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The Hymnal
Publication Date: 1916 Publisher: Church Pension Fund Publication Place: New York
The Hymnal
Abide with me: fast falls the eventide
Author: Henry F. Lyte Meter: 10.10.10.10 Appears in 1,672 hymnals Lyrics: 1 Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
2 Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away,
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
3 I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
4 I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless:
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
5 Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes:
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies:
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee:
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Amen. Topics: Daily Prayer Evening; Burial of the Dead Used With Tune: EVENTIDE
Abide with me: fast falls the eventide
The day is past and over
Author: St. Anatolius; John Mason Neale Meter: 7.6.7.6.8.8 Appears in 304 hymnals Lyrics:
The day is past and over:
All thanks, O Lord, to thee!
I pray thee that offenseless
The hours of dark may be.
O Jesus, keep me in thy sight,
And guard me through the coming night.
The joys of day are over:
I lift my heart to thee,
And call on thee that sinless
The hours of gloom may be.
O Jesus, make their darkness light,
And guard me through the coming night.
The toils of day are over:
I raise the hymn to thee,
And ask that free from peril
The hours of fear may be.
O Jesus, keep me in thy sight,
And guard me through the coming night.
Lord, that in death I sleep not,
And lest my foe should say,
"I have prevailed against him,"
Lighten mine eyes, I pray:
O Jesus, keep me in thy sight,
And guard me through the coming night.
Be thou my soul's preserver,
O God, for thou dost know
How many are the perils
Through which I have to go.
Lover of men, O hear my call,
And guard and save me from them all!
Amen.
Topics: Daily Prayer Evening Used With Tune: ST. ANATOLIUS
The day is past and over
All praise to thee, my God, this night
Author: Thomas Ken Meter: 8.8.8.8 Appears in 1,047 hymnals Lyrics:
All praise to thee, my God, this night,
For all the blessings of the light:
Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,
Beneath thine own almighty wings.
Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,
The ill that I this day have done;
That with the world, myself, and thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.
Teach me to live, that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed;
Teach me to die, that so I may
Rise glorious at the awful day.
O may my soul on thee repose,
And with sweet sleep mine eyelids close;
Sleep that shall me more vigorous make
To serve my God when I awake.
When in the night I sleepless lie,
My soul with heavenly thoughts supply;
Let no ill dreams disturb my rest,
No powers of darkness me molest.
O when shall I, in endless day,
For ever chase dark sleep away,
And hymns divine with angels sing,
All praise to thee, eternal King?
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, angelic host:
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.
Topics: Daily Prayer Evening Used With Tune: TALLIS' CANON
All praise to thee, my God, this night
FORTUNATUS
Meter: 11.11.11.11.11 Appears in 58 hymnals Composer and/or Arranger: Arthur S. Sullivan Tune Key: A Flat Major Incipit: 17123 43211 71345 Used With Text: "Welcome, happy morning!" age to age shall say
FORTUNATUS
BATTLE HYMN
Meter: 15.15.15.6 with refrain Appears in 445 hymnals Composer and/or Arranger: William Steffe Tune Key: B Flat Major Incipit: 55543 51233 321 Used With Text: Glory! glory! Hallelujah!
BATTLE HYMN
Venite, exultemus Domino
Hymnal: EH1916 #C1 (1916) First Line: O come lst us sing unto the LORD Lyrics: 1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD:
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving:
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God:
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are all the corners of the earth:
and the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his and he made it:
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6 O come let us worship and fall down:
and kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For he is the Lord our God:
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
8 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness:
let the whole earth stand in awe of him.
9 For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth:
and with righteousness to judge the world, and the people with his truth.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son:
and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be:
world without end. Amen. Languages: English Tune Title: [O come let us sing unto the Lord]
Venite, exultemus Domino
Venite, exultemus Domino
Hymnal: EH1916 #C2 (1916) First Line: O come lst us sing unto the LORD Lyrics: 1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD:
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving:
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God:
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are all the corners of the earth:
and the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his and he made it:
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6 O come let us worship and fall down:
and kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For he is the Lord our God:
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
8 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness:
let the whole earth stand in awe of him.
9 For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth:
and with righteousness to judge the world, and the people with his truth.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son:
and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be:
world without end. Amen. Tune Title: [O come let us sing to the Lord]
Venite, exultemus Domino
Venite, exultemus Domino
Hymnal: EH1916 #C3 (1916) First Line: O come lst us sing unto the LORD Lyrics: 1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD:
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving:
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God:
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are all the corners of the earth:
and the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his and he made it:
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6 O come let us worship and fall down:
and kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For he is the Lord our God:
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
8 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness:
let the whole earth stand in awe of him.
9 For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth:
and with righteousness to judge the world, and the people with his truth.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son:
and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be:
world without end. Amen. Tune Title: [O come let us sing to the Lord]
Venite, exultemus Domino
Thomas Ken
1637 - 1711 Hymnal Number: 2 Author of "Awake, my soul, and with the sun" in The Hymnal Thomas Ken (b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1637; d. Longleat, Wiltshire, England, 1711) studied at Winchester College, Hart Hall, and New College, Oxford, England. Ordained in the Church of England in 1662, he served variously as pastor, chaplain at Winchester College (1669-1679), chaplain to Princess (later Queen) Mary in The Hague, and bishop of Bath and Wells (1685-1691). He was a man of conscience and independent mind who did not shirk from confrontations with royalty. When King Charles II came to visit Winchester, he took along his mistress, the famous actress Nell Gwynne. Ken was asked to provide lodging for her. The story is told that Ken quickly declared his house under repair and had a builder take off the roof! He later was dismissed from the court at The Hague when he protested a case of immorality. Then, later in 1688, Bishop Ken refused to read King James II's Declaration of Indulgence in the churches, which granted greater religious freedom in England, and he was briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London. A few years later he refused to swear allegiance to King William, and he lost his bishopric.
Ken wrote many hymns, which were published posthumously in 1721 and republished in 1868 as Bishop Ken's Christian Year, or Hymns and Poems for the Holy Days and Festivals of the Church. But he is best known for his morning, evening, and midnight hymns, each of which have as their final stanza the famous doxology “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow.”
Bert Polman
===============
Ken, Thomas, D.D. The bare details of Bishop Ken's life, when summarised, produce these results:—-Born at Berkhampstead, July, 1637; Scholar of Winchester, 1651; Fellow of New College, Oxford, 1657; B.A., 1661; Rector of Little Easton, 1663; Fellow of Winchester, 1666; Rector of Brighstone, 1667; Rector of Woodhay and Prebendary of Winchester, 1669; Chaplain to the Princess Mary at the Hague, 1679; returns to Winchester, 1680; Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1685; imprisoned in the Tower, 1688; deprived, 1691; died at Longleat, March 19, 1711.
The parents of Ken both died during his childhood, and he grew up under the guardianship of Izaak Walton, who had married Ken's elder sister, Ann. The dominant Presbyterianism of Winchester and Oxford did not shake the firm attachment to the English Church, which such a home had instilled. His life until the renewal of his connection with Winchester, through his fellowship, his chaplaincy to Morley (Walton's staunch friend, then bishop of Winchester), and his prebend in the Cathedral, calls for no special remark here. But this second association with Winchester, there seems little doubt, originated his three well-known hymns. In 1674 he published A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College, and reference is made in this book to three hymns, for "Morning," "Midnight," and "Evening," the scholars being recommended to use them. It can scarcely be questioned that the Morning, Evening, and Midnight hymns, published in the 1695 edition of The Manual, are the ones referred to. He used to sing these hymns to the viol or spinet, but the tunes he used are unknown. He left Winchester for a short time to be chaplain to the Princess Mary at the Hague, but was dismissed for his faithful remonstrance against a case of immorality at the Court, and returned to Winchester. A similar act of faithfulness at Winchester singularly enough won him his bishopric. He stoutly refused Nell Gwynne the use of his house, when Charles II. came to Winchester, and the easy king, either from humour or respect for his honesty, gave him not long afterwards the bishopric of Bath and Wells. Among the many acts of piety and munificence that characterised his tenure of the see, his ministration to the prisoners and sufferers after the battle of Sedgmoor and the Bloody Assize are conspicuous. He interceded for them with the king, and retrenched his own state to assist them. He attended Monmouth on the scaffold. James II. pronounced him the most eloquent preacher among the Protestants of his time; the judgment of Charles II. appears from his pithy saying that he would go and hear Ken "tell him of his faults." Among the faithful words of the bishops at Charles's death-bed, none were so noble in their faithfulness as his.
He was one of the Seven Bishops who refused to read the Declaration of Indulgence, and were imprisoned in the Tower by James for their refusal, but triumphantly acquitted on their trial. At the accession of William III, he refused, after some doubt on the subject, to take the oaths, and was at length (1691) deprived of his see. His charities had left him at this time only seven hundred pounds, and his library, as a means of subsistence; but he received hospitality for his remaining years with his friend Lord Weymouth, at Longleat. The see of Bath and Wells was again offered him, but in vain, at the death of his successor, Bishop Kidder. He survived all the deprived prelates. His attitude as a nonjuror was remarkable for its conciliatory spirit. The saintliness of Ken's character, its combination of boldness, gentleness, modesty and love, has been universally recognised. The verdict of Macaulay is that it approached "as near as human infirmity permits to the ideal perfection of Christian virtue." The principal work of Ken's that remains is that on the Catechism, entitled The Practice of Divine Love. His poetical works were published after his death, in four volumes. Among the contents are, the Hymns for the Festivals, which are said to have suggested to Keble the idea of The Christian Year; the Anodynes against the acute physical sufferings of his closing years; and the Preparatives for Death. Although many passages in them are full of tender devotion, they cannot rank either in style or strength with the three great hymns written at Winchester. The best biographies of Ken are he Life of Ken by a Layman, and, specially, his Life, by the Very Rev. E. H. Plumptre, Dean of Wells, 1888. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.]
Bishop Ken is known to hymnody as the author of the Morning, Evening, and Midnight Hymns, the first and second of which at least have found a place in almost every English collection for the last 150 years. The general history of these hymns, as we now know it, is as follows:—
1. In 1674 Ken published his Manual of Prayers for Winchester Scholars as
A Manual of Prayers For the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College [here arms of William of Wykeham within a border]. London, Printed for John Martyn, 1674, 12 mo, pp. 69.
From a passage in this work it may fairly be inferred that the author had already composed hymns for the use of the scholars. He says:—
“Be sure to sing the Morning and Evening Hymn in your chamber devoutly, remembering that the Psalmist, upon happy experience, assures you that it is a good thing to tell of the loving kindness of the Lord early in the morning and of his truth in the night season."
Two hymns only seem to be here referred to, but the expression "night season" may include both the Evening and Midnight hymns, and the latter would be only used occasionally. The hymns are not given in the Manual of 1674, or succeeding editions, until that of 1695, when the three hymns are added as an Appendix. The title of this edition is:—
A Manual of Prayers For the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College. And all other Devout Christians. To which is added three Hymns for Morning, Evening, and Midnight; not in former Editions: By the Same Author. Newly Revised. London, Printed for Ctarles Brome at the Ovn, at the West end of St. Paul's Church, 1695.
2. In 1704 Richard Smith, a London publisher, issued a book similar in appearance to the Manual, and entitled Conference between the Soul and Body concerning the Present and Future State. This edition contained a strong recommendation by Dodwell, an intimate friend of Ken, but no hymns. To the 2nd edition, however (1705), were added two (Morning and Evening) hymns, with Ken's name appended, but containing two additional verses to the Evening hymn, and differing in several other respects from the text of the Manual. Thereupon Charles Brome, to whom the copyright of the latter belonged, issued a new edition with an Advertisement stating that Ken "absolutely disowned" the hymns appended to the Conference, "as being very false and uncorrect," and that the genuine text was that given in the Manual only. Brome's Advertisementreads:—
"Advertisement—-Whereas at the end of a Book lately Publish'd call'd, 'A Conference between the Soul and Body,' there are some Hymns said to be writ by Bishop Ken, who absolutely disowns them, as being very false and uncorrect; but the Genuine ones are to be had only of Charles Brome, Bookseller, whose just Propriety the Original copy is."
3. In 1709, however, the spurious hymns were again published as Ken's in a book entitled A New Year's Gift: in Two Parts: to which is added A Morning and Evening Hymn. By Thomas, late L. B. of Bath and Wells. The Third Edition with additions. London Printed by W. Olney. 1709.
Brome met this, as before, with a new edition of the Manual, in which the Advertisement of 1705 as above was repeated, but the text of the hymns considerably revised. This revised text was followed in all subsequent editions of the Manual, but as, until lately, it was thought to have appeared first in the edition of 1712, published soon after Ken's death, its genuineness was suspected by many. The question as it then stood was fully discussed in an able letter by Sir Roundell Palmer (Lord Selborne), prefixed to the reprint of Ken's Hymns, published by D. Sedgwick in 1864. Since that time the discovery in the Bodleian Library of a copy of the Manual of 1709 shows that the revision was made in that year, and confirms the conclusion at which Lord Selborne had previously arrived, that it was Ken's genuine revised text. The title of this edition is:—
A Manual of Prayers For the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College, And all other Devout Christians, To which is added three Hymns for Morning, Evening, and Midnight; By the same Author. Newly Revised. London: Printed for Charles Brome at the Gun, the West end of St. Paul's Church, 1709.
The Advertisement before referred to is at p. 130. The alterations of 1709 may therefore be accepted as being made by Ken himself, and it seems not improbable that the revision was suggested by the recent republication of the spurious text in spite of Brome's disclaimer in 1705, and possibly by adverse criticism of the original text. Lord Selborne pointed out in his Letter that Ken altered a passage in his Practice of Divine Love (1st ed., 1685) because "some Roman Catholic writer professed to discover the doctrine of Transubstantiation" therein. This alteration was made in the 2nd ed., 1686, and explained in the Preface to have been made "to prevent all misunderstanding for the future." A passage also in the Manual—-"Help me, then, ye blessed Hosts of Heaven, to celebrate that unknown sorrow, &c." — was claimed in a Roman Catholic pamphlet as a passage which taught the scholars of Winchester to invocate the whole Court of Heaven." This passage Ken altered "to prevent all future misinterpretations," and prefixed an Advertisement to the 1687 edition of the Manual explaining why he had done so. In looking through the texts of the three hymns for 1695, and 1709, and especially at the doxologies, and at st. x. and xi. in the Evening Hymn, "You my Blest Guardian, whilst I sleep," &c. (1695); and "O may my Guardian while I sleep," &c. (1709), do we not see a good and sufficient reason to account for the revision of the hymns?
4. With regard to the text given in the Conference, Lord Selborne observes that it is not improbable that alterations and various readings, originating with Ken himself, might have obtained private circulation among his friends, long before he had made up his own mind to give them to the public; a suggestion which may possibly help to explain the fact, that a writer, patronised by Dodwell, was misled into believing (for such a writer ought not lightly to be accused of a wilful fraud) that the text, published in the Conference in Ken's name was really from his hand. That Ken occasionally altered passages in his writings when for any reason he considered it necessary, is certain ; and there can be little doubt that the text of the three Winchester hymns was more or less unsettled before 1695. At any rate, before their first appearance in that year in the Manual the Evening hymn had found its way into print. It was published in
”Harmonia Sacra; or Divine Hymns and Dialogues .. . Composed by the Best Masters . . . The Words by several Learned and Pious Persons. The Second Book," London, Henry Playford, 1693.
The first volume, of this work appeared in 1688, and was dedicated to Ken. It is not improbable therefore that Playford, when collecting materials for his second volume, obtained the words of the Evening Hymn directly from the author.
The hymn was set by Clarke as a Cantata for a solo voice, with the Doxology as a chorus in four parts.
5. The various Morning Hymns by Ken which have appeared in the Appendix to Tate and Brady's Version of the Psalms, and in most hymnals published during the past 150 years are compilations from this hymn, with, in many instances, slight alterations of the text either of 1695 or of that of 1709. In some modern hymnals the difficulty of the length of the hymn is overcome by dividing it into two or more parts.
A reference to the text given in Harmonia Sacra shows that the change from "Glory" to "All praise" in line 1. is only a restoration of the original reading; and without being aware of this fact, Lord Selborne points out that the expression "All praise" is remarkably consistent with Ken's frequent use of it in other writings. The same alteration was made in 1709 in the Morning Hymn, stanza 9, and in the Midnight Hymn, st. 7; while at the same time "Glory" in the Morning Hymn, st. v. 1. 4, is changed to "High Praise."
As in the case of "Awake my soul," this hymn has been divided, subdivided, and rearranged in a great many ways during the last 150 years. In one form or another it will be found in most hymnals published during that period.
Like the Morning and Evening Hymns, this hymn has been divided and rearranged in various ways, and is found in one form or another in most hymnals published during the last 150 years.
6. The various centos from these hymns which are in common use in English-speaking countries are:—
i. From the Morning Hymn.
1. All praise to Thee Who safe hast kept.
2. Awake, my soul, and with the sun.
3. Glory to Thee Who safe hast kept.
4. I wake, I wake, ye heavenly choirs.
5. I would not wake nor rise again.
6. Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart.
ii. From the Evening Hymn.
1. All praise to Thee, my God, this night.
2. Glory to Thee, my God, this night.
iii. From the Midnight Hymn.
1. All praise to Thee in light array'd.
2. Glory to Thee in light array'd.
3. Lord, now my sleep doth me forsake.
4. My God, now [when] I from sleep awake.
7. Bishop Ken has not escaped the not unusual charge of plagiarism, in connection with his celebrated hymns. Charges of this kind have been made from time to time, the nature and value of which we will endeavour to summarize. These are: (1) he borrowed from Sir Thomas Browne; (2) he did the same from Thomas Flatman; (3) he did neither, but Paraphrased from the Latin.
8. The title of Bishop Ken's hymns on the Festivals of the Church, published posthumously in 1721, is: Hymns for all the Festivals of the Year. They were republished by Pickering as: Bishop Ken's Christian Year or Hymns and Poems for the Holy Days and Festivals of the Church, Lond., 1868. From this work the following centos have come into common use:—
1. All human succours now are flown. Visitation of the Sick.
2. I had one only thing to do. A New Creature.
3. O purify my soul from stain. 10th Sunday after Trinity, or A Prayer for Purity.
4. 0 Lord, when near the appointed hour. Holy Communion.
5. Unction the Christian name implies. Confirmation. [George Arthur Crawford, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
========================
Ken, T. , p. 422, i. Since this article was electrotyped the following details concerning Bishop Ken's three hymns have come to light:—In a Catalogue of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, published in 1707, there appears an entry of a tract entitled, Three Hymns for Morning, Evening; and Midnight, by the Author of the Manual of Prayers for Winchester Scholars. A copy of this hitherto unknown tract has lately come into the hands of Mr. W. T. Brooke, and by him has been passed on to the British Museum Library. It is bound up in a volume with two other pamphlets, of which the respective titles are:
(1) An Exposition on the Church Catechism, or the Practice of Divine Love. Revised. Composed for the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Printed for Charles Brome, at the Gun of the West end of St. Paul's Churchyard, 1703; (2) Directions for Prayer for the Dioceses of Bath and Wells. Price 2d. pp. 16; (3) A Morning, Evening, and Midnight Hymn by the Author of the Manual of Prayers for Winchester Scholars. Nos. 2 and 3 have no title, but on the last page of No. 3 is "London, Printed at the Gun, at the West End of St. Paul's Church."
The text of this tract of the "Three Hymns" agrees absolutely with that of 1709, except that in the 10th stanza of the Morning Hymns it reads "not rise again," as in 1705. We may therefore conclude that Ken's revisions, with this exception, were made between 1705 and 1707, the date of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Catalogue.
We may add that another cento from Ken's Midnight Hymn is "Blest Jesu! Thou, on heaven intent." in Rice's Hymns, 1870.
The Life of Bishop Ken by the late Dean Plumptre was published in 1888, in 2 volumes. It is by far the best and most exhaustive life of the Bishop, and is worthy of the author's great reputation. [George Arthur Crawford, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix I (1907)
Thomas Ken
Charles Wesley
1707 - 1788 Hymnal Number: 4 Author of "Christ, Whose glory fills the skies" in The Hymnal Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepened, and he became one of the first band of "Oxford Methodists."
In 1735 he went with his brother John to Georgia, as secretary to General Oglethorpe, having before he set out received Deacon's and Priest's Orders on two successive Sundays. His stay in Georgia was very short; he returned to England in 1736, and in 1737 came under the influence of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians, especially of that remarkable man who had so large a share in moulding John Wesley's career, Peter Bonier, and also of a Mr. Bray, a brazier in Little Britain. On Whitsunday, 1737, [sic. 1738] he "found rest to his soul," and in 1738 he became curate to his friend, Mr. Stonehouse, Vicar of Islington, but the opposition of the churchwardens was so great that the Vicar consented that he "should preach in his church no more." Henceforth his work was identified with that of his brother John, and he became an indefatigable itinerant and field preacher. On April 8, 1749, he married Miss Sarah Gwynne. His marriage, unlike that of his brother John, was a most happy one; his wife was accustomed to accompany him on his evangelistic journeys, which were as frequent as ever until the year 1756," when he ceased to itinerate, and mainly devoted himself to the care of the Societies in London and Bristol. Bristol was his headquarters until 1771, when he removed with his family to London, and, besides attending to the Societies, devoted himself much, as he had done in his youth, to the spiritual care of prisoners in Newgate. He had long been troubled about the relations of Methodism to the Church of England, and strongly disapproved of his brother John's "ordinations." Wesley-like, he expressed his disapproval in the most outspoken fashion, but, as in the case of Samuel at an earlier period, the differences between the brothers never led to a breach of friendship. He died in London, March 29, 1788, and was buried in Marylebone churchyard. His brother John was deeply grieved because he would not consent to be interred in the burial-ground of the City Road Chapel, where he had prepared a grave for himself, but Charles said, "I have lived, and I die, in the Communion of the Church of England, and I will be buried in the yard of my parish church." Eight clergymen of the Church of England bore his pall. He had a large family, four of whom survived him; three sons, who all became distinguished in the musical world, and one daughter, who inherited some of her father's poetical genius. The widow and orphans were treated with the greatest kindness and generosity by John Wesley.
As a hymn-writer Charles Wesley was unique. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and though, of course, in so vast a number some are of unequal merit, it is perfectly marvellous how many there are which rise to the highest degree of excellence. His feelings on every occasion of importance, whether private or public, found their best expression in a hymn. His own conversion, his own marriage, the earthquake panic, the rumours of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots, every Festival of the Christian Church, every doctrine of the Christian Faith, striking scenes in Scripture history, striking scenes which came within his own view, the deaths of friends as they passed away, one by one, before him, all furnished occasions for the exercise of his divine gift. Nor must we forget his hymns for little children, a branch of sacred poetry in which the mantle of Dr. Watts seems to have fallen upon him. It would be simply impossible within our space to enumerate even those of the hymns which have become really classical. The saying that a really good hymn is as rare an appearance as that of a comet is falsified by the work of Charles Wesley; for hymns, which are really good in every respect, flowed from his pen in quick succession, and death alone stopped the course of the perennial stream.
It has been the common practice, however for a hundred years or more to ascribe all translations from the German to John Wesley, as he only of the two brothers knew that language; and to assign to Charles Wesley all the original hymns except such as are traceable to John Wesley through his Journals and other works.
The list of 482 original hymns by John and Charles Wesley listed in this Dictionary of Hymnology have formed an important part of Methodist hymnody and show the enormous influence of the Wesleys on the English hymnody of the nineteenth century.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Charles Wesley, the son of Samuel Wesley, was born at Epworth, Dec. 18, 1707. He was educated at Westminster School and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated M.A. In 1735, he took Orders and immediately proceeded with his brother John to Georgia, both being employed as missionaries of the S.P.G. He returned to England in 1736. For many years he engaged with his brother in preaching the Gospel. He died March 29, 1788. To Charles Wesley has been justly assigned the appellation of the "Bard of Methodism." His prominence in hymn writing may be judged from the fact that in the "Wesleyan Hymn Book," 623 of the 770 hymns were written by him; and he published more than thirty poetical works, written either by himself alone, or in conjunction with his brother. The number of his separate hymns is at least five thousand.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.
Charles Wesley
Edmund H. Sears
1810 - 1876 Hymnal Number: 79a Author of "It came upon the midnight clear" in The Hymnal Edmund Hamilton Sears was born in Berkshire [County], Massachusetts, in 1810; graduated at Union College, Schenectady, in 1834, and at the Theological School of Harvard University, in 1837. He became pastor of the Unitarian Society in Wayland, Mass., in 1838; removed to Lancaster in 1840; but on account of ill health was obliged to retire from the active duties of the ministry in 1847; since then, residing in Wayland, he devoted himself to literature. He has published several works.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872
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Sears, Edmund Hamilton, D.D., son of Joseph Sears, was born at Sandisfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, April 6, 1810, and educated at Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., where he graduated in 1834; and at the Theological School at Cambridge. In 1838 he became pastor of the First Church (Unitarian) at Wayland, Massachusetts; then at Lancaster in the same State, in 1840; again at Wayland, in 1847; and finally at Weston, Massachusetts, in 1865. He died at Weston, Jan. 14, 1876. He published:—
(1) Regeneration, 1854; (2) Pictures of the Olden Time, 1857; (3) Athanasia, or Foregleams of Immortality, 1858, enlarged ed., 1872; (4) The Fourth Gospel the Heart of Christ; (5) Sermons and Songs of the Christian Life, 1875, in which his hymns are collected. Also co-editor of the Monthly Religious Magazine.
Of his hymns the following are in common use:—
1. Calm on the listening ear of night. Christmas. This hymn was first published in its original form, in the Boston Observer, 1834; afterwards, in the Christian Register, in 1835; subsequently it was emended by the author, and, as thus emended, was reprinted entire in the Monthly Magazine, vol. xxxv. Its use is extensive.
2. It came upon the midnight clear. Christmas.
"Rev. Dr. Morison writes to us, Sears's second Christmas hymn was sent to me as editor of the Christian Register, I think, in December, 1849. I was very much delighted with it, and before it came out in the Register, read it at a Christmas celebration of Dr. Lunt's Sunday School in Quincy. I always feel that, however poor my Christmas sermon may be, the reading and singing of this hymn are enough to make up for all deficiences.'"
3. Ho, ye that rest beneath the rock. Charitable Meetings on behalf of Children. Appeared in Longfellow and Johnson's Hymns of the Spirit, Boston, 1864, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines.
Dr. Sears's two Christmas hymns rank with the best on that holy season in the English language. Although a member of the Unitarian body, his views were rather Swedenborgian than Unitarian. He held always to the absolute Divinity of Christ. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.]
--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Edmund H. Sears
