God is love, His mercy brightens. Sir J. Bowring. [The Love of God.] This hymn is sometimes attributed in error to his Matins and Vespers, 1823. It actually appeared in his Hymns in 1825, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, stanza i. being repeated as stanza v. In 1853 it was given without the repetition of the first stanza, in the Leeds Hymn Book, from whence it passed into numerous collections. Its use in English-speaking countries is very extensive, and it has become one of the most popular of the author's hymns. Original text, Turing's Collection, No. 292, with “the mist," altered to "the gloom," and the omission of the repetition of stanza v. This is the generally accepted form of the hymn.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
James Bowring was born at Exeter, in 1792. He possessed at an early age a remarkable power of attaining languages, and acquired some reputation by his metrical translations of foreign poems. He became editor of "The Westminster Review" in 1825, and was elected to Parliament in 1835. In 1849, he was appointed Consul at Canton, and in 1854, was made Governor of Hong Kong, and received the honour of knighthood. He is the author of some important works on politics and travel, and is the recipient of several testimonials from foreign governments and societies. His poems and hymns have also added to his reputation. His "Matins and Vespers" have passed through many editions. In religion he is a Unitarian.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charl… Go to person page >
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