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Safely Through Another Week
Author: John Newton Meter: 7.7.7.7.7.7 Appears in 1,013 hymnals Topics: The Church and Doctrines The Sabbath Used With Tune: SABBATH
Safely Through Another Week
Pleasant are thy courts above
Author: Henry F. Lyte Appears in 248 hymnals Used With Tune: SABBATH
Pleasant are thy courts above
Chief of sinners though I be
Author: McComb Appears in 90 hymnals Used With Tune: SABBATH MORN
Chief of sinners though I be
Closing Sabbath! Ah, how soon
Author: Anon. Hymnal: The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book #245 (1886) Lyrics: 1 Closing Sabbath! Ah, how soon
Have thy sacred moments passed:
Scarcely shines the morn, the noon,
Ere the evening brings thy last!
And another Sabbath flies,
Solemn witness! to the skies.
2 What is the report it bears
To the secret place of God?
Does it speak of worldly cares,
Thoughts which cling to earth's low sod?
Or has sweet communion shone
Through its hours from God alone?
3 Could we hope the day was spent
Prayerfully, with constant heart,
We might yield it up content,
Knowing, though so soon it part,
We should see a better day,
Which could never pass away.
4 God of Sabbaths, O, forgive
That we use thy gifts so ill;
Teach us daily how to live
That we ever may fulfill
All thy gracious love designed,
Giving Sabbaths to mankind. Topics: Worship The Sabbath Tune Title: SABBATH
Closing Sabbath! Ah, how soon
Sabbath Morning
Author: John Newton Hymnal: Laudes Domini #11 (1890) First Line: Safely thro' another week Lyrics: 1 Safely through another week,
God has brought us on our way;
Let us now a blessing seek,
Waiting in his courts to-day:
Day of all the week the best,
Emblem of eternal rest.
2 While we seek supplies of grace,
Through the dear Redeemer's name;
Show thy reconciling face,
Take away our sin and shame;
From our worldly cares set free,
May we rest this day in thee.
3 Here we come thy name to praise;
Let us feel thy presence near;
May thy glory meet our eyes,
While we in thy house appear:
Here afford us, Lord, a taste
Of our everlasting feast.
4 May thy gospel's joyful sound
Conquer sinners, comfort saints;
Make the fruits of grace abound,
Bring relief for all complaints;
Thus let all our Sabbaths prove,
Till we rest in thee above. Topics: The Lord's Day; Lord's Day; Opening of Service; Sabbath; Lord's Day; Opening of Service; Sabbath Languages: English Tune Title: SABBATH
Sabbath Morning
Sabbath bells never cease your
Author: William Rosborough Hymnal: The National Baptist Hymnal #56 (1904) First Line: Sabbath bells are sweetly ringing Tune Title: SABBATH
Sabbath bells never cease your
Lowell Mason
1792 - 1872 Composer of "SABBATH" in Laudes Domini Dr. Lowell Mason (the degree was conferred by the University of New York) is justly called the father of American church music; and by his labors were founded the germinating principles of national musical intelligence and knowledge, which afforded a soil upon which all higher musical culture has been founded. To him we owe some of our best ideas in religious church music, elementary musical education, music in the schools, the popularization of classical chorus singing, and the art of teaching music upon the Inductive or Pestalozzian plan. More than that, we owe him no small share of the respect which the profession of music enjoys at the present time as contrasted with the contempt in which it was held a century or more ago. In fact, the entire art of music, as now understood and practiced in America, has derived advantage from the work of this great man.
Lowell Mason was born in Medfield, Mass., January 8, 1792. From childhood he had manifested an intense love for music, and had devoted all his spare time and effort to improving himself according to such opportunities as were available to him. At the age of twenty he found himself filling a clerkship in a banking house in Savannah, Ga. Here he lost no opportunity of gratifying his passion for musical advancement, and was fortunate to meet for the first time a thoroughly qualified instructor, in the person of F. L. Abel. Applying his spare hours assiduously to the cultivation of the pursuit to which his passion inclined him, he soon acquired a proficiency that enabled him to enter the field of original composition, and his first work of this kind was embodied in the compilation of a collection of church music, which contained many of his own compositions. The manuscript was offered unavailingly to publishers in Philadelphia and in Boston. Fortunately for our musical advancement it finally secured the attention of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, and by its committee was submitted to Dr. G. K. Jackson, the severest critic in Boston. Dr. Jackson approved most heartily of the work, and added a few of his own compositions to it. Thus enlarged, it was finally published in 1822 as The Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music. Mason's name was omitted from the publication at his own request, which he thus explains, "I was then a bank officer in Savannah, and did not wish to be known as a musical man, as I had not the least thought of ever making music a profession." President Winchester, of the Handel and Haydn Society, sold the copyright for the young man. Mr. Mason went back to Savannah with probably $500 in his pocket as the preliminary result of his Boston visit.
The book soon sprang into universal popularity, being at once adopted by the singing schools of New England, and through this means entering into the church choirs, to whom it opened up a higher field of harmonic beauty. Its career of success ran through some seventeen editions. On realizing this success, Mason determined to accept an invitation to come to Boston and enter upon a musical career. This was in 1826. He was made an honorary member of the Handel and Haydn Society, but declined to accept this, and entered the ranks as an active member. He had been invited to come to Boston by President Winchester and other musical friends and was guaranteed an income of $2,000 a year. He was also appointed, by the influence of these friends, director of music at the Hanover, Green, and Park Street churches, to alternate six months with each congregation. Finally he made a permanent arrangement with the Bowdoin Street Church, and gave up the guarantee, but again friendly influence stepped in and procured for him the position of teller at the American Bank.
In 1827 Lowell Mason became president and conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society. It was the beginning of a career that was to win for him as has been already stated the title of "The Father of American Church Music." Although this may seem rather a bold claim it is not too much under the circumstances. Mr. Mason might have been in the average ranks of musicianship had he lived in Europe; in America he was well in advance of his surroundings. It was not too high praise (in spite of Mason's very simple style) when Dr. Jackson wrote of his song collection: "It is much the best book I have seen published in this country, and I do not hesitate to give it my most decided approbation," or that the great contrapuntist, Hauptmann, should say the harmonies of the tunes were dignified and churchlike and that the counterpoint was good, plain, singable and melodious.
Charles C. Perkins gives a few of the reasons why Lowell Mason was the very man to lead American music as it then existed. He says, "First and foremost, he was not so very much superior to the members as to be unreasonably impatient at their shortcomings. Second, he was a born teacher, who, by hard work, had fitted himself to give instruction in singing. Third, he was one of themselves, a plain, self-made man, who could understand them and be understood of them."
The personality of Dr. Mason was of great use to the art and appreciation of music in this country. He was of strong mind, dignified manners, sensitive, yet sweet and engaging.
Prof. Horace Mann, one of the great educators of that day, said he would walk fifty miles to see and hear Mr. Mason teach if he could not otherwise have that advantage.
Dr. Mason visited a number of the music schools in Europe, studied their methods, and incorporated the best things in his own work. He founded the Boston Academy of Music. The aim of this institution was to reach the masses and introduce music into the public schools. Dr. Mason resided in Boston from 1826 to 1851, when he removed to New York. Not only Boston benefited directly by this enthusiastic teacher's instruction, but he was constantly traveling to other societies in distant cities and helping their work. He had a notable class at North Reading, Mass., and he went in his later years as far as Rochester, where he trained a chorus of five hundred voices, many of them teachers, and some of them coming long distances to study under him. Before 1810 he had developed his idea of "Teachers' Conventions," and, as in these he had representatives from different states, he made musical missionaries for almost the entire country. He left behind him no less than fifty volumes of musical collections, instruction books, and manuals.
As a composer of solid, enduring church music. Dr. Mason was one of the most successful this country has introduced. He was a deeply pious man, and was a communicant of the Presbyterian Church. Dr. Mason in 1817 married Miss Abigail Gregory, of Leesborough, Mass. The family consisted of four sons, Daniel Gregory, Lowell, William and Henry. The two former founded the publishing house of Mason Bros., dissolved by the death of the former in 1869. Lowell and Henry were the founders of the great organ manufacturer of Mason & Hamlin. Dr. William Mason was one of the most eminent musicians that America has yet produced.
Dr. Lowell Mason died at "Silverspring," a beautiful residence on the side of Orange Mountain, New Jersey, August 11, 1872, bequeathing his great musical library, much of which had been collected abroad, to Yale College.
--Hall, J. H. (c1914). Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.
Lowell Mason
Thomas Kelly
1769 - 1855 Person Name: Thos. Kelly Author of "Glory, glory to our King!" in The Brethren Hymnody Kelly, Thomas, B.A., son of Thomas Kelly, a Judge of the Irish Court of Common Pleas, was born in Dublin, July 13, 1769, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was designed for the Bar, and entered the Temple, London, with that intention; but having undergone a very marked spiritual change he took Holy Orders in 1792. His earnest evangelical preaching in Dublin led Archbishop Fowler to inhibit him and his companion preacher, Rowland Hill, from preaching in the city. For some time he preached in two unconsecrated buildings in Dublin, Plunket Street, and the Bethesda, and then, having seceded from the Established Church, he erected places of worship at Athy, Portarlington, Wexford, &c, in which he conducted divine worship and preached. He died May 14, 1854. Miller, in his Singers & Songs of the Church, 1869, p. 338 (from which some of the foregoing details are taken), says:—
"Mr. Kelly was a man of great and varied learning, skilled in the Oriental tongues, and an excellent Bible critic. He was possessed also of musical talent, and composed and published a work that was received witli favour, consisting of music adapted to every form of metre in his hymn-book. Naturally of an amiable disposition and thorough in his Christian piety, Mr. Kelly became the friend of good men, and the advocate of every worthy, benevolent, and religious cause. He was admired alike for his zeal and his humility; and his liberality found ample scope in Ireland, especially during the year of famine."
Kelly's hymns, 765 in all, were composed and published over a period of 51 years, as follows:—
(1) A Collection of Psalms and Hymns extracted from Various Authors, by Thomas Kelly, A.B., Dublin, 1802. This work contains 247 hymns by various authors, and an Appendix of 33 original hymns by Kelly.
(2) Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture, Dublin, 1804. Of this work several editions were published: 1st, 1804; 2nd, 1806; 3rd, 1809; 4th, 1812. This last edition was published in two divisions, one as Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture, and the second as Hymns adapted for Social Worship. In 1815 Kelly issued Hymns by Thomas Kelly, not before Published. The 5th edition, 1820, included the two divisions of 1812, and the new hymns of 1815, as one work. To the later editions of 1820, 1826, 1836, 1840, 1846, and 1853, new hymns were added, until the last published by M. Moses, of Dublin, 1853, contained the total of 765.
As a hymn-writer Kelly was most successful. As a rule his strength appears in hymns of Praise and in metres not generally adopted by the older hymn writers. His "Come, see the place where Jesus lay" (from "He's gone, see where His body lay"),"From Egypt lately come"; “Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious"; "On the mountain's top appearing"; "The Head that once was crowned with thorns"; "Through the day Thy love has spared us"; and “We sing the praise of Him Who died," rank with the first hymns in the English language. Several of his hymns of great merit still remain unknown through so many modern editors being apparently adverse to original investigation. In addition to the hymns named and others, which are annotated under their respective first lines, the following are also in common use:—
i. From the Psalms and Hymns, 1802:—
1. Grant us, Lord, Thy gracious presence. Commencement of Divine Worship.
2. Jesus, Immortal King, go on [display]. Missions.
3. Saviour, through the desert lead us. Divine Guidance Desired.
4. The day of rest once more [again] comes round. Sunday.
5. We've no abiding city here. Seeking Heaven.
ii. From the Hymns on Varous Passages of Scripture, first edition, 1804 :—
6. Boundless glory, Lord, be thine. Praise for the Gospel.
7. By whom shall Jacob now arise? Epiphany.
8. Glory, glory to our King. Praise to Christ as King.
9. How pleasant is the sound of praise. Praise for Redemption.
10. How sweet to leave the world awhile. In Retirement, or For a Retreat.
11. Inform I long had bowed the knee. Jesus, the Saviour, or Praise for Salvation.
12. It is finished! sinners, hear it. Good Friday.
13. Jesus, the Shepherd of the sheep. The Good Shepherd.
14. Let reason vainly boast her power. Death.
15. Poor and afflicted, Lord, are Thine. Affliction.
16. Praise we Him to Whose kind favour. Close of Service.
11. Spared a little longer. Safety in God.
18. Stricken, smitten, and afflicted. Passiontide.
ii. From the Hymns, &c, second edition, 1806:—
19. Far from us be grief and sadness. Joy of Believers.
20. Give us room that we may dwell. Missions.
21. Glory, glory everlasting. Praise of Jesus.
22. God has.turned my grief to gladness. Joy after Sorrow.
23. Happy they who trust in Jesus. Peace in Jesus.
24. Hark, the notes of angels singing. Angels praising Jesus.
25. Hark! 'tis a martial sound. Christian Life a Warfare.
26. I hear a sound [voice] that comes from far. The Gospel Message.
27. Jesus is gone up on high. Divine Worship.
28. Now [O] may the Gospel's conquering power. Home Missions. In the 1853 edition of the Hymns it begins “O may the Gospel's conqu'ring force."
29. O Zion, when I think on thee. Desiring Heaven.
30. Praise the Saviour, ye who know Him. Praise of Jesus.
31. See from Zion's sacred mountain. The Fountain of Life.
32. The atoning work is done. Jesus the High Priest.
33. Zion is Jehovah's dwelling. The Church of God.
34. Zion stands by hills surrounded. The Safety of the Church.
35. Zion's King shall reign victorious. Missions.
iv. From the Hymns, &c, 3rd edition, 1809:—
36. Behold the Temple of the Lord. The Church a Spiritual Temple.
37. Blessed Fountain, full of grace. Fountain for Sin.
38. Brethren, come, our Saviour bids us. Holy Communion.
39. Fly, ye seasons, fly still faster. Second Advent Desired.
40. God of Israel, we adore Thee. Evening.
41. Gracious Lord, my heart is fixed. Trust and Peace.
42. Hark, a voice! it comes from heaven. Death.
43. Hark, that shout of rapt'rous joy. Second Advent.
44. If our warfare be laborious. Labour and Rest .
45. Lo, He comes, let all adore Him. Missions.
46. Nothing know we of the season. Time of Second Advent uncertain.
47. O had I the wings of a dove. Holiness and Heaven desired.
48. O where is now that glowing love. Despondency.
49. Our Father sits on yonder throne. God the Father.
50. Ours is a rich and royal Feast. Holy Communion.
51. Shepherd of the chosen number. Safety in the
Good Shepherd.
52. We're bound for yonder land. Life, a Voyage.
53. Welcome sight! the Lord descending. The Advent.
54. What is life? 'tis but a vapour. Death anticipated.
55. Who is this that comes from Edom? Ascension.
56. Why those fears ? Behold 'tis Jesus. Stilling the Sea.
57. Without blood is no remission. Passiontide.
58. Yes, we trust the day is breaking. Missions.
v. FromHymns: Not before Published, 1815:—
59. Behold the Lamb with glory crowned. Exaltation of Christ.
60. God is love, His word has said it. God is Love.
61. God of our salvation, hear us. Opening or Close of Divine Worship.
62. In Thy Name, O Lord, assembling. Commencement of Divine Worship.
63. Keep us, Lord, O [and] keep us ever. Divine Worship.
64. Let sinners saved give thanks, and sing. Praise for Salvation.
65. Praise the Lord Who died to save us. Passiontide.
66. Salvation is of God alone. God the Author of Salvation.
67. Saviour, come, Thy [saints] friends await Thee [are waiting] . Second Advent desired.
68. Sweet were the sounds that reached our ears. Divine Mercy.
69. We'll sing of the Shepherd that died. The Lost Sheep.
70. When we cannot see our way. Trust and Peace.
71. Who is this that calms the ocean? Stilling the Sea.
vi. From the Hymns on F. Passages of Scripture, &c, eds. 1820 and 1826 :-—
72. Grace is the sweetest sound. Divine Grace.
73. Now let a great effectual door. Missions.
74. Now may the mighty arm awake. Missions.
75. Now may the Spirit from above. Home Missions.
76. Sing, sing His lofty praise. Praise of Jesus.
77. Sound, 6ound the truth abroad. Missions.
78. Speed Thy servants, Saviour, speed them. Departure of Missionaries.
vii. From the Hymns on Various Passages, &c, 1836:—
79. Come, O Lord, the heavens rending. Prayer for Blessings.
80. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. The Second Advent.
viii. From the Hymns on Various Passages, &c, circa 1845:—
81. Joyful be the hours today. Sunday.
82. Lord, behold us few and weak. Opening of Divine Service.
83. Meet Thy people, Saviour, meet us. Meetings for Prayer.
84. Saviour, send a blessing to us. Prayer for Blessings.
85. Sing of Jesus, sing for ever. Praise of Jesus.
ix. From the Hymns on Various Passages, &c, 1853:—
86. Precious volume, what thou doest. Holy Scripture.
87. Unfold to us, O Lord, unfold. Divine aid to reading Holy Scripture.
All these hymns, together with those annotated under their respective first lines are in the 1853 edition of Kelly's Hymns published in Dublin by M. Moses, and in London by Simpkin, Marshall & Co. Kelly's musical editions are issued by the same publishers.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
==================
Kelly, Thomas, p. 615, i. Other hymns in common use are:
1. Behold the Man! How glorious He. (1809.) Good Friday.
2. Jesus the [Thou] Shepherd of the Sheep. (1804.) Good Shepherd.
3. Saved ourselves by Jesu's blood. (1802.) For a Revival.
4. Saviour, 'tis to [unto] Thee. (1853*.) Lent.
5. See the vineyard lately planted. (1806.) Missions. Sometimes given as "See, O Lord, the vineyard planted."
6. Sing aloud to God our strength. (1809.) Praise to the Father.
7. Sing, sing His lofty praise. (1820.) Praise to Jesus. Sometimes as "Hail our eternal King" (p. 615, No. 76).
8. Sing of Him Who bore our guilt. (1853*.) Praise to Jesus.
9. Sing we praise to God above, God our Saviour, &c. (1815.) Praise for Divine Mercy.
10. Sing we praise to God above, Sing we praise, &c. (1853*.) Praise.
11. Sons of Zion, raise your songs. (1820-26) The Exalted Saviour.
12. The Lord Himself will keep. (1809.) From “We're bound for yonder land" (sec p. 615, No. 52.)
13. The God [Lord] of glory dwells on high. (1809.) Humility and Love of Christ.
14. The people of the Lord Are on their way, &c. (1820.) Life a Pilgrimage.
15. Thus saith God of His Anointed. (1809.) Missions.
16. 'Tis to us no cause of sorrow. (1815.) Resignation.
17. To the Ark away, or perish. (1815.) Safety in Jesus only.
18. To our Lord a throne is given. (1838.) Christ the King.
19. Trust ye in the Lord for ever. (1853*.) Trust in God.
20. We'll sing in spite of scorn. (1806.) Christmas. From this "The long-expected morn" is taken.
21. What tongue can tell, what fancy paint. (1806.) Saints in Glory
22. What were Sinai's awful wonders. (1809.) Advent.
23. Whence those sounds symphonious? (1815.) Christmas.
24. While in the [this] world we still [yet] remain. (1806.) Communion of Saints.
25. Yes, 'tis a rough and thorny road. (1809.) Resignation. Sometimes given as "Though rough and thorny be the way."
The dates given above are those of the various editions of Kelly's Hymns. The date 1853* indicates that the hymn is in the 1853 ed. of the Hymns, but had also appeared in a previous edition which we have not seen.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
Thomas Kelly
Christopher Wordsworth
1807 - 1885 Person Name: Chr. Wordsworth Author of "O Day of Rest and Gladness" in Westminster Sabbath School Hymnal, a collection of hymns and tunes for use in sabbath-schools and social meetings Christopher Wordsworth--nephew of the great lake-poet, William Wordsworth--was born in 1807. He was educated at Winchester, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A., with high honours, in 1830; M.A. in 1833; D.D. in 1839. He was elected Fellow of his College in 1830, and public orator of the University in 1836; received Priest's Orders in 1835; head master of Harrow School in 1836; Canon of Westminster Abbey in 1844; Hulsean Lecturer at Cambridge in 1847-48; Vicar of Stanford-in-the-Vale, Berks, in 1850; Archdeacon of Westminster, in 1865; Bishop of Lincoln, in 1868. His writings are numerous, and some of them very valuable. Most of his works are in prose. His "Holy Year; or, Hymns for Sundays, Holidays, and other occasions throughout the Year," was published in [1862], and contains 127 hymns.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.
===================
Wordsworth, Christopher, D.D., was born at Lambeth (of which parish his father was then the rector), Oct. 30, 1807, and was the youngest son of Christopher Wordsworth, afterwards Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Priscilla (née Lloyd) his wife. He was educated at Winchester, where he distinguished himself both as a scholar and as an athlete. In 1826 he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where his career was an extraordinarily brilliant one. He swept off an unprecedented number of College and University prizes, and in 1830 graduated as Senior Classic in the Classical Tripos, and 14th Senior Optime in the Mathematical, won the First Chancellor's Medal for classical studies, and was elected Fellow of Trinity. He was engaged as classical lecturer in college for some time, and in 1836 was chosen Public Orator for the University. In the same year he was elected Head Master of Harrow School, and in 1838 he married Susan Hatley Freere. During his head-mastership the numbers at Harrow fell off, but he began a great moral reform in the school, and many of his pupils regarded him with enthusiastic admiration. In 1844 he was appointed by Sir Robert Peel to a Canonry at Westminster; and in 1848-49 he was Hulsean lecturer at Cambridge. In 1850 he took the small chapter living of Stanford-in-the-Vale cum Goosey, in Berkshire, and for the next nineteen years he passed his time as an exemplary parish priest in this retired spot, with the exception of his four months' statutable residence each year at Westminster. In 1869 he was elevated to the bishopric of Lincoln, which he held for more than fifteen years, resigning it a few months before his death, which took place on March 20th, 1885. As bearing upon his poetical character, it may be noted that he was the nephew of the poet-laureate, William Wordsworth, whom he constantly visited at Rydal up to the time of the poet's death in 1850, and with whom he kept up a regular and lengthy correspondence. Christopher Wordsworth was a very voluminous writer, his principal works being:—
(1) Athens and Attica, 1836; (2) Pompeian Inscriptions, 1837; (3) Greece Pictorial and Descriptive, 1839; (4) King Edward VIth's Latin Grammar, 1841; (5) Bentley's Correspondence, 1842; (6) Theophilus Anglicanus, 1843; (7) Memoirs of William Wordsworth, 1851; (8) Hippolytus, 1853; (9) Notes at Paris, 1854; (10) A Commentary on the whole Bible, 1856-1870;
(11) The Holy Year, 1862; (12) Church History, 1881-1883; many volumes of Sermons, and an enormous amount of Pamphlets, Addresses, Letters, Speeches, on almost every subject in which the interests of the church were concerned, and also on subjects connected with classical literature.
Of his many works, however, the only one which claims notice from the hynmologist's point of view is The Holy Year, which contains hymns, not only for every season of the Church's year, but also for every phase of that season, as indicated in the Book of Common Prayer. Dr. Wordsworth, like the Wesleys, looked upon hymns as a valuable means of stamping permanently upon the memory the great doctrines of the Christian Church. He held it to be "the first duty of a hymn-writer to teach sound doctrine, and thus to save souls." He thought that the materials for English Church hymns should be sought (1) in the Holy Scriptures, (2) in the writings of Christian Antiquity, and (3) in the Poetry of the Ancient Church. Hence he imposed upon himself the strictest limitations in his own compositions. He did not select a subject which seemed to him most adapted for poetical treatment, but felt himself bound to treat impartially every subject, and branch of a subject, that is brought before us in the Church's services, whether of a poetical nature or not. The natural result is that his hymns are of very unequal merit; whether his subject inspired him with poetical thoughts or not, he was bound to deal with it; hence while some of his hymns (such as "Hark! the sound of holy voices," &c, “See the Conqueror mounts in triumph," &c, "O, day of rest and gladness") are of a high order of excellence, others are prosaic. He was particularly anxious to avoid obscurity, and thus many of his hymns are simple to the verge of baldness. But this extreme simplicity was always intentional, and to those who can read between the lines there are many traces of the "ars celans artem." It is somewhat remarkable that though in citing examples of early hymnwriters he almost always refers to those of the Western Church, his own hymns more nearly resemble those of the Eastern, as may be seen by comparing The Holy Year with Dr. Mason Neale's Hymns of the Eastern Church translated, with Notes, &c. The reason of this perhaps half-unconscious resemblance is not far to seek. Christopher Wordsworth, like the Greek hymnwriters, drew his inspiration from Holy Scripture, and he loved, as they did, to interpret Holy Scripture mystically. He thought that ”the dangers to which the Faith of England (especially in regard to the Old Testament) was exposed, arose from the abandonment of the ancient Christian, Apostolic and Patristic system of interpretation of the Old Testament for the frigid and servile modern exegesis of the literalists, who see nothing in the Old Testament but a common history, and who read it (as St. Paul says the Jews do) ‘with a veil on their heart, which veil' (he adds) 'is done away in Christ.'" In the same spirit, he sought and found Christ everywhere in the New Testament. The Gospel History was only the history of what "Jesus began to do and to teach" on earth; the Acts of the Apostles and all the Epistles were the history of what he continued to do and to teach from Heaven; and the Apocalypse (perhaps his favourite book) was "the seal and colophon of all." Naturally he presents this theory, a theory most susceptible of poetical treatment, in his hymns even more prominently than in his other writings. The Greek writers took, more or less, the same view; hence the resemblance between his hymns and those of the Eastern Church. [Rev. J. H. Overton, D.D.]
During the time that Bishop Wordsworth was Canon of Westminster, and Vicar of Stanford-in-the-Vale cum Goosey, he published his collection of hymns as:—
The Holy Year; or Hymns for Sundays and Holy-days, And other Occasions. London, Rivingtons, 1862.
This work contained an extended Preface; a Calendar of Hymns; 117 Original Compositions; and a Supplement of 82 hymns from other sources. In the 3rd edition, 1863, the Supplement was omitted, and the Original hymns were increased to 127. Several of these hymns are annotated under their respective first lines, the rest in common use are:—
From The Holy Year, first edition, 1862:—
1. Five pebbles from the brook. Temptation. Stanza ix. added in 1863.
2. Giver of law is God's [Thy] dear Son. Circumcision. Doxology added in 1863.
3. Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost. Quinquagesima.
4. Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of Hosts, Eternal King. Holy Trinity.
5. Holy of Holies! awful name. Epistle 5th Sunday in Lent.
6. How blest are hearts which Christ the Lord. Holy Matrimony. In 1863 in two parts, Pt. ii. being "Bless these Thy servants, gracious Lord."
7. How blessed is the force of prayer. St. Peter. In 1863, in two parts, Pt. i. being "Behold! at hand is Herod's doom."
8. How wondrous and mysterious are. Holy Baptism. In the 1863 ed. it is divided into four parts:— Pt. ii. "In Jordan Thou didst sanctify"; Pt. iii. "Thee, risen in triumph from the grave"; Pt. iv." Baptized in Christ we put on Christ." The cento, "By Water and the Holy Ghost," is also from this hymn.
9. In sorrow and distress. Ash Wednesday.
10. In Thy glorious Resurrection . Easter. In the 1863 ed. it begins, "Lord, Thy glorious Resurrection," and the doxology was added.
11. Lord, may we never, save to One. Against False Worship. Stanza viii. was added in 1863.
12. Lord not with [by] poor and paltry gifts. Offertory.
13. Lord, Who didst the Prophets teach. 2nd Sunday in Advent, or, Holy Scripture. The doxology was added in 1863.
14. Man fell from grace by carnal appetite. Gospel 1st S. in Lent.
15. Mankind in Adam fell. Good Friday. In the 1863 ed. it is divided into three parts: Pt. ii. being "We fell by Adam's sin;" and Pt. iii. "Thy Cross a Trophy is."
16. Not bound by chains, nor pent in cells. The Gifts of the Holy Ghost. This hymn is preceded by a special note on the Holy Spirit and His gifts.
17. Not gifts of prophecy can save. Self Discipline, or, 8th Sunday after Trinity.
18. 0 Jerusalem beloved, joyful morn has dawned on Thee. Purification of Blessed Virgin Mary, or, The Presentation. In the 1863 edition it is divided into two parts, Pt. ii. Being “Light the Gentile world to lighten, and thy glory Israel."
19. 0 Saviour, Who at Nain's gate. The Raising of the Widow's Son.
20. 0 Son of God, the Eternal Word. The Queen's Accession.
21. Once all the nations were as one. Babel and Sion a Contrast.
22. Sing, 0 sing this blessed morn. Christmas. In the 1863 edition a doxology was added, and the hymn was divided into two parts, Pt. ii. being, "God comes down that man may rise."
23. The banner of the Cross. Missions. In the 1863 ed. it is in three parts, Pt. ii., "Now for the Lord our God"; Pt. iii. "The earth from East to West."
24. The Galilean Fishers toil. Collect 4th Sunday in Advent. From this "0 Lord, when storms around us howl" is taken.
25. Thou bidd'st us visit in distress. The Promise of the Comforter, or, Sunday before Ascension. In the 1863 edition it is in two parts, Pt. ii. being “At Thy first birth, Thou, Lord, didst wait."
26. Thou hast a Temple founded. The Christian Temple; or, Epistle 11th Sunday after Trinity.
27. To-day, 0 Lord, the Holy James. St. James. In the 1863 ed. in two parts, Pt. ii. being "God in His word does not display."
28. Today with bright effulgence shine. Conversion of St. Paul. In the 1863 ed. it begins "Today in Thine Apostle shine," and is in two parts, Pt. ii being "From East to West, from North to South."
29. Upon the sixth day of the week. Easter Eve. Stanzas x., xi. of the 1863 text were added then, and the hymn was given in two parts, Pt. ii. being "By tasting the forbidden fruit."
30. We hear the tolling bell. Burial. The doxology was added in 1863, and the hymn was divided, Pt. ii. being "0 gracious Lord, to Thee." The cento "We see the open grave" is from this hymn.
31. When from the City of our God. The Good Samaritan. From this is taken “What beams of grace and mercy, Lord."
32. When Thou, 0 Lord, didst send the Twelve. SS. Simon and Jude. In the 1863 ed. stanza x. is new, and Pt. ii. begins, "Zeal, swollen with passion's cloudy smoke."
ii. From the Holy Year, 3rd ed., 1863.
33. Heavenly Father, send Thy blessing. For Schools. In extensive use.
34. Holy, holy, holy Lord, Maker of this worldly frame. Septuagesima. Based on the Epistle and Gospel of the week.
35. Lo He comes! Whom every nation. Advent. This is headed "The First Advent of Christ, coming to save."
36. 0 fear not though before thee lies. Communion of the Sick. Pt. ii. begins, "The Resurrection and the Life."
37. On every new-born babe of earth. Churching of Women. Pt. ii. begins, "Bright angels of the King of kings."
38. Peace to this house! O Thou Whose way. Visitation of the Sick. Pt. ii. "0 Conqueror by suffering; Pt. iii. "Restore us to Thine house of prayer."
39. The day is gently sinking to a close. Evening. A beautiful hymn.
40. We all, 0 God, unrighteous are. The Lord our Righteousness. Sometimes "We all, O Lord, unrighteous are." Based upon the Epistle of the Sunday next before Advent. Pt. ii. begins "Behold the day, the glorious day."
In addition to many of the hymns in the 1863 edition of The Holy Year being divided into parts, the texts of most of them were revised by the author, and are authorized.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
================
Wordsworth, Bp. C. (Lincoln) , p. 1294, i. Of his hymns, noted on p. 1294, i., ii., we find that No. 39 appeared in his Holy Year in 1864; and Nos. 34, 35, and 40 in 1862. The first edition in which the longer hymns were divided into parts was that of 1868. With regard to the date of Bp. Wordsworth's death, we find this reference thereto in his Biography: "He expired soon after midnight on Friday, March 20, or perhaps, it might be said, early on the Saturday morning." This gives the date of his death as March 21, 1885.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
===========================
See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
Christopher Wordsworth
The Hymnary for use in Baptist churches
Publication Date: 1936 Publisher: Ryerson Press Publication Place: Toronto, Ont.
The Hymnary for use in Baptist churches
Small Church Music
Editors: John Newton Description:
The SmallChurchMusic site was launched in 2006, growing out of the requests from those struggling
to provide suitable music for their services and meetings. Rev. Clyde McLennan was ordained in mid
1960’s and was a pastor in many small Australian country areas, and therefore was acutely aware of
this music problem. Having also been trained as a Pipe Organist, recordings on site (which are a subset
of the smallchurchmusic.com site) are all actually played by Clyde, and also include piano and piano
with organ versions. All recordings are in MP3 format.
Churches all around the world use the recordings, with downloads averaging over 60,000 per
month.
The recordings normally have an introduction, several verses and a slowdown on the last verse.
Users are encouraged to use software: Audacity (http://www.audacityteam.org) or Song Surgeon (http://songsurgeon.com) (see http://scm-audacity.weebly.com for more information) to adjust the MP3 number of verses, tempo
and pitch to suit their local needs.
Copyright notice: Rev. Clyde McLennan, performer in this collection, has assigned his performer rights in this collection to Hymnary.org. Non-commercial use of these recordings is permitted. For permission to use them for any other purposes, please contact manager@hymnary.org.
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Christian Classics Ethereal Hymnary
Publication Date: 2007 Publisher: Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Christian Classics Ethereal Hymnary
