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Reginald Heber

1783 - 1826 Person Name: Reginald Heber, 1783-1826 Hymnal Number: 1 Author of "Holy, Holy, Holy" in The Abingdon Song Book Reginald Heber was born in 1783 into a wealthy, educated family. He was a bright youth, translating a Latin classic into English verse by the time he was seven, entering Oxford at 17, and winning two awards for his poetry during his time there. After his graduation he became rector of his father's church in the village of Hodnet near Shrewsbury in the west of England where he remained for 16 years. He was appointed Bishop of Calcutta in 1823 and worked tirelessly for three years until the weather and travel took its toll on his health and he died of a stroke. Most of his 57 hymns, which include "Holy, Holy, Holy," are still in use today. -- Greg Scheer, 1995 ==================== Heber, Reginald, D.D. Born at Malpas, April 21, 1783, educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; Vicar of Hodnet, 1807; Bishop of Calcutta, 1823; died at Trichinopoly, India, April 3, 1826. The gift of versification shewed itself in Heber's childhood; and his Newdigate prize poem Palestine, which was read to Scott at breakfast in his rooms at Brazenose, Oxford, and owed one of its most striking passages to Scott's suggestion, is almost the only prize poem that has won a permanent place in poetical literature. His sixteen years at Hodnet, where he held a halfway position between a parson and a squire, were marked not only by his devoted care of his people, as a parish priest, but by literary work. He was the friend of Milman, Gifford, Southey, and others, in the world of letters, endeared to them by his candour, gentleness, "salient playfulness," as well as learning and culture. He was on the original staff of The Quarterly Review; Bampton Lecturer (1815); and Preacher at Lincoln's Inn (1822). His edition of Jeremy Taylor is still the classic edition. During this portion of his life he had often had a lurking fondness for India, had traced on the map Indian journeys, and had been tempted to wish himself Bishop of Calcutta. When he was forty years old the literary life was closed by his call to the Episcopate. No memory of Indian annals is holier than that of the three years of ceaseless travel, splendid administration, and saintly enthusiasm, of his tenure of the see of Calcutta. He ordained the first Christian native—Christian David. His first visitation ranged through Bengal, Bombay, and Ceylon; and at Delhi and Lucknow he was prostrated with fever. His second visitation took him through the scenes of Schwartz's labours in Madras Presidency to Trichinopoly, where on April 3,1826, he confirmed forty-two persons, and he was deeply moved by the impression of the struggling mission, so much so that “he showed no appearance of bodily exhaus¬tion." On his return from the service ”He retired into his own room, and according to his invariable custom, wrote on the back of the address on Confirmation 'Trichinopoly, April 3, 1826.' This was his last act, for immediately on taking off his clothes, he went into a large cold bath, where he had bathed the two preceding mornings, but which was now the destined agent of his removal to Paradise. Half an hour after, his servant, alarmed at his long absence, entered the room and found him a lifeless corpse." Life, &c, 1830, vol. ii. p. 437. Heber's hymns were all written during the Hodnet period. Even the great missionary hymn, "From Greenland's icy mountains," notwithstanding the Indian allusions ("India's coral strand," "Ceylon's isle"), was written before he received the offer of Calcutta. The touching funeral hymn, "Thou art gone to the grave," was written on the loss of his first babe, which was a deep grief to him. Some of the hymns were published (1811-16) in the Christian Observer, the rest were not published till after his death. They formed part of a ms. collection made for Hodnet (but not published), which contained, besides a few hymns from older and special sources, contributions by Milman. The first idea of the collection appears in a letter in 1809 asking for a copy of the Olney Hymns, which he "admired very much." The plan was to compose hymns connected with the Epistles and Gospels, to be sung after the Nicene Creed. He was the first to publish sermons on the Sunday services (1822), and a writer in The Guardian has pointed out that these efforts of Heber were the germs of the now familiar practice, developed through the Christian Year (perhaps following Ken's Hymns on the Festivals), and by Augustus Hare, of welding together sermon, hymnal, and liturgy. Heber tried to obtain from Archbishop Manners Sutton and the Bishop of London (1820) authorization of his ms. collection of hymns by the Church, enlarging on the "powerful engine" which hymns were among Dissenters, and the irregular use of them in the church, which it was impossible to suppress, and better to regulate. The authorization was not granted. The lyric spirit of Scott and Byron passed into our hymns in Heber's verse; imparting a fuller rhythm to the older measures, as illustrated by "Oh, Saviour, is Thy promise fled," or the martial hymn, "The Son of God goes forth to war;" pressing into sacred service the freer rhythms of contemporary poetry (e.g. "Brightest and best of the sons of the morning"; "God that madest earth and heaven"); and aiming at consistent grace of literary expression.. Their beauties and faults spring from this modern spirit. They have not the scriptural strength of our best early hymns, nor the dogmatic force of the best Latin ones. They are too flowing and florid, and the conditions of hymn composition are not sufficiently understood. But as pure and graceful devotional poetry, always true and reverent, they are an unfailing pleasure. The finest of them is that majestic anthem, founded on the rhythm of the English Bible, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty." The greatest evidence of Heber's popularity as a hymnwriter, and his refined taste as a compiler, is found in the fact that the total contents of his ms. collection which were given in his posthumous Hymns written and adapted to the Weekly Church Service of the Year. London, J. Murray, 1827; which included 57 hymns by Heber, 12 by Milman, and 29 by other writers, are in common in Great Britain and America at the present time. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] Of Bishop Heber's hymns, about one half are annotated under their respective first lines. Those given below were published in Heber's posthumous Hymns, &c, 1827. Some of them are in extensive use in Great Britain and America; but as they possess no special histories they are grouped together as from the Hymns, &c, 1827:— 1. Beneath our feet, and o'er our head. Burial. 2. Creator of the rolling flood. St. Peter's Day, or, Gospel for 6th Sunday after Trinity. 3. Lo, the lilies of the field. Teachings of Nature: or, Gospel for 15th Sunday after Trinity. 4. 0 God, by Whom the seed is given. Sexagesima. 6. 0 God, my sins are manifold. Forgiveness, or, Gospel for 22nd S. after Trinity. 6. 0 hand of bounty, largely spread. Water into Wine, or, Gospel for 2nd S. after Epiphany. 7. 0 King of earth, and air, and sea. Feeding the Multitude; or, Gospel for 4th S. in Lent. 8. 0 more than merciful, Whose bounty gave. Good Friday. 9. 0 most merciful! 0 most bountiful. Introit Holy Communion. 10. 0 Thou, Whom neither time nor space. God unsearchable, or, Gospel for 5th Sunday in Lent. 11. 0 weep not o'er thy children's tomb. Innocents Day. 12. Room for the proud! Ye sons of clay. Dives and Lazarus, or, Gospel for 1st Sunday after Trinity. 13. Sit thou on my right hand, my Son, saith the Lord. Ascension. 14. Spirit of truth, on this thy day. Whit-Sunday. 15. The feeble pulse, the gasping breath. Burial, or, Gospel for 1st S. after Trinity. 16. The God of glory walks His round. Septuagesima, or, the Labourers in the Marketplace. 17. The sound of war in earth and air. Wrestling against Principalities and Powers, or, Epistle for 2lst Sunday after Trinity. 18. The world is grown old, her pleasures are past. Advent; or, Epistle for 4th Sunday in Advent. 19. There was joy in heaven. The Lost Sheep; or, Gospel for 3rd S. after Trinity. 20. Though sorrows rise and dangers roll. St. James's Day. 21. To conquer and to save, the Son of God. Christ the Conqueror. 22. Virgin-born, we bow before Thee. The Virgin Mary. Blessed amongst women, or, Gospel for 3rd S. in Lent. 23. Wake not, 0 mother, sounds of lamentation. Raising the Widow's Son, or, Gospel for 16th S. after Trinity. 24. When on her Maker's bosom. Holy Matrimony, or, Gospel for 2nd S. after Epiphany. 25. When through the torn sail the wild tempest is streaming. Stilling the Sea, or, Gospel for 4th Sunday after Epiphany. 26. Who yonder on the desert heath. The Good Samaritan, or, Gospel for 13th Sunday after Trinity. This list is a good index of the subjects treated of in those of Heber's hymns which are given under their first lines, and shows that he used the Gospels far more than the Epistles in his work. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

John Rippon

1751 - 1836 Person Name: John Rippon, 1751-1836 Hymnal Number: 53 Author of "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" in The Abingdon Song Book Rippon, John, D.D., was born at Tiverton, Devon, April 29, 1751, and was educated for the ministry at the Baptist College, Bristol. In 1773 he became Pastor of the Baptist church in Carter Lane, Tooley Street (afterwards removed to New Park Street), London, and over this church he continued to preside until his death, on Dec. 17, 1836. The degree of D.D. was conferred on him in 1792 by the Baptist College, Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Rippon was one of the most popular and influential Dissenting ministers of his time. From 1790 to 1802 he issued the Baptist Annual Register, a periodical containing an account of the most important events in the history of the Baptist Denomination in Great Britain and America during that period, and very valuable now as a book of reference. But his most famous work is his Selection of hymns for public worship, which appeared in 1787. The full title of the first edition is A selection of Hymns from the best authors, intended as an Appendix to Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns. In 1791 he published a Selection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes from the Best Authors, adapted to Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns, and to his own Selection, and from that time the names of tunes were prefixed to the hymns in the successive editions of his hymn-book. In 1800 he published the 10th ed. of his Selections, containing more than sixty additional hymns. In 1827 it was still further enlarged, and in 1844, after his death, appeared The Comprehensive Edition, commonly known as The Comprehensive Rippon, containing most of the additional hymns, with about 400 then first added, making in all upwards of 1170, in 100 metres. A rival to the Comprehensive was also afterwards published under the old title, somewhat enlarged. In the preparation of the original book, and its subsequent improvement, Dr. Rippon performed an important service to Baptist Hymnody, and also, it is said, gained for himself "an estate" through its immense sale. In the preface to the tenth edition lie claims for himself the authorship of some of the hymns, but as he refrained from affixing his name to any of the hymns it is impossible now to say with certainty which ought to be ascribed to him. There can, however, be no reasonable doubt that hymn 535, 3rd part, "The day has dawned, Jehovah comes" (q.v.), is one of his compositions. Other hymns, probably by him, are, "Amid the splendours of Thy state" (Love of God), 1800; and "There is joy in heaven, and joy on earth" (Joy over the Repenting Sinner), 1787. He also altered the texts of and made additions to several of the older hymns. Some of these altered texts are still in common use. In 1830 the additions given in the 27th ed., 1827, of Rippon's Selections were reprinted, with notes by Dr. Slater, as:— Hymns Original and Selected; interspersed in the Twenty-seventh edition of the Selection, with Numerous Doxologies, in the Usual, the Peculiar, and in the less Common metres. By John Rippon, D.D. A second edition of this pamphlet of 82 hymns and doxologies appeared in 1832. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

William Cowper

1731 - 1800 Hymnal Number: 81 Author of "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood" in The Abingdon Song Book 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)

Kate Hankey

1834 - 1911 Person Name: Katherine Hankey, 1834-1911 Hymnal Number: 84 Author of "I Love to Tell the Story" in The Abingdon Song Book Arabella Katherine Hankey (b. Clapham, England, 1834; d. Westminster, London, England, 1911) was the daughter of a wealthy banker and was associated with the Clapham sect of William Wilberforce, a group of prominent evangelical Anglicans from the Clapham area. This group helped to establish the British and Foreign Bible Society, promoted the abolition of slavery, and was involved in improving the lot of England's working classes. Hankey taught Bible classes for shop girls in London, visited the sick in local hospitals, and used the proceeds of her writings to support various mission causes. Her publications include Heart to Heart (1870) and The Old, Old Story and Other Verses (1879). Bert Polman =============== Hankey, Katharine, has published several hymns of great beauty and simplicity which are included in her:— (1) The Old, Old Story, 1866; (2) The Old, Old Story, and other Verses, 1879; (3) Heart to Heart, 1870, enlarged in 1873 and 1876. In 1878 it was republished with music by the author. Miss Hankey's hymns which have come into common use are:— 1. Advent tells us, Christ is near. The Christian Seasons. Written for the Sunday School of St. Peter's, Eaton Square, London, and printed on a card with music by the author. 2. I love to tell the story Of unseen things above. The love of Jesus. This is a cento from No. 3, and is given in Bliss's Gospel Songs, Cincinnati, 1874, and other American collections. 3. I saw Him leave His Father's throne. Lovest than Me? Written in 1868. It is No. 33 of the Old, Old Story, and other Verses, 1879. 4. Tell me the old, old story. This Life of Jesus in verse was written in two parts. Pt. i., "The Story Wanted," Jan. 29; and Pt. ii., "The Story Told," Nov. 18, 1866. It has since been published in several forms, and sometimes with expressive music by the author, and has also been translated into various languages, including Welsh, German, Italian, Spanish, &c. The form in which it is usually known is that in I. P. Sankey's Sacred Songs & Solos. This is Part i. slightly altered. Miss Hankey's works contain many suitable hymns for Mission Services and Sunday Schools, and may be consulted both for words and music with advantage. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

W. P. Mackay

1839 - 1885 Person Name: Wm. Paton Mackay Hymnal Number: 89 Author of "Revive Us Again" in The Abingdon Song Book Mackay, William Paton, M.D., was born at Montrose, May 13, 1839, and educated at the University of Edinburgh. After following his medical profession for a time, he became minister of Prospect Street Presbyterian Church, Hull, in 1868, and died from an accident, at Portree, Aug. 22, 1885. Seventeen of his hymns are in W. Reid's Praise Book, 1872. Of these the best known is "We praise Thee, O God, for the Son of Thy love" (Praise to God), written 1863, recast 1867. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix II (1907) ====================== Born: May 13, 1839, Montrose, Scotland. Died: August 22, 1885, Portree, Scotland, of an accident. Mackay graduated from the University of Edinburgh and initially worked as a doctor. However, he was ordained, and in 1868 became pastor of the Prospect Street Presbyterian Church in Hull. He married Mary Loughton Livingstone 1868 in Kingston Upon Hull, Yorkshire; they were living in Sculcoates, Yorkshire, as of 1881. Seventeen of his hymns appeared in W. Reid’s Praise Book in 1872. Sources: Hustad, p. 278 Julian, p. 1667 Reynolds, p. 365 http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/m/a/c/mackay_wp.htm

Frederick William Faber

1814 - 1863 Person Name: Frederick W. Faber, 1814-1863 Hymnal Number: 104 Author of "Faith of Our Fathers! Living Still" in The Abingdon Song Book Raised in the Church of England, Frederick W. Faber (b. Calverly, Yorkshire, England, 1814; d. Kensington, London, England, 1863) came from a Huguenot and strict Calvinistic family background. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and ordained in the Church of England in 1839. Influenced by the teaching of John Henry Newman, Faber followed Newman into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845 and served under Newman's supervision in the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Because he believed that Roman Catholics should sing hymns like those written by John Newton, Charles Wesley, and William Cowpe, Faber wrote 150 hymns himself. One of his best known, "Faith of Our Fathers," originally had these words in its third stanza: "Faith of Our Fathers! Mary's prayers/Shall win our country back to thee." He published his hymns in various volumes and finally collected all of them in Hymns (1862). Bert Polman ================= Faber, Frederick William, D.D., son of Mr. T. H. Faber, was born at Calverley Vicarage, Yorkshire, June 28, 1814, and educated at Balliol College, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1836. He was for some time a Fellow of University College, in the same University. Taking Holy Orders in 1837, he became Rector of Elton, Huntingdonshire, in 1843, but in 1846 he seceded to the Church of Rome. After residing for some time at St. Wilfrid's, Staffordshire, he went to London in 1849, and established the London "Oratorians," or, "Priests of the Congregation of St. Philip Neri," in King William Street, Strand. In 1854 the Oratory was removed to Brompton. Dr. Faber died Sept. 26, 1863. Before his secession he published several prose works, some of which were in defence of the Church of England; and afterwards several followed as Spiritual Conferences, All for Jesus, &c. Although he published his Cherwell Waterlily and Other Poems, 1840; The Styrian Lake, and Other Poems, 1842; Sir Lancelot, 1844; and The Rosary and Other Poems, 1845; and his Lives of the Saints, in verse, before he joined the Church of Rome, all his hymns were published after he joined that communion. They were included in his:— (1) A small book of eleven Hymns1849, for the School at St. Wilfrid's, Staffordshire. (2) Jesus and Mary: or, Catholic Hymns for Singing and Reading, London 1849. In 1852 the 2nd edition was published with an addition of 20 new hymns. (3) Oratory Hymns, 1854; and (4) Hymns, 1862, being a collected edition of what he had written and published from time to time. Dr. Faber's account of the origin of his hymn-writing is given in his Preface to Jesus & Mary. After dwelling on the influence, respectively, of St. Theresa, of St. Ignatius, and of St. Philip Neri, on Catholicism; and of the last that "sanctity in the world, perfection at home, high attainments in common earthly callings…was the principal end of his apostolate," he says:— “It was natural then that an English son of St. Philip should feel the want of a collection of English Catholic hymns fitted for singing. The few in the Garden of the Soul were all that were at hand, and of course they were not numerous enough to furnish the requisite variety. As to translations they do not express Saxon thought and feelings, and consequently the poor do not seem to take to them. The domestic wants of the Oratory, too, keep alive the feeling that something of the sort was needed: though at the same time the author's ignorance of music appeared in some measure to disqualify him for the work of supplying the defect. Eleven, however, of the hymns were written, most of them, for particular tunes and on particular occasions, and became very popular with a country congregation. They were afterwards printed for the Schools at St. Wilfrid's, and the very numerous applications to the printer for them seemed to show that, in spite of very glaring literary defects, such as careless grammar and slipshod metre, people were anxious to have Catholic hymns of any sort. The manuscript of the present volume was submitted to a musical friend, who replied that certain verses of all or nearly all of the hymns would do for singing; and this encouragement has led to the publication of the volume." In the same Preface he clearly points to the Olney Hymns and those of the Wesleys as being the models which for simplicity and intense fervour he would endeavour to emulate. From the small book of eleven hymns printed for the schools at St. Wilfrid's, his hymn-writing resulted in a total of 150 pieces, all of which are in his Hymns, 1862, and many of them in various Roman Catholic collections for missions and schools. Few hymns are more popular than his "My God, how wonderful Thou art," "O come and mourn with me awhile," and "Sweet Saviour, bless us ere we go." They excel in directness, simplicity, and pathos. "Hark, hark, my soul, angelic songs are swelling," and "O Paradise, O Paradise," are also widely known. These possess, however, an element of unreality which is against their permanent popularity. Many of Faber's hymns are annotated under their respective first lines; the rest in common use include:— i. From his Jesus and Mary, 1849 and 1852. 1. Fountain of love, Thyself true God. The Holy Ghost. 2. How shalt thou bear the Cross, that now. The Eternal Years. 3. I come to Thee, once more, O God. Returning to God. 4. Joy, joy, the Mother comes. The Purification. 5. My soul, what hast thou done for God? Self-Examination 6. O how the thought of God attract. Holiness Desired. 7. O soul of Jesus, sick to death. Passiontide. Sometimes this is divided into two parts, Pt. ii. beginning, “My God, my God, and can it be." ii. From his Oratory Hymns, 1854. 8. Christians, to the war! Gather from afar. The Christian Warfare. 9. O come to the merciful Saviour that calls you. Divine Invitation. In many collections. 10. O God, Thy power is wonderful. Power and Eternity of God. 11. O it is sweet to think, Of those that are departed. Memory of the Dead. 12. O what are the wages of sin? The Wages of Sin. 13. O what is this splendour that beams on me now? Heaven. 14. Saint of the Sacred Heart. St. John the Evangelist. iii. From his Hymns, 1862. 15. Father, the sweetest, dearest Name. The Eternal Father. 16. Full of glory, full of wonders, Majesty Divine. Holy Trinity. 17. Hark ! the sound of the fight. Processions. 18. How pleasant are thy paths, 0 death. Death Contemplated. 19. O God, Whose thoughts are brightest light. Thinking no Evil. 20. O why art thou sorrowful, servant of God? Trust in God. 21. Souls of men, why will ye scatter? The Divine Call. 22. The land beyond the sea. Heaven Contemplated. 23. The thought of God, the thought of thee. Thoughts of God. 24. We come to Thee, sweet Saviour. Jesus, our Rest. In addition to these there are also several hymns in common use in Roman Catholic hymn-books which are confined to those collections. In the Hymns for the Year, by Dr. Rawes, Nos. 77, 110, 112, 117, 120, 121, 122, 125, 127, 128, 131, 140, 152, 154,169, 170, 174, 179, 180, 192, 222, 226, 230, 271, 272, are also by Faber, and relate principally to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Several of these are repeated in other Roman Catholic collections. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907 ================== Faber, Frederick William, p. 361, i. To this article the following additions have to be made:— 1. Blood is the price of heaven. Good Friday. (1862.) 2. Exceeding sorrowful to death. Gethsemane. This in the Scottish Ibrox Hymnal, 1871, is a cento from "O soul of Jesus, sick to death," p. 362, i., 7. 3. From pain to pain, from woe to woe. Good Friday. (1854.) 4. I wish to have no wishes left. Wishes about death. (1862.) 5. Why is thy face so lit with smiles? Ascension. (1849.) The dates here given are those of Faber's works in which the hymns appeared. In addition to these hymns there are also the following in common use:— 6. Dear God of orphans, hear our prayer. On behalf of Orphans. This appeared in a miscellaneous collection entitled A May Garland, John Philip, n.d. [1863], No. 1, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Roman Catholic Parochial Hymn Book, 1880, it begins, "O God of orphans, hear our prayer." 7. Sleep, sleep my beautiful babe. Christmas Carol. This carol we have failed to trace. 8. By the Archangel's word of love. Pt. i. Life of our Lord. This, and Pt. ii., “By the blood that flowed from Thee"; Pt. iii., "By the first bright Easter day"; also, "By the word to Mary given"; "By the name which Thou didst take"; in The Crown Hymn Book and other Roman Catholic collections, we have seen ascribed to Dr. Faber, but in the Rev. H. Formby's Catholic Hymns, 1853, they are all signed "C. M. C," i.e. Cecilia M. Caddell (p. 200, i.). --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ====================== Faber, F. W., pp. 361, i.; 1562, ii. We are informed by members of Dr. Faber's family that his father was Mr. Thomas Henry Faber, sometime Lay Secretary of the Bishop of Durham. In addition to his hymns already noted in this Dictionary, the following are found in various Roman Catholic collections, viz.:— i. From St. Wilfrid's Hymns, 1849:— 1. Dear Father Philip, holy Sire. S. Philip Neri. 2. Hail, holy Joseph, hail. S. Joseph. 3. Mother of Mercy, day by day. Blessed Virgin Mary. ii. Jesus and Mary, 1849:— 4. Ah ! dearest Lord! I cannot pray. Prayer. 5. Dear Husband of Mary. S. Joseph. 6. Dear Little One, how sweet Thou art. Christmas. 7. Father and God! my endless doom. Predestination. 8. Hail, holy Wilfrid, hail. S. Wilfrid. 9. O Jesus, if in days gone by. Love of the World. 10. O turn to Jesus, Mother, turn. B. V. M. 11. Sing, sing, ye angel bands. Assum. B. V. M. iii. Jesus and Mary, 1852:— 12. All ye who love the ways of sin. S. Philip Neri. 13. Day set on Rome! its golden morn. S. Philip Neri. 14. Hail, bright Archangel! Prince of heaven. S. Michael. 15. Hail, Gabriel, hail. S. Gabriel. 16. O Flower of Grace, divinest Flower. B. V. M. 17. Saint Philip! 1 have never known. S. Philip Neri. 18. Sweet Saint Philip, thou hast won us. S. Philip Neri. Previously in the Rambler, May, 1850, p. 425. iv. Oratory Hymns, 1854:— 19. Day breaks on temple roofs and towers. Expect. of B. V. M. 20. How gently flow the silent years. S. Martin and S. Philip. 21. How the light of Heaven is stealing. Grace. 22. Like the dawning of the morning. Expect. of B. V. M. 23. Mother Mary ! at thine altar. For Orphans. 24. My God! Who art nothing but mercy and kindness. Repentance. 25. O blessed Father! sent by God. S. Vincent of Paul. 26. O do you hear that voice from heaven? Forgiveness. 27. The chains that have bound me. Absolution. 28. The day, the happy day, is dawning. B. V. M. 29. The moon is in the heavens above. B. V. M. 30. Why art thou sorrowful, servant of God? Mercy. v. Hymns, 1862:— 31. At last Thou art come, little Saviour. Christmas. 32. By the spring of God's compassions. S. Raphael. 33. Fair are the portals of the day. B. V. M. 34. Father of many children. S. Benedict. 35. From the highest heights of glory. S. Mary Magdalene. 36. Like the voiceless starlight falling. B. V. M. 37. Mary! dearest mother. B. V. M. 38. Mother of God, we hail thy heart. B. V. M. 39. O Anne! thou hadst lived through those long dreary years. S. Anne. Previously in Holy Family Hymns, 1860. 40. O balmy and bright as moonlit night. B. V. M. 41. O Blessed Trinity! Thy children. Holy Trinity. 42. O dear Saint Martha, busy saint. S. Martha 43. O Mother, will it always be. B. V. M. 44. O vision bright. B. V. M. 45. Summer suns for ever shining. B. V. M. 46. There are many saints above. S. Joseph. Previously in Holy Family Hymns, 1860. vi. Centos and altered forms:— 47. Confraternity men to the fight. From "Hark the sound of the fight," p. 362, i. 48. Hail, sainted Mungo, hail. From No. 8. 49. I bow to Thee, sweet will of God. From "I worship Thee," p. 559, ii. 50. They whom we loved on earth. From "0 it is sweet to think," p. 362, i. 51. Vincent! like Mother Mary, thou. From No. 25. When Dr. Faber's hymns which are in common use are enumerated, the total falls little short of one hundred. In this respect he outnumbers most of his contemporaries. [Rev. James Mearns] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907) -------------- See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

George Matheson

1842 - 1906 Person Name: George Matheson, 1842-1906 Hymnal Number: 112 Author of "Make Me a Captive, Lord" in The Abingdon Song Book Matheson, George, D.D., was born at Glasgow, March 27, 1842, and although deprived of his eyesight in youth he passed a brilliant course at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated M.A. in 1862. In 1868 he became the parish minister at Innellan; and subsequently of St. Bernard's, Edinburgh. He was the Baird Lecturer in 1881, and St. Giles Lecturer in 1882. He has published several important prose works. His poetical pieces were collected and published in 1890 as Sacred Songs, Edinburgh: W. Blackwood. In addition to his hymn "O Love that wilt not let me go" (q. v.), four others from his Sacred Songs are in Dr. A. C. Murphey's Book of Common Song, Belfast, 1890. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ======================= Matheson, G., p. 1579, i. In addition to Dr. Matheson's hymn, "O Love, that wilt not let me go," p. 1583, i,, the following from his Sacred Songs, 1890, have come into common use since 1892:— 1. Come, let us raise a common song. Brotherhood. 2. Father divine, I come to Thee. Strength for Life. This, in Horder's Worship Song, 1905, is altered to”Saviour divine, I come to Thee." 3. Gather us in, Thou Love that fillest all. One in Christ. 4. Jesus, Fountain of my days. Christian's Polestar. 5. Lend me, O Lord, Thy softening cloud. The Fire and the Cloud. In the Sunday Magazine, 1875. 6. Lord, Thou hast all my frailty made. Strength for the Day. 7. Make me a captive, Lord. Christian Freedom. 8. There are coming changes great. The Glad New Time. 9. Three doors there are in the temple. Prayer. Dr. Matheson informed us that these hymns, together with the rest of his Sacred Songs, 1890, were written at Bow, Dumbartonshire, in 1890. The 3rd ed. of the Sacred Songs was published in 1904. He died suddenly at Avenelle, North Berwick, Aug. 28, 1906. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

W. D. Cornell

1858 - 1936 Hymnal Number: 166 Author of "Wonderful Peace" in The Abingdon Song Book Rv Warren Donald Cornell USA 1858-1936. Born in Whiteford, MI, he trained as a school teacher and began teaching in Dallas Public Schools at age 19. Licensed by the Southern Methodist conference in 1879, he was appointed to preach in Denton and Gainesville, TX, for a year in each place. He married Jennie Estelle Roberts in 1880, and they five sons: Warren, Louis, William, Robert, and Donald, and a daughter, Florence. In 1881 he removed to the Oshkosh, WI, area and spent most of his career preaching at various pastorates and in Berlin, WI. He was an eloquent precher, poet, and evangelist. In 1894 he became minister of the People's Christian Assn., in Fond du Lac, WI. The group met for 10 years and disbanded. Cornell pastored an independent church there. In 1905, after pastoring, he entered real estate. He took an interest in political and social issues, and became secretary of the Paving Cutter's Union, and leader of the 'Anti-Tramp Society”. He became a lecturer, and a founding member of the anti-socialist Constitutional Defense League, spending much of his time in this cause. He was no longer a member of clergy, but a touring lecturer for several years. By 1925 he and his family had moved to NY state, where he eventually died. He was buried in Fond du Lac, WI. John Perry

Joseph Swain

1761 - 1796 Person Name: Joseph Swain, 1761-7196 Hymnal Number: 173 Author of "Delight In Thy Presence" in The Abingdon Song Book Swain, Joseph, was born at Birmingham in 1761, and after being apprenticed to an engraver, removed to London. After a time he became a decided Christian, and being of an emotional poetic temperament, began to give expression to his new thoughts and feelings in hymns. In 1783 he was baptized by the Rev. Dr. Rippon, and in 1791 became minister of a Baptist congregation in East Street, Walworth. After a short but popular and very useful ministry, he died April 16, 1796 Swain published the following:— (1) A Collection of Poems on Several Occasions, London, 1781; (2) Redemption, a Poem in five Books, London, 1789; (3) Experimental Essays on Divine Subjects, London, 1791; (4) Walworth Hymns, by J. Swain, Pastor of the Baptist Church Meeting there, London, 1792, 129 hymns; with a Supplement, 1794, 192 hymns; (5) A Pocket Companion and Directory, London, 1794. In addition to a limited number of Swain's hymns, annotated under their respective first lines, the following, from his Walworth Hymns1792, and the 2nd ed., 1796, are also in common use:— 1. Brethren, while we sojourn here. Mutual Encouragement. 2. Children of the King of grace. Holy Baptism. 3. Christ the Lord will come again. Second Advent. 4. Come, ye souls, by sin afflicted. The Yoke of Christ. 5. How sweet, how heavenly is the sight. Communion of Saints. 6. In expectation sweet. Second Advent. 7. Lift up your heads, ye gates. Ascension. 8. Love is the sweetest bud that blows. A Flower an Emblem of Christ. 9. 0 how the thought that I shall know. Heaven Anticipated. Sometimes it begins with st. ii., "For ever to behold Him shine". 10. On earth the song begins. Heaven Anticipated. 11. On the wings of faith upspringing. Passiontide. 12. Pilgrims we are to Canaan bound. Pilgrimage of Life. 13. Praise ye the Lord, the eternal King. Divinity of Christ. 14. Praise your Redeemer, praise His Name. Praise for Redemption. 15. 'Tis heaven begun below. Heaven Anticipated. 16. What is it for a saint to die? Death and Burial. 17. What must [will] it be to dwell above? Heaven Anticipated. 18. When firm I [we] stand on Zion's hill. Confidence. Sometimes as "I stand on Zion's mount," in American collections. 19. Who can forbear to sing? Praise of Jesus. From his Redemption, a Poem in Five Books, 1791, the following hymns are also in common use:-- 20. 0 Thou in whose presence my soul takes delight. In Affliction. 21. Ye daughters of Zion, declare, have you see? Comfort in Affliction. Of these hymns the most widely known are Nos. 1, 5, 6, and 20. We may add that several of Swain's hymns appeared in The Theological Miscellany, 1784-1789. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Daniel March

1816 - 1909 Person Name: Daniel March, 1816-1909 Hymnal Number: 185 Author of "Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling" in The Abingdon Song Book March, Daniel, D.D., an American Congregational minister, b. July 21, 1816, has published Night Scenes in the Bible, and other works. His hymn "Hark, the voice of Jesus crying [calling]. Who will go," &c. (Missions), is given in the American Methodist Episcopal Hymnal, 1878, in 2 stanzas; in Sankey's Sacred Songs & Solos, 1878, in 6 stanzas; and in the Scottish Hymnal 1884, in 5 stanzas; in each case of 8 lines. It was written in 1863. (See Nutter's Hymn Studies, 1884, p. 236.) --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) =============== March, D., p. 1578, ii. The following details concerning Dr. March's hymn, "Hark ! the voice of Jesus crying," have been furnished us by himself:— "It was written at the impulse of the moment to follow a sermon I was to preach in Clinton St. Church to the Philadelphia Christian Association on the text Is. vi. 8. That was some time in 1868." The original text in full is in The Hymnal, (Presb.), Phila., 1895, No. 361. Dr. March declines to accept the interpolations which have been made in this hymn. We must note also that the incident given in Brownlie's Hymns and Hymnwriters of the Church Hymnary (Scottish), p. 303, relative to this hymn and President Lincoln, is incorrect. It relates to Mrs. E. Gates's " If you cannot on the ocean," p. 1565, i. 5. [Rev. L. F. Benson, D.D.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)