1816 - 1893 Author of "Shepherd of the ransomed flock" Darling, Thomas, M.A., son of George Darling, M.D., born in London, 1816, educated at the Charterhouse, and St. John's College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. 1838, and M.A. 1841. In 1839 he took Holy Orders, and subsequently became Incumbent of Thanington, near Canterbury, and in 1848 Rector of Sts. Michael Royal with St. Martin-Vintry, City of London. Mr. Darling published in 1855 Hymns for the Church of England (Lond. Longmans), arranged according to the Order of the Book of Common Prayer. The last edition (1887) contains 336 hymns, of which about 20 are by the editor.
These hymns, which appeared from time to time in the various editions of his collection, are:—
1. All saints of the Lord. (1855.) Easter. In the 1887 ed. of the Hymns, this reads, "Ye saints of the Lord."
2. As chief among ten thousand see. (1858.) Easter.
3. At early dawn the mountain bound. (1857). For Private use.
4. Behold, I come; and with me bring. (1860.) Sunday next before Advent.
5. Behold, the vineyard of the Lord. (1857.) The Church of Christ.
6. Father of heaven, all nature upholding. (1858.) Trinity.
7. From cleft in Pyrenean rock. (1858.) Healing Water. For Private use.
8. Lift high a festal canticle. (1857.) Christmas.
9. Most gracious Lord, in all distress. (1855.) Common Trouble.
10. The everlasting hills declare. (1858.) Ascension. Written at Bagneres de Luchon in the Pyrenees, 1858.
11. There are who mount with eagle wings. (1858.) St. John the Evangelist.
12. There is a stream whose waters flow. (1858.) Living Water.
13. To God the glory, while we tell. (1860.) Sts. Michael and All Angels.
14. We now with one accord. (1855.) In the 1887 edition of the Hymns, &c, this is given as, "Let all men praise the Lord."
15. What light is this whose silvery gleam. (1855.) Epiphany.
16. Who, when beneath affliction's rod. (1855.) Resignation.
In addition to these Mr. Darling has most successfully adapted hymns from other writers. These include, "Lord Jesus, taken from Thy servants' sight"; "Shepherd of the ransomed flock"; "The winds of God have changed their note" (all of which see); and "By faith, from day to day," and "Where dwells the glorious King?" from "The God of Abraham praise" (q.v.). Mr. Darling's original compositions and adaptations are more richly poetical than is usual with modern hymns. They are at the same time very devotional and of practical value.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Darling, Thomas, p. 230, i. In 1857, Mr. Darling published a small tract as Hymns from the Mountain. Written during a month's Tour in the South of France, in the Summer of the Year MDCCCLVII, Loud., Spottiswoode & Co. The hymns therein are Nos. 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, as on p. 280, i., and "On mountain side, in sheltered dell." (For Private Use.) All these hymns must be dated "1857." He died Aug. 21, 1893.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
Thomas Darling