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Theodulf, Bishop of Orléans

750 - 821 Person Name: Theodulph of Orleans Author of "All glory, laud and honour" in The Book of Praise Theodulph of Orleans appears to have been a native of Italy. He was brought to France by Charles the Great, perhaps when Charles returned from Italy in 781. He became Bishop of Orleans about 785, and soon afterwards also Abbot of Fleury. After the death of Charles he continued for some time on friendly terms with the Emperor Louis, but, falling under suspicion of being concerned in the plot in favour of Bernard of Italy, was imprisoned in 818, at Angers, where he seems to have died in 821, apparently on Sep. 18. There is a full and interesting sketch of his life and works in the Dictionary of Chr. Biog., iii., pp. 983-989. See also Potthast's Biblical History, Medii Aevi, 1896, vol. ii., p. 1058. The best and most recent edition of his Carmina is in vol. i., Berlin, 1881, of the Poetae Latini Aevi Carolini, which includes his famous "Gloria, laus et honor," p. 426, i. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Johann Sebastian Bach

1685 - 1750 Person Name: J. S. Bach Adapter of "ST. THEODULPH (VALET WILL ICH DIE GEBEN)" in The New English Hymnal Johann Sebastian Bach was born at Eisenach into a musical family and in a town steeped in Reformation history, he received early musical training from his father and older brother, and elementary education in the classical school Luther had earlier attended. Throughout his life he made extraordinary efforts to learn from other musicians. At 15 he walked to Lüneburg to work as a chorister and study at the convent school of St. Michael. From there he walked 30 miles to Hamburg to hear Johann Reinken, and 60 miles to Celle to become familiar with French composition and performance traditions. Once he obtained a month's leave from his job to hear Buxtehude, but stayed nearly four months. He arranged compositions from Vivaldi and other Italian masters. His own compositions spanned almost every musical form then known (Opera was the notable exception). In his own time, Bach was highly regarded as organist and teacher, his compositions being circulated as models of contrapuntal technique. Four of his children achieved careers as composers; Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, and Chopin are only a few of the best known of the musicians that confessed a major debt to Bach's work in their own musical development. Mendelssohn began re-introducing Bach's music into the concert repertoire, where it has come to attract admiration and even veneration for its own sake. After 20 years of successful work in several posts, Bach became cantor of the Thomas-schule in Leipzig, and remained there for the remaining 27 years of his life, concentrating on church music for the Lutheran service: over 200 cantatas, four passion settings, a Mass, and hundreds of chorale settings, harmonizations, preludes, and arrangements. He edited the tunes for Schemelli's Musicalisches Gesangbuch, contributing 16 original tunes. His choral harmonizations remain a staple for studies of composition and harmony. Additional melodies from his works have been adapted as hymn tunes. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Hal H. Hopson

b. 1933 Person Name: Hal Hopson Composer (descant) of "ST THEODULPH (VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN)" in Voices United Hal H. Hopson (b. Texas, 1933) is a prolific composer, arranger, clinician, teacher and promoter of congregational song, with more than 1300 published works, especially of hymn and psalm arrangements, choir anthems, and creative ideas for choral and organ music in worship. Born in Texas, with degrees from Baylor University (BA, 1954), and Southern Baptist Seminary (MSM, 1956), he served churches in Nashville, TN, and most recently at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas. He has served on national boards of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and the Choristers Guild, and taught numerous workshops at various national conferences. In 2009, a collection of sixty four of his hymn tunes were published in Hymns for Our Time: The Collected Tunes of Hal H. Hopson. Emily Brink

George Duffield

1818 - 1888 Author of "Stand up, stand up, for Jesus" in Praise Songs Duffield, George, Jr., D.D., son of the Rev. Dr. Duffield, a Presbyterian Minister, was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Sept. 12, 1818, and graduated at Yale College, and at the Union Theological Seminary, New York. From 1840 to 1847 he was a Presbyterian Pastor at Brooklyn; 1847 to 1852, at Bloomfield, New Jersey; 1852 to 1861, at Philadelphia; 1861 to 1865, at Adrian, Michigan; 1865 to 1869, at Galesburg, Illinois; 1869, at Saginaw City, Michigan; and from 1869 at Ann Arbor and Lansing, Michigan. His hymns include;— 1. Blessed Saviour, Thee I love. Jesus only. One of four hymns contributed by him to Darius E. Jones's Temple Melodies, 1851. It is in 6 stanzas of 6 lines. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymnbook it is given in 3 stanzas. The remaining three hymns of the same date are:— 2. Parted for some anxious days. Family Hymn. 3. Praise to our heavenly Father, God. Family Union. 4. Slowly in sadness and in tears. Burial. 5. Stand up, stand up for Jesus. Soldiers of the Cross. The origin of this hymn is given in Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868, p. 298, as follows:— "I caught its inspiration from the dying words of that noble young clergyman, Rev. Dudley Atkins Tyng, rector of the Epiphany Church, Philadelphia, who died about 1854. His last words were, ‘Tell them to stand up for Jesus: now let us sing a hymn.' As he had been much persecuted in those pro-slavery days for his persistent course in pleading the cause of the oppressed, it was thought that these words had a peculiar significance in his mind; as if he had said, ‘Stand up for Jesus in the person of the downtrodden slave.' (Luke v. 18.)" Dr. Duffield gave it, in 1858, in manuscript to his Sunday School Superintendent, who published it on a small handbill for the children. In 1858 it was included in The Psalmist, in 6 stanzas of 8 lines. It was repeated in several collections and in Lyra Sac. Amer., 1868, from whence it passed, sometimes in an abbreviated form, into many English collections. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] - John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

Anonymous

Person Name: Composite Translator of "O how shall I receive thee" in Service Book and Hymnal of the Lutheran Church in America In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries.

Edward Henry Bickersteth

1825 - 1906 Person Name: E. H. Bickersteth Author of "O God, the Rock of Ages" in The Morning Hour Bickersteth, Edward Henry, D.D., son of Edward Bickersteth, Sr. born at Islington, Jan. 1825, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (B.A. with honours, 1847; M.A., 1850). On taking Holy Orders in 1848, he became curate of Banningham, Norfolk, and then of Christ Church, Tunbridge Wells. His preferment to the Rectory of Hinton-Martell, in 1852, was followed by that of the Vicarage of Christ Church, Hampstead, 1855. In 1885 he became Dean of Gloucester, and the same year Bishop of Exeter. Bishop Bickersteth's works, chiefly poetical, are:— (l) Poems, 1849; (2) Water from the Well-spring, 1852; (3) The Rock of Ages, 1858 ; (4) Commentary on the New Testament, 1864; (5) Yesterday, To-day, and For Ever, 1867; (6) The Spirit of Life, 1868; (7) The Two Brothers and other Poems, 1871; (8) The Master's Home Call, 1872 ; (9) The Shadowed Home and the Light Beyond, 1874; (10) The Beef and other Parables, 1873; (11) Songs in the House of Pilgrimage, N.D.; (12) From Year to Year, 1883. As an editor of hymnals, Bp. Bickersteth has also been most successful. His collections are:— (1) Psalms & Hymns, 1858, based on his father's Christian Psalmody, which passed through several editions; (2) The Hymnal Companion, 1870; (3) The Hymnal Companion revised and enlarged, 1876. Nos. 2 and 3, which are two editions of the same collection, have attained to an extensive circulation. [Ch. of England Hymnody.] About 30 of Bp. Bickersteths hymns are in common use. Of these the best and most widely known are:—" Almighty Father, hear our cry"; "Come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile"; "Father of heaven above"; "My God, my Father, dost Thou call"; "O Jesu, Saviour of the lost"; "Peace, perfect peace"; "Rest in the Lord"; "Stand, Soldier of the Cross"; " Thine, Thine, for ever"; and "Till He come.” As a poet Bp. Bickersteth is well known. His reputation as a hymn-writer has also extended far and wide. Joined with a strong grasp of his subject, true poetic feeling, a pure rhythm, there is a soothing plaintiveness and individuality in his hymns which give them a distinct character of their own. His thoughts are usually with the individual, and not with the mass: with the single soul and his God, and not with a vast multitude bowed in adoration before the Almighty. Hence, although many of his hymns are eminently suited to congregational purposes, and have attained to a wide popularity, yet his finest productions are those which are best suited for private use. -John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================= Bickersteth, Edward Henry, p. 141, ii. Bishop Bickersteth's 1890 edition of his Hymnal Companion is noted on p. 1312, i., and several of his own hymns and translations, which appear therein for the first time, are annotated in this Appendix. One of these, "All-merciful, Almighty Lord," for the Conv. of St. Paul, was written for the 1890 edition of Hymnal Companion. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ================== Bickersteth, B. H., p. 141, ii. Bp. Bickersteth died in London, May 16, 1906. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Christopher Wordsworth

1807 - 1885 Person Name: Christopher Wordsworth, 1807-1885 Author of "O day of rest and gladness" in Hymns for Worship 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

William Cowper

1731 - 1800 Author of "In holy contemplation " in The Lutheran Hymnary William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper"; b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1731; d. East Dereham, Norfolk, England, 1800) is regarded as one of the best early Romantic poets. To biographers he is also known as "mad Cowper." His literary talents produced some of the finest English hymn texts, but his chronic depression accounts for the somber tone of many of those texts. Educated to become an attorney, Cowper was called to the bar in 1754 but never practiced law. In 1763 he had the opportunity to become a clerk for the House of Lords, but the dread of the required public examination triggered his tendency to depression, and he attempted suicide. His subsequent hospitalization and friendship with Morley and Mary Unwin provided emotional stability, but the periods of severe depression returned. His depression was deepened by a religious bent, which often stressed the wrath of God, and at times Cowper felt that God had predestined him to damnation. For the last two decades of his life Cowper lived in Olney, where John Newton became his pastor. There he assisted Newton in his pastoral duties, and the two collaborated on the important hymn collection Olney Hymns (1779), to which Cowper contributed sixty-eight hymn texts. Bert Polman ============ Cowper, William, the poet. The leading events in the life of Cowper are: born in his father's rectory, Berkhampstead, Nov. 26, 1731; educated at Westminster; called to the Bar, 1754; madness, 1763; residence at Huntingdon, 1765; removal to Olney, 1768; to Weston, 1786; to East Dereham, 1795; death there, April 25, 1800. The simple life of Cowper, marked chiefly by its innocent recreations and tender friendships, was in reality a tragedy. His mother, whom he commemorated in the exquisite "Lines on her picture," a vivid delineation of his childhood, written in his 60th year, died when he was six years old. At his first school he was profoundly wretched, but happier at Westminster; excelling at cricket and football, and numbering Warren Hastings, Colman, and the future model of his versification. Churchill, among his contemporaries or friends. Destined for the Bar, he was articled to a solicitor, along with Thurlow. During this period he fell in love with his cousin, Theodora Cowper, sister to Lady Hesketh, and wrote love poems to her. The marriage was forbidden by her father, but she never forgot him, and in after years secretly aided his necessities. Fits of melancholy, from which he had suffered in school days, began to increase, as he entered on life, much straitened in means after his father's death. But on the whole, it is the playful, humorous side of him that is most prominent in the nine years after his call to the Bar; spent in the society of Colman, Bonnell Thornton, and Lloyd, and in writing satires for The Connoisseur and St. James's Chronicle and halfpenny ballads. Then came the awful calamity, which destroyed all hopes of distinction, and made him a sedentary invalid, dependent on his friends. He had been nominated to the Clerkship of the Journals of the House of Lords, but the dread of appearing before them to show his fitness for the appointment overthrew his reason. He attempted his life with "laudanum, knife and cord,"—-in the third attempt nearly succeeding. The dark delusion of his life now first showed itself—a belief in his reprobation by God. But for the present, under the wise and Christian treatment of Dr. Cotton (q. v.) at St. Albans, it passed away; and the eight years that followed, of which the two first were spent at Huntingdon (where he formed his lifelong friendship with Mrs. Unwin), and the remainder at Olney in active piety among the poor, and enthusiastic devotions under the guidance of John Newton (q. v.), were full of the realisation of God's favour, and the happiest, most lucid period of his life. But the tension of long religious exercises, the nervous excitement of leading at prayer meetings, and the extreme despondence (far more than the Calvinism) of Newton, could scarcely have been a healthy atmosphere for a shy, sensitive spirit, that needed most of all the joyous sunlight of Christianity. A year after his brother's death, madness returned. Under the conviction that it was the command of God, he attempted suicide; and he then settled down into a belief in stark contradiction to his Calvinistic creed, "that the Lord, after having renewed him in holiness, had doomed him to everlasting perdition" (Southey). In its darkest form his affliction lasted sixteen months, during which he chiefly resided in J. Newton's house, patiently tended by him and by his devoted nurse, Mrs. Unwin. Gradually he became interested in carpentering, gardening, glazing, and the tendance of some tame hares and other playmates. At the close of 1780, Mrs. Unwin suggested to him some serious poetical work; and the occupation proved so congenial, that his first volume was published in 1782. To a gay episode in 1783 (his fascination by the wit of Lady Austen) his greatest poem, The Task, and also John Gilpin were owing. His other principal work was his Homer, published in 1791. The dark cloud had greatly lifted from his life when Lady Hesketh's care accomplished his removal to Weston (1786): but the loss of his dear friend William Unwin lowered it again for some months. The five years' illness of Mrs. Unwin, during which his nurse of old became his tenderly-watched patient, deepened the darkness more and more. And her death (1796) brought “fixed despair," of which his last poem, The Castaway, is the terrible memorial. Perhaps no more beautiful sentence has been written of him, than the testimony of one, who saw him after death, that with the "composure and calmness" of the face there “mingled, as it were, a holy surprise." Cowper's poetry marks the dawn of the return from the conventionality of Pope to natural expression, and the study of quiet nature. His ambition was higher than this, to be the Bard of Christianity. His great poems show no trace of his monomania, and are full of healthy piety. His fame as a poet is less than as a letter-writer: the charm of his letters is unsurpassed. Though the most considerable poet, who has written hymns, he has contributed little to the development of their structure, adopting the traditional modes of his time and Newton's severe canons. The spiritual ideas of the hymns are identical with Newton's: their highest note is peace and thankful contemplation, rather than joy: more than half of them are full of trustful or reassuring faith: ten of them are either submissive (44), self-reproachful (17, 42, 43), full of sad yearning (1, 34), questioning (9), or dark spiritual conflict (38-40). The specialty of Cowper's handling is a greater plaintiveness, tenderness, and refinement. A study of these hymns as they stood originally under the classified heads of the Olney Hymns, 1779, which in some cases probably indicate the aim of Cowper as well as the ultimate arrangement of the book by Newton, shows that one or two hymns were more the history of his conversion, than transcripts of present feelings; and the study of Newton's hymns in the same volume, full of heavy indictment against the sins of his own regenerate life, brings out the peculiar danger of his friendship to the poet: it tends also to modify considerably the conclusions of Southey as to the signs of incipient madness in Cowper's maddest hymns. Cowper's best hymns are given in The Book of Praise by Lord Selborne. Two may be selected from them; the exquisitely tender "Hark! my soul, it is the Lord" (q. v.), and "Oh, for a closer walk with God" (q. v.). Anyone who knows Mrs. Browning's noble lines on Cowper's grave will find even a deeper beauty in the latter, which is a purely English hymn of perfect structure and streamlike cadence, by connecting its sadness and its aspiration not only with the “discord on the music" and the "darkness on the glory," but the rapture of his heavenly waking beneath the "pathetic eyes” of Christ. Authorities. Lives, by Hayley; Grimshaw; Southey; Professor Goldwin Smith; Mr. Benham (attached to Globe Edition); Life of Newton, by Rev. Josiah Bull; and the Olney Hymns. The numbers of the hymns quoted refer to the Olney Hymns. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================ Cowper, W. , p. 265, i. Other hymns are:— 1. Holy Lord God, I love Thy truth. Hatred of Sin. 2. I was a grovelling creature once. Hope and Confidence. 3. No strength of nature can suffice. Obedience through love. 4. The Lord receives His highest praise. Faith. 5. The saints should never be dismayed. Providence. All these hymns appeared in the Olney Hymns, 1779. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ===================== Cowper, W., p. 265, i. Prof. John E. B. Mayor, of Cambridge, contributed some letters by Cowper, hitherto unpublished, together with notes thereon, to Notes and Queries, July 2 to Sept. 24, 1904. These letters are dated from Huntingdon, where he spent two years after leaving St. Alban's (see p. 265, i.), and Olney. The first is dated "Huntingdon, June 24, 1765," and the last "From Olney, July 14, 1772." They together with extracts from other letters by J. Newton (dated respectively Aug. 8, 1772, Nov. 4, 1772), two quotations without date, followed by the last in the N. & Q. series, Aug. 1773, are of intense interest to all students of Cowper, and especially to those who have given attention to the religious side of the poet's life, with its faint lights and deep and awful shadows. From the hymnological standpoint the additional information which we gather is not important, except concerning the hymns "0 for a closer walk with God," "God moves in a mysterious way," "Tis my happiness below," and "Hear what God, the Lord, hath spoken." Concerning the last three, their position in the manuscripts, and the date of the last from J. Newton in the above order, "Aug. 1773," is conclusive proof against the common belief that "God moves in a mysterious way" was written as the outpouring of Cowper's soul in gratitude for the frustration of his attempted suicide in October 1773. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Karl Johann Philipp Spitta

1801 - 1859 Person Name: C. J. P. Spitta Author of "Was macht ihr, daß ihr weinet" in Evangelisches Gesangbuch mit vierstimmigen Melodien Spitta, Carl Johann Philipp, D.D., was born Aug. 1, 1801, at Hannover, where his father, Lebrecht Wilhelm Gottfried Spitta, was then living, as bookkeeper and teacher of the French language. In his eleventh year Spitta fell into a severe illness, which lasted for four years, and so threw him back that his mother (the father died in 1805) abandoned the idea of a professional career, and apprenticed him to a watchmaker. This occupation did not prove at all congenial to him, but he would not confess his dislike, and his family were ignorant of it till an old friend, who was trying to comfort him after the death of a younger brother, discovered his true feelings. The younger brother had been preparing for ordination, and so Carl was now invited by the family to adopt this career. He joyfully accepted the offer, left the workshop in the autumn of 1818, and succeeded, by dint of hard study during the winter, in gaining admission to the highest class in the Gymnasium (Lyceum) at Hannover, which he entered at Easter, 1819. He was thus able, at Easter, 1821, to proceed to the University of Göttingen, where he completed his theological course, under professors of pronounced Rationalistic opinions, at Easter, 1824 (D.D. from Gottingen, 1855). He then became, in the beginning of May, a tutor in the family of Judge (Oberamlmann) Jochnius, at Lüine, near Lüneburg. Here he remained till his ordination on Dec. 10, 1828, as assistant pastor at Sudwalde, near Hoya. In Nov., 1830, he became assistant chaplain to the garrison and to the prison at Hameln on the Weser, and would have succeeded as permanent chaplain there, in the beginning of 1837, had not the military authorities, alarmed by reports which described him as a Pietist and a Mystic, refused to sanction the arrangement. As a compensation, he was appointed pastor at Wechold, near Hoya, in Oct., 1837, and married just before settling there. On his birthday, Aug. 1, 1847, he was instituted as Lutheran superintendent at Wittingen; in Oct., 1853, at Peine; and in July, 1859, at Burgdorf—all his appointments having been in the kingdom of Hannover. A few weeks after removing to Burgdorf he was seized with gastric fever, but had apparently recovered, when, on Sept. 28, 1859, while sitting at his writing table, he was seized with cramp of the heart, and died in a quarter of an hour. Spitta had begun to write in verse when he was eight years old, along with his brother Heinrich. During his university course he continued to write songs and secular poems, and published a collection of songs anonymously as a Sangbüchlein der Liebe für Handwerksleute. At Göttingen he formed a life-long friendship with Adolf Peters. He was also on intimate terms with Heinrich Heine, who was a fellow member with them of the Burschenschaft, or student's patriotic union (see K. Goedeke'sGrundriss, vol. iii., 1881, p. 259); and this friendship continued till Heine, while visiting him at Ltine, so jested at things sacred, even in the presence of Spitta's pupils, that their friendship came to an end. After the spiritual change, which began about the end of his university course, Spitta ceased to write secular pieces. His hymnwriting proper seems to have begun in 1821. In writing to a friend on May 5, 1826, he says, "In the manner in which I formerly sang I sing no more. To the Lord I consecrate my life and my love, and likewise my song. His love is the one great theme of all my songs; to praise and exalt it worthily is the desire of the Christian singer. He gave to me song and melody; I give it back to Him." The most fruitful period of his hymnwriting was at Lüne, where many of his most popular hymns were composed in the quiet evenings, in his own room, often after fasting, and when, sitting at the piano or at his harp, he had tuned his spirit to song. Many others were inspired by the beautiful scenery of the valley of the Weser, and by the intercourse with friends during his residence at Hameln. In his later years his ecclesiastical duties absorbed his attention, and hardly any of his hymns were written after 1847. A number of them were first printed in the Christliche Monatsschrift zur häuslichen Erbauung für alle Stände, which appeared from Jan. to June, 1826, and was edited by Spitta and by Pastor Deichmann, of Lüneburg. Various causes doubtless contributed to the popularity of Spitta's Psalter und Harfe. The hymns therein are, as a rule, of moderate length, are clear and simple in style, refined in diction, sweet, flowing and melodious. Their quiet beauty, their tone of earnest, sincere, and childlike piety, of glowing devotion to the Saviour, and of calm resting on, what to Spitta were, the eternal verities, endeared them to all ranks and classes. They form a faithful mirror of his inner life and Chritian experience. They at once met and ministered to the revival of Evangelical religion in Germany, and thus enjoyed somewhat of the same good fortune and popularity which the renewed churchly life in England brought to Keble's Christian Year. As the title adopted shows Spitta meant them for family and private use, and for this they are best fitted, being, for the most part, subjective and individnal. They speedily, however, passed into the German hymnbooks for church use, both at home and abroad, and translations of them are found in almost all recent English and American collections. Another element of Spitta's popularity in Germany has been contributed by the very numerous musical settings which have appeared to his hymns. Koch, vii., 246, gives a list of the more important of the collective editions, but, besides these, many of the separate pieces have been set to music by various composers, the "Angel of Patience" being one of the greatest favourites. A number of Spitta's hymns are annotated under their original first lines. Of the rest we may note here the following:— I. From his Psalter und Harfe. 1st Series, Pirna, 1833, and the 2nd ed. Leipzig, 1834; 2nd Series, Leipzig, 1843. i. Allen ist ein Heil beschieden. Communion of Saints. First published at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 27, in 5 stanzas of 7 lines, entitled "Unity in spirit." Another translation is:—“Salvation is a boon." By Miss Fry, 1859, p. 75. ii. Es wird mein Herz mit Freuden wach. Sunday Morning. First published at Leipzig, 1843, p. 61, in 7 st. of 4 1., entitled "Sunday Morning." Translated as:— My heart wakes with a joyful lay. This is a good and full tr. by Mrs. Findlater, in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 4th Ser. 1862, p. 82. Repeated, abridged and beginning "Awake! all hearts and joyful say," in G. S. Jellicoe's Collection, 1867, No. 26. Other trs. are: (1) "My heart awakes with holy glee." By Miss Manington, 1863, p. 143. (2) "Awake, my heart, this day of rest." By R. Massie, 1864, p. 51. (3) "My heart is bright with joy." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 25. iii. Gottes Stadt steht festgegründet. Christian Church. First published at Leipzig, 1843, p. 97, in 6 stanzas of 12 lines, entitled "The City of God," and founded on Ps. lxxxvii. Tr. as:— By the holy hills surrounded, In full, by R.. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1864, p. 82, repeated in the Wesleyan Hymn Book1875, No. 595. iv. Hochgesegnet seid ihr Boten. Foreign Missions. First pub. at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 24, in 6 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled "The Missionaries to the Heathen." Tr. as:— Blest are ye, ye chosen bearers. In full, by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1860, p. 95. Other trs. are: (1) "Ye messengers of Christ, By Him commissioned forth." By Miss Fry, 1859, p. 147. (2) "0 blessed are ye messengers, sent forth." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 52. v. Ich glaube, darum rede ich. Faith. First published at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 56, in 5 st. of 8 1., entitled " I believe." Tr. as:— I believe, and so have spoken. By R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1860, p. 55. vi. Ich höre deine Stimme. Ps. xxiii. First pub. at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 44, in 7 st. of 8 1., entitled "The Lord is my Shepherd." Tr. as:— 1. I hear my Shepherd calling. This is a good and full tr. by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestic, 1860, p. 44 2. Jesu, my Lord, my Shepherd. This is a very good translation, omitting st. vi., in the Catholic Apostolic Hymns for the Use of the Churches, n.d. [1868], marked as tr. by "M. E. A. 1867." Other trs. are: (1) "Shepherd of souls. Thy voice I hear, As stage." By Dr. R. Maguire, 1872, p. 166. (2) “I know Thy voice, my Shepherd.” By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 11. vii. Ich und mein Haus, wir sind bereit. Family Use. A fine hymn, founded on Joshua xxiv., 15. First pub. at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 110, in 6 st. of 10 1., entitled “I and my house will serve the Lord." Tr. as:— I and my house are ready, Lord. In full, by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1860, p. 103. viii. Im Osten flammt empor der gol'dne Morgen. Morning. First published at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 91, in 7 st. of 6 1., entitled "At Morning." Tr. as:— The golden morn flames up the Eastern sky. This is a good and full tr. by Miss Winkworth, in the Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 74. Other trs. are: (1) “The golden morn is in the East arisen." By the Hon. S. R. Maxwell in his Sacred Poems, 1857, p. 114. (2) "On the far East now flames the golden Morning." By S. A. Storrs, in her Thoughts and Sketches, 1857, p. 74. (3) "Lo! in the East the golden morn appearing." By Miss Fry, 1859, p. 1. (4) “The purple morning gilds the Eastern skies." By R. Massie, 1860, p. 6. (5) "Out from the East, the golden morn is riding." By Miss Manington. 1863, p. 113. (6) “See from the East the golden morn." By Dr. R. Maguire, 1883, p. 27. ix. Kehre wieder, kehre wieder. Lent. Founded on Jer. iii. 12, 13. First pub. at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 29, in 5 st. of 10 l., entitled " Turn again." Translated as:— 1. Return, return! Poor long-lost wanderer, home. This is a free tr. by Miss Borthwick in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 2nd Ser., 1855, p. 25. 2. Turn, poor wanderer, ere the sentence. In full, by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestic, 1860, p. 69. Other trs. are: (1) "Turn, O turn, no more delaying." By the Hon. S. R. Maxwell, in his Sacred Poems, 1857, p. 101. (2) "Return, return, thou lost one." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 59. (3) "Return again! return again." By J. Kelly, in his Hymns of the Present Century, 1885, p. 60. x. Meine Stund' ist noch nicht kommen. Cross and Consolation. First published at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 37, in 7 st. of 6 1., entitled "The Lord's Hour.” Tr. as:— Jesus' hour is not yet come. This is a free tr., omitting st. v., by Miss Borthwick, in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 2nd ser. 1855, p.43. Other trs. are:—(1) "'Tis not yet the time appointed." By R. Massie, 1860, p. 47, and in Reid's Praise Book, 1872. (2) " My times, O Lord, are in Thy hand." By Dr. R. Maguire, 1883, p. 99. xi. Kimm hin, was dein ist, Gott, nimms hin. Surrender to God. This beautiful hymn was first pub. at Leipzig, 1843, as above, p. 58, in 5 st. of 10 1., entitled "Resignation." Translated as:— I give Thee back Thine own again. A good and full tr. by R. Massie, in hisLyra Domestica, 1864, p. 49. xii. 0 du, der uns begegnet. Christian Service. First pub. at Leipzig, 1843, as above, p. 92, in 4 st. of 4 1., entitled "The Blessing of the Blest." Tr. as:— 0 Thou Whose grace first found us, Whose love. In full, by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1864. xiii. O komm, du Geist der Wahrheit. Whitsuntide. First pub. at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 12, in 7 st. of 8 1., entitled "Whitsunday." Tr. as:— 1. Draw, Holy Spirit, nearer. In full, by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1860, p. 27. 2. 0 come, Eternal Spirit, Of truth, diffuse Thou light. xiv. 0 Vaterhand, die mich so treu geführet. Holy Trinity. A fine hymn, first pub. at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 128, in 3 st. of 8 1., entitled "Father, Son, and Spirit.” Tr. as:— 1. O Father-Eye, that hath so truly watch'd. By Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 63. 2. Father whose hand hath led me so securely. xv. 0 welche fromme schöne Sitte. Spiritual Conversation. First pub. at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 101, in 6 st. of 8 1., entitled "The Blessing of Christian fellowship." Tr. as:— It is a practice greatly blest. In full, by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1860, p. 89. xvi. 0 wie freun wir uns der Stunde. Fellowship with Christ. First pub. at Leipzig, 1843, as above, p. 3, in 6 st. of 8 1., entitled "Thou hast the words of Eternal Life". Tr. as:— Oh J how blest the hour, Lord Jesus. In full, by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1864, p. 5. Another tr. is: "How great the joy, how blest the hour." By Dr. R. Maguire, 1872, p. 182. xvii. 0 wie manche schone Stunde. Cross and Consolation. First published at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 130, in 10 st. of 4 1., entitled "Comfort." Tr. as:— 1. O how many hours of gladness, Hath the Lord. In full, by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1860, p. 126, repeated, abridged, in the Book of Common Praise, 1863. 2. O how many hours of beauty. This is a good and full tr., by Mrs. Findlater, in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 4th Ser., 1862, p. 11. Another tr. is: "O how many an hour of gladness." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 16. xviii. Sehet, sehet, welche Liebe. The Love of the Holy Trinity. First pub. at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 19, in 3 st. of 8 1., entitled " See what Love." Tr. as:— See, O see, what love the Father. In full, by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1860, p. 50. Other trs. are : (1) "Behold the Father's love." By Miss Fry, 1859, p. 9. (2) "See! what wondrous love, how matchless." By Miss Manington, 1863, p. 33. (3) “Behold what love the Father hath—how great." By Dr. R. Maguire, 1872, p. 68. xix. Unser Wandel ist im Himmel! Wie ein Mensch in sich versenkt. The Christian Life. First pub. at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 75, in 7 st. of 8 1., entitled "Our Conversation is in Heaven," and suggested by Philipp. iii. 20. Tr. as:— As a traveller returning. In full, by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1860, p. 73. This is found in two centos :— 1. Jesus, like the magnet, raises (st. iii., v., vi.) in the Methodist New Congregational Hymn Book 1863. 2. Can we have our hearts in heaven (st. v., vii.) in Adams's Church Pastorals, Boston, U.S., 1864. Another tr. is: "We are citizens of heaven." In the British Herald, January, 1866, p. 205. xx. Wandle leuchtender und schöner. Easter. First published at Pirna, 1833, as above, p. 8, in 9 st. of 8 1., entitled "Easter Festival." Tr. as:— Sun, shine forth in all thy splendour. This is a full and good tr. by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1860, p. 24. Another tr. is: "With brighter glory, Easter Sun." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 4. xxi. Wir sind des Herrn, wir leben, oder sterben. Life in Christ. A fine hymn founded on Rom. xiv. 8. Tr. as:— 1. We are the Lord's; His all-sufficient merit. This is a good and full tr. by C. T. Astley, in his Songs in the Night, 1860, p. 32. 2. We are the Lord's, whether we live or die. Also a good and full tr. by R. Massie, in his Lyra Domestica, 1864, p. 81. Hymns not in English common use:— xxii. Ach, welche Marter, welche Flagen. Christ's Mercy. Tr. as "O Lord, what sorrows past expression." xxiii. Das Leben wird oft trübe. Spiritual Dryness. The trs. are: (1) "How weary and how worthless this life at times appears." (2) “Our life is often dark." (3) "This life is ofttimes gloomy." (4) "Life often seems so dreary.” xxiv. Der du in der Nacht des Todes. Epiphany. The trs. are: (1) "Thou Who in the night of death." (2) "Christ whose first appearance lighted." (3) "Thou who in death's night of terror." (4) "Christ, who in Death's night of darkness." xxv. Des Christen Schmuck und Ordensband. Rejoicing in Tribulation. The trs. are: (1) "The Christian's badge of honour here." (2) "The badge the Christian wears on earth." (3) "The Christian's star of honour here." (4) "The sign of faith, and love's true token xxvi. Du schöne Lilie auf dem Feld. Trust in God. The trs. are: (1) "Thou beauteous lily of the field, Who robed." (2) "Thou beauteous lily of the field! Who hath." (3) "Thou beauteous lily of the field, Thou child to Nature dear." (4) "Sweet lily of the field, declare." (5) "Thou pretty lily of the field." (6) "Thou lovely lily of the field." xxvii. Ein lieblich Loos ist uns gefallen. The Christian's Portion. xxviii. Ein Pilger schickt sich an zur Fahrt. For the Dying. Tr. as (1) "A pilgrim stands on Jordan's brink." (2) "A pilgrim for his new abode." xxix. Erhalt' in mir den Lebenstrieb, das Sehnen. The Plant of Grace. The trs. are (1) "Maintain in me the sap of life, the yearning." (2) "Excite in me, 0 Lord, an ardent thirst.” (3) "Uphold in me a living wish and longing." xxx. Es giebt ein Lied der Lieder. The Lord's Song. The trs. are: (1) "A Song of songs there is." (2) "There is a song so thrilling." (3) "There is a song now singing." (4) "One song of songs —the sweetest." (5) "A blessed Song of songs there is." xxxi. Freuet euch der schonen Erde. Joy in the Beauties of Nature. The trs. are: (1) "0 rejoice in Nature's beauties." (2) "In the beauteous earth rejoice ye." (3) "Rejoice in the beautiful earth! For well may." (4) "Rejoice in the beautiful earth For well she," &c. (5) "Joy ye o'er this earth so lovely." (6) "Rejoice in Earth's fair beauty." xxxii. Gehe hin in Gottes Namen. Before Work. The trs. are: (1) "Cheerfully to work proceed.” (2) "In the name of God advancing." (3) "In the Name of God go forward." xxxiii. Ich nehme, was du mir bestimmst. Submission to God's Will. The trs. are: (1) "What Thou appointest I receive." (2) "Give what Thou wilt oh Lord! my grateful heart." (3) "Thy will I cheerfully obey.” xxxiv. Ich steh' in xneines Herren Hand. Trust in God. Tr. as "I place myself in Jesus' hands." xxxv. In der Angst der Welt will ich nicht klagen. Christian Life. The trs. are: (1) "Amid the world's vexations." (2) "Uncomplaining, though with care grown hoary." (3) "In this earth—life's bitter anguish.” xxxvi. 0 du, den meine Seele liebt. Holy Communion. The trs. are: (1) "0 Thou, Who holdest in my heart." (2) "Oh Thou, my loving thoughts employ.” xxxvii. Still an deinem liebevollen Herzen. The Love of Christ. The trs. are: (1) "Safe on thy paternal breast." (2) "With calm repose, Oh let me lie." (3) "Still on Thy loving heart let me repose." xxxviii. Stimm' an das Lied vom Sterben. For the Dying. Sung at hisown funeral on Sunday, Oct. 1, 1859. The trs. are: (1) "I sing of death and dying." (2) "Sing now the Song of Dying." xxxix. Vom Oelberg' wogt es nieder. Christ weeping over Jerusalem. The trs. are: (1) "Hark! for loud notes of joy." (2) "Where yonder mount, with olives clad." (3) “From Olivet the surging crowd." xl. Was macht ihr dass ihr weinet. Communion of Saints. Founded on Acts xxi. 13. The trs. are: (1) "What mean ye by this wailing." (2) "What mean ye, dearly loved ones." (3) " What mean ye thus those tears to weep." (4) "How mean ye thus by weeping." (5) "Why is it that ye're weeping." xli. Weint nicht uber Jesu Schmerzen. Repentance. The trs. are: (1) "For Jesu's agony and death." (2) "Wherefore weep we over Jesus." (3) "Weep not over Jesu's sorrow." xlii. Wie wird uns sein, wenn endlich nach dent schweren. Eternal Life. The trs. are: (1) "How shall it be with us, when we, frail mortals." (2) "O what will be the day, when won at last." (3) "What shall we be, and whither shall we go?" (4) "How will it be? when past the conflict heavy.” (5) "O what shall we be, when the conflict o'er." xliii. Winter ist es. In dem weiten Reich. Winter. The trs. are: (1) "Winter is here, and none may dare intrude." (2) "It is winter. All seems dead or dying." (3) "Winter it is! o'er the mighty kingdom." (4) "It is Winter. The wide realm of Nature.” (5) "Winter is here. In Nature's wide domain." (6) "It is winter; and the wide domain.” xliv. Wohl uns, der Vater hat uns lieb. The Love of God. Founded on Rom. viii. 32. This was, according to Koch vii. 243, one of the hymns which Spitta wrote between Easter and July, 1824, while studying the Epistle to the Romans, and which on July 7, 1824, he sent to his brother Heinrich Spitta, professor of medicine at Rostock, but Ludwig Spitta dates it "Autumn, 1833." It is tr. as "How blest are we! that God of us." xlv. Wo ist göttliches Erbarmen. The Grace of Christ. The trs. are:— (1) "Oh where doth mercy dwell." (2) "Where is mercy and compassion." (3) "Where is Divine compassion, that." xlvi. Wort des Lebens, lautre Quelle. Holy Scripture. The trs. are: (1) "Word of Life! unsullied fountain." (2) "Thou word of Life, unsullied spring!" (3) "Word of Life, eternal Fountain." (4) "Word of Life, thou fountain bright.” II. From his Nachgelassene geistliche Lieder. Leipzig, 1861. Hardly any of these have come into use in Germany; and they have either remained unknown to or have been almost entirely ignored by translators into English. We need only note two, viz.:— xlvii. Die erste Ruhestatte die die Welt. Christmas. It is tr. as "The cradle which the world has drest." xlviii. 0 Herbst, du Abendstunde. Autumn. It is tr. as “0 autumn, fair pensive evening." By Miss Borthwick, in the Family Treasury, 1864, p. 191, dated September 1864, and included Thoughtful Hour, 1867, p. 181. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =================== Spitta, C. J. P. , p. 1076, ii. A new edition of the Psalter und Harfe (both parts), with biographical Introduction, was published at Gotha in 1890. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

E. H. Plumptre

1821 - 1891 Person Name: E. H. Plumptre, 1821-91 Author of "Thy hand, O God, has guided" in The English Hymnal Edward H. Plumptre (b. London, England, August 6, 1821; d. Wells, England, February 1, 1891) was an eminent classical and biblical scholar who gained prominence in both church and university. Educated at King's College, London, and University College, Oxford, he was ordained in the Church of England in 1846. Plumptre served as a preacher at Oxford and a professor of pastoral theology at King's College, and held a number of other prestigious positions. His writings include A Life of Bishop Ken (1888), translations from Greek and Latin classics, and poetry and hymns. Plumptre was also a member of the committee that produced the Revised Version of the Bible. Bert Polman ==================== Plumptre, Edward Hayes, D.D., son of Mr. E. H. Plumptre, was born in London, Aug. 6, 1821, and educated at King's College, London, and University College, Oxford, graduating as a double first in 1844. He was for some time Fellow of Brasenose. On taking Holy Orders in 1846 he rapidly attained to a foremost position as a Theologian and Preacher. His appointments have been important and influential, and include that of Assistant Preacher at Lincoln's Inn; Select Preacher at Oxford; Professor of Pastoral Theology at King's College, London; Dean of Queen's, Oxford; Prebendary in St. Paul's Cathedral, London; Professor of Exegesis of the New Testament in King's College, London; Boyle Lecturer; Grinfield Lecturer on the Septuagint, Oxford; Examiner in the Theological schools at Oxford; Member of the Old Testament Company for the Revision of the A.V. of the Holy Scriptures; Rector of Pluckley, 1869; Vicar of Bickley, Kent, 1873; and Dean of Wells, 1881. Dean Plumptre's literary productions have been very numerous and important, and embrace the classics, history, divinity, biblical criticism, biography, and poetry. The list as set forth in Crockford's Clerical Directory is very extensive. His poetical works include Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1864; Master and Scholar, 1866; Things New and Old, 1884; and translations of Sophocles, Æschylus, and Dante. As a writer of sacred poetry he ranks very high. His hymns are elegant in style, fervent in spirit, and broad in treatment. The subjects chosen are mainly those associated with the revived Church life of the present day, from the Processional at a Choral Festival to hospital work and the spiritual life in schools and colleges. The rhythm of his verse has a special attraction for musicians, its poetry for the cultured, and its stately simplicity for the devout and earnest-minded. The two which have attained to the most extensive use in Great Britain and America are: Rejoice, ye pure in heart," and "Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old." His translations from the Latin, many of which were made for the Hymnary, 1871 and 1872, are very good and musical, but they have not been used in any way in proportion to their merits. His original hymns in common use include:— 1. Behold they gain the lonely height. The Transfiguration. Written for and first published in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871. 2. For all Thy countless bounties. National Hymns. Written for the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, 1887, and set to music by C. W. Lavington. It was printed, together with the National Anthem adapted for the Jubilee, in Good Words, 1887. 3. Lo, summer comes again! Harvest. Written in 1871 for use at the Harvest Festival in Pluckley Church, Kent, of which the author was then rector, and published in the same year in the Hymnary, No. 466. 4. March, march, onward soldiers true. Processional at Choral Festivals. Written in 1867 for the tune of Costa's March of the Israelites in the Oratorio of Eli, at the request of the Rev. Henry White, Chaplain of the Savoy, and first used in that Chapel. It was subsequently published in the Savoy Hymnary, N.D. [1870], in 4 stanzas of 4 lines; in a Choral Festival book at Peterborough, and in the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns, 1871. 5. 0 Light, Whose beams illumine all. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. Written in May 1864, and published in his Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1864, as one of five Hymns for School and College. It passed into the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern, and again into other collections. 6. 0 Lord of hosts, all heaven possessing. For School or College. Written in May, 1864, and published in his Lazarus and other Poems, 1864, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines. 7. 0 praise the Lord our God. Processional Thanksgiving Hymn. Written May 1864, and published in his Lazarus, and other Poems, 1864, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines. It is a most suitable hymn for Sunday school gatherings. 8. Rejoice, ye pure in heart. Processional at Choral Festival. Written in May 1865, for the Peterborough Choral Festival of that year, and first used in Peterborough Cathedral. In the same year it was published with special music by Novello & Co; and again (without music) in the 2nd edition of Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1865. It was included in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern with the change in stanza i., line 3, of "Your orient banner wave on high," to "Your festal banner wave on high." It is more widely used than any other of the author's hymns. Authorized text in Hymns Ancient & Modern. 9. Thine arm, 0 Lord, in days of old. Hospitals. Written in 1864 for use in King's College Hospital, London, and first printed on a fly-sheet as "A Hymn used in the Chapel of King's College Hospital." It was included in the 2nd edition of Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1865; in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern; the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns, 1871; Thring's Collection, 1882; and many others. 10. Thy hand, 0 God, has guided. Church Defence. Included in the 1889 Supplemental Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern The closing line of each stanza, "One Church, one Faith, one Lord," comes in with fine effect. Dean Plumptre's Life of Bishop Ken, 1888, is an exhaustive and excellent work. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =============== Plumptre, E. H., p. 897, i. Died at the Deanery, Wells, Feb. 1, 1891. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)