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Edward Denny

1796 - 1889 Person Name: Edward Denny, 1796-1889 Author of "What grace, O Lord, and beauty, shone" in The Book of Praise Denny, Sir Edward, Bart . Sir Edward Denny, son of Sir E. Denny, 4th baronet, of Tralee Castle, County of Kerry, was born 2 Oct., 1796, and succeeded his father in August, 1831. He is a member of the Plymouth Brethren, and has contributed largely to their hymnody. His first publication, in which many of his hymns appeared, was A Selection of Hymns, Lond. Central Tract Depot, 1839. This was followed by Hymns & Poems , Lond., 1848 (third ed., 1870). He has also published several prose works. Many of his hymns are popular, and are in extensive use as:—" A pilgrim through this lonely world"; "Bride of the Lamb, rejoice, rejoice"; “Bright with all His crowns of glory"; “Light of the lonely pilgrim's heart”; "Sweet feast of love divine," and several others. In addition to these, which are separately annotated, and those which are confined in their use to the congregations of the "Brethren," there are also nearly 20 in limited use in Great Britain and America. Of these the following appeared, first in his Selection of Hymns, 1839; then, in the Appendix to Hymns for the Poor of the Flock, 1841; and then in his Hymns & Poems, 1848-70 :— 1. Break forth, 0 earth, in praises. Praise for Redemption. This is given in several collections in Great Britain and America. 2. Children of God, in all your need. The Great High Priest. In limited use. 3. Children of light, arise and shine. Looking unto Jesus. In numerous hymnals in G. Britain and America. 4. Children of light, awake, awake. Advent . This hymn is an application of the Parable of the Ten Virgins to the Second Coming of Christ. 5. Dear Lord, amid the throng that pressed. The Holy Women at the Cross. The use of this hymn in America is somewhat extensive. 6. Hope of our hearts, 0 Lord, appear. The Second Advent desired. In the Hymns for the Poor of the Flock, 1837; and the author's Hymns & Poems, 1848-60, and various collections in Great Britain and America. 7. Joy to the ransomed earth. Jesus the King. Its use is limited. 8. Lo 'tis the heavenly army. The Second Advent. The original of this hymn is in 4 stanzas of 10 lines and as such it is usually given: but in the Peoples Hymnal, 1867, it is arranged in 4 stanzas of 8 lines, and is also slightly altered. 9. 0 grace divine! the Saviour shed. Good Friday. In limited use. 10. 0 what a bright and blessed world. The New Earth. This hymn is based upon Gen. v. 29, as interpreted from a Millennial point of view. Christ is regarded as the Rest (Noah-Rest) of His people, and the remover of the curse from the earth. 11. Sweet was the hour, 0 Lord, to Thee. Christ at the Well of Sychar. Limited in use. 12. Thou vain deceitful world, farewell. Forsaking the World for Christ. In several collections. 13. Through Israel's land the Lord of all . Mission to the Jews. In addition to its use in its full form, it is also given as: "O Zion, when thy Saviour came," as in Dr. Walker's Psalms & Hymns, 1855-71; Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, and others. This opens with stanza ii. 14. 'Tis finish'd all—our souls to win. Jesus the Guide and Friend. In several collections. 15. 'Tis He, the Mighty Saviour comes . Missions . Given in Snepp, and one or two others. 16. 'Tis night, but O the joyful morn. Hope. In a few hymnals; also, beginning with stanzas ii., "Lord of our hearts, beloved of Thee," in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872. 17. To Calvary, Lord, in Spirit now. Good Friday. This is given in several hymnals, including Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866, &c. The next is in the Selection of 1839, and the Hymns & Poems, 1848-70:— 18. 0 Blessed Lord, Thy feeble Sheep. The Good Shepherd. Its use is limited. The three with which we close are from J. G, Deck's Psalms & Hymns, 1842, Pt. ii., and the Hymns & Poems, 1848-70:— 19. Hark to the trump! behold it breaks . The Resurrection . The design of this hymn is thus described, by the author: "These lines are supposed to be the utterance of the saints at the blessed moment when they are actually ascending to meet the Lord in the air, as described in 1 Cor. xv. 51-57 and 1 Thess. iv. 16-18. It is given in several collections." 20. Isles of the deep, rejoice, rejoice. Missions. 21. Where, in this waste unlovely [and desert] world! Rest for the Weary. Its use is limited. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ===================== Denny, Sir Edward, Bart., p. 287, ii., died in London, June 13, 1889. Additional pieces from his Selection of Hymns, 1839, are in modern collections including:— 1. O wondrous hour! when, Jesus, Thou. Good Friday . 2. 'Tis past, the dark and dreary night. Easter. 3. While in sweet communion feeding. Holy Communion. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Edward Caswall

1814 - 1878 Author of "O Jesu Christ, if Aught There Be" in The Cyber Hymnal Edward Caswall was born in 1814, at Yately, in Hampshire, where his father was a clergyman. In 1832, he went to Brasenose College, Oxford, and in 1836, took a second-class in classics. His humorous work, "The Art of Pluck," was published in 1835; it is still selling at Oxford, having passed through many editions. In 1838, he was ordained Deacon, and in 1839, Priest. He became perpetural Curate of Stratford-sub-Castle in 1840. In 1841, he resigned his incumbency and visited Ireland. In 1847, he joined the Church of Rome. In 1850, he was admitted into the Congregation of the Oratory at Birmingham, where he has since remained. He has published several works in prose and poetry. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872 ===================== Caswall, Edward, M.A., son of the Rev. R. C. Caswall, sometime Vicar of Yately, Hampshire, born at Yately, July 15, 1814, and educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, graduating in honours in 1836. Taking Holy Orders in 1838, he became in 1840 Incumbent of Stratford-sub-Castle, near Salisbury, and resigned the same in 1847. In 1850 (Mrs. Caswall having died in 1849) he was received into the Roman Catholic communion, and joined Dr. Newman at the Oratory, Edgbaston. His life thenceforth, although void of stirring incidents, was marked by earnest devotion to his clerical duties and a loving interest in the poor, the sick, and in little children. His original poems and hymns were mostly written at the Oratory. He died at Edgbaston, Jan. 2, 1878, and was buried on Jan. 7 at Redwall, near Bromsgrove, by his leader and friend Cardinal Newman. Caswall's translations of Latin hymns from the Roman Breviary and other sources have a wider circulation in modern hymnals than those of any other translator, Dr. Neale alone excepted. This is owing to his general faithfulness to the originals, and the purity of his rhythm, the latter feature specially adapting his hymns to music, and for congregational purposes. His original compositions, although marked by considerable poetical ability, are not extensive in their use, their doctrinal teaching being against their general adoption outside the Roman communion. His hymns appeared in:— (1) Lyra Catholica, which contained 197 translations from the Roman Breviary, Missal, and other sources. First ed. London, James Burns, 1849. This was reprinted in New York in 1851, with several hymns from other sources added thereto. This edition is quoted in the indices to some American hymn-books as Lyra Cath., as in Beecher's Plymouth Collection, 1855, and others. (2) Masque of Mary, and Other Poems, having in addition to the opening poem and a few miscellaneous pieces, 53 translations, and 51 hymns. 1st ed. Lon., Burns and Lambert, 1858. (3) A May Pageant and Other Poems, including 10 original hymns. Lon., Burns and Lambert, 1865. (4) Hymns and Poems, being the three preceding volumes embodied in one, with many of the hymns rewritten or revised, together with elaborate indices. 1st ed. Lon., Burns, Oates & Co., 1873. Of his original hymns about 20 are given in the Roman Catholic Crown of Jesus Hymn Book, N.D; there are also several in the Hymns for the Year, N.D., and other Roman Catholic collections. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ====================== Caswall, E. , p. 214, ii. Additional original hymns by Caswall are in the Arundel Hymns, 1902, and other collections. The following are from the Masque of Mary, &c, 1858:— 1. Christian soul, dost thou desire. After Holy Communion. 2. Come, let me for a moment cast. Holy Communion. 3. O Jesu Christ [Lord], remember. Holy Communion. 4. Oft, my soul, thyself remind. Man's Chief End. 5. Sleep, Holy Babe. Christmas. Appeared in the Rambler, June 1850, p. 528. Sometimes given as "Sleep, Jesus, sleep." 6. The glory of summer. Autumn. 7. This is the image of the queen. B. V. M. His "See! amid the winter's snow,” p. 1037, i., was published in Easy Hymn Tunes, 1851, p. 36. In addition the following, mainly altered texts or centos of his translations are also in common use:— 1. A regal throne, for Christ's dear sake. From "Riches and regal throne," p. 870, ii. 2. Come, Holy Ghost, Thy grace inspire. From "Spirit of grace and union," p. 945, i. 3. Hail! ocean star, p. 99, ii,, as 1873. In the Birmingham Oratory Hymn Book, 1850, p. 158. 4. Lovely flow'rs of martyrs, hail. This is the 1849 text. His 1873 text is "Flowers of martyrdom," p. 947, i. 5. None of all the noble cities. From "Bethlehem! of noblest cities," p. 946, ii. 6. O Jesu, Saviour of the World. From “Jesu, Redeemer of the world," p. 228, ii. 7. 0 Lady, high in glory raised. From "O Lady, high in glory, Whose," p. 945, i. The Parochial Hymn Book, 1880, has also the following original hymns by Caswall. As their use is confined to this collection, we give the numbers only:— IS os. 1, 2, 3, 159 (Poems, 1873, p. 453), 209 (1873, p. 288), 299, 324 (1873, p. 323), 357, 402, 554, 555, 558, 569 (1873, p. 334). These are from his Masque of Mary 1858. Nos. 156, 207 (1873, p. 296), 208 (1873, p. 297), 518. These are from his May Pageant, 1865. As several of these hymns do not begin with the original first lines, the original texts are indicated as found in his Poems, 1873. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Adelaide Anne Procter

1825 - 1864 Person Name: Adelaide A. Procter Author of "I do not ask, O Lord, that life may be" in The Hymnal Not to be confused with Adelaide A. Pollard. Adelaide Anne Proctor was born in London, in 1825. Her father, Brian W. Proctor, is well known by his literary nom de guerre of Barry Cornwall. In 1853, Miss Proctor became a contributor to Dickens' "Household Words." Her reputation as a poet was secured by the publication of her first volume of "Legends and Lyrics," in 1858. A second volume was added in 1860. She also published other compositions in poetry and prose. She died in 1864. She was a member of the Roman Catholic Church. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872. =============== Procter, Adelaide Anne, daughter of Bryan Waller Procter (Barry Cornwall), was born in Bedford Square, London, Oct. 30, 1825. In 1851 she entered the Roman communion, and died in London, Feb. 2, 1864. Miss Procter displayed more than usual intellectual powers at an early age. In later years she was skilled in music and languages. Her poetical gifts have been widely appreciated. Her Legends and Lyrics, A Book of Verse, was published in 1858. Of this an enlarged edition was published in 1862. Her hymns in common use from these two editions are:— 1. I do not ask, 0 Lord, that life may be. Resignation. In her Legends, &c., 1862. It is one of the most widely used of Miss Procter's hymns. 2. I thank Thee, 0 my God, Who made. Thankfulness. In her Legends, &c., 1858, p. 207, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines. In several collections, including the Hymnal Companion, it begins in an altered form, "My God, I thank Thee, Who hast made;" and in others, "Our God, we thank Thee, Who hast made." Bishop Bickersteth in his note on this hymn in the Hymnal Companion, 1816, says, "This most beautiful hymn by A. A. Procter (1858), touches the chord of thankfulness in trial, as perhaps no other hymn does, and is thus most useful for the visitation of the sick." 3. One by one the sands are going [flowing]. The links of Life. In her Legends, &c., 1858, p. 20, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. 4. Rise, for the day is passing. Redeem the Time. In her Legends, &c., 1858. Sometimes given as "Arise, for the day is passing," as in Holy Song, 1869. 5. Strive; yet I do not promise. Strive, Wait, Pray. In her Legends, &c., 1858, p. 103, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. 6. The way is long and dreary. Life a Pilgrimage. In her Legends, &c., 1858, p. 136, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines and a refrain. 7. The shadows of the evening hours. Evening. In her Legends, &c., 1862. 8. We ask for peace, 0 Lord. Peace with God. In her Legends, &c., 1858, p. 214, in 4 stanzas of 9 lines. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

William Cowper

1731 - 1800 Person Name: Cowper Author of "O for a closer walk with God" in Church Chorals and Choir Studies 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)

John Newton

1725 - 1807 Author of "Approach, my soul, the mercy-seat" in Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church John Newton (b. London, England, 1725; d. London, 1807) was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumultuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton's conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett, (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide-surveyor in Liverpool, England, Newton came under the influence of George Whitefield and John and Charles Wesley and began to study for the ministry. He was ordained in the Church of England and served in Olney (1764-1780) and St. Mary Woolnoth, London (1780-1807). His legacy to the Christian church includes his hymns as well as his collaboration with William Cowper (PHH 434) in publishing Olney Hymns (1779), to which Newton contributed 280 hymns, including “Amazing Grace.” Bert Polman ================== Newton, John, who was born in London, July 24, 1725, and died there Dec. 21, 1807, occupied an unique position among the founders of the Evangelical School, due as much to the romance of his young life and the striking history of his conversion, as to his force of character. His mother, a pious Dissenter, stored his childish mind with Scripture, but died when he was seven years old. At the age of eleven, after two years' schooling, during which he learned the rudiments of Latin, he went to sea with his father. His life at sea teems with wonderful escapes, vivid dreams, and sailor recklessness. He grew into an abandoned and godless sailor. The religious fits of his boyhood changed into settled infidelity, through the study of Shaftesbury and the instruction of one of his comrades. Disappointing repeatedly the plans of his father, he was flogged as a deserter from the navy, and for fifteen months lived, half-starved and ill-treated, in abject degradation under a slave-dealer in Africa. The one restraining influence of his life was his faithful love for his future wife, Mary Catlett, formed when he was seventeen, and she only in her fourteenth year. A chance reading of Thomas à Kempis sowed the seed of his conversion; which quickened under the awful contemplations of a night spent in steering a water-logged vessel in the face of apparent death (1748). He was then twenty-three. The six following years, during which he commanded a slave ship, matured his Christian belief. Nine years more, spent chiefly at Liverpool, in intercourse with Whitefield, Wesley, and Nonconformists, in the study of Hebrew and Greek, in exercises of devotion and occasional preaching among the Dissenters, elapsed before his ordination to the curacy of Olney, Bucks (1764). The Olney period was the most fruitful of his life. His zeal in pastoral visiting, preaching and prayer-meetings was unwearied. He formed his lifelong friendship with Cowper, and became the spiritual father of Scott the commentator. At Olney his best works—-Omicron's Letters (1774); Olney Hymns (1779); Cardiphonia, written from Olney, though published 1781—were composed. As rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, London, in the centre of the Evangelical movement (1780-1807) his zeal was as ardent as before. In 1805, when no longer able to read his text, his reply when pressed to discontinue preaching, was, "What, shall the old African blasphemer stop while he can speak!" The story of his sins and his conversion, published by himself, and the subject of lifelong allusion, was the base of his influence; but it would have been little but for the vigour of his mind (shown even in Africa by his reading Euclid drawing its figures on the sand), his warm heart, candour, tolerance, and piety. These qualities gained him the friendship of Hannah More, Cecil, Wilberforce, and others; and his renown as a guide in experimental religion made him the centre of a host of inquirers, with whom he maintained patient, loving, and generally judicious correspondence, of which a monument remains in the often beautiful letters of Cardiphonia. As a hymnwriter, Montgomery says that he was distanced by Cowper. But Lord Selborne's contrast of the "manliness" of Newton and the "tenderness" of Cowper is far juster. A comparison of the hymns of both in The Book of Praise will show no great inequality between them. Amid much that is bald, tame, and matter-of-fact, his rich acquaintance with Scripture, knowledge of the heart, directness and force, and a certain sailor imagination, tell strongly. The one splendid hymn of praise, "Glorious things of thee are spoken," in the Olney collection, is his. "One there is above all others" has a depth of realizing love, sustained excellence of expression, and ease of development. "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds" is in Scriptural richness superior, and in structure, cadence, and almost tenderness, equal to Cowper's "Oh! for a closer walk with God." The most characteristic hymns are those which depict in the language of intense humiliation his mourning for the abiding sins of his regenerate life, and the sense of the withdrawal of God's face, coincident with the never-failing conviction of acceptance in The Beloved. The feeling may be seen in the speeches, writings, and diaries of his whole life. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] A large number of Newton's hymns have some personal history connected with them, or were associated with circumstances of importance. These are annotated under their respective first lines. Of the rest, the known history of which is confined to the fact that they appeared in the Olney Hymns, 1779, the following are in common use:— 1. Be still, my heart, these anxious cares. Conflict. 2. Begone, unbelief, my Saviour is near. Trust. 3. By the poor widow's oil and meal. Providence. 4. Chief Shepherd of Thy chosen sheep. On behalf of Ministers. 5. Darkness overspreads us here. Hope. 6. Does the Gospel-word proclaim. Rest in Christ. 7. Fix my heart and eyes on Thine. True Happiness. 8. From Egypt lately freed. The Pilgrim's Song. 9. He Who on earth as man was Known. Christ the Rock. 10. How blest are they to whom the Lord. Gospel Privileges. 11. How blest the righteous are. Death of the Righteous. 12. How lost was my [our] condition. Christ the Physician. 13. How tedious and tasteless the hours. Fellowship with Christ. 14. How welcome to the saints [soul] when pressed. Sunday. 15. Hungry, and faint, and poor. Before Sermon. 16. In mercy, not in wrath, rebuke. Pleading for Mercy. 17. In themselves, as weak as worms. Power of Prayer. 18. Incarnate God, the soul that knows. The Believer's Safety. 19. Jesus, Who bought us with His blood. The God of Israel. "Teach us, 0 Lord, aright to plead," is from this hymn. 20. Joy is a [the] fruit that will not grow. Joy. 21. Let hearts and tongues unite. Close of the Year. From this "Now, through another year," is taken. 22. Let us adore the grace that seeks. New Year. 23. Mary to her [the] Saviour's tomb. Easter. 24. Mercy, 0 Thou Son of David. Blind Bartimeus. 25. My harp untun'd and laid aside. Hoping for a Revival. From this "While I to grief my soul gave way" is taken. 26. Nay, I cannot let thee go. Prayer. Sometimes, "Lord, I cannot let Thee go." 27. Now may He Who from the dead. After Sermon. 28. 0 happy they who know the Lord, With whom He deigns to dwell. Gospel Privilege. 29. O Lord, how vile am I. Lent. 30. On man in His own Image made. Adam. 31. 0 speak that gracious word again. Peace through Pardon. 32. Our Lord, Who knows full well. The Importunate Widow. Sometimes altered to "Jesus, Who knows full well," and again, "The Lord, Who truly knows." 33. Physician of my sin-sick soul. Lent. 34. Pleasing spring again is here. Spring. 35. Poor, weak, and worthless, though I am. Jesus the Friend. 36. Prepare a thankful song. Praise to Jesus. 37. Refreshed by the bread and wine. Holy Communion. Sometimes given as "Refreshed by sacred bread and wine." 38. Rejoice, believer, in the Lord. Sometimes “Let us rejoice in Christ the Lord." Perseverance. 39. Salvation, what a glorious plan. Salvation. 40. Saviour, shine and cheer my soul. Trust in Jesus. The cento "Once I thought my mountain strong," is from this hymn. 41. Saviour, visit Thy plantation. Prayer for the Church. 42. See another year [week] is gone. Uncertainty of Life. 43. See the corn again in ear. Harvest. 44. Sinner, art thou still secure? Preparation for the Future. 45. Sinners, hear the [thy] Saviour's call. Invitation. 46. Sovereign grace has power alone. The two Malefactors. 47. Stop, poor sinner, stop and think. Caution and Alarm. 48. Sweeter sounds than music knows. Christmas. 49. Sweet was the time when first I felt. Joy in Believing. 50. Ten thousand talents once I owed. Forgiveness and Peace. 51. The grass and flowers, which clothe the field. Hay-time. 52. The peace which God alone reveals. Close of Service. 53. Thy promise, Lord, and Thy command. Before Sermon. 54. Time, by moments, steals away. The New Year. 55. To Thee our wants are known. Close of Divine Service. 56. We seek a rest beyond the skies. Heaven anticipated. 57. When any turn from Zion's way. Jesus only. 58. When Israel, by divine command. God, the Guide and Sustainer of Life. 59. With Israel's God who can compare? After Sermon. 60. Yes, since God Himself has said it. Confidence. 61. Zion, the city of our God. Journeying Zionward. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================= Newton, J., p. 803, i. Another hymn in common use from the Olney Hymns, 1779, is "Let me dwell on Golgotha" (Holy Communion). --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ----- John Newton was born in London, July 24, 1725. His mother died when he was seven years old. In his eleventh year he accompanied his father, a sea captain, on a voyage. For several years his life was one of dissipation and crime. He was disgraced while in the navy. Afterwards he engaged in the slave trade. Returning to England in 1748, the vessel was nearly wrecked in a storm. This peril forced solemn reflection upon him, and from that time he was a changed man. It was six years, however, before he relinquished the slave trade, which was not then regarded as an unlawful occupation. But in 1754, he gave up sea-faring life, and holding some favourable civil position, began also religious work. In 1764, in his thirty-ninth year, he entered upon a regular ministry as the Curate of Olney. In this position he had intimate intercourse with Cowper, and with him produced the "Olney Hymns." In 1779, Newton became Rector of S. Mary Woolnoth, in London, in which position he became more widely known. It was here he died, Dec. 21, 1807, His published works are quite numerous, consisting of sermons, letters, devotional aids, and hymns. He calls his hymns "The fruit and expression of his own experience." --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872 See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church =======================

Bland Tucker

1895 - 1984 Person Name: F. Bland Tucker, 1895-1984 Author (st. 4) of "I to the hills will lift mine eyes" in The Hymnal 1982 Francis Bland Tucker (born Norfolk, Virginia, January 6, 1895). The son of a bishop and brother of a Presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, he was educated at the University of Virginia, B.A., 1914, and at Virginia Theological Seminary, B.D., 1920; D.D., 1944. He was ordained deacon in 1918, priest in 1920, after having served as a private in Evacuation Hospital No.15 of the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I. His first charge was as a rector of Grammer Parish, Brunswick County, in southern Virginia. From 1925 to 1945, he was rector of historic St. John's Church, Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Then until retirement in 1967 he was rector of John Wesley's parish in Georgia, old Christ Church, Savannah. In "Reflections of a Hymn Writer" (The Hymn 30.2, April 1979, pp.115–116), he speaks of never having a thought of writing a hymn until he was named a member of the Joint Commission on the Revision of the Hymnal in 1937 which prepared the Hymnal 1940

Isaac Watts

1674 - 1748 Person Name: Watts Author of "Alas! and did my Saviour bleed" in Church Book 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

Reginald Heber

1783 - 1826 Author of "O Saviour, whom that holy morn" in Church Book Reginald Heber was born in 1783 into a wealthy, educated family. He was a bright youth, translating a Latin classic into English verse by the time he was seven, entering Oxford at 17, and winning two awards for his poetry during his time there. After his graduation he became rector of his father's church in the village of Hodnet near Shrewsbury in the west of England where he remained for 16 years. He was appointed Bishop of Calcutta in 1823 and worked tirelessly for three years until the weather and travel took its toll on his health and he died of a stroke. Most of his 57 hymns, which include "Holy, Holy, Holy," are still in use today. -- Greg Scheer, 1995 ==================== Heber, Reginald, D.D. Born at Malpas, April 21, 1783, educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; Vicar of Hodnet, 1807; Bishop of Calcutta, 1823; died at Trichinopoly, India, April 3, 1826. The gift of versification shewed itself in Heber's childhood; and his Newdigate prize poem Palestine, which was read to Scott at breakfast in his rooms at Brazenose, Oxford, and owed one of its most striking passages to Scott's suggestion, is almost the only prize poem that has won a permanent place in poetical literature. His sixteen years at Hodnet, where he held a halfway position between a parson and a squire, were marked not only by his devoted care of his people, as a parish priest, but by literary work. He was the friend of Milman, Gifford, Southey, and others, in the world of letters, endeared to them by his candour, gentleness, "salient playfulness," as well as learning and culture. He was on the original staff of The Quarterly Review; Bampton Lecturer (1815); and Preacher at Lincoln's Inn (1822). His edition of Jeremy Taylor is still the classic edition. During this portion of his life he had often had a lurking fondness for India, had traced on the map Indian journeys, and had been tempted to wish himself Bishop of Calcutta. When he was forty years old the literary life was closed by his call to the Episcopate. No memory of Indian annals is holier than that of the three years of ceaseless travel, splendid administration, and saintly enthusiasm, of his tenure of the see of Calcutta. He ordained the first Christian native—Christian David. His first visitation ranged through Bengal, Bombay, and Ceylon; and at Delhi and Lucknow he was prostrated with fever. His second visitation took him through the scenes of Schwartz's labours in Madras Presidency to Trichinopoly, where on April 3,1826, he confirmed forty-two persons, and he was deeply moved by the impression of the struggling mission, so much so that “he showed no appearance of bodily exhaus¬tion." On his return from the service ”He retired into his own room, and according to his invariable custom, wrote on the back of the address on Confirmation 'Trichinopoly, April 3, 1826.' This was his last act, for immediately on taking off his clothes, he went into a large cold bath, where he had bathed the two preceding mornings, but which was now the destined agent of his removal to Paradise. Half an hour after, his servant, alarmed at his long absence, entered the room and found him a lifeless corpse." Life, &c, 1830, vol. ii. p. 437. Heber's hymns were all written during the Hodnet period. Even the great missionary hymn, "From Greenland's icy mountains," notwithstanding the Indian allusions ("India's coral strand," "Ceylon's isle"), was written before he received the offer of Calcutta. The touching funeral hymn, "Thou art gone to the grave," was written on the loss of his first babe, which was a deep grief to him. Some of the hymns were published (1811-16) in the Christian Observer, the rest were not published till after his death. They formed part of a ms. collection made for Hodnet (but not published), which contained, besides a few hymns from older and special sources, contributions by Milman. The first idea of the collection appears in a letter in 1809 asking for a copy of the Olney Hymns, which he "admired very much." The plan was to compose hymns connected with the Epistles and Gospels, to be sung after the Nicene Creed. He was the first to publish sermons on the Sunday services (1822), and a writer in The Guardian has pointed out that these efforts of Heber were the germs of the now familiar practice, developed through the Christian Year (perhaps following Ken's Hymns on the Festivals), and by Augustus Hare, of welding together sermon, hymnal, and liturgy. Heber tried to obtain from Archbishop Manners Sutton and the Bishop of London (1820) authorization of his ms. collection of hymns by the Church, enlarging on the "powerful engine" which hymns were among Dissenters, and the irregular use of them in the church, which it was impossible to suppress, and better to regulate. The authorization was not granted. The lyric spirit of Scott and Byron passed into our hymns in Heber's verse; imparting a fuller rhythm to the older measures, as illustrated by "Oh, Saviour, is Thy promise fled," or the martial hymn, "The Son of God goes forth to war;" pressing into sacred service the freer rhythms of contemporary poetry (e.g. "Brightest and best of the sons of the morning"; "God that madest earth and heaven"); and aiming at consistent grace of literary expression.. Their beauties and faults spring from this modern spirit. They have not the scriptural strength of our best early hymns, nor the dogmatic force of the best Latin ones. They are too flowing and florid, and the conditions of hymn composition are not sufficiently understood. But as pure and graceful devotional poetry, always true and reverent, they are an unfailing pleasure. The finest of them is that majestic anthem, founded on the rhythm of the English Bible, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty." The greatest evidence of Heber's popularity as a hymnwriter, and his refined taste as a compiler, is found in the fact that the total contents of his ms. collection which were given in his posthumous Hymns written and adapted to the Weekly Church Service of the Year. London, J. Murray, 1827; which included 57 hymns by Heber, 12 by Milman, and 29 by other writers, are in common in Great Britain and America at the present time. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] Of Bishop Heber's hymns, about one half are annotated under their respective first lines. Those given below were published in Heber's posthumous Hymns, &c, 1827. Some of them are in extensive use in Great Britain and America; but as they possess no special histories they are grouped together as from the Hymns, &c, 1827:— 1. Beneath our feet, and o'er our head. Burial. 2. Creator of the rolling flood. St. Peter's Day, or, Gospel for 6th Sunday after Trinity. 3. Lo, the lilies of the field. Teachings of Nature: or, Gospel for 15th Sunday after Trinity. 4. 0 God, by Whom the seed is given. Sexagesima. 6. 0 God, my sins are manifold. Forgiveness, or, Gospel for 22nd S. after Trinity. 6. 0 hand of bounty, largely spread. Water into Wine, or, Gospel for 2nd S. after Epiphany. 7. 0 King of earth, and air, and sea. Feeding the Multitude; or, Gospel for 4th S. in Lent. 8. 0 more than merciful, Whose bounty gave. Good Friday. 9. 0 most merciful! 0 most bountiful. Introit Holy Communion. 10. 0 Thou, Whom neither time nor space. God unsearchable, or, Gospel for 5th Sunday in Lent. 11. 0 weep not o'er thy children's tomb. Innocents Day. 12. Room for the proud! Ye sons of clay. Dives and Lazarus, or, Gospel for 1st Sunday after Trinity. 13. Sit thou on my right hand, my Son, saith the Lord. Ascension. 14. Spirit of truth, on this thy day. Whit-Sunday. 15. The feeble pulse, the gasping breath. Burial, or, Gospel for 1st S. after Trinity. 16. The God of glory walks His round. Septuagesima, or, the Labourers in the Marketplace. 17. The sound of war in earth and air. Wrestling against Principalities and Powers, or, Epistle for 2lst Sunday after Trinity. 18. The world is grown old, her pleasures are past. Advent; or, Epistle for 4th Sunday in Advent. 19. There was joy in heaven. The Lost Sheep; or, Gospel for 3rd S. after Trinity. 20. Though sorrows rise and dangers roll. St. James's Day. 21. To conquer and to save, the Son of God. Christ the Conqueror. 22. Virgin-born, we bow before Thee. The Virgin Mary. Blessed amongst women, or, Gospel for 3rd S. in Lent. 23. Wake not, 0 mother, sounds of lamentation. Raising the Widow's Son, or, Gospel for 16th S. after Trinity. 24. When on her Maker's bosom. Holy Matrimony, or, Gospel for 2nd S. after Epiphany. 25. When through the torn sail the wild tempest is streaming. Stilling the Sea, or, Gospel for 4th Sunday after Epiphany. 26. Who yonder on the desert heath. The Good Samaritan, or, Gospel for 13th Sunday after Trinity. This list is a good index of the subjects treated of in those of Heber's hymns which are given under their first lines, and shows that he used the Gospels far more than the Epistles in his work. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

John Logan

1748 - 1788 Person Name: Logan Author of "O God of Bethel!" in Redemption Songs Logan, John, son of a farmer, born at Fala, Midlothian, 1748, and educated at Edinburgh University, in due course entering the ministry of the Church of Scotland and becoming the minister of South Leith in 1770. During the time he held this charge he delivered a course of lectures on philosophy and history with much success. While he was thus engaged, the chair of Universal History in the University became vacant; but as a candidate he was unsuccessful. A tragedy, entitled Runnamede, followed. He offered it to the manager of Covent Garden Theatre, but it was interdicted by the Lord Chamberlain "upon suspicion of having a seditious tendency." It was subsequently acted in Edinburgh. In 1775 he formed one of the Committee by whom the Translations and Paraphrases of the Church of Scotland was prepared. In 1782 he was compelled to resign his charge at Leith in order to prevent deposition, and finally, having passed on to London, he supported himself partly by his pen, and died there, Dec. 28, 1788. [Also, see Bruce, Michael] The names of Michael Bruce and John Logan are brought together because of the painful controversy which has long prevailed concerning the authorship of certain Hymns and Paraphrases of Holy Scripture which are in extensive use in the Christian Church both at home and abroad. During the latter years of Bruce's short life he wrote various Poems, and also Hymns for a singing class at Kinnesswood, which were well known to his family and neighbours, and were eventually copied out by Bruce himself in a quarto MS. book, with the hope that some day he might see them in print. Immediately upon his death, in 1767, Logan called upon his father and requested the loan of this book that he might publish the contents for the benefit of the family. This was granted. Not till three years afterwards did a certain work, containing seventeen poems, and entitled Poems on Several Occasions, by Michael Bruce, 1770, appear, with a Preface in which it was stated that some of the Poems were by others than Bruce. Bruce's father immediately pointed out the absence from the volume of certain hymns which he called his son's "Gospel Sonnets," and members of the singing class at Kinnesswood also noted the absence of hymns with which they were familiar. Letters of remonstrance and demands for the return of the quarto manuscript book of Bruce by the father remaining unanswered, led him eventually to see Logan in person. No book was forthcoming, a few scraps of manuscript only were returned, and Logan accounted for the absence of the book by saying he feared "that the servants had singed fowls with it." For a time the matter rested here, only to be revived with renewed interest by the publication, in 1781 (14 years after the death of Bruce, and 11 after the Poems, &c, were issued), of Poems. By the Rev. Mr. Logan, One of the Ministers of Leith. In this volume, an "Ode to the Cuckoo," a poem of exquisite beauty, and other poetical pieces which appeared in the Poems on Several Occasions, by Michael Bruce, were repeated, and claimed as his own by Logan. In addition, certain Hymns and Paraphrases were included, most of which were of sterling merit, and poetical excellence. It has been shown, we think, most conclusively by Dr. Mackelvie in his Life of Bruce prefixed to the Poems, 1837 and by Dr. Grosart in his Works of M. Bruce, 1865, that the "Ode to the Cuckoo," "Lochleven," and other poetical pieces were taken from MS. book of M. Bruce. The Hymns and Paraphrases, most of which were included in the Translations and Paraphrases during the same year, were also claimed for Bruce. Until clearer evidence is brought forward on behalf of Bruce, the hymns, or paraphrases, following must be ascribed to John Logan: — "Who can resist th'Almighty arm"; "In streets and op'nings of the gates”; "Thus speaks the heathen: How shall man"; "Take comfort, Christians, when your friends"; "The hour of my departure's come." The following, which are found only in the Translations and Paraphrases of 1781, are claimed by W. Cameron for Logan, and have never been seriously disputed by the friends of Bruce, the second being original, the first a revise from the Translations and Paraphrases of 1745; and the third a revise of Doddridge and Dr. Hugh Blair:— "Let Christian faith and hope dispel"; “Thus speaks the high and lofty One"; "What though no flowers the fig-tree clothe." In addition, we see no cause to deny to Logan the few changes, and new stanza, which are found in Doddridge's "0 God of Bethel, by Whose hand." Of the above hymns 5 are recasts of hymns in the Scottish Translations and Paraphrases of 1745. Those are: "Behold the mountain of the Lord " (see "In latter days the mount of God "); "When Jesus by the Virgin brought" (see "Now let Thy servant die in peace"); "Behold the Ambassador divine" (see "Behold my Servant, see Him rise"); "Let Christian faith and hope dispel" (see “Now let our souls ascend above"); and "What though no flowers the fig-tree clothe" (see "So firm the saints' foundation stands"). …It is curious to note that every hymn which we have ascribed to M. Bruce has come into more or less extensive use outside of the Translations and Paraphrases, and that not one which we have ascribed to Logan, except "Let Christian faith and hope dispel," and “Take comfort, Christians," &c, is found beyond that work, unless we give to Logan the plaintive "The hour of my departure's come" (which Dr. Grosart claims for Bruce), and the recast "O God of Bethel, by Whose hand," whose success is due to Doddridge. This is the verdict of 100 years' use of those hymns, and shows conclusively the poetic strength of Bruce and the weakness of Logan. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Logan_%28minister%29

William Cutter

1801 - 1867 Author of "Who is thy neighbor?" in The Beacon Song and Service book Cutter, William, born at North Yarmouth, Maine, May 15, 1801, and was removed in childhood to Portland, and educated at Bowdoin College, graduating in 1821. He was subsequently engaged for some time in business in Portland, and again in Brooklyn, New York. Died Feb. 8, 1867. Mr. Cutter, who was a member of the Congregational body, was a deserving writer, who has hitherto missed his due meed of acknowledgment. To his friend Mr. Colesworthy we are indebted for the details of his life and hymnological work. His hymns include:— 1. Thy neighbour? it is he whom thou. Christian Brotherhood. This appeared in the Christian Mirror for May 30, 1828 (Mr. Colesworthy thinks that he set the types for it), and again in Cheever'sAmerican Poetry, 1831. An altered form of the hymn, "Who is thy neighbour? he whom thou," soon came into use, and was often printed before it was included anonymously in W. B. O. Peabody's Unitarian Springfield Collection, 1835. From being found in that collection it has been attributed to Peabody in error. 2. Hide not thy talent in the earth. Duty. Appeared in the Christian Mirror, Oct. 10, IS28. In some collections it begins with stanza ii., "What if the little rain should say." 3. She loved her Saviour, and to Him. Thankfulness and Duty. Was first published in the Christian Mirror, but the date is uncertain. It was reprinted by Cheever in his American Poetry, 1831. In addition to the above, Cutter wrote several hymns which appeared in the Mirror, and in the Sunday School Instructor, of which he and Mr. Colesworthy were joint editors. His hymns are unknown to the English collections. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)