," and a number of them are found in all the Baptist and Congregational hymn-books that have appeared during the last 100 years. The best known of these are, “Infinite excellence is Thine;" "How precious is the Book divine;" "Thus far my God hath led me on;" "Religion is the chief concern;" "Blest be the tie that binds;" “I my Ebenezer raise;" and "Praise to Thee, Thou great Creator." These hymns, together with others by Fawcett, are annotated under their respective first lines. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.] In addition the following hymns, also by Fawcett, but of less importance, are in common use: 1. Behold the sin-atoning Lamb. Passiontide. No. 60 of his Hymns, 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. In several hymnals in Great Britain and America. 2. I my Ebenezer raise. Birthday. No. 102 of his Hymns, in 10 stanzas of 4 lines. Usually given in an abbreviated form. 3. Infinite excellence is Thine. Jesus the Desire of Nations. No. 42 of his Hymns, in 12 stanzas of 4 lines. In several hymn-books in Great Britain and America in an abridged form. 4. Jesus, the heavenly Lover, gave. Redemption in Christ. No. 10 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed, "The marriage between Christ and the Soul." In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, it reads, “Jesus, the heavenly Bridegroom, gave," and stanza v. is omitted. 5. Lord, hast Thou made me know Thy ways? Perseverance. No. 122 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 8 stanza of 4 lines. In the Baptist Hymnal, 1879, No. 451, stanzas iv.-vii. are omitted. 6. 0 God, my Helper, ever near. New Year. No. 108 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. The New Congregational Hymn Book, 1859-69 omits st. vi. 7. 0, my soul, what means this sadness? Sorrow turned to Joy. No. 111 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines, and based upon the words, "Why art Thou cast down, O my soul?" &c. It is in common use in America, and usually with the omission of stanza ii. as in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872. 8. Sinners, the voice of God regard. Invitation to Repentance. No. 63 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines on Isaiah lv. 7, "Let the wicked forsake his way," &c. It is in common use in America, but usually in an abbreviated form. 9. Thy presence, gracious God, afford. Before Sermon. No 165 in his Hymns, &c., in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, and a chorus of two lines. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymnbook, 1872, No. 126, the chorus is omitted. Fawcett has another hymn on the same subject (No. 79) and beginning, "Thy blessing, gracious God, afford," but this is not in common use. 10. Thy way, 0 God, is in the sea. Imperfect Knowledge of God. No. 66 in his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines on 1 Corinthians xiii. 9, "We know in part," &c. It is in several American collections, usually abbreviated, and sometimes as, "Thy way, O Lord, is in the sea." In this form it is in The Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858, &c. 11. With humble heart and tongue. Prayer for Guidance in Youth. No. 86 in his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines on Psalms cxix. 9. "Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way." It is No. 954 in the Baptist Psalms and Hymns, 1858-80. About 20 of Fawcett's hymns are thus still in common use. Two hymns which have been ascribed to him from time to time, but concerning which there are some doubts, are fully annotated under their respective first lines. These are," Humble souls that seek salvation," and "Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing." -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

William Cowper

1731 - 1800 Hymnal Number: d28 Author of "By whom was David taught" in Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper"; b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1731; d. East Dereham, Norfolk, England, 1800) is regarded as one of the best early Romantic poets. To biographers he is also known as "mad Cowper." His literary talents produced some of the finest English hymn texts, but his chronic depression accounts for the somber tone of many of those texts. Educated to become an attorney, Cowper was called to the bar in 1754 but never practiced law. In 1763 he had the opportunity to become a clerk for the House of Lords, but the dread of the required public examination triggered his tendency to depression, and he attempted suicide. His subsequent hospitalization and friendship with Morley and Mary Unwin provided emotional stability, but the periods of severe depression returned. His depression was deepened by a religious bent, which often stressed the wrath of God, and at times Cowper felt that God had predestined him to damnation. For the last two decades of his life Cowper lived in Olney, where John Newton became his pastor. There he assisted Newton in his pastoral duties, and the two collaborated on the important hymn collection Olney Hymns (1779), to which Cowper contributed sixty-eight hymn texts. Bert Polman ============ Cowper, William, the poet. The leading events in the life of Cowper are: born in his father's rectory, Berkhampstead, Nov. 26, 1731; educated at Westminster; called to the Bar, 1754; madness, 1763; residence at Huntingdon, 1765; removal to Olney, 1768; to Weston, 1786; to East Dereham, 1795; death there, April 25, 1800. The simple life of Cowper, marked chiefly by its innocent recreations and tender friendships, was in reality a tragedy. His mother, whom he commemorated in the exquisite "Lines on her picture," a vivid delineation of his childhood, written in his 60th year, died when he was six years old. At his first school he was profoundly wretched, but happier at Westminster; excelling at cricket and football, and numbering Warren Hastings, Colman, and the future model of his versification. Churchill, among his contemporaries or friends. Destined for the Bar, he was articled to a solicitor, along with Thurlow. During this period he fell in love with his cousin, Theodora Cowper, sister to Lady Hesketh, and wrote love poems to her. The marriage was forbidden by her father, but she never forgot him, and in after years secretly aided his necessities. Fits of melancholy, from which he had suffered in school days, began to increase, as he entered on life, much straitened in means after his father's death. But on the whole, it is the playful, humorous side of him that is most prominent in the nine years after his call to the Bar; spent in the society of Colman, Bonnell Thornton, and Lloyd, and in writing satires for The Connoisseur and St. James's Chronicle and halfpenny ballads. Then came the awful calamity, which destroyed all hopes of distinction, and made him a sedentary invalid, dependent on his friends. He had been nominated to the Clerkship of the Journals of the House of Lords, but the dread of appearing before them to show his fitness for the appointment overthrew his reason. He attempted his life with "laudanum, knife and cord,"—-in the third attempt nearly succeeding. The dark delusion of his life now first showed itself—a belief in his reprobation by God. But for the present, under the wise and Christian treatment of Dr. Cotton (q. v.) at St. Albans, it passed away; and the eight years that followed, of which the two first were spent at Huntingdon (where he formed his lifelong friendship with Mrs. Unwin), and the remainder at Olney in active piety among the poor, and enthusiastic devotions under the guidance of John Newton (q. v.), were full of the realisation of God's favour, and the happiest, most lucid period of his life. But the tension of long religious exercises, the nervous excitement of leading at prayer meetings, and the extreme despondence (far more than the Calvinism) of Newton, could scarcely have been a healthy atmosphere for a shy, sensitive spirit, that needed most of all the joyous sunlight of Christianity. A year after his brother's death, madness returned. Under the conviction that it was the command of God, he attempted suicide; and he then settled down into a belief in stark contradiction to his Calvinistic creed, "that the Lord, after having renewed him in holiness, had doomed him to everlasting perdition" (Southey). In its darkest form his affliction lasted sixteen months, during which he chiefly resided in J. Newton's house, patiently tended by him and by his devoted nurse, Mrs. Unwin. Gradually he became interested in carpentering, gardening, glazing, and the tendance of some tame hares and other playmates. At the close of 1780, Mrs. Unwin suggested to him some serious poetical work; and the occupation proved so congenial, that his first volume was published in 1782. To a gay episode in 1783 (his fascination by the wit of Lady Austen) his greatest poem, The Task, and also John Gilpin were owing. His other principal work was his Homer, published in 1791. The dark cloud had greatly lifted from his life when Lady Hesketh's care accomplished his removal to Weston (1786): but the loss of his dear friend William Unwin lowered it again for some months. The five years' illness of Mrs. Unwin, during which his nurse of old became his tenderly-watched patient, deepened the darkness more and more. And her death (1796) brought “fixed despair," of which his last poem, The Castaway, is the terrible memorial. Perhaps no more beautiful sentence has been written of him, than the testimony of one, who saw him after death, that with the "composure and calmness" of the face there “mingled, as it were, a holy surprise." Cowper's poetry marks the dawn of the return from the conventionality of Pope to natural expression, and the study of quiet nature. His ambition was higher than this, to be the Bard of Christianity. His great poems show no trace of his monomania, and are full of healthy piety. His fame as a poet is less than as a letter-writer: the charm of his letters is unsurpassed. Though the most considerable poet, who has written hymns, he has contributed little to the development of their structure, adopting the traditional modes of his time and Newton's severe canons. The spiritual ideas of the hymns are identical with Newton's: their highest note is peace and thankful contemplation, rather than joy: more than half of them are full of trustful or reassuring faith: ten of them are either submissive (44), self-reproachful (17, 42, 43), full of sad yearning (1, 34), questioning (9), or dark spiritual conflict (38-40). The specialty of Cowper's handling is a greater plaintiveness, tenderness, and refinement. A study of these hymns as they stood originally under the classified heads of the Olney Hymns, 1779, which in some cases probably indicate the aim of Cowper as well as the ultimate arrangement of the book by Newton, shows that one or two hymns were more the history of his conversion, than transcripts of present feelings; and the study of Newton's hymns in the same volume, full of heavy indictment against the sins of his own regenerate life, brings out the peculiar danger of his friendship to the poet: it tends also to modify considerably the conclusions of Southey as to the signs of incipient madness in Cowper's maddest hymns. Cowper's best hymns are given in The Book of Praise by Lord Selborne. Two may be selected from them; the exquisitely tender "Hark! my soul, it is the Lord" (q. v.), and "Oh, for a closer walk with God" (q. v.). Anyone who knows Mrs. Browning's noble lines on Cowper's grave will find even a deeper beauty in the latter, which is a purely English hymn of perfect structure and streamlike cadence, by connecting its sadness and its aspiration not only with the “discord on the music" and the "darkness on the glory," but the rapture of his heavenly waking beneath the "pathetic eyes” of Christ. Authorities. Lives, by Hayley; Grimshaw; Southey; Professor Goldwin Smith; Mr. Benham (attached to Globe Edition); Life of Newton, by Rev. Josiah Bull; and the Olney Hymns. The numbers of the hymns quoted refer to the Olney Hymns. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================ Cowper, W. , p. 265, i. Other hymns are:— 1. Holy Lord God, I love Thy truth. Hatred of Sin. 2. I was a grovelling creature once. Hope and Confidence. 3. No strength of nature can suffice. Obedience through love. 4. The Lord receives His highest praise. Faith. 5. The saints should never be dismayed. Providence. All these hymns appeared in the Olney Hymns, 1779. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ===================== Cowper, W., p. 265, i. Prof. John E. B. Mayor, of Cambridge, contributed some letters by Cowper, hitherto unpublished, together with notes thereon, to Notes and Queries, July 2 to Sept. 24, 1904. These letters are dated from Huntingdon, where he spent two years after leaving St. Alban's (see p. 265, i.), and Olney. The first is dated "Huntingdon, June 24, 1765," and the last "From Olney, July 14, 1772." They together with extracts from other letters by J. Newton (dated respectively Aug. 8, 1772, Nov. 4, 1772), two quotations without date, followed by the last in the N. & Q. series, Aug. 1773, are of intense interest to all students of Cowper, and especially to those who have given attention to the religious side of the poet's life, with its faint lights and deep and awful shadows. From the hymnological standpoint the additional information which we gather is not important, except concerning the hymns "0 for a closer walk with God," "God moves in a mysterious way," "Tis my happiness below," and "Hear what God, the Lord, hath spoken." Concerning the last three, their position in the manuscripts, and the date of the last from J. Newton in the above order, "Aug. 1773," is conclusive proof against the common belief that "God moves in a mysterious way" was written as the outpouring of Cowper's soul in gratitude for the frustration of his attempted suicide in October 1773. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Samuel Crossman

1623 - 1684 Hymnal Number: d55 Author of "Farewell, dear friend [friends], I must be gone" in Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. Crossman, Samuel , B.D. From A. Wood's Athenae Oxonienses (1720, vol. ii. p. 730) we gather all that is known of this hymnwriter. Wood says concerning him:— "Samuel Crossman, Bachelor of Divinity of Cambridge, and Prebendary of Bristol, son of Samuel Crossman, of Bradfield Monachorum, in Suffolk. He hath written and published several things, as The Young Man's Monitor, &c, London, 1664, 8vo., and several sermons, among which are two sermons preached in the Cathedral of Bristol, 30th Jan., 1679, and 30th Jan., 1680, being the days of public humiliation for the execrable murder of King Charles I, printed at London, 1681, &c.; also a sermon preached 23rd April, 1680, in the Cathedral Church of Bristol, before the Gentlemen of the Artillery Company newly raised in that City, printed at London, 1680, &c; and, "An Humble Plea for the quiet rest of God's Ark," preached before Sir Joh. Moore, Lord Mayor of London, at St. Mildred's Church in the Poultrey, 5th February, 1681, London, 1682, 4to, &c. He died 4th February, 1683, aged 69 years, and was buried in the South Aisle of the Cathedral Church in Bristol" [of which he had been appointed Dean a few weeks before]. Crossman's contributions to hymnody were given in a small pamphlet entitled:— The Young Man's Meditation, or some few Sacred Poems upon Select Subjects, and Scriptures. By Samuel Crossman, B.D. London, Printed by J. H., &c, 1664. This pamphlet, which was reprinted by D. Sedgwick, London, 1863, contains 9 sacred poems. Of these the following are in common use:— 1. My life's a shade, my days. Resurrection. This is in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, together with a chorus to each stanza of 4 Lines. It is sometimes given as "Life is a shade, my days," as in Kennedy, 1863. 2. Sweet place, sweet place alone, Pt. i. Jerusalem on high, Pt. ii. These two parts form one poem on Heaven. The most popular portion is Pt. ii. This is given in numerous collections in Great Britain and America. Part i. is not so extensively used. From the two parts the cento "Earth's but a sorry tent," in the Dutch Reformed Hymns of the Church, N. Y. 1869, is also taken. 3. Farewell, poor world, I must be gone. Death anticipated. This is given in the Comprehensive Rippon, 1844, and in a few of the older American hymnbooks. 4. My song is love unknown. In the Anglican Hymnbook, 1863 -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

John Francis Wade

1711 - 1786 Hymnal Number: d76 Author of "Hither, ye faithful, haste with [in] songs of triumph" in Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. John Francis Wade (b. England, c. 1711; d. Douay, France, 1786) is now generally recognized as both author and composer of the hymn "Adeste fideles," originally written in Latin in four stanzas. The earliest manuscript signed by Wade is dated about 1743. By the early nineteenth century, however, four additional stanzas had been added by other writers. A Roman Catholic, Wade apparently moved to France because of discrimination against Roman Catholics in eighteenth-century England—especially so after the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. He taught music at an English college in Douay and hand copied and sold chant music for use in the chapels of wealthy families. Wade's copied manuscripts were published as Cantus Diversi pro Dominicis et Festis per annum (1751). Bert Polman

Isaac Watts

1674 - 1748 Person Name: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748 Hymnal Number: d11 Author of "Am I a soldier of the cross" in Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. 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) ================= 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) =========== See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

Samuel Medley

1738 - 1799 Hymnal Number: d16 Author of "As Jacob did in days of old" in Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. Medley, Samuel, born June 23, 1738, at Cheshunt, Herts, where his father kept a school. He received a good education; but not liking the business to which he was apprenticed, he entered the Royal Navy. Having been severely wounded in a battle with the French fleet off Port Lagos, in 1759, he was obliged to retire from active service. A sermon by Dr. Watts, read to him about this time, led to his conversion. He joined the Baptist Church in Eagle Street, London, then under the care of Dr. Gifford, and shortly afterwards opened a school, which for several years he conducted with great success. Having begun to preach, he received, in 1767, a call to become pastor of the Baptist church at Watford. Thence, in 1772, he removed to Byrom Street, Liverpool, where he gathered a large congregation, and for 27 years was remarkably popular and useful. After a long and painful illness he died July 17, 1799. Most of Medley's hymns were first printed on leaflets or in magazines (the Gospel Magazine being one). They appeared in book form as:— (1) Hymns, &c. Bradford, 1785. This contains 42 hymns. (2) Hymns on Select Portions of Scripture by the Rev. Mr. Medley. 2nd ed. Bristol. W. Pine. 1785. This contains 34 hymns, and differs much from the Bradford edition both in the text and in the order of the hymns. (3) An enlargement of the same in 1787. (4) A small collection of new Hymns, London, 1794. This contains 23 hymns. (5) Hymns. The Public Worship and Private Devotion of True Christians Assisted in some thoughts in Verse; principally drawn from Select Passages of the Word of God. By Samuel Medley. London. Printed for J. Johnson. 1800. A few of his hymns are also found in a Collection for the use of All Denominations, published in London in 1782. Medley's hymns have been very popular in his own denomination, particularly among the more Calvinistic churches. In Denham's Selections there are 48, and in J. Stevens's Selections, 30. Their charm consists less in their poetry than in the warmth and occasional pathos with which they give expression to Christian experience. In most of them also there is a refrain in the last line of each verse which is often effective. Those in common use include:— 1. Come, join ye saints, with heart and voice. (1800). Complete in Christ. 2. Death is no more among our foes. Easter. 3. Eternal Sovereign Lord of all. (1789). Praise for Providential Care. 4. Far, far beyond these lower skies. (1789). Jesus, the Forerunner. 5. Father of mercies, God of love, whose kind, &c. (1789.) New Year. 6. Great God, today Thy grace impart. Sermon. 7. Hear, gracious God! a sinner's cry. (1789). Lent. 8. In heaven the rapturous song began. Christmas. 9. Jesus, engrave it on my heart. (1789). Jesus, Needful to all. 10. Mortals, awake, with angels join. (1782). Christmas. 11. My soul, arise in joyful lays. (1789). Joy in God. 12. Now, in a song of grateful praise. Praise to Jesus. In the Gospel Magazine, June, 1776. 13. O could I speak the matchless worth. (1789.) Praise of Jesus. 14. O for a bright celestial ray. Lent. 15. O God, Thy mercy, vast and free. (1800). Dedication of Self to God. 16. O let us tell the matchless love. Praise to Jesus. 17. O what amazing words of grace. (1789). Foutain of Living Waters. 18. Saints die, and we should gently weep. (1800). Death and Burial. From his "Dearest of Names, Our Lord and King." 19. See a poor sinner, dearest Lord. Lent. 20. Sing the dear Saviour's glorious fame. (1789). Jesus the Breaker of bonds. In 1800 a Memoir of Medley was published by his son, which is regarded by members of the family now living as authoritative. But in 1833 appeared another Memoir by Medley's daughter Sarah, to which are appended 52 hymns for use on Sacramental occasions. These she gives as her father's. But 8 of them are undoubtedly by Thos. Kelly, published by him in 1815, and reprinted in subsequent editions of his Hymns. The remainder are by Medley. Nearly all of these 52 hymns (both Medley's and Kelly's) have been altered in order to adapt them to Sacramental use. In Sarah Medley's volume, Kelly's hymns all follow one another, and three of them are in a metre which Medley apparently never used. What could have been Sarah Medley's motive in all this it is hard to divine. She is said to have been a clever, though unamiable woman, and was herself the author of a small volume of Poems published in 1807. In the Memoir she does not conceal her hatred of her brother. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

J. Brewer

1752 - 1817 Hymnal Number: d67 Author of "Hail, sovereign love, that first began" in Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. Brewer, Jehoiada, the "Sylvestris" of the Gospel Magazine, 1776, &c, was born at Newport, Monmouthshire, in 1752. He was educated for commercial pursuits, but subsequently became a Congregational Minister, and as such was pastor at Rodborough, Gloucestershire; at Sheffield, to which he went in 1783; at Carr's Lane Chapel, Birmingham (1798); and at the Livery Street Chapel, in the same town. He died Aug. 24, 1817. A Memoir of him appeared in the Evangelical Register, 1835, p. 396. His best-known hymn is—"Hail, Sovereign Love, that first began" (q. v.). -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Alexander Pope

1688 - 1744 Hymnal Number: d200 Author of "Vital spark of heavenly flame" in Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. Alexander Pope was born in London, in 1688. His parents were Roman Catholics. He had a feeble constitution, was deformed in person, and attained the age of only fifty-six. He early acquired the means of independence by his literary gifts, and purchased his celebrated villa at Twickenham, whither he went to reside at the age of thirty. Of his many published works, his translation of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" of Homer has given him the greatest reputation. As an English satirist, also, he stands very high. Nearly all his works, however, are imitations. He died at Tickenham, in 1744. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872 ======== Pope, Alexander, the poet, son of a wholesale linen merchant in Lombard Street, London, was born in Plough Court, Lombard Street, May 21, 1688. His father being a Roman Catholic, he was first placed under the charge of Father Taverner, who taught him the rudiments of Greek and Latin. Later he attended a school at Winchester, and then at Hyde Park Corner. When about twelve he retired with his parents to Binfield, in Windsor Forest, and from thenceforth his education was mainly in his own hands. His subsequent success as a writer and poet is a matter of history, and has been dealt with in detail by Dr. Johnson in his Lives of the Poets, and by others. He died May 30, 1744, and was buried in a vault in Twickenham Church. For distinct public use, so far as we are aware, Pope wrote no hymns. His "Messiah"; his "Universal Prayer"; and his "Vital Spark" (q.v.), have been made use of for congregational purposes, but as a Roman Catholic he had no object in writing a hymn in a language which, at that time, his Church would refuse to use. In modern hymn-books his name is identified with the following pieces:-- 1. Father of all, in every age. Universal Prayer. The Lord's Prayer. This Prayer was published in 1738, as a conclusion to his Essay on Man, in 13 st. of 4 1. Warburton in his Advertisement of the 1748 ed. of the Essay, says:— "Concerning the Universal Prayer which concludes the Essay, it may be proper to observe that some pas¬sages in the Essay having been unjustly suspected of a tendency towards Fate and Naturalism, the author composed that Prayer as the sum of all, to show that hi a system was founded in Freewill, and terminated in Piety: that the First Cause was as well the Lord and Governor as the Creator of the Universe; and that by submission to His will (the great principle enforced throughout the Essay) was not meant the suffering ourselves to be carried along with a blind determination; but a religious acquiescence, and confidence full of hope and immortality. To give all this the greater weight and reality, the Poet chose for his model The Lord's Prayer, which of all others best deserves the title prefixed to his Paraphrase." The title here referred to is "The Universal Prayer, Deo Opt. Max." The hymn is found in common use in the following forms:— (1.) Father of all in every age. This is an abbreviated form, and has been in use, especially in Unitarian hymnbooks, from an early date. (2.) Father of all, [and] Thou God of love. This cento was given in 6 st. of 4 1. in the 1815 edition of Cotterill's Selections, No. 2; again in the 1819 ed., 141; in Stowell's Psalms & Hymns, 1831, No. 179; and again in later collections. (3.) Not to this earth's contracted span. In Collyer's Collection 1812, No. 629, in 4 st. of 4 1., and others. (4.) Teach me to feel another's woe. Also in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 630, in 4 st. of 4 1., and others. (5.) Thou Great First Cause, least understood. Also in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 628, in 4 st. of 4 1., and later hymnals. (6.) When I am right Thy grace impart. Given in Kennedy, 1863, No. 1166. 2. Ye nymphs of Solyma! begin the song. The Messiah. In No. 378 of the Spectator for Wednesday, May 14, 1712, Addison gave this poem with the introduction :— "I will make no apology for entertaining the reader with the following poem, which is written by a great genius, a friend of mine, in the country, who is not ashamed to employ his wit in the praise of his Maker." Then follows the poem with the heading, “Messiah. A Sacred Eclogue, composed of several passages of Isaiah the Prophet. Written in imitation of Virgil's Pollio." It consists of 107 lines. When republished by Pope this heading was expanded into a paragraph as an "Advertisement." As a poem it is unknown to the hymn-book; but from it the following centos have passed into common use:-- (1.) As the Good Shepherd tends his fleecy care. This was given in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 626, in 6 st. of 4 1., and has been repeated in later hymnals, but usually in an abridged form. (2.) From Jesse's root, behold a branch arise No. 624 in Collyer's Collection, 1812, in 5 st. of 4 1.; and again in later hymnals. (3.) Hark! a glad voice the lonely desert cheers. No. 625 in Collyer's Collection, 1812, in 4 st. of 4 1.; in Bishop Heber's posthumous Hymns, &c, 1827, p. 106; and again in later collections. (4.) Rise crowned with light, imperial Salem rise. In the Leeds Hymn Book, 1853, No. 687, in 3 st. of 8 1., and several later collections. (5.) The Saviour comes! by ancient seers foretold. In Mercer's Church Psalm & Hymn Book, 1864, and others. It may be noted that 1. 46 of The Messiah reads in the original "He wipes the tears for ever from our eyes." This was altered by Pope at the suggestion of Steele, made to Pope in a letter dated June 1, 1712, to "From every face He wipes off every tear." This latter is the poet's authorized reading, is given in his Works, and is found also in the book form reprints of the Spectator. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Elizabeth Scott

1708 - 1776 Hymnal Number: d15 Author of "Arise, and hail the happy day" in Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. Scott, Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Scott, Independent Minister at Norwich, and sister of Thomas Scott, noted below, was born at Norwich about 1708. In 1751 she was married to Elisha Williams, who had been from 1726 to 1739 Rector of Yale College, U.S.A., and with him she proceeded to Connecticut. On the death of Mr. Williams she was married to the Hon. William Smith, of New York, who also predeceased her. She died at Wethersfield, Connecticut, June 13th, 1776. In connection with Miss Scott's hymns we are acquainted directly and indirectly with four manuscripts, each of which is interesting in itself. These are as follows:— i. The first manuscript is in the library of Yale College, New Haven, Connecticut. Mr. Franklin Bowditch Dexter, M.A., Assistant Librarian, has tabulated the hymns in this ms. for this Dictionary. He says (Jan. 29, 1889): "The label on the back of this volume is 'Hymns & Poems by Eliz. Scott.' There is no title to the ms. pages. Prefixed to the Hymns and Poems there is, however, a long and very tenderly written dedication (in prose) 'To my much Rever'd, much Lov'd, Father,' this signed ‘E. S.' and dated 1740. Then follows (without numbers) the Hymns with titles and first lines as below." Mr. Dexter adds on the first lines and the titles of 90 hymns. ii. The second manuscript is in our possession. It is headed "Poems on Several Occasion's by Miss Scott of Norwich, who married to Mr. Williams of New England, January 1750/1." Then follow 26 hymns in full. At the end this is written, "These transcribed from Mrs. Williams' Manuscript, Feb. 27, 1751, the week before she left Norwich to go to New England." The whole of these 26 hymns are in the Yale College manuscript. iii. The third manuscript we have consulted contains 8 hymns which are prefaced with these words, "Copied from a book of Mrs. Bury's, written by her Aunt Miss Elizabeth Scott, afterwards Mrs. Williamson." iv. In Dr. Dodd's Christian's Magazine for Dec. 1763 we find a writer who signs himself "CL—T." He had at that time a ms. of Miss Scott's hymns with a Dedication to her father prefixed thereto and signed "Eliz Scott." From this ms. he sent "Why droops my soul with guilt oppressed" (Christ, the Great Physician) to the Dec. number of the magazine; "Evil and few our mortal days" (Vanity of human Life), to the Feb. number, 1764, and "What finite power with ceaseless toil" (Praise for Temporal Blessings), to the April number of the same year. From these facts it is clear that before departing for America Miss Scott allowed copies of her hymns to be made from her manuscript, and it was mainly from these copies that those of her hymns composed before her marriage were printed in the English hymnbooks. None of those hymns date later than 1750. The collections in which they appeared, and through which they came into common use were the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash and Evans, 1769, and the New Selection, &c, by J. Dobell, 1806. In Ash and Evans there are 19 hymns, signed "S.," all of which are in the Yale College manyuscruot under the same first lines except "Was it for man, apostate man ?" but this also may possibly be there under another first line. In Dobell there are 20 hymns signed " Scott” of which 17 are in the Yale College ms., 2 are parts of hymns from Ash and Evans, also in that manuscript, and "Sole Sovereign of the earth and skies," also probably in the ms. under another first line. Of the 90 hymns in the Yale ms., in addition there are also in common use:— i. From Ash and Evans's Collection of Hymns, 1769. 1. God of my life, to Thee belongs. On Recovery from Sickness. 2. My God, shall I for ever mourn? Covenant-keeping God. From this "Shall e'er the shadow of a change?" is taken (st. iii.). 3. When Abram full of sacred awe. For a Fast Day. Sometimes, “Thus Abram, full of sacred awe." 4. Why, O my heart, these anxious cares? Submis-sion. ii. From J. Dobell's New Selection, &c, 1806. 5. Dare we indulge to wrath and strife? Against Wrath. 6. Eternal Spirit, 'twas Thy breath. Whitsuntide. 7. For ever shall my fainting soul. Against grieving the Holy Spirit. Sometimes "0 Lord, and shall our fainting souls?" 8. Great God, Thy penetrating eye. God All and in All. 9. The glitt'ring spangles of the sky. The Mercies of God. 10. Thy bounties, gracious Lord. Offertory. 11. Where'er the Lord shall build my house. Family Religion. --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================ Scott, Elizabeth, p. 1019, ii. Another of her hymns in common use from the Collection of Ash & Evans, 1769, No. 393, “The Lord of love will sure indulge," is given in some American hymnals as "The God of mercy will indulge" (Death of Parents), with the name of "Fawcett" prefixed in error. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)