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Charles Wesley

1707 - 1788 Person Name: C. Wesley Hymnal Number: 391 Author of "Let saints on earth in concert sing" in The Hymnal 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) ================== 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.

Isaac Watts

1674 - 1748 Person Name: Dr. Watts Hymnal Number: 392b Author of "Not to the terrors of the Lord" in The Hymnal 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. ================================= 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) ================================== 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) ================= 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) =========== See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

Henry Francis Lyte

1793 - 1847 Person Name: Rev. H. F. Lyte Hymnal Number: 12a Author of "Abide with me: fast fall the eventide" in The Hymnal Lyte, Henry Francis, M.A., son of Captain Thomas Lyte, was born at Ednam, near Kelso, June 1, 1793, and educated at Portora (the Royal School of Enniskillen), and at Trinity College, Dublin, of which he was a Scholar, and where he graduated in 1814. During his University course he distinguished himself by gaining the English prize poem on three occasions. At one time he had intended studying Medicine; but this he abandoned for Theology, and took Holy Orders in 1815, his first curacy being in the neighbourhood of Wexford. In 1817, he removed to Marazion, in Cornwall. There, in 1818, he underwent a great spiritual change, which shaped and influenced the whole of his after life, the immediate cause being the illness and death of a brother clergyman. Lyte says of him:— "He died happy under the belief that though he had deeply erred, there was One whose death and sufferings would atone for his delinquencies, and be accepted for all that he had incurred;" and concerning himself he adds:— "I was greatly affected by the whole matter, and brought to look at life and its issue with a different eye than before; and I began to study my Bible, and preach in another manner than I had previously done." From Marazion he removed, in 1819, to Lymington, where he composed his Tales on the Lord's Prayer in verse (pub. in 1826); and in 1823 he was appointed Perpetual Curate of Lower Brixham, Devon. That appointment he held until his death, on Nov. 20, 1847. His Poems of Henry Vaughan, with a Memoir, were published in 1846. His own Poetical works were:— (1) Poems chiefly Religious 1833; 2nd ed. enlarged, 1845. (2) The Spirit of the Psalms, 1834, written in the first instance for use in his own Church at Lower Brixham, and enlarged in 1836; (3) Miscellaneous Poems (posthumously) in 1868. This last is a reprint of the 1845 ed. of his Poems, with "Abide with me" added. (4) Remains, 1850. Lyte's Poems have been somewhat freely drawn upon by hymnal compilers; but by far the larger portion of his hymns found in modern collections are from his Spirit of the Psalms. In America his hymns are very popular. In many instances, however, through mistaking Miss Auber's (q. v.) Spirit of the Psalms, 1829, for his, he is credited with more than is his due. The Andover Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858, is specially at fault in this respect. The best known and most widely used of his compositions are "Abide with me, fast falls the eventide;” “Far from my heavenly home;" "God of mercy, God of grace;" "Pleasant are Thy courts above;" "Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;" and "There is a safe and secret place." These and several others are annotated under their respective first lines: the rest in common use are:— i. From his Poems chiefly Religious, 1833 and 1845. 1. Above me hangs the silent sky. For Use at Sea. 2. Again, 0 Lord, I ope mine eyes. Morning. 3. Hail to another Year. New Year. 4. How good, how faithful, Lord, art Thou. Divine care of Men. 5. In tears and trials we must sow (1845). Sorrow followed by Joy. 6. My [our] rest is in heaven, my [our] rest is not here. Heaven our Home. 7. 0 Lord, how infinite Thy love. The Love of God in Christ. 8. Omniscient God, Thine eye divine. The Holy Ghost Omniscient. 9. The leaves around me falling. Autumn. 10. The Lord hath builded for Himself. The Universe the Temple of God. 11. Vain were all our toil and labour. Success is of God. 12. When at Thy footstool, Lord, I bend. Lent. 13. When earthly joys glide swift away. Ps. cii. 14. Wilt Thou return to me, O Lord. Lent. 15. With joy we hail the sacred day. Sunday. ii. From his Spirit of the Psalms, 1834. 16. Be merciful to us, O God. Ps. lvii. 17. Blest is the man who knows the Lord. Ps. cxii. 18. Blest is the man whose spirit shares. Ps. xli. 19. From depths of woe to God I cry. Ps. cxxxx. 20. Gently, gently lay Thy rod. Ps. vi. 21. Glorious Shepherd of the sheep. Ps. xxiii. 22. Glory and praise to Jehovah on high. Ps. xxix. 23. God in His Church is known. Ps. lxxvi. 24. God is our Refuge, tried and proved. Ps. xlvi. 25. Great Source of my being. Ps. lxxiii. 26. Hear, O Lord, our supplication. Ps. lxiv. 27. How blest the man who fears the Lord. Ps.cxxviii. 28. Humble, Lord, my haughty spirit. Ps. cxxxi. 29. In this wide, weary world of care. Ps. cxxxii. 30. In vain the powers of darkness try. Ps.lii. 31. Jehovah speaks, let man be awed. Ps. xlix. 32. Judge me, O Lord, and try my heart. Ps. xxvi. 33. Judge me, O Lord, to Thee I fly. Ps. xliii. 34. Lord, I have sinned, but O forgive. Ps. xli. 35. Lord, my God, in Thee I trust. Ps. vii. 36. Lord of the realms above, Our Prophet, &c. Ps.xlv. 37. Lone amidst the dead and dying. Ps. lxii. 38. Lord God of my salvation. Ps. lxxxviii. 39. Lord, I look to Thee for all. Ps. xxxi. 40. Lord, I would stand with thoughtful eye. Ps. lxix. 41. Lord, my God, in Thee I trust. Ps. vii. 42. My God, my King, Thy praise I sing. Ps. cviii. 43. My God, what monuments I see. Ps. xxxvi. 44. My spirit on [to] Thy care. Ps. xxxi. 45. My trust is in the Lord. Ps. xi. 46. Not unto us, Almighty Lord [God]. Ps. cxv. 47. O God of glory, God of grace. Ps. xc. 48. O God of love, how blest are they. Ps. xxxvii. 49. O God of love, my God Thou art. Ps. lxiii. 50. O God of truth and grace. Ps. xviii. 51. O had I, my Saviour, the wings of a dove. Ps. lv. 52. O how blest the congregation. Ps. lxxxix. 53. O how safe and [how] happy he. Ps. xci. 54. O plead my cause, my Saviour plead. Ps. xxxv. 55. O praise the Lord, 'tis sweet to raise. Ps. cxlvii. 56. O praise the Lord; ye nations, pour. Ps. cxvii. 57. O praise ye the Lord With heart, &c. Ps. cxlix. 58. O that the Lord's salvation. Ps. xiv. 59. O Thou Whom thoughtless men condemn. Ps. xxxvi. 60. Of every earthly stay bereft. Ps. lxxiv. 61. Our hearts shall praise Thee, God of love. Ps. cxxxviii. 62. Pilgrims here on earth and strangers. Ps. xvi. 63. Praise for Thee, Lord, in Zion waits. Ps. lxv. 64. Praise to God on high be given. Ps. cxxxiv. 65. Praise ye the Lord, His servants, raise. Ps. cxiii. 66. Redeem'd from guilt, redeem'd from fears. Ps. cxvi. 67. Save me by Thy glorious name. Ps. liv. 68. Shout, ye people, clap your hands. Ps. xlvii. 69. Sing to the Lord our might. Ps. lxxxi. 70. Strangers and pilgrims here below. Ps. cix. 71. Sweet is the solemn voice that calls. Ps. cxxii. 72. The Church of God below. Ps. lxxxvii. 73. The Lord is King, let earth be glad. Ps. xcvii. 74. The Lord is on His throne. Ps. xciii. 75. The Lord is our Refuge, the Lord is our Guide. Ps. xlvii. 76. The mercies of my God and King. Ps. lxxxix. 77. The Lord Who died on earth for men. Ps. xxi. 78. Tis a pleasant thing to fee. Ps. cxxxiii. 79. Thy promise, Lord, is perfect peace. Ps. iii. 80. Unto Thee I lift mine [my] eyes. Ps. cxxiii. 81. Whom shall [should] we love like Thee? Ps. xviii. Lyte's versions of the Psalms are criticised where their sadness, tenderness and beauty are set forth. His hymns in the Poems are characterized by the same features, and rarely swell out into joy and gladness. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================== Lyte, Henry Francis, p. 706, i. Additional versions of Psalms are in common use:-- 1. Lord, a thousand foes surround us. Psalms lix. 2. Praise, Lord, for Thee in Zion waits. Psalms lxv. 3. The Christian like his Lord of old. Psalms cxl. 4. The Lord of all my Shepherd is. Psalms xxiii. 5. The Lord of heaven to earth is come. Psalms xcviii. 6. Thy mercy, Lord, the sinner's hope. Psalms xxxvi. 7. To Thee, O Lord, in deep distress. Psalms cxlii. Sometimes given as "To God I turned in wild distress." 8. Uphold me, Lord, too prone to stray. Psalms i. 9. When Jesus to our [my] rescue came. Psalms cxxvi. These versions appeared in the 1st edition of Lyte's Spirit of the Psalms, 1834. It must be noted that the texts of the 1834, the 1836, and the 3rd ed., 1858, vary considerably, but Lyte was not responsible for the alterations and omissions in the last, which was edited by another hand for use at St. Mark's, Torquay. Lyte's version of Psalms xxix., "Glory and praise to Jehovah on high" (p. 706, ii., 22), first appeared in his Poems, 1st ed., 1833, p. 25. Read also No. 39 as "Lord, I look for all to Thee." --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

John Keble

1792 - 1866 Person Name: Rev. J. Keble Hymnal Number: 1 Author of "New ev'ry morning is the love" in The Hymnal Keble, John, M.A., was born at Fairford, in Gloucestershire, on St. Mark's Day, 1792. His father was Vicar of Coln St. Aldwin's, about three miles distant, but lived at Fairford in a house of his own, where he educated entirely his two sons, John and Thomas, up to the time of their entrance at Oxford. In 1806 John Keble won a Scholarship at Corpus Christi College, and in 1810 a Double First Class, a distinction which up to that time had been gained by no one except Sir Robert Peel. In 1811 he was elected a Fellow of Oriel, a very great honour, especially for a boy under 19 years of age; and in 1811 he won the University Prizes both for the English and Latin Essays. It is somewhat remarkable that amid this brilliantly successful career, one competition in which the future poet was unsuccessful was that for English verse, in which he was defeated by Mr. Rolleston. After his election at Oriel, he resided in College, and engaged in private tuition. At the close of 1813 he was appointed Examining Master in the Schools, and was an exceedingly popular and efficient examiner. On Trinity Sunday, 1815, he was ordained Deacon, and in 1816 Priest, by the Bishop of Oxford, and became Curate of East Leach and Burthorpe, though he still continued to reside at Oxford. In 1818 he was appointed College Tutor at Oriel, which office he retained until 1823. On the death of his mother in the same year, he left Oxford, and returned to live with his father and two surviving sisters at Fairford. In addition to East Leach and Burthorpe, he also accepted the Curacy of Southrop, and the two brothers, John and Thomas, undertook the duties between them, at the same time helping their father at Coln. It should be added, as an apology for Keble thus becoming a sort of pluralist among "the inferior clergy," that the population of all his little cures did not exceed 1000, nor the income £100 a year. In 1824 came the only offer of a dignity in the Church, and that a very humble one, which he ever received. The newly-appointed Bishop of Barbadoes (Coleridge) wished Keble to go out with him as Archdeacon, and but for his father's delicate state of health, he would probably have accepted the offer. In 1825 he became Curate of Hursley, on the recommendation of his old pupil, Sir William Heathcote; but in 1826, on the death of his sister, Mary Ann, he returned to Fairford, feeling that he ought not to separate himself from his father and only surviving sister. He supplied his father's place at Coln entirely. 1827 was memorable for the publication of The Christian Year, and 1828 for the election to the Provostship of Oriel, which his friends, rather than himself, seem to have been anxious to secure for him. In 1829 the living of Hursley was offered to him by Sir William Heathcote, but declined on the ground that he could not leave his father. In 1830 he published his admirable edition of Hooker's Works. In 1831 the Bishop of Exeter (Dr. Philpotts) offered him the valuable living of Paignton, but it was declined for the same reason that Hursley had been declined. In the same year he was also elected to the Poetry Professorship at Oxford. His Praelectiones in that capacity were much admired. In 1833 he preached his famous Assize Sermon at Oxford, which is said by Dr. Newman to have given the first start to the Oxford Movement. Very soon after the publication of this sermon the Tracts for the Times began to be issued. Of these Tracts Keble wrote Nos. 4, 13, 40, and 89. In 1835 his father died, and Keble and his sister retired from Fairford to Coln. In the same year he married Miss Clarke and the Vicarage of Hursley, again becoming vacant, was again offered to him by Sir W. Heathcote, and as the reason for his previous refusal of it no longer existed, he accepted the offer, and in 1836 settled at Hursley for the remainder of his life. That life was simply the life of a devoted and indefatigable parish priest, varied by intellectual pursuits. In 1864 his health began to give way, and on March 29, 1866, he passed away, his dearly loved wife only surviving him six weeks. Both are buried, side by side, in Hursley churchyard. In his country vicarage he was not idle with his pen. In 1839 he published his Metrical Version of the Psalms. The year before, he began to edit, in conjunction with Drs. Pusey and Newman, the Library of the Fathers. In 1846 he published the Lyra Innocentium, and in 1847 a volume of Academical and Occasional Sermons. His pen then seems to have rested for nearly ten years, when the agitation about the Divorce Bill called forth from him in 1851 an essay entitled, An Argument for not proceeding immediately to repeal the Laws which treat the Nuptial Bond as Indissoluble; and in the same year the decision of Archbishop Sumner in the Denison case elicited another essay, the full title of which is The Worship of Our Lord and Saviour in the Sacrament of the Holy Communion, but which is shortly entitled, Eucharistical Adoration. In 1863 he published his last work, The Life of Bishop Wilson (of Sodor and Man). This cost him more pains than anything he wrote, but it was essentially a labour of love. In the popular sense of the word "hymn," Keble can scarcely be called a hymnwriter at all. Very many of his verses have found their way into popular collections of Hymns for Public Worship, but these are mostly centos. Often they are violently detached from their context in a way which seriously damages their significance. Two glaring instances of this occur in the Morning and Evening hymns. In the former the verse "Only, O Lord, in Thy dear love, Fit us for perfect rest above," loses half its meaning when the preceding verse, ending "The secret this of rest below," is excised, as it generally is in collections for public worship, and the same may be said of that most familiar of all Keble's lines, "Sun of my soul, thou Saviour dear," which has of course especial reference to the preceding verse, "'Tis gone, that bright and orbed blaze," &c. The Lyra Innocentium has furnished but few verses which have been adopted into hymn collections; the Psalter has been more fortunate, but the translations from the Latin are almost unknown. Taking, however, the word "hymn" in the wider sense in which Dr. Johnson defines it, as "a song of adoration to some superior being," Keble stands in the very first rank of hymnwriters. His uneventful life was the very ideal life for such a poet as Keble was, but not the sort of life which would be best adapted to train a popular hymnwriter. The Christian Year and the Lyra Innocentium reflect in a remarkable degree the surroundings of the writer. They are essentially the works of a refined and cultured mind, and require a refined and cultured mind to enter into their spirit. Keble, all his life long, and never more than in the earlier portion of it, before he wrote, and when he was writing The Christian Year, breathed an atmosphere of culture and refinement. He had imbibed neither the good nor the evil which the training of a public or even of a private, school brings. It was not even the ordinary home education which he had received. He had been trained, up to the very time of his going to college, by his father, who was clearly a man of culture and refinement, and had been himself successively Scholar and Fellow of Corpus. When he went to Oxford, he can scarcely be said to have entered into the whirl of university life. The Corpus of those days has been admirably described by Keble's own biographer, Sir John Coleridge, and by Dean Stanley in his Life of Dr. Arnold; and the impression which the two vivid pictures leave upon the mind is that of a home circle, on rather a large scale, composed of about twenty youths, all more or less scholarly and refined, and some of them clearly destined to become men of mark. When he removed across the road to Oriel, he found himself in the midst of a still more distinguished band. Whether at home or at college he had never come into contact with anything rude or coarse. And his poetry is just what one would expect from such a career. Exquisitely delicate and refined thoughts, expressed in the most delicate and refined language, are characteristic of it all. Even the occasional roughnesses of versification may not be altogether unconnected with the absence of a public school education, when public schools laid excessive stress upon the form of composition, especially in verse. The Christian Year again bears traces of the life which the writer led, in a clerical atmosphere, just at the eve of a great Church Revival, "cujus pars magna fuit." “You know," he writes to a friend, “the C. Y. (as far as I remember it) everywhere supposes the Church to be in a state of decay." Still more obviously is this the case in regard to the Lyra Innocentium. It was being composed during the time when the writer was stricken by what he always seems to have regarded as the great sorrow of his life. Not the death of his nearest relations—-and he had several trials of this kind—-not the greatest of his own personal troubles dealt to him so severe a blow as the secession of J. H. Newman to the Church of Rome. The whole circumstances of the fierce controversy connected with the Tract movement troubled and unsettled him; and one can well understand with what a sense of relief he turned to write, not for, but about, little children, a most important distinction, which has too often been unnoticed. If the Lyra had been written for children it would have been an almost ludicrous failure, for the obscurity which has been frequently complained of in The Christian Year, is still more conspicuous in the latter work. The title is somewhat misleading, and has caused it to be regarded as a suitable gift-book for the young, who are quite incapable of appreciating it. For the Lyra is written in a deeper tone, and expresses the more matured convictions of the author; and though it is a far less successful achievement as a whole, it rises in places to a higher strain of poetry than The Christian Year does. Another marked feature of Keble's poetry is to a great extent traceable to his early life, viz. the wonderful accuracy and vividness of his descriptions of natural scenery. The ordinary schoolboy or undergraduate cares little for natural scenery. The country is to him a mere playing field. But Keble's training led him to love the country for its own sake. Hence, as Dean Stanley remarks, “Oxford, Bagley Wood, and the neighbourhood of Hursley might be traced through hundreds of lines, both in The Christian Year and the Lyra Innocentium.” The same writer testifies, with an authority which no other Englishman could claim, to "the exactness of the descriptions of Palestine, which he [Keble] had never visited.” And may not this remarkable fact be also traced to some extent to his early training? Brought up under the immediate supervision of a pious father, whom he venerated and loved dearly, he had been encouraged to study intelligently his Bible in a way in which a boy differently educated was not likely to do. Hence, as Sir John Coleridge remarks, "The Christian Year is so wonderfully scriptural. Keble's mind was, by long, patient and affectionate study of Scripture, so imbued with it that its language, its train of thought, its mode of reasoning, seems to flow out into his poetry, almost, one should think, unconsciously to himself." To this may we not add that the same intimate knowledge of the Bible had rendered the memory of the Holy Land so familiar to him that he was able to describe it as accurately as if he had seen it? One other early influence of Keble's life upon his poetry must be noticed. Circumstances brought him into contact with the "Lake poets." The near relation of one of the greatest of them had been his college friend, and John Coleridge introduced him to the writings not only of his uncle, S. T. Coleridge, but also of Wordsworth, to whom he dedicated his Praelectiones, and whose poetry and personal character he admired enthusiastically. To the same college friend he was indebted for an introduction to Southey, whom he found to be "a noble and delightful character," and there is no doubt that the writings of these three great men, but especially Wordsworth, had very much to do with the formation of Keble's own mind as a poet. It has been remarked that in Keble's later life his poetical genius seemed to have, to a great extent, forsaken him; and that the Miscellaneous Poems do not show many traces of the spirit which animated The Christian Year and the Lyra Innocentium. Perhaps one reason for this change may be found in the increased interest "which Keble took in public questions which were not conducive to the calm, introspective state of mind so necessary to the production of good poetry. The poet should live in a world of his own, not in a world perpetually wrangling about University Reform, about Courts of Final Appeal, about Marriage with Deceased Wife's Sister, and other like matters into which Keble, in his later years, threw himself—heart and soul. It is not needful to say much about Keble's other poetical works, The Psalter was not a success, and Keble did not expect it to be. It was undertaken," he tells us, "in the first instance with a serious apprehension, which has since grown into a full conviction, that the thing attempted is, strictly speaking, impossible." At the same time, if Keble did not achieve what he owned to be impossible, he produced a version which has the rare merit of never offending against good taste; one which in every line reflects the mind of the cultured and elegant scholar, who had been used to the work of translating from other languages into English. Hymnal compilers have hitherto strangely neglected this volume; but it is a volume worth the attention of the hymn compiler of the future. There is scarcely a verse in it which would do discredit to any hymnbook; while there are parts which would be an acquisition to any collection. His translations from the Latin have not commended themselves to hymnal compilers. Some of his detached hymns have been more popular. But it is after all as writer of The Christian Year that Keble has established his claim to be reckoned among the immortals. It would be hardly too much to say that what the Prayer Book is in prose, The Christian Year is in poetry. They never pall upon one; they realise Keble's own exquisite simile:— "As for some dear familiar strain Untired we ask, and ask again; Ever in its melodious store Finding a spell unheard before." And it would hardly be too bold to prophesy that The Christian Year will live as long as the Prayer Book, whose spirit Keble had so thoroughly imbibed, and whose "soothing influence" it was his especial object to illustrate and commend. [Rev. John H. 0verton, D.D.] Keble's hymns, poetical pieces, and translations appeared in the following works :— (1.) The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and Holy days Throughout the Year. Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1827. Preface dated "May 30th, 1827." The last poem, that on the “Commination," is dated March 9, 1827. The poems on the "Forms of Prayer to be used at Sea," "Gunpowder Treason," "King Charles the Martyr," "The Restoration of the Royal Family," "The Accession," and "Ordination," were added to the 4th edition, 1828. The Messrs. Parker have pub. a large number of editions to date, including a facsimile reprint of the first edition, and an edition with the addition of the dates of composition of each poem. A facsimile of Keble's manuscript as it existed in 1822 was also lithographed in 1882, by Eliot Stock, but its publication was suppressed by a legal injunction, and only a few copies came into the hands of the public. Since the expiration of the first copyright other publishers have issued the work in various forms. (2.) Contributions to the British Magazine, which were included in Lyra Apostolica, 1836, with the signature of "γ." (3.) The Psalter or Psalms of David; In English Verse; By a Member of the University of Oxford. Adapted for the most part, to Tunes in Common Use; and dedicated by permission to the Lord Bishop of Oxford. . . . Oxford, John Henry Parker: J. G. & F. Rivington, London, MDCCCXXXIX. Preface dated “Oxford, May 29, 1839." (4.) The Child's Christian Year: Hymns for every Sunday and Holy-Day. Compiled for the use of Parochial Schools. Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1841. This was compiled by Mrs. Yonge. Keble wrote the Preface, dated “Hursley, Nov. 6, 1841," and signed it “J. K." To it he contributed the four poems noted below. (5.) Lyra Innocentium: Thoughts in Verse on Christian Children, their Ways and their Privileges . . . Oxford: John Henry Parker : F. & J. Rivington, London, 1846. The Metrical Address (in place of Preface) “To all Friendly Readers," is dated "Feb. 8, 1846." (6.) Lays of the Sanctuary, and otter Poems. Compiled and Edited by G. Stevenson de M. Rutherford... London: Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1859. This was a volume of poems published on behalf of Mrs. Elizabeth Good. To it Keble contributed the three pieces noted below. (7.) The Salisbury Hymn-Book 1857. Edited by Earl Nelson. To this be contributed a few hymns, some translations from the Latin, and some rewritten forms of well-known hymns, as "Guide me, 0 Thou great Jehovah," &c. (8.) Miscellaneous Poems by the. Rev. J. Keble, M.A., Vicar of Hursley. Oxford and London: Parker & Co., 1869. The excellent Preface to this posthumous work is dated "Chester, Feb. 22, 1869," and is signed "G.M," i.e. by George Moberly, late Bishop of Salisbury. This volume contains Keble's Ode written for the Installation of the Duke of Wellington as Chancellor of the University of Oxford, in 1834, his poems from the Lyra Apostolica, his hymns named above, his translations from the Latin, and other pieces not published in his works. The most important centos from The Christian Year, which are in common use as hymns, and also the hymns contributed to the Salisbury Hymn Book, 1857, are annotated in full under the first lines of the original poems. The translations from the Latin and Greek are given under the first lines of the originals. There are also several of his more important pieces noted in the body of this work. Those that …have no special history, are the following (the dates given being those of the composition of each piece):— i. From The Christian Year, 1827 and 1828. 1. Creator, Saviour, strengthening Guide. Trinity Sunday. (March 3, 1826.) 2. Father, what treasures of sweet thought. Churching of Women. (March 13, 1827.) 3. God is not in the earthquake: but behold. 9th Sunday after Trinity. The still mall voice. (Aug. 13,1822.) 4. In troublous days of anguish and rebuke. 9th S. after Trinity. The still small voice. (Aug. 13, 1822.) 5. Lessons sweet of spring returning. 1st Sunday after Epiphany. Spring. (May 17,1824.) 6. My Saviour, can it ever be? 4th Sunday after Easter. The promised Comforter. 7. 0 Father of long suffering grace. 18th Sunday after Trinity. God's longsuffering. (Oct. 6, 1823.) 8. 0 God of mercy, God of might, How should, &c. Holy Communion. (Jan. 31, 1827.) 9. 0 Lord my God, do Thou Thy holy will. Wednesday before Easter. Resignation. (Aug. 13, 1821.) 10. 0 say not, dream [think] not, heavenly notes. Catechism. (Feb. 16, 1827.) 11. 0 shame upon thee, listless heart. SS. Philip & James. (Aug. 3, 1825.) 12. 0 who shall dare in this frail scene? St. Mark's Day. (1820.) 13. Red o'er the forest peers the setting sun. 23rd Sunday after Trinity. The Resurrection of the body. (Nov. 12, 1825.) 14. Spirit of Christ, Thine earnest give. Ordination. (March 28, 1828.) 15. Spirit of light and truth, to Thee. Ordination. (March 28, 1828.) 16. Spirit of might and sweetness too. Confirmation. (Feb. 21, 1827.) 17. Sweet nurslings of the vernal skies. 15th S. after Trinity. Consider the lilies. Live for today. (Feb. 3, 1826) 18. The days of hope and prayer are past. 4th Sunday after Easter. The promised Comforter. 19. The live-long night we've toiled in vain. 5th Sunday after Trinity. Miracle of the Fishes. (1821.) 20. The midday sun with fiercest glare. Conversion of St. Paul. (Mar. 2,1822.) 21. The shadow of the Almighty's cloud. Confirmation. (Feb. 22, 1827.) 22. The silent joy that sinks so deep. 2nd Sunday after Epiphany. Turning Water into Wine. 23. Then, fainting soul, arise and sing. 4th Sunday after Easter. The promised Comforter. 24. When brothers part for manhood's race. St. Andrew's Day. (Jan. 27, 1822.) 25. Who is God’s chosen priest ? St. Matthias's Day. 26. Why doth my Saviour weep? 10th Sunday after Trinity. Christ weeping over Jerusalem. (1819.) 27. Why should we faint and fear to live alone? 24th Sunday after Trinity. God's goodness in veiling the future. (June 7, 1825.) 28. Wish not, dear friends, my pain away. 16th Sunday after Trinity. Resignation. (1824.) ii. From The Psalter, 1839. 29. From deeps so wild and drear. Ps. cxxx. 30. God our Hope and Strength abiding. Ps. xlvi. 31. How pleasant, Lord of hosts, how dear. Ps. lxxxiv. 32. Lord, be my Judge, for I have trod. Ps. xxvi. 33. Lord, Thy heart in love hath yearned. Ps. lxxxv. 34. Lord, Thou hast search'd me out and known. Ps. cxxxix 35. My God, my God, why hast Thou me? Ps. xxii. 36. My Shepherd is the living God. Ps. xxiii. 37. My Shepherd is the Lord; J know. Ps. xxiii. 38. Praise the Lord, for He is love. Ps. cxxxvi. 39. Praise ye the Lord from heaven. Ps.cxlviii. 40. Sing the song unheard before. Ps. xcvi. 41. Sound high Jehovah's Name. Ps. cxxxv. 42. The earth is all the Lord's, with all. Ps. xxiv. 43. The mercies of the Lord my God. Ps. lxxxix. 44. The seed of Jacob, one and all. Ps. xxii. iii. From The Child's Christian Year, 1841, and later editions. 45. Bethlehem, above all cities blest. Innocents’ Day. 46. Lo, from the Eastern hills the Lord. l0th Sunday after Trinity. The Gospel. (Late editions.) 47. Our God in glory sits on high. 1st Sunday after Easter. The Epistle. 48. When Christ to village comes or town. 16th Sunday after Trinity. The Gospel. (Late editions.) iv. From Lyra Innocentium, 1846. 49. Christ before thy door is waiting. Presence of Christ in His poor; or, Offertory. 50. How [When] the new-born saints, assembling. Offertory. 51. Once in His Name Who made thee. Holy Baptism. 52. Who for the like of me will care? Naamans' Servant-maid v. From Lays of the Sanctuary, 1859. 53. Lord, lift my heart to Thee at morn. Emigrant's Midnight Hymn. 54. O Love unseen, we know Thee nigh. Cento from No. 53. 55. Slowly the gleaming stars retire. Morning Hymn for Emigrants at Sea. 56. The twilight hour is sweet at home. Evening hymn for Emigrants at Sea. The editor of Keble's Miscellaneous Poems says concerning Nos. 53, 55, and 56:— "The three hymns for Emigrants, for use at Midnight, Morning, and Evening, were written at the request of his friend Sir Frederic Rogers, at that time Emigration Commissioner. They were printed in the first edition of the ‘Prayers for Emigrants, which he had compiled, but were subsequently omitted, perhaps as being thought not sufficiently simple for the class of people for whose use the Book of Prayers was chiefly intended." Preface, p. vi. It is found that nearly 100 hymns (counting centos as such) by Keble are in common use at the present time, and of these some rank with the finest and most popular in the English language. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Thomas Ken

1637 - 1711 Person Name: Bishop Ken Hymnal Number: 2a Author of "Awake, my soul, and with the sun" in The Hymnal 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)

Frederick William Faber

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

Christopher Wordsworth

1807 - 1885 Person Name: Bp. Chr Wordsworth Hymnal Number: 7 Author of "The day is gently sinking to a close" in The Hymnal Christopher Wordsworth--nephew of the great lake-poet, William Wordsworth--was born in 1807. He was educated at Winchester, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A., with high honours, in 1830; M.A. in 1833; D.D. in 1839. He was elected Fellow of his College in 1830, and public orator of the University in 1836; received Priest's Orders in 1835; head master of Harrow School in 1836; Canon of Westminster Abbey in 1844; Hulsean Lecturer at Cambridge in 1847-48; Vicar of Stanford-in-the-Vale, Berks, in 1850; Archdeacon of Westminster, in 1865; Bishop of Lincoln, in 1868. His writings are numerous, and some of them very valuable. Most of his works are in prose. His "Holy Year; or, Hymns for Sundays, Holidays, and other occasions throughout the Year," was published in [1862], and contains 127 hymns. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872. =================== Wordsworth, Christopher, D.D., was born at Lambeth (of which parish his father was then the rector), Oct. 30, 1807, and was the youngest son of Christopher Wordsworth, afterwards Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Priscilla (née Lloyd) his wife. He was educated at Winchester, where he distinguished himself both as a scholar and as an athlete. In 1826 he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where his career was an extraordinarily brilliant one. He swept off an unprecedented number of College and University prizes, and in 1830 graduated as Senior Classic in the Classical Tripos, and 14th Senior Optime in the Mathematical, won the First Chancellor's Medal for classical studies, and was elected Fellow of Trinity. He was engaged as classical lecturer in college for some time, and in 1836 was chosen Public Orator for the University. In the same year he was elected Head Master of Harrow School, and in 1838 he married Susan Hatley Freere. During his head-mastership the numbers at Harrow fell off, but he began a great moral reform in the school, and many of his pupils regarded him with enthusiastic admiration. In 1844 he was appointed by Sir Robert Peel to a Canonry at Westminster; and in 1848-49 he was Hulsean lecturer at Cambridge. In 1850 he took the small chapter living of Stanford-in-the-Vale cum Goosey, in Berkshire, and for the next nineteen years he passed his time as an exemplary parish priest in this retired spot, with the exception of his four months' statutable residence each year at Westminster. In 1869 he was elevated to the bishopric of Lincoln, which he held for more than fifteen years, resigning it a few months before his death, which took place on March 20th, 1885. As bearing upon his poetical character, it may be noted that he was the nephew of the poet-laureate, William Wordsworth, whom he constantly visited at Rydal up to the time of the poet's death in 1850, and with whom he kept up a regular and lengthy correspondence. Christopher Wordsworth was a very voluminous writer, his principal works being:— (1) Athens and Attica, 1836; (2) Pompeian Inscriptions, 1837; (3) Greece Pictorial and Descriptive, 1839; (4) King Edward VIth's Latin Grammar, 1841; (5) Bentley's Correspondence, 1842; (6) Theophilus Anglicanus, 1843; (7) Memoirs of William Wordsworth, 1851; (8) Hippolytus, 1853; (9) Notes at Paris, 1854; (10) A Commentary on the whole Bible, 1856-1870; (11) The Holy Year, 1862; (12) Church History, 1881-1883; many volumes of Sermons, and an enormous amount of Pamphlets, Addresses, Letters, Speeches, on almost every subject in which the interests of the church were concerned, and also on subjects connected with classical literature. Of his many works, however, the only one which claims notice from the hynmologist's point of view is The Holy Year, which contains hymns, not only for every season of the Church's year, but also for every phase of that season, as indicated in the Book of Common Prayer. Dr. Wordsworth, like the Wesleys, looked upon hymns as a valuable means of stamping permanently upon the memory the great doctrines of the Christian Church. He held it to be "the first duty of a hymn-writer to teach sound doctrine, and thus to save souls." He thought that the materials for English Church hymns should be sought (1) in the Holy Scriptures, (2) in the writings of Christian Antiquity, and (3) in the Poetry of the Ancient Church. Hence he imposed upon himself the strictest limitations in his own compositions. He did not select a subject which seemed to him most adapted for poetical treatment, but felt himself bound to treat impartially every subject, and branch of a subject, that is brought before us in the Church's services, whether of a poetical nature or not. The natural result is that his hymns are of very unequal merit; whether his subject inspired him with poetical thoughts or not, he was bound to deal with it; hence while some of his hymns (such as "Hark! the sound of holy voices," &c, “See the Conqueror mounts in triumph," &c, "O, day of rest and gladness") are of a high order of excellence, others are prosaic. He was particularly anxious to avoid obscurity, and thus many of his hymns are simple to the verge of baldness. But this extreme simplicity was always intentional, and to those who can read between the lines there are many traces of the "ars celans artem." It is somewhat remarkable that though in citing examples of early hymnwriters he almost always refers to those of the Western Church, his own hymns more nearly resemble those of the Eastern, as may be seen by comparing The Holy Year with Dr. Mason Neale's Hymns of the Eastern Church translated, with Notes, &c. The reason of this perhaps half-unconscious resemblance is not far to seek. Christopher Wordsworth, like the Greek hymnwriters, drew his inspiration from Holy Scripture, and he loved, as they did, to interpret Holy Scripture mystically. He thought that ”the dangers to which the Faith of England (especially in regard to the Old Testament) was exposed, arose from the abandonment of the ancient Christian, Apostolic and Patristic system of interpretation of the Old Testament for the frigid and servile modern exegesis of the literalists, who see nothing in the Old Testament but a common history, and who read it (as St. Paul says the Jews do) ‘with a veil on their heart, which veil' (he adds) 'is done away in Christ.'" In the same spirit, he sought and found Christ everywhere in the New Testament. The Gospel History was only the history of what "Jesus began to do and to teach" on earth; the Acts of the Apostles and all the Epistles were the history of what he continued to do and to teach from Heaven; and the Apocalypse (perhaps his favourite book) was "the seal and colophon of all." Naturally he presents this theory, a theory most susceptible of poetical treatment, in his hymns even more prominently than in his other writings. The Greek writers took, more or less, the same view; hence the resemblance between his hymns and those of the Eastern Church. [Rev. J. H. Overton, D.D.] During the time that Bishop Wordsworth was Canon of Westminster, and Vicar of Stanford-in-the-Vale cum Goosey, he published his collection of hymns as:— The Holy Year; or Hymns for Sundays and Holy-days, And other Occasions. London, Rivingtons, 1862. This work contained an extended Preface; a Calendar of Hymns; 117 Original Compositions; and a Supplement of 82 hymns from other sources. In the 3rd edition, 1863, the Supplement was omitted, and the Original hymns were increased to 127. Several of these hymns are annotated under their respective first lines, the rest in common use are:— From The Holy Year, first edition, 1862:— 1. Five pebbles from the brook. Temptation. Stanza ix. added in 1863. 2. Giver of law is God's [Thy] dear Son. Circumcision. Doxology added in 1863. 3. Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost. Quinquagesima. 4. Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of Hosts, Eternal King. Holy Trinity. 5. Holy of Holies! awful name. Epistle 5th Sunday in Lent. 6. How blest are hearts which Christ the Lord. Holy Matrimony. In 1863 in two parts, Pt. ii. being "Bless these Thy servants, gracious Lord." 7. How blessed is the force of prayer. St. Peter. In 1863, in two parts, Pt. i. being "Behold! at hand is Herod's doom." 8. How wondrous and mysterious are. Holy Baptism. In the 1863 ed. it is divided into four parts:— Pt. ii. "In Jordan Thou didst sanctify"; Pt. iii. "Thee, risen in triumph from the grave"; Pt. iv." Baptized in Christ we put on Christ." The cento, "By Water and the Holy Ghost," is also from this hymn. 9. In sorrow and distress. Ash Wednesday. 10. In Thy glorious Resurrection . Easter. In the 1863 ed. it begins, "Lord, Thy glorious Resurrection," and the doxology was added. 11. Lord, may we never, save to One. Against False Worship. Stanza viii. was added in 1863. 12. Lord not with [by] poor and paltry gifts. Offertory. 13. Lord, Who didst the Prophets teach. 2nd Sunday in Advent, or, Holy Scripture. The doxology was added in 1863. 14. Man fell from grace by carnal appetite. Gospel 1st S. in Lent. 15. Mankind in Adam fell. Good Friday. In the 1863 ed. it is divided into three parts: Pt. ii. being "We fell by Adam's sin;" and Pt. iii. "Thy Cross a Trophy is." 16. Not bound by chains, nor pent in cells. The Gifts of the Holy Ghost. This hymn is preceded by a special note on the Holy Spirit and His gifts. 17. Not gifts of prophecy can save. Self Discipline, or, 8th Sunday after Trinity. 18. 0 Jerusalem beloved, joyful morn has dawned on Thee. Purification of Blessed Virgin Mary, or, The Presentation. In the 1863 edition it is divided into two parts, Pt. ii. Being “Light the Gentile world to lighten, and thy glory Israel." 19. 0 Saviour, Who at Nain's gate. The Raising of the Widow's Son. 20. 0 Son of God, the Eternal Word. The Queen's Accession. 21. Once all the nations were as one. Babel and Sion a Contrast. 22. Sing, 0 sing this blessed morn. Christmas. In the 1863 edition a doxology was added, and the hymn was divided into two parts, Pt. ii. being, "God comes down that man may rise." 23. The banner of the Cross. Missions. In the 1863 ed. it is in three parts, Pt. ii., "Now for the Lord our God"; Pt. iii. "The earth from East to West." 24. The Galilean Fishers toil. Collect 4th Sunday in Advent. From this "0 Lord, when storms around us howl" is taken. 25. Thou bidd'st us visit in distress. The Promise of the Comforter, or, Sunday before Ascension. In the 1863 edition it is in two parts, Pt. ii. being “At Thy first birth, Thou, Lord, didst wait." 26. Thou hast a Temple founded. The Christian Temple; or, Epistle 11th Sunday after Trinity. 27. To-day, 0 Lord, the Holy James. St. James. In the 1863 ed. in two parts, Pt. ii. being "God in His word does not display." 28. Today with bright effulgence shine. Conversion of St. Paul. In the 1863 ed. it begins "Today in Thine Apostle shine," and is in two parts, Pt. ii being "From East to West, from North to South." 29. Upon the sixth day of the week. Easter Eve. Stanzas x., xi. of the 1863 text were added then, and the hymn was given in two parts, Pt. ii. being "By tasting the forbidden fruit." 30. We hear the tolling bell. Burial. The doxology was added in 1863, and the hymn was divided, Pt. ii. being "0 gracious Lord, to Thee." The cento "We see the open grave" is from this hymn. 31. When from the City of our God. The Good Samaritan. From this is taken “What beams of grace and mercy, Lord." 32. When Thou, 0 Lord, didst send the Twelve. SS. Simon and Jude. In the 1863 ed. stanza x. is new, and Pt. ii. begins, "Zeal, swollen with passion's cloudy smoke." ii. From the Holy Year, 3rd ed., 1863. 33. Heavenly Father, send Thy blessing. For Schools. In extensive use. 34. Holy, holy, holy Lord, Maker of this worldly frame. Septuagesima. Based on the Epistle and Gospel of the week. 35. Lo He comes! Whom every nation. Advent. This is headed "The First Advent of Christ, coming to save." 36. 0 fear not though before thee lies. Communion of the Sick. Pt. ii. begins, "The Resurrection and the Life." 37. On every new-born babe of earth. Churching of Women. Pt. ii. begins, "Bright angels of the King of kings." 38. Peace to this house! O Thou Whose way. Visitation of the Sick. Pt. ii. "0 Conqueror by suffering; Pt. iii. "Restore us to Thine house of prayer." 39. The day is gently sinking to a close. Evening. A beautiful hymn. 40. We all, 0 God, unrighteous are. The Lord our Righteousness. Sometimes "We all, O Lord, unrighteous are." Based upon the Epistle of the Sunday next before Advent. Pt. ii. begins "Behold the day, the glorious day." In addition to many of the hymns in the 1863 edition of The Holy Year being divided into parts, the texts of most of them were revised by the author, and are authorized. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================ Wordsworth, Bp. C. (Lincoln) , p. 1294, i. Of his hymns, noted on p. 1294, i., ii., we find that No. 39 appeared in his Holy Year in 1864; and Nos. 34, 35, and 40 in 1862. The first edition in which the longer hymns were divided into parts was that of 1868. With regard to the date of Bp. Wordsworth's death, we find this reference thereto in his Biography: "He expired soon after midnight on Friday, March 20, or perhaps, it might be said, early on the Saturday morning." This gives the date of his death as March 21, 1885. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907) =========================== See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

Godfrey Thring

1823 - 1903 Person Name: Rev. G. Thring Hymnal Number: 8 Author of "The radiant morn hath pass'd away" in The Hymnal Godfrey Thring (b. Alford, Somersetshire, England, 1823; d. Shamley Green, Guilford, Surrey, England, 1903) was born in the parsonage of Alford, where his father was rector. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, England, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1847. After serving in several other parishes, Thring returned to Alford and Hornblotten in 1858 to succeed his father as rector, a position he retained until his own retirement in 1893. He was also associated with Wells Cathedral (1867-1893). After 1861 Thring wrote many hymns and published several hymnals, including Hymns Congregational (1866), Hymns and Sacred Lyrics (1874), and the respected A Church of England Hymn Book Adapted to the Daily Services of the Church Throughout the Year (1880), which was enlarged as The Church of England Hymn Book (1882). Bert Polman ================ Thring, Godfrey, B.A., son of the Rev. J. G. D. Thring, of Alford, Somerset, was born at Alford, March 25, 1823, and educated at Shrewsbury School, and at Balliol College, Oxford, B.A. in 1845. On taking Holy Orders he was curate of Stratfield-Turgis, 1846-50; of Strathfieldsaye, 1850-53; and of other parishes to 1858, when he became rector of Alford-with-Hornblotton, Somerset. R.D. 1867-76. In 1876 he was preferred as prebend of East Harptree in Wells cathedral. Prebendary Thring's poetical works are:— Hymns Congregational and Others, 1866; Hymns and Verses, 1866; and Hymns and Sacred Lyrics, 1874. In 1880 he published A Church of England Hymnbook Adapted to the Daily Services of the Church throughout the Year; and in 1882, a revised and much improved edition of the same as The Church of England Hymn Book, &c. A great many of Prebendary Thring's hymns are annotated under their respective first lines; the rest in common use include:— 1. Beneath the Church's hallowed shade. Consecration of a Burial Ground. Written in 1870. This is one of four hymns set to music by Dr. Dykes, and first published by Novello & Co., 1873. It was also included (but without music) in the author's Hymns & Sacred Lyrics, 1874, p. 170, and in his Collection, 1882. 2. Blessed Saviour, Thou hast taught us. Quinquagesima. Written in 1866, and first published in the author's Hymns Congregational and Others, 1866. It was republished in his Hymns & Sacred Lyrics, 1874; and his Collection, 1882. It is based upon the Epistle for Quinquagesima. 3. Blot out our sins of old. Lent. Written in 1862, and first published in Hymns Congregational and Others

Edward Caswall

1814 - 1878 Person Name: Caswall Hymnal Number: 10a Translator of "The sun is sinking fast" in The Hymnal Edward Caswall was born in 1814, at Yately, in Hampshire, where his father was a clergyman. In 1832, he went to Brasenose College, Oxford, and in 1836, took a second-class in classics. His humorous work, "The Art of Pluck," was published in 1835; it is still selling at Oxford, having passed through many editions. In 1838, he was ordained Deacon, and in 1839, Priest. He became perpetural Curate of Stratford-sub-Castle in 1840. In 1841, he resigned his incumbency and visited Ireland. In 1847, he joined the Church of Rome. In 1850, he was admitted into the Congregation of the Oratory at Birmingham, where he has since remained. He has published several works in prose and poetry. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872 ===================== Caswall, Edward, M.A., son of the Rev. R. C. Caswall, sometime Vicar of Yately, Hampshire, born at Yately, July 15, 1814, and educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, graduating in honours in 1836. Taking Holy Orders in 1838, he became in 1840 Incumbent of Stratford-sub-Castle, near Salisbury, and resigned the same in 1847. In 1850 (Mrs. Caswall having died in 1849) he was received into the Roman Catholic communion, and joined Dr. Newman at the Oratory, Edgbaston. His life thenceforth, although void of stirring incidents, was marked by earnest devotion to his clerical duties and a loving interest in the poor, the sick, and in little children. His original poems and hymns were mostly written at the Oratory. He died at Edgbaston, Jan. 2, 1878, and was buried on Jan. 7 at Redwall, near Bromsgrove, by his leader and friend Cardinal Newman. Caswall's translations of Latin hymns from the Roman Breviary and other sources have a wider circulation in modern hymnals than those of any other translator, Dr. Neale alone excepted. This is owing to his general faithfulness to the originals, and the purity of his rhythm, the latter feature specially adapting his hymns to music, and for congregational purposes. His original compositions, although marked by considerable poetical ability, are not extensive in their use, their doctrinal teaching being against their general adoption outside the Roman communion. His hymns appeared in:— (1) Lyra Catholica, which contained 197 translations from the Roman Breviary, Missal, and other sources. First ed. London, James Burns, 1849. This was reprinted in New York in 1851, with several hymns from other sources added thereto. This edition is quoted in the indices to some American hymn-books as Lyra Cath., as in Beecher's Plymouth Collection, 1855, and others. (2) Masque of Mary, and Other Poems, having in addition to the opening poem and a few miscellaneous pieces, 53 translations, and 51 hymns. 1st ed. Lon., Burns and Lambert, 1858. (3) A May Pageant and Other Poems, including 10 original hymns. Lon., Burns and Lambert, 1865. (4) Hymns and Poems, being the three preceding volumes embodied in one, with many of the hymns rewritten or revised, together with elaborate indices. 1st ed. Lon., Burns, Oates & Co., 1873. Of his original hymns about 20 are given in the Roman Catholic Crown of Jesus Hymn Book, N.D; there are also several in the Hymns for the Year, N.D., and other Roman Catholic collections. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ====================== Caswall, E. , p. 214, ii. Additional original hymns by Caswall are in the Arundel Hymns, 1902, and other collections. The following are from the Masque of Mary, &c, 1858:— 1. Christian soul, dost thou desire. After Holy Communion. 2. Come, let me for a moment cast. Holy Communion. 3. O Jesu Christ [Lord], remember. Holy Communion. 4. Oft, my soul, thyself remind. Man's Chief End. 5. Sleep, Holy Babe. Christmas. Appeared in the Rambler, June 1850, p. 528. Sometimes given as "Sleep, Jesus, sleep." 6. The glory of summer. Autumn. 7. This is the image of the queen. B. V. M. His "See! amid the winter's snow,” p. 1037, i., was published in Easy Hymn Tunes, 1851, p. 36. In addition the following, mainly altered texts or centos of his translations are also in common use:— 1. A regal throne, for Christ's dear sake. From "Riches and regal throne," p. 870, ii. 2. Come, Holy Ghost, Thy grace inspire. From "Spirit of grace and union," p. 945, i. 3. Hail! ocean star, p. 99, ii,, as 1873. In the Birmingham Oratory Hymn Book, 1850, p. 158. 4. Lovely flow'rs of martyrs, hail. This is the 1849 text. His 1873 text is "Flowers of martyrdom," p. 947, i. 5. None of all the noble cities. From "Bethlehem! of noblest cities," p. 946, ii. 6. O Jesu, Saviour of the World. From “Jesu, Redeemer of the world," p. 228, ii. 7. 0 Lady, high in glory raised. From "O Lady, high in glory, Whose," p. 945, i. The Parochial Hymn Book, 1880, has also the following original hymns by Caswall. As their use is confined to this collection, we give the numbers only:— IS os. 1, 2, 3, 159 (Poems, 1873, p. 453), 209 (1873, p. 288), 299, 324 (1873, p. 323), 357, 402, 554, 555, 558, 569 (1873, p. 334). These are from his Masque of Mary 1858. Nos. 156, 207 (1873, p. 296), 208 (1873, p. 297), 518. These are from his May Pageant, 1865. As several of these hymns do not begin with the original first lines, the original texts are indicated as found in his Poems, 1873. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

J. M. Neale

1818 - 1866 Person Name: Neale Hymnal Number: 16a Translator of "The day is past and over" in The Hymnal John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly temperament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackville College in East Grinstead, a retirement home for poor men. There he served the men faithfully and expanded Sackville's ministry to indigent women and orphans. He also founded the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, which became one of the finest English training orders for nurses. Laboring in relative obscurity, Neale turned out a prodigious number of books and artic1es on liturgy and church history, including A History of the So-Called Jansenist Church of Holland (1858); an account of the Roman Catholic Church of Utrecht and its break from Rome in the 1700s; and his scholarly Essays on Liturgiology and Church History (1863). Neale contributed to church music by writing original hymns, including two volumes of Hymns for Children (1842, 1846), but especially by translating Greek and Latin hymns into English. These translations appeared in Medieval Hymns and Sequences (1851, 1863, 1867), The Hymnal Noted (1852, 1854), Hymns of the Eastern Church (1862), and Hymns Chiefly Medieval (1865). Because a number of Neale's translations were judged unsingable, editors usually amended his work, as evident already in the 1861 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern; Neale claimed no rights to his texts and was pleased that his translations could contribute to hymnody as the "common property of Christendom." Bert Polman ======================== Neale, John Mason, D.D., was born in Conduit Street, London, on Jan. 24, 1818. He inherited intellectual power on both sides: his father, the Rev. Cornelius Neale, having been Senior Wrangler, Second Chancellor's Medallist, and Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, and his mother being the daughter of John Mason Good, a man of considerable learning. Both father and mother are said to have been "very pronounced Evangelicals." The father died in 1823, and the boy's early training was entirely under the direction of his mother, his deep attachment for whom is shown by the fact that, not long before his death, he wrote of her as "a mother to whom I owe more than I can express." He was educated at Sherborne Grammar School, and was afterwards a private pupil, first of the Rev. William Russell, Rector of Shepperton, and then of Professor Challis. In 1836 he went up to Cambridge, where he gained a scholarship at Trinity College, and was considered the best man of his year. But he did not inherit his father's mathematical tastes, and had, in fact, the greatest antipathy to the study; and as the strange rule then prevailed that no one might aspire to Classical Honours unless his name had appeared in the Mathematical Tripos, he was forced to be content with an ordinary degree. This he took in 1840; had he been one year later, he might have taken a brilliant degree, for in 1841 the rule mentioned above was rescinded. He gained, however, what distinctions he could, winning the Members' Prize, and being elected Fellow and Tutor of Downing College; while, as a graduate, he won the Seatonian Prize no fewer than eleven times. At Cambridge he identified himself with the Church movement, which was spreading there in a quieter, but no less real, way than in the sister University. He became one of the founders of the Ecclesiological, or, as it was commonly called, the Cambridge Camden Society, in conjunction with Mr. E. J. Boyce, his future brother-in-law, and Mr. Benjamin Webb, afterwards the well-known Vicar of St. Andrew's, Wells Street, and editor of The Church Quarterly Review. In 1842 he married Miss Sarah Norman Webster, the daughter of an evangelical clergyman, and in 1843 he was presented to the small incumbency of Crawley in Sussex. Ill health, however, prevented him from being instituted to the living. His lungs were found to be badly affected; and, as the only chance of saving his life, he was obliged to go to Madeira, where he stayed until the summer of 1844. In 1846 he was presented by Lord Delaware to the Wardenship of Sackville College, East Grinstead. This can hardly be considered as an ecclesiastical preferment, for both his predecessor and his successor were laymen. In fact the only ecclesiastical preferment that ever was offered to him was the Provostship of St. Ninian's, Perth. This was an honourable office, for the Provostship is equivalent to a Deanery in England, but it was not a lucrative one, being worth only £100 a year. He was obliged to decline it, as the climate was thought too cold for his delicate health. In the quiet retreat of East Grinstead, therefore, Dr. Neale spent the remainder of his comparatively short life, dividing his time between literary work, which all tended, directly or indirectly, to the advancement of that great Church revival of which he was so able and courageous a champion, and the unremitting care of that sisterhood of which he was the founder. He commenced a sisterhood at Rotherfield on a very small scale, in conjunction with Miss S. A. Gream, daughter of the rector of the parish; but in 1856 he transferred it to East Grinstead, where, under the name of St. Margaret's, it has attained its present proportions. Various other institutions gradually arose in connection with this Sisterhood of St. Margaret's, viz., an Orphanage, a Middle Class School for girls, and a House at Aldershot for the reformation of fallen women. The blessing which the East Grinstead Sisters have been to thousands of the sick and suffering cannot here be told. But it must be mentioned that Dr. Neale met with many difficulties, and great opposition from the outside, which, on one occasion, if not more, culminated in actual violence. In 1857 he was attending the funeral of one of the Sisters at Lewes, when a report was spread that the deceased had been decoyed into St. Margaret's Home, persuaded to leave all her money to the sisterhood, and then purposely sent to a post in which she might catch the scarlet fever of which she died. To those who knew anything of the scrupulously delicate and honourable character of Dr. Neale, such a charge would seem absurd on the face of it; but mobs are not apt to reflect, and it was very easy to excite a mob against the unpopular practices and sentiments rife at East Grinstead; and Dr. Neale and some Sisters who were attending the funeral were attacked and roughly handled. He also found opponents in higher quarters; he was inhibited by the Bishop of the Diocese for fourteen years, and the Aldershot House was obliged to be abandoned, after having done useful work for some years, in consequence of the prejudice of officials against the religious system pursued. Dr. Neale's character, however, was a happy mixture of gentleness and firmness; he had in the highest degree the courage of his convictions, which were remarkably definite and strong; while at the same time he maintained the greatest charity towards, and forbearance with, others who did not agree with him. It is not surprising, therefore, that he lived all opposition down; and that, while from first to last his relations with the community at East Grinstead were of the happiest description, he was also, after a time, spared any molestation from without. The institution grew upon his hands, and he became anxious to provide it with a permanent and fitting home. His last public act was to lay the foundation of a new convent for the Sisters on St. Margaret's Day (July 20), 1865. He lived long enough to see the building progress, but not to see it completed. In the following spring his health, which had always been delicate, completely broke down, and after five months of acute suffering he passed away on the Feast of the Transfiguration (Aug. 6), 1866, to the bitter regret of the little community at East Grinstead and of numberless friends outside that circle. One trait of his singularly lovable character must not pass unnoticed. His charity, both in the popular and in the truer Christian sense of the word, was unbounded; he was liberal and almost lavish with his money, and his liberality extended to men of all creeds and opinions; while it is pleasing to record that his relations with his ecclesiastical superiors so much improved that he dedicated his volume of Seatonian Poems to the bishop of the diocese. If however success in life depended upon worldly advantages, Dr. Neale's life would have to be pronounced a failure; for, as his old friend, Dr. Littledale, justly complains, "he spent nearly half his life where he died, in the position of warden of an obscure Almshouse on a salary of £27 a year." But, measured by a different standard, his short life assumes very different proportions. Not only did he win the love and gratitude of those with whom he was immediately connected, but he acquired a world-wide reputation as a writer, and he lived to see that Church revival, to promote which was the great object of his whole career, already advancing to the position which it now occupies in the land of his birth. Dr. Neale was an industrious and voluminous writer both in prose and verse; it is of course with the latter class of his writings that this sketch is chiefly concerned; but a few words must first be said about the former. I.— Prose Writings.— His first compositions were in the form of contributions to The Ecclesiologist, and were written during his graduate career at Cambridge. Whilst he was in Madeira he began to write his Commentary on the Psalms, part of which was published in 1860. It was afterwards given to the world, partly written by him and partly by his friend, Dr. Littledale, in 4 vols., in 1874, under the title of A Commentary on the Psalms, from Primitive and Mediaeval Writers. This work has been criticised as pushing the mystical interpretation to an extravagant extent. But Dr. Neale has anticipated and disarmed such criticism by distinctly stating at the commencement that "not one single mystical interpretation throughout the present Commentary is original;" and surely such a collection has a special value as a wholesome correction of the materialistic and rationalistic tendencies of the age. His next great work, written at Sackville College, was The History of the Holy Eastern Church. The General Introduction was published in 1847; then followed part of the History itself, The Patriarchate of Alexandria, in 2 vols.; and after his death another fragment was published, The History of the Patriarchate of Antioch, to which was added, Constantius's Memoirs of the Patriarchs of Antioch, translated from the Greek, edited by the Rev. G. Williams, 1 vol. The whole fragment was published in 5 vols. (1847-1873). The work is spoken very highly of, and constantly referred to, by Dean Stanley in his Lectures on the History of the Eastern Church. Dr. Neale was naturally in strong sympathy with the struggling Episcopal Church of Scotland, and to show that sympathy he published, in 1856, The Life and Times of Patrick Torry, D.D., Bishop of St. Andrews, &c, with an Appendix on the Scottish Liturgy. In the same direction was his History of the so-called Jansenist Church in Holland, 1858. Next followed Essays on Liturgiology and Church History, with an Appendix on Liturgical Quotations from the Isapostolical Fathers by the Rev. G. Moultrie, 1863, a 2nd edition of which, with an interesting Preface by Dr. Littledale, was published in 1867. It would be foreign to the purpose of this article to dwell on his other prose works, such as his published sermons, preached in Sackville College Chapel, his admirable little devotional work, Readings for the Aged, which was a selection from these sermons; the various works he edited, such as the Tetralogia Liturgica, the Sequentiae ex Missalibus Germanicis, Anglicis, Gallicis, aliisque Medii Aevi Collectae; his edition of The Primitive Liturgies of S. Mark, S. Clement, S. James, S. Chrysostom and S. Basil, with a Preface by Dr. Littledale; his Translation of the same; his many stories from Church History, his Voices from the East, translated from the Russ, and his various articles contributed to the Ecclesiologist, The Christian Remembrance, The Morning Chronicle, and The Churchman's Companion. It is time to pass on to that with which we are directly concerned. II. —Poetical Writings.— As a sacred poet, Dr. Neale may be regarded under two aspects, as an original writer and as a translator. i. Original Writer.—Of his original poetry, the first specimen is Hymns for Children, published in 1842, which reached its 10th edition the year after his death. It consists of 33 short hymns, the first 19 for the different days of the week and different parts of the day, the last 14 for the different Church Seasons. This little volume was followed in 1844 by Hymns for the Young, which was intended to be a sequel to the former, its alternative title being A Second Series of Hymns for Children; but it is designed for an older class than the former, for young people rather than for children. The first 7 hymns are "for special occasions," as "on goiug to work," “leaving home” &c.; the next 8 on "Church Duties and Privileges," "Confirmation," "First Holy Communion," &c, the last 13 on "Church Festivals,” which, oddly enough, include the Four Ember Seasons, Rogation Days, and the Sundays in Advent. In both these works the severe and rigid style, copied, no doubt, from the old Latin hymns, is very observable. Perhaps this has prevented them from being such popular favourites as they otherwise might have been; but they are quite free from faults into which a writer of hymns for children is apt to fall. They never degenerate into mere prose in rhyme; and in every case the purity as well as the simplicity of their diction is very remarkable. In the same year (1844) he also published Songs and Ballads for Manufacturers, which were written during his sojourn in Madeira, and the aim of which (he tells us) was "to set forth good and sound principles in metaphors which might, from their familiarity, come home to the hearts of those to whom they were addressed." They are wonderfully spirited both in matter and manner, and their freedom of style is as remarkable as the rigidity of the former works. They were followed eleven years later (1855) by a similar little work entitled Songs and Ballads for the People. This is of a more aggressive and controversial character than the previous ones, dealing boldly with such burning questions as "The Teetotallers," "Why don't you go to Meeting?" &c. Passing over the Seatonian Poems, most of which were of course written before those noticed above, we next come to the Hymns for the Side, which is a fitting companion to the Readings for the Aged, and then to Sequences, Hymns, and other Ecclesiastical Verses, which was published just after the author's death (1866), and may be regarded as a sort of dying legacy to the world. In fact, the writer almost intimates as much in the preface, where he speaks of himself as "one who might soon be called to have done with earthly composition for ever." Many of the verses, indeed, were written earlier, "forty years ago," he says, which is evidently intended for twenty. The preface is dated "In the Octave of S. James, 1866," and within a fortnight, on the Feast of the Transfiguration, “the veil” (to use the touching words of his old friend, Dr. Littledale) "was withdrawn from before his eyes, and the song hushed on earth is now swelling the chorus of Paradise." Was it an accident that these verses dwell so much on death and the life beyond the grave? or did the coming event cast its shadow before? Not that there is any sadness of tone about them; quite the reverse. He contemplates death, but it is with the eye of a Christian from whom the sting of death has been removed. Most of the verses are on subjects connected with the Church Seasons, especially with what are called the "Minor Festivals:" but the first and last poems are on different subjects. The first, the "Prologue," is "in dear memory of John Keble, who departed on Maundy Thursday, 1866, "and is a most touching tribute from one sacred poet to another whom he was about to follow within a few months to the "land that is very far off." The last is a poetical version of the legend of "the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus," and is, the writer thinks, "the first attempt to apply to primitive Christianity that which is, to his mind, the noblest of our measures." That measure is the hexameter, and undoubtedly Dr. Neale employed it, as he did all his measures, with great skill and effect; but it may be doubted whether the English language, in which the quantities of syllables are not so clearly defined as in Latin and Greek, is quite adapted for that measure. Throughout this volume, Dr. Neale rises to a far higher strain than he had ever reached before. ii. Translations.— It is in this species of composition that Dr. Neale's success was pre-eminent, one might almost say unique. He had all the qualifications of a good translator. He was not only an excellent classical scholar in the ordinary sense of the term, but he was also positively steeped in mediaeval Latin. An anecdote given in an appreciative notice by "G. M." [Moultrie] happily illustrates this:— Dr. Neale "was invited by Mr. Keble and the Bishop of Salisbury to assist them with their new hymnal, and for this purpose he paid a visit to Hursley Parsonage." On one occasion Mr. Keble "having to go to another room to find some papers was detained a short time. On his return Dr. Neale said, ‘Why, Keble, I thought you told me that the "Christian Year" was entirely original.' ‘Yes,' he answered, 'it certainly is.' ‘Then how comes this?' and Dr. Neale placed before him the Latin of one of Keble's hymns. Keble professed himself utterly confounded. He protested that he had never seen this 'original,' no, not in all his life. After a few minutes Neale relieved him by owning that he had just turned it into Latin in his absence." Again, Dr. Neale's exquisite ear for melody prevented him from spoiling the rhythm by too servile an imitation of the original; while the spiritedness which is a marked feature of all his poetry preserved that spring and dash which is so often wanting in a translation. (i.) Latin.— Dr. Neale's translations from the Latin include (1.) Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences (1851). He was the, first to introduce to the English reader Sequences, that is, as he himself describes them, " hymns sung between the Epistle and Gospel in the Mass," or, as he explains more definitely, "hymns whose origin is to be looked for in the Alleluia of the Gradual sung between the Epistle and the Gospel." He was quite an enthusiast about this subject:— "It is a magnificent thing,” he says, "to pass along the far-stretching vista of hymns, from the sublime self-containedness of S. Ambrose to the more fervid inspiration of S. Gregory, the exquisite typology of Venantius Fortunatus, the lovely painting of St. Peter Damiani, the crystal-like simplicity of S. Notker, the scriptural calm of Godescalcus, the subjective loveliness of St. Bernard, till all culminate in the full blaze of glory which surrounds Adam of S. Victor, the greatest of them all." Feeling thus what a noble task he had before him, it is no wonder that he spared no pains over it, or that he felt it his duty to adopt "the exact measure and rhyme of the original, at whatever inconvenience and cramping." That he succeeded in his difficult work, the verdict of the public has sufficiently proved. Of all the translations in the English language no one has ever been so popular as that of the Hora Novissima, in this volume, afterwards (1858) published separately, under the title of the Rhythm of Bernard de Morlaix, Monk of Cluny. Some original hymns may be as well known as "Jerusalem the Golden," "For thee, O dear, dear country," or "Brief life is here our portion,” but it would be hard to find any translations which come near them for extensive use. A second edition of the Mediaeval Hymns, much improved, came out in 1863, and a third, "with very numerous additions and corrections," in 1867. (2.) We next come to the Hymnal Noted, in which 94 out of the 105 hymns are the work of Dr. Neale. These are all translations from the Latin. The first part appeared in 1852, the second in 1854. Dr. Neale has himself given us an interesting account of his connection with this work:— "Some," he writes, "of the happiest and most instructive hours of my life were spent in the Sub-Committee of the Ecclesiological Society, appointed for the purpose of bringing out the Second Part of the Hymnal Noted It was my business to lay before them the translations I had prepared, and theirs to correct. The study which this required drew out the beauties of the original in a way which nothing else could have done, and the friendly collisions of various minds elicited ideas which a single translator would in all probability have missed." Preface, Mediaeval Hymns & Sequences (3.) The last volume of translations from the Latin published by Dr. Neale appeared in 1865, under the title of Hymns, chiefly Mediaeval, on the Joys and Glories of Paradise. It was intended to be a companion volume to the Rhythm of Bernard of Cluny. In this work the writer gives the general reader an opportunity of comparing the translation with the original by printing the two together in parallel pages. Before quitting the subject of Dr. Neale's translations from the Latin, it is only fair to notice that while they have been almost universally accepted by the English Church, and some of them adopted by dissenting congregations, they called down upon the translator a storm of indignation from an opposite quarter. The Roman Catholics accused him of deliberate deception because he took no pains to point out that he had either softened down or entirely ignored the Roman doctrines in those hymns. So far, they said, as the originals were concerned, these translations were deliberate misrepresentations. As however the translations were intended for the use of the Anglican Church, it was only to be expected that Neale should omit such hymns or portions of hymns as would be at variance with her doctrines and discipline. (ii.) Greek.— Dr. Neale conferred even a greater boon upon the lovers of hymnology than by his translations from the Latin, when he published, in 1862, his Hymns of the Eastern Church. In his translations from the Latin he did what others had done before; but in his translations from the Greek he was opening entirely new ground. "It is," he says in his preface to the first edition, "a most remarkable fact, and one which shows how very little interest has been hitherto felt in the Eastern Church, that these are literally, I believe, the only English versions of any part of the treasures of Oriental Hymnology." As early as 1853 he had printed a few of his versions in The Ecclesiastic, but it was not till the appearance of the complete volume that the interest of the general public was awakened in them. Then they became wonderfully popular. His translations "Christian, dost thou see them?" "The day is past and over," "'Tis the day of Resurrection," and his Greek-inspired "Art thou weary," and "O happy band of pilgrims," are almost as great favourites as "Jerusalem the golden," and the first in his Hymns of the Eastern Church, "Fierce was the wild billow," deserves to be. Dr. Neale had a far more difficult task before him when he undertook these Greek hymns than he had with the Latin, and he appeals to the reader "not to forget the immense difficulty of an attempt so perfectly new as the present, when I have had no predecessors and therefore could have no master." That difficulty in comparison with the Latin cannot be better stated than in his own words:— "Though the superior terseness and brevity of the Latin hymns renders a translation which shall represent those qualities a work of great labour, yet still the versifier has the help of the same metre; his version may be line for line; and there is a great analogy between the collects and the hymns, most helpful to the translator. Above all, we have examples enough of former translation by which we may take pattern. But in attempting a Greek canon, from the fact of its being in prose (metrical hymns are unknown) one is all at sea. What measure shall we employ? Why this more than that? Might we attempt the rhythmical prose of the original, and design it to be chanted? Again, the great length of the canons renders them un suitable for our churches as wholes. Is it better simply to form centos of the more beautiful passages? or can separate odes, each necessarily imperfect, be employed as separate hymns? . . . My own belief is that the best way to employ Greek hymnology for the uses of the English Church would be by centos." That, in spite of these difficulties, Dr. Neale succeeded, is obvious. His Greek hymns are, indeed, adaptations rather than translations; but, besides their intrinsic beauty, they at any rate give some idea of what the Greek hymn-writers were. In this case, as in his translations from the Latin, he omitted what he held was not good from his Anglican point of view, e.g., the Doxologies to the Blessed Virgin Mary. One point strikes us as very remarkable in these hymns, and indeed in all Dr. Neale's poetry, viz., its thorough manliness of tone. Considering what his surroundings were, one might have expected a feminine tone in his writings. Dr. Littledale, in his most vivid and interesting sketch of Dr. Neale's life, to which the present writer is largely indebted, has remarked the same with regard to his teaching: "Instead of committing the grave error of feminising his sermons and counsels [at St. Margaret's] because he had only women to deal with, he aimed at showing them the masculine side of Christianity also, to teach them its strength as well as its beauty." In conclusion, it may be observed that no one had a higher opinion of the value of Dr. Neale's labours in the field of ancient and mediaeval hymnology than the one man whose competency to speak with authority on such a point Dr. Neale himself would assuredly have rated above that of all others. Over and over again Dr. Neale pays a tribute to the services rendered by Archbishop Trench in this domain; and the present sketch cannot more fitly close than with the testimony which Archbishop Trench has given of his sense of the services rendered by Dr. Neale. The last words of his preface to his Sacred Latin Poetry (ed. 1864) are:—" I will only, therefore, mention that by patient researches in almost all European lands, he [Dr. Neale] has brought to light a multitude of hymns unknown before: in a treatise on sequences, properly so-called, has for the first time explained their essential character; while to him the English reader owes versions of some of the best hymns, such as often successfully overcome the almost insuperable difficulties which many among them present to the translator." [Rev. J. H. Overton, D.D.] Dr. Neale's original hymns and translations appeared in the following works, most of which are referred to in the preceding article, and all of which are grouped together here to facilitate reference:— (1) Hymns for Children. Intended chiefly for Village Schools. London, Masters, 1842. (2) Hymns for the Sick. London, Masters, 1843, improved ed. 1849. (3) Hymns for the Young. A Second Series of Hymns for Children. London, Masters, 1844. (4) Songs and Ballads for Manufacturers. London, Masters, 1844. (5) Hymns for Children. A Third Series. London, Masters, 1846. (6) Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences. London, Masters. 1851; 2nd ed. 1861; 3rd. ed. 1863. (7) Hymnal Noted. London, Masters & Novello, 1852: enlarged 1854. Several of the translations were by other hands. Musical editions edited by the Rev. T. Helmore. It is from this work that a large number of Dr. Neale's translations from the Latin are taken. (8) Carols for Christmas and Eastertide. 1853. (9) Songs and Ballads for the People. 1855. (10) The Rhythm of Bernard de Morlaix, Monk of Cluny, on the Celestial Country. London, Hayes, 1st ed. 1858: 3rd ed., with revision of text, 1861. It contains both the Latin and the English translation. (11) Hymns of The Eastern Church, Translated with Notes and an Introduction. London, Hayes, 1862: 2nd ed. 1862: 3rd ed. 1866 : 4th ed., with Music and additional notes, edited by The Very Rev. S. G. Hatherly, Mus. B., Archpriest of the Patriarchal (Ecumenical Throne. London, Hayes, 1882. Several of these translations and notes appeared in The Ecclesiastic and Theologian, in 1853. (12) Hymns, Chiefly Mediaeval, on the Joys and Glories of Paradise. London, Hayes, 1865. This work contains notes on the hymns, and the Latin texts of the older amongst them. (13) Original Sequences, Hymns, and other Ecclesiastical Verses. London, Hayes, 1866. This collection of Original verse was published posthumously by Dr. Littledale. In addition to these works Dr. Neale published collections of Latin verse as:— 1.) Hymni Ecclesiae e Breviariis quibusdam et Missalibus Gallicanis, Germanis, Hispanis, Lusitanis, desumpti. Oxford & Lond. J. H. Parker, 1851: and (2) Sequentiae e Missalibus Germanicis, Anglicis, Gallicis, aliisque Medii Aevi collectae. Oxford & Lond. J. H. Parker, 1852. A few of his translations appeared from time to time in The Ecclesiastic; and a few of his original hymns in The Christian Remembrancer. In the collection compiled for use at St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, St. Margaret's Hymnal, Printed Privately for the use of the Community only, 1875, there are several of his hymns not traceable elsewhere. [Many of his translations and original compositions are not listed here]. Some of the original hymns in common use which remain to be noted are:— i. From Hymns for Children, 1842. 1. No more sadness now, nor fasting. Christmas. 2. 0 Thou, Who through this holy week. Passiontide. 3. The day, 0 Lord, is spent. Evening. 4. The grass so green, the trees so tall. Morning of the Third Day. 5. Thou art gone up, 0 Lord, on high. Evening. 6. Thou, Who earnest from above. Whitsuntide. 7. With Thee, 0 Lord, begins the year. Circumcision, or, the New Year. ii. From Hymns for the Sick, 1843. 8. By no new path untried before. Support in Sickness. 9. Count not, the Lord's Apostle saith. Communion of the Sick. 10. Lord, if he sleepeth, he shall sure do well. Watching. 11. 0 Thou, Who rising long before the day. In a sleepless Night. 12. The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken away. Death and Burial. 13. There is a stream, whose waters rise. In dangerous Sickness or Fever. 14. They slumber not nor sleep. Guardian Angels. 15. Thy servants militant below. In Affliction. iii. From Hymns for the Young, 2nd series, 1844. 16. Lord Jesus, Who shalt come with power. Ember Week in Advent. 17. 0 God, in danger and distress. In time of Trouble. 18. 0 God, we raise our hearts to Thee. Ember-Week in Advent. From this, "0 Lord, we come before Thee now” is taken. 19. 0 God, Who lovest to abide. Dedication of a Church. 20. 0 our Father, hear us now. Rogation. The first of three hymns on The Lord's Prayer. 21. 0 Saviour, Who hast call'd away. Death of a Minister. 22. 0 Thou, Who lov'st to send relief. In Sickness. 23. 0 Thou, Who once didst bless the ground. Ember-Week in September. 24. 0 Thou, Who, when Thou hadst begun. On going to Work. 25. Still, 0 Lord of hosts, we share. Rogation. The Second of his hymns on The Lord's Prayer. 26. Strangers and pilgrims here below. On entering a new Dwelling to reside there. 27. They whose course on earth is o'er. Communion of Saints. From this, "Those whom many a land divides," is taken. 2S. Till its holy hours are past. Rogation. The third of his hymns on The Lord's Prayer. iv. Songs and Ballads for Manufacturers, 1844. 29. Work is over; God must speed it. Evening. v. Hymns for Children, 3rd series, 1846. 30. Before Thy Face, 0 God of old. St. John the Baptist. 31. By pain, and weariness, and doubt. St. Stephen. 32. First of the twelvefold band that trod. St. James. 33. Four streams through happy Eden flow'd. St. Mark. 34. Is there one who sets his face. St. Bartholomew. From this "He, for man who suffered woe," is taken. 35. Not a single sight we view. St. Matthias. 36. 0 Great Physician of the soul. St. Luke. 37. 0 Heavenly Wisdom, hear our cry. Christmas. “0 Sapientia." 38. 0 Key of David, hailed by those. Christmas. "0 Clavis David." 39. 0 Root of Jesse, Thou on Whom. Christmas. “O Radix Jesse." 40. 0 Thou, on Whom the nations [Gentiles] wait. Christmas. "0 Rex Gentium." 41. 0 Thou, Who earnest down of old [to call] . Christmas. "0 Adonai." 42. 0 Thou, Whose Name is God with us. Christmas. "0 Emmanuel." 43. 0 Very God of Very God. Christmas. "0 Oriens." 44. Saints of God, whom faith united. SS. Simon and Jude. 45. Since the time that first we came. St. Andrew. From this, "Every bird that upward springs," is taken. 46. That love is mighty love indeed. St. Barnabas. 47. We cannot plead, as others may. St. Matthew. 48. We have not seen, we cannot see. St. Thomas. 49. Would we go when life is o'er? St. Peter. v. Carols for Christmas and Eastertide. 1853. 50. Gabriel's message does away. Christmas. 51. Joy and gladness be to king and peasant. Christmas. 52. Joy to thee, joy to thee, Day of our victory. Easter. 53. Sing Alleluia, all ye lands. Easter. 54. The world itself keeps Easter Day. Easter. From this "There stood three Marys by the tomb," is taken. 55. With Christ we share a mystic grave. Easter or Holy Baptism. vi. From Sequences, Hymns, &c, 1866. 56. Can it, Master, can it be? Maundy Thursday. 57. Need it is we raise our eyes. All Saints. 58. Prostrate fell the Lord of all things. Maundy Thursday. 59. Rear the column, high and stately. All Saints. 60. The Paschal moonlight almost past. Easter. 61. Though the Octave-rainbow sometimes. Low Sunday. 62. When the earth was full of darkness. St. Margaret. 63. Young and old must raise the lay. Christmas Carol. vi. From the St. Margaret's Hymnal, 1875. 64. O gracious God, Who bid'st me now. On Leaving Some. 65. Thou Who came to save Thy people. For a School. 66. Thy praise the holy Infants shewed. Holy Innocents. These 66 hymns now in common use by no means represent Dr. Neale's position in modern hymnody. Many others must be added thereto. Even then, although the total is very large, it but feebly represents and emphasises the enormous influence which Di. Neale has exercised over modern hymnody. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

James Edmeston

1791 - 1867 Person Name: J. Edmeston Hymnal Number: 17a Author of "Saviour, breathe an evening blessing" in The Hymnal Edmeston, James, born Sept. 10, 1791. His maternal grandfather was the Rev. Samuel Brewer, who for 50 years was the pastor of an Independent congregation at Stepney. Educated as an architect and surveyor, in 1816 he entered upon his profession on his own account, and continued to practice it until his death on Jan. 7, 1867. The late Sir G. Gilbert Scott was his pupil. Although an Independent by descent he joined the Established Church at a comparatively early age, and subsequently held various offices, including that of churchwarden, in the Church of St. Barnabas, Homerton. His hymns number nearly 2000. The best known are “Lead us, Heavenly Father, lead us” and "Saviour, breathe an evening blessing." Many of his hymns were written for children, and from their simplicity are admirably adapted to the purpose. For many years he contributed hymns of various degrees of merit to the Evangelical Magazine, His published works are:— (1) The Search, and other Poems, 1817. (2) Sacred Lyrics, 1820, a volume of 31 hymns and one poem. This was followed by a second Series, 1821, with 35; and a third Series, 1822, with 27 pieces respectively. (3) The Cottage Minstrel; or, Hymns for the Assistance of Cottagers in their Domestic Worship, 1821. This was published at the suggestion of a member of the Home Missionary Society, and contains fifty hymns. (4) One Hundred Hymns for Sunday Schools, and for Particular Occasions, 1821. (5) Missionary Hymns, 1822. (6) Patmos, a Fragment, and Other Poems, 1824. (7) The Woman of Shunam, and Other Poems, 1829. (8) Fifty Original Hymns, 1833. (9) Hymns for the Chamber of Sickness, 1844. (10) Closet Hymns and Poems, 1844. (11) Infant Breathings, being Hymns for the Young, 1846. (12) Sacred Poetry, 1847. In addition to those of his hymns which have attained to an extensive circulation, as those named above, and are annotated in this work under their respective first lines, there are also the following in common use in Great Britain and America:— 1. Along my earthly way. Anxiety. In his Sacred Lyrics, third set, 1822, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. It is given in several collections, but usually in an abbreviated form, and generally somewhat altered. 2. Dark river of death that is [art] flowing. Death Anticipated. Given in his Sacred Lyrics, 3rd set, 1822, p. 39, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines. It is usually given in an abbreviated form, and sometimes as, "Dark river of death that art flowing." 3. Come, sacred peace, delightful guest. Peace. Appeared in his Closet Hymns, &c, 1844, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. 4. Eternal God, before thy throne, Three nations. National Fast. 5. For Thee we pray and wait. Second Advent. 6. God intrusts to all. Parable of the Talents. This is No. 13 of his Infant Breathings, 1846, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. It is a simple application of the parable to the life of a child. It is widely used. 7. God is here; how sweet the sound. Omnipresence. Given as No. 9 in his Sacred Lyrics, 1st set, 1820, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Baptist Hymnal, 1879, No. 45. St. i.-iii. are from this text, and iv. and v. are from another source. 8. How sweet the light of Sabbath eve. Sunday Evening. No. 10 in theCottage Minstrel, 1821, slightly altered. 9. Is there a time when moments flow. Sunday Evening. No. 5 of his Sacred Lyrics, 1st set, 1820, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. 10. Little travellers Zionward. Burial of Children. No. 25 of his Infant Breathings, &c, 1846, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Leeds Hymn Book, 1853, it begins with stanza ii., "Who are they whose little feet?" 11. May we, Lord, rejoicing say. National Thanksgiving. Dated 1849 by the author in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymnbook, No. 1008. 12. Music, bring thy sweetest treasures. Holy Trinity. Dated 1837 by the author in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymnbook, No. 167. It is in his Sacred Poetry, 1847. 13. Roll on, thou mighty ocean. Departure of Missionaries. In his Missionary Hymns, 1822, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. It is in common use in America. 14. Sweet is the light of Sabbath eve. Sunday Evening. In 5 stanzas of 41., from the Cottage Minstrel, 1821, where it is given as No. 10, and entitled "The Cottager's Reflections upon the Sabbath Evening." 15. The light of Sabbath eve. Sunday Evening. In 5 stanzas of 4 lines, as No. 11 in the Cottage Minstrel, 1821, p. 14, and headed, "Solemn Questions for the Sabbath Evening." 16. Wake, harp of Zion, wake again. Missions to the Jews. Dated 1846 by the author in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymnbook. It is in his Sacred Poetry, 1847. 17. When shall the voice of singing? In his Missionary Hymns, 1822. It is in a few American collections. 18. When the worn spirit wants repose. Sunday. No. 18, of his Sacred Lyrics, 1st set, 1820, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. It is somewhat popular, and is given in several collections in Great Britain and America, as the Baptist Psalms & Hymns, 1858-80; the Church Praise Book, N. Y., 1881, &c. 19. Why should I, in vain repining? Consolation. No. 14 in the 1st set of his Sacred Lyrics, 1820, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ========================= Edmeston, James, p. 321, ii. Other hymns are:— 1. O Thou Whose mercy guides my way. Resignation. In his Sacred Lyrics, 1st set, 1820, p. 24, in 3 stanzas of 4 lines, and again in his Hymns for the Chamber of Sickness, 1844. 2. Parting soul, the flood awaits thee. Death anticipated. In his Sacred Lyrics, 1st set, 1820, p. 18, in 3 stanza of 8 lines, and based upon the passage in the Pilgrim's Progress:—"Now I further saw that betwixt them and the gate was a river, but there was no bridge to go over, and the river was very deep." 3. 'Tis sweet upon our pilgrimage. Praise. In hi3 Closet Hymns and Poems, 1846, in 3 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed "An Ebenezer Raided." 4. Welcome, brethren, enter in. Reception of Church Officers. Miller says, in his Singers and Songs, 1869, p. 420:—"This is No. 1 of five hymns supplied by Mr. Edmeston, at the request of a friend, for insertion in a provincial hymn-book, on the subject of admitting members," but he does not give the name of the book, neither have we identified It. The hymn, as given in the New Congregational Hymn Book, 1859, No. 840, is in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, of which Millet says stanza iii. is by another hand. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Reginald Heber

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

John Mason

1645 - 1694 Person Name: J. Mason Hymnal Number: 20 Author of "Now from the altar of our hearts " in The Hymnal 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) ==================== 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 Ellerton

1826 - 1893 Person Name: Rev. J. Ellerton Hymnal Number: 23 Author of "Our day of praise is done" in The Hymnal John Ellerton (b. London, England, 1826; d. Torquay, Devonshire, England, 1893) Educated at King William's College on the Isle of Man and at Trinity College, Cambridge, England, he was ordained in the Church of England in 1851. He served six parishes, spending the longest time in Crewe Green (1860-1872), a church of steelworkers and farmers. Ellerton wrote and translated about eighty hymns, many of which are still sung today. He helped to compile Church Hymns and wrote its handbook, Notes and Illustrations to Church Hymns (1882). Some of his other hymn texts were published in The London Mission Hymn Book (1884). Bert Polman ========================= Ellerton, John, M.A., son of George Ellerton, was born in London, Dec. 16, 1826, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (B.A. 1849; M.A. 1854). Taking Holy Orders he was successively Curate of Easebourne, Sussex, 1850; Brighton, and Lecturer of St. Peter's, Brighton, 1852; Vicar of Crewe Green, and Chaplain to Lord Crewe, 1860; Rector of Hinstock, 1872; of Barnes, 1876; and of White Roding, 1886. Mr. Ellerton's prose writings include The Holiest Manhood, 1882; Our Infirmities, 1883, &c. It is, however, as a hymnologist, editor, hymnwriter, and translator, that he is most widely known. As editor he published: Hymns for Schools and Bible Classes, Brighton, 1859. He was also co-editor with Bishop How and others of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871. His Notes and Illustrations of Church Hymns, their authors and translators, were published in the folio edition of 1881. The notes on the hymns which are special to the collection, and many of which were contributed thereto, are full, accurate, and of special value. Those on the older hymns are too general for accuracy. They are written in a popular form, which necessarily precludes extended research, fulness, and exactness of detail. The result is acceptable to the general public, but disappointing to the hymnological expert. Mr. Ellerton's original hymns number about fifty, and his translations from the Latin ten or more. Nearly every one of these are in common use and include:— 1. Before the day draws near its ending. Afternoon. Written April 22, 1880, for a Festival of Choirs at Nantwich, and first published in the Nantwich Festival Book, 1880. In 1883 it passed into the Westminster Abbey Hymn Book. 2. Behold us, Lord, a little space. General for Weekdays. Written in 1870 for a mid-day service in a City Church, and published in Church Hymns in 1871. It has passed into several collections. 3. Come forth, 0 Christian brothers. Processional for Choral Festival. Written for a Festival of Parochial Choirs held at Chester, May, 1870, and 1st printed in the Service-book of the same. In 1871 it passed into Church Hymns. 4. Father, Name of love and fear. Confirmation. Written in 1871 for a Confirmation in the North of England, and published in Church Hymns, 1871, and other collections. 5. God, Creator and Preserver. In Time of Scarcity. Written for and first published in The Hymnary, 1870; and again in the revised edition, 1872, and other hymnbooks. 6. Hail to the Lord Who comes. Presentation of Christ in the Temple. Written Oct. 6, 1880, for Mrs. Brock's Children's Hymn Book, and published therein, 1881. 7. In the Name which earth and heaven. Foundation of a Church. Written for and first published in Church Hymns, 1871, and repeated in several collections. The hymn sung at the re-opening of the Nave of Chester Cathedral, January 25, 1872, was compiled by Mr. Ellerton from this hymn, and his "Lift the strain of high thanksgiving.” 8 King Messiah, long expected. The Circumcision. Written Jan. 14, 1871, and first published in Church Hymns, 1871. It has passed into other collections. 9. King of Saints, to Whom the number. St. Bartholomew. Written for and first published in Church Hymns., 1871. It is very popular, and has been repeated in many hymnals. 10. Mary at the Master's feet. Catechizing. Written for and first published in Church Hymns, 1871. 11. O Father, all-creating. Holy Matrimony. Written Jan. 29, 1876, at the request of the Duke of Westminster, for the marriage of his daughter to the Marquess of Ormonde. It was published in Thring's Collection, 1880 and 1882. 12 O! how fair the morning broke. Septuagesima. Written March 13, 1880, for Mrs. Brock's Children's Hymn Book, and included therein, 1881. 13. O Lord of life and death, welcome. In Time of Pestilence. Written for and first published in Church Hymns, 1871. 14. O shining city of our God. Concerning the Hereafter. First published in the Rev. R. Brown-Borthwick's Sixteen Hymns with Tunes, &c, 1870; and again in Church Hymns, 1871. 15. O Son of God, our Captain of Salvation. St. Barnabas. Written April 5, 1871, and first published in Church Hymns, 1871; and again in Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1875, Thring's Collection, 1882, and others. 16. O Thou in Whom Thy saints repose. Consecration of a Burial Ground. Written for the consecration of an addition to the Parish Churchyard of Tarporley, Cheshire, 1870, and published in Church Hymns, 1871. 17. O Thou Whose bounty fills the earth. Flower Services. Written for a Flower Service at St. Luke's Church, Chelsea, June 6, 1880, and published in Mrs. Brock's Children's Hymn Book, 1881. 18. Praise to our God, Whose bounteous hand. National Thanksgiving. Written in 1870 for Church Hymns, but first published in the Rev. R. Brown-Borthwick's Select Hymns, &c., 1871, and then in Church Hymns later the same year. 19. The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended. The darkness, &c. Evening. Written in 1870 for A Liturgy for Missionary Meetings (Frome, Hodges), and revised for Church Hymns, 1871. The revised form has passed into other collections. 20. The Lord be with us when we bend. Close of Afternoon Service. Written [in 1870] at the request of a friend for use at the close of Service on Sunday afternoons when (as in summer) strictly Evening hymns would be unsuitable. It was published in Church Hymns, 1871, Thring's Collection, 1882, and others. 21. This day the Lord's disciples met. Whitsuntide. "Originally written in 1855 for a class of children, as a hymn of 8 verses of 5 lines each, beginning, 'The Fiftieth day was come at last.’ It was abridged, revised, and compressed into C.M. for Mrs. Brock's Children's Hymn Book, 1880," and published therein, 1881. 22. Thou in Whose Name the two or three. Wednesday. Appeared in the Parish Magazine, May, 1871, as a hymn for Wednesday. After revision it was included in Church Hymns, 1871, and repeated in other collections. 23. Thou Who sentest Thine Apostles. SS. Simon and Jude. Written in June, 1874, for the revised edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern, and published in the same in 1875. 24. We sing the glorious conquest. Conversion of St. Paul. Written Feb. 28, 1871, for and published later the same year in Church Hymns. It was repeated in Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1875. 25. When the day of toil is done. Eternal Best. Written in Jan., 1870, and first published in the Rev. R. Brown-Borthwick's Sixteen Hymns with Tunes, &c. 1870, Church Hymns, 1871, and subsequently in several Scottish hymn-books. The tune "Preston," in Church Hymns was written for this hymn. To these hymns must be added those which are annotated under their respective first lines, and the translations from the Latin. The grandest of his original compositions is, "Throned upon the awful tree," and the most beautiful and tender, "Saviour, again to Thy dear Name we raise"; and of his translations, "Sing Alleluia forth in duteous praise," and "Welcome, happy morning, age to age shall say," are the most successful and popular. The subjects of Mr. Ellerton's hymns, and the circumstances under which they were written, had much to do with the concentration of thought and terseness of expression by which they are characterized. The words which he uses are usually short and simple; the thought is clear and well stated; the rhythm is good and stately. Ordinary facts in sacred history and in daily life are lifted above the commonplace rhymes with which they are usually associated, thereby rendering the hymns bearable to the cultured, and instructive to the devout. His antitheses are frequent and terse, almost too much so for devotional verse, and are in danger of interrupting the tranquil flow of devotion. His sympathy with nature, especially in her sadder moods, is great; he loves the fading light and the peace of eve, and lingers in the shadows. Unlike many writers who set forth their illustrations in detail, and then tie to them the moral which they are to teach, he weaves his moral into his metaphor, and pleases the imagination and refreshes the spirit together. Now and again he falls into the weakness of ringing changes on words; but taken as a whole his verse is elevated in tone, devotional in spirit, and elegant in diction. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ===================== Ellerton, John, p. 326, i. Other hymns are:— 1. O Father, bless the children. Holy Baptism. Written in 1886, and published in his Hymns, &c, 1888, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines. Also in the 1889 Suppl. Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern. 2. O Thou Who givest food to all. Temperance. Written Aug. 30, 1882, and printed in the Church of England Temperance Chronicle, Sept. 1882. Also in his Hymns, &c, 1888. 3. Praise our God for all the wonders. St. Nicholas's Day. Dated in his Hymns, 1888, "December 1882." It was written for the Dedication Festival of St. Nicholas's Church, Brighton, and first printed as a leaflet in 1882. 4. Praise our God, Whose open hand. Bad Harvest. Written as a hymn for the bad harvest of 1881, and printed in the Guardian in August of that year. Also in his Hymns, &c, 1888. 5. Praise to the Heavenly Wisdom. St. Matthias's Day. Dated in his Hymns, &c, 1888, "January, 1888." Also in the 1889 Suppl. Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern. 6. Shine Thou upon us, Lord. For a Teachers' Meeting. Contributed to the 1889 Suppl. Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern. 7. Thou Who wearied by the well. Temperance. Written for the Opening of a Workmen's Coffee Tavern, and dated in his Hymns, &c, 1888, "September 23, 1882." It was printed in the Church of England Temperance Chronicle the same year. 8. Throned upon the awful Tree. Good Friday. Written in 1875, and published in the 1875 ed. of Hymns Ancient & Modern. It has passed into many collections, and is one of the finest of Mr. Ellerton's productions. Mr. Ellerton's original and translated hymns to the number of 76 were collected, and published by Skeffington & Son in 1888, as Hymns, Original and Translated. By John Ellerton, Rector of White Roding. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) =================== Ellerton, J., pp. 326, ii.; 1561, ii. He was appointed Hon. Canon of St. Albans in 1892. and died June 15, 1893. His Life and Works, by H. Housman, was published in 1896. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Martin Madan

1726 - 1790 Person Name: M. Madan Hymnal Number: 39a Author of "Lo, He comes with clouds descending" in The Hymnal Madan, Martin, son of Colonel Martin Madan, and brother of Dr. Spencer Madan, sometime Bishop of Peterborough, was born in 1726. He was to have qualified for the Bar, but through a sermon by J. Wesley on the words "Prepare to meet thy God," the whole current of his life was changed. After some difficulty he received Holy Orders, and subsequently founded and became chaplain of the Lock Hospital, Hyde Park Corner. He was popular as a preacher, and had no inconsiderable reputation as a musical composer. He ceased preaching on the publication of his work Thelyphthora, in which he advocated the practice of polygamy. He died in 1790. He published A Commentary on the Articles of the Church of England; A Treatise on the Christian Faith, &c, and:- A Collection of Psalms and Hymns Extracted from Various Authors, and published by the Reverend Mr. Madan. London, 1760. This Collection contained 170 hymns thrown together without order or system of any kind. In 1763 he added an Appendix of 24 hymns. This Collection, referred to as Madam’s Psalms & Hymns, had for many years a most powerful influence on the hymnody of the Church of England. Nearly the whole of its contents, together with its extensively altered texts, were reprinted in numerous hymnbooks for nearly one hundred years. At the present time many of the great hymns of the last century are in use as altered by him in 1760 and 1763. Although several hymns have been attributed to him, we have no evidence that he ever wrote one. His hymnological labours were employed in altering, piecing, and expanding the work of others. And in this he was most successful. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ============================

Philipp Nicolai

1556 - 1608 Person Name: P. Nicolai Hymnal Number: 40a Author of "Wake, awake, for night is flying" in The Hymnal Philipp Nicolai (b. Mengeringhausen, Waldeck, Germany, 1556; d. Hamburg, Germany, 1608) lived an eventful life–he fled from the Spanish army, sparred with Roman Catholic and Calvinist opponents, and ministered to plague-stricken congregations. Educated at Wittenberg University, he was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1583 in the city of Herdecke. However, he was soon at odds with the Roman Catholic town council, and when Spanish troops arrived to reestablish Roman dominance, Nicolai fled. In 1588 he became chief pastor at Altwildungen and court preacher to Countess Argaretha of Waldeck. During that time Nicolai battled with Calvinists, who disagreed with him about the theology of the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. These doctrinal controversies were renewed when he served the church in Unna, Westphalia. During his time as a pastor there, the plague struck twice, and Nicolai wrote both "How Bright Appears the Morning Star" and "Wake, Awake." Nicolai's last years were spent as Pastor of St. Katherine's Church in Hamburg. Bert Polman ===================== Nicolai, Philipp, D.D., son of Dieterich Nicolai, sometime Lutheran pastor at Herdecke, in Westphalia, and after 1552, at Mengeringhausen in Waldeck, was born at Mengeringhausen, August 10, 1556. (The father was son of Nicolaus Rafflenbol, of Rafflenbol, near Hagen, in Westphalia, and in later life had adopted the Latinised form Nicolai of his father's Christian name as his own surname.) In 1575 Nicolai entered the University of Erfurt, and in 1576 he went to Wittenberg. After completing his University course in 1579 (D.D. at Wittenberg July 4, 1594), he lived for some time at Volkliardinghausen, near Mengeringhausen, and frequently preached for his father. In August, 1583, he was appointed Lutheran preacher at Herdecke, but found many difficulties there, the members of the Town Council being Roman Catholics. After the invasion by the Spanish troops in April, 1586, his colleague re-introduced the Mass, and Nicolai resigned his post. In the end of 15S6 he was appointed diaconus at Niederwildungen, near Waldeck, and in 1587 he became pastor there. He then became, in Nov. 1588, chief pastor at Altwildungen, and also court preacher to the widowed Countess Margafetha of Waldeck, and tutor to her son, Count Wilhelm Ernst. Here he took an active part on the Lutheran side in the Sacramentarian controversy, and was, in Sept. 1592, inhibited from preaching by Count Franz of Waldeck, but the prohibition was soon removed, and in the Synod of 1593 held at Mengeringhausen, he found all the clergy of the principality of Waldeck willing to agree to the Formula of Concord. In October, 1596, he became pastor at Unna, in Westphalia, where he again became engaged in heated controversy with the Calvinists; passed through a frightful pestilence (see below); and then on Dec. 27, 1598, had to flee before the invasion of the Spaniards, and did not return till the end of April, 1599. Finally, in April 1601, he was elected chief pastor of St. Katherine's Church, at Hamburg, where he entered on his duties Aug. 6, 1601. On Oct. 22, 1608, he took part in the ordination of a colleague in the St. Katherine's Church, the diaconus Penshora, and returned home feeling unwell. A violent fever developed itself, under which he sank, and died Oct. 26, 1608 (D. Philipp Nicolai’s Leben und Lieder, by L. Curtze, 1859; Koch, ii. 324; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie xxiii. 607, &c). In Hamburg Nicolai was universally esteemed, was a most popular and influential preacher, and was regarded as a "pillar" of the Lutheran church. In his private life he seems to have been most lovable and estimable. Besides his fame as a preacher, his reputation rests mainly on his hymns. His printed works are mostly polemical, often very violent and acrid in tone, and such as the undoubted sincerity of his zeal to preserve pure and unadulterated Lutheranism may explain, but cannot be said to justify. Of his hymns only four seem to have been printed. Three of Nicolai's hymns were first published in his devotional work entitled Frewden-Spiegel dess ewigen Lebens, published at Frankfurt-am-Main, 1599 (see further below). The two noted here ("Wachet auf” and “Wie schon") rank as classical and epoch-making. The former is the last of the long series of Watchmen's Songs. The latter marks the transition from the objective churchly period to the more subjective and experimental period of German hymn writing; and begins the long series of Hymns of Love to Christ as the Bridegroom of the Soul, to which Franck and Scheffler contributed such beautiful examples. Both are also worthy of note for their unusual and perfect rhythms, and for their splendid melodies. They are:— i. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme. Eternal Life. This beautiful hymn, one of the first rank, is founded on St. Matt. xxv. 1-13; Rev. xix. 6-9, and xxi. 21; 1 Cor. ii. 9; Ezek. iii. 17; and Is. lii. 8. It first appeared in the Appendix to his Frewden-Spiegel, 1599, in 3 st. of 10 1., entitled "Of the Voice at Midnight, and the Wise Virgins who meet their Heavenly Bridegroom. Matt. 25." Thence in Wackernagel v. p. 259, the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 690, and most German collections. It is a reversed acrostic, W. Z. G. for the Graf zu Waldeck, viz. his former pupil Count Wilhelm Ernst, who died at Tübingen Sept. 16, 1598, in his fifteenth year. It seems to have been written in 1597 at Unna, in Wesphalia, where Nicolai was then pastor; and during the terrible pestilence which raged there from July, 1597, to January, 1598, to which in July 300, in one week in August 170, and in all over 1300 fell victims. Nicolai's parsonage overlooked the churchyard, and there daily interments took place, often to the number of thirty. In these days of distress, when every household was in mourning, Nicolai's thoughts turned to Death, and thence to God in Heaven, and to the Eternal Fatherland. Jn the preface (dated Aug. 10, 1598) to his Frewden-Spiegel he says: "There seemed to me nothing more sweet, delightful and agreeable, than the contemplation of the noble, sublime doctrine of Eternal Life obtained through the Blood of Christ. This I allowed to dwell in my heart day and night, and searched the Scriptures as to what they revealed on this matter, read also the sweet treatise of the ancient doctor Saint Augustine [De Civitate Dei]. ..... Then day by day I wrote out my meditations, found myself, thank God! wonderfully well, comforted in heart, joyful in spirit, and truly content; gave to my manuscript the name and title of a Mirror of Joy, and took this so composed Frewden-Spiegel to leave behind me (if God should call me from this world) as the token of my peaceful, joyful, Christian departure, or (if God should spare me in health) to comfort other sufferers whom He should also visit with the pestilence .... Now has the gracious, holy God most mercifully preserved me amid the dying from the dreadful pestilence, and wonderfully spared me beyond all my thoughts and hopes, so that with the Prophet David I can say to Him "0 how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee," &c. The hymn composed under these circumstances (it may be stated that Curtze thinks both hymns were written in 1596, while Nicolai was still at Alt-Wildungen) soon became popular, and still retains its place, though often altered in the 3rd stanza. Probably the opening lines; "Wachet auf! ruft uns die Stimme Der Wachter sehr hoch auf der Zinne" are borrowed from one of the Wächter-Lieder, a form of lyric popular in the Middle Ages, introduced by Wolfram von Eschenbach. (See K. Goedeke's Deutsche Dichtung im Mittelalter, 1871, p. 918.) But while in the Songs the voice of the Watchman from his turret summons the workers of darkness to flee from discovery, with "Nicolai it is a summons to the children of light to awaken to their promised reward and full felicity. The melody appeared first along with the hymn, and is also apparently by Nicolai, though portions of it (e.g. 1. 1 by the Gregorian Fifth Tone) may have been suggested by earlier tunes. It has been called the King of Chorales, and by its majestic simplicity and dignity it well deserves the title. Since its use by Mendelssohn in his St. Paul it has become well known in England, and, in its original form, is given in Miss Winkworth's Chorale Book for England, 1863 (see below). Translations in common use:— 1. Sleepers wake, a voice is calling. This is an unrhymed translation of st. i. by W. Ball in his book of words to Mendelssohn's oratorio of St. Paul, 1836. This form is in Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884, and others. In the South Place [London] Collection, 1873, it is a recast by A. J. Ellis, but opens with the same first line. In the Parish Hymn Book, 1875, a translation of st. ii., also unrhymed, is added. 2. "Wake ye holy maidens, wake ye. A good translation contributed by Philip Pusey to A. R. Reinagle's Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes, Oxford, 1840, p. 134. It was considerably altered, beginning "Wake, ye holy maidens, fearing" in the Salisbury Hymn Book, 1857, and this is repeated, with further alterations, in Kennedy, 1863, and the Sarum Hymnal, 1868. 3. Wake, arise! the call obeying. A good translation by A. T. Russell, as No. 110 in the Dalston Hospital Hymn Book 1848. 4. Wake, oh wake; around are flying. This is a recast, by A. T. Russell, not for the better, from his 1848 translation, as No. 268 in his Psalms & Hymns. 1851, st. iii. being omitted. Thence, unaltered, in the New Zealand Hymnal, 1872. 5. Wake, awake, for night is flying. A very good translation by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 225, repeated in her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 200, with st. ii., 11. 7, 8, rewritten. Included in the English Presbyterian Psalms & Hymns, 1867; Scottish Presbyterian Hymnal, 1876, &c.; and in America, in Laudes Domini, 1884, and others. In the Cantate Domino, Boston, U. S., 1859, it begins "Awake, awake, for night is flying." 6. Wake! the startling watch-cry pealeth. By Miss Cox, in Lyra Messianica, 1864, p. 4, and her Hymns from the German, 1864, p. 27; repeated in W. F. Stevenson's Hymns for Church and Home, 1873. The version in J. L. Porter's Collection, 1876, takes st. i., 11. 1-4 from Miss Cox. The rest is mainly from R. C. Singleton's translation in the Anglican Hymn Book, but borrows lines also from Miss Winkworth, and from the Hymnary text. 7. Wake! the watchman's voice is sounding. By R. C.Singleton. This is No. 259 in the Anglican Hymn Book, 1868, where it is marked as a "versification by R. C. Singleton, 1867." 8. Wake, awake, for night is flying. This is by Canon W. Cooke, in the Hymnary, 1871, and signed A. C. C. In the edition of 1872, 11. 7, 8 of st. ii. are recast, and the whole is marked as " based on E. A. Dayman." It is really a cento, four lines of the 1872 text (i., 1. 5; ii., 11. 7, 8; iii., 1. 9) being by Canon Cooke; and the rest being adapted from the versions of P. Pusey as altered in the Sarum Hymnal, of Miss Winkworth, of Miss Cox, and of R. C. Singleton. It may be regarded as a success, and as passed into the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871; the 1874 Appendix to the New Congregational Hymn Book; Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884, and others. 9. Wake, arise! the voice is calling. This is an anonymous translation in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. 10. Slumberers, wake, the Bridegroom cometh. A spirited version, based on Miss Winkworth (and with an original st. as iv.), by J. H. Hopkins in his Carols, Hymns & Songs, 3rd ed., 1882. p. 88, and dated 1866. Repeated in the Hymnal Companion (Reformed Episcopal) Philadelphia, U.S., 1885. Other translations are:— (1) “Awake, the voice is crying." In Lyra Davidica, 1108, p. 73. (2) "Awake! awake! the watchman calls." By Miss Fry, 1845, p. 33. (3) "Hark! the trump of God is sounding." By Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (1856, p. 269. This is from the altered form by F. G. Klopstock, in his Geistliche Lieder, 1758, p. 246, as further altered in Zollikofer's Gesang-Buch, 1766, No. 303, where it begins "Wachet auf! so ruft." (4) "Awake, arise, the voice gives warning." In the United Presbyterian Juvenile Missionary Magazine, 1857, p. 193; repeated in 1859, p. 171, beginning, “Awake, arise, it is the warning." (5) “Waken! From the tower it soundeth." By Mrs. Bevan, 1858, p. 1. (6) Up! awake! his summons hurried." By J. D.Burns, in the Family Treasury, 1860, p. 84, and his Memoir & Remains, 1869, p. 234. 11. Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, Voll Gnad und Wahrheit von dem Herrn. Love to Christ. First published in theAppendix to his Frewden-Spiegel, 1599, in 7 stanzas of 10 lines entitled "A spiritual bridal song of the believing soul concerning Jesus Christ, her heavenly Bridegroom, founded on the 45th Psalm of the prophet David." Lauxmann, in Koch, viii. 271, thus gives an account of it as written during the Pestilence of 1597. He says Nicola was "One morning in great distress and tribulation in his quiet study. He rose in spirit from the distress and death which surrounded him to his Redeemer and Saviour, and while he clasped Him in ardent love there welled forth from the inmost depths of his heart this precious hymn of the Saviour's love and of the joys of Heaven. He was so entirely absorbed in this holy exaltation that he forgot all around him, even his midday meal, and allowed nothing to disturb him in his poetical labours till the hymn was completed "—-three hours after midday. As Nicolai was closely connected with Waldeck he formed with the initial letters of his stanzas the acrostic W. E. G. U. H. Z. W., viz. Wilhelm Ernst Graf Und Herr Zn Waldeck— his former pupil. The hymn has reminiscences of Eph. v., of Canticles, and of the Mediaeval Hymns to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It became at once a favourite in Germany, was reckoned indispensable at weddings, was often sung around death beds, &c. The original form is in Wackernagel v. p. 258, and the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 437; but this (as will be seen by comparing Miss Winkworth's version of 1869) is hardly suited for present day congregational use. In Bunsen's Versuch, 1833, No. 554, it is slightly altered. The form in Knapp's Evangelischer Lieder-Schatz, 1837, No. 2074 (1865, No. 1810) is a recast by Knapp made on Jan. 14, 1832, and published in his Christoterpe, 1833, p. 285, preceded by a recast of "Wachet auf!"; both being marked as “rewritten according to the requirements of our times." The popularity of the hymn was greatly aided by its beautiful chorale (named by Mr. Mercer, Frankfort), which has been called "The Queen of Chorales," and to which many city chimes in Germany were soon set. It was published with the hymn, and is probably an original tune by Nicolai, though portions may have been suggested by earlier melodies, especially by the "Resonet in laudibus," which is probably of the 14th cent. (Bäumker i., No. 48, cites it from the Obsequiale, Ingolstadt, 1570. In Alton's Congregational Psalmist named Arimathea). Translations in common use:— 1. How bright appears the Morning Star! This is a full and fairly close version by J. C. Jacobi, in his Psalter Germanica, 1722, p. 90 (1732, p. 162); repeated, with alterations, in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754, pt. i., No. 317 (1886, No. 360). The versions of st. v., vii. beginning, "The Father from eternity," are included in Aids to the Service of Song, Edinburgh N.D., but since 1860. In 1855 Mercer gave in his The Church Psalter & Hymn Book., as No. 15, a hymn in 4 stanzas of 10 lines, of which five lines are exactly from Jacobi. St. i., l1. 1-3; ii., .11. 8, 9 ; iii., 11. 2, 3, 6 ; iv., 1. 10, are exactly; and i., 1. 9; ii., 11. 2, 3, 6, 10; iii., II. 1, 4, 5; iv., 11. 7, 9 are nearly from the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801. The interjected lines are by Mercer, but bear very slight resemblance either to Nicolai's original text, or to any version of the German that we have seen. In his 1859 edition he further recast it, leaving only the first line unaltered from Jacobi; and this form is in his Oxford edition, 1864, No. 121, in the Irish Church Hymnal, 1869 and 1873, and in the Hymnal Companion 1870 and 1876. In Kennedy, 1863, the text of 1859 is given with alterations, and begins "How brightly dawns the Morning Star;" and this form is in the People's Hymnal, 1867; Dale's English Hymn Book 1874, &c. 2. How graciously doth shine afar. By A. T. Russell, as No. 8 in the Dalston Hospital Hymn Book, 1848, and repeated in the Cheltenham College Hymn Book, No. 37. It is a free translation of st. i., vi., v. 3. How lovely shines the Morning Star! A good and full translation by Dr. H. Harbaugh (from the text in Dr. Schaff’s Deutsches Gesang-Buch, 1860), in the German Reformed Guardian, May, 1860, p. 157. Repeated in full in Schaff's Christ in Song, 1869, and abridged in Adams's Church Pastorals, Boston, U.S.A., 1864. 4. 0 Morning Star! how fair and bright. A somewhat free translation of st. i., iii., iv., vii., by Miss Winkworth, as No.149 in her Chorale Book for England, 1863. Repeated in the Pennsylvania Lutheran Church Book, 1868; Ohio Lutheran Hymnal,1880, &c. 5. How brightly shines the Morning Star, In truth and mercy from afar. A translation of st. i., iii., iv., vii., by Miss Borthwick, as No. 239 in Dr. Pagenstecher's Collection, 1864. 6. How brightly glows the Morning Star. In full, from Knapp's German recast, by M. W. Stryker, in his Hymns & Verses, 1883, p. 52; repeated, omitting st. ii., iv., in his Christian Chorals, 1885, No. 145. Other translations are:— (1) "How fairly shines the Morning Star." In Lyra Davidica, 1708, p. 40. (2) "As bright the star of morning gleams" (st. i.) By W. Bartholomew, in his book of words to Mendelssohn's oratorio of Christus, 1852, p. 11. (3) "How lovely now the Morning Star." By Miss Cox, 1864, p. 229. (4) "How beauteous shines the Morning Star." By Miss Burlingham, in the British Herald, Oct. 1865, p. 152, and Reid's Praise Book, 1872. (5) "0 Morning Star, how fair and bright." By MissWinkworth, 1869, p. 160. (6) "How bright appears our Morning Star." By J. H. Hopkins, in his Carols, Hymns and Songs, 3rd ed., 1882, p. 168, and dated 1866. There are also three hymns in common use, which have generally been regarded as translations from Nicolai. They are noted as follows:—i. "Behold how glorious is yon sky" (see p. 127, ii.). ii. "How beautiful the Morning Star". iii. "How brightly shines the Morning Star! What eye descries it from afar". [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Catherine Winkworth

1827 - 1878 Person Name: Winkworth Hymnal Number: 40a Translator of "Wake, awake, for night is flying" in The Hymnal Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used in many modern hymnals. Her work was published in two series of Lyra Germanica (1855, 1858) and in The Chorale Book for England (1863), which included the appropriate German tune with each text as provided by Sterndale Bennett and Otto Goldschmidt. Winkworth also translated biographies of German Christians who promoted ministries to the poor and sick and compiled a handbook of biographies of German hymn authors, Christian Singers of Germany (1869). Bert Polman ======================== Winkworth, Catherine, daughter of Henry Winkworth, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, was born in London, Sep. 13, 1829. Most of her early life was spent in the neighbourhood of Manchester. Subsequently she removed with the family to Clifton, near Bristol. She died suddenly of heart disease, at Monnetier, in Savoy, in July, 1878. Miss Winkworth published:— Translations from the German of the Life of Pastor Fliedner, the Founder of the Sisterhood of Protestant Deaconesses at Kaiserworth, 1861; and of the Life of Amelia Sieveking, 1863. Her sympathy with practical efforts for the benefit of women, and with a pure devotional life, as seen in these translations, received from her the most practical illustration possible in the deep and active interest which she took in educational work in connection with the Clifton Association for the Higher Education of Women, and kindred societies there and elsewhere. Our interest, however, is mainly centred in her hymnological work as embodied in her:— (1) Lyra Germanica, 1st Ser., 1855. (2) Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858. (3) The Chorale Book for England (containing translations from the German, together with music), 1863; and (4) her charming biographical work, the Christian Singers of Germany, 1869. In a sympathetic article on Miss Winkworth in the Inquirer of July 20, 1878, Dr. Martineau says:— "The translations contained in these volumes are invariably faithful, and for the most part both terse and delicate; and an admirable art is applied to the management of complex and difficult versification. They have not quite the fire of John Wesley's versions of Moravian hymns, or the wonderful fusion and reproduction of thought which may be found in Coleridge. But if less flowing they are more conscientious than either, and attain a result as poetical as severe exactitude admits, being only a little short of ‘native music'" Dr. Percival, then Principal of Clifton College, also wrote concerning her (in the Bristol Times and Mirror), in July, 1878:— "She was a person of remarkable intellectual and social gifts, and very unusual attainments; but what specially distinguished her was her combination of rare ability and great knowledge with a certain tender and sympathetic refinement which constitutes the special charm of the true womanly character." Dr. Martineau (as above) says her religious life afforded "a happy example of the piety which the Church of England discipline may implant.....The fast hold she retained of her discipleship of Christ was no example of ‘feminine simplicity,' carrying on the childish mind into maturer years, but the clear allegiance of a firm mind, familiar with the pretensions of non-Christian schools, well able to test them, and undiverted by them from her first love." Miss Winkworth, although not the earliest of modern translators from the German into English, is certainly the foremost in rank and popularity. Her translations are the most widely used of any from that language, and have had more to do with the modern revival of the English use of German hymns than the versions of any other writer. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ============================ See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

William Walsham How

1823 - 1897 Person Name: Bishop W. How Hymnal Number: 68 Author of "O One with God the Father" in The Hymnal William W. How (b. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, 1823; d. Leenane, County Mayo, Ireland, 1897) studied at Wadham College, Oxford, and Durham University and was ordained in the Church of England in 1847. He served various congregations and became Suffragan Bishop in east London in 1879 and Bishop of Wakefield in 1888. Called both the "poor man's bishop" and "the children's bishop," How was known for his work among the destitute in the London slums and among the factory workers in west Yorkshire. He wrote a number of theological works about controversies surrounding the Oxford Movement and attempted to reconcile biblical creation with the theory of evolution. He was joint editor of Psalms and Hymns (1854) and Church Hymns (1871). While rector in Whittington, How wrote some sixty hymns, including many for children. His collected Poems and Hymns were published in 1886. Bert Polman =============== How, William Walsham, D.D., son of William Wybergh How, Solicitor, Shrewsbury, was born Dec. 13, 1823, at Shrewsbury, and educated at Shrewsbury School and Wadham College, Oxford (B.A. 1845). Taking Holy Orders in 1846, he became successively Curate of St. George's, Kidderminster, 1846; and of Holy Cross, Shrewsbury, 1848. In 1851 he was preferred to the Rectory of Whittington, Diocese of St. Asaph, becoming Rural Dean in 1853, and Hon. Canon of the Cathedral in 1860. In 1879 he was appointed Rector of St. Andrew's Undershaft, London, and was consecrated Suffragan Bishop for East London, under the title of the Bishop of Bedford, and in 1888 Bishop of Wakefield. Bishop How is the author of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Commentary on the Four Gospels; Plain Words , Four Series; Plain Words for Children; Pastor in Parochia; Lectures on Pastoral Work; Three All Saints Summers, and Other Poems , and numerous Sermons , &c. In 1854 was published Psalms and Hymns, Compiled by the Rev. Thomas Baker Morrell, M.A., . . . and the Rev. William Walsham How, M.A. This was republished in an enlarged form in 1864, and to it was added a Supplement in 1867. To this collection Bishop How contributed several hymns, and also to the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns , of which he was joint editor, in 1871. The Bishop's hymns in common use amount in all to nearly sixty. Combining pure rhythm with great directness and simplicity, Bishop How's compositions arrest attention more through a comprehensive grasp of the subject and the unexpected light thrown upon and warmth infused into facia and details usually shunned by the poet, than through glowing imagery and impassioned rhetoric. He has painted lovely images woven with tender thoughts, but these are few, and found in his least appreciated work. Those compositions which have laid the firmest hold upon the Church, are simple, unadorned, but enthusiastically practical hymns, the most popular of which, "O Jesu, Thou art standing"; "For all the Saints who from their labours rest," and "We give Thee but Thine own," have attained to a foremost rank. His adaptations from other writers as in the case from Bishop Ken, "Behold, the Master passeth by," are good, and his Children's hymns are useful and popular. Without any claims to rank as a poet, in the sense in which Cowper and Montgomery were poets, he has sung us songs which will probably outlive all his other literary works. The more important of Bishop How's hymns, including those already named, and "Lord, Thy children guide and keep"; "O Word of God Incarnate"; "This day at Thy creating word"; "Who is this so weak and helpless"; and others which have some special history or feature of interest, are annotated under their respective first lines. The following are also in common use:— i. From Psalms & Hymns, 1854. 1. Before Thine awful presence, Lord. Confirmation. 2. Jesus, Name of wondrous love [priceless worth]. Circumcision. The Name Jesus . 3. Lord Jesus, when we stand afar. Passiontide. 4. O blessing rich, for sons of men. Members of Christ. 5. 0 Lord of Hosts, the earth is Thine. In time of War. 6. O Lord, Who in Thy wondrous love. Advent. ii. From Psalms & Hymns, enlarged, 1864. 7. Lord, this day Thy children meet. Sunday School Anniversary. iii. From Supplement to the Psalms & Hymns, 1867. 8. Hope of hopes and joy of joys. Resurrection. 9. 0 daughters blest of Galilee. For Associations of Women. 10. O happy feet that tread. Public Worship. 11. With trembling awe the chosen three. Transfiguration. iv. From Parish Magazine, 1871, and Church Hymns, 1871. 12. O Jesu, crucified for man. Friday. 13. Yesterday, with worship blest. Monday. v. From the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns. 1871. 14. Bowed low in supplication. For the Parish. 15. Great Gabriel sped on wings of light. Annunciation, of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 16. O blest was he, whose earlier skill. St. Luke. 17. O God, enshrined in dazzling light. Omnipresence. Divine Worship . 18. O heavenly Fount of Light and Love. Witsuntide. 19. O Lord, it is a blessed thing. Weekdays. 20. 0 One with God the Father. Epiphany. 21. O Thou through suffering perfect made. Hospitals. 22. Rejoice, ye sons of men. Purification of the B. V. M. 23. Summer suns are glowing. Summer. 24. The year is swiftly waning. Autumn. 25. Thou art the Christ, O Lord. St. Peter. 26. To Thee our God we fly. National Hymn. 27. Upon the holy Mount they stood. Transfiguration and Church Guilds. 28. We praise Thy grace, 0 Saviour. St. Mark. vi. From the S. P. C. K. Children's Hymns, 1872. 29. Behold a little child. Jesus the Child's Example. 30. Come, praise your Lord and Saviour. Children's Praises. 31. It is a thing most wonderful. Sunday School Anniversary. 32. On wings of living light. Easter. Bishop How's hymns and sacred and secular pieces were collected and published as Poems and Hymns, 1886. The Hymns, 54 in all, are also published separately. He d. Aug. 10, 1897. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =================== How, W. W., p. 540, i. He died Aug. 10, 1897. His Memoir, by F. D. How, was published in 1898. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Charles Coffin

1676 - 1749 Person Name: C. Coffin Hymnal Number: 44 Author of "On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry" in The Hymnal Coffin, Charles, born at Buzaney (Ardennes) in 1676, died 1749, was principal of the college at Beauvais, 1712 (succeeding the historian Rollin), and rector of the University of Paris, 1718. He published in 1727 some, of his Latin poems, for which he was already noted, and in 1736 the bulk of his hymns appeared in the Paris Breviary of that year. In the same year he published them as Hymni Sacri Auctore Carolo Coffin, and in 1755 a complete ed. of his Works was issued in 2 vols. To his Hymni Sacri is prefixed an interesting preface. The whole plan of his hymns, and of the Paris Breviary which he so largely influenced, comes out in his words. "In his porro scribendis Hymnis non tam poetico indulgendunv spiritui, quam nitoro et pietate consulendum esse existimavi. Pleraque igitur, argumentis convenientia e purissiinis Scripturae Sacrae fontibus deprompsi quac idoneis Ecclesiae cantui numeris alligarem." His hymns are described by a French critic as having less brilliancy than those of Santüil (q.v.), but more simplicity and unction. They number 100 in the edition of 1736. Translated into English by J. Chandler, I. Williams and others, are noted under their respective Latin first lines. [William T. Brooke] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Philip Doddridge

1702 - 1751 Person Name: Dr. Doddridge Hymnal Number: 47b Author of "Hark! the glad sound! the Saviour comes" in The Hymnal 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 ======================== 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) ================ 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)

S. J. Stone

1839 - 1900 Person Name: Rev. S. J. Stone Hymnal Number: 82a Author of "Weary of earth, and laden with my sin" in The Hymnal Stone, Samuel John, a clergyman of the Church of England, the son of Rev. William Stone, was born at Whitmore, Staffordshire, April 25, 1839. He was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he was graduated B.A. in 1862. Later he took orders and served various Churches. He succeeded his father at St. Paul's, Haggerstown, in 1874. He was the author of many original hymns and translations, which were collected and published in 1886. His hymns are hopeful in spirit and skillfully constructed. He published several poetic volumes. He died November 19, 1900 --Hymn Writers of the Church, 1915 (Charles Nutter) ============================ Stone, Samuel John, M.A., son of the Rev. William Stone, M.A., was born at Whitmore, Staffordshire, April 25, 1839, and educated at the Charterhouse; and at Pembroke College, Oxford, B.A. 1862; and M.A. 1872. On taking Holy Orders he became Curate of Windsor in 1862, and of St. Paul's, Haggerston, 1870. In 1874 he succeeded his father, at St. Paul's, Haggerston. Mr. Stone's poetical works are (1) Lyra Fidelium, 1866; (2) The Knight of Intercession and Other Poems, 1872, 6th edition, 1887; (3) Sonnets of the Christian Year, first printed in the Leisure Hour, and then published by the R. T. Society, 1875; (4) Hymns, a collection of his original pieces and translations, 1886. He has also published Order of The Consecutive Church Service for Children, with Original Hymns, 1883. Mr. Stone's hymns, most of which are in common use, and several of which have a wide popularity, include:— 1. A sower went to sow his seed. The Sower. In his Hymns, 1886, the author says this hymn was ”Written specially in allusion to the sixteen years' work of the first Vicar [his Father] of St. Paul's, Haggerston, to whom the Parish was given in 1858, without Church, or School, or "Vicarage, or Endowment." 2. Bear the troubles of thy life. Patience. A translation of Thomas a Kempis's “Ad versa mundi tolera" (p. 23, ii.) made for the Rev. S. Kettlewell's Thomas á Kempis, 1882. 3. By Paul at war in Gentile lands. St. Mark. Written at Windsor in 1870, and published in his Knight of Intercession, 1872. 4. By Shepherds first was heard. Carol. Written in 1885, and published in the Parochial Magazine, 1885. 5. By Thy love which shone for aye. Litany of the Love of God. Written at Haggerston in 1883, and printed in the Monthly Packet, 1884. 6. Christ the Wisdom and the Power. For Church Workers. Written for the Church Society of St. Paul's, Haggerston in 1812, and published in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. 7. Dark is the sky that overhangs my soul. Sorrow succeeded by Joy. Written at Windsor in 1869 for the Monthly Packet, and printed therein 1869. Published in The Knight of Intercession, 1872, under the title of "Light at Eventide." 8. Deeply dark and deeply still. The Transfiguration. Written in 1871 and published in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. 9. Eastward, ever eastward. Processional for Sunday Morning. Written at Haggerston in 1876, and published in the Monthly Packet, 1884. 10. Faith, who sees beyond the portal. Faith, Hope, and Charity. Written at Windsor in 1869, and published in the Monthly Packet, 1869, and The Knight of Intercession, 1872. 11. Far off our brethren's voices. Missions. Written for the First Day of Intercession for Foreign Missions, 1871, and published in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. "For Colonial Missions." 12. Give the word, Eternal King. Missions. Written for the First Day of Intercession for Foreign Missions, 1871. 13. Glory in heaven to God. Christmas Carol. Written in 1882 for G. H. Leslie's Cantata The First Christmas Morn, 1882. 14. God the Father, All, and One. For Unity. Written in 1883 for Canon G. Venables's Service for Unity, and appeared in the Monthly Packet, 1884. 15. God the Father's Only Son. Offices of Christ. Published in his Lyra Fidelium, 1866, on Article ii.of the Apostles' Creed, "And in Jesus Christ His Only Son our Lord." 16. God the Spirit, we adore Thee. The Holy Ghost. Published in his Lyra Fidelium, 1866, or) Article viii. of the Apostles' Creed, "I believe in the Holy Ghost." 17. Great Captain of God's armies. For Purity. Written in 1884 for the Church of England Purity Society, and printed in Church Bells, April 10, 1885. 18. Homeward we pass in peace. Close of Divine Service. Written in 1884 at Haggerston; and included in the author's Hymns, 1886, as a "Hymn after Benediction." 19. How can we praise Thee, Father? For the Fatherless. Written by request for "The Church of England Central Home for Waifs and Strays," 1882, and printed in the Monthly Packet, 1884. 20. Is there no hope for those who lie? Missions. Written in 1870 for the Monthly Packet; and also included in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. 21. Jesu, to my heart most precious. Jesus, All in All. A translation of Thomas á Kempis's "De dulcedine Jesu," made for the Rev. S. Kettlewell's Thomas á Kempis, 1882. 22. Lo! They were, and they are, and shall be. St. Michael and All Angels. Written in 1875 for The Scottish Guardian, in which it was given in 1875. 23. Lord Christ, my Master dear. For Church Workers. Written for the Sunday School Teachers of St. Paul's, Haggerston, 1885, and given in his Hymns, 1886. 24. Lord of the harvest, it is right and meet. Missions, Thanksgiving. Written for the Second Day of Intercession for Foreign Missions, 1871, and published in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. In the 1889 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern it is somewhat altered. 25. Most true, most High; O Trinity. Holy Trinity. A translation of Thomas á Kempis's "O vera summa Trinitas" made for the Rev. S. Kettlewell's Thomas á Kempis, 1882. 26. My Saviour! I behold Thy life. Passiontide. Published in his Lyra Fidelium, 1866, on Article iv. of the Apostles' Creed, "Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was Crucified, Dead, and Buried." 27. Need hath the golden city none. Evening. Written at Windsor in 1869, and was published in the Monthly Packet in 1870. Also in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. 28. None else but Thee for evermore. God the Father. The opening hymn of his Lyra Fidelium, 1866, on Article i. of the Apostles' Creed, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth." 29. 0 joy, the purest, noblest. Evening. A translation in two parts of Thomas á Kempis's "O qualis quantaque laetitia" made for the Rev. S. Kettlewell's Thomas á Kempis, 1882. Pt. ii. begins "State of divinest splendour!" 30. 0 Thou by Whom the saints abide. Litany of the Holy Spirit. Written for a Confirmation at Haggerston, 1875, and included in the 3rd edition of The Knight of Intercession, 1875. 31. 0 Thou Whose love paternal. Holy Matrimony. Written at Windsor in 1863. 32. On Olivet a little band. Ascension. Published in his Lyra Fidelium, 1866, on Article vi. of the Apostles’ Creed, “He ascended into Heaven," &c. 33. Peace: legacy of mystic power. Peace . Written in 1882 for The Society of St. Katharine for Invalids, and published in the Monthly Packet, 1884. 34. Remember Me, show forth My death. Holy Communion. Written at Windsor for the Monthly Packet, in 1870; and included in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. 35. The Son forsook the Father's home. Christmas. Published in his Lyra Fidelium, 1866, on Art. iii. of the Apostles' Creed, “Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary." 36. The old year's long campaign is o'er. The New Year. Written at Windsor in 1868, and published in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. 37. The whole creation groans and cries. Travail of the Creation. Written at Windsor for the Monthly Packet, 1869, and included in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. 38. The world is sad with hopes that die. Everlasting Life. Published in his Lyra Fidelium, 1866, on Art. xii. of the Apostles' Creed, "The Life Everlasting." 39. Their names are names of Kings. Saints Days. Written at Windsor for the Monthly Packet in 1869, and included in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. 40. There is an ancient river. The Spiritual River. Written at Windsor for the Monthly Packet, in 1870; and given in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. 41. Thou Who hast charged Thine elder sons. For School Teachers. Written in 1881 for St. Katharine's Training College for Mistresses; and subsequently adapted for use by teachers of both sexes. 42. Thou Who didst love us when our woes began. Temperance. Written for the Church of England Temperance Society Magazine, 1866. 43. Through midnight gloom from Macedon. Missions. Written for the First Day of Intercession for Foreign Missions, 1871. 44. Unchanging God, hear from eternal heaven. On behalf of the Jews. Written for the East London Mission to the Jews, 1885. It is included in an abridged form in the 1889 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern. 45. While the Shepherds kept their vigil. Christmas Carol. Written at Windsor in 1868. 46. Winter in his heart of gloom. The Resurrection of the Body. Published in his Lyra Fidelium, 1866, on Article xi. of the Apostles' Creed, "The Resurrection of the Body." 47. Wistful are our waiting eyes. The Judgment. Published in his Lyra Fidelium, 1866, on Art. vii. of the Apostles' Creed, "From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead." 48. Ye faithful few of Israel's captive days. Holy Scriptures. Written at Windsor for the Monthly Packet, in 1869. Some of Mr. Stone's finer hymns, including "Round the Sacred City gather;" "The Church's One Foundation;" "Weary of earth and laden with my sin," and others, are annotated under their respective first lines. These, together with the 48 above, are given in his Hymns, 1886, some of the translations being recast. Additional translations from Thomas á Kempis are also noted under his name. Another hymn, inseparably associated with Mr. Stone's name is:— 49. Lord of our Soul's salvation. National Thanksgiving. This was ordered by command of Her Majesty the Queen to be sung at the Thanksgiving for the recovery of H. R. H. The Prince of Wales, on Feb. 27, 1872. In its original form it was in 7 stanzas of 8 lines, and was thus sung throughout the country. Owing however to the necessary restrictions as to time in the Cathedral service, a selection of four verses only--the First, a combination of the 2nd and 4th, the 6th, and the 7th--was adapted by the author for use in St. Paul's." The full text was included in The Knight of Intercession, 1872. Mr. Stone's hymns vary considerably in metre and subject, and thus present a pleasing variety not always found in the compositions of popular hymnwriters. His best hymns are well designed and clearly expressed. The tone is essentially dogmatic and hopeful. The absence of rich poetic thought and graceful fancy is more than atoned for by a masterly condensation of Scripture facts and of Church teaching given tersely and with great vigour. His changes and antitheses are frequently abrupt, in many instances too much so for congregational purposes, and his vocabulary is somewhat limited. His rhythm, except where broken either by long or by compound words, is rarely at fault, and his rhyme is usually perfect. A few of his hymns are plaintive and pathetic, as the tender "Weary of earth and laden with my sin;" others are richly musical, as "Lord of the harvest! it is right and meet:" but the greater part are strongly outspoken utterances of a manly faith, where dogma, prayer, and praise are interwoven with much skill. Usually the keynote of his song is Hope. He died Nov. 19, 1900. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ===================== Stone, S. J. , p. 1095, i. Of his hymns noted there the following appeared in Mission Life, 1872, vol. iii., pt. ii., pp. 685-88. No. 11, "Far off our brethren's voices," for Church Missionary Hymn Book, Colonial Missions, and No. 12, "Give the word, Eternal King," and No. 43, "Through midnight gloom from Macedon," for "Foreign Missions." In addition the following are also in common use:— 1. Awake, 0 Lord, the zeal of those who stand. Intercession for the Clergy. In the Church Missionary Hymn Book, 1899. 2. England, by thine own Saint Alban. St. Alban. In C. W. A. Brooke's Additional Hymns, 1903. 3. Our God of love Who reigns above. For Children. Appeared in the Church Monthly, July 1899, and Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1904. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Nahum Tate

1652 - 1715 Hymnal Number: 54a Author of "While shepherds watch'd their flocks by night" in The Hymnal 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

Phillips Brooks

1835 - 1893 Person Name: Bp. Phillips Brooks Hymnal Number: 58 Author of "O little town of Bethlehem!" in The Hymnal Brooks, Phillips, D.D., was born at Boston, Dec. 13, 1835, graduated at Harvard College 1855, and was ordained in 1859. Successively Rector of the Church of the Advent, Philadelphia, and Trinity Church, Boston, he became Bishop of Mass. in 1891, and died at Boston in Jan., 1893. His Carol, "O little town of Bethlehem," was written for his Sunday School in 1868, the author having spent Christmas, 1866, at Bethlehem. His hymn, "God hath sent His angels to the earth again," is dated 1877. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Aurelius Clemens Prudentius

348 - 410 Person Name: Prudentius Hymnal Number: 63 Author of "Earth has many a noble city" in The Hymnal Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, "The Christian Pindar" was born in northern Spain, a magistrate whose religious convictions came late in life. His subsequent sacred poems were literary and personal, not, like those of St. Ambrose, designed for singing. Selections from them soon entered the Mozarabic rite, however, and have since remained exquisite treasures of the Western churches. His Cathemerinon liber, Peristephanon, and Psychomachia were among the most widely read books of the Middle Ages. A concordance to his works was published by the Medieval Academy of America in 1932. There is a considerable literature on his works. --The Hymnal 1940 Companion ============= Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens , with the occasional prefix of Marcus (cf. Migne, vol. lix. p. 593, and Dressel, p. ii. n), is the name of the most prominent and most prolific author of sacred Latin poetry in its earliest days. Of the writer himself we know nothing, or next to nothing, beyond what he has himself told us in a short introduction in verse to his works. From that source we learn that he was a Spaniard, of good family evidently, and that he was born A.D. 348 somewhere in the north of Spain, either at Saragossa, Tarragona, or Calahorra, but at which is left uncertain, by his applying the same expression to all, which if applied only to one would have fixed his place of birth. After receiving a good education befitting his social status he applied himself for some years to practising as a pleader in the local courts of law, until he received promotion to a judgeship in two cities successively:— "Bis legum moderanrine Frenos nobilium reximus urbium Jus civile bonis reddidimus, terruimus reos;" and afterwards to a post of still higher authority: "Tandem militiae gradu Evectum pietas principis extulit." Archbishop Trench considers this last to have been "a high military appointment at court," and such the poet's own words would seem to describe; but it may well be doubted whether a civilian and a lawyer would be eligible for such employment; in which case we may adopt the solution of the difficulty offered in the Prolegomena to our author's works (Migne, vol. lix. p. 601):— "Evectus indeest ad superiorem rnilitia? gradum, nimirum militia? civil is, palatinae, aut praesidialis, non bellicae, castrensis, aut cohortalis; nam ii qui officiis jure consultorum praesidum, rectorum et similium funguntur, vulgo in cod. Theod. militare et ad superiores militias ascendere dicuntur." It was after this lengthened experience at a comparatively early age of positions of trust and power that Prudentius, conscience-smitten on account of the follies and worldliness that had marked his youth and earlier manhood, determined to throw up all his secular employments, and devote the remainder of his life to advancing the interests of Christ's Church by the power of his pen rather than that of his purse and personal position. Accordingly we find that he retired in his 57th year into poverty and private life, and began that remarkable succession of sacred poems upon which his fame now entirely rests. We have no reason however to regard him as another St. Augustine, rescued from the "wretchedness of most unclean living" by this flight from the temptations and engrossing cares of official life into the calm seclusion of a wholly devotional leisure. He had probably rather learnt from sad experience the emptiness and vanity for an immortal soul of the surroundings of even the high places of this world. As he himself expresses it:— "Numquid talia proderunt Carnis post obitum vel bona, vel mala, Cum jam, quicquid id est, quod fueram, mors aboleverit?" and sought, at the cost of all that the world holds dear, those good things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. Beyond the fact of his retirement from the world in this way, and the fruits which it produced in the shape of his voluminous contributions to sacred poetry, we have no further information about our author. To judge from the amount he wrote, his life must have been extended many years after he began his new career, but how long his life was or where he died we are not told. Probably he died circa 413. His works are:— (1) Liber Cathemerinon. "Christian Day, as we may call it" W. S. Lilly, "Chapters in European History," vol. i. p. 208). (2) Liber Peristephanon. "Martyrs' Garlands" (id.). (3) Apotheosis. A work on the Divine Nature, or the Deification of Human Nature in Christ. (4) Hamartigenia. A treatise on the Origin of Sin, directed against the Marcionites. (5) Psychomachia or "The Spiritual Combat"-—an allegorical work. (6) Libri contra Symmachum. A controversial work against the restoration in the Senate House at Rome of the altar of Victory which Gratian had removed. Symmachus had petitioned Valentinian II. for its restoration in 384, but the influence of St. Ambrose had prevailed against him at that time. In 392 the altar was restored, but removed again by Theodosius in 394. After the death of the latter the attempt to restore it was renewed by Arcadius and Honorius, and it was at that time that Prudentius wrote his first book. The second (for there are two) was written in 405. Fague considers that the first may date in 395. (7) The Dittochseon = the double food or double Testament, is a wordy collection of 49 sets of four verses each, on Old and New Testament scenes. Of these different works the most important are the first two, and it is from them that the Liturgical hymns enumerated below have been chiefly compiled. The general character of Prudentius's writings it is not easy fairly to estimate, and to judge by the wholesale laudation he obtains from some of his critics, and the equally unsparing censure of others, his judges have so found it. In venturing upon any opinion upon such a subject, the reader must bear in mind the peculiar position in which the period at which he was writing found the poet. The poetry of classical Rome in all its exact beauty of form had long passed its meridian, and was being replaced by a style which was yet in its infancy, but which burst forth into new life and beauty in the hands of the Mediaeval hymnologists. Prudentius wrote before rhyming Latin verse was thought of, but after attention had ceased to be given to quantities. Under such circumstances it were vain to look for very finished work from him, and such certainly we do not find. But amidst a good deal of what one must confess is tasteless verbiage or clumsy rhetorical ornament-—however varied the metres he employs, numbering some 17—-there are also passages to be found, not unfrequently, of dramatic vigour and noble expression, which may well hold their own with the more musical utterances of a later date. He writes as a man intensely in earnest, and we may gather much from his writings concerning the points of conduct which were deemed the most important in Christian living at a time when a great portion of mankind were still the victims or slaves of a morality which, heathen at the best, was lowered and corrupted the more as the universality of its influence was more and more successfully challenged by the spread of the Gospel of Christ. If, there¬fore, we can scarcely go as far in our author's praise as Barth—-much given to lavish commendation—-who describes him as "Poeta eximius eruditissimus et sanctissimus scriptor; nemo divinius de rebus Christianis unquam scripsit"; or as Bentley—-not given to praise--who calls him the "Horace and Virgil of the Christians," we shall be as loath, considering under what circumstances he wrote, to carp at his style as not being formed on the best ancient models but as confessedly impure; feeling with Archbishop Trench that it is his merit that "whether consciously or unconsciously, he acted on the principle that the new life claimed new forms in which to manifest itself; that he did not shrink from helping forward that great transformation of the Latin language, which it needed to undergo, now that it should be the vehicle of truths which, were all together novel to it." (Sacred Latin Poetry, 1874, p. 121.) The reader will find so exhaustive an account of the various writings of Prudentius in the account given of him and them in Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography, and Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, that it is only necessary in this work to refer very briefly to them as above. The poems have been constantly reprinted and re-edited, till the editor who produced the best edition we have of them, Albert Dressel (Leipsic, 1860), is able to say that his is the sixty-third. The use made of Prudentius's poems in the ancient Breviaries and Hymnaries was very extensive. In the form of centos stanzas and lines wore compiled and used as hymns; and it is mainly from these centos, and not from the original poems, that the translations into English were made. Daniel, i., Nos. 103-115, gives 13 genuine hymns as having been in use for "Morning," "Christmas," "Epiphany," "Lent," "Easter," "Transfiguration," "Burial," &c, in the older Breviaries. ….Many more which were used in like manner have been translated into English. When to these are added the hymns and those which have not been translated into English, we realise the position and power of Prudentius in the hymnody of the Church. [Rev. Digby S. Wrangham, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ============== Prudentius, A. C, p. 915, ii. Two somewhat full versions of Prudentius are: (1) The Cathemerinon and other Poems of Aurelius Prudentius Clemens in English Verse, Lond., Rivington, 1845; and (2) Translations from Prudentius. By Francis St. John Thackeray, M.A.. F.S.A. Lond., Bell & Sons, 1890. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

W. Chatterton Dix

1837 - 1898 Person Name: W. C. Dix Hymnal Number: 65 Author of "As with gladness men of old" in The Hymnal Most British hymn writers in the nineteenth century were clergymen, but William C. Dix (b. Bristol, England, 1837; d. Cheddar, Somerset, England, 1898) was a notable exception. Trained in the business world, he became the manager of a marine insurance company in Glasgow, Scotland. Dix published various volumes of his hymns, such as Hymns of Love and Joy (1861) and Altar Songs: Verses on the Holy Eucharist (1867). A number of his texts were first published in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861). Bert Polman ======================== Dix, William Chatterton, son of John Dix, surgeon, of Bristol, author of the Life of Chatterton; Local Legends, &c, born at Bristol, June 14, 1837, and educated at the Grammar School of that city. Mr. Chatterton Dix's contributions to modern hymnody are numerous and of value. His fine Epiphany hymn, "As with gladness men of old,” and his plaintive ”Come unto Me, ye weary," are examples of his compositions, many of which rank high amongst modern hymns. In his Hymns of Love and Joy, 1861, Altar Songs, Verses on the Holy Eucharist, 1867; Vision of All Saints, &c, 1871; and Seekers of a City, 1878, some of his compositions were first published. The greater part, however, were contributed to Hymns Ancient & Modern; St. Raphaels Hymnbook, 1861; Lyra Eucharidica, 1863; Lyra Messianica, 1864; Lyra Mystica, 1865; The People's Hymns, 1867; The Hymnary, 1872; Church Hymns, 1871, and others. Many of his contributions are renderings in metrical form of Dr. Littledale's translation from the Greek in his Offices . . . of the Holy Eastern Church, 1863; and of the Rev. J. M. Rodwell's translation of hymns of the Abyssinian Church. These renderings of the "songs of other Churches" have not received the attention they deserve, and the sources from whence they come are practically unknown to most hymnal compilers. Mr. Dix has also written many Christmas and Easter carols, the most widely known of which is "The Manger Throne." In addition to detached pieces in prose and verse for various magazines, he has published two devotional works, Light; and The Risen Life, 1883; and a book of instructions for children entitled The Pattern Life, 1885. The last-named contains original hymns by Mr. Dix not given elsewhere. In addition to the more important of Mr. Dix's hymns which are annotated under their respective first lines, the following are also in common use:- 1. God cometh, let the heart prepare. Advent. In his Vision of All Saints, &c, 1871. 2. Holy, holy, holy, to Thee our vows we pay. Holy Communion. Published in his Altar Songs, 1867, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines, and headed "Eucharistic Processional for Dedication Feast." In the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871, and others in an abridged form. 3. How long, O Lord, how long, we ask. Second Advent. Appeared in the Appendix to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Psalms & Hymns, 1869, and repeated in several collections. 4. In our work and in our play. Children's Hymn. Published in his Hymns and Carols for Children, 1869, and is largely adopted in children's hymnbooks, as Mrs. Brock's Children's Hymnbook, 1881, and others. Also in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871. 5. In the hollow of Thine hand. For Fair Weather. Appeared in the People's Hymns, 1867, and repeated in several others. 6. Joy fills our inmost heart today. Christmas. Printed in the Church Times, and then on a Flysheet by Gr. J. Palmer, as the third of Four Joyful Hymns for Christmas, circa 1865. It is in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871, and other hymnals. It is also one of Mr. Dix's Christmas Customs & Christmas Carols, not dated. 7. Lift up your songs, ye thankful. St. Ambrose. Contributed to the People's Hymns, 1867. 8. Now in numbers softly flowing. St. Cecilia. Contributed to the People's Hymns, 1867. 9. Now, our Father, we adore Thee. Praise to the Father. Appeared in the Appendix to the S. P. C. K. Psalms & Hymns, 1869. 10. O Christ, Thou Son of Mary. St. Crispin. First printed in the Union Review, Sept., 1866, and thence into the People's Hymns, 1887. 11. O Cross which only canst allay. Glorying and Trusting in the Cross. Published in the People's Hymns, 1867. 12. O Thou the Eternal Son of God. Good Friday. Appeared in Lyra Messianica, 1864; the author's Hymns and Carols for Children, 1869; the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns, 1871, &c. 13. On the waters dark and drear. For use at Sea. Published in Hymns for Public Worship, &c. (St. Raphael's, Bristol), 1861; the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns, 1871, &c. 14. Only one prayer to-day. Ash Wednesday. Contributed to the People's Hymns, 1867. 15. Sitting at receipt of custom. St. Matthew. Appeared in the People's Hymns, 1867. 16. The Cross is on thy brow. Confirmation. In the 1869 Appendix to the S. P. C. K. Psalms & Hymns. 17. The stars above our head. Work and Humility. In the 1869 Appendix to the S. P. C. K. Psalms & Hymns. 18. When the shades of night are falling. Evening Hymn to the Good Shepherd. In the author's Seekers of a City, &c. [1878]. Most of Mr. Dix's best-known hymns, and also some of those named above, are in common use in America and other English-speaking countries. In Great Britain and America from 30 to 40 are in common use. He died Sept. 9, 1898. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ====================== Dix, William Chatterton, p. 302, ii. Additional hymns by Mr. Dix now in common use are:— 1. Lift up your songs, ye angel choirs. Ascension. 2. Now, my soul rehearse the story. Christ Feeding the Multitude. 3. Within the temple's hallowed courts. Blessed Virgin Mary. These hymns are from his Altar Songs, 1867. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Edward Henry Bickersteth

1825 - 1906 Person Name: Bishop Bickersteth Hymnal Number: 85 Author of "O Jesu, Saviour of the lost" in The Hymnal Bickersteth, Edward Henry, D.D., son of Edward Bickersteth, Sr. born at Islington, Jan. 1825, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (B.A. with honours, 1847; M.A., 1850). On taking Holy Orders in 1848, he became curate of Banningham, Norfolk, and then of Christ Church, Tunbridge Wells. His preferment to the Rectory of Hinton-Martell, in 1852, was followed by that of the Vicarage of Christ Church, Hampstead, 1855. In 1885 he became Dean of Gloucester, and the same year Bishop of Exeter. Bishop Bickersteth's works, chiefly poetical, are:— (l) Poems, 1849; (2) Water from the Well-spring, 1852; (3) The Rock of Ages, 1858 ; (4) Commentary on the New Testament, 1864; (5) Yesterday, To-day, and For Ever, 1867; (6) The Spirit of Life, 1868; (7) The Two Brothers and other Poems, 1871; (8) The Master's Home Call, 1872 ; (9) The Shadowed Home and the Light Beyond, 1874; (10) The Beef and other Parables, 1873; (11) Songs in the House of Pilgrimage, N.D.; (12) From Year to Year, 1883. As an editor of hymnals, Bp. Bickersteth has also been most successful. His collections are:— (1) Psalms & Hymns, 1858, based on his father's Christian Psalmody, which passed through several editions; (2) The Hymnal Companion, 1870; (3) The Hymnal Companion revised and enlarged, 1876. Nos. 2 and 3, which are two editions of the same collection, have attained to an extensive circulation. [Ch. of England Hymnody.] About 30 of Bp. Bickersteths hymns are in common use. Of these the best and most widely known are:—" Almighty Father, hear our cry"; "Come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile"; "Father of heaven above"; "My God, my Father, dost Thou call"; "O Jesu, Saviour of the lost"; "Peace, perfect peace"; "Rest in the Lord"; "Stand, Soldier of the Cross"; " Thine, Thine, for ever"; and "Till He come.” As a poet Bp. Bickersteth is well known. His reputation as a hymn-writer has also extended far and wide. Joined with a strong grasp of his subject, true poetic feeling, a pure rhythm, there is a soothing plaintiveness and individuality in his hymns which give them a distinct character of their own. His thoughts are usually with the individual, and not with the mass: with the single soul and his God, and not with a vast multitude bowed in adoration before the Almighty. Hence, although many of his hymns are eminently suited to congregational purposes, and have attained to a wide popularity, yet his finest productions are those which are best suited for private use. -John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================= Bickersteth, Edward Henry, p. 141, ii. Bishop Bickersteth's 1890 edition of his Hymnal Companion is noted on p. 1312, i., and several of his own hymns and translations, which appear therein for the first time, are annotated in this Appendix. One of these, "All-merciful, Almighty Lord," for the Conv. of St. Paul, was written for the 1890 edition of Hymnal Companion. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ================== Bickersteth, B. H., p. 141, ii. Bp. Bickersteth died in London, May 16, 1906. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Robert Grant

1779 - 1838 Person Name: Sir R. Grant Hymnal Number: 89b Author of "Saviour! when in dust to Thee" in The Hymnal Robert Grant (b. Bengal, India, 1779; d. Dalpoorie, India, 1838) was influenced in writing this text by William Kethe’s paraphrase of Psalm 104 in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (1561). Grant’s text was first published in Edward Bickersteth’s Christian Psalmody (1833) with several unauthorized alterations. In 1835 his original six-stanza text was published in Henry Elliott’s Psalm and Hymns (The original stanza 3 was omitted in Lift Up Your Hearts). Of Scottish ancestry, Grant was born in India, where his father was a director of the East India Company. He attended Magdalen College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1807. He had a distinguished public career a Governor of Bombay and as a member of the British Parliament, where he sponsored a bill to remove civil restrictions on Jews. Grant was knighted in 1834. His hymn texts were published in the Christian Observer (1806-1815), in Elliot’s Psalms and Hymns (1835), and posthumously by his brother as Sacred Poems (1839). Bert Polman ======================== Grant, Sir Robert, second son of Mr. Charles Grant, sometime Member of Parliament for Inverness, and a Director of the East India Company, was born in 1785, and educated at Cambridge, where he graduated in 1806. Called to the English Bar in 1807, he became Member of Parliament for Inverness in 1826; a Privy Councillor in 1831; and Governor of Bombay, 1834. He died at Dapoorie, in Western India, July 9, 1838. As a hymnwriter of great merit he is well and favourably known. His hymns, "O worship the King"; "Saviour, when in dust to Thee"; and "When gathering clouds around I view," are widely used in all English-speaking countries. Some of those which are less known are marked by the same graceful versification and deep and tender feeling. The best of his hymns were contributed to the Christian Observer, 1806-1815, under the signature of "E—y, D. R."; and to Elliott's Psalms & Hymns, Brighton, 1835. In the Psalms & Hymns those which were taken from the Christian Observer were rewritten by the author. The year following his death his brother, Lord Glenelg, gathered 12 of his hymns and poems together, and published them as:— Sacred Poems. By the late Eight Hon. Sir Robert Grant. London, Saunders & Otley, Conduit Street, 1839. It was reprinted in 1844 and in 1868. This volume is accompanied by a short "Notice," dated "London, Juno 18, 1839." ===================== Grant, Sir R., p. 450, i. Other hymns are:— 1. From Olivet's sequester'd scats. Palm Sunday. 2. How deep the joy, Almighty Lord. Ps. lxxxiv. 3. Wherefore do the nations wage. Ps. ii. These are all from his posthumous sacred Poems, 1839. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Henry Hart Milman

1791 - 1868 Person Name: Dean Milman Hymnal Number: 91a Author of "Ride on! ride on in majesty!" in The Hymnal Milman, Henry Hart, D.D., the youngest son of Sir Francis Milman (who received his Baronetage as an eminent Court physician), was born Feb. 10th, 1791, and educated at Dr. Burney's at Greenwich, and subsequently at Eton. His career at B. N. C. Oxford, was brilliant. He took a first class in classics, and carried off the Newdigate, Latin Verse, Latin Essay, and English Essay. His Newdigate on the Apollo Belvedere, 1812, is styled by Dean Stanley "the most perfect of Oxford prize poems." His literary career for several years promised to be poetical. His tragedy Fazio was played at Covent Garden, Miss O'Neill acting Bianca. Samor was written in the year of his appointment to St. Mary's, Reading (1817); The Fall of Jerusalem (1820); Belshazzar and The Martyr of Antioch (1822), and Anne Boleyn, gained a brilliant reception from the reviewers and the public. He was appointed Poetry Professor at Oxford in 1821, and was succeeded ten years after by Keble. It must have been before 1823, the date of Heber's consecration to Calcutta, that the 13 hymns he contributed to Heber's Hymns were composed. But his poetry was only the prelude to his larger work. The Bampton Lectures (1827) mark his transition to theological study, and the future direction of it was permanently fixed by his History of the Jews (1829). This book raised a storm of obloquy. It was denounced from the University pulpit, and in the British Critic. "It was the first decisive inroad of German theology into England, the first palpable indication that the Bible could be studied like another book, that the characters and events of the sacred history could be treated at once critically and reverently" (Dean Stanley). In 1835 he was presented by Sir Robert Peel to a Canonry at Westminster and the Rectory of St. Margaret's. In 1839 appeared his valuable edition of Gibbon's Decline and Fall; and in 1840 his History of Christianity to the Abolition of Paganism in the Roman Empire. Among his minor works in a different field were his Life of Keats and his edition and Life of Horace. It was not till 1854 that his greatest work—-for "vast and varied learning, indefatigable industry, calm impartiality, and subtle and acute criticism, among the most memorable in our language" (Quart Rev.)—-Latin Christianity—-appeared. He had been appointed Dean of St. Paul's in 1849. The great services under the dome originated in his tenure of the Deanery. His latest work, published after his death, Sept. 24, 1868, was The Annals of St. Paul’s. Though one of the most illustrious in the school of English liberal theology, he had no sympathy with the extreme speculations of Germany. The "criticism" of Tübingen "will rarely bear criticism." He "should like an Ewald to criticise Ewald." "Christianity will survive the criticism of Dr. Strauss," and the "bright flashing artillery" of Rénan. His historical style has been compared to Gibbon in its use of epigram and antithesis. His narrative is full of rapidity of movement. His long complex paragraphs have often a splendour of imagination as well as wealth of thought. All the varied powers of his mind found vent in his conversation; he was called, after his death, "the last of the great converters." The catalogue of his friends from the days of Heber, "his early friend," to those of Hallam, Macaulay, and Dean Stanley, was long and distinguished. Milman's 13 hymns were published in Heber's posthumous Hymns in 1827, and subsequently in his own Selection of Psalms & Hymns, 1837. The fine hymn for The Burial of the Dead, in Thring's Collection, "Brother, thou art gone before us," is from The Martyr of Antioch (1822). Like Heber's, they aim at higher literary expression and lyric grace. He makes free use of refrains. The structure is often excellent. His style is less florid and fuller of burning, sometimes lurid force than Heber's. His hymn for the 16th Sunday after Trinity, "When our heads are bowed with woe," has no peer in its presentation of Christ's human sympathy; the hymn for the 2nd Sunday in Lent, “Oh! help us, Lord! each hour of need," is a piece of pure deep devotion. "Ride on, ride on in majesty," the hymn for Palm Sunday, is one of our best hymns. And the stanzas for Good Friday, "Bound upon the accursed tree," form one of the finest meditations on the Passion. All his hymns are still in common use. [Rev.H.Leigh Bennett, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus

540 - 600 Person Name: Venantius Fortunatus Hymnal Number: 98b Author of "Sing, my tongue, the Saviour's battle" in The Hymnal Venantius Honorius Clematianus Fortunatus (b. Cenada, near Treviso, Italy, c. 530; d. Poitiers, France, 609) was educated at Ravenna and Milan and was converted to the Christian faith at an early age. Legend has it that while a student at Ravenna he contracted a disease of the eye and became nearly blind. But he was miraculously healed after anointing his eyes with oil from a lamp burning before the altar of St. Martin of Tours. In gratitude Fortunatus made a pilgrimage to that saint's shrine in Tours and spent the rest of his life in Gaul (France), at first traveling and composing love songs. He developed a platonic affection for Queen Rhadegonda, joined her Abbey of St. Croix in Poitiers, and became its bishop in 599. His Hymns far all the Festivals of the Christian Year is lost, but some of his best hymns on his favorite topic, the cross of Jesus, are still respected today, in part because of their erotic mysticism. Bert Polman ================== Fortunatus, Venantius Honorius Clementianus, was born at Ceneda, near Treviso, about 530. At an early age he was converted to Christianity at Aquileia. Whilst a student at Ravenna he became almost blind, and recovered his sight, as he believed miraculously, by anointing his eyes with some oil taken from a lamp that burned before the altar of St. Martin of Tours, in a church in that town. His recovery induced him to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Martin, at Tours, in 565, and that pilgrimage resulted in his spending the rest of his life in Gaul. At Poitiers he formed a romantic, though purely platonic, attachment for Queen Rhadegunda, the daughter of Bertharius, king of the Thuringians, and the wife, though separated from him, of Lothair I., or Clotaire, king of Neustria. The reader is referred for further particulars of this part of the life of Fortunatus to Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography, vol. ii. p. 552. It is sufficient to say here that under the influence of Rhadegunda, who at that time lived at Poitiers, where she had founded the convent of St. Croix, Fortunatus was ordained, and ultimately, after the death of Rhadegunda in 597, became bishop of Poitiers shortly before his own death in 609. The writings, chiefly poetical, of Fortunatus, which are still extant, are very numerous and various in kind; including the liveliest Vers de Societé and the grandest hymns; while much that he is known to have written, including a volume of Hymns for all the Festivals of the Christian Year, is lost. Of what remains may be mentioned, The Life of St. Martin of Tours, his Patron Saint, in four books, containing 2245 hexameter lines. A complete list of his works will be found in the article mentioned above. His contributions to hymnology must have been very considerable, as the name of his lost volume implies, but what remains to us of that character, as being certainly his work, does not comprise at most more than nine or ten compositions, and of some of these even his authorship is more than doubtful. His best known hymn is the famous "Vexilla Regis prodeunt," so familiar to us in our Church Hymnals in some English form or other, especially, perhaps, in Dr. Neale's translation, "The Royal Banners forward go." The next most important composition claimed for him is "Pange, lingua, gloriosi praelium certaminis," but there would seem to be little doubt according to Sirmond (Notis ad Epist. Sidon. Apollin. Lib. iii., Ep. 4), that it was more probably written by Claudianus Mamertus. Besides these, which are on the Passion, there are four hymns by Fortunatus for Christmas, one of which is given by Daniel, "Agnoscat omne saeculum," one for Lent, and one for Easter. Of "Lustra sex qui jam peregit," of which an imitation in English by Bishop. Mant, "See the destined day arise," is well-known, the authorship is by some attributed to Fortunatus, and by some to St. Ambrose. The general character of the poetry of Venantius Fortunatus is by no means high, being distinguished neither for its classical, nor, with very rare exceptions, for its moral correctness. He represents the "last expiring effort of the Latin muse in Gaul," to retain something of the "old classical culture amid the advancing tide of barbarism." Whether we look at his style, or even his grammar and quantities, we find but too much that is open to criticism, whilst he often offends against good taste in the sentiments he enunciates. Occasionally, as we see in the "Vexilla Regis," he rises to a rugged grandeur in which he has few rivals, and some of his poems are by no means devoid of simplicity and pathos. But these are the exceptions and not the rule in his writings, and we know not how far he may have owed even these to the womanly instincts and gentler, purer influence of Rhadegunda. Thierry, in his Récits des Temps Mérovingiens, Récit 5, gives a lively sketch of Fortunatus, as in Archbishop Trench's words (Sacred Latin Poetry, 1874,p. 132), "A clever, frivolous, self-indulgent and vain character," an exaggerated character, probably, because one can hardly identify the author of "Vexilla Regis," in such a mere man of the world, or look at the writer of "Crux benedicta nitet, Dominus qua carne pependit" q.v., as being wholly devoid of the highest aspirations after things divine. A quarto edition of his Works was published in Rome in 1786. [Rev. Digby S. Wrangham, M.A.] - John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ==================== Fortunatus, V. H. C., p. 384, i. The best edition of his poems is F. Leo's edition of his Opera Poetica, Berlin, 1881 (Monumenta Germaniae, vol. iv.). --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

1090 - 1153 Person Name: St. Bernard Hymnal Number: 102 Author of "O Sacred Head surrounded" in The Hymnal Bernard of Clairvaux, saint, abbot, and doctor, fills one of the most conspicuous positions in the history of the middle ages. His father, Tecelin, or Tesselin, a knight of great bravery, was the friend and vassal of the Duke of Burgundy. Bernard was born at his father's castle on the eminence of Les Fontaines, near Dijon, in Burgundy, in 1091. He was educated at Chatillon, where he was distinguished for his studious and meditative habits. The world, it would be thought, would have had overpowering attractions for a youth who, like Bernard, had all the advantages that high birth, great personal beauty, graceful manners, and irresistible influence could give, but, strengthened in the resolve by night visions of his mother (who had died in 1105), he chose a life of asceticism, and became a monk. In company with an uncle and two of his brothers, who had been won over by his entreaties, he entered the monastery of Citeaux, the first Cistercian foundation, in 1113. Two years later he was sent forth, at the head of twelve monks, from the rapidly increasing and overcrowded abbey, to found a daughter institution, which in spite of difficulties and privations which would have daunted less determined men, they succeeded in doing, in the Valley of Wormwood, about four miles from the Abbey of La Ferté—itself an earlier swarm from the same parent hive—on the Aube. On the death of Pope Honorius II., in 1130, the Sacred College was rent by factions, one of which elected Gregory of St. Angelo, who took the title of Innocent II., while another elected Peter Leonis, under that of Anacletua II. Innocent fled to France, and the question as to whom the allegiance of the King, Louie VI., and the French bishops was due was left by them for Bernard to decide. At a council held at Etampes, Bernard gave judgment in favour of Innocent. Throwing himself into the question with all the ardour of a vehement partisan, he won over both Henry I., the English king, and Lothair, the German emperor, to support the same cause, and then, in 1133, accompanied Innocent II., who was supported by Lothair and his army, to Italy and to Rome. When Lothair withdrew, Innocent retired to Pisa, and Bernard for awhile to his abbey of Clairvaux. It was not until after the death of Anacletus, the antipope, in January, 1138, and the resignation of his successor, the cardinal-priest Gregory, Victor II., that Innocent II., who had returned to Rome with Bernard, was universally acknowledged Pope, a result to which no one had so greatly contributed as the Abbot of Clairvaux. The influence of the latter now became paramount in the Church, as was proved at the Lateran Council of 1139, the largest council ever collected together, where the decrees in every line displayed the work of his master-hand. After having devoted four years to the service of the Pope, Bernard, early in 1135, returned to Clairvaux. In 1137 he was again at Rome, impetuous and determined as ever, denouncing the election of a Cluniac instead of a Clairvaux monk to the see of Langres in France, and in high controversy in consequence with Peter, the gentle Abbot of Cluny, and the Archbishop of Lyons. The question was settled by the deposition by the Pope of the Cluniac and the elevation of a Clairvaux monk (Godfrey, a kinsman of St. Bernard) into his place. In 1143, Bernard raised an almost similar question as to the election of St. William to the see of York, which was settled much after the same fashion, the deposition, after a time, if only for a time, of William, and the intrusion of another Clairvaux monk, Henry Murdac, or Murduch, into the archiepiccopal see. Meantime between these two dates—in 1140—the condemnation of Peter Abilaid and his tenets, in which matter Bernard appeared personally as prosecutor, took place at a council held at Sens. Abelard, condemned at Sens, appealed to Rome, and, resting awhile on his way thither, at Cluny, where Peter still presided as Abbot, died there in 1142. St. Bernard was next called upon to exercise his unrivalled powers of persuasion in a very different cause. Controversy over, he preached a crusade. The summer of 1146 was spent by him in traversing France to rouse the people to engage in the second crusade; the autumn with a like object in Germany. In both countries the effect of his appearance and eloquence was marvellous, almost miraculous. The population seemed to rise en masse, and take up the cross. In 1147 the expedition started, a vast horde, of which probably not a tenth ever reached Palestine. It proved a complete failure, and a miserable remnant shared the flight of their leaders, the Emperor Conrad, and Louis, King of France, and returned home, defeated and disgraced. The blame was thrown upon Bernard, and his apology for his part in the matter is extant. He was not, however, for long to bear up against reproach; he died in the 63rd year of his age, in 1153, weary of the world and glad to be at rest. With the works of St. Bernard, the best ed. of which was pub. by Mabillon at Paris in the early part of the 18th cent. (1719), we are not concerned here, except as regards his contributions, few and far between as they are, to the stores of Latin hymnology. There has been so much doubt thrown upon the authorship of the hymns which usually go by his name,—notably by his editor, Mabillon himself,—that it is impossible to claim any of them as having been certainly written by him; but Archbishop Trench, than whom we have no greater modern authority on such a point, is satisfied that the attribution of them all, except the "Cur mundus militat," to St. Bernard is correct. "If he did not write," the Archbishop says, "it is not easy to guess who could have written them; and indeed they bear profoundly the stamp of his mind, being only inferior in beauty to his prose." The hymns by which St. Bernard is best known as a writer of sacred poetry are: (1.) "Jesu duicis memoria," a long poem on the " Name of Jesus"—known as the "Jubilus of St. Bernard," and among mediaeval writers as the " Rosy Hymn." It is, perhaps, the best specimen of what Neale describes as the "subjective loveliness " of its author's compositions. (2.) "Salve mundi Salutore," an address to the various limbs of Christ on the cross. It consists of 350 lines, 50 lines being addressed to each. (3.) "Laetabundus, exultet fidelis chorus: Alleluia." This sequence was in use all over Europe. (4.) "Cum sit omnis homo foenum." (5.) " Ut jucundas cervus undas." A poem of 68 lines, and well known, is claimed for St. Bernard by Hommey in his Supplementum Patrum, Paris, 1686, p. 165, but on what Archbishop Trench, who quotes it at length, (Sac. Lat. Poetry, p. 242,) deems " grounds entirely insufficient." (6.) " Eheu, Eheu, mundi vita," or " Heu, Heu, mala mundi vita." A poem of nearly 400 lines, is sometimes claimed for St. Bernard, but according to Trench, “on no authority whatever." (7.) “O miranda vanitas." This is included in Mabillon's ed. of St. Bernard's Works. It is also attributed to him by Rambach, vol. i. p. 279. Many other hymns and sequences are attributed to St. Bernard. Trench speaks of a " general ascription to him of any poems of merit belonging to that period whereof the authorship was uncertain." Hymns, translated from, or founded on, St. Bernard's, will be found in almost every hymnal of the day, details of which, together with many others not in common use, will be found under the foregoing Latin first lines. -John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

Michael Weisse

1480 - 1534 Person Name: M. Weiss Hymnal Number: 114a Author of "Christ the Lord is ris'n again" in The Hymnal Michael Weiss was born at Neisse, in Silesia. He was a pastor among the Bohemian Brethren, and a contemporary with Luther. His hymns have received commendation. He died in 1540. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872. ============ Weisse, Michael (Weiss, Wiss, Wegs, Weys, Weyss), was born circa 1480, in Neisse, Silesia, took priest's orders, and was for some time a monk at Breslau. When the early writings of Luther came into his hands, Weisse, with two other monks, abandoned the convent, and sought refuge in the Bohemian Brethren's House at Leutomischl in Bohemia. He became German preacher (and apparently founder of the German communities) to the Bohemian Brethren at Landskron in Bohemia, and Fulnck in Moravia, and died at Landskron in 1534 (Koch, ii. 115-120; Wackernagel's D. Kirchenlied, i. p. 727; Fontes rerum Austricarum, Scriptores, vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 227, Vienna, 18G3, &c). Weisse was admitted as a priest among the Brethren at the Synod of Brandeis, in 1531, and in 1532 was appointed a member of their Select Council, but he had previously performed important missions for the Brethren. He was, e.g., sent by Bishop Lucas, in 1522, along with J. Roh or Horn, to explain the views of the Bohemian Brethren to Luther; and again, in 1524, when they were appointed more especially to report on the practices and holiness of life of the followers of the German Reformers. He was also entrusted with the editing of the first German hymn-book of the Bohemian Brethren, which appeared as Ein New Gesengbuchlen at Jungen Bunzel (Jung Bunzlau) in Bohemia in 1531. This contained 155 hymns, all apparently either translations or else originals by himself. The proportion of translations is not very clear. In the preface to the 1531, Weisse addressing the German Communities at Fulnek and Landskron says, "I have also, according to my power, put forth all my ability, your old hymn-book as well as the Bohemian hymn-book (Cantional) being before me, and have brought the same sense, in accordance with Holy Scripture, into German rhyme." Luther called Weisse "a good poet, with somewhat erroneous views on the Sacrament" (i.e. Holy Communion); and, after the Sacramental hymns had been revised by Roh (1544), included 12 of his hymns in V. Babst's Gesang-Buch, 1545. Many of his hymns possess considerable merit. The style is flowing and musical, the religious tone is earnest and manly, but yet tender and truly devout, and the best of them are distinguished by a certain charming simplicity of thought and expression. At least 119 passed into the German Lutheran hymnbooks of the 16th and 17th centuries, and many are still in use. The following hymns by Weisse have also passed into English:— i. Christus ist erstanden. Von des Todes Banden. Easter. First published 1531 as above, and thence in Wackernagel, iii. p. 273, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. It is suggested by the older hymn, "Christ ist erstanden". In the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 129. The translation in common use is:— Christ the Lord is risen again! This is a full and very good translation by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 37, and her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 58. It has been included in many recent English and American hymnals. Other translations are:— (1) "Christ (and 'tis no wonder"). This is No. 260 in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754. (2) "Christ our Lord is risen," by Dr. H. Mills, 1856, p. 322. ii. Es geht daher des Tages Schein. Morning. 1531 as above, and thence in Wackernagel, iii. p. 318, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 455. The translations in common use are:— 1. The Light of Day again we see. In full, by H. J. Buckoll in his Hymns from German, 1842, p. 14. His translations of stanzas iii., iv., vi., vii., beginning “Great God, eternal Lord of Heaven," were included in the Rugby School Hymn Book, 1843. 2. Once more the daylight shines abroad. This is a full and very good translation by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 69, and her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 18. Repeated in Thring's Collection, 1880-82. iii. Gelobt sei Gott im höchsten Thron. Easter. 1531 as above, and thence in Wackernagel, iii. p. 265, in 20 stanzas of 3 lines, with Alleluia. The translations in common use are: — 1. Praise God upon His heavenly throne. This is a free translation of stanzas 1, 4, 10, 19, 20, by A. T. Russell, as No. 112, in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851. 2. Glory to God upon His throne. By Mrs. H. R. Spaeth, in the Southern Lutheran Service and Hymns for Sunday Schools , Philadelphia, 1883. iv. Gott sah zu seiner Zeit. Christmas. 1531 as above, and thence in Wackernagel, iii. p. 244, in 10 stanzas of 9 lines. The translation in common use is:— When the due Time had taken place. By C. Kinchen, omitting stanza v., as No. 169 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742 (1849, No. 20). In the ed. of 1886, No. 954 consists of stanza x., beginning “Ah come, Lord Jesus, hear our prayer." v. Lob sei dem allmächtigen Gott. Advent. 1531 as above, and thence in Wackernagel, iii. p. 230, in 14 stanzas of 4 lines. Included in V. Babst's Gesang-Buch, 1545, and recently as No. 12 in the Unverfälschter Liedersegen , 1851. In the larger edition of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1886, it is marked as a translation from a Bohemian hymn, beginning "Cirkev Kristova Boha chval." The translations are:— 1. Praise be to that Almighty God. By J. Gambold, omitting stanza xi.-xiii., as No, 246, in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754. In the 1789 and later eds. (1886, No. 31), it begins “To God we render thanks and praise." 2. O come, th' Almighty's praise declare. By A. T. Russell, of stanzas i.-iii., v., as No. 26 in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851. vi. O Herre Jesu Christ, der du erschienen bistanza. For Children. On Christ's Example in His early years on earth . 1531 as above, and in Wackernagel, iii. p. 326, in 7 stanzas of 7 lines. The first three stanzas are translated as “Christ Jesus, Lord most dear," in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754, pt. i., No. 278. The form in common use is that in Knapp's Evangelischer Lieder-Schatz , 1837, No. 2951, which begins "Nun hilf uns, o Herr Jesu Christ," and is in 3 stanzas of 4 lines, entirely recast. This is translated as:— Lord Jesus Christ, we come to Thee . In full from Knapp, by Miss Winkworth, in her Chorale Book for England , 1863, No. 179. Hymns not in English common use:— vii. Den Vater dort oben. Grace after Meat. 1531, and thence in Wackernagel, iii., p. 321, in 5 stanzas of 7 lines. In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 1136. Translated as, "Father, Lord of mercy," by J. V. Jacobi, 1122, p. 117. In his edition, 1732, p. 183, slightly altered, and thence in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754, pt. i., No. 290. viii. Die Sonne wird mit ihrem Schein. Evening. 1531, and thence in Wackernagel, iii., p. 323, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 517. Translated as, "Soon from our wishful eyes awhile," by H. J. Buckoll, 1842. ix. Komm, heiliger Geist, wahrer Gott. Whitsuntide . 1531, and in Wackernagel , iii., p. 282, in 9 stanzas of 5 lines From the Bohemian as noted at p. 157, and partly suggested by the "Veni Sancte Spiritus reple " (q.v.). The translations are: (1) “Come, Holy Ghost, Lord God indeed." This is No. 285 in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754. (2) "Thou great Teacher, Who instructest." This is a translation of stanza vii., as No. 234 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801 (1849, No. 267). x. Lob und Ehr mit stettem Dankopfer. The Creation: Septuagesima . 1531, and in Wackernagel, iii., p. 287, in 5 stanzas of 16 lines. Translated as, “Praise, glory, thanks, be ever paid," by Miss Winkworth, 1869, p. 137. xi. 0 Jesu Christ, der Heiden Licht. Epiphany. 1531, and in Wackernagel , iii. p. 248, in 2 stanzas of 14 lines. Translated as, "0 Jesus Christ, the Gentiles' Light." This is No. 253 in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1467, stanza ii. was rewritten. This form begins, "Erscheine alien Auserwahlten," and is in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. Translated as, "Lord, to Thy chosen ones appear," by Miss Winkworth, 1869, p. 139. xii. Singet lieben Leut. Redemption by Christ. 1531, and in Wackernagel, iii. p. 243, in 16 stanzas of 4 lines. Translated as, "Sing, be glad, ye happy sheep." This is a translation of stanza xiv., by C. G. Clemens, as No. 299 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789. In the 1801 and later editions (1849, No. 403) it begins, "O rejoice, Christ's happy sheep." [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

St. Ambrose

340 - 397 Person Name: Ambrosian Hymnal Number: 118a Author of "At the Lamb's high feast we sing" in The Hymnal Ambrose (b. Treves, Germany, 340; d. Milan, Italy, 397), one of the great Latin church fathers, is remembered best for his preaching, his struggle against the Arian heresy, and his introduction of metrical and antiphonal singing into the Western church. Ambrose was trained in legal studies and distinguished himself in a civic career, becoming a consul in Northern Italy. When the bishop of Milan, an Arian, died in 374, the people demanded that Ambrose, who was not ordained or even baptized, become the bishop. He was promptly baptized and ordained, and he remained bishop of Milan until his death. Ambrose successfully resisted the Arian heresy and the attempts of the Roman emperors to dominate the church. His most famous convert and disciple was Augustine. Of the many hymns sometimes attributed to Ambrose, only a handful are thought to be authentic. Bert Polman ===================== Ambrosius (St. Ambrose), second son and third child of Ambrosius, Prefect of the Gauls, was born at Lyons, Aries, or Treves--probably the last--in 340 A.D. On the death of his father in 353 his mother removed to Rome with her three children. Ambrose went through the usual course of education, attaining considerable proficiency in Greek; and then entered the profession which his elder brother Satyrus had chosen, that of the law. In this he so distinguished himself that, after practising in the court of Probus, the Praetorian Prefect of Italy, he was, in 374, appointed Consular of Liguria and Aemilia. This office necessitated his residence in Milan. Not many months after, Auxentius, bishop of Milan, who had joined the Arian party, died; and much was felt to depend upon the person appointed as his successor. The church in which the election was held was so filled with excited people that the Consular found it necessary to take steps fur preserving the peace, and himself exhorted them to peace and order: when a voice suddenly exclaimed, "Ambrose is Bishop," and the cry was taken up on all sides. He was compelled to accept the post, though still only a catechumen; was forthwith baptized, and in a week more consecrated Bishop, Dec. 7, 374. The death of the Emperor Valentinian I., in 375, brought him into collision with Justina, Valentinian's second wife, an adherent of the Arian party: Ambrose was supported by Gratian, the elder son of Valentinian, and by Theodosius, whom Gratian in 379 associated with himself in the empire. Gratian was assassinated in 383 by a partisau of Maximus, and Ambrose was sent to treat with the usurper, a piece of diplomacy in which he was fairly successful. He found himself, however, left to carry on the contest with the Arians and the Empress almost alone. He and the faithful gallantly defended the churches which the heretics attempted to seize. Justina was foiled: and the advance of Maximus on Milan led to her flight, and eventually to her death in 388. It was in this year, or more probably the year before (387), that Ambrose received into the Church by baptism his great scholar Augustine, once a Manichaean heretic. Theodosius was now virtually head of the Roman empire, his colleague Valentinian II., Justina's son, being a youth of only 17. In the early part of 390 the news of a riot at Thessalonica, brought to him at Milan, caused him to give a hasty order for a general massacre at that city, and his command was but too faithfully obeyed. On his presenting himself a few days after at the door of the principal church in Milan, he was met by Ambrose, who refused him entrance till he should have done penance for his crime. It was not till Christmas, eight months after, that the Emperor declared his penitence, and was received into communion again by the Bishop. Valentinian was murdered by Arbogastes, a Frank general, in 392; and the murderer and his puppet emperor Eugenius were defeated by Theodosius in 394. But the fatigues of the campaign told on the Emperor, and he died the following year. Ambrose preached his funeral sermon, as he had done that of Valentinian. The loss of these two friends and supporters was a severe blow to Ambrose; two unquiet years passed, and then, worn with labours and anxieties, he himself rested from his labours on Easter Eve, 397. It was the 4th of April, and on that day the great Bishop of Milan is remembered by the Western Church, but Rome commemorates his consecration only, Dec. 7th. Great he was indeed, as a scholar, an organiser, a statesman; still greater as a theologian, the earnest and brilliant defender of the Catholic faith against the Arians of the West, just as Athanasius (whose name, one cannot but remark, is the same as his in meaning) was its champion against those of the East. We are now mainly concerned with him as musician and poet, "the father of Church song" as he is called by Grimm. He introduced from the East the practice of antiphonal chanting, and began the task, which St. Gregory completed, of systematizing the music of the Church. As a writer of sacred poetry he is remarkable for depth and severity. He does not warm with his subject, like Adam of St. Victor, or St. Bernard. "We feel," says Abp. Trench, "as though there were a certain coldness in his hymns, an aloofness of the author from his subject. "A large number of hymns has been attributed to his pen; Daniel gives no fewer than 92 called Ambrosian. Of these the great majority (including one on himself) cannot possibly be his; there is more or less doubt about the rest. The authorities on the subject are the Benedictine ed. of his works, the Psalterium, or Hymnary, of Cardinal Thomasius, and the Thesaurus Hymnologicus of Daniel. The Benedictine editors give 12 hymns as assignable to him, as follows:—1. Aeterna Christi munera. 2. Aeterne rerum Conditor. 3. Consors Paterni luminii. 4. Deus Creator omnium. 5. Fit porta Christi pervia, 6. Illuminans Altissimus. 7. Jam surgit hora tertia. 8. 0 Lux Beata Trinitas. 9. Orabo mente Dominum. 10. Somno refectis artubus. 11. Splendor Paternae gloriae. 12. Veni Redemptor gentium. Histories of these hymns, together with details of translations into English, are given in this work, and may be found under their respective first lines. The Bollandists and Daniel are inclined to attribute to St. Ambrose a hymn, Grates tibi Jesu novas, on the finding of the relics of SS. Gervasius and Protasius. These, we know, were discovered by him in 386, and it is by no means unlikely that the bishop should have commemorated in verse an event which he announces by letter to his sister Marcellina with so much satisfaction, not to say exultation.A beautiful tradition makes the Te Deum laudamus to have been composed under inspiration, and recited alternately, by SS. Ambrose and Augustine immediately after the baptism of the latter in 387. But the story rests upon a passage which there is every reason to consider spurious, in the Chronicon of Dacius, Bishop of Milan in 550. There is no hint of such an occurrence in the Confessions of St. Augustine, nor in Paulinue's life of St. Ambrose, nor in any authentic writing of St. Ambrose himself. The hymn is essentially a compilation, and there is much reason to believe, with Merati, that it originated in the 5th century, in the monastery of St. Honoratus at Lerins. [Te Deum.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) Also known as: Ambrotio, Ambrosio de Milán Ambrosius Mediolanensis Ambrosius Saint, Bp. of Milan Ambrosius von Mailand Aurelio Ambrogio, Saint, Bishop of Milan Aurelius Ambrosius, Saint, Bishop of Milan Milan, d. 397

Anonymous

Person Name: Unknown Hymnal Number: 119 Author of "Lift up, lift up your voices now!" in The Hymnal In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries.

Christian Fürchtegott Gellert

1715 - 1769 Person Name: C. F. Gellert Hymnal Number: 122 Author of "Jesus lives! thy terrors now" in The Hymnal Gellert, Christian Fürchtegott, son of Christian Gellert, pastor at Hainichen in the Saxon Harz, near Freiberg, was born at Hainichen, July 4, 1715. In 1734 he entered the University of Leipzig as a student of theology, and after completing his course acted for some time as assistant to his father. But then, as now, sermons preached from manuscript were not tolerated in the Lutheran Church, and as his memory was treacherous, he found himself compelled to try some other profession. In 1739 he became domestic tutor to the sons of Herr von Lüttichau, near Dresden, and in 1741 returned to Leipzig to superintend the studies of a nephew at the University. He also resumed his own studies. He graduated M.A. 1744; became in 1745 private tutor or lecturer in the philosophical faculty; and was in 1751 appointed extraordinary professor of philosophy, lecturing on poetry and rhetoric, and then on moral philosophy. An ordinary professorship offered to him in 1761 he refused, as he did not feel strong enough to fulfil its duties, having been delicate from a child, and after 1752 suffering very greatly from hypochondria. He died at Leipzig, Dec. 13, 1769 (Koch, vi. 263-277; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, viii. 544-549, &c). As a professor, Gellert was most popular, numbering Goethe and Lessing among his pupils, and won from his students extraordinary reverence and affection, due partly to the warm interest he took in their personal conduct and welfare. In his early life he was one of the contributors to the Bremer Beiträge; and was one of the leaders in the revolt against the domination of Gottsched and the writers of the French school. His Fables (1st Ser. 1746; 2nd 1748), by their charm of style, spirit, humour and point, may justly be characterised as epoch-making, won for him universal esteem and influence among his contemporaries of all classes, and still rank among the classics of German literature. As a hymnwriter he also marks an epoch; and while in the revival of churchly feeling the hymns of the Rationalistic period of 1760 to 1820 have been ignored by many recent compilers, yet the greatest admirers of the old standard hymns have been fain to stretch their area of selection from Luther to Gellert. He prepared himself by prayer for their composition, and selected the moments when his mental horizon was most unclouded. He was distinguished by deep and sincere piety, blameless life, and regularity in attendance on the services of the Church. His hymns are the utterances of a sincere Christian morality, not very elevated or enthusiastic, but genuine expressions of his own feelings and experiences; and what in them he preached he also put in practice in his daily life. Many are too didactic in tone, reading like versifications of portions of his lectures on morals, and are only suited for private use. But in regard to his best hymns, it may safely be said that their rational piety and good taste, combined with a certain earnestness and pathos, entitle them to a place among the classics of German hymnody. They exactly met the requirements of the time, won universal admiration, and speedily passed into the hymnbooks in use over all Germany, Roman Catholic as well as Lutheran. Two of Gellert's hymns are noted under their own first lines, viz., "Jesus lebt, mit ihm auch ich," and "Wie gross ist des All-mächtgen Güte." The following have also passed into English, almost all being taken from his Geistliche Oden und Lieder, a collection of 54 hymns first published at Leipzig, 1757, and which has passed through very numerous editions:— I. Hymns in English common use: i. An dir allein, an dir hab ich gesündigt. Lent. 1757, p. 102, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, entitled "Hymn of Penitence." In Zollikofer's Gesange-Buch, 1766, and the Berlin Geistliche Lieder S., ed. 1863, No. 499. Translated as:— Against Thee only have I sinn'd, I own it. A good and full version, by Miss Wink worth, as No. 42 in her Chorale Book for England, 1863. Another translation is:— "Against Thee, Lord, Thee only my transgression," by N. L. Frothingham, 1870, p. 241. ii. Dies ist der Tag, den Gott gemacht. Christmas. One of his best and most popular hymns. 1757, p. 72, in 11 stanzas of 4 lines, repeated in the Berlin Gesang-Buch, 1765, No. 55, and the Berlin Geistliche Lieder S. ed. 1863, No. 154. Translated as:— This is the day the Lord hath made, O'er all the earth. A translation of stanzas i.-iii., x., by Miss Borthwick, as No. 22 in Dr. Pagenstecher's Collection, 1864, and included in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1884, p. 256. Other trs. are:—(1) "This is the day which God ordains," by Dr. G. Walker, 1860, p. 27. (2) "This day shall yet by God's command," in the Family Treasury, 1811, p. 278. iii. Für alle Güte sei gepreist. Evening. 1757, p. 85, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines, included in Zollikofer's Gesang-Buch 1766, No. 78, and the Berlin Geistliche Lieder S., ed. 1863, No. 1160. Translated as:— To Father, Son, and Spirit praise. A good and full translation by A. T. Russell, as No. 7 in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851. Another translation is: — "For all Thy kindness laud I Thee," by H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 96. iv. Gott ist mein Lied. Praise. On God's Might and Providence. 1757, p. 78, in 15 st. of 5 1. In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder S.., ed. 1863, No. 24. Translated as:— God is my song, His praises I'll repeat, A free translation of stanzas i.-v., as No. 94 in Sir John Bowring's Hymns, 1825. Repeated, omitting stanza ii., as No. 114 in Dale's English Hymn Book, 1875. Other translations are:— (1) “Of God I sing," by Dr. H. Mills, 1856, p. 11. (2) "God is my song, With sovereign," by N. L. Frothingham, 1870, p. 243. v. Wenn ich, o Schöpfer, deine Macht. Praise. This fine hymn of Praise for Creation and Providence was first published 1757, p. 62, in 6 stanzas of 7 lines. In the Berlin Gesang-Buch, 1765, No. 25, and Berlin Geistliche Lieder S.ed. 1863, No. 72. Translated as:—- Thou Great First Cause! when of Thy skill. In full in Dr. H. Mills's Horae Germanicae, 1845 (1856, p. 5). Stanzas ii., iii., v., vi., altered and beginning, "The earth, where'er I turn mine eye," are in the American Lutheran General Synod's Collection, 1852. Other trs. are:— (1) "When, O my dearest Lord, I prove," by Miss Dunn, 1857, p. 80. (2) "Creator! when I see Thy might," in Madame de Pontes's Poets and Poetry of Germany, 1858, v. i. p. 472. (3) "When I, Creator, view Thy might," by Miss Manington, 1863. vi. Wer Gottes Wort nicht halt, und spricht. Faith in Works. This didactic hymn on Faith proved by Works, was first published 1757, p. 49, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines. In Zollikofer's Gesang-Buch, 1766, and the Berlin Geistliche Lieder S. ed. 1863, No. 72. Translated as:— Who keepeth not God's Word, yet saith. A good and full translation by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 161. A greatly altered version of stanzas ii.—v., beginning, "True faith in holy life will shine," was included as No. 418 in Kennedy, 1863, and repeated in the Ibrox Hymnal 1871, J. L. Porter's Collection 1876, and others. II. Hymns not in English common use: vii. Auf Gott, und nicht auf meinen Rath. Trust in God's Providence. 1757, p. 134, in 6 stanzas. Translated as: (1) "Rule Thou my portion, Lord, my skill," by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (1856, p. 164). (2) "On God and on no earthly trust," by J. D. Burns, in his Remains, 1869. viii. Auf, schicke dich. Christmas. 1757, p. 109, in 1 stanza. Translated as, "Come, tune your heart," by Miss Cox, 1841, p. 17 (1864, p. 39). ix. Dein Heil, o Christ! nicht zu verscherzen. Prayer. 1757, p. 6, in 14 stanzas of 8 lines. In J. A. Schlegel's Geistliche Gesänge, 3rd Ser., 1772, p. 193, recast as "Zu deinem Gotte beten," in 5 stanzas of 12 lines; and this in the Kaiserwerth Lieder-Buch für Kleinkinderschulen, 1842, No. 208, appears "Zu Gott im Himmel beten," in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. The 1842 was translated as, "O how sweet it is to pray," by Mrs. Bevan, 1859, p. 148. x. Der Tag ist wieder hin, und diesen Theil des Lebens. Evening. 1757, p. 13, in 10 stanzas, as "Self-Examination at Eventide." Translated as,"Another day is ended," by Miss Warner, 1869 (1871, p. 9). xi. Du klagst, und fühlest die Beschwerden. Contentment. 1757, p. 91, in 8 stanzas. Translated as "Thy wounded spirit feels its pain," by Dr. B. Maguire, 1883, p. 153. xii. Erinnre dich, mein Geist, erfreut. Easter. 1757, p. 27, in 13 stanzas. Translated as, "Awake, my soul, and hail the day," in Dr. J. D. Lang's Aurora Australis, Sydney, 1826, p. 43. xiii. Er ruft der Sonn, und schafft den Mond. New Year. 1757, p. 154, in 6 stanzas. In the Berlin Gesang-Buch, 1765, No. 233, as "Gott ruft." Translated as, “Lord, Thou that ever wast and art," in the British Magazine, Jan., 1838, p. 36. xiv. Gott, deine Güte reicht so weit. Supplication. 1757, p. 1, in 4 stanzas, founded on 1 Kings iii. 5-14. The translations are: (1) "O God, Thy goodness doth extend, Far as," by Dr. J. D. Lang, 1826, p. 10. (2) "Behold! Thy goodness, oh my God," by Miss Fry, 1845, p. 78. xv. Gott ist mein Hort. Holy Scripture. 1757, p. 70, in 8 stanzas. Translated as, "I trust the Lord, Upon His word," by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (1856, p. 23). xvi. Herr, der du mir das Leben. Evening. 1757, p. 121, in 5 stanzas. Translated as, "By Thee, Thou Lord of Heaven," by H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 97. xvii. Herr, starke mich, dein Leiden su bedenken. Passiontide. 1757, p. 123, in 22 stanzas. Translated as, "Clothe me, oh Lord, with strength! that I may dwell” by Miss Fry, 1859, p. 153. xviii. Ich hab in guten Stunden. For the Sick. 1757, p. 128, in 6 stanzas. [See the Story of a Hymn, in the Sunday at Home for Sept., 1865.] Translated as: (1) “I have had my days of blessing," by Mrs. Findlater, in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1855, p. 60. (2) "Once, happy hours with blessings crowned," by A. B. H., in the Day of Rest, 1877, p. 405. xix. Ich komme, Herr, und suche dich. Holy Communion. 1757, p. 89, in 5 stanzas. The translations are: (1) "I come, 0 Lord, and seek for Thee," by Miss Manington, 1863, p. 14. (2) “Weary and laden with my load, I come," by Dr. B. Maguire, 1872, p. 178. xx. Ich komme vor dein Angesicht. Supplication. 1757, p. 140. in 13 stanzas. The translations are: (1) "Great God, I bow before Thy face," by Dr. J. D. Lang, 1826, p. 23. (2) “Now in Thy presence I appear," by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (1856, p. 137). xxi. Mein erst Gefühl sei Preis und Dank. Morning. 1757, p. 55, in 12 stanzas. Translated as, "I bless Thee, Lord, Thou God of might," beginning with st. vi., by H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 56. xxii. Nach einer Prüfung kurzer Tage. Eternal Life. 1757, p. 158, in 12 stanzas, as "The Consolation of Eternal Life." Though hardly a hymn for congregational use and too individualised, it has been a very great favourite in Germany. In the Berlin Gesang-Buch, 1765, 132, and the Berlin Geistliche Liedersegen, ed. 1863, No. 1483. The translations are: (1) "A few short days of trial past," in Miss Knight's Prayers and Hymns from the German, 1812 (1832, p. 107). (2) "A few short hours of transient joy," by Dr. J. D. Lang, 1826, p. 123. (3) “When these brief trial-days are past," by J. Sheppard, 1857, p. 98. (4) “A few short days of trial here,” by Miss Burlingham, in the British Herald, July 1865, p. 98. (5) "Our few short years of trial o'er," by Dr. J. Guthrie, 1869, d. 124. (6) “When these brief trial-days are spent," by Miss Winkworth, 1869, p. 318. (7) "A few more days, a few more years," by Dr. R. Maguire, 1883, p. 165. xxiii 0 Herr, mein Gott! durch den ich bin und lebe. Resignation to the will of God. 1757, p. 152. in 7 st. Translated as, "In Thee, my God, I live and move," by Dr. R. Maguire, 1883, p. 113. xxiv. So hoff’ ich denn mit festem Muth . Assurance of the Grace of God. 1757, p. 115, in 4 stanzas. The translations are: (1) "Firm is my hope of future good," by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (1856, p. 188). (2) “In Thee, O Lord, my hope hath stood," by Dr. R. Maguire, 1872. zzv. Was ists dast ich mich quäle. Patience. 1757, p. 17, in 7 stanzas. The translations are: (1) "O foolish heart, be still," by Miss Warner, 1858 (1861, p. 452), repeated in Bishop Ryle's Collection, 1860, No. 181 (2) “What billows these that o'er thee roll," by Dr. R. Maguire, 1872. xxvi. Wie sicher lebt der Mensch, der Staub. For the Dying. 1757, p. 149, in 14 stanzas. Translated as, "How heedless, how secure is man!" by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (1856, p. 238). One or two recasts from Gellert's Lehrgedichte und Erzählungen, Leipzig, 1754, came into German common use, and one has passed into English, viz.:— xxvii. Mensch, der du Christus schmähst, was ist in ihrer Lehre. Love to Mankind. 1754, pp. 27-56, being a poem entitled “The Christian." A recast from portions of this made by J. S. Diterich, beginning "Gieb mir, O Gott, ein Herz," in 9 stanzas, appears as No. 219 in the Berlin Gesang-Buch, 1765; and has been translated as "Grant me, O God! a tender heart," by Miss Knight, 1812 (1832, p. 97). [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Frances Elizabeth Cox

1812 - 1897 Person Name: Cox Hymnal Number: 122 Translator of "Jesus lives! thy terrors now" in The Hymnal Cox, Frances Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. George V. Cox, born at Oxford, is well known as a successful translator of hymns from the German. Her translations were published as Sacred Hymns from the German, London, Pickering. The 1st edition, pub. 1841, contained 49 translations printed with the original text, together with biographical notes on the German authors. In the 2nd edition, 1864, Hymns from the German, London, Rivingtons, the translations were increased to 56, those of 1841 being revised, and with additional notes. The 56 translations were composed of 27 from the 1st ed. (22 being omitted) and 29 which were new. The best known of her translations are "Jesus lives! no longer [thy terrors] now" ; and ”Who are these like stars appearing ?" A few other translations and original hymns have been contributed by Miss Cox to the magazines; but they have not been gathered together into a volume. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Daniel C. Roberts

1841 - 1907 Person Name: Rev. D. C. Roberts Hymnal Number: 194 Author of "God of our fathers, Whose almighty hand" in The Hymnal Daniel C. Roberts (b. Bridgehampton, Long Island, NY, 1841; d. Concord, NH, 1907) Educated at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, served in the union army during the Civil War. He was ordained in the Episcopal Church as a priest in 1866 and ministered to several congregations in Vermont and Massachusetts. In 1878 he began a ministry at St. Paul Church in Concord, New Hampshire, that lasted for twenty-three years. Serving for many years president of the New Hampshire State Historical Society, Roberts once wrote, "I remain a country parson, known only within my small world," but his hymn "God of Our Fathers" brought him widespread recognition. Bert Polman ================= Roberts, Daniel C., D.D., of the Prot. Episcopal Church in America, b. at Bridge Hampton, L.I., Nov. 5, 1841, and graduated at Gambler College, 1857. After serving for a time as a private in the Civil War, he was ordained in 1866. He is at present (1905) Rector of Concord, N.H. His hymn, "God of our fathers, Whose almighty hand " (National Hymn), was written in 1876 for the "Centennial" Fourth of July celebration at Brandon, Vermont. In 1892 it was included in the Protestant Episcopal Hymnal, and again in Sursum Corda, 1898. [Rev. L. F. Benson, D.D.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Samuel Francis Smith

1808 - 1895 Person Name: Rev. S. F. Smith Hymnal Number: 196 Author (st. 1) of "Our father's God! to Thee" in The Hymnal Smith, Samuel Francis, D.D., was born in Boston, U.S.A., Oct. 21, 1808, and graduated in arts at Harvard, and in theology at Andover. He entered the Baptist ministry in 1832, and became the same year editor of the Baptist Missionary Magazine. He also contributed to the Encyclopaedia Americana. From 1834 to 1842 he was pastor at Waterville, Maine, and Professor of Modern Languages in Waterville College. In 1842 he removed to Newton, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1854, when he became the editor of the publications of the Baptist Missionary Union. With Baron Stow he prepared the Baptist collection known as The Psalmist, published in 1843, to which he contributed several hymns. The Psalmist is the most creditable and influential of the American Baptist collections to the present day. Dr. Smith also published Lyric Gems, 1854, Rock of Ages, 1870, &c. A large number of his hymns are in use in America, and several have passed into some of the English collections. Taking his hymns in common use in alphabetical order, we have the following:— 1. And now the solemn deed is done. Ordination. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 954. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, it is altered to "The solemn service now is done." 2. As flows the rapid river. Life Passing Away. In Christian Psalmody, 1833, No. 33; the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, Boston, 1841; and The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1059. Found in a few English hymn-books, and in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 3. Auspicious morning, hail. American National Anniversary. Written for July 4th, 1841, and published in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1007. 4. Beyond where Cedron's waters flow. Gethsemane. In L. Bacon's Appendix, 1833; the Psalmist, 1843, No. 220, and later collections. 5. Blest is the hour when cares depart. Divine Worship. In The Psalmist, 1843, No. 947, and others. 6. Constrained by love we follow where. Holy Baptism. Appeared in the Baptist edition of the Plymouth Hymn Book, 1857. 7. Down to the sacred wave. Holy Baptism. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns added to his Collection of 1817, in 1832, No. 510; repeated in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 818, and in several collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 8. Hail! ye days of solemn meeting. Public Worship. An altered form of No. 26 below, in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866, as an "American Hymn, 1840." 9. How blest the hour when first we gave. Holy Baptism. Appeared in the Baptist edition of thePlymouth Hymn Book, 1857, No. 1468. 10. How calmly wakes the hallowed morn. Holy Baptism. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 810, in later collections, and in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 11. Jesus, Thou hast freely saved us. Salvation. In Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 503, and others. 12. Meekly in Jordan's Holy Stream. Holy Baptism. Contributed to The Psalmist, 1843, No. 808. 13. My country, 'tis of thee. National Hymn. "Written in 1832, and first sung at a children's Fourth of July celebration in Park Street church, Boston." Included in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1000, and found in a large number of American hymn-books, but not in use in Great Britain. It is one of the most popular of Dr. Smith's compositions. Text, with note in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 14. 0 not my own these verdant hills. Bought with a Price. Appeared in Nason's Congregational Hymn Book, 1857, and given inLaudes Domini, 1884. 15. Onward speed thy conquering flight. Missions. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 892, and is found in several modern collections in Great Britain and America. Also in Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868. 16. Planted in Christ, the living Vine. Christian Fellowship; or, For Unity. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 929, inLyra Sacra Americana, 1868, and several hymn-books. Of the hymns contributed by Dr. Smith to The Psalmist this is the best, and one of the most popular. 17. Remember thy Creator. Youthful Piety Enforced. In Christian Psalmody, 1832, No. 32; the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, 1841; The Psalmist, 1843, No. 778; Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868, and other collections. 18. Sister, thou wast mild and lovely. Death and Burial. Written on the death of Miss J. M. C. of Mount Vernon School, Boston, July 13,1833, and published in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1096. 19. Softly fades the twilight ray. Sunday Evening. Written in 1832, and included in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 56. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, and several hymn-books. 20. Spirit of holiness, descend. Whitsuntide. Appeared in the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, 1841, No. 295, and again in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 384. In the Unitarian Hymns for the Church of Christ, Boston, 1853. St. ii., iii., iv. were given as "Spirit of God, Thy churches wait." This form of the text and the original are both in modern hymn-books. 21. Spirit of peace and holiness. Institution of a Minister. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 953, and Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872. 22. The morning light is breaking. Missions. Written in 1832, and included in Hastings's Spiritual Songs, 1832-33, No. 253; and The Psalmist, 1843, No. 912. This hymn is very popular and has been translated into several languages. Dr. Smith says of it that “it has been a great favourite at missionary gatherings, and I have myself heard it sung in five or six different languages in Europe and Asia. It is a favourite with the Burmans, Karens, and Telegus in Asia, from whose lips I have heard it repeatedly.” 23. The Prince of Salvation in triumph is riding. Missions. Given in Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1832-33, No. 274; The Psalmist, 1843, and later collections. 24. Tis done, the [important] solemn act is done. Ordination. Appeared in The Psalmist 1843, No. 951, and later hymn-books. 25. Today the Saviour calls. Invitation. First sketch by Dr. Smith, the revised text, as in Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, No. 176, and The Psalmist, No. 453, by Dr. T. Hastings (p. 495, i. 19). 26. Welcome, days of solemn meeting. Special Devotional Services. Written in 1834, and given in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872. See No. 8. 27. When shall we meet again ? Parting. This is a cento. The first stanza is from Alaric A. Watts's Poetical Sketches, &c, 1822, p. 158 ; and st. ii.-iv. are by Dr. Smith. In this form it was published in L. Bacon's Supplement to Dwight, 1833, No. 489. It is in several American hymn-books; and also the English Baptist Psalms & Hymns, 1858, &c. 28. When the harvest is past and the summer is gone. Close of Worship. Contributed to Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1831, No. 244; and repeated in the Fuller and Jeter Supplement to The Psalmist, 1847, No. 22, and later collections. 29. When thy mortal life is fled. The Judgment. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 379, and repeated in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 455, and later hymn-books. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 30. While in this sacred rite of Thine. Holy Baptism. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 803: Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868, &c. 31. With willing hearts we tread. Holy Baptism. In The Psalmist, 1843, No. 798; and again in the Baptist Praise Book, 1871. 32. Yes, my native land, I love thee. A Missionary's Farewell. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 445, and found in later collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Horatius Bonar

1808 - 1889 Person Name: Rev. Dr. Bonar Hymnal Number: 203 Author of "A few more years shall roll" in The Hymnal Horatius Bonar was born at Edinburgh, in 1808. His education was obtained at the High School, and the University of his native city. He was ordained to the ministry, in 1837, and since then has been pastor at Kelso. In 1843, he joined the Free Church of Scotland. His reputation as a religious writer was first gained on the publication of the "Kelso Tracts," of which he was the author. He has also written many other prose works, some of which have had a very large circulation. Nor is he less favorably known as a religious poet and hymn-writer. The three series of "Hymns of Faith and Hope," have passed through several editions. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872 ================================ Bonar, Horatius, D.D. Dr. Bonar's family has had representatives among the clergy of the Church of Scotland during two centuries and more. His father, James Bonar, second Solicitor of Excise in Edinburgh, was a man of intellectual power, varied learning, and deop piety. Horatius Bonar was born in Edinburgh, Dec. 19th, 1808; and educated at the High School and the University of Edinburgh. After completing his studies, he was "licensed" to preach, and became assistant to the Rev. John Lewis, minister of St. James's, Leith. He was ordained minister of the North Parish, Kelso, on the 30th November, 1837, but left the Established Church at the "Disruption," in May, 1848, remaining in Kelso as a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. The University of Aberdeen conferred on him the doctorate of divinity in 1853. In 1866 he was translated to the Chalmers Memorial Church, the Grange, Edinburgh; and in 1883 he was chosen Moderator of the General Assembly of of the Free Church of Scotland. Dr. Bonar's hymns and poems were, he tells us, composed amid a great variety of circumstances; in many cases he cannot himself recall these circumstances; they also appeared in several publications, but nearly all have boen published or republished in the following:— (i) Songs for the Wilderness, 1843-4. (2) The Bible Hymn Book, 1845. (3) Hymns, Original and Selected, 1846. (4) Hymns of Faith and Hope, First Series, 1857; Second Series, 1861; Third Series, 1866. (5) The Song of the New Creation, 1872. (6) My Old Letters, a long poem, 1877. (7) Hymns of the Nativity, 1879. (8) Communion Hymns, 1881. In addition to numerous prose works, he has also edited The New Jerusalem; a Hymn of the Olden Time, 1852, &c. Dr. Bonar's poems—-including many beautiful lyrics, several psalm versions, and translations from the Greek and Latin, a large number of hymns, and a long meditative poem—-are very numerous, too numerous, perhaps, for their permanent fame as a whole. Dr. Bonar's scholarship is thorough and extensive; and his poems display the grace of style and wealth of allusion which are the fruit of ripe culture. Affected very slightly by current literary moods, still less by the influence of other religious poetry, they reveal extreme susceptibility to the emotional power which the phases of natural and of spiritual life exercise; the phases of natural life being recognised chiefly as conveying and fashioning spiritual life, used chiefly for depicting spiritual life, and handled for this purpose with greater delicacy of touch than in the Olney Hymns, and with less conscious purpose than in the Christian Year. As a result of this susceptibility, and from habitual contemplation of the Second Advent as the era of this world's true bliss, his hymns and poems are distinguished by a tone of pensive reflection, which some might call pessimism. But they are more than the record of emotion; another element is supplied by his intellectual and personal grasp of Divine truth, these truths particularly:—The gift of a Substitute, our Blessed Saviour; Divine grace, righteous, yet free and universal in offer; the duty of immediate reliance upon the privilege of immediate assurance through that grace; communion with God, especially in the Lord's Supper, respecting which he insists on the privilege of cherishing the highest conceptions which Scripture warrants; and finally, the Second Advent of our Lord: by his vigorous celebration of these and other truths as the source and strength of spiritual life, his hymns are protected from the blight of unhealthy, sentimental introspection. To sum up: Dr. Bonar's hymns satisfy the fastidious by their instinctive good taste; they mirror the life of Christ in the soul, partially, perhaps, but with vivid accuracy; they win the heart by their tone of tender sympathy; they sing the truth of God in ringing notes; and although, when taken as a whole, they are not perfect ; although, in reading them, we meet with feeble stanzas, halting rhythm, defective rhyme, meaningless Iteration; yet a singularly large number have been stamped with approval, both in literary circles and by the Church. In Great Britain and America nearly 100 of Dr. Bonar's hymns are in common use. They are found in almost all modern hymnals from four in Hymns Ancient & Modern to more than twenty in the American Songs for the Sanctuary, N. Y., 1865-72. The most widely known are, "A few more years shall roll;" "Come, Lord, and tarry not;" "Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face;" "I heard the Voice of Jesus say;" "The Church has waited long;" and "Thy way, not mine, O Lord." In addition to these and others which are annotated under their respective first lines, the following are also in common use:— From Songs for the Wilderness, No. 1, 1843. 1. For Thee we long and pray. Sunday Morning. 2. Holy Father, hear my cry. A Child's Prayer. 3. I thought upon my sins and I was sad. Christ our Peace. 4. Peace to the world, our Lord is come. A Millennial Song. 5. Spirit of everlasting grace. The Vision of Dry Bones. ii. From Songs for the Wilderness, No. 2,1844. 6. Ho, ye thirsty, parched and fainting. Invitation. 7. 0 'tis not what we fancied it. The world renounced. 8. Sing them, my children, sing them still. Children exhorted to Praise. 9. Time's sun is fast setting. Advent. 10. Weep, pilgrim, weep, yet 'tis not for the sorrow. Faith. 11. Yes, for me, for me He careth. Christ the Elder Brother . iii. From The Bible Hymn Book, 1845. 12. Jesus, my sorrow lies too deep. Jesus, the Great High Priest. 13. There is a Morning Star, my soul. The Morning Star. 14. This is not my place of resting. Pressing towards heaven. iv. From Hymns, Original and Selected, 1845. 15. Let there be light, Jehovah said. Creation. v. From Hymns of Faith and Hope, 1st series, 1857. 16. Be brave, my brother. The Fight of Faith. 17. Blessed be God, our God. Good Friday. 18. Everlasting praises. Doxology. 19. Go up, go up, my heart. Heavenly aspirations desired. 20. I close my heavy eye. Evening. Sometimes given as "We close our heavy eyes." 21. I see the crowd in Pilate's hall. Good Friday. 22. Jesus, while this rongh desert soil. Strength by the Way. 23. Jesus, Whom angel-hosts adore. The Word made Flesh. From "The Son of God, in mighty love." 24. Make haste, 0 man, to live. Exhortation to lay hold of Life. 25. No seas again shall sever. Heaven. 26. Oppressed with noonday's scorching heat. Shadow of the Cross. 27. Rest for the toiling hand. Burial. From "Lie down, frail body, here." 28. Shall this life of mine be wasted? Exhortation to Duty. 29. These are the crowns that we shall wear. Heaven. 30. Thy works, not mine, O Christ [Lord]. The Sin-bearer. 31. Where the faded flower shall freshen. Heaven. vi. From Hymns of Faith and Hope. 2nd series, 1861. 32. Be still, my soul, Jehovah loveth Thee. Rest in the Love of God. 33. Christ has done the mighty work. Good Friday. 34. Come, mighty Spirit, penetrate. Whitsuntide. 35. Deep down beneath the unresting surge. Burial at Sea. 36. Fear not the foe, thou flock of God [thou little flock]. Battle-Song of the Church. 37. For lack of love I languish. Lent. 38. From this bleak hill of storms. Eternal Rest desired. 39. He liveth long who liveth well. The True Life. 40. Here shall death's triumph end: the rock-barred door. Easter. From "The tomb is empty: wouldst thou have it full." 41. Jesus, Sun and Shield art Thou. Jesus the First and Last. 42. Jesus, the Christ of God. Praise to Christ. 43. Light of the world, for ever, ever shining. Christ the Light of the World. From "Why walk in darkness? Has the dear light vanished?" 44. Make use of me, my God. Duty desired. 45. Not what I am, 0 Lord, but what Thou art. The Love of God. 46. 0 Light of Light, shine in. Cry of the Weary. 47. 0 love of God, how strong and true. Love of God. 48. 0 love that casts out fear. Love of God. 49. 0 strong to save and bless. Lent. 50. 0 this soul, how dark and blind. Lent. 51. Safe across the waters. Thanksgiving at end of a journey. 52. Silent, like men in solemn haste. Pressing onwards. 53. Speak, lips of mine. Exhortation to Praise. 54. The Bridegroom comes. Advent. vii. From Hymns of Faith and Hope. 3rd series, 1866. 55. Bear Thou my burden, Thou Who bar'st my sin. Lent or Passiontide. 56. Done is the work that saves. Easter. 57. Father, our children keep. Prayer on behalf of Children. 58. Fill Thou my life, 0 Lord my God. Life's Praise. 59. Finish Thy work, the time is short. Earnest labour to the end. 60. From the Cross the blood is falling. Good Friday. 61. He called them, and they left. Obedience. 62. Help me, my [0] God to speak. Truth desired. 63. Holy Father, Mighty God. Holy Trinity. 64. How are my troubles multiplied. Ps. iii. 65. How sweetly doth He show His face Flower Service. 66. Light hath arisen, we walk in its brightness. Sustaining power of Faith. 67. Lo, God, our God has come. Christmas. 68. Lord, give me light to do Thy work. Divine guidance desired. 69. No, not despairingly. Lent. 70. Not to ourselves again. Life in Christ, or, Living unto God. 71. Now in parting, Father, bless us. Post Communion. 72. Sounds the trumpet from afar. Battle-Song of the Church. 73. Thee in the loving bloom of morn. God in all. 74. Through good report and evil, Lord. Faithfulness. 75. To Jehovah, God of might. Praise to the Father. 76. To the name of God on high. Doxology. 77. Upward, where the stars are burning. Heavenward Aspirations. 78. We take the peace which He hath won. The Gift of Peace. 79. When the weary, seeking rest. Intercession for all Conditions of Men. viii. From The Song of the New Creation,1872. 80. For the Bread and for the Wine. Holy Communion. 81. Light of life so softly shining. Light of Life. 82. Yet there is room. The Lamb's bright hall of song. Home Missions. ix. From Hymns of the Nativity, 1879. 83. Great Ruler of the land and sea. Sailors' Liturgy. From Communion Hymns, 1881. 84. Beloved, let us love. Brotherly Love. In several instances these hymns are given in an abbreviated form, and sometimes alterations are also introduced. In this latter respect however Dr. Bonar has suffered less than most modern hymn-writers. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ==================== Bonar, Horatius, p. 161, i. He died at Edinburgh, July 31, 1889. In 1890 his son published a posthumous volume of his poetical pieces as Until the Day Break and other Hymns and Poems left behind. The following additional hymns are in common use:— 1. Almighty Comforter and Friend. (1866.) Whitsuntide. 2. Father, make use of me. An altered form of No. 44, p. 162, ii. 3. I ask a perfect creed. (1861.) Creed not Opinions. From this is also taken "O True One, give me truth." 4. Long, long deferred, now come at last. Marriage of the Lamb. Part of "Ascend, Beloved, to the joy." (1861.) 5. Nay 'tis not what we fancied it. (1857.) Vanity of the World. 6. No blood, no altar now. (1861.) The Finished Sacrifice. 7. No shadows yonder. (1857.) Heaven Anticipated. 8. Not with the light and vain. (1857.) Godly Companionship. 9. O Love invisible, yet infinite. (1866.) Divine Love. 10. On the great love of God I lean. (1866.) Love of God our Resting-place. 11. On Thee, O Jesus, strongly leaning. (1866.) Fellowship with Christ. 12. Peace upon peace, like wave on wave. (1866.) Divine Peace. 13. Sower divine, sow the good seed in me. (1857.) Heavenly Sowing. 14. Speaketh the sinner's sin within my heart. (1866.) Ps. xxxvi. 15. Still one in life and one in death. (1857.) Communion of Saints. Part of "'Tis thus they press the hand and part." 16. Surely, yon heaven, where angels see God's face. (1857.) Heaven Anticipated. 17. That city with the jewelled crest. (1857.) Heaven. Part of "These are the crowns that we shall wear." Another cento from the same is "Yon city, with the jewelled crest." 18. That clime is not like this dull clime of ours. (1843.) Heaven. 19. The Free One makes you free: He breaks the rod. (1857.) Freedom in Christ. From "Of old they sang the song of liberty." 20. There is a Morning-star, my soul. (1357.) Christ the Morning Star. 21. This is the day of toil. (1866.) Pressing Onwards. 22. Thy thoughts are here, my God. (1866.) Holy Scripture. 23. Till the day dawn. (1857.) Life's Journey. 24. To Him Who spread the skies. (1866.) Creation's Song. 25. Trustingly, trustingly. (1866.) Trust. 26. Unto th' eternal hills. (1866.) Ps. cxxi. The above dates are: 1843, Songs in the Wilderness; 1857, Hymns of Faith and Hope, 1st Series; 1861, same, 2nd Ser. (not 1864); 1866, same, 3rd Ser. (not 1867), The dates 1857, 1864,1867, were given by Dr. Bonar, but the British Museum copies are 1857, 1861, 1866 respectively. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ============== Bonar, H., pp. 161, i.; 1554, i. The Rev. H. N. Bonar, Dr. Bonar's son, published in 1904, Hymns by Horatius Bonar, Selected and Arranged by his Son H. N. Bonar, With a brief History of some of the Hymns, &c. (London: H. Frowde). From this work we must correct the date of his Song of the New Creation to 1872. We have also enriched our pages by additional and expanded notes on several of Dr. Bonar's most widely used hymns. In his biographical notes, Mr. Bonar refers to Dr. Bonar's work as editor of the Quarterly Journal of Prophecy, begun in 1848, to which he contributed a hymn for each number. We find that the number of hymns contributed thereto is 101. With Dr. Bonar's poetical productions great difficulty has been encountered by the historian and annotator because of his absolute indifference to dates and details. It was enough for him that he had written, and that the Church of Christ approved and gladly used what, out of the fulness of his heart, he had given her. --Excerpt from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Josiah Conder

1789 - 1855 Person Name: J. Conder Hymnal Number: 224b Author of "Bread of heav'n, on Thee we feed" in The Hymnal Josiah Conder was born in London, in 1789. He became a publisher, and in 1814 became proprietor of "The Eclectic Review." Subsequently to 1824, he composed a series of descriptive works, called the "Modern Traveller," which appeared in thirty volumes. He also published several volumes of poems and hymns. He was the author of the first "Congregational Hymn Book" (1836). He died in 1855. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872. ========================== Conder, Josiah, fourth son of Thomas Conder, engraver and bookseller, and grandson of the Rev. John Conder, D.D., first Theological Tutor of Homerton College, was born in Falcon Street (City); London, Sept. 17, 1789, and died Dec. 27, 1855. As author, editor and publisher he was widely known. For some years he was the proprietor and editor of the Eclectic Review, and also editor of the Patriot newspaper. His prose works were numerous, and include:— The Modern Traveller, 1830; Italy, 1831; Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Geography, 1834; Life of Bunyan, 1835; Protestant Nonconformity, 1818-19; The Law of the Sabbath, 1830; Epistle to the Hebrews (a translation), 1834; Literary History of the New Testament, 1845, Harmony of History with Prophecy, 1849, and others. His poetical works are:— (1) The Withered Oak,1805; this appeared in the Athenceum. (2) The Reverie, 1811. (3) Star in the East, 1824. (4) Sacred Poems, Domestic Poems, and Miscellaneous Poems, 1824. (5) The Choir and the Oratory; or, Praise and Prayer, 1837. Preface dated Nov. 8, 1836. (6) Hymns of Praise, Prayer, and Devout Meditation, 1856. This last work was in the press at the time of his death, and was revised and published by his son, the Rev. E. R. Conder, M.A. He also contributed many pieces to the magazines and to the Associated Minstrels, 1810, under the signature of " C." In 1838, selections from The Choir and Oratory were published with music by Edgar Sanderson, as Harmonia Sacra. A second volume was added in 1839. To Dr. Collyer’s (q.v.) Hymns, &c, he contributed 3 pieces signed "C"; and to Dr. Leifchild's Original Hymns, 1843, 8 hymns. As a hymn-book editor he was also well known. In 1836 he edited The Congregational Hymn Book: a Supplement to Dr. Watts’s Psalms and Hymns (2nd ed. 1844). To this collection he contributed fifty-six of his own hymns, some of which had previously appeared in The Star in the East, &c. He also published in 1851 a revised edition of Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns, and in the game year a special paper on Dr. Watte as The Poet of the Sanctuary, which was read before the Congregational Union at Southampton. The value of his work as Editor of the Congregational Hymn Book is seen in the fact that eight out of every ten of the hymns in that collection are still in use either in Great Britain or America. As a hymn writer Conder ranks with some of the best of the first half of the present century. His finest hymns are marked by much elevation of thought expressed in language combining both force and beauty. They generally excel in unity, and in some the gradual unfolding of the leading idea is masterly. The outcome of a deeply spiritual mind, they deal chiefly with the enduring elements of religion. Their variety in metre, in style, and in treatment saves them from the monotonous mannerism which mars the work of many hymn writers. Their theology, though decidedly Evangelical, is yet of a broad and liberal kind. Doubtless Conder's intercourse with many phases of theological thought as Editor of the Eclectic Review did much to produce this catholicity, which was strikingly shewn by his embodying many of the collects of the Book of Common Prayer, rendered into verse, in his Choir and Oratory. Of his versions of the Psalms the most popular are "How honoured, how dear" (84th), and "O be joyful in the Lord" (100th). His hymns in most extensive use are," Bread of heaven, on Thee I feed; " “Beyond, beyond that boundless sea;" "The Lord is King, lift up thy voice" (this last is one of his best); "Day by day the manna fell;" "How shall I follow him I serve;" "Heavenly Father, to whose eye" (all good specimens of his subdued and pathetic style); and "O shew me not my Saviour dying." This last is full of lyric feeling, and expresses the too often forgotten fact that the Church has a living though once crucified Lord. The popularity of Conder's hymns may be gathered from the fact that at the present time more of them are in common use in Great Britain and America than those of any other writer of the Congregational body, Watts and Doddridge alone excepted. [Rev. W. Garrett Horder] In addition to the hymns named above and others which are annotated under their respective first lines, the following, including two already named (4,16), are also in common use:— i. From Dr. Collyer's Hymns, &c, 1812. 1. When in the hours of lonely woe. Lent. ii. From The Star in the East, &c, 1824. 2. Be merciful, O God of grace. Ps. lxvii. 3. For ever will I bless the Lord. Ps. xxxiv. 4. How honoured, how dear. Ps. lxxxiv. 5. Now with angels round the throne. Doxology. 6. O Thou God, Who hearest prayer. Lent. Dated Sept. 1820. Usually abbreviated. iii. From The Congregational Hymn Book, 1836. 7. Blessed be God, He is not strict. Longsuffering of God. 8. Followers of Christ of every name. Communion of Saints. 9. Grant me, heavenly Lord, to feel. Zeal in Missions desired. 10. Grant, 0 Saviour, to our prayers. Collect 5th S. after Trinity. 11. Head of the Church, our risen Lord. Church Meetings. 12. Holy, holy, holy Lord, in the highest heaven, &c. Praise to the Father. 13. Jehovah's praise sublime. Praise. 14. Leave us not comfortless. Holy Communion. 15. Lord, for Thv Name's sake! such the plea. In National Danger. 16. O be joyful in the Lord. Ps. c. 17. 0 breathe upon this languid frame. Baptism of Holy Spirit desired. 18. 0 give thanks to Him Who made. Thanksgiving for Daily Mercies. 19. 0 God, Protector of the lowly. New Year. 20. 0 God, to whom the happy dead. Burial. 21. 0 God, Who didst an equal mate. Holy Matrimony. 22. 0 God, Who didst Thy will unfold. Holy Scriptures. 23. 0 God, Who dost Thy sovereign might. Prayer Meetings. 24. 0 how shall feeble flesh and blood. Salvation through Christ. 25. 0 how should those be clean who bear. Purity desired for God's Ministers. 26. 0 say not, think not in thy heart. Pressing Onward. 27. 0 Thou divine High Priest. Holy Communion. 28. 0 Thou Who givest all their food. Harvest. 29. 0 Thou Whose covenant is sure. Holy Baptism. 30. Praise on Thee, in Zion-gates. Sunday. 31. Praise the God of all creation. Doxology 32. See the ransomed millions stand. Praise to Christ. 33. The heavens declare His glory. Ps. xix. 34. Thou art the Everlasting Word. Praise to Christ. 35. Thy hands have made and fashioned me. Thanks for Daily Mercies. 36. To all Thy faithful people, Lord. For Pardon. 37. To His own world He came. Ascension. 38. To our God loud praises give. Ps. cxxxvi. 39. Upon a world of guilt and night. Purification of B.V.M. 40. Welcome, welcome, sinner, hear. Invitation to Christ. 41. Wheresoever two or three. Continued Presence of Christ desired. iv. From The Choir and the Oratory, 1837. 42. Baptised into our Saviour's death. Holy Baptism. 43. In the day of my [thy] distress. Ps. xx. 44. 0 comfort to the dreary. Christ the Comforter. v. From Leifchild's Original Hymns, 1843. 45. I am Thy workmanship, 0 Lord. God the Maker and Guardian. 46. 0 Lord, hadst Thou been here! But when. The Resurrection of Lazarus. 47. 'Tis not that I did choose Thee. Chosen of God. This is altered in the Church Praise Book, N. Y., 1882, to “Lord, 'tis not that I did choose Thee," thereby changing the metre from 7.6 to 8.5. vi. From Hymns of Praise, Prayer, &c, 1856. 48. Comrades of the heavenly calling. The Christian race. When to these 48 hymns those annotated under their respective first lines are added, Conder’s hymns in common use number about 60 in all. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =================== Conder, Josiah, p. 256, i. Other hymns are:— 1. O love beyond the reach of thought. The love of God. 2. O Thou, our Head, enthroned on high. Missions. 3. Son of David, throned in light. Divine Enlightenment desired. 4. Thou Lamb of God for sinners slain. Christ the Head of the Church. From "Substantial Truth, 0 Christ, Thou art." These hymns are all from his Hymns of Praise, &c, 1856. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Dorothy Frances Gurney

1858 - 1932 Person Name: Dorothy F. Blomfield Hymnal Number: 238 Author of "O perfect Love, all human thought transcending" in The Hymnal Blomfield, Dorothy F. , was born at 3 Finsbury Circus, Oct. 4, 1858. Miss Blomfield is the eldest daughter of the late Rev. F. G. Blomfield, sometime Rector of St. Andrew's Undershaft, London, and granddaughter of the late Dr. Blomfield, Bishop of London. Her very beautiful hymn for Holy Matrimony, “O perfect Love, all human thought transcending," was written for her sister's marriage in 1883, and was intended to be sung to Strength and Stay, in Hymns Ancient & Modern, No. 12. Subsequently it was set as an anthem by J. Barnby for the marriage of the Duke of Fife with the Princess Louise of Wales, on July 27, 1889. In 1889 it was included in the Supplemental Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern, and in 1890 in the Hymnal Companion. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) =============== Gurney, Dorothy Frances, née Blomfield, p. 1553, ii. Married to Mr. Gerald Gurney. Mrs. Gurney's personal account of her hymn, "O perfect Love," &c, is given in detail in the Rev. J. Brownlie's Hymns and Hymn Writers of The Church Hymnary, 1899, p. 248. Her hymn is given in most hymn books published since 1889. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

S. Baring-Gould

1834 - 1924 Person Name: Rev. S. Baring-Gould Hymnal Number: 243 Author of "On the resurrection morning" in The Hymnal Baring-Gould, Sabine, M.A., eldest son of Mr. Edward Baring-Gould, of Lew Trenchard, Devon, b. at Exeter, Jan. 28, 1834, and educated at Clare College, Cambridge, B.A. 1857, M.A. 1860. Taking Holy Orders in 1864, he held the curacy of Horbury, near Wakefield, until 1867, when he was preferred to the incumbency of Dalton, Yorks. In 1871 he became rector of East Mersea, Essex, and in 1881 rector of Lew Trenchard, Devon. His works are numerous, the most important of which are, Lives of the Saints, 15 vols., 1872-77; Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, 2 series, 1866-68; The Origin and Development of Religious Belief, 2 vols., 1869-1870; and various volumes of sermons. His hymns, original and translated, appeared in the Church Times; Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1868 and 1875; The People's Hymnal, 1867, and other collections, the most popular being "Onward, Christian soldiers," "Daily, daily sing the praises," the translation "Through the night of doubt and sorrow," and the exquisite Easter hymn, "On the Resurrection Morning." His latest effort in hymnology is the publication of original Church Songs, 1884, of which two series have been already issued. In the Sacristy for Nov. 1871, he also contributed nine carols to an article on "The Noels and Carols of French Flanders.” These have been partially transferred to Chope's and Staniforth's Carol Books, and also to his Church Songs. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================== Baring-Gould, S., p. 114, i. Other hymns in common use are:— 1. Forward! said the Prophet. Processional. Appeared in the New Mitre Hymnal, 1874. 2. My Lord, in glory reigning. Christ in Glory. In Mrs. Brock's Children's Hymn Book, 1881. 3. Now severed is Jordan. Processional. Appeared in the S. Mary, Aberdeen, Hymnal, 1866, the People's Hymnal, 1867, &c. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Jane Borthwick

1813 - 1897 Hymnal Number: 255 Author of "Hasten the time appointed" in The Hymnal Miss Jane Borthwick, the translator of this hymn and many others, is of Scottish family. Her sister (Mrs. Eric Findlater) and herself edited "Hymns from the Land of Luther" (1854). She also wrote "Thoughts for Thoughtful Hours (1859), and has contributed numerous poetical pieces to the "Family Treasury," under the signature "H.L.L." --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872. ================================= Borthwick, Jane, daughter of James Borthwick, manager of the North British Insurance Office, Edinburgh, was born April 9, 1813, at Edinburgh, where she still resides. Along with her sister Sarah (b. Nov. 26, 1823; wife of the Rev. Eric John Findlater, of Lochearnhead, Perthshire, who died May 2, 1886) she translated from the German Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1st Series, 1854; 2nd, 1855; 3rd, 1858; 4th, 1862. A complete edition was published in 1862, by W. P. Kennedy, Edinburgh, of which a reprint was issued by Nelson & Sons, 1884. These translations, which represent relatively a larger proportion of hymns for the Christian Life, and a smaller for the Christian Year than one finds in Miss Winkworth, have attained a success as translations, and an acceptance in hymnals only second to Miss Winkworth's. Since Kennedy's Hymnologia Christiana, 1863, in England, and the Andover Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858, in America, made several selections therefrom, hardly a hymnal in England or America has appeared without containing some of these translations. Miss Borthwick has kindly enabled us throughout this Dictionary to distinguish between the 61 translations by herself and the 53 by her sister. Among the most popular of Miss Borthwick's may be named "Jesus still lead on," and "How blessed from the bonds of sin;" and of Mrs. Findlater's "God calling yet!" and "Rejoice, all ye believers." Under the signature of H. L. L. Miss Borthwick has also written various prose works, and has contributed many translations and original poems to the Family Treasury, a number of which were collected and published in 1857, as Thoughts for Thoughtful Hours (3rd edition, enlarged, 1867). She also contributed several translations to Dr. Pagenstecher's Collection, 1864, five of which are included in the new edition of the Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1884, pp. 256-264. Of her original hymns the best known are “Come, labour on” and "Rest, weary soul.” In 1875 she published a selection of poems translated from Meta Heusser-Schweizer, under the title of Alpine Lyrics, which were incorporated in the 1884 edition of the Hymns from the Land of Luther. She died in 1897. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ======================== Borthwick, Jane, p. 163, ii. Other hymns from Miss Borthwick's Thoughtful Hours, 1859, are in common use:— 1. And is the time approaching. Missions. 2. I do not doubt Thy wise and holy will. Faith. 3. Lord, Thou knowest all the weakness. Confidence. 4. Rejoice, my fellow pilgrim. The New Year. 5. Times are changing, days are flying. New Year. Nos. 2-5 as given in Kennedy, 1863, are mostly altered from the originals. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ============= Works: Hymns from the Land of Luther

E. H. Plumptre

1821 - 1891 Person Name: Rev. E. H. Plumptre Hymnal Number: 273 Author of "Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old" in The Hymnal Edward H. Plumptre (b. London, England, August 6, 1821; d. Wells, England, February 1, 1891) was an eminent classical and biblical scholar who gained prominence in both church and university. Educated at King's College, London, and University College, Oxford, he was ordained in the Church of England in 1846. Plumptre served as a preacher at Oxford and a professor of pastoral theology at King's College, and held a number of other prestigious positions. His writings include A Life of Bishop Ken (1888), translations from Greek and Latin classics, and poetry and hymns. Plumptre was also a member of the committee that produced the Revised Version of the Bible. Bert Polman ==================== Plumptre, Edward Hayes, D.D., son of Mr. E. H. Plumptre, was born in London, Aug. 6, 1821, and educated at King's College, London, and University College, Oxford, graduating as a double first in 1844. He was for some time Fellow of Brasenose. On taking Holy Orders in 1846 he rapidly attained to a foremost position as a Theologian and Preacher. His appointments have been important and influential, and include that of Assistant Preacher at Lincoln's Inn; Select Preacher at Oxford; Professor of Pastoral Theology at King's College, London; Dean of Queen's, Oxford; Prebendary in St. Paul's Cathedral, London; Professor of Exegesis of the New Testament in King's College, London; Boyle Lecturer; Grinfield Lecturer on the Septuagint, Oxford; Examiner in the Theological schools at Oxford; Member of the Old Testament Company for the Revision of the A.V. of the Holy Scriptures; Rector of Pluckley, 1869; Vicar of Bickley, Kent, 1873; and Dean of Wells, 1881. Dean Plumptre's literary productions have been very numerous and important, and embrace the classics, history, divinity, biblical criticism, biography, and poetry. The list as set forth in Crockford's Clerical Directory is very extensive. His poetical works include Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1864; Master and Scholar, 1866; Things New and Old, 1884; and translations of Sophocles, Æschylus, and Dante. As a writer of sacred poetry he ranks very high. His hymns are elegant in style, fervent in spirit, and broad in treatment. The subjects chosen are mainly those associated with the revived Church life of the present day, from the Processional at a Choral Festival to hospital work and the spiritual life in schools and colleges. The rhythm of his verse has a special attraction for musicians, its poetry for the cultured, and its stately simplicity for the devout and earnest-minded. The two which have attained to the most extensive use in Great Britain and America are: Rejoice, ye pure in heart," and "Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old." His translations from the Latin, many of which were made for the Hymnary, 1871 and 1872, are very good and musical, but they have not been used in any way in proportion to their merits. His original hymns in common use include:— 1. Behold they gain the lonely height. The Transfiguration. Written for and first published in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871. 2. For all Thy countless bounties. National Hymns. Written for the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, 1887, and set to music by C. W. Lavington. It was printed, together with the National Anthem adapted for the Jubilee, in Good Words, 1887. 3. Lo, summer comes again! Harvest. Written in 1871 for use at the Harvest Festival in Pluckley Church, Kent, of which the author was then rector, and published in the same year in the Hymnary, No. 466. 4. March, march, onward soldiers true. Processional at Choral Festivals. Written in 1867 for the tune of Costa's March of the Israelites in the Oratorio of Eli, at the request of the Rev. Henry White, Chaplain of the Savoy, and first used in that Chapel. It was subsequently published in the Savoy Hymnary, N.D. [1870], in 4 stanzas of 4 lines; in a Choral Festival book at Peterborough, and in the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns, 1871. 5. 0 Light, Whose beams illumine all. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. Written in May 1864, and published in his Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1864, as one of five Hymns for School and College. It passed into the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern, and again into other collections. 6. 0 Lord of hosts, all heaven possessing. For School or College. Written in May, 1864, and published in his Lazarus and other Poems, 1864, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines. 7. 0 praise the Lord our God. Processional Thanksgiving Hymn. Written May 1864, and published in his Lazarus, and other Poems, 1864, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines. It is a most suitable hymn for Sunday school gatherings. 8. Rejoice, ye pure in heart. Processional at Choral Festival. Written in May 1865, for the Peterborough Choral Festival of that year, and first used in Peterborough Cathedral. In the same year it was published with special music by Novello & Co; and again (without music) in the 2nd edition of Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1865. It was included in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern with the change in stanza i., line 3, of "Your orient banner wave on high," to "Your festal banner wave on high." It is more widely used than any other of the author's hymns. Authorized text in Hymns Ancient & Modern. 9. Thine arm, 0 Lord, in days of old. Hospitals. Written in 1864 for use in King's College Hospital, London, and first printed on a fly-sheet as "A Hymn used in the Chapel of King's College Hospital." It was included in the 2nd edition of Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1865; in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern; the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns, 1871; Thring's Collection, 1882; and many others. 10. Thy hand, 0 God, has guided. Church Defence. Included in the 1889 Supplemental Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern The closing line of each stanza, "One Church, one Faith, one Lord," comes in with fine effect. Dean Plumptre's Life of Bishop Ken, 1888, is an exhaustive and excellent work. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =============== Plumptre, E. H., p. 897, i. Died at the Deanery, Wells, Feb. 1, 1891. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Ray Palmer

1808 - 1887 Person Name: Rev. Ray Palmer Hymnal Number: 345 Author of "My faith looks up to Thee" in The Hymnal Ray Palmer (b. Little Compton, RI, 1808; d. Newark, NJ, 1887) is often considered to be one of America's best nineteenth-century hymn writers. After completing grammar school he worked in a Boston dry goods store, but a religious awakening prodded him to study for the ministry. He attended Yale College (supporting himself by teaching) and was ordained in 1835. A pastor in Congregational churches in Bath, Maine (1835-1850), and Albany, New York (1850-1865), he also served as secretary of the American Congregational Union (1865-1878). Palmer was a popular preacher and author, writing original poetry as well as translating hymns. He published several volumes of poetry and hymns, including Sabbath Hymn Book (1858), Hymns and Sacred Pieces (1865), and Hymns of My Holy Hours (1868). His complete poetical works were published in 1876. Bert Polman =================== Palmer, Ray, D.D., son of the Hon. Thomas Palmer, a Judge in Rhode Island, was born at Little Compton, Rhode Island, Nov. 12, 1808. His early life was spent at Boston, where he was for some time clerk in a dry-goods store. At Boston he joined the Park Street Congregational Church, then under the pastoral care of Dr. S. E. Dwight. After spending three years at Phillips Academy, Andover, he entered Yale College, New Haven, where he graduated in 1830. In 1835 he became pastor of the Central Congregational Church, Bath, Maine. During his pastorate there he visited Europe in 1847. In 1850 he was appointed to the First Congregational Church, at Albany, New York, and in 1865 Corresponding Secretary to the American Congregational Union, New York. He resigned in 1878, and retired to Newark, New Jersey. He died at Newark, Mar. 29, 1887. Dr. Palmer's published works in prose and verse include:-- (1) Memoirs and Select Remains of Charles Pond, 1829; (2) The Spirit's Life, a Poem, 1837; (3) How to Live, or Memoirs of Mrs. C. L. Watson, 1839; (4) Doctrinal Text Book, 1839; (5) Spiritual Improvement, 1839, republished as Closet Hours in 185; (6) What is Truth? or Hints on the Formation of Religious Opinions, 1860; (7) Remember Me, or The Holy Communion, 1865; (8) Hymns and Sacred Pieces, with Miscellaneous Poems, 1865; (9) Hymns of my Holy Hours, and Other Pieces, 1868; (10) Home, or the Unlost Paradise, 1873; and (11) Voices of Hope and Gladness, 1881. Most of Dr. Palmer's hymns have passed into congregational use, and have won great acceptance. The best of them by their combination of thought, poetry, and devotion, are superior to almost all others of American origin. The first which he wrote has become the most widely known of all. It is:— 1. My faith looks up to Thee. Faith in Christ. This hymn was written by the author when fresh from College, and during an engagement in teaching in New York. This was in 1830. The author says concerning its composition, "I gave form to what I felt, by writing, with little effort, the stanzas. I recollect I wrote them with very tender emotion, and ended the last line with tears." A short time afterwards the hymn was given to Dr. Lowell Mason for use, if thought good, in a work then being compiled by him and Dr. T. Hastings. In 1831 that work was published as Spiritual Songs for Social Worship: adapted to the use of Families, &c. Words and Music arranged by Thomas Hastings, of New York, and Lowell Mason of Boston. It is No. 141 in 4 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled "Self Consecration," and accompanied with the tune by Dr. L. Mason, there given as "My faith looks up to Thee, "but subsequently known as Olivet. (Orig. text of hymn in Thring's Collection, 1882.) It has passed into most modern collections in all English-speaking countries, and has been rendered into numerous languages. That in Latin, by H. M. Macgill (p. 708, ii.), begins "Fides Te mea spectat." 2. Fount of everlasting love. Praise for renewed Spiritual Life. This also appeared in the Spiritual Songs, &c, 1831, No. 191, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed "Praise for a Revival." The hymns which are given below are all in Dr. Palmer's Poetical Works, N. Y., 1876, and the dates appended in brackets are those given by him in that work. 3. Thou who roll'st the year around. (1832.) Close of the Year. In several American collections. 4. Away from earth my spirit turns. (1833.) Holy Communion. Appeared in Lowell Mason's Union Hymns, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Church Praise Book, N. Y.. 1882, it begins with st. ii., "Thou, Saviour, art the Living Bread." 5. Before Thy throne with tearful eyes. (1834.) Liberty of Faith. 6. Stealing from the world away. (1834.) Evening. Written at New Haven in 1834, and is very popular in America. 7. Thine [Thy] holy day's returning. (1834.) Sunday Morning. 8. Wake thee, 0 Zion. (1862.) Zion Exultant. 9. We stand in deep repentance. (1834.) Lent. This last, No. 9, in common with Nos. 10, 11, 12, is marked "original," in the Presbyterian Parish Hymns, 1843. Probably they were given to the editors of that book in manuscript, and had not previously appeared. 10. And is there, Lord, a rest? (1843.) Rest in Heaven. Written at Bath, Maine, in 1843. 11. 0 sweetly breathe the lyres above. Consecration to Christ. This was accidentally omitted from Dr. Palmer's Poetical Works, 18?6. S. W. Duffield says:— "It was written in the winter of 1842-43, at a time of revival. At the previous Communion several had been received under circumstances that made Doddridge's hymn, ‘0 happy day that fixed my choice 'a most appropriate selection. Not caring to repeat it, and needing something similar, Dr. Palmer composed the present hymn." English Hymns, N. Y., 1886, p. 432. 12. When downward to the darksome tomb. (1842.) Death Contemplated. Written at Bath, Maine, 1842. From 1843 there comes a long break, and Dr. Palmer seems to have done no more hymn-writing until called upon by Professors Park and Phelps, of Andover, for contributions to their Sabbath Hymn-Book, 1858. His hymns written for that important collection rank amongst the best that America has produced. This is specially true of the first four (Nos. 13-16) from the Latin. 13. Jesus, Thou joy of loving hearts. (l858.) Translation of a cento from "Jesu dulcis memoria" (p. 588, ii.). 14. 0 Bread to Pilgrims given. (1858.) Translation of “O esca viatorum" (q.v.). 15. 0 Christ our King, Creator Lord. (1858.) Translation of “Rex Christe, factor omnium " 16. Come Holy Ghost, in love. (1858.) Translation of “Veni Sancte Spiritus" (q.v.) 17. Jesus, these eyes have never seen. (1858.) Christ loved, though unseen. This hymn is accounted by many as next in merit and beauty to "My faith looks up to Thee." 18. Lord, my weak thought in vain would climb. (1858.) God Unsearchable. This hymn deals with the mysteries of Predestination in a reverent and devout manner. 19. Thy Father's house! thine own bright home. (1858.) Heaven. The next group, Nos. 20-27, appeared in Dr. Robinson's Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865. 20. Lord, Thou wilt bring the joyful day. (1864.) Contemplation of Heaven. Written in New York City. 21. Eternal Father, Thou hast said. (i860.) Missions. 22. Jesus, Lamb of God, for me. (1863.) Jesus, the Way of Salvation. Written in Albany, New York. 23. Take me, 0 my Father, take me. (1864.) Lent. 24. Wouldst thou eternal life obtain. (1864.) Good Friday. 25. Come Jesus, Redeemer, abide Thou with me. (1864.) Holy Communion. 26. Lord, Thou on earth didst love Thine own. (1864.) Fellowship with Christ. 27. Thou, Saviour, from Thy throne on high. (1864.) Prayer. The next four (Nos. 28-31) present another group. They appeared in D. E. Jones's Songs for the New Life, 1869, and the Reformed Dutch Hymns of the Church, N. Y., 1869. The dates of composition are from Dr. Palmer's Poems, 1876. 28. Lord, Thou hast taught our hearts to glow. (1865.) Ordination, or Meeting of Ministers. 29. When inward turns my searching gaze. (1868.) Evening. 30. 0 Jesus, sweet the tears I shed. (1867.) Good Friday. 31. Jesus, this [my] heart within me burns. (1868.) Love. The hymns which follow are from various sources. 32. 0 Christ, the Lord of heaven, to Thee. (1867.) Universal Praise to Christ. Appeared in the author's Hymns of my Holy Hours, 1867. It is a hymn of great merit, and is widely used. 33. Behold the shade of night is now receding. (1869.) A translation of "Ecce jam noctis." (p. 320, i., and Various). 34. Hid evening shadows let us all be waking. (1869.) A translation of "Nocte surgentes" (p. 809, i.). 35. I give my heart to Thee. (Aug. 20, 1868.) A translation of "Cor meum Tibi dedo," p. 262, ii. 36. Holy Ghost, that promised came. (1873.) Whitsuntide. From the author's Poems, 1876. 37. 0 Holy Comforter, I hear. The Comforter. Appeared in the Boston Congregationalist, September 7th, 1867. 38. Lord, when my soul her secrets doth reveal. (1865.) Holy Communion. Most of the foregoing hymns are in common in Great Britain, and all are found in one or more American hymnbooks of importance. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =================== Palmer, Ray, D.D., p. 877, i. The following original hymns by Dr. Palmer are also in common use:— 1. O Rock of Ages, since on Thee. Faith. From his Poetical Works, 1876, p. 27, where it is dated 1869. Bp. Bickersteth says "This hymn"... is "worthy of Luther." (Note Hymnal Companion, ed. 1876.) 2. Thy holy will, my God, be mine. Resignation. From his Hymns of my Holy Hours, &c, 1868, p. 47. Also in his P. Works, 1876, dated 1867. 3. We praise Thee, Saviour, for Thy grace. Holy Communion. From his Hymns and Sacred Pieces, &c, 1865. Also in P. Works, 1876, dated 1864. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ========== Ray Palmer was born at Little Compton, Rhode Island, in 1808. He studied at Phillip's Academy, Andover, Mass., and graduated at Yale College in 1830. In 1835, he was ordained pastor of a Congregational Society in Bath, Maine, from which he removed, in 1850, to the pastorate of a Congregational Society in Albany, N.Y. He has published many hymns, some of his own authorship, and some translations. He has published some sermons and reviews. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.

William Cowper

1731 - 1800 Person Name: W. Cowper Hymnal Number: 296 Author of "Jesu! where'er Thy people meet" in The Hymnal William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper"; b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1731; d. East Dereham, Norfolk, England, 1800) is regarded as one of the best early Romantic poets. To biographers he is also known as "mad Cowper." His literary talents produced some of the finest English hymn texts, but his chronic depression accounts for the somber tone of many of those texts. Educated to become an attorney, Cowper was called to the bar in 1754 but never practiced law. In 1763 he had the opportunity to become a clerk for the House of Lords, but the dread of the required public examination triggered his tendency to depression, and he attempted suicide. His subsequent hospitalization and friendship with Morley and Mary Unwin provided emotional stability, but the periods of severe depression returned. His depression was deepened by a religious bent, which often stressed the wrath of God, and at times Cowper felt that God had predestined him to damnation. For the last two decades of his life Cowper lived in Olney, where John Newton became his pastor. There he assisted Newton in his pastoral duties, and the two collaborated on the important hymn collection Olney Hymns (1779), to which Cowper contributed sixty-eight hymn texts. Bert Polman ============ Cowper, William, the poet. The leading events in the life of Cowper are: born in his father's rectory, Berkhampstead, Nov. 26, 1731; educated at Westminster; called to the Bar, 1754; madness, 1763; residence at Huntingdon, 1765; removal to Olney, 1768; to Weston, 1786; to East Dereham, 1795; death there, April 25, 1800. The simple life of Cowper, marked chiefly by its innocent recreations and tender friendships, was in reality a tragedy. His mother, whom he commemorated in the exquisite "Lines on her picture," a vivid delineation of his childhood, written in his 60th year, died when he was six years old. At his first school he was profoundly wretched, but happier at Westminster; excelling at cricket and football, and numbering Warren Hastings, Colman, and the future model of his versification. Churchill, among his contemporaries or friends. Destined for the Bar, he was articled to a solicitor, along with Thurlow. During this period he fell in love with his cousin, Theodora Cowper, sister to Lady Hesketh, and wrote love poems to her. The marriage was forbidden by her father, but she never forgot him, and in after years secretly aided his necessities. Fits of melancholy, from which he had suffered in school days, began to increase, as he entered on life, much straitened in means after his father's death. But on the whole, it is the playful, humorous side of him that is most prominent in the nine years after his call to the Bar; spent in the society of Colman, Bonnell Thornton, and Lloyd, and in writing satires for The Connoisseur and St. James's Chronicle and halfpenny ballads. Then came the awful calamity, which destroyed all hopes of distinction, and made him a sedentary invalid, dependent on his friends. He had been nominated to the Clerkship of the Journals of the House of Lords, but the dread of appearing before them to show his fitness for the appointment overthrew his reason. He attempted his life with "laudanum, knife and cord,"—-in the third attempt nearly succeeding. The dark delusion of his life now first showed itself—a belief in his reprobation by God. But for the present, under the wise and Christian treatment of Dr. Cotton (q. v.) at St. Albans, it passed away; and the eight years that followed, of which the two first were spent at Huntingdon (where he formed his lifelong friendship with Mrs. Unwin), and the remainder at Olney in active piety among the poor, and enthusiastic devotions under the guidance of John Newton (q. v.), were full of the realisation of God's favour, and the happiest, most lucid period of his life. But the tension of long religious exercises, the nervous excitement of leading at prayer meetings, and the extreme despondence (far more than the Calvinism) of Newton, could scarcely have been a healthy atmosphere for a shy, sensitive spirit, that needed most of all the joyous sunlight of Christianity. A year after his brother's death, madness returned. Under the conviction that it was the command of God, he attempted suicide; and he then settled down into a belief in stark contradiction to his Calvinistic creed, "that the Lord, after having renewed him in holiness, had doomed him to everlasting perdition" (Southey). In its darkest form his affliction lasted sixteen months, during which he chiefly resided in J. Newton's house, patiently tended by him and by his devoted nurse, Mrs. Unwin. Gradually he became interested in carpentering, gardening, glazing, and the tendance of some tame hares and other playmates. At the close of 1780, Mrs. Unwin suggested to him some serious poetical work; and the occupation proved so congenial, that his first volume was published in 1782. To a gay episode in 1783 (his fascination by the wit of Lady Austen) his greatest poem, The Task, and also John Gilpin were owing. His other principal work was his Homer, published in 1791. The dark cloud had greatly lifted from his life when Lady Hesketh's care accomplished his removal to Weston (1786): but the loss of his dear friend William Unwin lowered it again for some months. The five years' illness of Mrs. Unwin, during which his nurse of old became his tenderly-watched patient, deepened the darkness more and more. And her death (1796) brought “fixed despair," of which his last poem, The Castaway, is the terrible memorial. Perhaps no more beautiful sentence has been written of him, than the testimony of one, who saw him after death, that with the "composure and calmness" of the face there “mingled, as it were, a holy surprise." Cowper's poetry marks the dawn of the return from the conventionality of Pope to natural expression, and the study of quiet nature. His ambition was higher than this, to be the Bard of Christianity. His great poems show no trace of his monomania, and are full of healthy piety. His fame as a poet is less than as a letter-writer: the charm of his letters is unsurpassed. Though the most considerable poet, who has written hymns, he has contributed little to the development of their structure, adopting the traditional modes of his time and Newton's severe canons. The spiritual ideas of the hymns are identical with Newton's: their highest note is peace and thankful contemplation, rather than joy: more than half of them are full of trustful or reassuring faith: ten of them are either submissive (44), self-reproachful (17, 42, 43), full of sad yearning (1, 34), questioning (9), or dark spiritual conflict (38-40). The specialty of Cowper's handling is a greater plaintiveness, tenderness, and refinement. A study of these hymns as they stood originally under the classified heads of the Olney Hymns, 1779, which in some cases probably indicate the aim of Cowper as well as the ultimate arrangement of the book by Newton, shows that one or two hymns were more the history of his conversion, than transcripts of present feelings; and the study of Newton's hymns in the same volume, full of heavy indictment against the sins of his own regenerate life, brings out the peculiar danger of his friendship to the poet: it tends also to modify considerably the conclusions of Southey as to the signs of incipient madness in Cowper's maddest hymns. Cowper's best hymns are given in The Book of Praise by Lord Selborne. Two may be selected from them; the exquisitely tender "Hark! my soul, it is the Lord" (q. v.), and "Oh, for a closer walk with God" (q. v.). Anyone who knows Mrs. Browning's noble lines on Cowper's grave will find even a deeper beauty in the latter, which is a purely English hymn of perfect structure and streamlike cadence, by connecting its sadness and its aspiration not only with the “discord on the music" and the "darkness on the glory," but the rapture of his heavenly waking beneath the "pathetic eyes” of Christ. Authorities. Lives, by Hayley; Grimshaw; Southey; Professor Goldwin Smith; Mr. Benham (attached to Globe Edition); Life of Newton, by Rev. Josiah Bull; and the Olney Hymns. The numbers of the hymns quoted refer to the Olney Hymns. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================ Cowper, W. , p. 265, i. Other hymns are:— 1. Holy Lord God, I love Thy truth. Hatred of Sin. 2. I was a grovelling creature once. Hope and Confidence. 3. No strength of nature can suffice. Obedience through love. 4. The Lord receives His highest praise. Faith. 5. The saints should never be dismayed. Providence. All these hymns appeared in the Olney Hymns, 1779. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ===================== Cowper, W., p. 265, i. Prof. John E. B. Mayor, of Cambridge, contributed some letters by Cowper, hitherto unpublished, together with notes thereon, to Notes and Queries, July 2 to Sept. 24, 1904. These letters are dated from Huntingdon, where he spent two years after leaving St. Alban's (see p. 265, i.), and Olney. The first is dated "Huntingdon, June 24, 1765," and the last "From Olney, July 14, 1772." They together with extracts from other letters by J. Newton (dated respectively Aug. 8, 1772, Nov. 4, 1772), two quotations without date, followed by the last in the N. & Q. series, Aug. 1773, are of intense interest to all students of Cowper, and especially to those who have given attention to the religious side of the poet's life, with its faint lights and deep and awful shadows. From the hymnological standpoint the additional information which we gather is not important, except concerning the hymns "0 for a closer walk with God," "God moves in a mysterious way," "Tis my happiness below," and "Hear what God, the Lord, hath spoken." Concerning the last three, their position in the manuscripts, and the date of the last from J. Newton in the above order, "Aug. 1773," is conclusive proof against the common belief that "God moves in a mysterious way" was written as the outpouring of Cowper's soul in gratitude for the frustration of his attempted suicide in October 1773. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

E. S. Elliott

1836 - 1897 Person Name: E. E. S. Elliott Hymnal Number: 319 Author of "Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown" in The Hymnal Elliott, Emily Elizabeth Steele, third daughter of the late Rev. E. B. Elliott, of Brighton, author of the Horae Apocalypticae was born at Brighton, and now [1887] lives in London. She has contributed hymns, some of which have obtained wide acceptance, to the choir manuals, and Additional Hymns, 1866 (Nos. 8, 34) for use in St. Mark's Church, Brighton; to the Church Missionary Juvenile Instructor, which she edited for six years. Her Chimes of Consecration, a volume of 70 hymns and poems, was published in 1873, and her Chimes for Daily Service in 1880. The latter contains 71 hymns in two parts. The second part of 48 hymns is also published separately as Under the Pillow, for use as a cheap large type hymn-book (with corresponding tune-book) for hospitals and infirmaries and the sick generally. Her hymn, “Let us keep the feast" (Holy Communion), was first published in The Feast of Sacrifice and The Feast of 'Remembrance, 1865, in 5 stanzas of 5 lines. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================= Elliott, Emily E. 8., p. 328, ii. The following additional hymns by Miss Elliott have recently come into common use:— 1. Brothers, sisters, pray for us. [Missionaries' Farewell.] Appeared in the C. M. Gleaner, Sept. 1896, p. 14?, and entitled "The Missionaries' Departing Petition." In the Church Miss. Hymn Book, 1899. 2. Rabboni, Master, we have heard. [Consecration of Self to Duty.] In theC. M. Gleaner, Dec. 1895, p. 195. It was sung for the first time at the Gleaners' Union Anniversary, 1895. In the Church Miss. Hymn Book, 1899. 3. Full consecration! heart and spirit yielded. [Full Consecration.] Given in Hymns of Consecration and Faith, 1902. 4. They come and go, the seasons fair, [Second Advent.] In the C. M. Gleaner, Nov. 1891, p. 172, as "What will be when the King comes?" It was sung for the first time at the Gleaners' Union Anniversary, Oct. 30, 1891. In the Church Miss. Hymn Book, 1899. Miss Elliott was born at Brighton, July 22, 1836, and died at Mildmay, London, Aug. 3, 1897. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Martin Luther

1483 - 1546 Person Name: M. Luther Hymnal Number: 320 Author of "All praise to Thee, eternal Lord" in The Hymnal Luther, Martin, born at Eisleben, Nov. 10, 1483; entered the University of Erfurt, 1501 (B.A. 1502, M.A.. 1503); became an Augustinian monk, 1505; ordained priest, 1507; appointed Professor at the University of Wittenberg, 1508, and in 1512 D.D.; published his 95 Theses, 1517; and burnt the Papal Bull which had condemned them, 1520; attended the Diet of Worms, 1521; translated the Bible into German, 1521-34; and died at Eisleben, Feb. 18, 1546. The details of his life and of his work as a reformer are accessible to English readers in a great variety of forms. Luther had a huge influence on German hymnody. i. Hymn Books. 1. Ellich cristlich lider Lobgesang un Psalm. Wittenberg, 1524. [Hamburg Library.] This contains 8 German hymns, of which 4 are by Luther. 2. Eyn Enchiridion oder Handbuchlein. Erfurt, 1524 [Goslar Library], with 25 German hymns, of which 18 are by Luther. 3. Geystliche Gesangk Buchleyn. Wittenberg, 1524 [Munich Library], with 32 German hymns, of which 24 are by Luther. 4. Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert. Wittenberg. J. Klug, 1529. No copy of this book is now known, but there was one in 1788 in the possession of G. E. Waldau, pastor at Nürnberg, and from his description it is evident that the first part of the Rostock Gesang-Buch, 1531, is a reprint of it. The Rostock Gesang-Buch, 1531, was reprinted by C. M. Wiechmann-Kadow at Schwerin in 1858. The 1529 evidently contained 50 German hymns, of which 29 (including the Litany) were by Luther. 5. Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert. Erfurt. A. Rauscher, 1531 [Helmstädt, now Wolfenbüttel Library], a reprint of No. 4. 6. Geistliche Lieder. Wittenberg. J. Klug, 1535 [Munich Library. Titlepage lost], with 52 German hymns, of which 29 are by Luther. 7. Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert. Leipzig. V. Schumann, 1539 [Wernigerode Library], with 68 German hymns, of which 29 are by Luther. 8. Geistliche Lieder. Wittenberg. J. Klug, 1543 [Hamburg Library], with 61 German hymns, of which 35 are by Luther. 9. Geystliche Lieder. Leipzig. V. Babst, 1545 [Gottingen Library]. This contains Luther's finally revised text, but adds no new hymns by himself. In pt. i. are 61 German hymns, in pt. ii. 40, of which 35 in all are by Luther. For these books Luther wrote three prefaces, first published respectively in Nos. 3, 4, 9. A fourth is found in his Christliche Geseng, Lateinisch und Deudsch, zum Begrebnis, Wittenberg, J. Klug, 1542. These four prefaces are reprinted in Wackernagel’s Bibliographie, 1855, pp. 543-583, and in the various editions of Luther's Hymns. Among modern editions of Luther's Geistliche Lieder may be mentioned the following:— Carl von Winterfeld, 1840; Dr. C. E. P. Wackernagel, 1848; Q. C. H. Stip, 1854; Wilhelm Schircks, 1854; Dr. Danneil, 1883; Dr. Karl Gerok, 1883; Dr. A. F. W. Fischer, 1883; A. Frommel, 1883; Karl Goedeke, 1883, &c. In The Hymns of Martin Luther. Set to their original melodies. With an English version. New York, 1883, ed. by Dr. Leonard Woolsey Bacon and Nathan H. Allen, there are the four prefaces, and English versions of all Luther's hymns, principally taken more or less altered, from the versions by A. T. Russell, R. Massie and Miss Winkworth [repub. in London, 1884]. Complete translations of Luther's hymns have been published by Dr. John Anderson, 1846 (2nd ed. 1847), Dr. John Hunt, 1853, Richard Massie, 1854, and Dr. G. Macdonald in the Sunday Magazine, 1867, and his Exotics, 1876. The other versions are given in detail in the notes on the individual hymns. ii. Classified List of Luther's Hymns. Of Luther's hymns no classification can be quite perfect, e.g. No. 3 (see below) takes hardly anything from the Latin, and No. 18 hardly anything from the Psalm. No. 29 is partly based on earlier hymns (see p. 225, i.). No. 30 is partly based on St. Mark i. 9-11, and xvi., 15, 16 (see p. 226, ii.). No. 35 is partly based on St. Luke ii. 10-16. The following arrangement, however, will answer all practical purposes. A. Translations from the Latin. i. From Latin Hymns: 1. Christum wir sollen loben schon. A solis ortus cardine 2. Der du bist drei in Einigkeit. O Lux beata Trinitas. 3. Jesus Christus unser Heiland, Der von. Jesus Christus nostra salus 4. Komm Gott Schopfer, heiliger Geist. Veni Creator Spiritus, Mentes. 5. Nun komm der Beidenheiland. Veni Redemptor gentium 6. Was flirchst du Feind Herodes sehr. A solis ortus cardine ii. From Latin Antiphons, &c.: 7. Herr Gott dich loben wir. Te Deum laudamus. 8. Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich. Dapacem, Domine 9. Wir glauben all an einen Gott. iii. Partly from the Latin, the translated stanzas being adopted from Pre-Reformation Versions: 10. Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott. 11. Mitten wir im Leben sind. Media vita in morte sumus. B. Hymns revised and enlarged from Pre-Reformation popular hymns. 12. Gelobet seist du Jesus Christ. 13. Gott der Vater wohn uns bei. 14. Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet. 15. Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist. C. Psalm versions. 16. Ach Gott vom Himmel, sieh darein. 17. Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu dir. 18. Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott. 19. Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl. 20. Es wollt uns Gott genädig sein. 21. War Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit. 22. Wohl dem, der in Gotten Furcht steht. D. Paraphrases of other portions of Holy Scripture. 23. Diess sind die heilgen zehn Gebot. 24. Jesaia dem Propheten das geschah. 25. Mensch willt du leben seliglich. 26. Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin. 27. Sie ist mir lieb die werthe Magd. 28. Vater unser im Himmelreich. E. Hymns mainly Original. 29. Christ lag in Todesbanden. 30. Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam. 31. Ein neues Lied wir heben an. 32. Erhalt uns Herr bei deinem Wort. 33. Jesus Christus unser Heiland, Der den, 34. Nun freut euch lieben Christengemein. 35. Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her. 36. Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schaar. In addition to these — 37. Fur alien Freuden auf Erden. 38. Kyrie eleison. In the Blätter fur Hymnologie, 1883, Dr. Daniel arranges Luther's hymns according to what he thinks their adaptation to modern German common use as follows:— i. Hymns which ought to be included in every good Evangelical hymn-book: Nos. 7-18, 20, 22, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38. ii. Hymns the reception of which into a hymn-book might be contested: Nos. 2, 3, 4, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 33. iii. Hymns not suited for a hymn-book: Nos. 1, 5, 6, 27, 31, 37. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Augustus Toplady

1740 - 1778 Person Name: A. M. Toplady Hymnal Number: 336b Author of "Rock of ages, cleft for me" in The Hymnal Toplady, Augustus Montague, the author of "Rock of Ages," was born at Farnham, Surrey, November 4, 1740. His father was an officer in the British army. His mother was a woman of remarkable piety. He prepared for the university at Westminster School, and subsequently was graduated at Trinity College, Dublin. While on a visit in Ireland in his sixteenth year he was awakened and converted at a service held in a barn in Codymain. The text was Ephesians ii. 13: "But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." The preacher was an illiterate but warm-hearted layman named Morris. Concerning this experience Toplady wrote: "Strange that I, who had so long sat under the means of grace in England, should be brought nigh unto God in an obscure part of Ireland, amidst a handful of God's people met together in a barn, and under the ministry of one who could hardly spell his name. Surely this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous." In 1758, through the influence of sermons preached by Dr. Manton on the seventeenth chapter of John, he became an extreme Calvinist in his theology, which brought him later into conflict with Mr. Wesley and the Methodists. He was ordained to the ministry in the Church of England in 1762, and in 1768 he became vicar of Broadhembury, a small living in Devonshire, which he held until his death. The last two or three years of his life he passed in London, where he preached in a chapel on Orange Street. His last sickness was of such a character that he was able to make a repeated and emphatic dying testimony. A short time before his death he asked his physician what he thought. The reply was that his pulse showed that his heart was beating weaker every day. Toplady replied with a smile: "Why, that is a good sign that my death is fast approaching; and, blessed be God, I can add that my heart beats stronger and stronger every day for glory." To another friend he said: "O, my dear sir, I cannot tell you the comforts I feel in my soul; they are past expression. . . . My prayers are all converted into praise." He died of consumption August 11, 1778. His volume of Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Worship was published in 1776. Of the four hundred and nineteen hymns which it contained, several were his own productions. If on a quiet sea 446 Rock of ages, cleft for me 279 Hymn Writers of the Church, 1915 by Charles S. Nutter =============================================== Toplady, Augustus Montague, M.A. The life of Toplady has been repeatedly and fully written, the last, a somewhat discursive and slackly put together book, yet matterful, by W. Winters (1872). Summarily, these data may be here given: he was born at Farnham, in Surrey, on November 4, 1740. His father, Richard Toplady, was a Major in the British array, and was killed at the siege of Carthagena (1741) soon after the birth of his son. His widowed mother placed him at the renowned Westminster school, London. By-and-by circumstances led her to Ireland, and young Augustus was entered at Trinity College, Dublin, where he completed his academical training, ultimately graduating M.A. He also received his "new birth" in Ireland under remarkable conditions, as he himself tells us with oddly mixed humility and lofty self-estimate, as "a favourite of heaven," common to his school:— "Strange that I who had so long sat under the means of grace in England should be brought right unto God in an obscure part of Ireland, midst a handful of people met together in a barn, and by the ministry of one who could hardly spell his own name. Surely it was the Lord's doing and is marvellous. The excellency of such power must be of God and cannot be of man. The regenerating spirit breathes not only on whom but likewise, when and where and as He listeth." Toplady received orders in the Church of England on June 6, 1762, and after some time was appointed to Broadhembury. His Psalms and Hymns of 1776 bears that he was then “B.A." and Vicar of Broadhembury. Shortly thereafter be is found in London as minister of the Chapel of the French Calvinists in Leicester Fields. He was a strong and partizan Calvinist, and not well-informed theologically outside of Calvinism. We willingly and with sense of relief leave unstirred the small thick dust of oblivion that has gathered on his controversial writings, especially his scurrilous language to John Wesley because of his Arminianism, as we do John Wesley's deplorable misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Calvinism. Throughout Toplady lacked the breadth of the divine Master's watchword "Forbid him not, for he that is not against us is for us" (St. Luke ix. 50). He was impulsive, rash-spoken, reckless in misjudgment; but a flame of genuine devoutness burned in the fragile lamp of his overtasked and wasted body. He died on August 11, 1778. The last edition of his works is in 6 vols., 8 vo., 1825. An accurate reproduction of most of his genuine hymns was one of the reprints of Daniel Sedgwick, 1860. His name occurs and recurs in contemporary memoirs and ecclesiastical histories, e.g., in Tyerman's Life of John Wesley. The reader will find in their places annotations on the several hymns of Toplady, and specially on his "Rock of Ages,” a song of grace that has given him a deeper and more inward place in millions of human hearts from generation to generation than almost any other hymnologist of our country, not excepting Charles Wesley. Besides the "Rock of Ages" must be named, for power, intensity, and higher afflatus and nicer workmanship, "Object of my first desire,” and "Deathless principle arise." It is to be regretted that the latter has not been more widely accepted. It is strong, firm, stirring, and masterful. Regarded critically, it must be stated that the affectionateness with which Toplady is named, and the glow and passion of his faith and life, and yearning after holiness, have led to an over-exaltation of him as a hymnwriter. Many of his hymns have been widely used, and especially in America, and in the Evangelical hymnbooks of the Church of England. Year by year, however, the number in use is becoming less. The reason is soon found. He is no poet or inspired singer. He climbs no heights. He sounds no depths. He has mere vanishing gleams of imaginative light. His greatness is the greatness of goodness. He is a fervent preacher, not a bard. [Rev. A. B. Grosart, D.D., LL.D.] Toplady's hymns and poetical pieces were published in his:— (1) Poems on Sacred Subjects wherein The Fundamental Doctrines of Christianity, with many other interesting Points, are occasionally introduced. . . Dublin: Printed by S. Powell, in Crane-lane, MDCCLIX.; (2) his Psalms & Hymns for Public and Private Worship, 1776; (3) in The Gospel Magazine, 1771-1776; and (4) in Hymns and Sacred Poems on a variety of Divine Subjects, &c. D. Sedgwick's reprint, 1860. His Works, with a Memoir by W. Row, were published in 6 volumes, in 1794. Walter How was also the editor of the 2nd and some later editions of the Psalms & Hymns. He was a most careless editor, and attributed several hymns by C. Wesley and others to Toplady. The following additional hymns in common use together with centos indicated in the sub-lines, are from:— i. His Poems on Sacred Subjects, 1759. 1. Can my heaven-born soul submit? All for Christ. 2. Come from on high, my King and God. Holiness desired. (1.) 0 might this worthless heart of mine. 3. Earnest of future bliss. The Witness of the Spirit. 4. From Thy supreme tribunal, Lord. Christ's Righteousness a Refuge. (1.) The spotless Saviour lived for me. 5. Great God, Whom heaven, and earth, and sea. For Peace. 6. I saw, and lo! a countless throng. Saints' Days. Revised form in the Gospel Magazine, 1774, p. 449. 7. Immovable our hope remains. Divine Faithfulness. 8. Jesus, God of love, attend. Divine Worship. Pt. ii. is "Prayer can mercy's door unlock." 9. Jesus, Thy power I fain would feel. Lent. 10. Lord, I feel a carnal mind. Mind of Christ desired. 11. My yielding heart dissolves as wax. On behalf of Arians, &c. (1.) 0 Jesus, manifest Thy grace. 12. Not to myself I owe. Praise for Conversion, (1.) Not to ourselves we owe. (2.) The Father's grace and love. 13. 0 that my heart was right with Thee. Dedication to God desired. 14. 0 Thou that hearest the prayer of faith. Christ the Propitiation. 15. 0 Thou Who didst Thy glory leave. Thanksgiving for Redemption. 16. 0 when wilt Thou my Saviour be. Trust in Jesus. (1.) Jesus, the sinner's Rest Thou art. 17. Redeemer, whither should I flee? Safety in the Cross. 18. Remember, Lord, that Jesus bled. Pardon. 19. Surely Christ thy griefs hath borne. Redemption. Revised text in Gospel Magazine, 1774, p. 548. (1.) Weary sinner, keep thine eyes. (2.) Weeping soul, no longer mourn. ii. From the Gospel Magazine. 20. Compared with Christ, in all besides. Christ All in All. Feb. 1772. 21. Eternal Hallelujahs Be to the Father given. Holy Trinity, Dec. 1774. 22. From whence this fear and unbelief. Reviving Faith, Feb. 1772. 23. How vast the benefits divine. Redemption. Dec. 1774. From this "Not for the works which we have done" is taken. 24. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? Christ All and in All, Feb. 1772. From this "If my Lord Himself reveal" is taken. 25. Jesus, immutably the same. Jesus, the True Vine. June, 1771. All these hymns, together with "O precious blood, 0 glorious death" (Death of Christ), are in D. Sedgwick's reprint of Toplady's Hymns, &c, 1860. We have met with several other hymns to which Toplady's name is appended, but for this we can find no authority whatever. -- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Nicolaus Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf

1700 - 1760 Person Name: Count Zinzendorf Hymnal Number: 339b Author of "O Thou to Whose all searching sight" in The Hymnal 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 ================ 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

John Wesley

1703 - 1791 Person Name: J. Wesley Hymnal Number: 339b Translator of "O Thou to Whose all searching sight" in The Hymnal 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 ====================== 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) =================== See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

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