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Philip Doddridge
1702 - 1751 Hymnal Number: 105 Author of "Immortal God, on thee we call" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Philip Doddridge (b. London, England, 1702; d. Lisbon, Portugal, 1751) belonged to the Non-conformist Church (not associated with the Church of England). Its members were frequently the focus of discrimination. Offered an education by a rich patron to prepare him for ordination in the Church of England, Doddridge chose instead to remain in the Non-conformist Church. For twenty years he pastored a poor parish in Northampton, where he opened an academy for training Non-conformist ministers and taught most of the subjects himself. Doddridge suffered from tuberculosis, and when Lady Huntington, one of his patrons, offered to finance a trip to Lisbon for his health, he is reputed to have said, "I can as well go to heaven from Lisbon as from Northampton." He died in Lisbon soon after his arrival. Doddridge wrote some four hundred hymn texts, generally to accompany his sermons. These hymns were published posthumously in Hymns, Founded on Various Texts in the Holy Scriptures (1755); relatively few are still sung today.
Bert Polman
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Doddridge, Philip, D.D., was born in London, June 26, 1702. His grandfather was one of the ministers under the Commonwealth, who were ejected in 1662. His father was a London oilman. He was offered by the Duchess of Bedford an University training for ordination in the Church of England, but declined it. He entered Mr. Jennings's non-conformist seminary at Kibworth instead; preached his first sermon at Hinckley, to which Mr. Jennings had removed his academy. In 1723 he was chosen pastor at Kibworth. In 1725 he changed his residence to Market Harborough, still ministering at Kibworth. The settled work of his life as a preceptor and divine began in 1729, with his appointment to the Castle Hill Meeting at Northampton, and continued till in the last stage of consumption. He sailed to Lisbon, in 1751, where he died October 26, the same year. Two hundred pupils in all, gathered from England, Scotland and Holland, were prepared in his seminary, chiefly for the dissenting ministry, but partly for professions. The wide range of subjects, including daily readings in Hebrew and Greek, Algebra, Trigonometry, Watts' Logic, outline of Philosophy, and copious Divinity, is itself a proof of Doddridge's learning. He was presented with his D.D. degree by the University of Aberdeen. His fame as a divine, combined with his wide sympathies and gentle, unaffected goodness, won for him the friendship of Watts, Col. Gardiner and Hervey, and the esteem of Seeker and Warburton. He welcomed the work of Wesley and Whitefield, and entertained the latter on his visit to Northampton. His Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul and The Family Expositor both did good work in their day. For criticism of his hymns see English Hymnody, Early, § XIV. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.]
After Dr. Doddridge's death his hymns were published by his friend Job Orton, in 1755, as:—
"Hymns founded on Various Texts in the Holy Scriptures. By the late Reverend Philip Doddridge, D.D. Published from the Author's Manuscript by Job Orton . . . Salop. Printed by J. Eddowes and J. Cotton, &c.
MDCCLV."
Concerning the text of the hymns, Orton says in his Preface:—
"There may perhaps be some improprieties, owing to my not being able to read the author's manuscript in particular places, and being obliged, without a poetical genius, to supply those deficiencies, whereby the beauty of the stanza may be greatly defaced, though the sense is preserved."
The 1st edition contained 370 hymns; the 2nd, 1759, 374; and the 3rd, 1766, and later editions, 375. In 1839 Doddridge's great-grandson re-edited the hymns from the original manuscript and published the same as:—
Scriptural Hymns by the Rev. Philip Doddridge, D.D. New and corrected edition containing many hymns never before printed. Edited from the Original Documents by the Author's great-grandson, John Doddridge Humphreys, Esq. Lond. Darton & Clark, 1839.
This work contains 22 additional hymns. The text differs in many instances from Orton's, but these changes have not come into common use. In addition to the manuscript used by Orton and J. D. Humphreys, another containing 100 hymns (five of which are not in any edition of the Hymns), all in the author's handwriting, and most of them dated, is referred to in this Dictionary as the "D. Manuscripts." It is the property of Mr. W. S. Booker and family. A manuscript, not in Doddridge's handwriting, of 77 "Hymns by P. Doddridge, Mar. 16, 1739/1740," is in the possession of Mr. W. T. Brooke. The existence of these manuscripts is accounted for from the fact that Doddridge's hymns were freely circulated in manuscript during his lifetime. It is from his correspondence with R. Blair (q.v.) that the few compositions traceable to him in the Scottish Trans. & Paraphrases were derived.
The hymns by Doddridge which have attained to the greatest popularity are:— “Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve"; " Do not I love Thee, O my Lord? " "Grace 'tis a charming sound”; " Hark, the glad sound, the Saviour comes"; "My God, and is Thy table spread?" "O happy day, that fixed my choice"; "O God of Jacob [Bethel], by Whose hand”; " See Israel's gentle Shepherd stand"; "Ye servants of the Lord." These hymns, with many besides, are annotated under their respective first lines. Of the rest, taken from the Hymns, &c, 1755, the following are also in common use:—
1. Behold the gloomy vale. Death anticipated.
2. Behold the Great Physician stands. Christ the Physician.
3. Captives of Israel, hear. Spiritual Deliverance.
4. Eternal God, our wondering souls. Enoch's Piety and Translation.
5. Eternal Source of life and thought. Subjection to the Father.
G. Exalted Prince of Life, we own. Christ the Prince and Saviour.
7. Father Divine, the Saviour cried. Christ's Submission to the Father.
8. Father Divine, Thy piercing eye. Secret Prayer.
9. Father of mercies, send Thy grace. Sympathy. The Good Samaritan.
10. Go, saith the Lord, proclaim my grace. Forgiveness.
11. God of Eternity, from Thee. Redeeming the Time.
12. God of my life, through all its [my] days. Praising God continually.
13. God. of salvation, we adore. Praise to God for Redemption.
14. Great Father of mankind. Gentiles brought into the Church.
15. Great God, we sing that mighty hand. The New Tear.
16. Great Leader of Thine Israel's host. During Persecution.
17. Great Lord of angels, we adore. Ordination.
18. Great Spirit of immortal love. Purity of Heart desired.
19. Great Teacher of Thy Church, we own. The Divine Precepts.
20. Hail, everlasting Prince of Peace. Sympathy.
21. Hail to the Prince of life and peace. Praise to Christ.
22. Hear, gracious [Saviour] Sovereign, from Thy throne. The Blessings of the Holy Spirit desired.
23. How gentle God's commands. God's Care of His Own.
24. How rich Thy favours, God of grace. God and His Living Temple.
25. How swift the torrent flows [rolls]. Our Fathers, where are they?
26. Jesus the Lord, our souls adore. Christ the Forerunner.
27. Jesus, we own Thy Sovereign hand. Christ to be fully known hereafter.
28. Loud let the tuneful trumpet sound. Gospel Jubilee.
29. My gracious Lord, I own Thy right. Life in Jesus.
30. My [Dear] Saviour, I am [we are] Thine. Joined to Christ through the Spirit.
31. My soul, with all thy waking powers. The Choice of Moses.
32. Now let our voices join. Singing in the ways of God.
33. 0 injured Majesty of heaven. Lent.
34. 0 Zion, tune thy voice. Glory of the Church of Christ.
35. Peace, 'tis the Lord Jehovah's hand. Resignation.
36. Praise the Lord of boundless might. The Father of Lights.
37. Praise to Thy Name, Eternal God. Growth in Grace desired.
38. Remark, my soul, the narrow bounds. The New Year.
39. Repent, the Voice celestial cries. Lent.
40. Return, my roving heart, return. Heart communing.
41. Salvation, O melodious sound. God our Salvation.
42. Saviour of men, and Lord of love. Ministry and Death of Christ.
43. Searcher of hearts, before Thy face. Peter to Simon Magus.
44. Shepherd of Israel, Thou dost keep. Induction or Settlement of a Minister.
45. Shine forth, eternal Source of light. Knowledge of God desired.
46. Shine on our souls, eternal God. Sunday.
47. Sing, ye redeemed of the Lord. Joy on the Homeward Way.
48. Sovereign of life, before Thine eye. Life and Death in God's hands.
49. The darkened sky, how thick it lours. Sorrow followed by Joy.
50. The day approacheth, O my soul. Judgment anticipated.
51. The King of heaven His table spreads. The Gospel Feast.
52. The promises I sing. The unchanging promises of God.
53. The swift-declining day. Walk in the Light.
54. These mortal joys, how soon they fade. Treasures, Perishable and Eternal.
55. Thy judgments cry aloud. Retributive Providence.
56. Thy presence, Everlasting God. Omnipresence of the Father.
57. 'Tis mine, the covenant of His grace. Death anticipated.
58. To Thee, my God; my days are known. Life under the eye of God.
59. Tomorrow, Lord, is Thine. Uncertainty of Life.
60. Triumphant Lord, Thy goodness reigns. The Divine Goodness.
61. Triumphant Zion, lift thy head. The Church Purified and Guarded.
62. Unite my roving thoughts, unite. Peace.
63. What mysteries, Lord, in Thee combine. Christ, the First and Last.
64. While on the verge of life I stand. Death anticipated with Joy.
65. With ecstacy of Joy. Christ the Living Stone.
66. Ye golden lamps of heaven, farewell. Heaven opening.
67. Ye hearts with youthful vigour warm. The Young encouraged.
68. Ye humble souls, that seek the Lord. Easter.
69. Ye sons of men, with joy record. Praise of the Works of God.
70. Yes, the Redeemer rose. Easter
In Dr. Hatfield's Church HymnBook, N. Y., 1872, Nos. 9, 12, 14, 15, 21, 23, 25, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 39, 40, 44, 47, 51, 61, 64, 65, 67, 69, 70, as above, are dated 1740. What authority there may be for this date we cannot say, these hymns not being in any “D. MSS." with which we are acquainted, and no dates are given in the Hymns, &c, 1755. Some later American editors have copied this date from Dr. Hatfield.
Doddridge's hymns are largely used by Unitarians both in Great Britain and America. As might be expected, the Congregationalists also draw freely from his stores. The Baptists come next. In the hymnals of the Church of England the choicest, only are in use. Taken together, over one-third of his hymns are in common usage at the present time.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Doddridge, Philip, D.D. At p. 305 an account is given of a manuscript volume of Doddridge's Hymns, which is the property of the Rooker family. Since that article was written another manuscript vol. has been found. It was the property of Lady Frances Gardiner, née Erskine, an intimate friend of Doddridge, and wife of Col. Gardiner. It is a copy of the Rooker manuscipt, with the revised text, as in the margin of that ms., and is in Doddridge's hand¬writing. It was from this manuscript that the Doddridge hymns were taken for the Scottish Translationsand Paraphrases, 1745. Additional hymns by Dr. Doddridge still in common use include:—
1. My God, how cheerful is the sound. All in Christ.
2. My Saviour, let me hear Thy voice. Pardon desired.
3. My soul, triumphant in the Lord. Divine Guidance assured.
4. No «iore, ye wise, your wisdom boast. Glorying in God alone. From Hymns, No. 128.
5. Now be that Sacrifice survey'd. Christ our Sacrifice.
6. 0 Israel, blest beyond compare. Happiness of God's Israel.
7. Our fathers, where are they? Considering the Past. From Hymns, No. 164.
8. Praise to the Lord on high. Missions.
9. Praise to the radiant Source of bliss. Praise for Divine Guidance.
10. Return, my soul, and seek thy rest. Rest in Jesus.
11. Salvation doth to God belong. National Thanksgiving.
12. Sovereign of Life, I own Thy hand. On Recovery from Sickness.
13. The sepulchres, how thick they stand. Burial.
14. There is a Shepherd kind and strong. The Good Shepherd. From Hymns, No. 216.
15. Wait on the Lord, ye heirs of hope. Waiting on God.
16. We bless the eternal Source of light. Christ's care of the Church.
17. With transport, Lord, our souls proclaim. Immutability of Christ.
18. Ye mourning saints, whose streaming tears. Death and Burial.
These all appeared in Dr. Doddridge's Hymns, 1755.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
Philip Doddridge
John Mason
1645 - 1694 Hymnal Number: 110 Author of "Thou, Lord, by mortal eyes unseen" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Mason, John. The known facts of his life are scanty. He was the son of a Dissenting Minister, and the grandfather of John Mason, the author of A Treatise on Self-Knowledge. He was educated at Strixton School, Northants, and Clare Hall, Cambridge. After taking his M.A., he became Curate of Isham; and in 1668, Vicar of Stantonbury, Bucks. A little more than five years afterwards he was appointed Rector of Water-Stratford. Here he composed the volume containing The Songs of Praise, his paraphrase of The Song of Solomon, and the Poem on Dives and Lazarus, with which Shepherd's Penitential Cries was afterwards bound up. This volume passed through twenty editions. Besides the Songs of Praise, it contains six Penitential Cries by Mason, and it is this portion of his work which harmonizes with the compositions of Shepherd. Probably his hymns were used in public worship, and if so, they are among the earliest hymns so used in the Church of England. Some of his hymns are often found in the early Hymn Collections of the 18th century. The most notable work besides this volume is Select Remains of the Rev, John Mason, a collection of sententious and practical sayings and Christian letters, published by his grandson, and much eulogized by Dr. Watts. His friend, Shepherd, who was at Water-Stratford at the remarkable period to which reference is made below, published two of Mason's Sermons, with a preface of his own. Mason was a man of true piety and humility; known for eminent prayerfulness; faithful, experimental, effectual preaching; "a light in the pulpit, and a pattern out of it." His friendship with Baxter, and Shepherd, the Nonconformist Minister of Braintree, probably indicates his sympathies and theological position. Baxter calls him "the glory of the Church of England," and says :—
"The frame of his spirit was so heavenly, his deportment so humble and obliging, his discourse of spiritual things so weighty, with such apt words and delightful air, that it charmed all that had any spiritual relish.”
The close of his life was sensational enough. One night, about a month before his death, he had a vision of the Lord Jesus, wearing on His head a glorious crown, and with a look of unutterable majesty in His face. Of this vision he spoke; and preached a Sermon called The Midnight Cry, in which he proclaimed the near approach of Christ's Second Advent. A report spread that this Advent would take place at Water-Stratford itself, and crowds gathered there from the surrounding villages. Furniture and provisions were brought in, and every corner of the house and village occupied. Most extraordinary scenes occurred, singing and leaping and dancing. The excitement had scarcely died out when the old man passed away (1694), still testifying that he had seen the Lord, and that it was time for the nation to tremble, and for Christians to trim their lamps. His last words were, “I am full of the loving kindness of the Lord."
[Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.]
The full titles of his Songs of Praise, and the additions thereto, are:—
(1) Spiritual Songs; or, Songs of Praise to Almighty God upon several occasions, 1683. (2) The Song of Songs which is Solomon's first Turned, then Paraphrased in English Verse. Published with the former. (3) Dives and Lazarus, incorporated with the former 1685. (4) Penitential Cries, Begun by the Author of the Songs of Praise, And carried on by another Hand. Licensed and Entered, Sept. 13, 1693. This forms the concluding part of all editions of the Songs of Praise after 1693. The complete work was reprinted by D. Sedgwick in 1859. This reprint was accompanied by a short Memoir. In this reprint Mason's Penitential Cries and Ps. 86 are given under Songs of Praise, pp. 49-61, those under Penitential Cries being all by Shepherd (q.v.). Mason's Life, by John Dunton, was published in 1694, and included some miscellaneous poems; and another, by Henry Maurice, in 1695, in which are two hymns not found elsewhere. We may add that Mason published a Catechism, with some Verses for Children. Of this, however, no copy is known to exist.
Mason's Songs are commonly presented in modern hymnbooks in the form of centos, which are sometimes compiled from a single Song, and in other instances from several Songs. Many of these are annotated under their respective first lines. The rest include:—
1. Blest be my God that I was born. Praise for the Gospel.
2. Lord, for the mercies of the night. Morning.
3. Lord of my life, Length of my days. Praise for Deliverance from Immediate danger of Death.
4. My God, a God of pardon is. Praise for Pardon of Sin.
5. My God, my only Help and Hope. Praise for Providence.
6. My God, my reconciled God. Praise for Peace of Conscience.
7. My God was with me all this night. Morning.
8. Thou wast, 0 God; and Thou wast blest. Praise for Creation.
9. Thousands of thousands stand around. Praise. A cento from Songs i. and ii.
In Griffith, Farran & Co.'s Ancient and Modern Library, No. 12, Giles Fletcher's Christ's Victory and Triumph, &c, 1888, p. 208 (edited by W. T. Brooke), a short hymn by Mason is given from Multum in Parvo: or the Jubilee of Jubilees, 1732, beginning "High praises meet and dwell within." It is an indifferent example of Mason's powers as a writer of sacred verse.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Mason, J., p. 716, ii. Mason's Midnight Cry, stated on p. 717, i. as having been preached in 1694, was delivered in 1691. The 1st ed. of this sermon is:—
“The Midnight Cry. A Sermon Preached On the Parable of the Ten Virgins . . . . By J. M., M.A., Rector of W. in the County of B., London: Nathanael Ranew . . 1691.
This edition has no hymns. To the 4th ed. in 1692, published by the same Nathanael Ranew, there was added:—
The Fourth Edition, with the Addition of two Hymns for the Coming of Christ. By the same Author.
The first of these hymns begins:—
"The evening of the Day
Portends a dismal night,"
and is in 12 stanzas of 8 lines. The second hymn is:—
"Come, come, my dearest, dearest Lord,
Make haste and come away."
This is in 14 stanzas of 4 lines. Of the first and fifth eds. there are copies in the Brit. Museum, and of the first in the Julian Collection of the Church House, London.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
John Mason
John Wesley
1703 - 1791 Hymnal Number: 119 Author of "Now have I found the ground wherein" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches John Wesley, the son of Samuel, and brother of Charles Wesley, was born at Epworth, June 17, 1703. He was educated at the Charterhouse, London, and at Christ Church, Oxford. He became a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, and graduated M.A. in 1726. At Oxford, he was one of the small band consisting of George Whitefield, Hames Hervey, Charles Wesley, and a few others, who were even then known for their piety; they were deridingly called "Methodists." After his ordination he went, in 1735, on a mission to Georgia. The mission was not successful, and he returned to England in 1738. From that time, his life was one of great labour, preaching the Gospel, and publishing his commentaries and other theological works. He died in London, in 1791, in his eighty-eighth year. His prose works are very numerous, but he did not write many useful hymns. It is to him, however, and not to his brother Charles, that we are indebted for the translations from the German.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872
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John Wesley, M.A., was born at Epworth Rectory in 1703, and, like the rest of the family, received his early education from his mother. He narrowly escaped perishing in the fire which destroyed the rectory house in 1709, and his deliverance made a life-long impression upon him. In 1714 he was nominated on the foundation of Charterhouse by his father's patron, the Duke of Buckingham, and remained at that school until 1720, when he went up, with a scholarship, from Charterhouse to Christ Church, Oxford. Having taken his degree, he received Holy Orders from the Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Potter) in 1725. In 1726 he was elected Fellow of Lincoln College, and remained at Oxford until 1727, when he returned into Lincolnshire to assist his father as curate at Epworth and Wroot. In 1729 he was summoned back to Oxford by his firm friend, Dr. Morley, Rector of Lincoln, to assist in the College tuition. There he found already established the little band of "Oxford Methodists" who immediately placed themselves under his direction. In 1735 he went, as a Missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, to Georgia, where a new colony had been founded under the governorship of General Oglethorpe. On his voyage out he was deeply impressed with the piety and Christian courage of some German fellow travellers, Moravians. During his short ministry in Georgia he met with many discouragements, and returned home saddened and dissatisfied both with himself and his work; but in London he again fell in with the Moravians, especially with Peter Bohler; and one memorable night (May 24, 1738) he went to a meeting in Aldersgate Street, where some one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. There, "About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." From that moment his future course was sealed; and for more than half a century he laboured, through evil report and good report, to spread what he believed to be the everlasting Gospel, travelling more miles, preaching more sermons, publishing more books of a practical sort, and making more converts than any man of his day, or perhaps of any day, and dying at last, March 2, 1791, in harness, at the patriarchal age of 88.
The popular conception of the division of labour between the two brothers in the Revival, is that John was the preacher, and Charles the hymnwriter. But this is not strictly accurate. On the one hand Charles was also a great preacher, second only to his brother and George Whitefield in the effects which he produced. On the other hand, John by no means relegated to Charles the exclusive task of supplying the people with their hymns. John Wesley was not the sort of man to depute any part of his work entirely to another: and this part was, in his opinion, one of vital importance. With that wonderful instinct for gauging the popular mind, which was one element in his success, he saw at once that hymns might be utilized, not only for raising the devotion, but also for instructing, and establishing the faith of his disciples. He intended the hymns to be not merely a constituent part of public worship, but also a kind of creed in verse. They were to be "a body of experimental and practical divinity." "In what other publication," he asks in his Preface to the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780 (Preface, Oct. 20,1779), "have you so distinct and full an account of Scriptural Christianity; such a declaration of the heights and depths of religion, speculative and practical; so strong cautions against the most plausible errors, particularly those now most prevalent; and so clear directions for making your calling and election sure; for perfecting holiness in the fear of God?" The part which he actually took in writing the hymns, it is not easy to ascertain; but it is certain that more than thirty translations from the German, French and Spanish (chiefly from the German) were exclusively his; and there are some original hymns, admittedly his composition, which are not unworthy to stand by the side of his brother's. His translations from the German especially have had a wide circulation. Although somewhat free as translations they embody the fire and energy of the originals.
It has been the common practice, however for a hundred years or more to ascribe all translations from the German to John Wesley, as he only of the two brothers knew that language; and to assign to Charles Wesley all the original hymns except such as are traceable to John Wesley through his Journals and other works.
The list of 482 original hymns by John and Charles Wesley listed in this Dictionary of Hymnology have formed an important part of Methodist hymnody and show the enormous influence of the Wesleys on the English hymnody of the nineteenth century.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
John Wesley
Charles Wesley
1707 - 1788 Person Name: Charles Wesley, 1707-1788 Hymnal Number: 159 Author of "Christ the [our] Lord is [has] risen today, [Alleluia] [Sons of men]" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepened, and he became one of the first band of "Oxford Methodists."
In 1735 he went with his brother John to Georgia, as secretary to General Oglethorpe, having before he set out received Deacon's and Priest's Orders on two successive Sundays. His stay in Georgia was very short; he returned to England in 1736, and in 1737 came under the influence of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians, especially of that remarkable man who had so large a share in moulding John Wesley's career, Peter Bonier, and also of a Mr. Bray, a brazier in Little Britain. On Whitsunday, 1737, [sic. 1738] he "found rest to his soul," and in 1738 he became curate to his friend, Mr. Stonehouse, Vicar of Islington, but the opposition of the churchwardens was so great that the Vicar consented that he "should preach in his church no more." Henceforth his work was identified with that of his brother John, and he became an indefatigable itinerant and field preacher. On April 8, 1749, he married Miss Sarah Gwynne. His marriage, unlike that of his brother John, was a most happy one; his wife was accustomed to accompany him on his evangelistic journeys, which were as frequent as ever until the year 1756," when he ceased to itinerate, and mainly devoted himself to the care of the Societies in London and Bristol. Bristol was his headquarters until 1771, when he removed with his family to London, and, besides attending to the Societies, devoted himself much, as he had done in his youth, to the spiritual care of prisoners in Newgate. He had long been troubled about the relations of Methodism to the Church of England, and strongly disapproved of his brother John's "ordinations." Wesley-like, he expressed his disapproval in the most outspoken fashion, but, as in the case of Samuel at an earlier period, the differences between the brothers never led to a breach of friendship. He died in London, March 29, 1788, and was buried in Marylebone churchyard. His brother John was deeply grieved because he would not consent to be interred in the burial-ground of the City Road Chapel, where he had prepared a grave for himself, but Charles said, "I have lived, and I die, in the Communion of the Church of England, and I will be buried in the yard of my parish church." Eight clergymen of the Church of England bore his pall. He had a large family, four of whom survived him; three sons, who all became distinguished in the musical world, and one daughter, who inherited some of her father's poetical genius. The widow and orphans were treated with the greatest kindness and generosity by John Wesley.
As a hymn-writer Charles Wesley was unique. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and though, of course, in so vast a number some are of unequal merit, it is perfectly marvellous how many there are which rise to the highest degree of excellence. His feelings on every occasion of importance, whether private or public, found their best expression in a hymn. His own conversion, his own marriage, the earthquake panic, the rumours of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots, every Festival of the Christian Church, every doctrine of the Christian Faith, striking scenes in Scripture history, striking scenes which came within his own view, the deaths of friends as they passed away, one by one, before him, all furnished occasions for the exercise of his divine gift. Nor must we forget his hymns for little children, a branch of sacred poetry in which the mantle of Dr. Watts seems to have fallen upon him. It would be simply impossible within our space to enumerate even those of the hymns which have become really classical. The saying that a really good hymn is as rare an appearance as that of a comet is falsified by the work of Charles Wesley; for hymns, which are really good in every respect, flowed from his pen in quick succession, and death alone stopped the course of the perennial stream.
It has been the common practice, however for a hundred years or more to ascribe all translations from the German to John Wesley, as he only of the two brothers knew that language; and to assign to Charles Wesley all the original hymns except such as are traceable to John Wesley through his Journals and other works.
The list of 482 original hymns by John and Charles Wesley listed in this Dictionary of Hymnology have formed an important part of Methodist hymnody and show the enormous influence of the Wesleys on the English hymnody of the nineteenth century.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Charles Wesley, the son of Samuel Wesley, was born at Epworth, Dec. 18, 1707. He was educated at Westminster School and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated M.A. In 1735, he took Orders and immediately proceeded with his brother John to Georgia, both being employed as missionaries of the S.P.G. He returned to England in 1736. For many years he engaged with his brother in preaching the Gospel. He died March 29, 1788. To Charles Wesley has been justly assigned the appellation of the "Bard of Methodism." His prominence in hymn writing may be judged from the fact that in the "Wesleyan Hymn Book," 623 of the 770 hymns were written by him; and he published more than thirty poetical works, written either by himself alone, or in conjunction with his brother. The number of his separate hymns is at least five thousand.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.
Charles Wesley
John Fawcett
1740 - 1817 Hymnal Number: 206 Author of "How precious is the book divine" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches An orphan at the age of twelve, John Fawcett (b. Lidget Green, Yorkshire, England, 1740; d. Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, 1817) became apprenticed to a tailor and was largely self-educated. He was converted by the preaching of George Whitefield at the age of sixteen and began preaching soon thereafter. In 1765 Fawcett was called to a small, poor, Baptist country church in Wainsgate, Yorkshire. Seven years later he received a call from the large and influential Carter's Lane Church in London, England. Fawcett accepted the call and preached his farewell sermon. The day of departure came, and his family's belongings were loaded on carts, but the distraught congregation begged him to stay. In Singers and Songs of the Church (1869), Josiah Miller tells the story associated with this text:
This favorite hymn is said to have been written in 1772, to commemorate the determination of its author to remain with his attached people at Wainsgate. The farewell sermon was preached, the wagons were loaded, when love and tears prevailed, and Dr. Fawcett sacrificed the attraction of a London pulpit to the affection of his poor but devoted flock.
Fawcett continued to serve in Wainsgate and in the nearby village of Hebden Bridge for the remainder of his active ministry.
Bert Polman
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Fawcett, John, D.D., was born Jan. 6, 1739 or 1740, at Lidget Green, near Bradford, Yorks. Converted at the age of sixteen under the ministry of G. Whitefield, he at first joined the Methodists, but three years later united with the Baptist Church at Bradford. Having begun to preach he was, in 1765, ordained Baptist minister at Wainsgate, near Hebden Bridge, Yorks. In 1772 he was invited to London, to succeed the celebrated Dr. J. Gill, as pastor of Carter's Lane; the invitation had been formally accepted, the farewell sermon at Wainsgate had been preached and the wagons loaded with his goods for removal, when the love and tears of his attached people prevailed and he decided to remain. In 1777 a new chapel was built for him at Hebden Bridge, and about the same time he opened a school at Brearley Hall, his place of residence. In 1793 he was invited to become President of the Baptist Academy at Bristol, but declined. In 1811 he received from America the degree of D.D., and died in 1817, at the age of 78. Dr. Fawcett was the author of a number of prose works on Practical Religion, several of which attained a large circulation. His poetical publications are:—
(1) Poetic Essays, 1767; (2) The Christian's Humble Plea, a Poem, in answer to Dr. Priestley against the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1772; (3) Three hymns, in the Gospel Magazine, 1777; (4) The Death of Eumenio, a Divine Poem, 1779; (5) Another poem, suggested by the decease of a friend, The Reign of Death, 1780; and (6) Hymns adapted to the circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion, Leeds, G. Wright & Son. 1782. They are 166 in number, and were mostly composed to be sung after sermons by the author.
Whilst not attaining a high degree of excellence as poetry, they are "eminently spiritual and practical," and a number of them are found in all the Baptist and Congregational hymn-books that have appeared during the last 100 years. The best known of these are, “Infinite excellence is Thine;" "How precious is the Book divine;" "Thus far my God hath led me on;" "Religion is the chief concern;" "Blest be the tie that binds;" “I my Ebenezer raise;" and "Praise to Thee, Thou great Creator." These hymns, together with others by Fawcett, are annotated under their respective first lines. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
In addition the following hymns, also by Fawcett, but of less importance, are in common use:
1. Behold the sin-atoning Lamb. Passiontide. No. 60 of his Hymns, 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. In several hymnals in Great Britain and America.
2. I my Ebenezer raise. Birthday. No. 102 of his Hymns, in 10 stanzas of 4 lines. Usually given in an abbreviated form.
3. Infinite excellence is Thine. Jesus the Desire of Nations. No. 42 of his Hymns, in 12 stanzas of 4 lines. In several hymn-books in Great Britain and America in an abridged form.
4. Jesus, the heavenly Lover, gave. Redemption in Christ. No. 10 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed, "The marriage between Christ and the Soul." In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, it reads, “Jesus, the heavenly Bridegroom, gave," and stanza v. is omitted.
5. Lord, hast Thou made me know Thy ways? Perseverance. No. 122 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 8 stanza of 4 lines. In the Baptist Hymnal, 1879, No. 451, stanzas iv.-vii. are omitted.
6. 0 God, my Helper, ever near. New Year. No. 108 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. The New Congregational Hymn Book, 1859-69 omits st. vi.
7. 0, my soul, what means this sadness? Sorrow turned to Joy. No. 111 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines, and based upon the words, "Why art Thou cast down, O my soul?" &c. It is in common use in America, and usually with the omission of stanza ii. as in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872.
8. Sinners, the voice of God regard. Invitation to Repentance. No. 63 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines on Isaiah lv. 7, "Let the wicked forsake his way," &c. It is in common use in America, but usually in an abbreviated form.
9. Thy presence, gracious God, afford. Before Sermon. No 165 in his Hymns, &c., in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, and a chorus of two lines. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymnbook, 1872, No. 126, the chorus is omitted. Fawcett has another hymn on the same subject (No. 79) and beginning, "Thy blessing, gracious God, afford," but this is not in common use.
10. Thy way, 0 God, is in the sea. Imperfect Knowledge of God. No. 66 in his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines on 1 Corinthians xiii. 9, "We know in part," &c. It is in several American collections, usually abbreviated, and sometimes as, "Thy way, O Lord, is in the sea." In this form it is in The Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858, &c.
11. With humble heart and tongue. Prayer for Guidance in Youth. No. 86 in his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines on Psalms cxix. 9. "Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way." It is No. 954 in the Baptist Psalms and Hymns, 1858-80.
About 20 of Fawcett's hymns are thus still in common use. Two hymns which have been ascribed to him from time to time, but concerning which there are some doubts, are fully annotated under their respective first lines. These are," Humble souls that seek salvation," and "Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing."
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
John Fawcett
Nicolaus Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf
1700 - 1760 Person Name: Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf Hymnal Number: 221 Author of "O thou to whose all searching sight" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Zinzendorf, Count Nicolaus Ludwig, the founder of the religious community of Herrnhut and the apostle of the United Brethren, was born at Dresden May 26, 1700. It is not often that noble blood and worldly wealth are allied with true piety and missionary zeal. Such, however, was the case with Count Zinzendorf. In 1731 Zinzendorf resigned all public duties and devoted himself to missionary work. He traveled extensively on the Continent, in Great Britain, and in America, preaching "Christ, and him crucified," and organizing societies of Moravian brethren. John Wesley is said to have been under obligation to Zinzendorf for some ideas on singing, organization of classes, and Church government. Zinzendorf was the author of some two thousand hymns. Many of them are of little worth, but a few are very valuable, full of gospel sweetness and holy fervor. He died at Herrnhut May 6, 1760.
—Hymn Writers of the Church by Charles Nutter
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Zinzendorf, Nicolaus Ludwig, Count von, was born at Dresden, May 26, 1700; was educated at the Paedagogium at Halle (1710-1716), and at the University of Wittenberg (1716-1719); became Hof-und Justizrath at the Saxon court at Dresden in the autumn of 1721; received a license to preach from the Theological Faculty of the University of Tubingen in 1734; was consecrated Bishop of the Moravian Brethren's Unity at Berlin, May 10, 1737; and died at Herrnhut, May 9, 1760.
An adequate sketch of the life and labours of this remarkable man would far exceed the limits of our space. The details of his life are fully given in his Leben, by A. G. Spangenberg, 8 vols., Barby, 1772-75 (English version, abridged, by Samuel Jackson, London, 1838); and good sketches, with references to the fuller biographies, will be found in Koch, v. 248, Herzog's Real-Encyklopädie, xvii. 513, &c. The English reader may also consult T. Kübler's Historical Notes to the Lyra Germanica, 1865, p. 107; Josiah Miller's Singers and Songs, 1869, p. 160; Miss Winkworth's Christian Singers of Germany, 1869, p. 305, &c. It is impossible to speak of Zinzendorf apart from the religious Communion of which he was the Second Founder.
Zinzendorf's first hymn was written at Halle in 1712, and his last at Herrnhut, May 4, 1760. Between these dates he wrote more than 2000 hymns. He himself published an edition of his poems as his Teutsche Gedichte at Herrnhut, 1735 (2nd ed., Barby, 1766), but this only contains 128 hymns. The fullest representation of them is in Albert Knapp's Geistliche Gedichte des Graf en von Zinzendorf, published at Stuttgart in 1845 (hereafter, in this article, referred to as Knapp, 1845). This contains 770 pieces, arranged in three books, with an introduction and a biographical sketch by Knapp.
In preparing this edition Knapp had access to much unpublished material in the archives at Herrnhut, and found there many of the hymns in Zinzendorf's autograph. But too much of the labour he bestowed thereon was spent in endeavouring, not so much to reconstruct the text from the original sources, as to modernise it. In various instances the hymns are altogether rewritten, so that the form in which they appear is not that in which, as a matter of fact, Zinzendorf did write them, but that in which he might have written them had he been Albert Knapp, and lived in the year of grace 1845. So much is this the case, that comparatively few of the hymns are given in Knapp's edition in their original form. If not altered they are often either abridged or else combined with others.
The keynote of Zinzendorf's hymns, and of his religious character, was a deep and earnest personal devotion to and fellowship with the crucified Saviour. This is seen even in his worst pieces, where it is his perverted fervour that leads him into objectionable familiarity with sacred things both in thought and in expression. If his self-restraint had been equal to his imaginative and productive powers, he would have ranked as one of the greatest German hymnwriters. As it is, most even of his best pieces err in some way or other, for if they are reverent and in good taste, they are apt to lack concentration and to be far too diffuse. His best hymns, and those which have been most popular in German and English beyond the Moravian connection, are those of the period prior to 1734. Among the characteristically Moravian hymns of the period 1734 to 1742 there are also, various noble pieces. The later productions, especially from 1743 to 1750, are as a rule one-sided, unreal, and exaggerated in sentiment, and debased in style; exemplifying a tendency inherited from Scheffler, and suffered to run to riot. Without doubt he wrote too much (especially considering the limited range of subjects treated of in his hymns), and gave too little care to revision and condensation. Yet many of his hymns are worthy of note, and are distinguished by a certain noble simplicity, true sweetness, lyric grace, unshaken faith in the reconciling grace of Christ, entire self-consecration, willingness to spend and be spent in the Master's service, and fervent brotherly love.
The more important hymnbooks in which Zinzendorf’s productions mainly appeared may for convenience be briefly noted here, as follows:—
(1) Sammlung geistlicher und lieblicher Lieder, Leipzig, 1725, with 889 hymns. The 2nd edition was published circa 1728, and contains anAnhäng with Nos. 890-1078 [Berlin Library, Ei. 2017]; while some copies have a Zugabe with Nos. 1079-1149 [Berlin, Ei. 2016], and others have also an Andere Zugabe, circa 1730, with hymns 1-44, bound up with them [Berlin, Ei, 2014, and British Museum]. The 3rd edition, with 1416 hymns in all, was published at Görlitz in 1731. A copy of this, now in the Hamburg Library, has bound up with Nachlese einiger geistlicher Lieder, dated 1733.
(2) Herrnhut Gesang-Buch 1735 (Das Gesang-Buch der Gemeine in Herrn-Huth) with its various Anhange and Zugaben up to 1748.
(3) London Gesang-Buch 1753-54 (Etwas vom Liede Mosis ... das ist: Alt- und neuer Brüder-Gesang, &c), published at London, vol. i. 1753, ii. 1754.
(4) Brüder Gesang-Buch 1778 (Gesangbuch zum Gebrauch der evangelischen Brüdergemeinen), published at Barby in 1778.
Zinzendorf's hymns passed into German non-Moravian use mainly through the Ebersdorf Gesang-Buch, 1742 (Evangelisches Gesangbuch in einen hinlänglichen Auszug der Alten, Neuern und Neuesten Lieder, &c), and in recent times through Knapp's Evangelischer Lieder-Schatz, 1837-1865. Comparatively few are found in non-Moravian English hymnbooks prior to 1840, save in the versions made by John Wesley. The translations made by the English Moravians have been very little used by others, except by those who were connected by birth with the Moravians, such as James Montgomery (through whose influence several were included in Mercer's Church Psalter & Hymn Book, 1855 and 1857), J. A. Latrobe and C. H. Bateman. The versions made by English non-Moravians since 1840 have been mostly of hymns which the Moravians themselves had not thought good to translate.
In the larger edition of the English Moravian Hymn Book of 1886, hymns which are by Zinzendorf may easily be traced, his name being added to them, and the first line of the original German prefixed. The others which have passed into use outside the Moravian connection, or have been translated by non-Moravians, are here noted as follows:—
i. Ach Bein von meinen Beinen. Longing for Heaven. Written circa 1750 (Knapp, 1845, p. 176). Included in the Kleine Brüder Gesang-Buch, 2nd ed. Barby, 1761, No. 2110, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines; repeated, altered, in the Brüder Gesang-Buch,1778. No. 1681. Translated as:—
1. The seasons, Lord! are Thine—how soon. A free version as No. 479 in J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841.
2. How soon, exalted Jesus. This is No. 838 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 1233).
ii. Ach! mein verwundter Fürste. Union with Christ. Written Aug. 1737 (Knapp, 1845, p. 125). First published in Appendix viii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1197, and in 4 stanzas of 6 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 774, stanza iv. was omitted.
The translation in common use is of stanzas i., ii. Another translation is, "My wounded Prince enthron'd on high," by C. Kinchen, as No. 85 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742. In the 1808 and later editions(1886, No. 352), stanza iii. altered to "Lord, take my sinful, worthless heart "is continued.
iii. Der Gott von unserm Bunde. Supplication. Written in 1737 ( Knap , 1845, p. 231). First published in Appendix vii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1201, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines, entitled, "Hymn for the Hours of Prayer." In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1474.
The translation in common use is based on stanza i., ii. Other translations are (1) "The God to whom we homage pay." This is No. 97 in pt. iii. 1748 of the Moravian Hymn Book. (2) "O may the God of mercies." This is No. 592 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801. In the ed. of 1886, No. 706, it begins with stanza iii., "Lord, our High Priest and Saviour."
iv. Die Bäume blühen ab. Autumn . In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, No. 12, dated Autumn, 1721, and entitled "Comforting thoughts on Death." It is in Knapp, 1845, p. 17. Further noted under "Wie wird mir einst doch sein".
v. Du Vater aller Kreatur. Work for Christ. Written 1722 (Knapp, 1845, p. 26). First published in Appendix. vi., circa 1737, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1159, and in 13 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1717 consists of stanza viii.-xiii. beginning, "Des Lebens abgestecktes Ziel." Translated as:—
Whether the period of this life. This is a translation of stanza viii.-x. as No. 847 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789. To this in later eds. (1886, No. 1235) No. 848 was added. This is "Lord may 1 live to Thee by faith," and is a translation of an anonymous 17th century stanza, "Herr Jesu! dir leb ich," which is No. 1686 in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778. The full form is in J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841.
vi. Geschwister! wir geben uns Herzen und Hände. Christian Work. Written 1737 (Knap p, 1845, p. 234). First published in Appendix vii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1217, and in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1391, it is united, as in Knapp, with "Gesinde des Heilands". Translated as:—
Grace! how good, how cheap, how free. This is a translation, by C. Kinchen, of stanza v., as No. 28 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742. Included in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866.
vii. Glanz der Ewigkeit. Morning. In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 13, dated Berlin, May, 1721. First published as No. 470 in the Sammlung, 1725, in 15 stanzas of 6 lines. In Knapp, 1845, p. 16. The only stanza translated into English is stanza xi. as part of "Jesu, geh' voran”.
viii. Grosser Bundes-Engel. Ascensiontide. Written for Ascension Day (his birthday), 1740 (Knapp, 1845, p. 144, dated May 26, 1740). First published in Appendix xi.,
circa 1741, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1426, in 27 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 603. Translated as:—
Lord, when Thou saidst, So let it be. This is a translation, by C. G. Clemens, of stanza iii., as No. 156 in the Moravian Hymn Book , 1789 (1849, No. 190). Included in the Congregational Hymn Book, 1836, and in Dr. Martineau's Hymns, 1840 and 1873.
ix. Heiliger, heiliger, heiliger Herr Zebaoth. Eternal Life. Heaven Anticipated. The Rev. J. T. Müller, of Herrnhut, informs me that this was written in 1723 on the occasion of the birthday (Oct.6) of Zinzendorf s grandmother, H. C. von Gersdorf. Knapp, 1845, p. 193, dates it Oct. 18, 1723. First published as No. 1078 (2) in the 2nd ed., circa 1728, of the Sammlung in 7 stanzas of 7 lines, entitled, Closing Hymn. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, stanza ii., iii., beginning "Hatten wir," are included as stanzas i., ii., of No. 1739. Translated as:—
Had we nought, had we nought. This is a translation of stanzas ii., iii., by W. O. Keley, as No. 1189 in the 1808 Supplement to the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801 (1849, No. 1186), and repeated in J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841, No. 475.
x. Ich bin ein kleines Kindelein. Children. This is No. 1022 in the 3rd ed., 1731, of the Sammlung, in 13 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1214, and in the Hist. Nachricht thereto (1835, p. 188) marked as a catechetical hymn for children, and dated 1723. Knapp, 1845, p. 40, dates it June, 1723, and alters it to "Ich bin ein Kindlein, arm und klein." It is a simple and beautiful hymn, and is contained in a number of recent German non-Moravian collections, e.g. in the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 1408. Translated as:—
1. Saviour, who didst from Heaven come down. This is a free translation of stanzas ii.,iii., v., made by James Bullivant Tomalin in 1860, and contributed to Lord Selborne's Book of Praise, ed. 1866, Appendix, No. 27, with the note at p. 500, "I am indebted for this to the kindness of the translator." Repeated in S. D. Major's Book of Praise for Home & School, 1869, and in America in the Baptist Service of Song, 1871, &c. In M. W. Stryker's Christian Chorals, 1885, and Church Song, 1889, it is altered, beginning, "O Saviour, Who from Heav'n came down."
2. I am a little child you see. By C. Kinchen, as No. 49 in the Moravian Hymn Book 1742. This form is followed in the edition of 1886, No. 1038, and in the Bible Hymn Book, 1845. In the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789, it begins with stanza ii., "Thou, gracious Saviour, for my good;" and this form altered to, "My Saviour dear, Thou for my good," is in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825.
xi. Kommt, Sünder, und blicket dem ewigen Sohne. Repentance or Lent. Mr. Müller informs me that this was written in Aug. 1736, at , 1845, p. 130, dates it Nov. 22,1738. First published in Appendix viii., circa 1739, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1308, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch 1778, No. 321. Translated as:—
Sinners! come; the Saviour see. This a good and full translation by C. Kinchen, as No. 120, in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742. Of this stanzas i., ii. are included in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866. Other forms are (1) "Are you formed a creature new" (stanza vi.). In the Moravian Hymn Book, 1769 (1886, No. 1280), Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825, &c. (2) "Rise, go forth to meet the Lamb" (stanza viii. alt.). In J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1852, No. 457.
xii. Kron' und Lohn behertzter Ringer. The Beatitudes. Founded on St. Matt. v. 3-12. In his Teutsche Gedichte, 1735. p. 41, dated, Sept. 7, 1722 (his marriage day), and entitled, "Thoughts on my own marriage." First published as No. 700 in the Sammlung, 1725, in 16 stanzas of 12 lines. In Knapp, 1845, p. 30. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 513, beginning, "Jesu, der du uns erworben." Translated as:—
Jesu! Lord so great and glorious. This, omitting stanzas xiv., xv., is No. 226 in pt. ii. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754, as "Jesus, Lord most great and glorious"). The versions of stanzas i., ix., xvi., from the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789, were included in the Dalston Hospital Hymn Book, 1848.
xiii. Naht heran, ihr lieben Glieder. Holy Communion. Written in 1731 (Knapp, 1845, p. 212). 1st published in the 3rd ed., 1731, of the Sammlung as No. 1416 in 16 stanzas of 4 lines. Also in the Brüder Gesang-Buch 1778, No. 1148. Translated as:—
1. Friends in Jesus, now draw near. This is a free translation, omitting stanza v., vi., viii.-x.,xiv., by Miss Borthwick in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 4th ser., 1862, p. 57, the German being quoted as "Kommt herein, ihr lieben Glieder." This translation is repeated in full in Lyra Eucharistica, 1863, p. 34, and abridged in G. S. Jellicoe's Collection 1867, Windle, No. 480, and Harland, 1876, No. 451.
2. Come, approach to Jesu's table. This is No. 556 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1849, No. 965),
xiv. 0 du Hüter Ephraim. Supplication for Grace. In his Teutsche Gedichte, 1735,p. 158, dated 1728,entitled, "On his wife's 28th birthday " (she was born Nov. 7, 1700), and with the note, "This poem was written for the birthday festival of the Countess, was sung by a company or coterie of friends, each member of which was indicated according to their circumstances at the time." It had previously appeared, without the first stanza, and this form, which begins, "Herz der göttlichen Natur".
xv. Rath, Kraft, und Held, und Wunderbar. Christmas. Founded on Is. ix. 6. In his Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 25, in 9 stanzas of 6 lines, entitled, "Christmas Thoughts," and dated 1721; and in the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch,1735, No. 827. In Knapp, 1845, p. 21. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 488, it begins with stanza vi., "Mein alles! mehr als alle Welt." Translated as:—
My all things more than earth and sky. This is a translation of stanza vi., by C. G. Clemens, as No. 306 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789. In 1801 altered to "My all in all, my faithful Friend;" and to this in 1826, trs. of stanzas ii., vii.-ix.,by P. Latrobe, were added (1886.No. 399). From this form a cento in 5 stanzas of L. M., beginning, "O Lord! Thou art my rock, my guide," was included in Dr. Martineau's Hymns, 1840.
xvi. Ruht aus von eurer Mühe. Christian Church. Written in 1737 (Knapp 1845, p. 232, as Du gestern und auch heute). First published in Appendix vi., circa 1737, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1183, in 8 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled, "Hymn of the witnesses." In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, stanza iv. is given as No. 1042. Translated as:—
0 Jesus Christ, most holy. This is a translation of stanza iv. by C. G. Clemens, as No. 487 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1849, No. 807 ; 1886, No. 795, beginning, "Lord Jesus Christ") Included in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866.
xvii. Seligs Volk der Zeugenwolk. Holy Communion. Written in 1739 (Knapp, 1845, p. 138, beginning, "Christi Blut, Die Segensfluth," and p. 256, "Selig Volk.") First published in Appendix viii., circa 1739, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1340, in 14 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled, "Hymn at the Feast of Love." In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, as Nos. 1127 and 1422, the latter beginning, "Werther Tod und Wunden roth; " and including stanza xi. ("Wisst ihr was? So heisst der Pass"), xiii., xiv. Translated as:—
1. Would the world our passport see. This is a translation of stanza xi., xiii. as No. 1152 in the 1808 Supplement to the Moravian Hymn Book of 1801 (1886, No. 895). Included as No. 212 in J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841.
2. Flock of Grace, ye Witnesses. This is No. 40 in pt. iii. 1748 of the Moravian Hymn Book.
3. Happy race of witnesses. By C. Kinchen as No. 551 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789. In 1886 four stanzas are given as No. 951, and the other two beginning, "Eat and rest at this great feast" (stanza viii.) as No. 1022.
xviii. Was hatten wir für Freude oder Ehre . Repentance. Written in 1739 (Knapp, 1845, p. 139). First published in Appendix viii., circa 1739, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1349, and in 48 stanza of 2 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 396, reduced to 19 stanzas. Translated as:—
What Joy or Honour could we have. In full as No. 161 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742; abridged in 1789 to 12, and in 1801 to 7 stanzas. The 1801 version, which represents stanzas i.-iv., viii., ix., xi. was included in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825; and with the trs. of stanzas iii., xi. omitted, and a hortatory stanza added, as No. 268 in J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841. In the Moravian Hymn Book, 1886, No. 322, it begins with the translation of stanza iii., "None is so holy, pure, and just."
xix. Wenn sich die Kinder freuen. Christian Work. Written about 1752 (Knapp, 1845, p. 179, as "Wenn wir uns kindlich freuen"). Included as No. 2101 in the London Gesang-Buch (Etwas vom Liede Mosis, &c), 1753, in 15 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 490 consists of stanzas i.—iii., vi., ix., xiii.-xv. beginning, "Wenu wir uns kindlich freuen." Translated as:—
1. When we seek with loving heart. By Miss Borthwick, in full from the 1778 (with an original stanza as stanza ix.) in the Family Treasury, 1861, pt. ii., p. 112, and in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1862, p. 89 (1884, p. 250). Repeated, abridged, in E. T. Prust's Supplemental Hymn Book, 1869.
2. When the children joyful are. This is No. 312 in pt. ii. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754.
3. When children are rejoicing . This is at p. 373 of pt. ii. in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754.
xx. Wir sind nur dazu. Christian Warfare. Written in 1734 (Knapp, 1845, p. 113). First published in Appendix iii., circa 1737, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1073, and in 21 stanzas of 6 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1330 has 13 stanzas; while stanza xvii. ("Die Streitertreue") is given as stanza v. of No. 1394. Translated as:—
Warrior, on thy station stand. This is a translation of stanza xvii. as No. 1161 in the 1808 Supplement to the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801 (1886, No. 896). Adopted by Dr. Martineau in his Hymns, 1840 and 1873, altered to "Warrior! to thy duty stand."
Hymns not in English common use:—
xxi. Auf, auf, es ist geschehe. Holy Communion. This is No. 166 in the Sammlung, 1725, in 12 stanzas of 4 lines, and in the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 2. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1188 it begins, "Ich eil in Jesu Armen" (5 stanzas being added, and stanzas viii., xi. omitted), and in the Hist. Nachricht thereto (ed. 1851, p. 188) is marked as written on the occasion of his first communion in 1714. In Knapp, 1845, p. 6, it begins, "Ist's ja, es ist geschehen," Translated as "Happy, thrice happy hour of grace." By L. T. Nyberg, of stanzas i., xii., as No. 693 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 1021) ; repeated in C. H. Bateman's Congregational Psalmist, 1846.
xxii. Christen sind ein göttlich Volk. Christian Life. In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 231, dated 1731, and entitled, "Hymn for a Royal Princess-apparent," viz. for Charlotte Amelia, daughter of King Christian VI. of Denmark. It had appeared in the Nachlese of 1733 to Knapp, 1845, p. 97, and in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 491. Translated as “Christians are a holy band, Gathered by the Saviour's hand." This is by Dr. J. F. Hurst in his translation of K. R. Hagenbach's History of the Church in the 18th and 19th Centuries, N. Y., 1869, vol. i., p. 434.
xxiii. Das äussre Schifflein wälgert sich. For those at Sea. First published in the Zugabe, circa 1744, to Appendix xi. to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1855, in 16 stanzas of 4 lines entitled, "Hymn for the ship's company, February, 1743." Written during a stormy passage from America to Germany. In Knapp, 1845, p. 164. The translations are: (1) "Our ship upon the surging sea." In the British Herald, Aug. 1866, p. 313, repeated in Reid's Praise Book, 1872. (2) "Our little bark, it rocks itself." In L. Rehfuess's Church at Sea, 1868, p. 18.
xxiv. Die Christen gehn von Ort zu Ort. Burial of the Dead. In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 113, as part of No. 45, which is entitled "Over the grave of the grandmother" (Henriette Catharine von Gersdorf. She died March 6, 1726), and dated March, 1726. The hymn itself is entitled, "Air after the funeral rites." It had appeared in the Andere Zugabe, circa 1730, to the Sammlung as No. 6 (ed. 1731, No. 1246), in 3 stanzas of 8 lines entitled, “Funeral Hymn." In Knapp, 1845, p. 72, and in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1701. The translations are : 1) "Believers go from place to place." By Dr. J. Hunt in his Spiritual Songs of Martin Luther, 1853, p. 146. (2) "Through scenes of woe, from place to place." By Dr. G. Walker, 1860, p. 50. (3) "From place to place the Christian goes." By J. D. Burns in his Memoir & Remains, 1869, p. 263. (4) “From land to land the Christian goes." This is No. 1251 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1886.
xxv. Du innig geliebter Erloser der Sünder. Readiness to serve Christ. Written in 1735 (Knapp, 1845, p. 222). First published in Appendix iv., circa 1737, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1080, and in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1335. Translated as "Sinners' Redeemer whom we only love." This is a translation of stanzas i., iv., v., by C. Kinchen, as No. 121 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742. In the 1789 and later editions (1886, No. 861), it begins, "Sinners' Redeemer, gracious Lamb of God." The text of 1742, slightly altered, is No. 206 in Lady Huntingdon's Selection, 1780.
xxvi. Du Vater aller Geister. Evening. In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 15, entitled, "Evening Thoughts," and dated Oct. 1721. It is No. 497 in the Sammlung, 1725, in 6 stanzas of 8 lines. In Knapp, 1845, p. 16, and in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 235. Translated as “Father of living Nature." By H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 102.
xxvii. Gesinde des Heilands des seligen Gottes. Christian Work. Written in 1737 (Knapp, 1845, p. 234), first published in Appendix vii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1216, and in 10 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1391. Translated as "Ye blest Domestics of the slaughter'd Lamb." In full as No. 178 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742 (1754, pt. ii., No. 250). Repeated, abridged, in the Bible Hymn Book, 1845, No. 286.
xxviii. Ich bitt dich, herzliches Gottes-Lamm! Love to Christ. Written in Oct. 1741 (Knapp, 1845, p. 152, as "Ein selig Herze führt diese Sprach"). First published in Appendix xi., circa 1743, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1724, and in 12 stanzas of 5 lines, In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 704, it begins, with stanza ii., altered to "Ein selges Herze führt diese Sprach." Translated as "When heavenwards my best affections move." By Miss Borthwick (from the 1778), dated April, 1861, in the Family Treasury , 1861, p. 328. In Hymns from the Land of Luther, 4th ser., 1862, p. 60 (1884, p. 223), altered to "When towards heaven."
xxix. 0 du Hüter Ephraim. Burial of the Dead. This is included at p. 10 in the Nachlese of 1733 to the 3rd ed. 1731 of the Sammlung, and is in 8 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled, "Of departure to the Father;" and in the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 256, entitled, "In the name of the community." Included as No. 695 in the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, 1735, beginning with stanza ii. altered to "Tödten ist dem Herrn erlaubt." In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1715, it begins with stanza iii., "Ehmals sollts gestorben sein," and in the Hist. Nachricht thereto (1835, p. 190) is marked as written on the death of Matthaus Linner in 1732. In Knapp, 1845, p. 101. Translated as "Once the sentence justly sounded." By Miss Borthwick in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1862, p. 92 (1884, p. 252).
xxx. 0 Liebe, die in fremde Noth. On Unity. In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 94, dated 1725, and entitled, "On the Saviour's faithfulness." First published as No. 198 (b) in the 1725 Sammlung, in 18 stanzas of 4 lines. In the London Gesang-Buch, 1753, No. 1764, stanzas ix., x., beginning, " Der du noch in der letzten Nacht," were given as a separate hymn; and this form is repeated in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 714, the Berlin Geistliches Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 1037, &c. In Knapp, 1845, p. 70. The translations, all of stanza ix., x., are: (1) "Lord Jesus, who that very night." By P. H. Molther, as stanzas ii., iii. of No. 387 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 477, beginning, "Lord Jesus, in that"). (2) "Thou Who didst die for all and each." By Miss Cox, 1841, p. 147. (3) "O Thou, Who with Thy latest breath." By Lady E. Fortescue, 1843, p. 66. (4) "Thou who in that bitter night." By Miss Warner, 1858, p. 436. (5) "Thou who in that last sad night." By Miss Fry, 1859, p. 151. (6) "Thou who upon that last sad night." In the Family Treasury, 1859, p. 200. (7) "O Thou who didst on that last night." By R. Massie in the British Herald, Feb. 1865, p. 28. (8) "O Thou, who on that last sad eve." By E. Massie, 1866, p. 69.
xxxi. O wie so gliicklich waren wir. Love to Christ. On the blessedness of union with Christ. First published in Appendix vii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1237, and in 8 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 829, and in the Hist. Nachricht thereto (1835, p. 186) marked as written for J. A. Rothe (p. 978, i.), and dated 1737. In Knapp, 1845, p. 236. Translated as "How full our cup of joy would be." By Miss Burlingham in the British Herald, Sept. 1865, p. 131, and in Reid's Praise Book, 1872.
xxxii. Reiner Bräutgam meiner Seelen. Desire for Holiness. Written in 1721 (Knapp, 1845, p. 21). Included in the 2nd edition, circa 1728, of the Sammlung as No. 1001, and in the Christ-Catholisches Singe- und Bet-Büchlein, 1727, p. 133, in 30 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 798. Translated as "Jesu, to Thee my heart I bow." This is a free translation of stanzas i., x.-xii., xvi., xvii., by J. Wesley in Psalms & Hymns, Charlestown, 1736-7, and Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739 (Poetical Works 1868-72, vol i., p. 109). Repeated in the Wesley Hymns & Spiritual Songs, 1753, Moravian Hymn Book, 1754, Bayley's Selection, Manchester, 1789, Bateman's Congregational Psalmist, 1846.
xxxiii. Schau von deinem Thron. Supplication. Written in 1720 (Knapp, 1845, p. 14), and founded on the Lord's Prayer. In the Sammlung, 1725, No. 443, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines. Translated as "All glory to the Eternal Three." By J. Wesley in Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1739 (Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. i., p. 130).
xxxiv. Solche Leute will der König küssen. Humility. First published in Appendix vii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1241, and in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. Mr. Müller informs me that it was written in 1738, and was dedicated to Eva Maria Immig née Ziegelbauer, who on March 5,1740, became the wife of A. G. Spangenberg. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 842, stanzas ii., iii. are stanzas i., iv. of this Knapp, 1845, p. 89 dates it 1728. The translations are:—(1) "To such the King will give a kiss of Love." This is No. 154 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742 (1754, pt. ii., No. 62).
(2) "His loving kindness those shall richly share." This is No. 508 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801. (3) "Such the King will stoop to and embrace." By Miss Winkworth, 1869, p. 310.
xxxv. Verliebter in die Sünderschaft. Love to Christ. First published in Appendix iii., circa 1737, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1072, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch
Nicolaus Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf
Joseph Addison
1672 - 1719 Hymnal Number: 243 Author of "When rising from the bed of death" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Addison, Joseph, born at Milston, near Amesbury, Wiltshire, May 1, 1672, was the son of the Rev. Lancelot Addison, sometime Dean of Lichfield, and author of Devotional Poems, &c, 1699. Addison was educated at the Charterhouse, and at Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating B.A. 1691 and M.A. 1693. Although intended for the Church, he gave himself to the study of law and politics, and soon attained, through powerful influence, to some important posts. He was successively a Commissioner of Appeals, an Under Secretary of State, Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Chief Secretary for Ireland. He married, in 1716, the Dowager Countess of Warwick, and died at Holland House, Kensington, June 17, 1719. Addison is most widely known through his contributions to The Spectator, The Toiler, The Guardian, and The Freeholder. To the first of these he contributed his hymns. His Cato, a tragedy, is well known and highly esteemed. Addison's claims to the authorship of the hymns usually ascribed to him, or to certain of them, have been called in question on two occasions. The first was the publication, by Captain Thompson, of certain of those hymns in his edition of the Works of Andrew Marvell, 1776, as the undoubted compositions of Marvell; and the second, a claim in the Athenaeum, July 10th, 1880, on behalf of the Rev. Richard Richmond. Fully to elucidate the subject it will be necessary, therefore, to give a chronological history of the hymns as they appeared in the Spectator from time to time.
i. The History of the Hymns in The Spectator. This, as furnished in successive numbers of the Spectator is :—
1. The first of these hymns appeared in the Spectator of Saturday, July 26, 1712, No. 441, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines. The article in which it appeared was on Divine Providence, signed “C." The hymn itself, "The Lord my pasture shall prepare," was introduced with these words:—
"David has very beautifully represented this steady reliance on God Almighty in his twenty-third psalm, which is a kind of pastoral hymn, and filled with those allusions which are usual in that kind of writing As the poetry is very exquisite, I shall present my readers with the following translation of it." (Orig. Broadsheet, Brit. Mus.)
2. The second hymn appeared in the Spectator on Saturday, Aug. 9, 1712, No. 453, in 13 st. of 4 1., and forms the conclusion of an essay on " Gratitude." It is also signed " C," and is thus introduced:—
“I have already obliged the public with some pieces of divine poetry which have fallen into my hands, and as they have met with the reception which they deserve, I shall, from time to time, communicate any work of the same nature which has not appeared in print, and may be acceptable to my readers." (Orig. Broadsheet, British Museum)
Then follows the hymn:—"When all Thy mercies, 0 my God."
3. The number of the Spectator for Tuesday, Aug. 19, 1712, No. 461, is composed of three parts. The first is an introductory paragraph by Addison, the second, an unsigned letter from Isaac Watts, together with a rendering by him of Ps. 114th; and the third, a letter from Steele. It is with the first two we have to deal. The opening paragraph by Addison is:—
“For want of time to substitute something else in the Boom of them, I am at present obliged to publish Compliments above my Desert in the following Letters. It is no small Satisfaction, to have given Occasion to ingenious Men to employ their Thoughts upon sacred Subjects from the Approbation of such Pieces of Poetry as they have seen in my Saturday's papers. I shall never publish Verse on that Day but what is written by the same Hand; yet shall I not accompany those Writings with Eulogiums, but leave them to speak for themselves." (Orig. Broadsheet, British Museum
Joseph Addison
Gerhardt Tersteegen
1697 - 1769 Person Name: Gerhard Tersteegen Hymnal Number: 314 Author of "Thou hidden love of God, whose height" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Tersteegen, Gerhard, a pious and useful mystic of the eighteenth century, was born at Mörs, Germany, November 25, 1697. He was carefully educated in his childhood, and then apprenticed (1715) to his older brother, a shopkeeper. He was religiously inclined from his youth, and upon coming of age he secured a humble cottage near Mühlheim, where he led a life of seclusion and self-denial for many years. At about thirty years of age he began to exhort and preach in private and public gatherings. His influence became very great, such was his reputation for piety and his success in talking, preaching, and writing concerning spiritual religion. He wrote one hundred and eleven hymns, most of which appeared in his Spiritual Flower Garden (1731). He died April 3, 1769.
Hymn Writers of the Church by Charles S. Nutter and Wilbur F. Tillett, 1911
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Gerhardt Tersteegen or ter Stegen, was born at Moers, Netherlands [sic. Germany] , November 25, 1697. He was destined for the Reformed ministry, but after his father's death when the boy was only six, his mother was unable to send him to the university. He studied at the Gymnasium in Moers, and then earned a meager living as a silk weaver, sharing his frugal daily fare with the poor. Malnutrition and privation undermined his health to such an extent that he suffered a serious depression for some five years, following which he wrote a new covenant with God, signing it in his own blood. A strong mystic, he did not attend the services of the Reformed Church after 1719. Although forming no sect of his own, he became well known as a religious teacher and leader. His house was known as "The Pilgrim's Cottage" -- a retreat for men seeking a way of life, while he himself was known as "the physician of the poor and forsaken." Barred from preaching in his own country until 1750, he visited Holland annually from 1732 to 1755, holding meetings. In addition to his other labors he carried on a tremendous correspondence. Overwork resulted in physical breakdown, so that during the latter years of his life he could speak only to small gatherings. He died at Muhlheim on April 3, 1769. One of the three most important of Reformed hymn writers, he is also regarded as the chief representative of the mystics. He wrote 111 hymns. His important Geisliches Blumengartlein was published in 1729. H.E. Govan published The Life of Gerhard Tersteegen, with selctions from his writings, in 1902.
--The Hymnal 1940 Companion
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Tersteegen, Gerhard, son of Heinrich Tersteegen (otherwise ter Stegen or zur Stiege), merchant at Mörs (Meurs), in Rhenish Prussia, was born at Mors, Nov. 25, 1697. His parents intended that he should become a minister of the Reformed Church in Germany. His father however died in 1703, and his mother found that after giving him a thorough classical training in the Latin school at Mörs she was unable to afford the cost of his University course. He was accordingly apprenticed, in 1713, to his brother-in-law, a merchant at Mühlheim on the Ruhr, and in 1717 started in business on his own account, at Mühlheim. As he found his time much broken up, and his opportunities of meditation few, he gave up his business in 1719; and, after a short trial of linen weaving, took up the easier and much more lucrative occupation of weaving silk ribbons. During the years 1719-24 he passed through a period of spiritual depression, at the end of which his faith in the reconciling grace of Christ became assured (see No. xxxiv. below), and on Maundy Thursday, 1724, he wrote out a solemn covenant with God which he signed with his own blood. Previous to this, even before 1719, he had ceased to attend the ordinary services of the Reformed Church; and also absented himself from Holy Communion on the ground that he could not in conscience communicate along with open sinners. About the beginning of 1725 he began to speak at the prayer meetings which had been held at Mühlheim, since 1710, by Wilhelm Hoffmann, who was a candidate of theology (licensed preacher) of the Reformed Church. Tersteegen soon became known as a religious teacher among the "Stillen im Lande," as the attenders on these meetings were called, and in 1728 gave up his handicraft in order to devote himself entirely to the translation of works by medieval and recent Mystics and Quietists, including Madame Guyon and others, and the composition of devotional books, to correspondence on religious subjects, and to the work of a spiritual director of the "awakened souls." From this date to his death he was supported by a small regular income which was subscribed by his admirers and friends.
About 1727 a house at Otterbeck, between Mühlheim and Elberfeld, was set apart as a "Pilgerhütte," where the "awakened souls" could go into a spiritual retreat, under the direction of Tersteegen. This house, with accommodation for eight persons, was retained until about 1800. Tersteegen, however, did not confine himself to Mühlheim, but travelled over the district, addressing gatherings of like-minded Christians, giving special attention to Elberfeld, Barmen, Solingen, and Crefeld. From 1732 to 1755 he also went regularly every year to Holland, to visit his spiritual kinsfolk at Amsterdam and elsewhere. From 1730 to 1750 a law against conventicles was strictly enforced, and Tersteegen could not hold meetings except on his visits to Holland. During this period he removed to a house which had been Wilhelm Hoffmann's, where he preached, and provided food and simple medicines for the poor. After 1750 he resumed his public speaking until 1756, when he overstrained himself, and had to confine himself to the smallest gatherings absolutely. In 1769, dropsy set in, and after patient endurance for a season he died on April 3, 1769, at Mühlheim (Koch, vi. 46). Up to the end of his life Tersteegen remained outside the Reformed Church, but never set up a sect of his own. After his death his followers as a rule reunited themselves with it, especially when a less formal type of religion began to prevail therein.
Tersteegen's most important hymnological work was his Geistliches Blümen-Gärtlein, of which many editions were published. Tersteegen ranks as one of the three most important hymnwriters associated with the Reformed Church in Germany, the other two being F. A. Lampe and Joachim Neander.
He is however more closely allied, both as a Mystic and as a Poet, with Johann Scheffler than with either of his co-religionists. He almost equals Scheffler in power of expression and beauty of form, and if Scheffler has more pictorial grace, and a more vivid imagination, Tersteegen has more definiteness of teaching, a firmer grasp of the Christian verities, and a greater clearness in exposition. Inner union of the soul with God and Christ, the childlike simplicity and trust which this brings, renunciation of the world and of self, and daily endeavour to live as in the presence of God and in preparation for the vision of God, are the keynotes of his hymns. To his intense power of realising the unseen, his clear and simple diction, and the evident sincerity with which he sets forth his own Christian experience, his hymns owe much of their attractiveness and influence. During his lifetime they did not come much into use except through the Harfenspiel, as above, and they did not meet the taste of compilers during the Rationalistic period. But since Bunsen in his Yersuch, 1833, and Knapp in his Evangelischer Lieder-Schatz, 1837, brought his hymns once more into notice they have been received in greater or less measure into almost all the German hymnbooks, among the Lutherans as well as among the Reformed, the most popular of all being his “Gott ist gegenwärtig".
A number of Tersteegen's hymns are noted under their own first lines. They appeared, almost all for the first time, in the successive editions of his Geistliches Blümen-Gärtlein, viz., in the 1st ed., 1729; 2nd ed., 1735; 3rd ed., 1738; 4th ed., 1745; 5th ed., 1751; 6th ed., 1757; 7th ed., 1768; and in each case (after 1729) in the Third Book of that work. Those which have passed into English are as follows:—
i. Freue dich, du Kinder-Orden. Christmas. Translated as:—
Little children, God above, 1858, p. 78. Another tr. is: "Children rejoice, for God is come to earth." By Miss Dunn, 1857, p. 30.
ii. Jedes Herz will etwas lieben. Love to Christ. In the 4th ed., 1745, as above, Bk. iii., No. 70, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines, entitled "The Soul wishes to take Jesus as her best Beloved." Translated as:—
1. The heart of man must something love. A cento beginning with st. ii. “Though all the world my choice deride," is in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866, and also in the Plymouth Collection, 1855, and other American hymnals.
2. Something every heart is loving. A full and good translation by Mrs. Bevan, in her Songs of Eternal Life, 1858, p. 58.
iii. Jesu, der du bist alleine. Communion of Saints. In the 2nd ed., 1735, in 11 stanzas of 6 lines, entitled "Prayer on behalf of the brethren." Translated as:—
Jesus, whom Thy Church doth own. By Miss Winkworth, omitting st. iii., in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 99.
iv. Jesu, mein Erbarmer! höre. Lent or Penitence. In the 2nd ed., 1735, in 12 stanzas of 6 lines, entitled "In outward and inward sufferings and Temptations." Translated as:—
Jesus, pitying Saviour, hear me. In full, by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 133. In her Christian Singer, 1869, p. 298, she gave st. ii., v., vi., beginning "Lost in darkness, girt with dangers."
v. Nun so will ich denn mein Leben. Self-Surrender. Translated (omitting st. ii., iii., vi., x.) as:—
1. Lo! my choice is now decided. By Miss Cox, in her Sacred Hymns from the German, 1841, p. 125. Her translations of st. viii., ix., vii., altered and beginning, "One thing first and only knowing," are repeated in Hedge & Huntington's Hymns for the Church of Christ, Boston, U.S., 1853.
2. Now at last I end the strife. By Miss Winkworth, in herLyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858.
vi. 0 liebe Seele! könntst du werden. The Childlike Spirit. Translated as:—
Soul! couldst thou, while on earth remaining. In Miss Cox'sHymns from German, 1864, p. 197, it begins "Soul, while on earth thou still remainest."
Other trs. are: (1) "Wouldst thou, my soul, the secret find." By Lady E. Fortescue, 1843, p. 47. (2) “Dear soul, couldst thou become a child." By Miss Winkworth, 1855, p. 22.
vii. Siegesfürste, Ehrenkönig. Ascension. Translated as:—
Conquering Prince and Lord of Glory, By Miss Winkworth, omitting st. ii., in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 48.
viii. Wie gut ists, wenn man abgespehnt. Lent or Self-Renunciation. In the first edition, entitled "Of the sweetness of the hidden life of Christians." Translated as:—
How sweet it is, when, wean'd from all. This is a good and full translation by S. Jackson, in his Life of Tersteegen, 1832 (1837, p. 417).
Other hymns by Tersteegen which have been rendered into English are:—
ix. Ach Gott, es taugt doch draussen nicht. On the Vanity of Earthly Things. Tr. as, "Ah God! the world has nought to please." By Miss Winkworth, 1869, p. 304.
x. Ach, könnt ich stille sein. Peace in God. Translated as (1) "Oh! could I but be still." By Mrs. Bevan, 1859, p. 134. (2) "Ah, could I but be still." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 77.
xi. Allgenugsam Wesen. God's All-sufficiency . The trs. are (1) "Thou All-sufficient One! Who art." By Miss Warner, 1858, p. 601, repeated in Hymns of the Ages, Boston, U.S., 1865, p. 163. (2) "Thou, whose love unshaken."
xii. Bald endet sich mein Pilgerweg. Eternal Life. Translated as “Weary heart, be not desponding." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 84.
xiii. Berufne Seelen! schlafet nicht. Lent. The translations are (1) "Ye sleeping souls, awake From dreams of carnal ease." By S. Jackson, in his Life of Tersteegen, 1832 (1837, p, 413). (2) "Sleep not, 0 Soul by God awakened." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 98.
xiv. Das äussre Sonnenlicht ist da. Morning. Tr. as (1) "The World's bright Sun is risen on high." By H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 51. (2) "The outer sunlight now is there." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 75.
xv. Das Kreuz ist dennoch gut. Cross and Consolation. Translated as "The Cross is ever good." By Mrs. Findlater in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1862, p. 72 (1884, p. 234).
xvi. Die Blümlein klein und gross in meines Herren Garten. On the Graces of the New Testament. The trs. are (l) "Flowers that in Jesu's garden have a place." By Miss Dunn in her translation of Tholuck's Stunden, 1853, p. 114. (2) "Full many flowers, in my Lord's garden blooming." By Dr. R. Menzies in his translation of Tholuck's Stunden, 1870, p. 182.
xvii. Die Liebe will was gauzes haben.Entire Consecration. Tr. as "Love doth the whole—not part—desire." By Miss Warner, 1869, p. 12.
xviii. Für dich sei ganz mein Herz und Leben. Consecration to Christ. The trs. are (1) "Constrain'd by love so warm and tender." By R. Massie in the British Herald, April, 1865, p. 55. (2) "My soul adores the might of loving." By Mrs. Edmund Ashley in the British Herald, Sept., 1867, p. 136, repeated in Reid's Praise Book, 1872, No. 582.
xix. Grosser Gott, in dem ich schwebe. God's Presence. Translated as "God, in Whom I have my being." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 81.
xx. Jauchzet ihr Himmel! frohlocket ihr englische Chören. Christmas. Tr. as "Triumph, ye heavens! rejoice ye with high adoration."
xxi. Jesu, den ich meine. Life in Christ. Tr. as ”Jesus, whom I long for." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 92.
xxii. Jesus-Nam, du höchster Name. The Name of Jesus. Translated as "Jesu's name, thou highest name." By S. Jackson in his Life of Tersteegen, 1832 (1837, p. 415).
xxiii. Liebwerther, süsser Gottes-Wille. Resignation to the Will of God. The translations are (1) "Thou sweet beloved Will of God." By Mrs. Bevan, 1858, p. 14. (2) “Will of God, all sweet and perfect." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 96.
xxiv. Mein ganzer Sin. Lent. Turning to God. Tr. as "My whole desire Doth deeply turn away." By Miss Warner, 1869, p. 30.
xxv. Mein Gott, mein Gott, mein wahres Leben. Self-Dedication. Tr. as "My God, my God, my life divine!" By S. Jackson in his Life of Tersteegen, 1832 (1837, p. 414).
xxvi. Mein Herz, ein Eisen grob und alt. Cross and Consolation. Tr. as "A rough and shapeless block of iron is my heart." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 79.
xxvii. Mein'n ersten Augenblick. Morning. Tr. as "Each moment I turn me."
xxviii. Nun lobet alle Gottes Sohn. Praise to Christ. Tr. as "Give glory to the Son of God." By Mrs. Bevan, 1858, p. 75.
xxix. 0 Jesu, König, hoch zu ehren. Self-surrender. Tr. as “0 Jesus, Lord of majesty." By Miss Winkworth, 1858, p. 136.
xxx. So gehts von Schritt zu Schritt. For the Dying. Tr. as "Thus, step by step, my journey to the Infinite." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 105.
xxxi. So ist denn doch nun abermal ein Jahr. New Year. Tr. as "Thus, then another year of pilgrim-life." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 73.
xxxii. Sollt ich nicht gelassen sein. Cross and Consolation. Tr. as “Should I not be meek and still." By Mrs. Bevan, 1858, p. 45.
xxxiii. Von allen Singen ab. Turning to God. Tr. as "From all created things." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 100.
xxxiv. Wie bist du mir so innig gut. The Grace of Christ. Written in 1724 at the close of his time of spiritual despondency. “This state of spiritual darkness continued five years; until at length whilst on a journey to a neighbouring town, the day-spring from on high again visited him; and the atoning mercy of Jesus Christ was made so deeply and convincingly apparent to him, that his heart was set entirely at rest. On this occasion he composed that beautiful hymn, &c." Translated as “How gracious, kind, and good, My great High Priest art Thou" (st. i.-v.), No. 74 in Dr. Leifchild's Original Hymns, 1842.
xxxv. Wiederun ein Augenblick. The Flight of Time. Tr. as: (1) “Of my Time one Minute more." (2) "One more flying moment." By Lady Durand, 1873, p. 26.
xxxvi. Willkomm'n, verklarter Gottes Sohn. Easter. This is translated as "O Glorious Head, Thou livest now." By Miss Winkworth, 1855, p. 89. Repeated in Schaff’s Christ in Song, 1870.
The first Book of the Blumen-Gärtlein contains short poems, more of the nature of aphorisms than of hymns. In the ed. of I76S there are in all 568 pieces in Book i., and of these Miss Winkworth has translated Nos. 429, 474, 565, 573, 575, 577 in her Christian Singers, 1869. Others are tr. by Lady Durand, in her Imitations from the German of Spitta and Terstsegen, 1873, as above, and by S. Jackson, in his Life of Tersteegen, 1832. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
Gerhardt Tersteegen
Thomas Ken
1637 - 1711 Hymnal Number: 402 Author of "Awake, my soul, and with the sun" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Thomas Ken (b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1637; d. Longleat, Wiltshire, England, 1711) studied at Winchester College, Hart Hall, and New College, Oxford, England. Ordained in the Church of England in 1662, he served variously as pastor, chaplain at Winchester College (1669-1679), chaplain to Princess (later Queen) Mary in The Hague, and bishop of Bath and Wells (1685-1691). He was a man of conscience and independent mind who did not shirk from confrontations with royalty. When King Charles II came to visit Winchester, he took along his mistress, the famous actress Nell Gwynne. Ken was asked to provide lodging for her. The story is told that Ken quickly declared his house under repair and had a builder take off the roof! He later was dismissed from the court at The Hague when he protested a case of immorality. Then, later in 1688, Bishop Ken refused to read King James II's Declaration of Indulgence in the churches, which granted greater religious freedom in England, and he was briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London. A few years later he refused to swear allegiance to King William, and he lost his bishopric.
Ken wrote many hymns, which were published posthumously in 1721 and republished in 1868 as Bishop Ken's Christian Year, or Hymns and Poems for the Holy Days and Festivals of the Church. But he is best known for his morning, evening, and midnight hymns, each of which have as their final stanza the famous doxology “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow.”
Bert Polman
===============
Ken, Thomas, D.D. The bare details of Bishop Ken's life, when summarised, produce these results:—-Born at Berkhampstead, July, 1637; Scholar of Winchester, 1651; Fellow of New College, Oxford, 1657; B.A., 1661; Rector of Little Easton, 1663; Fellow of Winchester, 1666; Rector of Brighstone, 1667; Rector of Woodhay and Prebendary of Winchester, 1669; Chaplain to the Princess Mary at the Hague, 1679; returns to Winchester, 1680; Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1685; imprisoned in the Tower, 1688; deprived, 1691; died at Longleat, March 19, 1711.
The parents of Ken both died during his childhood, and he grew up under the guardianship of Izaak Walton, who had married Ken's elder sister, Ann. The dominant Presbyterianism of Winchester and Oxford did not shake the firm attachment to the English Church, which such a home had instilled. His life until the renewal of his connection with Winchester, through his fellowship, his chaplaincy to Morley (Walton's staunch friend, then bishop of Winchester), and his prebend in the Cathedral, calls for no special remark here. But this second association with Winchester, there seems little doubt, originated his three well-known hymns. In 1674 he published A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College, and reference is made in this book to three hymns, for "Morning," "Midnight," and "Evening," the scholars being recommended to use them. It can scarcely be questioned that the Morning, Evening, and Midnight hymns, published in the 1695 edition of The Manual, are the ones referred to. He used to sing these hymns to the viol or spinet, but the tunes he used are unknown. He left Winchester for a short time to be chaplain to the Princess Mary at the Hague, but was dismissed for his faithful remonstrance against a case of immorality at the Court, and returned to Winchester. A similar act of faithfulness at Winchester singularly enough won him his bishopric. He stoutly refused Nell Gwynne the use of his house, when Charles II. came to Winchester, and the easy king, either from humour or respect for his honesty, gave him not long afterwards the bishopric of Bath and Wells. Among the many acts of piety and munificence that characterised his tenure of the see, his ministration to the prisoners and sufferers after the battle of Sedgmoor and the Bloody Assize are conspicuous. He interceded for them with the king, and retrenched his own state to assist them. He attended Monmouth on the scaffold. James II. pronounced him the most eloquent preacher among the Protestants of his time; the judgment of Charles II. appears from his pithy saying that he would go and hear Ken "tell him of his faults." Among the faithful words of the bishops at Charles's death-bed, none were so noble in their faithfulness as his.
He was one of the Seven Bishops who refused to read the Declaration of Indulgence, and were imprisoned in the Tower by James for their refusal, but triumphantly acquitted on their trial. At the accession of William III, he refused, after some doubt on the subject, to take the oaths, and was at length (1691) deprived of his see. His charities had left him at this time only seven hundred pounds, and his library, as a means of subsistence; but he received hospitality for his remaining years with his friend Lord Weymouth, at Longleat. The see of Bath and Wells was again offered him, but in vain, at the death of his successor, Bishop Kidder. He survived all the deprived prelates. His attitude as a nonjuror was remarkable for its conciliatory spirit. The saintliness of Ken's character, its combination of boldness, gentleness, modesty and love, has been universally recognised. The verdict of Macaulay is that it approached "as near as human infirmity permits to the ideal perfection of Christian virtue." The principal work of Ken's that remains is that on the Catechism, entitled The Practice of Divine Love. His poetical works were published after his death, in four volumes. Among the contents are, the Hymns for the Festivals, which are said to have suggested to Keble the idea of The Christian Year; the Anodynes against the acute physical sufferings of his closing years; and the Preparatives for Death. Although many passages in them are full of tender devotion, they cannot rank either in style or strength with the three great hymns written at Winchester. The best biographies of Ken are he Life of Ken by a Layman, and, specially, his Life, by the Very Rev. E. H. Plumptre, Dean of Wells, 1888. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.]
Bishop Ken is known to hymnody as the author of the Morning, Evening, and Midnight Hymns, the first and second of which at least have found a place in almost every English collection for the last 150 years. The general history of these hymns, as we now know it, is as follows:—
1. In 1674 Ken published his Manual of Prayers for Winchester Scholars as
A Manual of Prayers For the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College [here arms of William of Wykeham within a border]. London, Printed for John Martyn, 1674, 12 mo, pp. 69.
From a passage in this work it may fairly be inferred that the author had already composed hymns for the use of the scholars. He says:—
“Be sure to sing the Morning and Evening Hymn in your chamber devoutly, remembering that the Psalmist, upon happy experience, assures you that it is a good thing to tell of the loving kindness of the Lord early in the morning and of his truth in the night season."
Two hymns only seem to be here referred to, but the expression "night season" may include both the Evening and Midnight hymns, and the latter would be only used occasionally. The hymns are not given in the Manual of 1674, or succeeding editions, until that of 1695, when the three hymns are added as an Appendix. The title of this edition is:—
A Manual of Prayers For the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College. And all other Devout Christians. To which is added three Hymns for Morning, Evening, and Midnight; not in former Editions: By the Same Author. Newly Revised. London, Printed for Ctarles Brome at the Ovn, at the West end of St. Paul's Church, 1695.
2. In 1704 Richard Smith, a London publisher, issued a book similar in appearance to the Manual, and entitled Conference between the Soul and Body concerning the Present and Future State. This edition contained a strong recommendation by Dodwell, an intimate friend of Ken, but no hymns. To the 2nd edition, however (1705), were added two (Morning and Evening) hymns, with Ken's name appended, but containing two additional verses to the Evening hymn, and differing in several other respects from the text of the Manual. Thereupon Charles Brome, to whom the copyright of the latter belonged, issued a new edition with an Advertisement stating that Ken "absolutely disowned" the hymns appended to the Conference, "as being very false and uncorrect," and that the genuine text was that given in the Manual only. Brome's Advertisementreads:—
"Advertisement—-Whereas at the end of a Book lately Publish'd call'd, 'A Conference between the Soul and Body,' there are some Hymns said to be writ by Bishop Ken, who absolutely disowns them, as being very false and uncorrect; but the Genuine ones are to be had only of Charles Brome, Bookseller, whose just Propriety the Original copy is."
3. In 1709, however, the spurious hymns were again published as Ken's in a book entitled A New Year's Gift: in Two Parts: to which is added A Morning and Evening Hymn. By Thomas, late L. B. of Bath and Wells. The Third Edition with additions. London Printed by W. Olney. 1709.
Brome met this, as before, with a new edition of the Manual, in which the Advertisement of 1705 as above was repeated, but the text of the hymns considerably revised. This revised text was followed in all subsequent editions of the Manual, but as, until lately, it was thought to have appeared first in the edition of 1712, published soon after Ken's death, its genuineness was suspected by many. The question as it then stood was fully discussed in an able letter by Sir Roundell Palmer (Lord Selborne), prefixed to the reprint of Ken's Hymns, published by D. Sedgwick in 1864. Since that time the discovery in the Bodleian Library of a copy of the Manual of 1709 shows that the revision was made in that year, and confirms the conclusion at which Lord Selborne had previously arrived, that it was Ken's genuine revised text. The title of this edition is:—
A Manual of Prayers For the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College, And all other Devout Christians, To which is added three Hymns for Morning, Evening, and Midnight; By the same Author. Newly Revised. London: Printed for Charles Brome at the Gun, the West end of St. Paul's Church, 1709.
The Advertisement before referred to is at p. 130. The alterations of 1709 may therefore be accepted as being made by Ken himself, and it seems not improbable that the revision was suggested by the recent republication of the spurious text in spite of Brome's disclaimer in 1705, and possibly by adverse criticism of the original text. Lord Selborne pointed out in his Letter that Ken altered a passage in his Practice of Divine Love (1st ed., 1685) because "some Roman Catholic writer professed to discover the doctrine of Transubstantiation" therein. This alteration was made in the 2nd ed., 1686, and explained in the Preface to have been made "to prevent all misunderstanding for the future." A passage also in the Manual—-"Help me, then, ye blessed Hosts of Heaven, to celebrate that unknown sorrow, &c." — was claimed in a Roman Catholic pamphlet as a passage which taught the scholars of Winchester to invocate the whole Court of Heaven." This passage Ken altered "to prevent all future misinterpretations," and prefixed an Advertisement to the 1687 edition of the Manual explaining why he had done so. In looking through the texts of the three hymns for 1695, and 1709, and especially at the doxologies, and at st. x. and xi. in the Evening Hymn, "You my Blest Guardian, whilst I sleep," &c. (1695); and "O may my Guardian while I sleep," &c. (1709), do we not see a good and sufficient reason to account for the revision of the hymns?
4. With regard to the text given in the Conference, Lord Selborne observes that it is not improbable that alterations and various readings, originating with Ken himself, might have obtained private circulation among his friends, long before he had made up his own mind to give them to the public; a suggestion which may possibly help to explain the fact, that a writer, patronised by Dodwell, was misled into believing (for such a writer ought not lightly to be accused of a wilful fraud) that the text, published in the Conference in Ken's name was really from his hand. That Ken occasionally altered passages in his writings when for any reason he considered it necessary, is certain ; and there can be little doubt that the text of the three Winchester hymns was more or less unsettled before 1695. At any rate, before their first appearance in that year in the Manual the Evening hymn had found its way into print. It was published in
”Harmonia Sacra; or Divine Hymns and Dialogues .. . Composed by the Best Masters . . . The Words by several Learned and Pious Persons. The Second Book," London, Henry Playford, 1693.
The first volume, of this work appeared in 1688, and was dedicated to Ken. It is not improbable therefore that Playford, when collecting materials for his second volume, obtained the words of the Evening Hymn directly from the author.
The hymn was set by Clarke as a Cantata for a solo voice, with the Doxology as a chorus in four parts.
5. The various Morning Hymns by Ken which have appeared in the Appendix to Tate and Brady's Version of the Psalms, and in most hymnals published during the past 150 years are compilations from this hymn, with, in many instances, slight alterations of the text either of 1695 or of that of 1709. In some modern hymnals the difficulty of the length of the hymn is overcome by dividing it into two or more parts.
A reference to the text given in Harmonia Sacra shows that the change from "Glory" to "All praise" in line 1. is only a restoration of the original reading; and without being aware of this fact, Lord Selborne points out that the expression "All praise" is remarkably consistent with Ken's frequent use of it in other writings. The same alteration was made in 1709 in the Morning Hymn, stanza 9, and in the Midnight Hymn, st. 7; while at the same time "Glory" in the Morning Hymn, st. v. 1. 4, is changed to "High Praise."
As in the case of "Awake my soul," this hymn has been divided, subdivided, and rearranged in a great many ways during the last 150 years. In one form or another it will be found in most hymnals published during that period.
Like the Morning and Evening Hymns, this hymn has been divided and rearranged in various ways, and is found in one form or another in most hymnals published during the last 150 years.
6. The various centos from these hymns which are in common use in English-speaking countries are:—
i. From the Morning Hymn.
1. All praise to Thee Who safe hast kept.
2. Awake, my soul, and with the sun.
3. Glory to Thee Who safe hast kept.
4. I wake, I wake, ye heavenly choirs.
5. I would not wake nor rise again.
6. Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart.
ii. From the Evening Hymn.
1. All praise to Thee, my God, this night.
2. Glory to Thee, my God, this night.
iii. From the Midnight Hymn.
1. All praise to Thee in light array'd.
2. Glory to Thee in light array'd.
3. Lord, now my sleep doth me forsake.
4. My God, now [when] I from sleep awake.
7. Bishop Ken has not escaped the not unusual charge of plagiarism, in connection with his celebrated hymns. Charges of this kind have been made from time to time, the nature and value of which we will endeavour to summarize. These are: (1) he borrowed from Sir Thomas Browne; (2) he did the same from Thomas Flatman; (3) he did neither, but Paraphrased from the Latin.
8. The title of Bishop Ken's hymns on the Festivals of the Church, published posthumously in 1721, is: Hymns for all the Festivals of the Year. They were republished by Pickering as: Bishop Ken's Christian Year or Hymns and Poems for the Holy Days and Festivals of the Church, Lond., 1868. From this work the following centos have come into common use:—
1. All human succours now are flown. Visitation of the Sick.
2. I had one only thing to do. A New Creature.
3. O purify my soul from stain. 10th Sunday after Trinity, or A Prayer for Purity.
4. 0 Lord, when near the appointed hour. Holy Communion.
5. Unction the Christian name implies. Confirmation. [George Arthur Crawford, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
========================
Ken, T. , p. 422, i. Since this article was electrotyped the following details concerning Bishop Ken's three hymns have come to light:—In a Catalogue of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, published in 1707, there appears an entry of a tract entitled, Three Hymns for Morning, Evening; and Midnight, by the Author of the Manual of Prayers for Winchester Scholars. A copy of this hitherto unknown tract has lately come into the hands of Mr. W. T. Brooke, and by him has been passed on to the British Museum Library. It is bound up in a volume with two other pamphlets, of which the respective titles are:
(1) An Exposition on the Church Catechism, or the Practice of Divine Love. Revised. Composed for the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Printed for Charles Brome, at the Gun of the West end of St. Paul's Churchyard, 1703; (2) Directions for Prayer for the Dioceses of Bath and Wells. Price 2d. pp. 16; (3) A Morning, Evening, and Midnight Hymn by the Author of the Manual of Prayers for Winchester Scholars. Nos. 2 and 3 have no title, but on the last page of No. 3 is "London, Printed at the Gun, at the West End of St. Paul's Church."
The text of this tract of the "Three Hymns" agrees absolutely with that of 1709, except that in the 10th stanza of the Morning Hymns it reads "not rise again," as in 1705. We may therefore conclude that Ken's revisions, with this exception, were made between 1705 and 1707, the date of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Catalogue.
We may add that another cento from Ken's Midnight Hymn is "Blest Jesu! Thou, on heaven intent." in Rice's Hymns, 1870.
The Life of Bishop Ken by the late Dean Plumptre was published in 1888, in 2 volumes. It is by far the best and most exhaustive life of the Bishop, and is worthy of the author's great reputation. [George Arthur Crawford, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix I (1907)
Thomas Ken
Nahum Tate
1652 - 1715 Person Name: Nahum Tate, 1652-1715 Hymnal Number: 419 Author of "O Lord, our fathers oft have told, In our attentive ears" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Nahum Tate was born in Dublin and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, B.A. 1672. He lacked great talent but wrote much for the stage, adapting other men's work, really successful only in a version of King Lear. Although he collaborated with Dryden on several occasions, he was never fully in step with the intellectual life of his times, and spent most of his life in a futile pursuit of popular favor. Nonetheless, he was appointed poet laureate in 1692 and royal historiographer in 1702. He is now known only for the New Version of the Psalms of David, 1696, which he produced in collaboration with Nicholas Brady. Poverty stricken throughout much of his life, he died in the Mint at Southwark, where he had taken refuge from his creditors, on August 12, 1715.
--The Hymnal 1940 Companion
See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
Nahum Tate
John Kent
1766 - 1843 Hymnal Number: 432 Author of "O thou, before whose gracious throne" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Kent, John, was born at Bideford, Devonshire, Dec. 1766, and died Nov. 15, 1843. As a working shipwright his opportunities for acquiring the education and polish necessary for the production of refined verse were naturally limited. His hymns are strongly worded, very earnest and simple, and intensely Calvinistic. A few were published in Samuel Reece's Collection, 1799. The first edition of his Collection of Original Gospel Hymns, was published in 1803, and the 10th edition, with "The Author's Experience," in verse, 264 hymns, 15 longer pieces, and a Life by his Son in 1861. The Calvinistic teaching so prominent in his hymns has restricted their use to a limited number of collections. The greatest use made of them in modern hymnbooks has been by Mr. Spurgeon (Our Own Hymn Book, 1866) and Mr. Snepp (Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872). In the following list the dates in brackets indicate the dates of publication:—
1. Before the Almighty began (1841). Election.
2. Betroth'd in love, ere time began (1803). Election.
3. Christ exalted is our song (1803). Christ the sin tier's Surety.
4. Come saints, and sing in sweet accord (1803). Stability of the Covenant.
5. Hark, how the blood-bought host above (1803). Election.
6. How sweet the notes of yonder choir (1841). Christmas.
7. In types and shadows we are told (1803). Pardon.
8. Indulgent God, how kind (1803). Electing Love.
9. Let Zion in her songs record (1803). Pardon--Grace exalted.
10. Love was the great self-moving cause (1803). Free Grace.
11. Precious is the Name of Jesus (1841). The Precious Name.
12. Salvation by grace, how charming the song (1803). Free Grace.
13. Saved from the damning power of sin (1803). Eternal Love.
14. Sons of God, in tribulation (1803). Affliction.
15. Sons of peace, redeemed by blood (1803). Good Friday.
16. Sovereign grace o'er sin abounding (1827). Perseverance of the faint.
17. 'Tis the Church triumphant singing (1803). Praise.
18. 'Twas not to make Jehovah's love (1803). Election.
19. 'Twas with an everlasting love (1803). Election.
20. What cheering words are these (1803). Safety in God.
21. With David's Lord, and ours (1803). The Divine Covenant.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
John Kent
Samuel Davies
1723 - 1761 Hymnal Number: 192 Author of "Eternal Spirit, Source of light" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Davies, Samuel., M.A., born near Summit Ridge, Newcastle, Delaware, America, Nov. 3, 1723, and educated under the Rev. Samuel Blair, of Chester County, Pennsylvania, through the pecuniary assistance of the Rev. William Robinson, a Presbyterian Minister of New Brunswick. In 1745 he was licensed by the Presbytery of Newcastle as a probationer for the ministry, and undertook duty in Virginia, in 1747. After visiting England in 1753, on behalf of the New Jersey College, and having received the degree of M.A., he was appointed President of New Jersey Presbyterian College, Princeton, in succession to Jonathan Edwards. He died Feb. 4, 1761, at the early age of 37. His manuscripts were entrusted to Dr. T. Gibbons, who published therefrom 5 volumes of Sermons. In 1851 the Sermons were republished in 3 volumes, including a Memoir by the Rev. A. Barnes. His hymns, 10 in all, were given by Dr. Gibbons in his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, 1769. As a hymnwriter he followed the lines laid down by Watts, and his verses are solid, but somewhat dry and heavy. Those of his hymns which are still retained in common use are:—
1. Eternal Spirit, Source of Light. Influences of the Holy Spirit implored. From Dr. Gibbons's Hymns, &c, 1769, Book. ii., No. 29, this passed into several of the older collections. In later works it is more frequently found in the American hymnals than those of Great Britain. It is in 4 stanzas of 6 lines, as in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymnbook, N. Y., 1872, and the Leeds Hymnbook, 1853.
2. Great God of wonders, all Thy ways. The Pardoning God. This is one of the most, if not the most, popular of the author's hymns both in Great Britain and America. It has appeared in more than one hundred hymnbooks in England alone, sometimes in full (5 stanzas of 6 lines), and at other times abbreviated, as in Spurgeon's 0ur Own Hymn Book 1866; the Baptist Hymnal, 1879, &c. Its 1st publication was in Dr. Gibbons's Hymns, &c, 1769, Book i., No. 59.
3. How great, how terrible that God. The Judgment. In Gibbons, No. 37 of Book. i., in 7 stanzas of 4 lines.
4. Jesus, how precious is Thy name. Jesus the Prophet, Priest, and King. Is No. 31 of Bk. ii. in Gibbons, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines. It was very popular with the older compilers, as Ash and Evans, Rippon, Bickersteth, and others in Great Britain, and also in America; but in modern collections it is rarely found. It is worthy of notice.
5. Lord, I am Thine, entirely Thine. Holy Communion. In Gibbons this is No. 28 of Book. ii., in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. It is very popular in America, but unknown to most English hymnals. In all editions of Rippon's Selections 1787-1844, it is given in 2 stanzas as "Lord, am I Thine, entirely Thine?" The hymn, "While to Thy table I repair," in the Andover Sabbath Hymnbook , 1858, is compiled from this hymn.
6. What strange perplexities arise. Self-Examination. This hymn is equal to No. 5 in American popularity, and exceeds it in Great Britain. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymnbook, N.Y., 1872, it is abbreviated and slightly altered. Full text in 6 stanzas of 4 lines is in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book , 1866. It was first published in Gibbons' Hymns, &c, 1769.
7. While o'er our guilty land, 0 Lord. Fast Day. This hymn, besides appearing in its original form in some collections, and with abbreviations in others, is also the source of "On Thee, our Guardian God, we call," stanza iv. of the original given in a few American collections; and of the same arrangement of stanzas, "On Thee we call, 0 Lord, our God," in the Andover Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858, and others. The original in Gibbons is Book i., No. 56, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines.
The remaining hymns by Davies have failed to attain a position in the hymnbooks either of Great Britain or America. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Samuel Davies
Isaac Watts
1674 - 1748 Person Name: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748 Hymnal Number: 1 Author of "Before Jehovah's awful throne" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary labours. He did not retire from ministerial duties, but preached as often as his delicate health would permit.
The number of Watts' publications is very large. His collected works, first published in 1720, embrace sermons, treatises, poems and hymns. His "Horae Lyricae" was published in December, 1705. His "Hymns" appeared in July, 1707. The first hymn he is said to have composed for religious worship, is "Behold the glories of the Lamb," written at the age of twenty. It is as a writer of psalms and hymns that he is everywhere known. Some of his hymns were written to be sung after his sermons, giving expression to the meaning of the text upon which he had preached. Montgomery calls Watts "the greatest name among hymn-writers," and the honour can hardly be disputed. His published hymns number more than eight hundred.
Watts died November 25, 1748, and was buried at Bunhill Fields. A monumental statue was erected in Southampton, his native place, and there is also a monument to his memory in the South Choir of Westminster Abbey. "Happy," says the great contemporary champion of Anglican orthodoxy, "will be that reader whose mind is disposed, by his verses or his prose, to imitate him in all but his non-conformity, to copy his benevolence to men, and his reverence to God." ("Memorials of Westminster Abbey," p. 325.)
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.
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Watts, Isaac, D.D. The father of Dr. Watts was a respected Nonconformist, and at the birth of the child, and during its infancy, twice suffered imprisonment for his religious convictions. In his later years he kept a flourishing boarding school at Southampton. Isaac, the eldest of his nine children, was born in that town July 17, 1674. His taste for verse showed itself in early childhood. He was taught Greek, Latin, and Hebrew by Mr. Pinhorn, rector of All Saints, and headmaster of the Grammar School, in Southampton. The splendid promise of the boy induced a physician of the town and other friends to offer him an education at one of the Universities for eventual ordination in the Church of England: but this he refused; and entered a Nonconformist Academy at Stoke Newington in 1690, under the care of Mr. Thomas Rowe, the pastor of the Independent congregation at Girdlers' Hall. Of this congregation he became a member in 1693.
Leaving the Academy at the age of twenty, he spent two years at home; and it was then that the bulk of the Hymns and Spiritual Songs (published 1707-9) were written, and sung from manuscripts in the Southampton Chapel. The hymn "Behold the glories of the Lamb" is said to have been the first he composed, and written as an attempt to raise the standard of praise. In answer to requests, others succeeded. The hymn "There is a land of pure delight" is said to have been suggested by the view across Southampton Water. The next six years of Watts's life were again spent at Stoke Newington, in the post of tutor to the son of an eminent Puritan, Sir John Hartopp; and to the intense study of these years must be traced the accumulation of the theological and philosophical materials which he published subsequently, and also the life-long enfeeblement of his constitution.
Watts preached his first sermon when he was twenty-four years old. In the next three years he preached frequently; and in 1702 was ordained pastor of the eminent Independent congregation in Mark Lane, over which Caryl and Dr. John Owen had presided, and which numbered Mrs. Bendish, Cromwell's granddaughter, Charles Fleetwood, Charles Desborough, Sir John Hartopp, Lady Haversham, and other distinguished Independents among its members. In this year he removed to the house of Mr. Hollis in the Minories. His health began to fail in the following year, and Mr. Samuel Price was appointed as his assistant in the ministry. In 1712 a fever shattered his constitution, and Mr. Price was then appointed co-pastor of the congregation which had in the meantime removed to a new chapel in Bury Street. It was at this period that he became the guest of Sir Thomas Abney, under whose roof, and after his death (1722) that of his widow, he remained for the rest of his suffering life; residing for the longer portion of these thirty-six years principally at the beautiful country seat of Theobalds in Herts, and for the last thirteen years at Stoke Newington. His degree of D.D. was bestowed on him in 1728, unsolicited, by the University of Edinburgh. His infirmities increased on him up to the peaceful close of his sufferings, Nov. 25, 1748. He was buried in the Puritan restingplace at Bunhill Fields, but a monument was erected to him in Westminster Abbey.
His learning and piety, gentleness and largeness of heart have earned him the title of the Melanchthon of his day. Among his friends, churchmen like Bishop Gibson are ranked with Nonconformists such as Doddridge. His theological as well as philosophical fame was considerable. His Speculations on the Human Nature of the Logos, as a contribution to the great controversy on the Holy Trinity, brought on him a charge of Arian opinions. His work on The Improvement of the Mind, published in 1741, is eulogised by Johnson. His Logic was still a valued textbook at Oxford within living memory. The World to Come, published in 1745, was once a favourite devotional work, parts of it being translated into several languages. His Catechisms, Scripture History (1732), as well as The Divine and Moral Songs (1715), were the most popular text-books for religious education fifty years ago. The Hymns and Spiritual Songs were published in 1707-9, though written earlier. The Horae Lyricae, which contains hymns interspersed among the poems, appeared in 1706-9. Some hymns were also appended at the close of the several Sermons preached in London, published in 1721-24. The Psalms were published in 1719. The earliest life of Watts is that by his friend Dr. Gibbons. Johnson has included him in his Lives of the Poets; and Southey has echoed Johnson's warm eulogy. The most interesting modern life is Isaac Watts: his Life and Writings, by E. Paxton Hood. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.]
A large mass of Dr. Watts's hymns and paraphrases of the Psalms have no personal history beyond the date of their publication. These we have grouped together here and shall preface the list with the books from which they are taken.
(l) Horae Lyricae. Poems chiefly of the Lyric kind. In Three Books Sacred: i.To Devotion and Piety; ii. To Virtue, Honour, and Friendship; iii. To the Memory of the Dead. By I. Watts, 1706. Second edition, 1709. (2) Hymns and Spiritual Songs. In Three Books: i. Collected from the Scriptures; ii. Composed on Divine Subjects; iii. Prepared for the Lord's Supper. By I. Watts, 1707. This contained in Bk i. 78 hymns; Bk. ii. 110; Bk. iii. 22, and 12 doxologies. In the 2nd edition published in 1709, Bk. i. was increased to 150; Bk. ii. to 170; Bk. iii. to 25 and 15 doxologies. (3) Divine and Moral Songs for the Use of Children. By I. Watts, London, 1715. (4) The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, And apply'd to the Christian State and Worship. By I. Watts. London: Printed by J. Clark, at the Bible and Crown in the Poultry, &c, 1719. (5) Sermons with hymns appended thereto, vol. i., 1721; ii., 1723; iii. 1727. In the 5th ed. of the Sermons the three volumes, in duodecimo, were reduced to two, in octavo. (6) Reliquiae Juveniles: Miscellaneous Thoughts in Prose and Verse, on Natural, Moral, and Divine Subjects; Written chiefly in Younger Years. By I. Watts, D.D., London, 1734. (7) Remnants of Time. London, 1736.
454 Hymns and Versions of the Psalms, in addition to the centos are all in common use at the present time.
--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Watts, I. , p. 1241, ii. Nearly 100 hymns, additional to those already annotated, are given in some minor hymn-books.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
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Watts, I. , p. 1236, i. At the time of the publication of this Dictionary in 1892, every copy of the 1707 edition of Watts's Hymns and Spiritual Songs was supposed to have perished, and all notes thereon were based upon references which were found in magazines and old collections of hymns and versions of the Psalms. Recently three copies have been recovered, and by a careful examination of one of these we have been able to give some of the results in the revision of pp. 1-1597, and the rest we now subjoin.
i. Hymns in the 1709 ed. of Hymns and Spiritual Songs which previously appeared in the 1707 edition of the same book, but are not so noted in the 1st ed. of this Dictionary:—
On pp. 1237, L-1239, ii., Nos. 18, 33, 42, 43, 47, 48, 60, 56, 58, 59, 63, 75, 82, 83, 84, 85, 93, 96, 99, 102, 104, 105, 113, 115, 116, 123, 124, 134, 137, 139, 146, 147, 148, 149, 162, 166, 174, 180, 181, 182, 188, 190, 192, 193, 194, 195, 197, 200, 202.
ii. Versions of the Psalms in his Psalms of David, 1719, which previously appeared in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1707:—
On pp. 1239, U.-1241, i., Nos. 241, 288, 304, 313, 314, 317, 410, 441.
iii. Additional not noted in the revision:—
1. My soul, how lovely is the place; p. 1240, ii. 332. This version of Ps. lxiv. first appeared in the 1707 edition of Hymns & Spiritual Songs, as "Ye saints, how lovely is the place."
2. Shine, mighty God, on Britain shine; p. 1055, ii. In the 1707 edition of Hymns & Spiritual Songs, Bk. i., No. 35, and again in his Psalms of David, 1719.
3. Sing to the Lord with [cheerful] joyful voice, p. 1059, ii. This version of Ps. c. is No. 43 in the Hymns & Spiritual Songs, 1707, Bk. i., from which it passed into the Ps. of David, 1719.
A careful collation of the earliest editions of Watts's Horae Lyricae shows that Nos. 1, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, p. 1237, i., are in the 1706 ed., and that the rest were added in 1709. Of the remaining hymns, Nos. 91 appeared in his Sermons, vol. ii., 1723, and No. 196 in Sermons, vol. i., 1721. No. 199 was added after Watts's death. It must be noted also that the original title of what is usually known as Divine and Moral Songs was Divine Songs only.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
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See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
Isaac Watts
John Newton
1725 - 1807 Hymnal Number: 120 Author of "One there is above all others, well [who] deserves" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches John Newton (b. London, England, 1725; d. London, 1807) was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumultuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton's conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett, (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide-surveyor in Liverpool, England, Newton came under the influence of George Whitefield and John and Charles Wesley and began to study for the ministry. He was ordained in the Church of England and served in Olney (1764-1780) and St. Mary Woolnoth, London (1780-1807). His legacy to the Christian church includes his hymns as well as his collaboration with William Cowper (PHH 434) in publishing Olney Hymns (1779), to which Newton contributed 280 hymns, including “Amazing Grace.”
Bert Polman
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Newton, John, who was born in London, July 24, 1725, and died there Dec. 21, 1807, occupied an unique position among the founders of the Evangelical School, due as much to the romance of his young life and the striking history of his conversion, as to his force of character. His mother, a pious Dissenter, stored his childish mind with Scripture, but died when he was seven years old. At the age of eleven, after two years' schooling, during which he learned the rudiments of Latin, he went to sea with his father. His life at sea teems with wonderful escapes, vivid dreams, and sailor recklessness. He grew into an abandoned and godless sailor. The religious fits of his boyhood changed into settled infidelity, through the study of Shaftesbury and the instruction of one of his comrades. Disappointing repeatedly the plans of his father, he was flogged as a deserter from the navy, and for fifteen months lived, half-starved and ill-treated, in abject degradation under a slave-dealer in Africa. The one restraining influence of his life was his faithful love for his future wife, Mary Catlett, formed when he was seventeen, and she only in her fourteenth year. A chance reading of Thomas à Kempis sowed the seed of his conversion; which quickened under the awful contemplations of a night spent in steering a water-logged vessel in the face of apparent death (1748). He was then twenty-three. The six following years, during which he commanded a slave ship, matured his Christian belief. Nine years more, spent chiefly at Liverpool, in intercourse with Whitefield, Wesley, and Nonconformists, in the study of Hebrew and Greek, in exercises of devotion and occasional preaching among the Dissenters, elapsed before his ordination to the curacy of Olney, Bucks (1764).
The Olney period was the most fruitful of his life. His zeal in pastoral visiting, preaching and prayer-meetings was unwearied. He formed his lifelong friendship with Cowper, and became the spiritual father of Scott the commentator. At Olney his best works—-Omicron's Letters (1774); Olney Hymns (1779); Cardiphonia, written from Olney, though published 1781—were composed. As rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, London, in the centre of the Evangelical movement (1780-1807) his zeal was as ardent as before. In 1805, when no longer able to read his text, his reply when pressed to discontinue preaching, was, "What, shall the old African blasphemer stop while he can speak!" The story of his sins and his conversion, published by himself, and the subject of lifelong allusion, was the base of his influence; but it would have been little but for the vigour of his mind (shown even in Africa by his reading Euclid drawing its figures on the sand), his warm heart, candour, tolerance, and piety. These qualities gained him the friendship of Hannah More, Cecil, Wilberforce, and others; and his renown as a guide in experimental religion made him the centre of a host of inquirers, with whom he maintained patient, loving, and generally judicious correspondence, of which a monument remains in the often beautiful letters of Cardiphonia. As a hymnwriter, Montgomery says that he was distanced by Cowper. But Lord Selborne's contrast of the "manliness" of Newton and the "tenderness" of Cowper is far juster. A comparison of the hymns of both in The Book of Praise will show no great inequality between them. Amid much that is bald, tame, and matter-of-fact, his rich acquaintance with Scripture, knowledge of the heart, directness and force, and a certain sailor imagination, tell strongly. The one splendid hymn of praise, "Glorious things of thee are spoken," in the Olney collection, is his. "One there is above all others" has a depth of realizing love, sustained excellence of expression, and ease of development. "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds" is in Scriptural richness superior, and in structure, cadence, and almost tenderness, equal to Cowper's "Oh! for a closer walk with God." The most characteristic hymns are those which depict in the language of intense humiliation his mourning for the abiding sins of his regenerate life, and the sense of the withdrawal of God's face, coincident with the never-failing conviction of acceptance in The Beloved. The feeling may be seen in the speeches, writings, and diaries of his whole life. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.]
A large number of Newton's hymns have some personal history connected with them, or were associated with circumstances of importance. These are annotated under their respective first lines. Of the rest, the known history of which is confined to the fact that they appeared in the Olney Hymns, 1779, the following are in common use:—
1. Be still, my heart, these anxious cares. Conflict.
2. Begone, unbelief, my Saviour is near. Trust.
3. By the poor widow's oil and meal. Providence.
4. Chief Shepherd of Thy chosen sheep. On behalf of Ministers.
5. Darkness overspreads us here. Hope.
6. Does the Gospel-word proclaim. Rest in Christ.
7. Fix my heart and eyes on Thine. True Happiness.
8. From Egypt lately freed. The Pilgrim's Song.
9. He Who on earth as man was Known. Christ the Rock.
10. How blest are they to whom the Lord. Gospel Privileges.
11. How blest the righteous are. Death of the Righteous.
12. How lost was my [our] condition. Christ the Physician.
13. How tedious and tasteless the hours. Fellowship with Christ.
14. How welcome to the saints [soul] when pressed. Sunday.
15. Hungry, and faint, and poor. Before Sermon.
16. In mercy, not in wrath, rebuke. Pleading for Mercy.
17. In themselves, as weak as worms. Power of Prayer.
18. Incarnate God, the soul that knows. The Believer's Safety.
19. Jesus, Who bought us with His blood. The God of Israel. "Teach us, 0 Lord, aright to plead," is from this hymn.
20. Joy is a [the] fruit that will not grow. Joy.
21. Let hearts and tongues unite. Close of the Year. From this "Now, through another year," is taken.
22. Let us adore the grace that seeks. New Year.
23. Mary to her [the] Saviour's tomb. Easter.
24. Mercy, 0 Thou Son of David. Blind Bartimeus.
25. My harp untun'd and laid aside. Hoping for a Revival. From this "While I to grief my soul gave way" is taken.
26. Nay, I cannot let thee go. Prayer. Sometimes, "Lord, I cannot let Thee go."
27. Now may He Who from the dead. After Sermon.
28. 0 happy they who know the Lord, With whom He deigns to dwell. Gospel Privilege.
29. O Lord, how vile am I. Lent.
30. On man in His own Image made. Adam.
31. 0 speak that gracious word again. Peace through Pardon.
32. Our Lord, Who knows full well. The Importunate Widow. Sometimes altered to "Jesus, Who knows full well," and again, "The Lord, Who truly knows."
33. Physician of my sin-sick soul. Lent.
34. Pleasing spring again is here. Spring.
35. Poor, weak, and worthless, though I am. Jesus the Friend.
36. Prepare a thankful song. Praise to Jesus.
37. Refreshed by the bread and wine. Holy Communion. Sometimes given as "Refreshed by sacred bread and wine."
38. Rejoice, believer, in the Lord. Sometimes “Let us rejoice in Christ the Lord." Perseverance.
39. Salvation, what a glorious plan. Salvation.
40. Saviour, shine and cheer my soul. Trust in Jesus. The cento "Once I thought my mountain strong," is from this hymn.
41. Saviour, visit Thy plantation. Prayer for the Church.
42. See another year [week] is gone. Uncertainty of Life.
43. See the corn again in ear. Harvest.
44. Sinner, art thou still secure? Preparation for the Future.
45. Sinners, hear the [thy] Saviour's call. Invitation.
46. Sovereign grace has power alone. The two Malefactors.
47. Stop, poor sinner, stop and think. Caution and Alarm.
48. Sweeter sounds than music knows. Christmas.
49. Sweet was the time when first I felt. Joy in Believing.
50. Ten thousand talents once I owed. Forgiveness and Peace.
51. The grass and flowers, which clothe the field. Hay-time.
52. The peace which God alone reveals. Close of Service.
53. Thy promise, Lord, and Thy command. Before Sermon.
54. Time, by moments, steals away. The New Year.
55. To Thee our wants are known. Close of Divine Service.
56. We seek a rest beyond the skies. Heaven anticipated.
57. When any turn from Zion's way. Jesus only.
58. When Israel, by divine command. God, the Guide and Sustainer of Life.
59. With Israel's God who can compare? After Sermon.
60. Yes, since God Himself has said it. Confidence.
61. Zion, the city of our God. Journeying Zionward.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
=================
Newton, J., p. 803, i. Another hymn in common use from the Olney Hymns, 1779, is "Let me dwell on Golgotha" (Holy Communion).
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
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John Newton was born in London, July 24, 1725. His mother died when he was seven years old. In his eleventh year he accompanied his father, a sea captain, on a voyage. For several years his life was one of dissipation and crime. He was disgraced while in the navy. Afterwards he engaged in the slave trade. Returning to England in 1748, the vessel was nearly wrecked in a storm. This peril forced solemn reflection upon him, and from that time he was a changed man. It was six years, however, before he relinquished the slave trade, which was not then regarded as an unlawful occupation. But in 1754, he gave up sea-faring life, and holding some favourable civil position, began also religious work. In 1764, in his thirty-ninth year, he entered upon a regular ministry as the Curate of Olney. In this position he had intimate intercourse with Cowper, and with him produced the "Olney Hymns." In 1779, Newton became Rector of S. Mary Woolnoth, in London, in which position he became more widely known. It was here he died, Dec. 21, 1807, His published works are quite numerous, consisting of sermons, letters, devotional aids, and hymns. He calls his hymns "The fruit and expression of his own experience."
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872
See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
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John Newton
Anne Steele
1717 - 1778 Hymnal Number: 125 Author of "Come weary soul [souls] with sin [sins] distressed" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Anne Steele was the daughter of Particular Baptist preacher and timber merchant William Steele. She spent her entire life in Broughton, Hampshire, near the southern coast of England, and devoted much of her time to writing. Some accounts of her life portray her as a lonely, melancholy invalid, but a revival of research in the last decade indicates that she had been more active and social than what was previously thought. She was theologically conversant with Dissenting ministers and "found herself at the centre of a literary circle that included family members from various generations, as well as local literati." She chose a life of singleness to focus on her craft. Before Christmas in 1742, she declined a marriage proposal from contemporary minister-hymnist Benjamin Beddome. All the same, some of Steele's sufferings were very real. She lost her mother at age 3, a potential suitor at age 20, her step mom at 43, and her sister-in-law at 45. She spent many years caring for her father until his death in 1769. For most of her life, she exhibited symptoms of malaria, including persistent pain, fever, headaches, and stomach aches. Caleb Evans, in his preface to Steele's posthumous Miscellaneous Pieces in Verse and Prose (1780), noted that she had been bed ridden for "some years" before her death: When the interesting hour came, she welcomed its arrival, and though her feeble body was excruciated with pain, her mind was perfectly serene. . . . She took the most affectionate leave of her weeping friends around her, and at length, the happy moment of her dismission arising, she closed her eyes, and with these animating words on her dying lips, "I know that my Redeemer liveth," gently fell asleep in Jesus. Historically, her most popular hymn has been "When I survey life's varied scene" (and its shortened form, "Father, whate'er of earthly bliss"), a hymn that turns earthly loss or denial into a spirit of thankfulness, published in over 800 North American hymnals since 1792. Not all of her work deals with personal agony. Her hymns span a wide doctrinal and ecclesiastical range, some crafted and used for her father's congregation. Her metrical psalms are among the finest of the genre. Steele's hymns and psalms were published in two volumes in 1760, Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, under the pseudonym Theodosia, with an additional volume of material published after her death, in Miscellaneous Pieces in Verse and Prose, 1780. Sixty two of her hymns, including new material and some revisions by Steele, were published in a hymnal for Baptists in 1769, A Collection of Hymns Adapted to Public Worship, edited by Caleb Evans and John Ash. Forty seven were included in John Rippon's A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors in 1787; the only author with larger representation was Philip Doddridge, with 101. These collections represent the earliest attempts to anthologize Baptist hymns and were vital for bringing Steele's hymns into wider public worship, where they have been a mainstay for over two hundred years.
Chris Fenner adapted from The Towers (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, August 2015)
Recommended Bibliography:
Cynthia Y. Aalders, To Express the Ineffable: The Hymns and Spirituality of Anne Steele (Milton Keynes, U.K.: Paternoster, 2008).
Cynthia Y. Aalders, "In melting grief and ardent love: Anne Steele's contribution to eighteenth-century hymnody," The Hymn (summer 2009), 16-25.
J.R. Broome, A Bruised Reed: The Life and Times of Anne Steele (Harpenden, U.K.: Gospel Standard Trust Publications, 2007).
Joseph Carmichael, The Hymns of Anne Steele in John Rippon's Selection of Hymns: A Theological Analysis in the Context of the English Particular Baptist Revival (2012), dissertation, http://digital.library.sbts.edu/handle/10392/4112
Priscilla Wong, Anne Steele and Her Spiritual Vision (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012)
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Steele, Anne, born in 1716, was the daughter of Mr. Wm. Steele, a timber merchant, and pastor, without salary, of the Baptist Church at Broughton, in Hampshire. At an early age she showed a taste for literature, and would often entertain her friends by her poetical compositions. But it was not until 1760 that she could be prevailed upon to publish. In that year two volumes appeared under the title of Poems on Subjects chiefly Devotional, by Theodosia. After her death, which occurred in November, 1778, a new edition was published with an additional volume and a Preface by the Rev. Dr. Caleb Evans, of Bristol (Bristol, 1780). In the three volumes are 144 hymns, 34 Psalms in verse, and about 30 short poems. They have been reprinted in one vol. by D. Sedgwick, 1863….
Among Baptist hymnwriters Miss Steele stands at the head, if we regard either the number of her hymns which have found a place in the hymnals of the last 120 years, or the frequency with which they have been sung. Although few of them can be placed in the first rank of lyrical compositions, they are almost uniformly simple in language, natural and pleasing in imagery, and full of genuine Christian feeling. Miss Steele may not inappropriately be compared with Miss F. R. Havergal, our "Theodosia" of the 19th century. In both there is the same evangelic fervour, in both the same intense personal devotion to the Lord Jesus. But whilst Miss Steele seems to think of Him more frequently as her "bleeding, dying Lord "—dwelling on His sufferings in their physical aspect—Miss Havergal oftener refers to His living help and sympathy, recognizes with gladness His present claims as "Master" and "King," and anticipates almost with ecstasy His second coming. Looking at the whole of Miss Steele's hymns, we find in them a wider range of thought than in Miss Havergal's compositions. She treats of a greater variety of subjects. On the other hand, Miss Havergal, living in this age of missions and general philanthropy, has much more to say concerning Christian work and personal service for Christ and for humanity. Miss Steele suffered from delicacy of health and from a great sorrow, which befell her in the death of her betrothed under peculiarly painful circumstances. In other respects her life was uneventful, and occupied chiefly in the discharge of such domestic and social duties as usually fall to the lot of the eldest daughter of a village pastor. She was buried in Broughton churchyard. [Rev W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
A large number of Miss Steele's hymns are in common use, the larger proportion being in American hymnbooks. In addition to "Almighty Maker of my frame," “Far from these narrow scenes of night," "Father of mercies in Thy word," and others annotated under their respective first lines, there are also:—
i. From her Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, 1760, vols. i., ii.
1. Come, let our souls adore the Lord. Pleading for Mercy. One of two hymns "On the Fast, Feb. 11, 1757," the first being "While justice waves her vengeful hand."
2. Come, tune ye saints, your noblest strains. Christ Dying and Rising.
3. Deep are the wounds which sin has made. Christ, the Physician.
4. Enslaved by sin, and bound in chains. Redemption.
5. Eternal power, almighty God. Divine Condescension.
6. Eternal Source of joys divine. Divine Assurance desired.
7. Great God, to Thee my evening song. Evening.
8. Great Source of boundless power and grace. Desiring to Trust in God.
9. Hear, gracious [God] Lord, my humble moan [prayer] . The presence of God desired.
10. Hear, O my God, with pity hear. Ps. cxliii.
11. How long shall earth's alluring toys ? On Longing after unseen pleasures.
12. How lovely, how divinely sweet. Ps. lxxziv.
13. How oft, alas, this wretched heart. Pardoning Love.
14. In vain my roving thoughts would find. Lasting Happiness.
15. Jesus, the spring of joys divine. Christ the Way.
16. Lord, how mysterious are Thy ways. Providence.
17. Lord, Thou hast been Thy Children's God. Ps. xc.
18. Lord, we adore Thy boundless grace. Divine Bounty.
19. Lord, when my [our] raptured thought surveys. Creation and Providence.
20. Lord, when my thoughts delighted rove. Passiontide.
21. My God, 'tis to Thy mercy seat. Divine Mercy.
22. My God, to Thee I call. Lent.
23. O for a sweet, inspiring ray. The Ascended Saviour.
24. O Thou Whose tender mercy hears. Lent.
25. Permit me, Lord, to seek Thy face. Strength and Safety in God alone.
26. Should famine o'er the mourning field. During Scarcity.
27. So fades the lovely, blooming flower. Death of a Child.
28. Stretched on the Cross the Saviour dies. Good Friday.
29. The Lord, my Shepherd and my Guide. Ps.xxiii.
30. The Lord, the God of glory reigns. Ps. xciii.
31. The Saviour calls; let every ear. The Invitation.
32. There is a glorious world on high. True Honour.
33. Thou lovely [only] Source of true delight. Desiring to know Jesus.
34. Thou only Sovereign of my heart. Life in Christ alone.
35. To Jesus, our exalted Lord. Holy Communion.
36. To our Redeemer's glorious Name. Praise to the Redeemer.
37. To your Creator, God. A Rural Hymn.
38. When I survey life's varied scene. Resignation.
39. When sins and fears prevailing rise. Christ the Life of the Soul.
40. Where is my God? does He retire. Rreathing after God.
41. While my Redeemer's near. The Good Shepherd.
42. Why sinks my weak desponding mind? Hope in God.
43. Ye earthly vanities, depart. Love for Christ desired.
44. Ye glittering toys of earih adieu. The Pearl of great Price.
45. Ye humble souls, approach your God. Divine Goodness.
ii. From the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans, 1769.
46. Come ye that love the Saviour's Name. Jesus, the King of Saints.
47. How helpless guilty nature lies. Need of Receiving Grace.
48. Praise ye the Lord let praise employ. Praise.
iii. Centos and Altered Texts,
49. How blest are those, how truly wise. True honour. From "There is a glorious world on high."
50. How far beyond our mortal view. Christ the Supreme Beauty. From "Should nature's charms to please the eye," 1760, st. iii.
51. In vain I trace creation o'er. True happiness. From "When fancy spreads her boldest wings," 1760, st. ii.
52. Jesus, and didst thou leave the sky? Praise to Jesus. From “Jesus, in Thy transporting name," 1760, st. iv.
53. Look up, my soul, with cheerful eye. Breathing after God. From No. 40, st. v.
54. Lord, in the temple of Thy grace. Christ His people's Joy. From "The wondering nations have beheld," 1760, st. iii.
55. My God, O could I make the claim. Part of No. 9 above.
56. My soul, to God, its source, aspires. God, the Soul's only Portion. From "In vain the world's alluring smile," st. iii.
57. O could our thoughts and wishes fly. Part of No. 11 above, st. iv.
58. O for the eye of faith divine. Death anticipated. From "When death appears before my sight," 1760, st. iii., vii., viii. altered, with opening stanzas from another source.
59. O Jesus, our exalted Head. Holy Communion. From "To Jesus, our exalted Lord." See No. 35.
60. O world of bliss, could mortal eyes. Heaven. From "Far from these narrow scenes of night."
61. See, Lord, Thy willing subjects bow. Praise to Christ. From "O dearer to my thankful heart," 1780, st. 5.
62. Stern winter throws his icy chains. Winter. From "Now faintly smile day's hasty hours," 1760, st. ii.
63. Sure, the blest Comforter is nigh. Whitsuntide. From "Dear Lord, and shall Thy Spirit rest," 1760, st. iii.
64. The God of my salvation lives. In Affliction. From, "Should famine, &c," No. 26, st. iv.
65. The Gospel, O what endless charms. The Gospel of Redeeming Love. From "Come, Heavenly Love, inspire my song."
66. The mind was formed lo mount sublime. The Fettered Mind. From "Ah! why should this immortal mind?" 1760, st. ii.
67. The once loved form now cold and dead. Death of a Child. From "Life is a span, a fleeting hour," 1760, st. iii.
68. Thy gracious presence, O my God. Consolation in Affliction. From "In vain, while dark affliction spreads," 1780, st. iv.
69. Thy kingdom, Lord, for ever stands. Ps. cxlv. From "My God, my King, to Thee I'll raise," 1760, st. xii.
70. Triumphant, Christ ascends on high. Ascension. From "Come, Heavenly Love, inspire my song," 1760, st. xxxii.
71. When blest with that transporting view. Christ the Redeemer. From "Almighty Father, gracious Lord," 1760, st. xi.
72. When death before my sight. Death Anticipated. From "When death appears before my sight," 1760.
73. When gloomy thoughts and boding fears. Com¬forts of Religion. From "O blest religion, heavenly fair," 1760, st. ii.
74. When weary souls with sin distrest. Invitation to Rest. From "Come, weary souls, with sin distressed," 1760.
75. Whene'er the angry passions rise. Example of Christ. From “And is the gospel peace and love?" 1760, st. ii.
All the foregoing hymns are in D. Sedgwick's reprint of Miss Steele's Hymns, 1863.
--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Steele, Anne, p. 1089, i., Additional hymns in common use:
1. Amazing love that stoop'd so low. Thankfulness. From "O dearer to my thankful heart," 1780, iii.
2. Bright scenes of bliss, unclouded skies. Saved by Hope. Poems, 1760, i. p. 228.
3. Jesus demands this heart of mine. Pardon De¬sired. Poems, 1760, i. p. 120.
4. Jesus, Thou Source divine. Christ the Way. Poems, 1760, i. p. 53, altered.
5. Lord, how mysterious are Thy ways. Mysteries of Providence. Poems, 1760, i. p. 131.
6. Lord^in Thy great, Thy glorious Name. Ps. xxxi. Poems, 1760, ii. p. 158.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
Anne Steele
William Cowper
1731 - 1800 Hymnal Number: 138 Author of "The Savior, what a noble flame was kindled" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches 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
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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)
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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)
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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)
William Cowper
Samuel Stennett
1727 - 1795 Hymnal Number: 142 Author of "ôTis finished, so the Savior cried, and meekly" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Samuel Stennett was born at Exeter, in 1727. His father was pastor of a Baptist congregation in that city; afterwards of the Baptist Chapel, Little Wild Street, London. In this latter pastorate the son succeeded the father in 1758. He died in 1795. Dr. Stennett was the author of several doctrinal works, and a few hymns.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.
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Stennett, Samuel, D.D., grandson of Joseph Stennett, named above, and son of the Rev. Joseph Stennett, D.D., was born most pro;bably in 1727, at Exeter, where his father was at that time a Baptist minister. When quite young he removed to London, his father having become pastor of the Baptist Church in Little Wild Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. In 1748, Samuel Stennett became assistant to his father in the ministry, and in 1758 succeeded him in the pastoral office at Little Wild Street. From that time until his death, on Aug. 24, 1795, he held a very prominent position among the Dissenting ministers of London. He was much respected by some of the statesmen of the time, and used his influence with them in support of the principles of religious freedom. The celebrated John Howard was a member of his congregation and an attached friend. In 1763, the University of Aberdeen conferred on him the degree of D.D. Dr. S. Stennett's prose publications consist of volumes of sermons, and pamphlets on Baptism and on Nonconformist Disabilities. He wrote one or two short poems, and contributed 38 hymns to the collection of his friend, Dr. Rippon (1787). His poetical genius was not of the highest order, and his best hymns have neither the originality nor the vigour of some of his grandfather's. The following, however, are pleasing in sentiment and expression, and are in common use more especially in Baptist congregations:—
1. And have I, Christ, no love for Thee? Love for Christ desired.
2. And will the offended God again? The Body the Temple of the Holy Ghost.
3. As on the Cross the Saviour hung. The Thief on the Cross.
4. Behold the leprous Jew. The healing of the Leper.
5. Come, every pious heart. Praise to Christ.
6. Father, at Thy call, I come. Lent.
7. Great God, amid the darksome night. God, a Sun.
8. Great God, what hosts of angels stand. Ministry of Angels.
9. Here at Thy Table, Lord, we meet. Holy Communion.
10. How charming is the place. Public Worship.
11. How shall the sons of men appear? Acceptance through Christ alone.
12. How soft the words my [the] Saviour speaks. Early Piety.
13. How various and how new. Divine Providence.
14. Not all the nobles of the earth. Christians as Sons of God.
15. On Jordan's stormy banks I stand. Heaven anticipated.
16. Prostrate, dear Jesus, at thy feet. Lent. Sometimes, "Dear Saviour, prostrate at Thy feet."
17. Should bounteous nature kindly pour. The greatest of these is Love. From this, "Had I the gift of tongues," st. iii., is taken.
18. Thy counsels of redeeming grace. Holy Scripture. From "Let avarice, from shore to shore."
19. Thy life 1 read, my dearest Lord. Death in Infancy. From this "'Tis Jesus speaks, I fold, says He."
20. 'Tis finished! so the Saviour cried. Good Friday.
21. To Christ, the Lord, let every tongue. Praise of Christ. From this,"Majestic sweetness sits enthroned," st. iii., is taken.
22. To God, my Saviour, and my King. Renewing Grace.
23. To God, the universal King. Praise to God.
24. What wisdom, majesty, and grace. The Gospel. Sometimes, “What majesty and grace."
25. Where two or three with sweet accord. Before the Sermon.
26. Why should a living man complain? Affliction. From this, "Lord, see what floods of sorrow rise," st. iii., is taken.
27. With tears of anguish I lament. Lent.
28. Yonder amazing sight I see. Good Friday.
All these hymns, with others by Stennett, were given in Rippon's Baptist Selection, 1787, a few having previously appeared in A Collection of Hymns for the use of Christians of all Denominations, London. Printed for the Booksellers, 1782; and No. 16, in the 1778 Supplement to the 3rd edition of the Bristol Baptist Selection of Ash and Evans. The whole of Stennett's poetical pieces and hymns were included in vol. ii. of his Works, together with a Memoir, by W. J. Jones. 4 vols., 1824. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Samuel Stennett
J. Hart
1712 - 1768 Person Name: Joseph Hart Hymnal Number: 169 Author of "Jesus, our triumphant Head" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Hart, Joseph, was born in London in 1712. His early life is involved in obscurity. His education was fairly good; and from the testimony of his brother-in-law, and successor in the ministry in Jewin Street, the Rev. John Hughes, "his civil calling was" for some time "that of a teacher of the learned languages." His early life, according to his own Experience which he prefaced to his Hymns, was a curious mixture of loose conduct, serious conviction of sin, and endeavours after amendment of life, and not until Whitsuntide, 1757, did he realize a permanent change, which was brought about mainly through his attending divine service at the Moravian Chapel, in Fetter Lane, London, and hearing a sermon on Rev. iii. 10. During the next two years many of his most earnest and impassioned hymns were written. These appeared as:—
Hymns composed on Various Subjects, with the Author's Experience, London, 1759. During this year he became the Minister of the Independent Chapel, Jewin Street, London. In 1762 he added a Supplement to his Hymns; and in 1765 an Appendix. In modern editions of his Hymns these three are embodied in one volume as:— Hymns composed on Various Subjects: With the Author's Experience, The Supplement and Appendix. By the Rev. Joseph Hart, late Minister of the Gospel in Jewin Street, London. Allott & Co. [no date].
Hart died on May 24, 1768. At one time his hymns were widely used, especially by Calvinistic Nonconformists. Many of them are of merit, and are marked by great earnestness, and passionate love of the Redeemer. The best known are: “Come, Holy Spirit, come"; “Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched"; "This God is the God we adore"; and "Lord, look on all assembled here." Those which are more limited in their use include:—
i. From his Hymns, &c, 1759.
1. Descend from heaven, celestial Dove. Whitsuntide. No. 6, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines. In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory., 1872, No. 374, st. iv., v. are omitted. It is in extensive use in America.
2. Great High Priest, we view Thee stooping. High Priesthood of Christ. No. 56, pt. ii., in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 236; Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, No. 435, &c.
8. How wondrous are the works of God. Redeeming Love. No. 21, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Scottish Evangelical Union Hymnal, 1878, st. i.-iv. are given as No. 11.
4. If ever it could come to pass. Final Perseverance. No. 58, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines. Repeated in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 729.
6. Jesus is our God and Saviour . Faith and Repentance. No. 54, in 7 stanzas of 8 lines. In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 146, st. iv. is omitted. In the London Hymn Book (enlarged), 1879, st. iii. and v. are given as "Nothing but Thy blood, 0 Jesus."
6. Jesus, while He dwelt below. Gethsemane. No. 75, in 23 stanzas of 6 lines. In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 230, sixteen stanzas are broken up into three parts: (i.) "Jesus, while He dwelt below"; (ii.) "Full of love to man's lost race"; (iii.) "There my God bore all my guilt." A cento is also given in Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, No. 441, as "Many woes had Christ [He] endured." It is composed of st. viii., ix., xiii., xx., xxiii., slightly altered. In the Scottish Evangelical Union Hymnal, 1878, No. 34, 8 stanzas are given in two parts: pt. i. as, "Jesus, while He dwelt below"; pt. ii. "Eden from each flowery bed."
7. Lamb of God, we fall before Thee. Christ All in All. No. 17 in 4 stanzas of 8 lines. It is in various collections, and as altered in Kennedy , 1863, No. 1171, is much improved.
8. Let us all with grateful praises. Christmas. No. 14 in 7 stanzas of 8 lines. In Spurgeon's 0ur Own Hymn Book, 1866, it is reduced to 4 stanzas of 4 lines.
9. Lord, look on all assembled here. For a Public Fast. No. 96, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. It is in several of the older hymnbooks.
10. Lord, we lie before Thy feet. Lent. No. 74, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines, and based on 2 Chron. xx. 20. In Spurgeon's 0ur Own Hymn Book, 1866, stanza i., iii., vi. are given as No. 585.
11. Mercy is welcome news indeed. God's Mercy in pardoning Sin. No. 51, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, on St. Luke vii. 42. In Spurgeon, 1866, No. 544.
12. Much we talk of Jesu's blood. Passiontide. No. 41, in 4 st. of 8 lines, on Lam. i. 12. In Spurgeon, 1866, it is abridged to 4 stanzas of 4 lines.
13. Bow from the garden to the cross. Good Friday. No. 63, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, "The Crucifixion." In Spurgeon, 1866, No. 274, st. ii.-v., vi.-ix. are given as "See how the patient Jesus stands."
14. The Fountain of Christ Assist me to sing. The Fountain. No. 86, in 8 stanzas of 8 lines on Zech. xiii. 1. In Spurgeon, 1866, st. i., v., vii., viii., are given as No. 375.
15. The moon and stars shall lose their light. Advent. No. 48, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, on St. Matt. xxiv. 35. In Spurgeon, 1866.
16. The sinner that truly believes. Saving Faith. No. 88, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, "Saving Faith" In Spurgeon, 1866, No. 533, st. ii. is omitted, and the opening line is altered to "The moment a sinner believes."
ii. From his Supplement, 1762.
17. Behold what awful pomp. Advent. No. 52, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. It is usually abridged as in the American Methodist Episcopal Hymns, 1849, No. 1107.
18. Christ is the Eternal Rock. The Offices of Christ. No. 27, in 6 stanzas of 8 lines. In Windle's Metrical Psalter & Hymnal, 1862, stanzas i., ii., v. are given as No. 53.
19. Christians, dismiss your fear. Easter. No. 33, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines into Dr. Alexander's Augustine Hymn Book, 1849, No. 79, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines.
20. Dismiss us with Thy blessing, Lord. Close of Service. No. 78, in 2 stanzas of 4 lines. In a few collections.
21. Gird thy loins up, Christian soldier. The Christian Armour . No. 29, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines, on Eph. vi. 11. Found in several of the older, and a few of the modern collections.
22. Glory to God on high, Our peace, &c. Holy Communion. No. 3, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. In Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872, No. 704, st. v., vi. are omitted.
23. Holy Ghost, inspire our praises. On behalf of Ministers. No. 77, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Scottish Evangelical Union Hymnal, 1878, No. 412, st. iii.-v. are given as, "Happy soul that hears and follows."
24. Jesus once for sinners slain. Holy Communion. No. 18, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. In American use.
25. Lord, help us on Thy word to feed. Close of Service. No. 80, in 2 stanzas of 4 lines. In several modern hymnbooks.
26. O for a glance of heavenly day. Lent. No. 64, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. In Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872, and other American collections it is usually repeated in full. In Bickersteth's Christian Psalmody, 1833, it was given as, "Lord, shed a beam of heavenly day," and this is repeated in modern hymnbooks.
27. Once more before we part. Close of Service. No. 79, in 2 stanzas of 4 lines. Popular in Great Britain and America.
28. Once more we come before our God. Before a Sermon. No. 21, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, into Hatfield, 1872, No. 111, and others.
29. Sons of God by bless'd adoption. Burial. No. 45, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines, into Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 981, as "Sons of God by blest adoption."
30. Suffering Saviour, Lamb of God . Holy Communion. No. 14, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. In W. F. Stevenson's Hymns for Church & Home, 1873, st. iii., vii. are omitted.
31. That doleful night before His death. Holy Communion. No. 17, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Scottish Evangelical Union Hymnal, 1878, st. i. 11. 4-8, and st. ii., are given as, "To keep Thy Feast, Lord, we are met."
iii. From his Appendix, 1765.
32. Christians, in your several stations. Christian Duty. No. 7, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines. It is slightly altered in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 742, and dated 1759 in error.
33. Prayer was [is] appointed to convey. Prayer. No. 12 in 6 stanzas of 4 lines into Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 542, with alterations and the omission of st. ii., v. In some American collections it begins, "Prayer is to God, the soul's sure way."
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
=======================
Hart, Joseph, p. 492, ii. Other hymns in common use are—
1. The blest memorials of Thy grief (1762). Holy Communion.
2. To comprehend the great Three-One (1759). Holy Trinity.
3. Vain man, thy fond pursuits forbear (1759). Death.
4. When the blest day of Pentecost (1759). Whitsuntide.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
J. Hart
Timothy Dwight
1752 - 1817 Hymnal Number: 359 Author of "I love thy Zion, Lord" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Timothy Dwight (b. Northampton, MA, 1752; d. Philadelphia, PA, 1817) was a grandson of Jonathan Edwards who became a Congregationalist pastor, a Revolutionary War army chaplain, a tutor and professor at Yale College, and president of Yale from 1795 to 1817. As president he continued to teach and serve as chaplain and was instrumental in improving both the academic and the spiritual life of the college.
Bert Polman
===============
Dwight, Timothy, D.D. This is the most important name in early American hymnology, as it is also one of the most illustrious in American literature and education. He was born at Northampton, Massachusetts, May 14, 1752, and graduated at Yale College, 1769; was a tutor there from 1771 to 1777. He then became for a short time a chaplain in the United States Army, but passed on in 1783 to Fairfield, Connecticut, where he held a pastorate, and taught in an Academy, till his appointment, in 1795, as President of Yale College. His works are well known, and need no enumeration. He died at New Haven, Jan. 11, 1817. In 1797 the General Association of Connecticut, being dissatisfied with Joel Barlow's 1785 revision of Watts, requested Dwight to do the work de novo. This he did liberally, furnishing in some instances several paraphrases of the same psalm, and adding a selection of hymns, mainly from Watts. The book appeared as—
"The Psalms of David, &c.... By I. Watts, D.D. A New Edition in which the Psalms omitted by Dr. Watts are versified, local passages are altered, and a number of Psalms are versified anew in proper metres. By Timothy Dwight, D.D., &c….To the Psalms is added a Selection of Hymns," 1800.
Dwight's lyrics are all professedly psalms, but they are by no means literal versions. His original compositions number 33. Of these many are still in common use, the most important being:—
1. Blest be the Lord, Who heard my prayer. Psalm xxviii. This is the second part of Psalm xxviii., in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. It is in the English New Congregational Hymn Book, 1859.
2. I Love Thy kingdom, Lord. Psalm cxxxvii. This is version three of Ps. 137, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines, and is in extensive use at the present time throughout the States. It is also included in many English, Irish, and Scottish collections, sometimes in the original form, as in Alford's Year of Praise, 1867; again as, "I love Thy Church, 0 God," which opens with the second stanza, as in the Scottish Evangelical Union Hymnal, 1878, in 3 stanzas, and "We love Thy kingdom, Lord," in the Irish Church Hymnal, 1873. In Cleveland's Lyra Sacra Americana six stanzas only are given from the original.
Next to this in popularity are his 2nd and 3rd renderings of Psalm lxxxviii.:—
3. Shall man, 0 God of life and light. (3rd stanza)
4. While life prolongs its precious light. (2nd stanza) Both of which are in extensive use. From his 4th version of the same Psalm (88), the following hymns have been compiled, each opening with the stanza indicated:—
5. Just o'er the grave I hung. Stanza ii.
6. I saw beyond the tomb. Stanza iv.
7. Ye sinners, fear the Lord. Stanza xii. This last is found in Spurgeon's 0ur Own Hymnbook. The original version consists of 13 stanzas.
8. 0 Thou Whose sceptre earth and seas obey. Psalm lxxii. This is his second version of this Psalm, and was given in the Comprehensive Rippon, 1844.
The following, most of which are of a more jubilant character, are well known:—
9. How pleasing is Thy voice. Psalm lxv.
10. In Zion's sacred gates. Psalm cl.
11. Lord of all worlds, incline Thy gracious [bounteous] ear. Psalm llii.
12. Now to Thy sacred house. Psalm xliii., st. 3.
13. Sing to the Lord most high. Psalm c.
14. In barren wilds shall living waters spring. Psalm liii.
15. Lord, in these dark and dismal days. Psalm cxxxvii.
No. 9 is found in Lyra Sacra Americana, pp. 101-2, the seven stanzas of the original being abbreviated to five.
In addition to the Psalms, Dr. Dwight published three poems, "The Conquest of Canaan," 1785; "Greenfield Hill," 1794; "Triumph of Infidelity," 1788. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.]
- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Timothy Dwight
Benjamin Beddome
1717 - 1795 Hymnal Number: 209 Author of "God, in the gospel of his [the] Son" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Benjamin Beddome was born at Henley-in Arden, Warwickshire, January 23, 1717. His father was a Baptist minister. He studied at various places, and began preaching in 1740. He was pastor of a Baptist society at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, until his death in 1795. In 1770, he received the degree of M.A. from the Baptist College in Providence, Rhode Island. He published several discourses and hymns. "His hymns, to the number of 830, were published in 1818, with a recommendation from Robert Hall." Montgomery speaks of him as a "writer worthy of honour both for the quantity and the quality of his hymns."
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.
=========================
Beddome, Benjamin , M.A. This prolific hymnwriter was born at Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, Jan. 23, 1717, where his father, the Rev. John Beddome, was atthat time Baptist Minister. He was apprenticed to a surgeon in Bristol, but removing to London, he joined, in 1739, the Baptist church in Prescott St. At the call of this church he devoted himself to the work of the Christian ministry, and in 1740 began to preach at Bourton-on-the-Water, in Gloucestershire. Declining invitations to remove to London or elsewhere, he continued pastor at Bourton until his death, on Sep. 3, 1795, at the age of 78. Mr. Beddome was for many years one of the most respected Baptist ministers in the West of England. He was a man of some literary culture. In 1770 he received the degree of M.A. from Providence College, Rhode Island. He was the author of an Exposition of the Baptist Catechism, 1752, in great repute at the time, and reprinted by Dr. C. Evans in 1772. It was his practice to prepare a hymn every week to be sung after his Sunday morning sermon. Though not originally intended for publication, he allowed thirteen of these to appear in the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans (1769), and thirty-six in Dr. Rippon's Baptist Selection (1787), whence a number of them found their way into the General Baptist Hymn Book of 1793 and other collections. In 1817, a posthumous collection of his hymns was published, containing 830 pieces, with an introduction by the Rev. Robert Hall, and entitled "Hymns adapted to Public Worship or Family Devotion, now first published from the Manuscripts of the late Rev. B. Beddome, M.A."
Preface dated "Leicester, Nov. 10, 1817." Some of the early copies bear the same date on the title page. Copies bearing both the 1817 and 1818 dates are in the British Museum. The date usually given is 1818. Some hymns are also appended to his Sermons, seven volumes of which were published l805—1819; and over twenty are given in the Baptist Register of various dates.
Beddome's hymns were commended by Montgomery as embodying one central idea, "always important, often striking, and sometimes ingeniously brought out." Robert Hall's opinion is just, when in his "Recommendatory Preface" to the Hymns, &c, he says, p. vii.:—
"The man of taste will be gratified with the beauty and original turns of thought which many of them ex¬hibit, while the experimental Christian will often perceive the most secret movements of his soul strikingly delineated, and sentiments pourtrayed which will find their echo in every heart."
With the exception of a few composed for Baptisms and other special occasions, their present use in Great Britain is limited, but in America somewhat extensive. One of the best is the Ordination Hymn, "Father of Mercies, bow Thine ear." Another favourite is “ My times of sorrow and of joy," composed, by a singular coincidence, to be sung on Sunday, Jan. 14, 1778, the day on which his son died, most unexpectedly, in Edinburgh. "Let party names no more," is very popular both in Great Brit, and America. "Faith, His a precious gift," "Witness, ye men and angels, now," and the hymn for Holy Baptism, "Buried beneath the yielding wave," are also found in many collections. Beddome's popularity is, however, now mainly in America.
[Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
Beddome is thus seen to be in common use to the extent of about 100 hymns. In this respect he exceeds every other Baptist hymnwriter; Miss Steele ranking second.
The authorities for Beddome's hymns are: (1) A Collection of Hymns adapted to Public Worship, Bristol, W. Pine, 1769, the Collection of Ash & Evans; (2) Dr. Rippon's Selections 1787, and later editions; (3) Sermons printed from the Manuscripts of the late Rev. Benjamin Beddome, M.A.,... with brief Memoir of the Author, Dunstable & Lond., 1805-1819; (4) Dr. Rippon's Baptist Register, 1795, &c.; (5) The Beddome Manuscripts, in the Baptist College, Bristol; (6) and Hymns adapted to Public Worship, or Family Devotion now first published, from Manuscripts of the late Rev. B. Beddome, A.M. With a Recommendatory Preface by the Rev. R. Hall, A.M. Lond., 1817. In his Preface, Mr. Hall gives this account of the Beddome Manuscript:— "The present Editor was entrusted several years ago with the MSS, both in prose and verse, with permission from the late Messrs. S. & B. Beddome, sons of the Author, to publish such parts of them as he might deem proper. He is also indebted to a descendant of the Rev. W. Christian, formerly pastor of the Baptist Church at Sheepshead, Leicestershire, for some of the Author's valuable hymns, which had been carefully preserved in the family. From both these sources, as well as others of less consequence, the present interesting volume has been derived."
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Beddome, Benjamin, pp. 121-124. Other hymns in common use:—
1. Great God, before Thy mercy-seat. (1817). Lent.
2. Great God, oppressed with grief and fear. (1787.) Reading H. Scripture.
3. How glorious is Thy word, 0 God. Holy Scripture. From "When Israel, &c," p. 124, i.
4. In God I ever will rejoice. Morning. From his Hymns, &c, 1817.
5. Jesus, my Lord, divinely fair. (1817.) Jesus the King of Saints. Begins with stanza ii. of “Listen, ye mortals, while I sing."
6. Rejoice, for Christ the Saviour reigns. Missions. Altered form of "Shout, for the blessed, &c," p. 123, ii.
7. Satan, the world, and sin. (1817.) In Temptation.
8. Thou, Lord of all above. (1817.) Lent.
9. Unto Thine altar, Lord. (1787.) Lent.
10. Ye saints of every rank, with joy. (1800.) Public Worship.
The dates given above are, 1787 and 1800, Rippon's Selection; and 1817 Beddome's Hymns.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II
Benjamin Beddome
Samuel Wesley
1691 - 1739 Hymnal Number: 481 Author of "The morning flowers display their sweets" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Samuel Wesley, M.A., the younger, was the eldest child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born in or near London in 1691. He received his early education from his mother, who always took a special interest in him as her firstborn. In 1704 he went to Westminster School, where he was elected King's Scholar in 1707. Westminster had, under the mastership of Dr. Busby for 55 years, attained the highest reputation for scholarship, and Samuel Wesley, as a classical scholar, was not unworthy of his school. In 1709, Dr. Spratt, Bishop of Rochester, patronised the young scholar, and frequently invited him to Bromley. In 1711 he went with a Westminster studentship to Christ Church, Oxford, and having taken his degree, returned to Westminster as an Usher. He then received Holy Orders and became an intimate friend of Bishop Atterbury, who was then Dean of Westminster. His intimacy with this prelate was a bar to his advancement, and he was bitterly disappointed at not being appointed undermaster at Westminster when that post was vacant. But he was faithful to his friend in his adversity, and the banished prelate warmly appreciated his attachment. In 1732 he was invited, without solicitation, to accept the headmastership of the Free School at Tiverton, and here he spent the remainder of his life. He strongly disapproved of John and Charles Wesley's proceedings; but though the brothers expressed their opinions to one another with characteristic frankness, the disagreement did not cause any interruption in the friendly relations between them.
Samuel Wesley was universally acknowledged to be an honest, conscientious and deeply religious man. He was a most uncompromising High Churchman both in the political and the theological sense of that term; and there is no doubt that he was the mainstay of the Wesley family at Epworth. His kindness to his father and mother was unbounded, and he acted like a father to his younger brothers and sisters. He also took a great interest in works of charity, and was one of the first promoters of the Westminster Infirmary. He died at Tiverton in the 49th year of his age, Nov. 6, 1739. His epitaph in Tiverton Churchyard does not exaggerate his merits, when it describes him as—
"a man for his uncommon wit and learning, For the benevolence of his temper, and simplicity of manner, Deservedly loved and esteemed by all: An excellent Preacher; But whose best sermon Was the constant example of an edifying life: So continually and zealously employed In acts of beneficence and charity, That he truly followed His blessed Master's example In going about doing good; Of such scrupulous integrity, That he declined occasions of advancement in the world, Through fear of being involved in dangerous compliances; And avoided the usual ways to preferment As studiously as many others seek them."
Samuel Wesley published in 1736 A Collection of Poems on several occasions, some of which are full of a rather coarse humour, but all of a good moral and religious tendency. This work was reprinted in 1743, and again by W. Nichols in 1862. Dr. Adam Clarke specifies eight hymns of S. Wesley's composition which were in use among the Methodists of that time (1823). The Wesleyan Hymn Book of the present day contains five, the best-known of which is "The Lord of Sabbath let us praise."
Six of his hymns are in common use, and are annotated as follows:—
1. From whence these dire portents around.
2. Hail, Father, Whose creating call.
3. Hail, God the Son in glory crowned.
4. Hail, Holy Ghost, Jehovah, Third.
5. The Lord of Sabbath, let ns praise.
6. The morning flowers display their sweets.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Samuel Wesley
Johann Andreas Rothe
1688 - 1758 Person Name: Johannes Andreas Rothe Hymnal Number: 119 Author of "Now have I found the ground wherein" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Rothe, Johann Andreas, son of Aegidius Rother, pastor at Lissa, near Görlitz, in Silesia, was born at Lissa, May 12, 1688. He entered the University of Leipzig in 1708, as a student of Theology, graduated M.A., and was then, in 1712, licensed at Gorlitz as a general preacher. In 1718 he became tutor in the family of Herr von Schweinitz at Leube, a few miles south of Gorlitz, and while there frequently preached in neighbouring churches. During 1722 Count N. L. von Zinzendorf, happening to hear him preach at Gross-Hennersdorf, was greatly pleased with him, and when the pastorate at Berthelsdorf became vacant shortly thereafter, gave him the presentation. He entered on his duties at Berthelsdorf Aug. 30, 1722. There he took a great interest in the Moravian community at Herrnhut, which formed part of his parish. But when, in 1737, he had to report to the higher ecclesiastical authorities regarding the doctrinal views of the Moravians, Zinzendorf showed his resentment in various ways, so that Kothe was glad to accept a call to Hermsdorf, near Gorlitz. Finally, in 1739, Count von Promnitz appointed him assistant pastor at Thommendorf, near Bunzlau, where he became chief pastor in 1742, and died there July 6, 1758. (Koch, v. 240; Wetzel’s Analecta Hymnica, ii. 756, &c.)
Rothe was a man of considerable gifts and of unbending integrity, a good theologian, and an earnest, fearless, and impressive preacher. His hymns, about 40 in number, though they can hardly be said to rank high as poetry, are yet often characterised by glow and tenderness of feeling, and by depth of Christian experience. They are somewhat akin to Zinzendorf s better productions, but this resemblance may arise from the alterations which Zinzendorf seems to have made in them. The be6t known of them first appeared in Zinzendorf's hymn-books, and were for a time looked upon with suspicion, because as Zinzendorf did not affix authors' names, the new hymns were at first all ascribed to himself.
Those of Rothe's hymns which have passed into English are:—
i. Ich habe nun den Grand gefunde. Joy in Believing. …At first the Lutherans suspected it, thinking that it was by Zinzendorf, but on discovering that it was by Rothe, soon adopted it. It is a powerful and beautiful hymn, is found in many recent German collections (e.g. the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 78), and in its English forms has found a very wide acceptance, and proved a comfort and blessing to many. It was doubtless suggested by Heb. vi. 19.
Rothe's hymn under consideration ("Ich habe nun ") has been translated as:—
1. Now I have found the ground wherein. A fine but somewhat free translation of st. i., ii., iv., v., vi., x., by J. Wesley.
It has also appeared in full, or abridged, under the following first lines:—
(1) Now I have found the blessed ground (st. i ). Lady Huntingdon's Selections, 1780.
(2) Now have I found the ground wherein (st. i.). W. F. Stevenson's Hymns for Church & Home, 1873.
(3) 0 Lord I Thy everlasting grace (st. ii.). Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884.
(4) Father, Thine everlasting grace (st. ii.). J. Bickersteth's Psalms & Hymns1832.
(5) 0 Love, thou bottomless abyss (st. iii.). Evangelical Union Hymnal, 1878.
(6) Jesus, I know hath died for me (st. iv.). Pennsylvanian Lutheran Church Book, 1868.
(7) Though waves and storms go o'er my head (st. v.). Andover Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858.
2. I now have found, for hope of heaven. In full, by Dr. H. Mills, in theEvang. Review, Gettys¬burg, Jan. 1850, and in his Horae Germanica, 1850, p. 68.
3. My soul hath now the ground attained. A good tr. of st. i., iii., v., x., by A. T. Russell, as No. 167 in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851.
4. My soul hath found the steadfast ground. A good tr, (omitting st. v.-ix., and with a st. iv. not by Rothe), by Mrs. Bevan, in her Songs of Eternal Life, 1858, p. 55.
5. Now I have found the firm foundation. By G. F. Krotel, as No. 251 in the OhioLutheran Hymnal, 1880, omitting st. vi.-viii.
6. Now I have found the ground to hold. By J. Sheppard, in his Foreign Sacred Lyre, 1857, p. 91.
ii. Vor wahrer Herzensanderung. The Forgiveness of Sin. first pub. as No. 448 in the 3rd ed., 1731, of Zinzendorf's Sammlung as above, and in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch , 1778, it is No. 392. The translations are:—
(1) "Thanks be to Thee, Thou slaughtered Lamb!" (st. vii.). This is No. 345 in pt. ii., 1746, of the Moravian Hymn Book, (2) "Before conversion of the heart." A tr. of st. i., iv., by B. Latrobe, as No. 255 in the Moravian Hymn Book,1789, with the above tr. of st. vii. added. In the 1801 and later eds. (1886, No. 426) the tr. of st. vii. was alone retained.
iii. Wenn kleine Himmelserben. Death of a Child. Written on the death of one of his daughters. The trs. are:—
(1) "When children, bless'd by Jesus." This is No. 1196 in the Supplement of 1808 to the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801 (1886, No. 1258). (2) "When summons hence by Death is given." By E. Massie, 1867, p. 105. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]
--excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Johann Andreas Rothe
Simon Browne
1680 - 1732 Hymnal Number: 184 Author of "Come, gracious Spirit, heavenly Dove" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Simon Browne was born at Shepton Mallet, Somersetshire, about 1680. He began to preach as an "Independent" before he was twenty years of age, and was soon after settled at Portsmouth. In 1716, he became pastor in London. In 1723, he met with some misfortunes, which preyed upon his mind, and produced that singular case of monomania, recorded in the text-books of Mental Philosophy; he thought that God had "annihilated in him the thinking substance, and utterly divested him of consciousness." "Notwithstanding," says Toplady, "instead of having no soul, he wrote, reasoned, and prayed as if he had two." He died in 1732. His publications number twenty-three, of which some are still in repute.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.
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Browne, Simon. A contemporary of Dr. Watts, born at Shepton Mallet, Somersetshire, cir. 1680, and died in 1732. After studying for the Independent Ministry under the Rev. John Moore, of Bridgewater, he became pastor of an Independent charge in Portsmouth, and then, in 1716, of the Independent-Chapel in Old Jewry, London. His lateryears were clouded by a peculiar malady, under the influence of which "he imagined that God had in a gradual manner annihilated in him the thinking substance, and utterly divested him of consciousness." It is supposed that the death of a highwayman at his hands during a violent struggle, followed by that of his wife and son a short time after, had much to do in producing this sad result. Whilst thus contending that he had no power to think, he produced a work in defence of Christianity, another in defence of the Trinity, a third as an Exposition of the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, and a fourth in the form of a Dictionary. His publications number over 20. Of these works, he is known to hymnology through his:—
Hymns and Spiritual Songs, in Three Books, designed as a Supplement to Dr. Watts, &c, 1720, 2nd edition 1741, 3rd edition 1760. It contains 166 hymns, 7 doxologies, and a Preface of some historical interest.
In the old collections Simon Browne's hymns (all of which are from the above collection) held a prominent position, but in modern hymnals they are fast passing out of use. The best known and most widely used are "Come, Holy [gracious] Spirit, Heavenly Dove," "O God, on Thee we all depend," and "Lord, at Thy feet we sinners lie." In addition the following are also in common use:—
1. Eternal God, Almighty Cause. Unity of God.
2. Eternal God, of beings First. God all in all .
3. Frequent the day of God returns. Sunday.
4. Great First of beings, Mighty Lord. Creation.
5. Great God, my joyful thanks to Thee. Thanksgiving.
6. Great God, Thy peerless excellence. Imitation of God.
7. Great Lord of earth and seas and skies. Providence.
8. Great Ruler of the earth and sky. Providence.
9. Hail, Holy Spirit, bright, immortal, Dove. Whitsuntide.
10. Hail, happy day, the [thou] day of holy rest. Sunday.
11. I cannot shun the stroke of death. Death.
12. Lord, Thou art good; all nature shows. Divine Goodness.
13. Lord, what a feeble frame is ours. Frailty of Life.
14. O God, on Thee we all depend. Confidence in God.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Simon Browne
Helen Maria Williams
1762 - 1827 Hymnal Number: 311 Author of "While thee I [we] seek, protecting power" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Miss Helen Maria Williams was born in the north of England, in 1762. At the age of eighteen, she went to London, and soon after took position in the literary world, publishing several poems. Subsequently she resided in Paris, where she published works in prose and poetry. She died in 1827. The eminent French preacher, Athanase Coquerel was her nephew, and received from her his early training.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.
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Williams, Helen Maria, daughter of Charles Williams, an officer in the Army, was born in the North of England in 1762. Through the influence of Dr. A. Kippis whose help she sought in London, her first poem, Edwin and Eltruda, a legendary tale, was published in 1782. This was followed by An Ode on the Peace, 1783, and Pern, a Poem. These were all included in her Poems, 2 vols., 1786, 2nd edition 1791. Being connected by her sister's marriage with a French Protestant family, she resided in Paris during the period of the Revolution and the reign of Terror. There she became well known as a political writer of strong republican sympa-thies, but her too independent expressions of opinion led to her temporary imprisonment by Robespierre. Her Letters from France, 1790, were published in England and America, and in a French translation, in France. She also published Letters containing a Sketch of the Politics of France from the 31st May, 1793, till the 28th of July, 1794, 2 vols., 1795, and other works of a like kind; some additional Poems, and a translation of Humboldt's Personal Narratives of his Travels, 1815. The closing years of her life were spent at Amsterdam, in the house of her nephew, Athanase Coquerel, a pastor of the Reformed Church there. Miss Williams died in 1827. From her Poems, 1786, the following hymns have come into common use:—
1, My God, all nature owns Thy sway. Nature speaks of God. In Martineau's Hymns, 1840.
2. While Thee I seek, protecting Power. Safety in God. This hymn was in Dr. Priestley's Birmingham Collection, 1790; in Kippis's Collection, 1795; the Exeter Collection, 1801; and almost every other Unitarian collection to the present time. In the New Congregational Hymn Book , 1859, it begins "While Thee I seek, Almighty Power;" and in several collections a cento beginning "Father, in all our [my] comforts here," is given as in Stowell's Psalms & Hymns, 1831 and 1877, and several others. [Rev. Valentine D. Davis, B.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Williams, Helen Maria, was born in the North of England in 1762. She published a volume of poems when only twenty-one years old, and in 1786 her Poems appeared in two small volumes. She visited Paris in 1788, and lived there for some years with a sister who had married a French Protestant. This was during the period of the Revolution and the Reign of Terror. She was an outspoken republican in her sympathies, 448 and was imprisoned by Robespierre because of some of her utterances in advocacy of the Girondist cause, being released from prison only after his death, in 1794. Her Letters from France (1790 and 1795) were published in England, America, and France. They dealt with political, religious, and literary questions, and showed her to be a woman of more than ordinary intellectual strength. She published many volumes between 1786 and 1823, when her last volume appeared, titled Poems on Various Occasions, being a collection of all her previously published poems. She lived partly in England, but mostly in France, though the closing years of her life were spent in Holland in the home of a nephew who lived at Amsterdam and was pastor of the reformed Church there. Her death occurred at Paris December 14, 1827.
Hymn Writers of the Church Wilbur F. Tillett and Charles S. Nutter, 1915
Helen Maria Williams
Anna L. Barbauld
1743 - 1825 Hymnal Number: 122 Author of "Come, saith [said] [says] Jesus' sacred voice" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Barbauld, Anna Laetitia, née Aikin, daughter of the Rev. John Ailrin, D.D., a dissenting minister, was b. at Kibworth-Harcourt, Leicestershire, June 20, 1743. In 1753 Dr. Aikin became classical tutor at a dissenting academy at Warrington. During her residence there she contributed five hymns to Dr. W. Enfield's Hymns for Public Worship, &c, Warrington, 1772. In the following year these were included in her Poems, Lond., J. Johnson, 1773. In May, 1774, Miss Aikin was married to the Rev. Rochemont Barbauld, a descendant of a French Protestant family, and a dissenting minister. For some years Mr. Barbauld conducted, in addition to his pastoral work, a boarding school at Palgrave, Suffolk. From this he retired in 1785. In 1786 he undertook the charge of a small congregation at Hampstead, and from thence he passed to the dissenting chapel (formerly Dr. Price's) at Newington Green, in 1802. He d. Nov. 11, 1808. Mrs. Barbauld continued to reside in the neighbourhood until her death, March 9, 1825. In the latter part of the same year her niece published The Works of Anna Laetitia Barbauld, with Memoir, by Lucy Aikin, 2 vols., Lond., Longman, 1825. As a writer of hymns Mrs. Barbauld was eminently successful. Their use, however, with the exception of five contributed to Dr. W. Enfield's collection, is almost exclusively confined to the Unitarian hymnals of Great Britain and America. Including these hymnals, the whole of her hymns are still in common use. These hymns appeared thus:—
i. In Dr. W. Enfield's Hymns, &c., 1772.
1. Again the Lord of life and light. Easter.
2. Awake, my soul, lift up thine eyes. Conflict.
3. Behold, where breathing love divine. Christian Charity.
4. Jehovah reigns, let every nation hear. God's Dominion. A part of this was given in Collyer's Sel., 1812, No. 586, as:—
5. This earthly globe, the creature of a day.
6. Praise to God, Immortal praise. Harvest.
ii. Poems, 1773 (Preface dated Dec. 1, 1772). The whole of the above, and also:—
7. God of my life and author of my days. To God the Father. This is an “Address to the Deity," in 80 1. It is given in Martineau's Collection, 1840 and 1873. From it the following centos were given in Collyer's Selection> 1812:—
8. God, our kind Master, merciful as just.
9. If friendless in the vale of tears I stray.
iii. Poems revised 1792.
10. Come, said [says] Jesus' sacred voice. Invitation.
11. How blest the sacred tie that binds. Christian Fellowship.
12. Lo where a crowd of pilgrims toil. Pilgrimage of Life. From this is taken:—
13. Our country is Immanuel's ground [land].
iv. Leisure Hour Improved (Ironbridge), 1809.
14. Sweet is the scene when virtue dies. Death.
v. Supplement to the Unitarian Coll. of Kippis, Bees, and others, 1807.
15. When as returns the solemn day. Sunday.
16. Sleep, sleep to day, tormenting cares. Sunday.
17. How may earth and heaven unite. Worship.
vi. Works, with Memoir, 1825.
In vol. i. most of the above are reprinted, and the following are added :—
18. Joy to the followers of the Lord. Joy. (c. 1820.)
19. Pure spirit, O where art thou now. Bereavement. This is dated 1808.
20. Salt of the earth, ye virtuous few. Salt of the Earth.
21. When life as opening buds is sweet. Death. This is dated " November, 1814."
The more important of these hymns are annotated in this Dictionary under their first lines. Mrs. Barbauld's Hymns in Prose for Children, originally published in 1781, were long popular and have been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, and other languages.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Barbauld, Anna L., p. 113, ii. No. 18 on p. 114, i.,should be dated circa 1820. Another hymn in common use from Mrs. Barbauld's Works, &c, 1825, is, "O Father! though the anxious fear" (E. Taylor, p. 1117, in error).
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
Anna L. Barbauld
John Needham
? - 1786 Person Name: John Needham, d. c. 1786 Hymnal Number: 112 Author of "Behold the Prince of Peace" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Needham, John, was the son of John Needham, Baptist Minister, of Hitchin, Herts, but the date of his birth is unknown. He would doubtless be educated by his father, who was a tutor and in repute as a learned man. In 1750 Needham became co-pastor with John Beddome at the Baptist meetinghouse in the Pithay, Bristol; but, two years later, Beddome having retired through age, a violent controversy arose in the Church with regard to a continuance of the plan of co-pastorship. As the result, Needham and a number of his friends removed to a Baptist meetinghouse in Callowhill Street, where a Mr. Foot was pastor. For a time the two societies used the same builing at different hours, but in 1755 they were united, with Mr. Needham and Mr. Foot as co-pastors. It is known that up to 1774 this arrangement continued, and it is also known that in 1787, both Mr. Needham and Mr. Foot having died, the Callowhill Street Church became extinct, but which of the two pastors was the survivor is not known. The date of Needham's death is unknown. It was probably circa 1786. In 1768 he published Hymns Devotional and Moral on various Subjects, collected chiefly from the Holy Scriptures, &c, Bristol, S. Farley, 1768. These hymns are 263 in all, and whilst none of them possess great excellence, yet several are of a pleasing and useful character. During the past 120 years several have appeared in Nonconformist hymnbooks, and specially in those of the Baptists. Of these the following are still in common use:—
1. Ashamed of Christ! my soul disdains. Not ashamed of Christ.
2. Awake, my tongue, thy tribute bring. The Divine Perfections.
3. Glory to God, Who reigns above. Jesus, the Messiah.
4. Great author of the immortal mind. Imitation of God's Moral Perfections. From "flow matchless, Lord, Thy glories are."
5. Happy the man whose cautious steps. Christian Moderation.
6. Holy and reverend is the Name. Reverence in Worship.
7. Kind are the words that Jesus speaks. Christ the Strengthener.
8. Lord,ere [Now Lord] the heavenly seed is sown. Parable of the Sower.
9. Methinks the last great day is come. The Judgment.
10. Rise, O my soul, pursue the path. The Example of the Saints.
11. See how the little toiling ant. Youth for Christ.
12. Thou art, O God, a Spirit pure. God a Spirit.
13. To praise the ever bounteous Lord. Harvest.
14. When some kind shepherd from his fold. The Lost Sheep. From this “O how divine, how sweet the joy," in Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, New York, 1872, is taken. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
John Needham
Michael Bruce
1746 - 1767 Hymnal Number: 273 Author of "How happy is the man who hears" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Bruce, Michael, son of a Scottish weaver, was born at Kinnesswood, Portmoak, Kinrossshire, Scotland, March 27,1746, and educated at the village school, Edinburgh University (where he first became acquainted with John Logan), and the Theological Hall of the Associate Synod, held at Kinross, under the Rev. John Swanston, intending ultimately to enter the ministry, a hope which was frustrated by his untimely death. To assist in procuring University fees and maintenance he for some time conducted a school, during the recess, at Gairney Bridge, and subsequently at Forrest Mill, near Tillicoultry. Whilst yet a student he died at Kinnesswood, July 5th, 1767.
[Also, see Logan, John]
The names of Michael Bruce and John Logan are brought together because of the painful controversy which has long prevailed concerning the authorship of certain Hymns and Paraphrases of Holy Scripture which are in extensive use in the Christian Church both at home and abroad. During the latter years of Bruce's short life he wrote various Poems, and also Hymns for a singing class at Kinnesswood, which were well known to his family and neighbours, and were eventually copied out by Bruce himself in a quarto MS. book, with the hope that some day he might see them in print. Immediately upon his death, in 1767, Logan called upon his father and requested the loan of this book that he might publish the contents for the benefit of the family. This was granted. Not till three years afterwards did a certain work, containing seventeen poems, and entitled Poems on Several Occasions , by Michael Bruce, 1770, appear, with a Preface in which it was stated that some of the Poems were by others than Bruce.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Michael Bruce
Joseph Stennett
1663 - 1713 Hymnal Number: 372 Author of "Another six days' work is done" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches The author was a Baptist preacher in London, from 1690, to his death in 1713.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.
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Stennett, Joseph, the earliest English Baptist hymnwriter whose hymns are now in common use, was born at Abingdon, Berks, in 1663. He received a superior education at the Grammar School of Wallingford, and at the age of 22 removed to London, where for several years he engaged in tuition. In 1688 he married a daughter of George Guill, a French Protestant refugee, another of whose daughters was the wife of the celebrated Presbyterian minister, Dr. Daniel Williams, who became a generous friend to Stennett. In the following year he was called to preach by the Baptist Sabbatarian congregation then meeting in Devonshire Square, London, afterwards in Pinners' Hall; and in 1690 became its pastor, a position he retained to his death, July 4, 1713. Since the meetings of this congregation for worship were on the seventh day of the week, he was free to preach to other congregations on the Sunday, which he did very frequently, especially to the General Baptist Church in the Barbican. Such was Stennett's repute for piety, learning and practical wisdom that his advice was very much sought by his Christian friends, and by the "great Whig Lords” of that day he was occasionally consulted as to the feeling of the Dissenters concerning national affairs. His published works include:—
(1) Hymns in commemoration of the Sufferings of our Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, compos'd for the Celebration of his Holy Supper, 1697; 2nd ed. 1703 (This is entitled in Stennett's Works, 1732, Hymns for the Lord's Supper). These were 37 in number, increased to 50 in the 3rd edition, 1709. (2) In 1700 he published a poetical Version of Solomon's Song of Songs, together with the XLVth Psalm. A second edition, corrected, appeared in 1709. (3) In 1712 he published twelve Hymns composed for the Celebration of the Holy Ordinance of Baptism; 2nd ed. 1722.
Stennett also translated Dacier's Plato and other works from the French, and published several sermons preached on days of National Thanksgiving and other public occasions. His Works were collected after his death and published in 1732, in 4 vols. They contain a Memoir, Sermons and Letters, the Hymns and Poems mentioned above, and a few other poetical pieces. A controversial work, An Answer to Mr. Russen's Book on Baptism, 1702, may be reckoned as a 5th vol. Of his hymns, that which, in the form of varying centos, is most widely known is, "Another six days' work is done". Others in common use include:—
1. Gracious Redeemer, how divine. Holy Communion. Appeared in his Hymns for the Lord's Supper, first edition, 1697. (Works, 1732, ii. p. 98.) Usually abbreviated.
2. Immortal praise be given. Holy Communion. Published in his Hymns for The Lord's Supper, first ed., 1697. (Works, 1732, ii. p. 97.) From this "We'll praise our risen Lord," is taken.
3. Jesus, O word divinely sweet. Redemption through Jesus. Published in Hymns for the Lord's Supper, 3rd ed. 1709, No. 47.
4. Lord, at Thy Table I behold. Holy Communion. This hymn is not in Stennett's Works. From it "With humble faith and trembling heart," is taken.
5. My blessed Saviour, is Thy love? Self-Consecration to God. Appeared in his Hymns for the Lord's Supper, 1697, No. 22. Usually abbreviated.
6. The great Redeemer we adore. Published in his Hymns for Baptism, 1712.
7. Whene'er one sinner turns to God. Holy Baptism. Published in his Hymns for Baptism, 1712, No. 12. From this "See how the willing converts trace" is taken. It begins with st. iii.
Several of his hymns additional to these are given in the older collections, but have passed out of use. We may add that the Joseph Stennett, the subject of this article, had a son, Joseph Stennett, D.D., who also became an eminent Baptist minister, and was the father of Samuel Stennett. [Rev.W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Joseph Stennett
J. Grigg
1720 - 1768 Person Name: Joseph Grigg Hymnal Number: 299 Author of "Jesus, and shall it ever be" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Grigg, Joseph, was born in 1728, according to the D. Sedgwick’s Manuscript," but this date seems to be some six or eight years too late. He was the son of poor parents and was brought up to mechanical pursuits. In 1743 he forsook his trade and became assistant minister to the Rev. Thomas Bures, of the Presbyterian Church, Silver Street, London. On the death of Mr. Bures in 1747, he retired from the ministry, and, marrying a lady of property, look up his residence at St. Albans. He died at Walthamstow, Essex, Oct. 29, 1768. As a hymnwriter Grigg is chiefly known by two of his hymns, "Behold a stranger at the door"; and "Jesus, and can it ever be?" His hymnwriting began, it is said, at ten years of age. His published works of various kinds number over 40. Those in which his hymns are found are:—
(1) Miscellanies on Moral and Religious Subjects, &c, London, Elizabeth Harrison, 1756. (2) The Voice of Danger, the Voice of God. A Sermon Preached at St. Albans, and at Box-Lane, Chiefly with a View to the apprehended Invasion. By J. Grigg. London, J. Buckland, 1756. To this is appended his hymn, "Shake, Britain, like an aspen shake." (3) Four Hymns on Divine Subjects wherein the Patience and Love of Our Divine Saviour is displayed, London, 1765. (4) Hymns by the late Rev. Joseph Grigg, Stourbridge, 1806. (5) During 1765 and 1766 he also contributed 12 hymns to The Christians Magazine.
In 1861 D. Sedgwick collected his hymns and poems, and published them with a memoir as:
Hymns on Divine Subjects, * * * * London, 1861. This volume contains 40 "Hymns," and 17 "Serious Poems." In the “S. MSS." Sedgwick notes that in 1861 he omitted three hymns by Grigg, which were then unknown to him, viz.:—l) On "The National Fast," appended to a sermon preached at Northampton, Feb. 13, 1761, by W. Warburton, and published in London, 1761. (2) "A Harvest Hymn by the late Rev. Joseph Grigg," in 6 stanzas, in the Evangelical Magazine, July, 1822; and (3) On the Parable of Dives and Lazarus, dated "Feb. 15, 1767."
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
J. Grigg
Samuel Wesley
1662 - 1735 Hymnal Number: 147 Author of "Behold the Savior of mankind" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Father of Samuel Wesley, John Wesley, and Charles Wesley.
See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church
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Samuel Wesley, M.A., the elder, was born in 1662 at Whitchurch in Dorsetshire, of which parish his father, John Wesley, was Vicar until the Act of Uniformity caused him to resign his living. He was educated at a Dissenting academy by a Mr. Morton, and was designed for the Nonconformist Ministry. But having been, on account of his talents, selected as a champion to defend the dissenters against some severe invectives, and having commenced a course of controversial reading for this purpose, he was led by his studies to embrace the opposite views, and became, and continued through life, a pronounced churchman. With the impetuosity which was a family trait, he set forth on foot to Oxford, and entered himself at Exeter College. In spite of his straitened means, he managed to keep his terms and take his degrees at the University.
He then received Holy Orders and took a curacy of £28 a year. Having held this curacy for a year, he obtained a naval chaplaincy, and then took another curacy in London. About the year 1690 he married Susanna, daughter of Dr. Annesley, a famous Nonconformist minister, and a scion of the noble house of Anglesey. The wife, like the husband, had been brought up as a dissenter, but at the early age of 13 she had come over to the Church of England, and was afterwards a Jacobite in politics. In 1693 Mr. Wesley was presented to the living of South Ormsby in Lincolnshire. He was also chaplain to the Marquis of Normandy, afterwards Duke of Buckingham. In 1697 he was appointed by the Crown to the Rectory of Epworth, and there he spent the remainder of his life, nearly forty years. The first part of his residence at Epworth was marked by a series of troubles arising partly from his pecuniary embarrassments, which increased with his increasing family, partly from the animosity of his parishioners, who resented the part which he felt it his duty to take, as a staunch churchman, in politics, and partly from unfortunate accidents. These troubles reached their climax in 1705, when he was thrown into Lincoln gaol for debt. They are graphically described by his own pen.
"I have been thrown behind," he writes to his good friends at Oxford, "by a series of misfortunes. My Parsonage Barn was blown down ere I had recovered the Taking my Living; My House great part of it burnt down about 2 years since. My Flax, great part of my Income now in my own Hands, I doubt wilfully fir'd and burnt in ye night, whilst I was last in London. My Income sunk about one half by the low price of Grain and my credit lost by the taking away my Regiment. I was brought to Lincoln Castle June 23rd last past. About 3 weeks since my very unkind People, thinking they had not yet done enough, have in ye night stabbed my 3 cows, wch were a great part of my poor Numerous Family's Subsistence.—For wch God forgive them."
Some points in this letter require explanation. When he speaks of being in London, he means on Convocation business; for he was elected Proctor for the Diocese, and in one of his absences Mrs. Wesley instituted those religious meetings at the Rectory which are thought by some to have been the precursors of the Wesleyan Society Meetings. “His Regiment" was a Chaplaincy in the army which had been given him in reward for a poem in praise of the Duke of Marlborough. The last and worst of the many fires through which he suffered was in 1709, when the rectory was entirely burnt down, and the present house erected in its place. The latter part of his time at Epworth was more free from troubles. He met with many generous friends who enabled him to emerge from his pecuniary difficulties, the firmest and most constant of these friends being the admirable Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sharp; his sons grew up to be a comfort and a credit to him; his income was slightly increased by the addition of the neighbouring living of Wroot; and his parishioners gradually became more tractable. The annoyance caused by the famous Epworth Ghost can scarcely be reckoned among his serious troubles. In 1731 he met with an accident which probably hastened his end, and in 1735 he passed away and was buried in Epworth churchyard, leaving behind him the character of an excellent parish priest, a good husband and father, and a man of very considerable abilities and attainments.
Mr. Wesley was a somewhat voluminous writer. His first publication was a volume of poems bearing the unpromising, not to say repulsive, title of Maggots. It appeared in 1685. In 1691 he became the clerical correspondent to the Athenian Gazette (afterwards Mercury) published by his brother-in-law, John Dunton. In 1693 appeared an Heroic Poem on the Life of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This was dedicated to Queen Mary, and led to his appointment to the living of Epworth. In 1695 he published Elegies on Queen Mary and Archbishop Tillotson; and in 1698 A Sermon preached before the Society for the Reformation of Manners. The Elegies are rather fulsome and in bad taste according to the standard of the present day; but it should be remembered that high-flown panegyrics were the fashion of the age. The Sermon is a spirited and energetic defence of the "Societies," which were regarded with some suspicion by many high-churchmen, but of which Mr. Wesley, like his friend Robert Nelson, was a warm supporter. In 1700 he published The Pious Communicant rightly prepared; or a Discourse concerning the Blessed Sacrament, &c, With Prayers and Hymns suited to the several parts of that holy office. To which is added A short Discourse of Baptism. In this work appeared his version of the "Great Hallel" or "Paschal Hymn." In 1704 he published The History of the Old and New Testaments in Verse, in three volumes, which he dedicated to Queen Anne. This, like his Life of Christ, was illustrated with numerous and costly engravings. In 1705 he published a poem of nearly 600 lines on the "Battle of Blenheim," entitled Maryborough, or The Fate of Europe. For this he was rewarded with the Chaplaincy of Colonel Lepell's regiment; but his political enemies at Epworth soon succeeded in getting him deprived of this office. In 1707 appeared A Reply to Mr. Palmer's Vindication of the Learning, Loyalty, Morals, and most Christian Behaviour of the Dissenters towards the Church of England. This originated in the publication, without his consent or knowledge, of a Letter he wrote to a friend Concerning the Education of the Dissenters in their Private Academies. The letter was attacked anonymously and defended by Mr. Wesley in a pamphlet (1704). The pamphlet was answered by Mr. Palmer. After this, Mr. Wesley's pen seems to have rested for some time; but during the last ten years of his life he was engaged in his elaborate Dissertation on the Book of Job, his incessant labours upon which are said to have hastened his end. This work was dedicated to Queen Caroline, the wife of George II., and presented to her by John Wesley some months after the author's death.
Perhaps if he had written less, and spent more time in elaborating what he did write, he might have been more successful; but, after all, the "Divine afflatus" must have been wanting; and the best service which he rendered to sacred poetry was in being father of his children.
Two of his hymns are in common use:—
1. Behold the Saviour of mankind.
2. 0 Thou Who, when I did complain.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Samuel Wesley
Thomas Gibbons
1720 - 1785 Hymnal Number: 131 Author of "When Jesus dwelt in mortal clay" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Gibbons, Thomas, was born at Beak, near Newmarket, May 31, 1720; educated by Dr. Taylor, at Deptford; ordained in 1742, as assistant to the Rev. Mr. Bures, at Silver Street Chapel, London; and in 1743 became minister of the Independent Church, at Haberdashers' Hall, where he remained till his death, Feb. 22, 1785. In addition to his ministerial office he became, in 1754, tutor of the Dissenting Academy at Mile End, London; and, in 1759, Sunday evening lecturer at Monkwell Street. In 1760 the College at New Jersey, U.S., gave him the degree of M.A. and in 1764 that of Aberdeen the degree of D.D. His prose works were (1) Calvinism and Nonconformity defended, 1740; (2) Sermons on various subjects, 1762; (3) Rhetoric, 1767; (4) Female Worthies, 2 vols., 1777. Three volumes of sermons were published after his death. His poetical works were:—
(1) Juvenilia; Poems on various subjects of Devotion and Virtue, 1750, was published by subscription. Among the subscribers is found the name of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, B.A. It was dedicated to the Countess of Huntingdon, and bears her coat of arms. In this volume are included versions of six of the Psalms, and a few hymns. (2) Hymns adapted to Divine wor¬ship in two books. Book I. Derived from select passages of Holy Scriptures. Book II., Written on sacred subjects and particular occasions, partly collected front various authors, but principally composed by Thomas Gibbons, D.D., 1769. (3) Hymns adapted to Divine worship in two books. Book I. Derived from select passages of the Holy Scriptures. Book II. Written on sacred subjects and particular occasions by Thomas Gibbons, D.D., 1784. (4) The Sermons, published in 1762, included fifteen hymns, one being appended to each sermon. (5) The Christian Minister in three poetical epistles to Philander, 1772. This volume included (i.) Poetical versions of several parts of Scripture, (ii.) Translations of poems from Greek and Latin writers, (iii.) Original pieces on various occasions. (6) An English version of the Latin Epitaphs on the Nonconformist's Memorial, with a poem to the memory of the 2000 ministers ejected in 1662, 1775. (7) Select Portions of Scripture, and Remarkable Occurrences, versified for the Instruction and entertainment of Youth of both Sexes, 1781. Reprinted in America, 1805.
Dr. Gibbons may be called a disciple in hymnwriting of Dr. Watts, whose life he wrote. His hymns are not unlike those of the second rank of Watts. He lacked "the vision and faculty divine," which gives life to hymns and renders them of permanent value. Hence, although several are common use in America, they are dying out of use in Great Britain. The most popular are, "Now let our souls on wings sublime"; "Great God, the nations of the earth"; "Thy goodness, Lord, our souls confess"; "To Thee, my God, whose presence fills." [Rev. W. Garrett Horder]
The less important of Dr. Gibbons's hymns, which are still in common use are:—
1. And be it so that till this hour. Hope. This is No. 50 in Book ii. of his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, &c, 1769, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed, "Encouragement against Despair; or, Hope still set before us." Originally a Sacramental hymn in Rippon's Selections, 1787, No 230, it was altered to a general hymn, with special reference to "Hope."
2. Assist us, Lord, Thy Name to praise. Life, a race. In Rippon's Baptist Selections, 1787, No. 326, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines.
3. Eternal life, how sweet the sound. Eternal Life. This is one of three hymns on Titus iii. 7, in his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, &c, 1784, Book i., No. 156, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. In the American Dutch Reformed Hymns of the Church, 1869, No. 843 begins with st. ii., "Eternal life, how will it reign?"
4. Father, is not Thy promise pledged? Missions. This is Pt. iii.of his hymn, "Great God, the nations of the earth" (q. v.).
5. Forgiveness, 'tis a joyful sound. Pardon. From his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, &c, 1769. Book i., No. 69, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines into several modern collections in Great Britain and America. It is based on St. Luke, vii. 47.
6. From winter's barren clods. [Spring.] Appeared in his Hymns, &c, 1784, Book ii., No. 27, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed, "The Return of the Spring celebrated in the Powerful and Gracious Work of God." In 1787 it was repeated anonymously in Rippon's Baptist Selections, No. 499. The hymn, "Great God, at Thy command, Seasons in order rise," begins with st. iii. of this hymn.
7. Happy the men in ancient days. Public Worship. In his Hymns adapted to Public Worship, &c, 1784.
8. On Zion, his most holy mount. Gospel Feast. From his Hymns adapted for Divine Worship, &c, 1769, Book i., No. 35, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. It was originally a Sacramental hymn, but in its abbreviated form, as in use in America, that element is eliminated.
9. Our Father, high enthroned above. Lord's Prayer. Appeared in the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans, 1769, No. 41, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines. In 1772 it was reprinted in a revised form, and with an additional stanza, in Gibbons's Christian Minister, p. 74.
10. Thy goodness, Lord, our souls confess. Providence and Grace. Appeared in the Gospel Magazine, 1775, and in his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, &c, 1784, Bk. ii., No. 11, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. In Dobell's Selections, 1806, st. i.-iv., and vi. were given with alterations, which were not improvements, as No. 9. This arrangement is repeated in modern hymnbooks, including the Baptist Hymnal, 1879, and others.
11. When Jesus dwelt in mortal clay. Jesus our Example. From his Hymns adapted to Divine Worship, &c, 1784, Book i., No. 128, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines into a few American collections, including the Baptist Praise Book, 1871.
The more important of Dr. Gibbons's hymns are annotated under their respective first lines. [William T. Brooke]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Gibbons, Thomas, p. 420, i. From his Hymns, &c, of 1784, are also in common use:—
1. Lord God, omnipotent to bless. Divine Help desired.
2. Now may the God of peace and love. Close of Service. (1769. Pt. i.)
3. O what stupendous mercy shines. Benevolence.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
Thomas Gibbons
Hugh Blair
1718 - 1800 Hymnal Number: 485 Author of "How still and peaceful is [Lord] the grave" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Blair, Hugh, D.D., eldest son of John Blair, merchant. Edinburgh, was born at Edinburgh, April 7, 1718. In 1730 he entered the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated M.A. in 1739. In 1742 he was ordained parish minister of Collessie, in Fife, became, in 1743, second minister of the Canongate, Edinburgh, in 1754 minister of Lady Yester's, and in 1758 joint minister of the High Church (now styled St. Giles's Cathedral). In 1762, while still retaining his pastoral charge, he was appointed the first Professor of Rhetoric in the University of Edinburgh—a chair founded for him. He received the degree of D.D. from the University of St. Andrews, in 1757. He died in Edinburgh, Dec. 27, 1800.
In 1744 Dr. Blair was appointed a member of the Committee of Assembly which compiled the Translations and Paraphrases of 1745, and in 1775 of that which revised and enlarged them. To him are ascribed by the Rev. W. Thomson and the Rev. Dr. Hew Scott, Nos. 4, 33, 34, 44, of the 1781 collection. He is also credited with the alterations made on Paraphrases 32 and 57, in 1745-51, and on Paraphrase 20, in 1781. The Rev. J. W. Macmeeken would ascribe these 4 Paraphrases to his second cousin, the Rev. Robert Blair, author of The Grave [eldest son of the Rev. David Blair, born in Edinburgh, 1699, ordained Parish minister of Athelstaneford, East Lothian, in 1731,appointed, in 1742,a number of the Committee which compiled the 1745 collection, died at Atholstaneford. Feb. 4, 1746]. Dr. C. Rogers, in his Lyra Britannica (pp. 66 & 664, ed. 1867) holds that, though Dr. Hugh Blair may have altered Paraphrases 44 and 57, neither he, nor Robert Blair, wrote any original hymns. While the weight of opinion and of probability is in favour of Dr. Hugh Blair, no very definite evidence is presented on either side, though the records of the Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1748 show Dr. Hugh Blair as selected to revise Nos. 18 (7 in 1781), 21 (46 in 1781), and probably others. [Rev. James Mears, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Hugh Blair
James Merrick
1720 - 1769 Hymnal Number: 18 Author of "Ye works of God, on [to] him alone" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Merrick, James , M.A., was born in 1720, and educated at Oxford, where he became a Fellow of Trinity College. He entered Holy Orders, but his health would not admit of parish work. He died at Reading, 1769. His publications include:—
(1) Messiah, a Divine Essay. Humbly dedicated to the Reverend the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and the Visitors of the Free School in Reading. By James Merrick, Ætat. 14, Senior Scholar of the School at their last Terminal Visitation, the 7th of October, 1734. Reading. (2) The Destruction of Troy. Translated from the Greek of Tryphiodorus into English Verse, with Notes, &c. 1742. (3) Poems on Sacred Subjects. Oxford . 1763. (4) The Psalms of David Translated or Paraphrased in English Verse. By James Merrick, M.A., late Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford. Reading. J. Carnan and Co. 1765. 2nd ed. 1766. A few only of these paraphrases were divided into stanzas. In 1797 the Rev. W. D. Tattersall pulished the work "Divided into stanzas for Parochial Use, and paraphrased in such language as will be intelligible to every capacity . . . with a suitable Collect to each Psalm from the Works of Archbishop Parker."
Merrick's paraphrases, although weak and verbose, were in extensive use in the early part of the present century, both in the Church of England and with Nonconformists. They have, however, fallen very much into disuse. Those in modern hymn-books, mainly in the form of centos, include:—
1. Blest Instructor, from Thy ways. Ps. xix.
2. Descend, O Lord! from heaven descend. Ps. cxliv. (In time of National Peril.)
3. Far as creation's bounds extend. Ps. cxlv.
4. God of my strength, the wise, the just. Ps. xxxi.
5. He who with generous pity glows. Ps. xli.
6. How pleasant, Lord.Thy dwellings are. Ps. lxxxiv.
7. Lift up your voice and thankful sing. Ps. cxxxvi.
8. Lo, my Shepherd's hand divine. Ps. xxiii.
9. Lord, my Strength, to Thee I pray. Ps. xxviii.
10. My heart its noblest theme has found. Ps.xlv.
11. O let me, [gracious] heavenly Lord extend. Ps. xxxix.
12. O turn, great Ruler of the skies. Ps. li.
13. Praise, O praise the Name divine. Ps. cl.
14. Sing, ye sons of [men] might, O sing. Ps. xxix.
15. Teach me, O teach me, Lord, Thy way. Ps. cxix.
16. The festal morn, my [O] God, is come. Ps. cxxii, (Sunday Morning.)
17. The morn and eve Thy praise resound. Ps. lxv. (Harvest.)
18. To Thy pastures, fair and large. Ps. xxiii.
From his Poems on Sacred Subjects, 1763, the following centos have also come into common use: --
19. Author of good, to Thee we turn. Resignation.
20. Eternal God, we look to Thee. Resignation.
21. 'Tis enough, the hour is come. Nunc Dimittis.
John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
James Merrick
Benjamin Francis
1734 - 1799 Hymnal Number: 429 Author of "In loud [sweet] exalted strains" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Francis, Benjamin , M.A., was born in Wales in 1734. He was baptized at the age of 15, and began to preach at 19. He studied at the Bristol Baptist College, and commenced his ministry at Sodbury. In 1757 he removed to Horsley (afterwards called Shortwood), in Gloucestershire. There he remained, through a happy and very successful ministry of 42 years, until his death in 1799. He was the author of many poetical compositions :—
(1) Conflagration, a Poem in Four Parts, (1770); (2) Elegies on the Deaths of the Revs. George Whitefield , Caleb Evans, Robert Day, and Joshua Thomas; (3) The Association, a Poem (1790); (4) a Poetical Address to the Stockbridge Indians (5) two satirical pieces on the Baptismal controversy; The Salopian Zealot; and The Oracle, the former passing through several editions and being reprinted in America.
Francis was the author of five hymns in Rippon's Selections, 1787, all of which are still in common use :—
1. Before Thy throne, eternal King . Meetings of Ministers: or Church Conferences.
2. Glory to the eternal King. Majesty of God. In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory for Private, Family and Public Worship, 1872.
3. In tweet [loud] exalted strains . Opening of a Place of Worship . This was given in Rippon, No. 338, in 6 st. of 6 1. with the note:—“Sung on opening the Meeting House at Horsley, Gloucestershire, [his Chapel,] September 18, 1774; and also at the opening of the New Meeting House, at Downend, near Bristol, October 4, 1786."This hymn is abbreviated in the Baptist Hymnal, 1879, to 4 stanzas, and begins with st. iii. which is altered to "Come, King of glory, come." No. 1020 in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymnbook is the same arrangement of stanzas altered by Mr. Spurgeon to "Great King of Zion, now." In several American hymnals it reads: "Great King of glory, come."
4. My gracious Redeemer, I love. The love of Christ to Men. In various collections.
5. Praise the Saviour, all ye nations . Offertory. In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 739, "With my substance I will honour," is a cento from this hymn.
6. Ye objects of sense and enjoyments of time . Death. A long hymn of 16 st. of 4 l. given in the new and improved edition of Rippon, 1837, No. 553, Pt. ii. with the heading, "The dying Christian bidding adieu to the world." This hymn had previously appeared in the Baptist Register, 1795.
It was as a writer of Welsh hymns, however, that Francis excelled. In 1774 he published his Alleluia, neu Hymnau perthynol i Addoliad Cyhoeddus (Hymns pertaining to Public Worship) To this he contributed 103 hymns. A second volume appeared in 1786, to which he contributed 91 hymns, being a total of 194 in all [D. Sedgwick’s Manuscript]. Of these many are still in common use in Wales, the most popular being:—
1. Clod i'r bendigedig Oen—-a oddefodd.
2. Deffro 'nghalon, deffro 'nghan—-i ddyrchafu.
3. Gwyn fyd y dyn a gred yn Nuw.
4. Arglwydd grasol, clyw fy nghri—-a'm griddfanau.
5. Wele gadarn sylfaen Sion.
[Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
Benjamin Francis
John Logan
1748 - 1788 Hymnal Number: 492 Author of "The hour of my departure's come" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Logan, John, son of a farmer, born at Fala, Midlothian, 1748, and educated at Edinburgh University, in due course entering the ministry of the Church of Scotland and becoming the minister of South Leith in 1770. During the time he held this charge he delivered a course of lectures on philosophy and history with much success. While he was thus engaged, the chair of Universal History in the University became vacant; but as a candidate he was unsuccessful. A tragedy, entitled Runnamede, followed. He offered it to the manager of Covent Garden Theatre, but it was interdicted by the Lord Chamberlain "upon suspicion of having a seditious tendency." It was subsequently acted in Edinburgh. In 1775 he formed one of the Committee by whom the Translations and Paraphrases of the Church of Scotland was prepared. In 1782 he was compelled to resign his charge at Leith in order to prevent deposition, and finally, having passed on to London, he supported himself partly by his pen, and died there, Dec. 28, 1788.
[Also, see Bruce, Michael]
The names of Michael Bruce and John Logan are brought together because of the painful controversy which has long prevailed concerning the authorship of certain Hymns and Paraphrases of Holy Scripture which are in extensive use in the Christian Church both at home and abroad. During the latter years of Bruce's short life he wrote various Poems, and also Hymns for a singing class at Kinnesswood, which were well known to his family and neighbours, and were eventually copied out by Bruce himself in a quarto MS. book, with the hope that some day he might see them in print. Immediately upon his death, in 1767, Logan called upon his father and requested the loan of this book that he might publish the contents for the benefit of the family. This was granted. Not till three years afterwards did a certain work, containing seventeen poems, and entitled Poems on Several Occasions, by Michael Bruce, 1770, appear, with a Preface in which it was stated that some of the Poems were by others than Bruce. Bruce's father immediately pointed out the absence from the volume of certain hymns which he called his son's "Gospel Sonnets," and members of the singing class at Kinnesswood also noted the absence of hymns with which they were familiar. Letters of remonstrance and demands for the return of the quarto manuscript book of Bruce by the father remaining unanswered, led him eventually to see Logan in person. No book was forthcoming, a few scraps of manuscript only were returned, and Logan accounted for the absence of the book by saying he feared "that the servants had singed fowls with it." For a time the matter rested here, only to be revived with renewed interest by the publication, in 1781 (14 years after the death of Bruce, and 11 after the Poems, &c, were issued), of Poems. By the Rev. Mr. Logan, One of the Ministers of Leith. In this volume, an "Ode to the Cuckoo," a poem of exquisite beauty, and other poetical pieces which appeared in the Poems on Several Occasions, by Michael Bruce, were repeated, and claimed as his own by Logan. In addition, certain Hymns and Paraphrases were included, most of which were of sterling merit, and poetical excellence. It has been shown, we think, most conclusively by Dr. Mackelvie in his Life of Bruce prefixed to the Poems, 1837 and by Dr. Grosart in his Works of M. Bruce, 1865, that the "Ode to the Cuckoo," "Lochleven," and other poetical pieces were taken from MS. book of M. Bruce. The Hymns and Paraphrases, most of which were included in the Translations and Paraphrases during the same year, were also claimed for Bruce.
Until clearer evidence is brought forward on behalf of Bruce, the hymns, or paraphrases, following must be ascribed to John Logan: —
"Who can resist th'Almighty arm"; "In streets and op'nings of the gates”; "Thus speaks the heathen: How shall man"; "Take comfort, Christians, when your friends"; "The hour of my departure's come."
The following, which are found only in the Translations and Paraphrases of 1781, are claimed by W. Cameron for Logan, and have never been seriously disputed by the friends of Bruce, the second being original, the first a revise from the Translations and Paraphrases of 1745; and the third a revise of Doddridge and Dr. Hugh Blair:—
"Let Christian faith and hope dispel"; “Thus speaks the high and lofty One"; "What though no flowers the fig-tree clothe."
In addition, we see no cause to deny to Logan the few changes, and new stanza, which are found in Doddridge's "0 God of Bethel, by Whose hand."
Of the above hymns 5 are recasts of hymns in the Scottish Translations and Paraphrases of 1745. Those are: "Behold the mountain of the Lord " (see "In latter days the mount of God "); "When Jesus by the Virgin brought" (see "Now let Thy servant die in peace"); "Behold the Ambassador divine" (see "Behold my Servant, see Him rise"); "Let Christian faith and hope dispel" (see “Now let our souls ascend above"); and "What though no flowers the fig-tree clothe" (see "So firm the saints' foundation stands").
…It is curious to note that every hymn which we have ascribed to M. Bruce has come into more or less extensive use outside of the Translations and Paraphrases, and that not one which we have ascribed to Logan, except "Let Christian faith and hope dispel," and “Take comfort, Christians," &c, is found beyond that work, unless we give to Logan the plaintive "The hour of my departure's come" (which Dr. Grosart claims for Bruce), and the recast "O God of Bethel, by Whose hand," whose success is due to Doddridge. This is the verdict of 100 years' use of those hymns, and shows conclusively the poetic strength of Bruce and the weakness of Logan.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Logan_%28minister%29
John Logan
Alexander Pope
1688 - 1744 Hymnal Number: 493 Author of "Vital spark of heavenly flame" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Alexander Pope was born in London, in 1688. His parents were Roman Catholics. He had a feeble constitution, was deformed in person, and attained the age of only fifty-six. He early acquired the means of independence by his literary gifts, and purchased his celebrated villa at Twickenham, whither he went to reside at the age of thirty. Of his many published works, his translation of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" of Homer has given him the greatest reputation. As an English satirist, also, he stands very high. Nearly all his works, however, are imitations. He died at Tickenham, in 1744.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872
========
Pope, Alexander, the poet, son of a wholesale linen merchant in Lombard Street, London, was born in Plough Court, Lombard Street, May 21, 1688. His father being a Roman Catholic, he was first placed under the charge of Father Taverner, who taught him the rudiments of Greek and Latin. Later he attended a school at Winchester, and then at Hyde Park Corner. When about twelve he retired with his parents to Binfield, in Windsor Forest, and from thenceforth his education was mainly in his own hands. His subsequent success as a writer and poet is a matter of history, and has been dealt with in detail by Dr. Johnson in his Lives of the Poets, and by others. He died May 30, 1744, and was buried in a vault in Twickenham Church. For distinct public use, so far as we are aware, Pope wrote no hymns. His "Messiah"; his "Universal Prayer"; and his "Vital Spark" (q.v.), have been made use of for congregational purposes, but as a Roman Catholic he had no object in writing a hymn in a language which, at that time, his Church would refuse to use. In modern hymn-books his name is identified with the following pieces:--
1. Father of all, in every age. Universal Prayer. The Lord's Prayer. This Prayer was published in 1738, as a conclusion to his Essay on Man, in 13 st. of 4 1. Warburton in his Advertisement of the 1748 ed. of the Essay, says:—
"Concerning the Universal Prayer which concludes the Essay, it may be proper to observe that some pas¬sages in the Essay having been unjustly suspected of a tendency towards Fate and Naturalism, the author composed that Prayer as the sum of all, to show that hi a system was founded in Freewill, and terminated in Piety: that the First Cause was as well the Lord and Governor as the Creator of the Universe; and that by submission to His will (the great principle enforced throughout the Essay) was not meant the suffering ourselves to be carried along with a blind determination; but a religious acquiescence, and confidence full of hope and immortality. To give all this the greater weight and reality, the Poet chose for his model The Lord's Prayer, which of all others best deserves the title prefixed to his Paraphrase."
The title here referred to is "The Universal Prayer, Deo Opt. Max." The hymn is found in common use in the following forms:—
(1.) Father of all in every age. This is an abbreviated form, and has been in use, especially in Unitarian hymnbooks, from an early date.
(2.) Father of all, [and] Thou God of love. This cento was given in 6 st. of 4 1. in the 1815 edition of Cotterill's Selections, No. 2; again in the 1819 ed., 141; in Stowell's Psalms & Hymns, 1831, No. 179; and again in later collections.
(3.) Not to this earth's contracted span. In Collyer's Collection 1812, No. 629, in 4 st. of 4 1., and others.
(4.) Teach me to feel another's woe. Also in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 630, in 4 st. of 4 1., and others.
(5.) Thou Great First Cause, least understood. Also in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 628, in 4 st. of 4 1., and later hymnals.
(6.) When I am right Thy grace impart. Given in Kennedy, 1863, No. 1166.
2. Ye nymphs of Solyma! begin the song. The Messiah. In No. 378 of the Spectator for Wednesday, May 14, 1712, Addison gave this poem with the introduction :—
"I will make no apology for entertaining the reader with the following poem, which is written by a great genius, a friend of mine, in the country, who is not ashamed to employ his wit in the praise of his Maker."
Then follows the poem with the heading, “Messiah. A Sacred Eclogue, composed of several passages of Isaiah the Prophet. Written in imitation of Virgil's Pollio." It consists of 107 lines. When republished by Pope this heading was expanded into a paragraph as an "Advertisement." As a poem it is unknown to the hymn-book; but from it the following centos have passed into common use:--
(1.) As the Good Shepherd tends his fleecy care. This was given in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 626, in 6 st. of 4 1., and has been repeated in later hymnals, but usually in an abridged form.
(2.) From Jesse's root, behold a branch arise No. 624 in Collyer's Collection, 1812, in 5 st. of 4 1.; and again in later hymnals.
(3.) Hark! a glad voice the lonely desert cheers. No. 625 in Collyer's Collection, 1812, in 4 st. of 4 1.; in Bishop Heber's posthumous Hymns, &c, 1827, p. 106; and again in later collections.
(4.) Rise crowned with light, imperial Salem rise. In the Leeds Hymn Book, 1853, No. 687, in 3 st. of 8 1., and several later collections.
(5.) The Saviour comes! by ancient seers foretold. In Mercer's Church Psalm & Hymn Book, 1864, and others.
It may be noted that 1. 46 of The Messiah reads in the original "He wipes the tears for ever from our eyes." This was altered by Pope at the suggestion of Steele, made to Pope in a letter dated June 1, 1712, to "From every face He wipes off every tear." This latter is the poet's authorized reading, is given in his Works, and is found also in the book form reprints of the Spectator.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Alexander Pope
Daniel Turner
1710 - 1798 Hymnal Number: 294 Author of "Faith adds new charms to earthly bliss" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Turner, Daniel, M.A., was born at Blackwater Park, near St. Albans, March 1, 1710. Having received a good classical education, he for some years kept a boarding-school at Hemel Hempstead, but in 1741 he became pastor of the Baptist church, Reading. Thence he removed, in 1748, to Abingdon, and continued pastor of the Baptist church there until his death on Sept. 5, 1798. He was much respected throughout his denomination, and was the friend and correspondent of Robert Robinson, Dr. Rippon, and other eminent men of that day. He probably received the honorary degree of M.A. from the Baptist College, Providence, Rhode Island. Turner was the author of works on Open Communion and Social Religion; also of Short Meditations on Select Portions of Scripture. His Divine Songs, Hymns and other Poems were published in 1747, and his work, Poems Devotional and Moral, was printed for private circulation in 1794. Four of his hymns are in the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans (1769), and eight (including the four already named) in Rippon's Baptist Selection 1787). Only the following are now in common use:—
1. Faith adds new charms to earthly bliss (1769). Excellence of Faith.
2. Jesus, full of all compassion (1769). Sinner's appeal to Christ.
3. Lord of hosts, how lovely fair (1787). Divine Worship. Altered in Baptist Psalms and Hymns, 1858, to “Lord of hosts, how bright, how fair!"
The well-known hymn "Beyond the glittering starry skies," in its enlarged form of 28 stanzas, was the joint production of Turner and his brother-in-law, the Rev. J. Fanch. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Daniel Turner
Jonathan Evans
1748 - 1809 Hymnal Number: 141 Author of "Hark, the voice of love and mercy" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Evans, Jonathan, born at Coventry in 1748 or 1749. He was the son of a working man, and as a youth was employed in a ribbon manufactory. About 1778 he joined the congregation at Coventry, over which the Rev. G. Burder was pastor. He began preaching at Foleshill, near Coventry, in 1782, and in 1795 he began his stated ministry there, retaining the same to his death on Aug. 31, 1809. Two biographical notices of him appeared in the Evangelical Magazine (Oct. 1809, and March 1847), and also several of his hymns. Two of his hymns appeared in Burder's Collection, 1784, and another in the 2nd edition the same year. His best known hymns are, "Come, Thou soul-transforming Spirit,” and "Hark! the voice of love and mercy;" q.v. He published no poetical work or collection of hymns.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Jonathan Evans
James Boden
1757 - 1841 Hymnal Number: 343 Author of "Bright source of everlasting love" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Boden, James, was born April 13, 1757, in the house at Chester long occupied by Matthew Henry, and educated for the Congregational Ministry at Homerton College. In 1784 he became the pastor of the Independent Chapel, Hanley; and, in 1796, of the Queen's Street Chapel, Sheffield. This last charge he held for nearly 43 years. He died at Chesterfield, June 4, 1841. In 1801 he assisted Dr. Williams, of the Masborough Theological College, near Sheffield, in compiling A Collection of above Six Hundred Hymns designed as a New Supplement to Dr. Watts's Psalms & Hymns, &c, Doncaster, 1801. This collection is known as Williams and Boden, and to it is traced the anonymous modern version of "Jerusalem, my happy home" (q.v.). To this collection Boden contributed, under the signature "Boden” the following hymns:—
1. Bright source of everlasting love. Charity Sermon.
2. Come, all ye saints of God. Passiontide.
3. Come death, released from dread. Death.
4. Our great High Priest we sing. Christ the H. Priest.
5. Shall sin, that cruel foe? Lent.
6. Triumphant sing ye favoured [ransom'd] saints. Jesus, all in all.
7. We come, dear Jesus, to Thy throne. Prayer Meeting.
Of these hymns, No. 1 appeared in the Evangelical Magazine Aug., 1798. Most of them are still in common use, but chiefly in America. They are of no special merit.
In the Gospel Magazine, 1777, there are a few hymns under the signature "J-----s B-----n, Chester." Of these, one only (8), "Ye dying sons of men" [Invitation), was given in the Williams and Boden Collection, and then, not with the full signature of "Boden," but as by “B___." On this evidence mainly the hymn has been ascribed to James Boden. It appeared in the Gospel Magazine twice in 1777, in Feb. and in Aug. It may be by our author; but seeing that it alone of the eight hymns above noted is signed "B-----," and was given in the Gospel Magazine in 1777, and that the rest are signed "Baden," and did not appear in the Gospel Magazinein 1777, or in any other year, we regard the evidence as somewhat inconclusive. It has been suggested that possibly the "J-----s B-----n, Chester," was his father. The signatures appended to the hymns in the 1st edition of Williams & Boden, 1801, were omitted from the 2nd edition, 1803, and portions of the Preface were rewritten.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
James Boden
Elizabeth Scott
1708 - 1776 Hymnal Number: 422 Author of "When Abraham, full of sacred awe" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Scott, Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Scott, Independent Minister at Norwich, and sister of Thomas Scott, noted below, was born at Norwich about 1708. In 1751 she was married to Elisha Williams, who had been from 1726 to 1739 Rector of Yale College, U.S.A., and with him she proceeded to Connecticut. On the death of Mr. Williams she was married to the Hon. William Smith, of New York, who also predeceased her. She died at Wethersfield, Connecticut, June 13th, 1776. In connection with Miss Scott's hymns we are acquainted directly and indirectly with four manuscripts, each of which is interesting in itself. These are as follows:—
i. The first manuscript is in the library of Yale College, New Haven, Connecticut. Mr. Franklin Bowditch Dexter, M.A., Assistant Librarian, has tabulated the hymns in this ms. for this Dictionary. He says (Jan. 29, 1889): "The label on the back of this volume is 'Hymns & Poems by Eliz. Scott.' There is no title to the ms. pages. Prefixed to the Hymns and Poems there is, however, a long and very tenderly written dedication (in prose) 'To my much Rever'd, much Lov'd, Father,' this signed ‘E. S.' and dated 1740. Then follows (without numbers) the Hymns with titles and first lines as below." Mr. Dexter adds on the first lines and the titles of 90 hymns.
ii. The second manuscript is in our possession. It is headed "Poems on Several Occasion's by Miss Scott of Norwich, who married to Mr. Williams of New England, January 1750/1." Then follow 26 hymns in full. At the end this is written, "These transcribed from Mrs. Williams' Manuscript, Feb. 27, 1751, the week before she left Norwich to go to New England." The whole of these 26 hymns are in the Yale College manuscript.
iii. The third manuscript we have consulted contains 8 hymns which are prefaced with these words, "Copied from a book of Mrs. Bury's, written by her Aunt Miss Elizabeth Scott, afterwards Mrs. Williamson."
iv. In Dr. Dodd's Christian's Magazine for Dec. 1763 we find a writer who signs himself "CL—T." He had at that time a ms. of Miss Scott's hymns with a Dedication to her father prefixed thereto and signed "Eliz Scott." From this ms. he sent "Why droops my soul with guilt oppressed" (Christ, the Great Physician) to the Dec. number of the magazine; "Evil and few our mortal days" (Vanity of human Life), to the Feb. number, 1764, and "What finite power with ceaseless toil" (Praise for Temporal Blessings), to the April number of the same year.
From these facts it is clear that before departing for America Miss Scott allowed copies of her hymns to be made from her manuscript, and it was mainly from these copies that those of her hymns composed before her marriage were printed in the English hymnbooks. None of those hymns date later than 1750. The collections in which they appeared, and through which they came into common use were the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash and Evans, 1769, and the New Selection, &c, by J. Dobell, 1806. In Ash and Evans there are 19 hymns, signed "S.," all of which are in the Yale College manyuscruot under the same first lines except "Was it for man, apostate man ?" but this also may possibly be there under another first line. In Dobell there are 20 hymns signed " Scott” of which 17 are in the Yale College ms., 2 are parts of hymns from Ash and Evans, also in that manuscript, and "Sole Sovereign of the earth and skies," also probably in the ms. under another first line. Of the 90 hymns in the Yale ms., in addition there are also in common use:—
i. From Ash and Evans's Collection of Hymns, 1769.
1. God of my life, to Thee belongs. On Recovery from Sickness.
2. My God, shall I for ever mourn? Covenant-keeping God. From this "Shall e'er the shadow of a change?" is taken (st. iii.).
3. When Abram full of sacred awe. For a Fast Day. Sometimes, “Thus Abram, full of sacred awe."
4. Why, O my heart, these anxious cares? Submis-sion.
ii. From J. Dobell's New Selection, &c, 1806.
5. Dare we indulge to wrath and strife? Against Wrath.
6. Eternal Spirit, 'twas Thy breath. Whitsuntide.
7. For ever shall my fainting soul. Against grieving the Holy Spirit. Sometimes "0 Lord, and shall our fainting souls?"
8. Great God, Thy penetrating eye. God All and in All.
9. The glitt'ring spangles of the sky. The Mercies of God.
10. Thy bounties, gracious Lord. Offertory.
11. Where'er the Lord shall build my house. Family Religion.
--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
================
Scott, Elizabeth, p. 1019, ii. Another of her hymns in common use from the Collection of Ash & Evans, 1769, No. 393, “The Lord of love will sure indulge," is given in some American hymnals as "The God of mercy will indulge" (Death of Parents), with the name of "Fawcett" prefixed in error.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
Elizabeth Scott
Ralph Wardlaw
1779 - 1853 Hymnal Number: 170 Author of "The Lord of life, with glory crowned" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Wardlaw, Ralph, D.D. This venerable and (in his generation) influential Scottish divine contributed twelve hymns to the praise of the Church Universal that are likely to live in a humble and useful way. As having so done, and besides edited several collections of hymns, he claims a place of honour in this work. Critically, and regarded as literature, his hymns have little of poetry in them; no "winged words" to lift the soul heavenward. They reflect simply and plainly the lights and shadows of everyday experiences of the spiritual life, rather than its etherialities and subtleties. His "Lift up to God the voice of praise " is the most widely known; and there is a certain inspiriting clangour about it when well sung; yet it is commonplace. His "Hail morning, known among the blest," is narrative and prosaic, though it filled a gap at the time in Sabbath morning worship. “At the time by God appointed," "Remember Thee! remember Christ!" and "Contemplate, saints, the source divine," have vanishing gleams of imaginative light and fine and tender emotion. "O how good the hallowed union," "Where the sounds of plaintive wailing," and "See the Sun of truth arise," are melodious and singable, and pleasant but shallow. “Christ of all my hopes the ground," (Pt. ii.) "When with wasting sickness worn," is much too long, but is a fairly good song of Zion. Wardlaw published in 1803 a Selection of Hymns, to displace what was called The Tabernacle Collection, 1800, that had been used by the Congregationalists of Scotland, and to which he contributed a few hymns. He was assisted in the preparation of this compilation by Dr. Charles Stuart, of Dunearn. The first edition contained 322 hymns. In 1817 a Supplement was added of 171, bringing up the number to 493. Of these eleven (or twelve strictly) were by Wardlaw. Two of these had previously appeared in the Scottish Missionary Magazine (vol. viii. 48). His hymns bear so very slight a proportion to Dr. Wardlaw's writings as a profound theologian and expositor and thoroughly-equipped controversialist on the chief problems of the period, as to make it necessary to refer the reader to his remarkable Life, by the Rev. Dr. W. L. Alexander, entitled, Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Ralph Wardlaw, D.D. (2nd ed., 1856).
Wardlaw was born at Dalkeith on December 22, 1779, where he received his early education, later attending Glasgow University. His only church was in Glasgow. He died at Easterhouse near Glasgow on Dec. 17, 1853, and his public funeral is still remembered for the representative character of the vast multitude who attended it. [Rev. A. B. Grosart, D.D., LL.D.]
Of Dr. Wardlaw's hymns the following are still in common use:—
1. Glad when they saw the Lord. Easter.
2. Hail, morning known amongst the blest [saints]. Sunday Morning.
3. Lift up to God the voice of praise. Praise to the Father.
4. 0 Lord our God, arise. Missions.
5. Remember Thee, remember Christ. Holy Communion.
6. See the Sun of Truth arise. Christ the Light.
Of these Nos. 3-5 appeared in the Tabernacle Collection, 1800.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
=============
Wardlaw, R., p. 1232, ii. Of his hymns, Nos. 1, 2 are in his Selection, 1803, and No. 6 was added in the Supplement of 1817. This Supplement also contains "O how good the hallowed union," and "Whence the sounds of plaintive wailing," p. 1232, ii.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
Ralph Wardlaw
George Dyer
1755 - 1841 Hymnal Number: 421 Author of "Great Framer of unnumbered worlds" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Dyer, George, B.A., 1755-1841. Educated at Christ's Hospital and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. The friend of Charles Lamb, of Priestley and Wakefield, and biographer of Robert Robinson of Cambridge. In 1792 he moved to London, to chambers in Clifford's Inn, Fleet Street, supporting himself by private tuition and literary work. He was a contributor to the Gentleman's and the Monthly Magazine, for which he wrote the introductory Ode in 1796. From 1809 to 1830 engaged upon Valpy's edition of the Classics, in 141 vols. Author of a History of the University and Colleges of Cambridge, 1814, and of several volumes of verse. Three of his hymns are in Kippis, and frequently in other books.
1. Greatest of beings, source of life. Hymn to the Deity.
2. Greatest of beings, source of life. The same continued.
3. Great Framer of unnumbered worlds. Hymn for a Fast
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
George Dyer
William Dodd
1729 - 1777 Hymnal Number: 12 Author of "Holy, holy, holy Lord, be thy glorious [gracious] name" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches William Dodd (29 May 1729 – 27 June 1777) was an English Anglican clergyman and a man of letters. He lived extravagantly, and was nicknamed the "Macaroni Parson". He dabbled in forgery in an effort to clear his debts, was caught, convicted, and, despite a public campaign for a Royal pardon, became the last person to be hanged at Tyburn for forgery.
Dodd was born in Bourne in Lincolnshire, the son of the local vicar. He attended Clare Hall in the University of Cambridge from 1745 to 1750, where he achieved academic success and graduated as a wrangler.[1] He then moved to London, where his spendthrift habits soon left him in debt. He married impulsively on 15 April 1751, to Mary Perkins, daughter of a domestic servant, leaving his finances in an even more precarious position.
At the urging of his concerned father, he decided to take holy orders, and was ordained a deacon in 1751 and a priest in 1753, serving as a curate in a church in West Ham, then as a preacher at St James Garlickhythe, and then at St Olave Hart Street. He became a popular and fashionable preacher, and was appointed as a chaplain in ordinary to the King in 1763. He became a prebend in Brecon, and was a tutor to Philip Stanhope, later 5th Earl of Chesterfield. He became chaplain to the King, and became a Doctor of Laws at Cambridge University in 1766. After he won £1,000 in a lottery, he became involved in schemes to build the Charlotte Chapel in Pimlico, and bought a share of the Charlotte Chapel in Bloomsbury. Despite his profession, he continued his extravagant lifestyle, and became known as the "maccaroni parson". In 1772, he became rector of Hockliffe, in Bedfordshire, and vicar of Chalgrove
In 1774, in an attempt to rectify his depleted finances, he attempted to obtain the lucrative position of rector of St George's, Hanover Square. He wrote a letter to Lady Apsley, wife of the Lord Chancellor, offering her £3,000 to secure the position. The letter was traced back to Dodd, and he was dismissed from his existing posts. He became an object of public ridicule, and was taunted as Dr Simony in a play by Samuel Foote in the Haymarket Theatre. He spent two years abroad, in Geneva and France, while the scandal subsided. He returned to England in 1776. In The Luck of Barry Lyndon Thackeray has his protagonist refer to meeting 'Dr Simony' in Soho and to a friendship with Foote.
In February 1777, he forged a bond for £4,200 in the name of his former pupil, the Earl of Chesterfield, to clear his debts. A banker accepted the bond in good faith, and lent him money on the strength of it. Later the banker noticed a small blot in the text and had the document re-written. When the clean copy was presented to the Earl to sign, in order to replace the old one, the forgery was discovered. Dodd immediately confessed, and begged time to make amends. He was, however, imprisoned in the Wood Street Compter pending trial. He was convicted, and sentenced to death (see the full record of the trial under External References below.) Samuel Johnson wrote several papers in his defence, and some 23,000 people signed a 37-page petition seeking a pardon. Nevertheless, Dodd was publicly hanged at Tyburn on 27 June 1777.
He wrote several published works, including poems, a novel, and theological tracts. His most successful work was The Beauties of Shakespeare (1752). He also wrote a Commentary on the Bible (1765–1770), and composed the blank verse Thoughts in Prison while in Newgate Prison between his conviction and execution.
--en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
William Dodd
Mrs. Carter
Person Name: Carter Hymnal Number: 20 Author of "Thou Power supreme, by whose command we live" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
Mrs. Carter
Thomas Park
b. 1760 Person Name: T. Park Hymnal Number: 19 Author of "My soul, praise the Lord, speak good [well] of" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Park, Thomas, F.S.A., was born in 1760 and died in 1835. He was an engraver, but found more congenial work in literary pursuits. In addition to publishing Nugæ Modernæ, an original work of prose and poetry, in 1818, he also edited several works, including the Works of J. Hammond, 1805; Works of John Dryden, 1806; the Works of the British Poets, in 42 small volumes, 1808; Poetical Works of Isaac Watts, 1807, and others.
His hymn:—
My soul, praise the Lord, speak good of His Name, His mercies record, &c, Ps. civ., or Universal Praise, appeared in Psalms & Hymns. Selected from Various Authors, with Occasional Alterations, for Use of a Parochial Church. By a Country Clergyman. London: Bulmer 1807, p. 556, in 5 st. of 8 1. There is appended thereto the following note:—
"At the moment of closing this little collection I am favoured with the above hymn from my obliging friend. This almost extemporaneous effusion of his peculiarly neat and poetic pen was excited by my expressing (in a letter soliciting some psalmodic information) regret that I had only one set of words for Handel's simple, sublime tune for the 104th Psalm."
For these details we are indebted to Miller's Singers and Songs of the Church, 1869, p. 329. The opening line of this hymn is composed of the first two lines of W. Kethe's version of Ps. civ. in the Old Version, 1561.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Thomas Park
Samuel Collett
Hymnal Number: 77 Author of "Through all the various [varying] shifting [passing] scene" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
Samuel Collett
Robert Aspland
1782 - 1845 Hymnal Number: 103 Author of "Sons of Adam, join to raise Songs of gratitude and praise" in A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Aspland, Robert, 1782-1845. Minister at Hackney, founder and for many years editor of the Monthly Repository and the Christian Reformer. In his Psalms and Hymns for Unitarian Worship, 1810, are three hymns signed “A."
1. Almighty Father of mankind! Jehovah, self-existent Lord. To the One God.
2. Sons of Adam! join to raise. Creation, Redemption, and Restoration.
3. Welcome, the hope of Israel's race! The glory of the Man Jesus.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Robert Aspland
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