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Henry Francis Lyte
1793 - 1847 Person Name: Henry F. Lyte Hymnal Number: d1 Author of "Abide with me, fast falls the eventide" in Beautiful Songs of Zion, a Collection of New and Old Songs Lyte, Henry Francis, M.A., son of Captain Thomas Lyte, was born at Ednam, near Kelso, June 1, 1793, and educated at Portora (the Royal School of Enniskillen), and at Trinity College, Dublin, of which he was a Scholar, and where he graduated in 1814. During his University course he distinguished himself by gaining the English prize poem on three occasions. At one time he had intended studying Medicine; but this he abandoned for Theology, and took Holy Orders in 1815, his first curacy being in the neighbourhood of Wexford. In 1817, he removed to Marazion, in Cornwall. There, in 1818, he underwent a great spiritual change, which shaped and influenced the whole of his after life, the immediate cause being the illness and death of a brother clergyman. Lyte says of him:—
"He died happy under the belief that though he had deeply erred, there was One whose death and sufferings would atone for his delinquencies, and be accepted for all that he had incurred;"
and concerning himself he adds:—
"I was greatly affected by the whole matter, and brought to look at life and its issue with a different eye than before; and I began to study my Bible, and preach in another manner than I had previously done."
From Marazion he removed, in 1819, to Lymington, where he composed his Tales on the Lord's Prayer in verse (pub. in 1826); and in 1823 he was appointed Perpetual Curate of Lower Brixham, Devon. That appointment he held until his death, on Nov. 20, 1847. His Poems of Henry Vaughan, with a Memoir, were published in 1846.
His own Poetical works were:—
(1) Poems chiefly Religious 1833; 2nd ed. enlarged, 1845. (2) The Spirit of the Psalms, 1834, written in the first instance for use in his own Church at Lower Brixham, and enlarged in 1836; (3) Miscellaneous Poems (posthumously) in 1868. This last is a reprint of the 1845 ed. of his Poems, with "Abide with me" added. (4) Remains, 1850.
Lyte's Poems have been somewhat freely drawn upon by hymnal compilers; but by far the larger portion of his hymns found in modern collections are from his Spirit of the Psalms. In America his hymns are very popular. In many instances, however, through mistaking Miss Auber's (q. v.) Spirit of the Psalms, 1829, for his, he is credited with more than is his due. The Andover Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858, is specially at fault in this respect. The best known and most widely used of his compositions are "Abide with me, fast falls the eventide;” “Far from my heavenly home;" "God of mercy, God of grace;" "Pleasant are Thy courts above;" "Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;" and "There is a safe and secret place." These and several others are annotated under their respective first lines: the rest in common use are:—
i. From his Poems chiefly Religious, 1833 and 1845.
1. Above me hangs the silent sky. For Use at Sea.
2. Again, 0 Lord, I ope mine eyes. Morning.
3. Hail to another Year. New Year.
4. How good, how faithful, Lord, art Thou. Divine care of Men.
5. In tears and trials we must sow (1845). Sorrow followed by Joy.
6. My [our] rest is in heaven, my [our] rest is not here. Heaven our Home.
7. 0 Lord, how infinite Thy love. The Love of God in Christ.
8. Omniscient God, Thine eye divine. The Holy Ghost Omniscient.
9. The leaves around me falling. Autumn.
10. The Lord hath builded for Himself. The Universe the Temple of God.
11. Vain were all our toil and labour. Success is of God.
12. When at Thy footstool, Lord, I bend. Lent.
13. When earthly joys glide swift away. Ps. cii.
14. Wilt Thou return to me, O Lord. Lent.
15. With joy we hail the sacred day. Sunday.
ii. From his Spirit of the Psalms, 1834.
16. Be merciful to us, O God. Ps. lvii.
17. Blest is the man who knows the Lord. Ps. cxii.
18. Blest is the man whose spirit shares. Ps. xli.
19. From depths of woe to God I cry. Ps. cxxxx.
20. Gently, gently lay Thy rod. Ps. vi.
21. Glorious Shepherd of the sheep. Ps. xxiii.
22. Glory and praise to Jehovah on high. Ps. xxix.
23. God in His Church is known. Ps. lxxvi.
24. God is our Refuge, tried and proved. Ps. xlvi.
25. Great Source of my being. Ps. lxxiii.
26. Hear, O Lord, our supplication. Ps. lxiv.
27. How blest the man who fears the Lord. Ps.cxxviii.
28. Humble, Lord, my haughty spirit. Ps. cxxxi.
29. In this wide, weary world of care. Ps. cxxxii.
30. In vain the powers of darkness try. Ps.lii.
31. Jehovah speaks, let man be awed. Ps. xlix.
32. Judge me, O Lord, and try my heart. Ps. xxvi.
33. Judge me, O Lord, to Thee I fly. Ps. xliii.
34. Lord, I have sinned, but O forgive. Ps. xli.
35. Lord, my God, in Thee I trust. Ps. vii.
36. Lord of the realms above, Our Prophet, &c. Ps.xlv.
37. Lone amidst the dead and dying. Ps. lxii.
38. Lord God of my salvation. Ps. lxxxviii.
39. Lord, I look to Thee for all. Ps. xxxi.
40. Lord, I would stand with thoughtful eye. Ps. lxix.
41. Lord, my God, in Thee I trust. Ps. vii.
42. My God, my King, Thy praise I sing. Ps. cviii.
43. My God, what monuments I see. Ps. xxxvi.
44. My spirit on [to] Thy care. Ps. xxxi.
45. My trust is in the Lord. Ps. xi.
46. Not unto us, Almighty Lord [God]. Ps. cxv.
47. O God of glory, God of grace. Ps. xc.
48. O God of love, how blest are they. Ps. xxxvii.
49. O God of love, my God Thou art. Ps. lxiii.
50. O God of truth and grace. Ps. xviii.
51. O had I, my Saviour, the wings of a dove. Ps. lv.
52. O how blest the congregation. Ps. lxxxix.
53. O how safe and [how] happy he. Ps. xci.
54. O plead my cause, my Saviour plead. Ps. xxxv.
55. O praise the Lord, 'tis sweet to raise. Ps. cxlvii.
56. O praise the Lord; ye nations, pour. Ps. cxvii.
57. O praise ye the Lord With heart, &c. Ps. cxlix.
58. O that the Lord's salvation. Ps. xiv.
59. O Thou Whom thoughtless men condemn. Ps. xxxvi.
60. Of every earthly stay bereft. Ps. lxxiv.
61. Our hearts shall praise Thee, God of love. Ps. cxxxviii.
62. Pilgrims here on earth and strangers. Ps. xvi.
63. Praise for Thee, Lord, in Zion waits. Ps. lxv.
64. Praise to God on high be given. Ps. cxxxiv.
65. Praise ye the Lord, His servants, raise. Ps. cxiii.
66. Redeem'd from guilt, redeem'd from fears. Ps. cxvi.
67. Save me by Thy glorious name. Ps. liv.
68. Shout, ye people, clap your hands. Ps. xlvii.
69. Sing to the Lord our might. Ps. lxxxi.
70. Strangers and pilgrims here below. Ps. cix.
71. Sweet is the solemn voice that calls. Ps. cxxii.
72. The Church of God below. Ps. lxxxvii.
73. The Lord is King, let earth be glad. Ps. xcvii.
74. The Lord is on His throne. Ps. xciii.
75. The Lord is our Refuge, the Lord is our Guide. Ps. xlvii.
76. The mercies of my God and King. Ps. lxxxix.
77. The Lord Who died on earth for men. Ps. xxi.
78. Tis a pleasant thing to fee. Ps. cxxxiii.
79. Thy promise, Lord, is perfect peace. Ps. iii.
80. Unto Thee I lift mine [my] eyes. Ps. cxxiii.
81. Whom shall [should] we love like Thee? Ps. xviii.
Lyte's versions of the Psalms are criticised where their sadness, tenderness and beauty are set forth. His hymns in the Poems are characterized by the same features, and rarely swell out into joy and gladness.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
==================
Lyte, Henry Francis, p. 706, i. Additional versions of Psalms are in common use:--
1. Lord, a thousand foes surround us. Psalms lix.
2. Praise, Lord, for Thee in Zion waits. Psalms lxv.
3. The Christian like his Lord of old. Psalms cxl.
4. The Lord of all my Shepherd is. Psalms xxiii.
5. The Lord of heaven to earth is come. Psalms xcviii.
6. Thy mercy, Lord, the sinner's hope. Psalms xxxvi.
7. To Thee, O Lord, in deep distress. Psalms cxlii. Sometimes given as "To God I turned in wild distress."
8. Uphold me, Lord, too prone to stray. Psalms i.
9. When Jesus to our [my] rescue came. Psalms cxxvi. These versions appeared in the 1st edition of Lyte's Spirit of the Psalms, 1834. It must be noted that the texts of the 1834, the 1836, and the 3rd ed., 1858, vary considerably, but Lyte was not responsible for the alterations and omissions in the last, which was edited by another hand for use at St. Mark's, Torquay.
Lyte's version of Psalms xxix., "Glory and praise to Jehovah on high" (p. 706, ii., 22), first appeared in his Poems, 1st ed., 1833, p. 25. Read also No. 39 as "Lord, I look for all to Thee."
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
Henry Francis Lyte
James Montgomery
1771 - 1854 Person Name: James Mongtomery Hymnal Number: d2 Author of "According to Thy gracious word, In meek humility" in Beautiful Songs of Zion, a Collection of New and Old Songs James Montgomery (b. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1771; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1854), the son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school, Montgomery inherited a strong religious bent, a passion for missions, and an independent mind. He was editor of the Sheffield Iris (1796-1827), a newspaper that sometimes espoused radical causes. Montgomery was imprisoned briefly when he printed a song that celebrated the fall of the Bastille and again when he described a riot in Sheffield that reflected unfavorably on a military commander. He also protested against slavery, the lot of boy chimney sweeps, and lotteries. Associated with Christians of various persuasions, Montgomery supported missions and the British Bible Society. He published eleven volumes of poetry, mainly his own, and at least four hundred hymns. Some critics judge his hymn texts to be equal in quality to those of Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley . Many were published in Thomas Cotterill's Selection of Psalms and Hymns (1819 edition) and in Montgomery's own Songs of Zion (1822), Christian Psalmist (1825), and Original Hymns (1853).
Bert Polman
========================
Montgomery, James, son of John Montgomery, a Moravian minister, was born at Irvine, Ayrshire, Nov. 4, 1771. In 1776 he removed with his parents to the Moravian Settlement at Gracehill, near Ballymena, county of Antrim. Two years after he was sent to the Fulneck Seminary, Yorkshire. He left Fulneck in 1787, and entered a retail shop at Mirfield, near Wakefield. Soon tiring of that he entered upon a similar situation at Wath, near Rotherham, only to find it quite as unsuitable to his taste as the former. A journey to London, with the hope of finding a publisher for his youthful poems ended in failure; and in 1792 he was glad to leave Wath for Shefield to join Mr. Gales, an auctioneer, bookseller, and printer of the Sheffield Register newspaper, as his assistant. In 1794 Mr. Gales left England to avoid a political prosecution. Montgomery took the Sheffield Register in hand, changed its name to The Sheffield Iris, and continued to edit it for thirty-one years. During the next two years he was imprisoned twice, first for reprinting therein a song in commemoration of "The Fall of the Bastille," and the second for giving an account of a riot in Sheffield. The editing of his paper, the composition and publication of his poems and hynms, the delivery of lectures on poetry in Sheffield and at the Royal Institution, London, and the earnest advocacy of Foreign Missions and the Bible Society in many parts of the country, gave great variety but very little of stirring incident to his life. In 1833 he received a Royal pension of £200 a year. He died in his sleep, at the Mount, Sheffield, April 30, 1854, and was honoured with a public funeral. A statue was erected to his memory in the Sheffield General Cemetery, and a stained glass window in the Parish Church. A Wesleyan chapel and a public hall are also named in his honour. Montgomery's principal poetical works, including those which he edited, were:—
(1) Prison Amusements, 1797; (2) The Wanderer of Switzerland, 1806; (3) The West Indies, 1807; (4) The World before the Flood, 1813; (5) Greenland and Other Poems, 1819; (6) Songs of Zion, 1822; (7) The Christian Psalmist, 1825; (8) The Christian Poet, 1825; (9) The Pelican Island, 1828; (10) The Poet’s Portfolio, 1835; (11) Original Hymns for Public, Private, and Social Devotion, 1853. He also published minor pieces at various times, and four editions of his Poetical Works, the first in 1828, the second in 1836, the third in 1841, and the fourth in 1854. Most of these works contained original hymns. He also contributed largely to Collyer's Collection, 1812, and other hymnbooks published during the next 40 years, amongst which the most noticeable was Cotterill's Selections of 1819, in which more than 50 of his compositions appeared. In his Christian Psalmist, 1825, there are 100 of his hymns, and in his Original Hymns, 1853, 355 and 5 doxologies. His Songs of Zion, 1822, number 56. Deducting those which are repeated in the Original Hymns, there remain about 400 original compositions.
Of Montgomery's 400 hymns (including his versions of the Psalms) more than 100 are still in common use. With the aid of Montgomery's MSS. we have given a detailed account of a large number. The rest are as follows:—
i. Appeared in Collyer's Collection, 1812.
1. Jesus, our best beloved Friend. Personal Dedication to Christ.
2. When on Sinai's top I see. Sinai, Tabor, and Calvary.
ii. Appeared in Cotterill's Selection, 1819.
3. Come to Calvary's holy mountain. The Open Fountain.
4. God in the high and holy place. God in Nature. The cento in Com. Praise, 1879, and others, "If God hath made this world so fair," is from this hymn.
5. Hear me, O Lord, in my distress. Ps. cxliii.
6. Heaven is a place of rest from sin. Preparation for Heaven.
7. I cried unto the Lord most just. Ps. cxlii.
8. Lord, let my prayer like incense rise. Ps. cxxxix.
9. O bless the Lord, my soul! His grace to thee proclaim. Ps. ciii.
10. Out of the depths of woe. Ps. cxxx. Sometimes "When from the depths of woe."
11. The world in condemnation lay. Redemption.
12. Where are the dead? In heaven or hell? The Living and the Dead.
iii. Appeared in his Songs of Zion, 1822.
13. Give glory to God in the highest. Ps. xxix.
14. Glad was my heart to hear. Ps. cxxii.
15. God be merciful to me. Ps. lxix.
16. God is my strong salvation. Ps. xxvii.
17. Hasten, Lord, to my release. Ps. lxx.
18. Have mercy on me, O my God. Ps. li.
19. Hearken, Lord, to my complaints. Ps. xlii.
20. Heralds of creation cry. Ps. cxlviii.
21. How beautiful the sight. Ps. cxxxiii.
22. How precious are Thy thoughts of peace. Ps. cxxxix.
23. I love the Lord, He lent an ear. Ps. cxvi.
24. In time of tribulation. Ps. lxxvii.
25. Jehovah is great, and great be His praise. Ps. xlviii. Sometimes, "0 great is Jehovah, and great is His Name."
26. Judge me, O Lord, in righteousness. Ps. xliii.
27. Lift up your heads, ye gates, and wide. Ps.xxiv.
28. Lord, let me know mine [my] end. Ps. xxxi.
29. Of old, 0 God, Thine own right hand. Ps. lxxx.
30. O God, Thou art [my] the God alone. Ps. lxiii.
31. 0 Lord, our King, how excellent. Ps. viii. Sometimes, "0 Lord, how excellent is Thy name."
32. O my soul, with all thy powers. Ps. ciii.
33. One thing with all my soul's desire. Ps. xxvii. From this, "Grant me within Thy courts a place."
34. Searcher of hearts, to Thee are known. Ps. cxxxix.
35. Thank and praise Jehovah's name. Ps. cvii.
36. Thee will I praise, O Lord in light. Ps. cxxxviii.
37. The Lord is King; upon His throne. Ps. xciii.
38. The Lord is my Shepherd, no want shall I know. Ps. xxiii.
39. The tempter to my soul hath said. Ps. iii.
40. Thrice happy he who shuns the way. Ps. i.
41. Thy glory, Lord, the heavens declare. Ps. xix.
42. Thy law is perfect, Lord of light. Ps. xix.
43. Who make the Lord of hosts their tower. Ps. cxxv.
44. Yea, I will extol Thee. Ps. xxx.
iv. Appeared in his Christian Psalmist. 1825.
45. Fall down, ye nations, and adore. Universal adoration of God desired.
46. Food, raiment, dwelling, health, and friends. The Family Altar.
47. Go where a foot hath never trod. Moses in the desert. Previously in the Leeds Congregational Collection, 1822.
48. Green pastures and clear streams. The Good Shepherd and His Flock.
49. Less than the least of all. Mercies acknowledged.
50. Not to the mount that burned with fire [flame]. Communion of Saints.
51. On the first Christian Sabbath eve. Easter Sunday Evening.
52. One prayer I have: all prayers in one. Resignation.
53. Our heavenly Father hear. The Lord's Prayer.
54. Return, my soul, unto thy rest. Rest in God.
55. Spirit of power and might, behold. The Spirit's renewing desired.
56. The Christian warrior, see him stand. The Christian Soldier. Sometimes, "Behold the Christian warrior stand."
57. The days and years of time are fled. Day of Judgment.
58. The glorious universe around. Unity.
59. The pure and peaceful mind. A Children's Prayer.
60. This is the day the Lord hath made (q. v.). Sunday.
61. Thy word, Almighty Lord. Close of Service.
62. What secret hand at morning light ? Morning.
63. While through this changing world we roam. Heaven.
64. Within these walls be peace. For Sunday Schools.
v. Appeared in his Original Hymns, 1853.
65. Behold yon bright array. Opening a Place of Worship.
66. Behold the book whose leaves display. Holy Scriptures.
67. Come ye that fear the Lord. Confirmation.
68. Home, kindred, friends, and country, these. Farewell to a Missionary.
69. Let me go, the day is breaking. Jacob wrestling.
70. Not in Jerusalem alone. Consecration of a Church.
71. Praise the high and holy One. God the Creator.
In common with most poets and hymnwriters, Montgomery strongly objected to any correction or rearrangement of his compositions. At the same time he did not hesitate to alter, rearrange, and amend the productions of others. The altered texts which appeared in Cotterill's Selections, 1819, and which in numerous instances are still retained in some of the best hymnbooks, as the "Rock of Ages," in its well-known form of three stanzas, and others of equal importance, were made principally by him for Cotterill's use. We have this confession under his own hand.
As a poet, Montgomery stands well to the front; and as a writer of hymns he ranks in popularity with Wesley, Watts, Doddridge, Newton, and Cowper. His best hymns were written in his earlier years. In his old age he wrote much that was unworthy of his reputation. His finest lyrics are "Angels from the realms of glory," "Go to dark Gethsemane," "Hail to the Lord's Anointed," and "Songs of praise the angels sang." His "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire," is an expanded definition of prayer of great beauty; and his "Forever with the Lord" is full of lyric fire and deep feeling. The secrets of his power as a writer of hymns were manifold. His poetic genius was of a high order, higher than most who stand with him in the front rank of Christian poets. His ear for rhythm was exceedingly accurate and refined. His knowledge of Holy Scripture was most extensive. His religious views were broad and charitable. His devotional spirit was of the holiest type. With the faith of a strong man he united the beauty and simplicity of a child. Richly poetic without exuberance, dogmatic without uncharitableness, tender without sentimentality, elaborate without diffusiveness, richly musical without apparent effort, he has bequeathed to the Church of Christ wealth which could onlv have come from a true genius and a sanctified! heart.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
James Montgomery
John Rippon
1751 - 1836 Hymnal Number: d3 Author of "All hail the power of Jesus' name, Let angels prostrate fall" in Beautiful Songs of Zion, a Collection of New and Old Songs Rippon, John, D.D., was born at Tiverton, Devon, April 29, 1751, and was educated for the ministry at the Baptist College, Bristol. In 1773 he became Pastor of the Baptist church in Carter Lane, Tooley Street (afterwards removed to New Park Street), London, and over this church he continued to preside until his death, on Dec. 17, 1836. The degree of D.D. was conferred on him in 1792 by the Baptist College, Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Rippon was one of the most popular and influential Dissenting ministers of his time. From 1790 to 1802 he issued the Baptist Annual Register, a periodical containing an account of the most important events in the history of the Baptist Denomination in Great Britain and America during that period, and very valuable now as a book of reference. But his most famous work is his Selection of hymns for public worship, which appeared in 1787. The full title of the first edition is A selection of Hymns from the best authors, intended as an Appendix to Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns. In 1791 he published a Selection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes from the Best Authors, adapted to Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns, and to his own Selection, and from that time the names of tunes were prefixed to the hymns in the successive editions of his hymn-book. In 1800 he published the 10th ed. of his Selections, containing more than sixty additional hymns.
In 1827 it was still further enlarged, and in 1844, after his death, appeared The Comprehensive Edition, commonly known as The Comprehensive Rippon, containing most of the additional hymns, with about 400 then first added, making in all upwards of 1170, in 100 metres. A rival to the Comprehensive was also afterwards published under the old title, somewhat enlarged. In the preparation of the original book, and its subsequent improvement, Dr. Rippon performed an important service to Baptist Hymnody, and also, it is said, gained for himself "an estate" through its immense sale. In the preface to the tenth edition lie claims for himself the authorship of some of the hymns, but as he refrained from affixing his name to any of the hymns it is impossible now to say with certainty which ought to be ascribed to him. There can, however, be no reasonable doubt that hymn 535, 3rd part, "The day has dawned, Jehovah comes" (q.v.), is one of his compositions. Other hymns, probably by him, are, "Amid the splendours of Thy state" (Love of God), 1800; and "There is joy in heaven, and joy on earth" (Joy over the Repenting Sinner), 1787. He also altered the texts of and made additions to several of the older hymns. Some of these altered texts are still in common use. In 1830 the additions given in the 27th ed., 1827, of Rippon's Selections were reprinted, with notes by Dr. Slater, as:—
Hymns Original and Selected; interspersed in the Twenty-seventh edition of the Selection, with Numerous Doxologies, in the Usual, the Peculiar, and in the less Common metres. By John Rippon, D.D.
A second edition of this pamphlet of 82 hymns and doxologies appeared in 1832. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
John Rippon
Edward Perronet
1721 - 1792 Hymnal Number: d3 Author of "All hail the power of Jesus' name, Let angels prostrate fall" in Beautiful Songs of Zion, a Collection of New and Old Songs Edward Perronet was the son of the Rev. Vincent Perronet, Vicar of Shoreham, Kent. For some time he was an intimate associate of the Wesleys, at Canterbury and Norwich. He afterwards became pastor of a dissenting congregation. He died in 1792. In 1784, he published a small volume, entitled "Occasional Verses, Moral and Social;" a book now extremely rare. At his death he is said to have left a large sum of money to Shrubsole, who was organist at Spafield's Chapel, London, and who had composed the tune "Miles Lane" for "All hail the power of Jesus' Name!"
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.
------
Perronet, Edward. The Perronets of England, grandfather, father, and son, were French emigres. David Perronet came to England about 1680. He was son of the refugee Pasteur Perronet, who had chosen Switzerland as his adopted country, where he ministered to a Protestant congregation at Chateau D'Oex. His son, Vincent Perronet, M.A., was a graduate of Queen's College, Oxford, though his name is not found in either Anthony Woods's Athenae Oxonienses nor his Fasti, nor in Bliss's apparatus of additional notes. He became, in 1728, Vicar of Shoreham, Kent. He is imperishably associated with the Evangelical Revival under the Wesleys and Whitefield. He cordially cooperated with the movement, and many are the notices of him scattered up and down the biographies and Journals of John Wesley and of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon. He lived to the venerable age of ninety-one; and pathetic and beautiful is the account of John Wesley's later visits to the white-haired saint (b. 1693, d. May 9, 1785).* His son Edward was born in 1726. He was first educated at home under a tutor, but whether he proceeded to the University (Oxford) is uncertain. Born, baptized, and brought up in the Church of England, he had originally no other thought than to be one of her clergy. But, though strongly evangelical, he had a keen and searching eye for defects. A characteristic note to The Mitre, in referring to a book called The Dissenting Gentleman's answer to the Rev. Mr. White, thus runs:—"I was born, and am like to die, in the tottering communion of the Church of England; but I despise her nonsense; and thank God that I have once read a book that no fool can answer, and that no honest man will". The publication of The Mitre is really the first prominent event in his life. A copy is preserved in the British Museum, with title in the author's holograph, and manuscript notes; and on the fly-leaf this:— "Capt. Boisragon, from his oblig'd and most respectful humble servt. The Author. London, March 29th, 1757." The title is as follows:— The Mitre; a Sacred Poem (1 Samuel ii. 30). London: printed in the year 1757. This strangely overlooked satire is priceless as a reflex of contemporary ecclesiastical opinion and sentiment. It is pungent, salted with wit, gleams with humour, hits off vividly the well-known celebrities in Church and State, and is well wrought in picked and packed words. But it is a curious production to have come from a "true son" of the Church of England. It roused John Wesley's hottest anger. He demanded its instant suppression; and it was suppressed (Atmore's Methodist Memorial, p. 300, and Tyerman, ii. 240-44, 264, 265); and yet it was at this period the author threw himself into the Wesleys' great work. But evidences abound in the letters and journals of John Wesley that he was intermittently rebellious and vehement to even his revered leader's authority. Earlier, Edward Perronet dared all obloquy as a Methodist. In 1749 Wesley enters in his diary:
"From Rochdale went to Bolton, and soon found that the Rochdale lions were lambs in comparison with those of Bolton. Edward Perronet was thrown down and rolled in mud and mire. Stones were hurled and windows broken" (Tyerman's Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A., 3 vols., 1870 ; vol. ii. 57).
In 1750 John Wesley writes:
”Charles and you [Edward Perronet] behave as I want you to do; but you cannot, or will not, preach where I desire. Others can and will preach where I desire, but they do not behave as I want them to do. I have a fine time between the one and the other. I think Charles and you have in the general a right sense of what it is to serve as sons in the gospel; and if all our helpers had had the same, the work of God would have prospered better both in England and Ireland. I have not one preacher with me, and not six in England, whose wills are broken to serve me" (ibid. ii. 85, and Whitehead's Life of Wesley, ii. 259).
In 1755 arrangements to meet the emergency created by its own success had to be made for Methodism. As one result, both Edward and Charles Perronet broke loose from John Wesley's law that none of his preachers or "helpers" were to dispense the Sacraments, but were still with their flocks to attend the parish churches. Edward Perronet asserted his right to administer the Sacraments as a divinely-called preacher ibid. ii. 200). At that time he was resident at Canterbury, "in a part of the archbishop's old palace" (ibid. ii. 230. In season and out of season he "evangelized." Onward, he became one of the Countess of Huntingdon's "ministers" in a chapel in Watling Street, Canterbury. Throughout he was passionate, impulsive, strong-willed; but always lived near his divine Master. The student-reader of Lives of the Wesleys will be "taken captive" by those passages that ever and anon introduce him. He bursts in full of fire and enthusiasm, yet ebullient and volatile. In the close of his life he is found as an Independent or Congregational pastor of a small church in Canterbury. He must have been in easy worldly circumstances, as his will shows. He died Jan. 2, 1792, and was buried in the cloisters of the great cathedral, Jan. 8. His Hymns were published anonymously in successive small volumes. First of all came Select Passages of the Old and New Testament versified; London: Printed by H. Cock, mdcclvi. … A second similar volume is entitled A Small Collection of Hymns, &c, Canterbury: printed in the year dcclxxxii. His most important volume was the following:— Occasional Verses, moral and sacred. Published for the instruction and amusement of the Candidly Serious and Religious. London, printed for the Editor: And Sold by J. Buckland in Paternoster Row; and T. Scollick, in the City Road, Moorfields, mdcclxxxv. pp. 216 (12°). [The British Museum copy has the two earlier volumes bound up with this.] The third hymn in this scarce book is headed, “On the Resurrection," and is, ”All hail the power of Jesus' name". But there are others of almost equal power and of more thorough workmanship. In my judgment, "The Lord is King" (Psalm xcvi. 16) is a great and noble hymn. It commences:—
“Hail, holy, holy, holy Loud!
Let Pow'rs immortal sing;
Adore the co-eternal Word,
And shout, the Lord is King."
Very fine also is "The Master's Yoke—the Scholar's Lesson," Matthew xi. 29, which thus opens:—
O Grant me, Lord, that sweet content
That sweetens every state;
Which no internal fears can rent,
Nor outward foes abate."
A sacred poem is named "The Wayfaring Man: a Parody"; and another, "The Goldfish: a Parody." The latter has one splendid line on the Cross, "I long to share the glorious shame." "The Tempest" is striking, and ought to be introduced into our hymnals; and also "The Conflict or Conquest over the Conqueror, Genesis xxxii. 24". Still finer is "Thoughts on Hebrews xii.," opening:—
"Awake my soul—arise!
And run the heavenly race;
Look up to Him who holds the prize,
And offers thee His grace."
"A Prayer for Mercy on Psalm cxix. 94," is very striking. On Isaiah lxv. 19, is strong and unmistakable. "The Sinner's Resolution," and "Thoughts on Matthew viii. 2," and on Mark x. 51, more than worthy of being reclaimed for use. Perronet is a poet as well as a pre-eminently successful hymnwriter. He always sings as well as prays. It may be added that the brief paraphrase after Ovid given below, seems to echo the well-known lines in Gray's immortal elegy:—
"How many a gem unseen of human eyes,
Entomb'd in earth, a sparkling embryo lies;
How many a rose, neglected as the gem,
Scatters its sweets and rots upon its stem:
So many a mind, that might a meteor shone,
Had or its genius or its friend been known;
Whose want of aid from some maternal hand,
Still haunts the shade, or quits its native land." [Rev. A. B. Grosart, D.D., LL.D.]
* Agnew's Protestant Exiles from France in the Reign of Louis XIV. confounds Vincent the father with Edward his son.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Edward Perronet
Julia H. Johnston
1849 - 1919 Hymnal Number: d4 Author of "The banner of love" in Beautiful Songs of Zion, a Collection of New and Old Songs Julia Harriet Johnston, who was born on Jan. 21, 1849, at Salineville, OH, in Columbiana County. Her father was a minister and he mother was a poet. She began writing when she was nine years old but really started writing verse in high school. She lived in Peoria, Ill.
Dianne Shapiro, from "The Singers and Their Songs: sketches of living gospel hymn writers" by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (Chicago: The Rodeheaver Company, 1916)
Julia H. Johnston
John Newton
1725 - 1807 Hymnal Number: d6 Author of "Approach, my soul, the mercy seat" in Beautiful Songs of Zion, a Collection of New and Old Songs 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
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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)
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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)
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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
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John Newton
Samuel Francis Smith
1808 - 1895 Hymnal Number: d13 Author of "In sad Gethsemane" in Beautiful Songs of Zion, a Collection of New and Old Songs Smith, Samuel Francis, D.D., was born in Boston, U.S.A., Oct. 21, 1808, and graduated in arts at Harvard, and in theology at Andover. He entered the Baptist ministry in 1832, and became the same year editor of the Baptist Missionary Magazine. He also contributed to the Encyclopaedia Americana. From 1834 to 1842 he was pastor at Waterville, Maine, and Professor of Modern Languages in Waterville College. In 1842 he removed to Newton, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1854, when he became the editor of the publications of the Baptist Missionary Union. With Baron Stow he prepared the Baptist collection known as The Psalmist, published in 1843, to which he contributed several hymns. The Psalmist is the most creditable and influential of the American Baptist collections to the present day. Dr. Smith also published Lyric Gems, 1854, Rock of Ages, 1870, &c. A large number of his hymns are in use in America, and several have passed into some of the English collections. Taking his hymns in common use in alphabetical order, we have the following:—
1. And now the solemn deed is done. Ordination. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 954. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, it is altered to "The solemn service now is done."
2. As flows the rapid river. Life Passing Away. In Christian Psalmody, 1833, No. 33; the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, Boston, 1841; and The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1059. Found in a few English hymn-books, and in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868.
3. Auspicious morning, hail. American National Anniversary. Written for July 4th, 1841, and published in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1007.
4. Beyond where Cedron's waters flow. Gethsemane. In L. Bacon's Appendix, 1833; the Psalmist, 1843, No. 220, and later collections.
5. Blest is the hour when cares depart. Divine Worship. In The Psalmist, 1843, No. 947, and others.
6. Constrained by love we follow where. Holy Baptism. Appeared in the Baptist edition of the Plymouth Hymn Book, 1857.
7. Down to the sacred wave. Holy Baptism. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns added to his Collection of 1817, in 1832, No. 510; repeated in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 818, and in several collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868.
8. Hail! ye days of solemn meeting. Public Worship. An altered form of No. 26 below, in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866, as an "American Hymn, 1840."
9. How blest the hour when first we gave. Holy Baptism. Appeared in the Baptist edition of thePlymouth Hymn Book, 1857, No. 1468.
10. How calmly wakes the hallowed morn. Holy Baptism. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 810, in later collections, and in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868.
11. Jesus, Thou hast freely saved us. Salvation. In Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 503, and others.
12. Meekly in Jordan's Holy Stream. Holy Baptism. Contributed to The Psalmist, 1843, No. 808.
13. My country, 'tis of thee. National Hymn. "Written in 1832, and first sung at a children's Fourth of July celebration in Park Street church, Boston." Included in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1000, and found in a large number of American hymn-books, but not in use in Great Britain. It is one of the most popular of Dr. Smith's compositions. Text, with note in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868.
14. 0 not my own these verdant hills. Bought with a Price. Appeared in Nason's Congregational Hymn Book, 1857, and given inLaudes Domini, 1884.
15. Onward speed thy conquering flight. Missions. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 892, and is found in several modern collections in Great Britain and America. Also in Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868.
16. Planted in Christ, the living Vine. Christian Fellowship; or, For Unity. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 929, inLyra Sacra Americana, 1868, and several hymn-books. Of the hymns contributed by Dr. Smith to The Psalmist this is the best, and one of the most popular.
17. Remember thy Creator. Youthful Piety Enforced. In Christian Psalmody, 1832, No. 32; the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, 1841; The Psalmist, 1843, No. 778; Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868, and other collections.
18. Sister, thou wast mild and lovely. Death and Burial. Written on the death of Miss J. M. C. of Mount Vernon School, Boston, July 13,1833, and published in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1096.
19. Softly fades the twilight ray. Sunday Evening. Written in 1832, and included in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 56. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, and several hymn-books.
20. Spirit of holiness, descend. Whitsuntide. Appeared in the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, 1841, No. 295, and again in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 384. In the Unitarian Hymns for the Church of Christ, Boston, 1853. St. ii., iii., iv. were given as "Spirit of God, Thy churches wait." This form of the text and the original are both in modern hymn-books.
21. Spirit of peace and holiness. Institution of a Minister. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 953, and Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872.
22. The morning light is breaking. Missions. Written in 1832, and included in Hastings's Spiritual Songs, 1832-33, No. 253; and The Psalmist, 1843, No. 912. This hymn is very popular and has been translated into several languages. Dr. Smith says of it that “it has been a great favourite at missionary gatherings, and I have myself heard it sung in five or six different languages in Europe and Asia. It is a favourite with the Burmans, Karens, and Telegus in Asia, from whose lips I have heard it repeatedly.”
23. The Prince of Salvation in triumph is riding. Missions. Given in Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1832-33, No. 274; The Psalmist, 1843, and later collections.
24. Tis done, the [important] solemn act is done. Ordination. Appeared in The Psalmist 1843, No. 951, and later hymn-books.
25. Today the Saviour calls. Invitation. First sketch by Dr. Smith, the revised text, as in Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, No. 176, and The Psalmist, No. 453, by Dr. T. Hastings (p. 495, i. 19).
26. Welcome, days of solemn meeting. Special Devotional Services. Written in 1834, and given in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872. See No. 8.
27. When shall we meet again ? Parting. This is a cento. The first stanza is from Alaric A. Watts's Poetical Sketches, &c, 1822, p. 158 ; and st. ii.-iv. are by Dr. Smith. In this form it was published in L. Bacon's Supplement to Dwight, 1833, No. 489. It is in several American hymn-books; and also the English Baptist Psalms & Hymns, 1858, &c.
28. When the harvest is past and the summer is gone. Close of Worship. Contributed to Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1831, No. 244; and repeated in the Fuller and Jeter Supplement to The Psalmist, 1847, No. 22, and later collections.
29. When thy mortal life is fled. The Judgment. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 379, and repeated in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 455, and later hymn-books. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868.
30. While in this sacred rite of Thine. Holy Baptism. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 803: Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868, &c.
31. With willing hearts we tread. Holy Baptism. In The Psalmist, 1843, No. 798; and again in the Baptist Praise Book, 1871.
32. Yes, my native land, I love thee. A Missionary's Farewell. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 445, and found in later collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Samuel Francis Smith
Fanny Crosby
1820 - 1915 Person Name: Fanny J. Crosby Hymnal Number: d14 Author of "This is my story, this is my song" in Beautiful Songs of Zion, a Collection of New and Old Songs Pseudonymns: A.V., Mrs. A. E. Andrews, Mrs. E. A. Andrews, Mrs. E. L. Andrews, James L. Black, Henrietta E. Blair, Charles Bruce, Robert Bruce, Leah Carlton, Eleanor Craddock, Lyman G. Cuyler, D.H.W., Ella Dare, Ellen Dare, Mrs. Ellen Douglass, Lizzie Edwards. Miss Grace Elliot, Grace J. Frances, Victoria Frances, Jennie Garnett, Frank Gould, H. D. K., Frances Hope, Annie L. James, Martha J. Lankton [Langton], Grace Lindsey, Maud Marion, Sallie Martin, Wilson Meade, Alice Monteith, Martha C. Oliver, Mrs. N. D. Plume, Kate Smiley, Sallie Smith, J. L. Sterling, John Sterling, Julia Sterling, Anna C. Storey, Victoria Stuart, Ida Scott Taylor, Mary R. Tilden, Mrs. J. B. Thresher, Hope Tryaway, Grace Tureman, Carrie M. Wilson, W.H.D.
Frances Jane Crosby, the daughter of John and Mercy Crosby, was born in Southeast, Putnam County, N. Y., March 24, 1820. She became blind at the age of six weeks from maltreatment of her eyes during a spell of sickness. When she was eight years old she moved with her parents to Ridgefield, Conn., the family remaining there four years. At the age of fifteen she entered the New York Institution for the Blind, where she received a good education. She became a teacher in the institution in 1847, and continued her work until March 1, 1858. She taught English grammar, rhetoric and American history.
This was the great developing period in her life. During the vacations of 1852 and 1853, spent at North Reading, Mass., she wrote the words to many songs for Dr. Geo. F. Root, then the teacher of music at the blind institution. Among them were, "Hazel Dell,", "The Honeysuckle Glen," "Rosalie, the Prairie Flower," "Music in the Air," "Proud World, Good-bye, I'm Going Home," "All Together", "Never Forget the Dear Ones," and others. Subsequently she wrote the words for the cantatas of The Flower Queen and The Pilgrim Fathers, all of which were very popular in their day, though it was not generally known at the time that she was the author.
While teaching at the institution she met Presidents Van Buren and Tyler, Hon. Henry Clay, Governor Wm. H. Seward, General Winfield Scott, and other distinguished characters of American history. Concerning Mr. Clay, she gives the following: "When Mr. Clay came to the institution during his last visit to New York, I was selected to welcome him with a poem. Six months before he had lost a son at the battle of Monterey, and I had sent him some verses. In my address I carefully avoided any allusion to them, in order not to wound him. When I had finished he drew my arm in his, and, addressing the audience, said through his tears: 'This is not the first poem for which I am indebted to this lady. Six months ago she sent me some lines on the death of my dear son.' Both of us were overcome for a few moments. Soon, by a splendid effort, Mr. Clay recovered himself, but I could not control my tears." In connection with her meeting these notable men, we might add that Miss Fanny Crosby had the honor of being the first woman whose voice was heard publicly in the Senate Chamber at Washington. She read a poem there on one occasion. In addition to the thousands of hymns that she has written (about eight thousand poems in all), many of which have not been set to music, she has published four volumes of verses. The first was issued in 1844 and was entitled The Blind Girl, and Other Poems, a second volume, Monterey, and Other Poems, followed in 1849, and the third, A Wreath of Columbia's Flowers, in 1858. The fourth, Bells at Evening and Other Verses, with a biographical sketch by Rev. Robert Lowry, and a fine half-tone portrait, in 1897, the sales of which have reached a fourth edition. The book is published by The Biglow & Main Co., New York.
Though these show the poetical bent of her mind, they have little to do with her world-wide fame. It is as a writer of Sunday-school songs and gospel hymns that she is known wherever the English language is spoken, and, in fact, wherever any other language is heard.
Fanny was married March 5, 1858, to Alex. Van Alstyne, who was also a scholar in the same institution in which she was educated.
She began to write Sunday-school hymns for Wm. B. Bradbury in 1864. Her first hymn,
"We are going, we are going
To a home beyond the skies",
was written at the Ponton Hotel on Franklin Street, New York City, on February 5th of that year. This hymn was sung at Mr. Bradbury's funeral in January, 1868. Since 1864 she supported herself by writing hymns. She resided in New York City nearly all her life, where, she says, she is "a member of the Old John Street M. E. Church in good standing." She spent regular hours on certain days at the office of The Biglow & Main Co., the firm for which she did most of her writing, and for whom she has composed over four thousand hymns. Her hymns have been in great demand and have been used by many of our most popular composers, among whom may be mentioned Wm. B. Bradbury, Geo. F. Root, W. H. Doane, Rev. Robert Lowry, Ira D. Sankey, J. R. Sweney, W. J. Kirkpatrick, H. P. Main, H. P. Danks, Philip Phillips, B. G. Unseld, and others. She could compose at any time and did not need to wait for any special inspiration, and her best hymns have come on the spur of the moment. She always composed with an open book in her hand, generally a copy of Golden Hymns, held closely over her eyes, bottom side up. She learned to play on the guitar and piano while at the institution, and has a clear soprano voice. She also received a technical training in music, and for this reason she could, and did, compose airs for some of her hymns. One of these is,
"Jesus, dear, I come to Thee,
Thou hast said I may,"
both words and music of which are wonderfully sweet. "Safe in the arms of Jesus", probably one of her best known hymns, was her own favorite. Fanny loved her work, and was happy in it. She was always ready either to sympathize or join in a mirthful conversation, as the case may be. The secret of this contentment dates from her first composition at the age of eight years. "It has been the motto of my life," she says. It is:
"O what a happy soul am I!
Although I cannot see,
I am resolved that in this world
Contented I will be;"
This has continued to be her philosophy. She says that had it not been for her affliction she might not have so good an education, nor so great an influence, and certainly not so fine a memory. She knows a great many portions of the Bible by heart, and had committed to memory the first four books of the Old Testament, and also the four Gospels before she was ten years of age.
Her scope of subjects is wide, embracing everything from a contemplation of heaven, as in "The Bright Forever" and "The Blessed Homeland", to an appeal to the work of this world, as in "To the Work" and "Rescue the Perishing." The most of Fanny's published hymns have appeared under the name of Fanny J. Crosby or Mrs. Yan Alstyne, but quite a large number have appeared under the nom de plumes of Grace J. Frances, Mrs. C. M. Wilson, Lizzie Edwards, Ella Dale, Henrietta E. Blair, Rose Atherton, Maud Marion, Leah Carlton, nearly two hundred different names.
-Biographies of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers (excerpts)
=======================
Van Alstyne, Frances Jane, née Crosby, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was born at South East, Putnam County, New York, March 24, 1823. When six weeks old she lost her sight. About 1835 she entered the New York City Institution for the Blind. On completing her training she became a teacher therein from 1847 to 1858. In 1858 she was married to Alexander Van Alstyne, a musician, who was also blind. Her first poem was published in 1831; and her first volumes of verse as A Blind Girl, and Other Poems, 1844; Monteresy, and Other Poems, 1849; and A Wreath of Columbia's Flowers, 1858. Her first hymn was "We are going, we are going" (Death and Burial), which was written for Mr. Bradbury and published in the Golden Censer, 1864. From 1853 to 1858 she wrote 20 songs, which were set to music by G. F. Root. Her songs and hymns number some 2,000 or more, and have been published mainly in several of the popular American Sunday school collections, and often under a nom de plume. About 60 have come into common use in Great Britain. The majority of these are taken from the following American collections:—
i. From The Shining Star, 1864.
1. Softly on the breath of evening. Evening.
ii. From Fresh Laurels, 1867.
2. Beautiful Mansions, home of the blest. Heaven.
3. Jesus the Water of Life has given. The Water of Life.
4. Light and Comfort of my soul. In Affliction.
5. There's a cry from Macedonia. Missions.
6. We are marching on with shield and banner bright. Sunday School Anniversary.
iii. From Musical Leaves, 1868.
7. 0 what are you going to do, brother? Youth for God.
iv. From Sabbath Carols, 1868.
8. Dark is the night, and cold the wind is blowing. Affliction anticipated.
9. Lord, at Thy mercy seat, Humbly I fall. Lent.
v. From Silver Spray, 1868.
10. If I come to Jesus, He will make me glad. Peace in Jesus.
11. 'Twill not be long—our journey here. Heaven anticipated.
vi. From Notes of Joy, 1869.
12. Little beams of rosy light. The Divine Father.
13. Press on! press on! a glorious throng. Pressing towards the Prize.
vii. From Bright Jewels, 1869.
14. Christ the Lord is risen today, He is risen indeed. Easter.
15. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord! Sing 0 ye people, &c. Holiness of God.
16. Jesus, keep me near the Cross. Near the Cross of Christ.
17. Saviour, bless a little child. A Child's Prayer. Written Feb. 6, 1869.
viii. From Songs of Devotion, 1870.
18. Pass me not, 0 gentle Saviour. Lent. Written in 1868.
19. Rescue the perishing, care for the dying. Home Missions.
ix. From Pure Gold, 1871.
20. Great is Jehovah. King of kings. Greatness of God.
21. I would be Thy little lamb. The Good Shepherd.
22. Lead me to Jesus, lead me to Jesus. Desiring Jesus.
23. To the work, to the work, we are servants of God. Home Missions.
24. Why labour for treasures that rust and decay? The Fadeless Crown.
x. From the Royal Diadem, 1873.
25. I am Jesus' little friend. For Infant Schools.
26. Jesus I love Thee. Loving Jesus.
27. Mourner, wheresoe'er thou art. To the Sorrowing and Penitent. Written Oct. 3, 1871.
28. Never be faint or weary. Joy in Jesus.
29. Only a step to Jesus. Invitation.
xi. From Winnowed Hymns, 1873-4.
30. Loving Saviour, hear my cry. Lent.
xii. From Echoes of Zion, 1874.
31. Say, where is thy refuge, my brother? Home Missions.
xiii. From Songs of Grace and Glory, 1874.
32. Thou my everlasting Portion. Christ the Portion of His People.
xiv. From Brightest and Best, 1875.
33. All the way my Saviour leads me. Jesus the Guide.
34. I am Thine, O Lord: I have heard Thy voice. Holiness desired.
35. O come to the Saviour, believe in His name. Invitation. Written, Sep. 7, 1874.
36. O how sweet when we mingle. Communion of Saints. Written in 1866.
37. O my Saviour, hear me. Prayer to Jesus for blessing and love.
38. Only Jesus feels and knows. Jesus the Divine Friend.
39. Revive Thy work, O Lord. Home Missions.
40. Saviour, more than life to me. Jesus All and in All.
41. To God be the glory, great things He hath done. Praise for Redemption.
xv. From Calvary Songs, 1875.
42. Come, O come with thy broken heart. Invitation.
xvi. From Gospel Music, 1876.
43. Here from the world we turn. Divine Worship.
44. When Jesus comes to reward His servants. Watching,
xvii. From Welcome Tidings, 1877.
45. O hear my cry, be gracious now to me. For Pardon and Peace.
xviii. From The Fountain of Song, 1877.
46. Lord, my trust I repose on Thee. Trusting in Jesus.
xix. From Good as Gold, 1880.
47. In Thy cleft, O Rock of Ages. Safety in Jesus.
48. Sound the alarm ! let the watchman cry. Home Missions.
49. Tenderly He leads us. Christ the Leader.
50. 'Tis the blessed hour of prayer. The Hour of Prayer.
In addition to these hymns, all of which are in common use in Great Britain (mainly through I. D. Sankey's Sacred Songs and Solos, the Methodist Sunday School Hymn Book, the Silver Street Sunday Scholars Companion, and other collections for Sunday schools), there are also "A blessing for you, will you take it?" (Pardon through Jesus); "My song shall be of Jesus" (Praise of Jesus); “Now, just a word for Jesus"(Home Missions); "Onward, upward, Christian soldier" (Pressing Heavenward); 44 Sinner, how thy heart is troubled" (Invitation); "'Tis a goodly, pleasant land" (Heaven anticipated); and "When the dewy light was fading" (Death anticipated). All of these are in I. D. Sankey's Sacred Songs & Solos. Mrs. Van Alstyne's most popular composition is "Safe in the arms of Jesus" (Safety in Jesus). This was written in 1868, at the request of Mr. W. H. Doane, to his well-known melody with which it is inseparably associated, and published in Bright Jewels, 1869. Mrs. Van Alstyne's hymns have sometimes been published anonymously; but the greater part are signed by a bewildering number of initials.
The combined sales of the volumes of songs and hymns named above have amounted in English-speaking countries to millions of copies. Notwithstanding the immense circulation thus given to Mrs. Van Alstyne's hymns, they are, with few exceptions, very weak and poor, their simplicity and earnestness being their redeeming features. Their popularity is largely due to the melodies to which they are wedded.
Since the above was in type we have found that the following are also in common use in Great Britain:—
51. Suppose the little cowslip. Value of Little Things.
52. Sweet hour of prayer. The Hour of Prayer. These are in Bradbury's Golden Chain, 1861.
53. Never lose the golden rule. Love to our Neighbours. In Bradbury's Golden Censer, 1864.
54. I will not be afraid at night. Trust in God. In Bradbury's Fresh Laurels, 1867.
55. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus our, &c. Praise of Jesus. In Biglow & Main's Bright Jewels, 1869.
56. More like Jesus would I be. More like Jesus. In Perkins & Taylor's Songs of Salvation, 1870.
57. Behold me standing at the door. Christ at the Door. In Biglow & Main's Christian Songs, 1872.
58. If I come to Jesus. Jesus the Children's Guide.
59. Jesus, Lord, I come to Thee. Trust in Jesus.
60. Let me learn of Jesus. Jesus the Children's Friend.
61. Singing for Jesus, O singing for Jesus. Singing for Jesus.
62. There is a Name divinely sweet Holy Name of Jesus.
Of these hymns Nos. 58-62 we have not been able to trace.
--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907
================
Van Alstyne, Frances J., p. 1203, ii. From the American collections of recent date we find that Mrs. Van Alstyne is still actively engaged in hymn-writing. In the Funk and Wagnalls Company Gloria Deo, 1903, there are about 30 of her hymns, most of which are new. They are all signed, and some are dated, but we have not space to quote the first lines and subjects, as this hymnal is not an official collection of any denomination. Another name, "Mrs. S. K. Bourne" is credited in the same hymnal with about 40 new hymns. If this signature is not another pen-name of Mrs. Van Alstyne's (and these pen-names and initials of hers are very numerous), we can only say that she has a very successful understudy in "Mrs. S. K. Bourne."
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
Fanny Crosby
John Fawcett
1740 - 1817 Hymnal Number: d15 Author of "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love" in Beautiful Songs of Zion, a Collection of New and Old Songs 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)
John Fawcett
Reginald Heber
1783 - 1826 Hymnal Number: d16 Author of "Bread of [for] the world, in mercy broken" in Beautiful Songs of Zion, a Collection of New and Old Songs 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)
Reginald Heber
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