Famous Hymns and Their Authors - Forgotten Books

and their Authors ?

By Franc is Arthurll jones

WITH PORTRAITS

AND FACSIM ILES

SECOND EDITI ON

LONDON

PATERNOSTER ROW 1 903

Preface

IN the compilat ion of this volume (the workof some ten years) an immense number of

au thorit ies have necessarily been consulted .

Among these should be specially mentioned theworks of Dr. John Mason Neale , Canon Ellerton ,the R ev . L. C . B iggs , the R ev . John Brown lie,the R ev . John Chandler , Dr. Phillip Schaff, Mr .G . T. Stevenson , and Dr. John Julian .

The Lives ofmany of ourforemost hymnists

have also been consu lted , notably B ishop Ken,

B ishop How , B ishop Heber , B ishop ChristopherWordsworth , Dean Alford , Dean Milman , Father

Faber , T. T. Lynch , and others .To the following who have rendered me in

valuable assistance as regards special informat ion ,po rtraits , photographs , or manuscripts , I gladlyacknowledge my indebtedness —His Grace the

Archbishop of York , the R ight R ev . B ishop E. H.

Bickersteth , Prebendary Thring, Dr. John Julian ,

the R ev . F. M . B i rd (for much interest ing information regarding Ameri can hymn wr iters), theR ev . H. N . Bonar , the R ev . W . St. Hi ll Boume

,

the R ev . John Brownl ie, the R ev . R . H . Bullock ,

F .H . b

v i PREFACE

the R ev . H . E . T . Crusoe , the R ev . Frank El lerton ,the R ev . P . E . L . Hollan d , the R ev . Charles H.

Kelly, Sir Herbert Oakeley, and the R ev . W .H .

Whi ting ;Miss J . Baker , Miss S . Gurney,Miss K .

Hankey,Mrs . G . S . Hodges , Mrs . J . Luke , Mrs .

M . F . Maude , Mrs . E. H . Miller , Mrs . F. A . Shaw ,

Mrs . E. M . Synge, and Miss G . Wordsworth ;W . Beck

, Esq . , J . Potter Briscoe , Esq . , H . C .

Camp,Esq . (New York), C . E . Conder

, Esq . ,

H . Dan iell, Esq . , C . W . Lock , Esq .,Arthur

Milm an , Esq .,G . E. Newman , Esq .

, T . Viccars,

Esq .,and S . Young, Esq .

From the fo llowing hymn ists who have passedaway while this book was in the making I alsorecei ved much valued ass istance —The R ight

R ev . B ishop W . Walsham How,the R ev Canon

Bright , the R ev . Canon Twells , the R ev . A . G .

W . Blunt , the R ev . S . J . Stone, the R ev . Laurence

Tuttiett, W . Chatterton Dix, Esq . , and Mrs . C .

F . Alexander .

For permission to use the many copyrightphotographs included in this volume my thanks

are due to those whose names appear below the

portraits .F . A . J .

LONDON ,Nov . , 1 902 .

Con-tents

PAGE

PREFACE

MORNI NG AND

ADVENT HYMNS

HYMNS

HYMNS ON THE PASSI ON

CONTENTS

VI

EASTER HYMNS

PROCESSI ONAL HYMNS

COMMUNI ON HYMNS

I !

HYMNS FOR HOLY MATRI MONY,MI SSI ONS

,AND

THOSE AT SEA

!

FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS,ALL SAI NTS’

DAY

HYMNS FOR CHI LDREN

SOME GENERAL HYMNS

Illu stratio ns

Plate I Frontispiece

MISS FRANCES R IDLEY HAVERGAL.

Plate I I To fa ce page 9

I . THE R EV. F. W. FABER , DD .

2 . THE RI GHT R EV . BI SHOP THOMAS KEN ,DD .

3 . MR . JOHN BYROM,M.A.

4. KERSAL CELL.

5. THE R EV. G. R . PRYNNE , M.A.

Plate I I I To face page 43

BERRYHEAD HOUSE.

THE HOUSE IN WH I CH HARRIET AUBER WROTEOUR BLEST REDEEMER , ERE HE BREATHED .

Plate I V To fa ce page 71

I . THE R EV. T. J . POTTER.

2 . MR S . M. F. MAUDE.

3 . THE VERY R EV. HENRY HART MI LMAN,D .D .

Plate V To fa ce page 1 2 1

MR S. CECI L FRANCES ALE ! ANDER .

THE R EV . HORATIUS BONAR,D .D .

ILLUSTRAT IONS

Plate VI To fa ce page 1 27

I . MI SS CATHERI NE W I NKWOR’

I‘

H .

2 . MR . JAMES MONTGOMERY.

3 . MR S . EMI LY HUNTI NGTON MI LLER.

4. MR . B . S. I NGEMANN.

5. MR . HENRY KI RKE WHI TE .

6 . THE R EV. ARCHER T. GURNEY.

Pla te VI I To face page 1 51

I . THE

2 . THE

3 . THE

4. THE

5. THE

6. THE

P late VI I I To face page 1 69

THE R EV . CANON BRI GHT,D .D .

MR . ALBERT MI DLANE.

Plate I ! To fa ce page 1 80

THE R EV . J OHN WESLEY,M.A.

MR . WI LLI AM COWP ER.

P late ! To face page 200

THE REV . I SAAC WATTS,D .D .

THE RIGHT R EV. B I SHOP R EGI NALD HEBER,D .D .

P late ! I To face page 248

THE RIGHT R EV . B I SHOP CHRI STOP HER WORDSWORTH

,D .D .

MR . CHARLES WESLEY,M.A.

J . J . DANI ELL.T. T. LYNCH.

G. S. HODGES,B.A.

S . J . STONE,M.A.

THOMAS B I NNEY,D .D .

CANON ELLERTON,M .A.

ILLUSTRAT IONS

Plate ! I I To face page 260

I . THE REV. CANON TWELLS,M.A.

2 . MR S . J . LUKE .

Pla te ! I I I To face page 275

THE RI GHT R EV. BI SHOP W. W. How,D .D .

THE R EV. J OHN KEELE,M.A.

Plate ! IV To face page 296

1 . MR . RI CHARD BA! TER.

2 . SI R JOHN BOWRI NG , LL.D .

3 . M R . WI LLI AM WI LLI AMS .

4. THE R I GHT R EV . B I SHOP R I CHARD MANT,DD .

5. THE R EV . GEORGE MATHESON ,D .D .

Pl ate ! V To face page 3 10

FACS IM I LE OF I HEARD THE VO I CE OF JESUSSAY .

”

P la te ! VI To face page 3 17

I . THE R EV . W. BULLOCK,DD .

2 . THE R EV . W. ST. HI LL BOURNE.

3 . MR . WI LLI AM WHI TI NG.

4. MR. W. CHATTERTON D I ! .

5.

6 .

THE R EV . HENRY FRANCI S LYTE,M .A.

THE REV . HENRY ALFORD , D .D .

I

morning anb Evening h ymns

ROM the days o f St. Ambrose to the present

time hymnists have found in the beginning

and clo se of the day a favourite subject forre l igious

verse. As a result those hymns special ly written

formo rning and evening service not on ly fo rm an

mportant section o f our hymnals, but also con

stitute some of the finest compositions of the

kind in the language.

To Bishop Ken we are indebted for two hymns

which,for a hundred and sixty years, have found a

place in every English hymnal .“ Awake

,my soul ,

and with the sun is not,perhaps , as Often

to -day at mo rning se rvice as it was, say fifty years

ago , but the Doxo logy, which concludes this

hymn , as wel l as the same autho r’s All praise to

Thee , my God, this night,” is probably mo re fre

quen tly sung than any o ther S ingle verse in our

hymnals .

F OH ‘

2 MORNING AND EVENING HYMNS

Bishop Ken wrote these two hymns , together

with one for midnight,for the scho lars of Win

Chester Co l lege,and it is said that befo re be ing

published several copies were written in printed

letters on large Sheets and hung on the walls of

the do rmito ries, where the boys could see them the

first thing in the mo rning and the last thing at

night. When they came to be published , in 1674,

the autho r appended to them the fo l lowing note :

Be sure to s ing the morning and evening hymn in yourchamber devoutly

,remembering that the Psa lmi st, upon

happy experience, assures you that it i s a good th ing to tel lof the loving kindness of the Lord early in the morn ing andof H i s truth in the night season .

”

The hymn for midnight,which consists of

thirteen verses, is not very frequently sung,

po ssibly owing to the rather inconvenient hour

for which it was intended . However, in various

forms it is to be met with in many hymnals.

Six verses, together with the Doxo logy, fo rm a

complete hymn by themselves, and may, without

any very great outrage on the intentions of the

author, be sung as an evening hymn.

Thomas Ken was born at Berkhampstead in

1 637, and was brought up under the guardianship

of his bro ther-in- law, I saak Walton. He was

educated at W inchester, became a Fel low of New

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preferring to end his days in reti rement at Long

leat, where he died in 1710.

From Keble’s C/zrz'

stz'

an Yearwe get two mo rn

ing hymns which are to be found in al l modern

hymnals. “ New every morning is the love,” and

O timely happy,timely wise,

”are bo th taken

from the same poem beginning Hues of the rich

unfo ld ing mo rn.

’ This poem,which was written

in 1 822,and publ ished five years later, consists o f

sixteen verses,and from it several centos have

been taken by various hymnal edito rs.

Sun of my soul , Thou Saviour dear, acknow

ledged by many hymno logists to be the most

frequently sung of all our evening hymns, was

written by Keble in 1 820, and also first published

in the s rz'

stz'

an Year. The o riginal MS . of this

wo rk is preserved at Keble Co l lege , Oxfo rd , and

it is to the Warden of that Co l lege I am indebted

forpermission to give a facsimile reproduction of

the first verse of this famous hymn

af m7

As my readers are probably wel l aware,

“ Sun

of my soul,” as it appears in the majo rity

MORNING AND EVENING HYMNS 5

of our hymnals , consists o f verses taken from

the poem beginning “ ’Tis gone , that bright and

o rbed blaze.

” I n the Co l lege Library may be

seen two MSS . o f“ Sun of my soul ,

” but the one

I have cho sen for reproduction here bears an

earlier date than the o ther, and contains Keble’

s

alterat ions. Though the C/zrz'

stz'

an Year has nOt

now so great a sale as fo rmerly, i t is sti l l widely

read , while at one time i t had a larger circulat ion

than that o f any o ther wo rk of a simi lar character.

From the profits arising out of the sale o f this

book Keble bui lt Hursley Church.

John Keble was bo rn at Fa irford, in Gloucester

shire, in 1792 , be ing the son of the Vicar o f Co lne .

After a bril l iant career at Oxford he took Ho ly

Orders, his first curacy be ing that o f East Leach

and Burthorpe. The Ckrz'

stz'

an Year appeared in

1 827 and was an instant success , edi tio n after

edition be ing cal led for. Hymnal edito rs of al l

denominations begged for permission to make

se lections for their own part i cu lar co l lections,requests which were readily and cheerful ly

granted. Keble was a remarkably modest man,

and probably thought less of his own work than

did the least of his admirers. He once aecom

panied the vicar of a parish in the South of

England on his visit to the Sunday Schoo l. The


superintendent requested him to address a few

wo rds to the children , who were already acquainted

with his hymns,so that they might the mo re easi ly

remember them. He timidly shrank from com

plying, but the superintendent persisting, he then

said : May they S ing something ? ” When they

ceased , his face was beaming upon them as he

said : “ My dear children , you sang mo st beauti

ful ly in tune ; may your who le l ives be equal ly

in tune, and then you wil l sing with the angels

in heaven.

”

In 1 829 Mr. Keble was offered the l iving of

Hursley by Sir William Heathco te, which he

decl ined for family reasons. Two years later he

was e lected Professor o f Poetry at Oxfo rd , and in

1 83 3 laid the foundation of the Oxford Move

ment by del ivering his now famous Assize

Sermon. Two years afterwards he was again

offered the l iving of Hursley, and accepted it.

Here he l ived for thirty years,greatly be loved

by his parishioners. He died in 1 866 , on March

29th , his wife fo l lowing him some s ix weeks later.

The numbe r o f tunes to wh ich “ Sun of my

soul has been set are many. Perhaps the most

popular, certainly the most beauti ful , i s“Abends

by Sir Herbert Oakeley. The melody was SO

exactly suited to the words that it found im


mediate favour with the editors of every kind

of hymnal , and to -day it would be difficul t to

find the co l lect ion which does not contain i t.

SirHerbert Oakeley‘

is a rapid worker, and the

tune to“ Sun Of my soul

” was written in less

than half an hour. I n a letter which I rece ived

from the composer some time ago S ir Herbert

says

There is not much to reco rd re Abends.’ I

was , many years ago , impel led to set Keble’

s

words to music for S ir Henry Baker, in con

sequence Of the inadequacy if not vulgari ty of

the tune which had go t into general use. I refer

to‘Hursley,

’ which,however, is now less o ften

sung than formerly.

Hursley,’ strange to say, had been in use in

Germany—where, as a rule , cho rales

hymn tunes) are so dignified and admi rable

s ince cz'

rcz'

ter 1792 , and is attributed to Paul

R itter.“ One o f my reasons for disl iking it is the

resemblance it bears to a drinking song, Se vuo l

bal lare ,’ in Noz z e a

'

z'

Fzgaro. As Mozart produced

that opera in 1786, he is responsible for the open

ing strain,which suits his Bacchanal ian wo rds

very wel l. But to hear ‘Sun of my soul, Thou

Saviour dear,’ sung to a l ive ly tune, unsuitable


to sacred wo rds,Often had the effect o f driving

me out o f church.”

No one can seriously think for a moment that

the fact of a congregation jo ining in a hymn

redeems a tune , musical ly, or at least ecclesias

tically,bad . The publ ic, however, wil l jo in in any

easy me lody if the wo rds are good , and if the

o rigin o f the music is unknown .

“ The practice ,”

cont inues SirHerbe rt, adopted by some hymnal

edito rs, of associat ing tunes with hymns o ther than

those for which they were written, is to be much

regretted.

” This opinion was shared by the late

Dr. Dykes, who on several occasions refused the

use o f a hymn tune on learning that it was to be

sung to words o ther than those forwhich he had

written it.

Christ,whose glo ry fi l ls the skies was written

by Charles Wesley,and first published in 1740.

James Montgomery, who was mo re keenly al ive

to the true value o f a hymn than many editors,

averred that it was one o f the finest of al l Charles

Wesley’s compositions.

I t has not,however, escaped alteration at the

hands Ofeditors, to whom,letus hope , John Wesley’s

appeal in the preface to his hymnal was unknown.

“ I beg leave, runs this characteristic paragraph ,to mention a thought which has been long upon

I THE R EV . F. W. FABER , D. O.

f rom a P izoZo

2 THE R IGHT R EV . B I SHOP THOMAS KEN,

F ro m an E azg ra v z'

ng .

3 M R . JOHN BYROM , M A .

F ro m a Sketch m adef ro m lif e.A KER SAL CELL . R TH E REV . G . R . PRYNN E , M A .

I O MORNING AND EVENING HYMNS

and there are few co l lections of modern date in

which it does not find a place.

Dr. Faber was the son o f a Church o f England

clergyman and was bo rn at Calverley Vicarage ,Yo rkshire, in 1 8 14 After graduating at Bal l io l

Co l lege, Oxfo rd , he was o rdained and became

Recto r o f Elton in 1 843 . Three years later he

left the Church of England and establ ished the

Bro therhood o f St. Phil ip Neri, in King Will iam

Street, Strand , which was afterwards removed to

the Brompton Orato ry.

Dr. Faber was the autho r o f several prose works

as we l l as three vo lumes of hymns. I t is in his

f ew : a nd M ary, that many o f his best hymns

were first published. This co l lection , which is

sti l l in use at the Orato ry, contains in the pre

face an account of the circumstances under

which Dr. Faber wro te his hymns“ I t was natural ,

”he says

,that an English son

o f St. Philip should fee l the want Of a co l lect ion of

English Catho l ic hymns fitted for singing. The

few in the Garden of Me S oul were al l that

were at hand , and, of course, they were not

numerous enough to furnish the requ is ite variety .

As to translations they do not express Saxon

thoughts and feel ings,and consequently the po o r

do not seem to take to them. The domestic

MORNING AND EVENING HYMNS u

wants of the Orato ry, too , kept al ive the feel ing

that something of the sort was needed though at

the same time the Autho r’s igno rance Of music

appeared in some measure to disqual ify him for

the wo rk Of supplying the defect. Eleven, how

ever, of the hymns were written , most of them,for

particular tunes and on particular o ccasions, and

became ve ry popular with a country congregation.

They were afterwards printed for the schoo ls at

St. Wilfrid’s, and the very numerous applications

to the printer for them seemed to show that, in

spite o f very glaring l iterary defects, such as care

less grammar and slipshod metre, people were

anxious to have Catho l ic hymns o f any so rt. The

MS . of the present vo lume was submitted to a

musical friend,who repl ied that certain verses of

al l or nearly al l the hymns would do for s ing

ing and this encouragement has led to the

publication of the vo lume.

”

Numerous are the instances of hymn-writers

who are remembered by single compositions only.

Henry Francis Lyte is a case in po int,for though

he wro te manyhymns, i t is with Abide with me

that his name will always be associated. Thisi

hymn, which was written at the l ittle fishing port1of Brixham, on the Shores of To rbay, was the

author’s last composition , and it has probably

1 2 MORNING AND EVENING HYMNS

brought as much,if not more, comfo rt and hope

to stricken humanity as al l the sermons ever

uttered or written.

Brixham is celebrated in histo ry as the landing

place of William I I I . in 1688,“to upho ld the

rel igion and liberties o f England. The s tone on

which His Majesty first set foo t is sti l l preserved in

an Obe l isk at the head o f the quaint l ittle pier.

Shortly after his accession, Will iam IV paid a

visit to Brixham and was met at the landing- stage

by Mr. Lyte and a surpl iced cho i r and the stone,on which his namesake had trodden so many

years befo re, was carried down the steps in o rder

that the King might also place his foo t thereon.

Berry Head House, about half-a -mi le distant from

the town , waS a gift to M r. Lyte from William

IV. I t is a so l idly-built mansion,and was o rigin

al ly,when Berry Head was garrisoned , the mi l itary

hospital . The ruggedness of i ts exterio r is now

toned down by ye l low roses , clematis, and Vi rgin ia

creeper. The scene from the verandah is mag

nificent, for the sea laps the very foo t o f the

terraced gardens. I t was here that Abide with

me was written.

Some six or seven years ago I happened to be

staying in Brixham and was fo rtunate enough to

meet an old member of Mr. Lyte’s cho ir, a wo rthy

MORNING AND EVENING HYMNS 1 3

gentleman who was credited with knowing

more about the celebrated hymnist than any

o ther l iving man. As we sat on the old pier

one morning in early June, and watched the

trawlers setting sai l for the fishing grounds, mycompanion chatted animatedly about the late

hymnist, evidently we l l pleased to find some one

who took an interest in a man of whom he

was palpably never tired o f talking.

“ I was a member of Mr. Lyte’s cho i r, he said,in 1 846—1 and a dozen o thers, al l dead now. We

were deeply attached to him. He had the gentlest

expression and most winning manner possible, and

yet I suppose we caused him mo re grief than al l

his trials o f i l l health. We left his cho i r and gave

up teaching in his Sunday Schoo l , and though I

Should probably do the same thing to -morrow

under simi lar circumstances, it gives me a fee l ing

of intense sadness even now when I think of it.“This is how i t came about. A short while before

he left us to go to N ice, where it was hoped the

cl imate would benefit his health, some influential

members o f the Plymouth Brethren visited Brix

ham and persuaded ten of us to jo in them. After

due del ibe ration we went in a body to Mr. Lyte

and to ld him that we intended to leave his church.

He took it calmly enough,though we practical ly

I 4 MORNING AND EVENING HYMNS

constituted his entire cho i r, and said that nothing

would be farther from his thoughts than to stand

between us and our consciences. He bade us

think the matter over very seriously and come to

him again in a few days. We did so,but our

decision remained unaltered. We left him , and

never entered his church again. When Abide

with me ’ came to be written, each o f us was

given a Copy, and then we real ized , perhaps

mo re keenly than any one e lse, the true meaning

o f the wo rds‘When other lzelpers fail, and comforts flee,Help of the helpless, O abide w ith

The sto ry of how this hymn came to be written

is an o ft-to ld tale, and yet th is l ittle vo lume would

be far from complete were i t omitted alto

gether. Briefly,the story is this. I n 1 847 Mr.

Lyte had become so weak and il l by his devotion

to his flock that the docto rs o rdered his removal

to N ice, where it was hoped the more genial

cl imate would restore some of his lost health.

The evening of the Sunday prio r to his depar

ture was a beautifu l one, and after service he left

his house and stro l led, as was his custom ,down

the garden path to the seasho re, alone. Here he

walked up and down for perhaps half-an-hour,

meditating sadly on the farewe l l words he had so


lately addressed to his congregation,being fully

convinced that he had spoken to them for the last

time on earth. When the sun had set and the

night had closed in Mr. Lyte returned to his

house and retired to his study. An hour later

(it was thought that he had been lying down)he

presented his fami ly with the hymn

W a nd a-4L .

accompanied by music which he had also com

po sed. The next mo rning he left Brixham to

return no mo re, forhe died a few months later at

Nice,where he now l ies buried.

Whether Mr. Lyte intended “ Abide with me

to be used so lely as an evening hymn it is impos

sible to say, but Canon El lerton in his co l lection

places it among those for General Use,” with the

fo l lowing note attached

“ It i s sometimes (nearly always)c lassed among eveninghymns

,apparently on the ground of the first two l ines, and

their s imi larity in sound to two l ines in Keble’s Sun of my

soul.’ This i s a cur ious instance of the m i sapprehension ofthe true meaning o f a hymn by those among whom it i s


popular, for a very l ittle cons ideration wi l l suffi ce to showthat there i s no t throughout the hymn the sl ightest allus ionto the c lose of the na tural day : the words of St. Lukexx iv. 29 are obviously used in a sense who l ly metaphorical.It i s far better adapted to be sung at funerals, as it wasbeside the grave of Professor Maurice but it i s almost toointense and personal for ordinary congregational use.

”

After al l i t matters very l ittle whether a hymn

is sung at mo rning,at evening or at midday so

long as it fulfi ls its purpose.

“ Abide wi th me ”

was written in the evening, and when published

was accepted as an evening hymn, and wil l always

be looked upon as an evening hymn by those who

sing it. The close of the natural day is the

evening of l ife to thousands, and so the connexion

between the two is not so sl ight as Canon El lerton

wou ld seem to suppo se . I t was written,we may

be very sure , for a purpose, and that purpose was

to bring comfort to the l iving. I t is therefo re

hardly possible that the autho r intended it to be

used as a funeral hymn only. In no hymnal save

Canon Ellerton’

s does Abide with me” appear

in any but its proper place, namely, among those

intended for evening service.

The original music to “ Abide with me is now

seldom sung, having been supplanted by Dr.

Monk’s beautiful composition,

“ Eventide.

”Dr.

M r. tyte’s Eymn wil l


when he was asked to write a hymn for the

Malpas Festival it o ccurred to him that he would

much l ike to write some wo rds to that air.

He therefo re took a piece of sermon note , on one

side of which, by the way, was a po rtion of the

discourse he had preached the previous Sunday,and drafted out the first rough plan of the hymn.

The MS .,a portion of which we Show here, is a

most interest ing one owing to the number o f

co rrections made by the autho r. In comparing

the hymn as fi rst written by Canon El lerton with

the “ fair ” Copy which he afterwards made , some

difference is apparent. The opening verses o rigin

ally read

Father, once more before we part, we raiseWith one accord our parting hymn of praiseOnce more we bless Thee, ere our songs Shall cease,Then, lowly kneel ing, pray Thee for Thy peace.

Grant us Thy peace, Lord, through the coming night,

Turn Thou for us its darkness into l ightFrom harm and danger, fear and shame kept free,For dark and l ight are both al ike to Thee.

Canon El lerton o riginal ly wro te this hymn in

s ix stanzas of four l ines each. I n most hymnals ,however, the number of verses has been reduced to

five and in a few to four. One verse in the MS.,

the fourth, ha s been omi tted altogether,and

,as it


is one of the most beautiful in the who le hymn,I

canno t refrain from quoting it

Grant us Thy peace—the peace Thou didst bestowOn Thine Apostles in Thine hour of woeThe peace Thou broughtest, when at eventideThey saw Thy pierced hands, Thy wounded s ide .

For some years this hymn was sung to the

tune to which it was o riginally w ritten, but a

sho rt time befo re the publication of the first

revised edition of Hymns Ancient and M odern the

hymn was sent to Dr. Dykes, at Durham, with a

request that he would set i t to music. He did so

and,as was his custom ,

took the manuscript down

with him to St. Oswald’s. After evening service

he played it over to his children in o rder to Obtain

from them the i r opinion as to whether it was a

good tune or not. The juvenile critics were

unanimous in the i r approval , and the hymn was

despatched to S ir Henry Baker. As may be

wel l bel ieved , Sir Henry was very much “ taken ”

with the setting, and always referred to it as one

of the most beautiful o f Dr. Dykes’ compositions .

Sho rtly before her death Mrs. El lerton, widow o f

the hymnist, remarked to me that her husband

was also very much del ighted with the tune and

wrote Dr. Dykes a special letter of thanks


Saviour, again to Thy dear name” has been

translated into many languages and dialects, and

is said to be inmo re extensive use than any o ther

o f Canon Ellerton’

s compositions.“ Saviour, breathe an evening blessing, by

James Edmeston,made its first appearance in the

autho r’s S acred Lyrics , published in 1 820. For

many years it remained in obscurity,unnoticed by

hymnal compi lers, unti l Dr. Bickersteth republished

it in a l ittle vo lume cal led Christian P salmoa'

y.

From thence i t made its way into several co l lee

tions, and soon began to take its place as one

of the fo remost hymns for evening service in

the language. AS o riginal ly written it consisted

of two verses only, o f e ight l ines each,but in

most hymnals i t is now given in four four- l ine

stanzas.“

SamHE: breathe an evening blessing .may be

said to owe i ts orig in to Edmeston’s love for books

o f trave l. I n 1 8 1 9 , happening to be reading

Salte’s Tranch in Abyss inia , he came to the fol

lowing passage :“ At night, the ir short evening

hymn,‘Jesus, forgive us,

’ sto le through the camp.

Laying aside his book, he too k a sheet of paper

and spontaneously penned those two s imple verses

which have since become so wel l known .

This hymn has undergone a good dea l of


pruning and alteration at the hands of various

edito rs, in some cases, perhaps , to its advantage.

The fo l lowing verse,deal ing with sudden death,

is in several hymnals omitted , probably for the

reason that it is a somewhat unhappy conclusion

to an o therwise beautiful hymn

Should swift death th is night o’ertake us,

And our couch become our tombMay the mom in heaven awake us

,

C lad in l ight and deathless bloom.

Prebendary Thring has rewritten this verse

and cleverly overcome the rather unpleasant suggestion that our bed may also

“ become our

tomb

Be Thou nigh , shoul d death o’ertake us,

Jesus,then our Refuge be ;

And in Paradise awake us,

There to rest in peace w ith Thee.

James Edmeston, born in 179 1 , was by profes

s ion an architect and surveyo r. He was a man

o f a peculiarly lovable dispo s ition,and passionate ly

fond of children , forwhom he wro te many o f his

hymns. His co l lection , entitled I nfa nt Brea t/zing s ,contain compos itions of a very tender and simple

nature, admi rably suited for the l ittle p i lgrims for

whom he wro te. He took a great interest in all


church work , and was for many years church

warden of St. Barnabas’, Homerton. His hymns

were written at odd moments, and generally in

the evening when he had laid aside his profes

s ional duties. He was a constant visito r to the

London Orphan Asylum ,and for the chi ldren

there he wrote what is perhaps his second best

known composition Lead us, Heavenly Father,lead us.” Though Mr. Edmeston has written

between and hymns, only the two

mentioned here can be said to have come into

common use.

“The day is past and over is one o f Dr. John

Mason Neale’s many translations from the Greek .

Dr. Neale attributes the autho rship of this hymn

to St. Anatolius , but there appears to be some

doubt on the po int acco rding to many hymno

logists . In the preface to his Hymns of tile

Eastern cam e, where The day is past and

over was first published , Dr. Neale says

This l ittle hymn , which, I bel ieve, is not used

in the publ ic service o f the Church, is a great

favourite in the Greek Isles. I ts pecul iar style and

evident antiquity may wel l lead to the bel ief tha t

it is the work o f St. Anatolius . I t is,to the

scattered hamlets of Chios and M itylene, what

Bishop Ken’s evening hymn is to the vil lage o f


our land , and its melody is singularly pla intive

and soo thing.

”

The o riginal manuscript of Cardinal Newman’s

hymn

A.) M 490 ;M ar. “ cf/ 64

:7JL' “

1

fl myu é ! o f f fl og /“ fi f e"

£4 1 m

owing to the circumstances under which it was

composed , is probably not now in existence. The

facsimi le shown here is from a copy made by the

late Cardinal on March 9 , 1 875, and sent with his

prayers and best wishes to a friend . There are

several such MSS. to be found among the auto

graph co l lections of private ind ividuals , for the

Cardinal , in reply to the very numerous requests

for his autograph, thought so l ittle o f that which

seemed to please his co rrespondents as to fo rward ,instead of a S imple S ignature

,a verse of his ce le

brated hymn.

Lead,kindly Light was written during the

summer months o f 1 83 3 , at a time o f much menta l

d istress, and the wo rds are a very echo of the

autho r’s own lone l iness. I n his Apolog z’

a pro Vita


Sna Cardinal Newman tel ls the sto ry of how the

hymn came to be written. While travel l ing on

the Continent he was attacked by a sudden i ll

ness which necessitated a stay at Castle G iovanni.

Here he lay weak and restless for nearly three

weeks , the only friend at hand be ing his se rvant ,who nursed h im during his i l lness. This occurred

early in May, and on the 27th of that month he

was sufli ciently recovered to attempt a journey to

Palermo .

Before starting from my inn,he wrote, I sat

down on my bed and began to sob bitterly. My

servant, who had acted as my nurse, asked what

ailed me. I could only answer,‘ I have a wo rk to

do in England.

’ I was aching to get home, yet

for want o f a vesse l I was kept at Palermo for

three weeks. I began to visit the churches, and

they calmed my impatience , though I did not

attend any se rvices. At last I got Off in an

o range boat, bound for Marse i l les. We were be

calmed for a who le week inthe Straits of Boni

facio , and it was there that I wrote the l ines,‘Lead

,

kindly Light,’ which have since become so wel l

known.

A grea t deal o f controversy has taken place

from time to time regarding the autho r’s meaning

in the l ines


degree to its beauty. He was being congratu

lated by a friend on having written so fine a

hymn , when he s i lenced h im with the remark ,I t is not the hymn that has gained the popu

larity, but the tune. The tune is by Dykes, and

Dr. Dykes was a great master.”

he very beautiful evening hymn

The sun i s s inking fast,The dayl ight dies ;

Let love awake, and payHer evening sacrifice.

is a translation by the R ev. Edward Caswall of

the hymn from the Latin ,“ Sol praeceps rapitur

proxima nox adest. AS in the case of several

o ther hymns obtained from a S imi lar Source

the author is unknown. The R ev . L. C. Biggs,

the edito r of an anno tated edition of Hymns

Ancient and M odern,did his best to discover

the o riginal writer, but in vain. He wro te to Mr.

Caswall, who ,in reply, info rmed him that he also

had made every effo rt to discover the o riginal

o f this hymn, but w i thout success. I t wa s , the

translator bel ieves,“ in the possession o f one of

the former members of the Edgbaston Orato ry,contained in a smal l book of devo tions. I t can

scarcely be o lder than the e ighteenth century.

”


The translations from the Latin by Edward

Caswall are equal in po int of merit to those by

Dr. Neale. Though he wro te many original

hymns,one only can be said to have become

really famil iar to the hymn- singing publ ic. On

the o ther hand his translations are widely sung

and appreciated bo th in this country and in

America.

Edward Caswall, son of the R ev. R. C. Caswall,

was bo rn at Yately in 1 8 14, He was educated

at Brasenose Co l lege,Oxfo rd, and after gradua

ting with honours he became , in 1 840, incumbent

of Stratfo rd - sub -Castle,near Sal isbury. I n 1 847

he resigned this l iving,and after seceding to the

Church o f Rome was rece ived into the Oratory

at Edgbaston,where he remained unti l h is death.

Mr. Caswall was a very devotional man,warm

hearted , wonderfully good to the poo r,and

pass ionate ly fond o f chi ldren. Nearly al l his

hymns and o ther poems were written at the

Orato ry, Edgbaston. Though a considerable

number o f Mr. Ca swall’s o riginal hymns are to

be met with in Roman Catho l ic co l lections, few

have found the i r way into Pro testant hymn books .

Ano ther instance of a hymn ist who is known

and remembe red by a single composition is Canon

Twells . His


has gained for the author a foremost place in

hymnody.

“ I t was compo sed in 1 868,wro te

Canon Twells in a letter addressed to me,some

few years since,

“ at the request of my friend , S ir

Hen ry Baker,at that time Chairman o f the

Committee o f Hymns Ancie nt and M odern, who

said they wanted a new evening hymn. They

were just about to bring out the first Appendix ,and it was in this Appendix tha t the hymn wa s

fi rst published . I have been asked to insert it

in 1 27 hymnals, and many mo re have taken i t

without asking me. No o ther of my hymns has

attained a s imi lar popularity.

“ The hymn a s I o riginally wro te i t consisted

of e ight verses, but on the recommendat ion o f

S ir Henry Bake r the fourth stanza

And some are pressed w ith worldly cares,And some are tried with s inful doubtAnd some such grievous pass ions tear,That only Thou canst cast them out

was omitted.

”


I n a second letter deal ing with the apparent

contradiction between the text on which the

hymn was founded And at even when the sun

did Set, they brought unto Him al l that were

diseased,and them that were possessed with

devils. And al l the city was gathered together

at the doo r - and the opening l ine of the hymn

At even ere the sun was set —Canon Twells

thus defends his reading of the Apostles’ account

of the healing o f the s ick.

I should l ike to po int out, he writes,

“ that

there is no contradiction whatever, seeming or

o therwise , between the first l ine and the text at

the head. At even when the sun did set’

(St. Mark) is surely not the same as ‘At even

when the sun had set.’ There is no pluperfect

e ither in the Greek or the English. The plain

common sense meaning is that the incident took

place at sunset, i.e., during sunset—not after it.

I f there were any doubt at all about the matter

it would be settled by the co rresponding passage

in St. Luke,‘When the sun was setting.

’

The

hymn merely states that they brought the sick

before the sun was abso lutely set— the simple

fact, if we are to be l ieve the scriptural narrative .

There is no so rt of discrepancy or shadow of

discrepancy between


When the sun did set”(St. Mark).

“ When the sun was setting ” (St. Luke).Ere the sun was set

”(Hymn).

All are in perfect accord with the old painters,the glow of the setting sun resting upon the faces

of the s ick and infirm fo lk.

”

The strange idea that there is a contradiction

was first started by Prebendary Thring. When

compil ing his C/znrc/z of Eng land Hymn Book Pre

bendary Thring wro te to Canon Twells asking for

permission to insert At even ,” at the same time

po inting out to him that the opening l ine did not

exactly co incide with the text on which the hymn

was founded . Would the author kindly permi t

him to change the fi rst l ine to“ At even when

the sun did set”P After some co rrespondence

Canon Twells al lowed him to make the alteration ,though, as the author remarks in the letter quoted ,he had never met with any one who agreed withPrebendary Thring as to the necessity.

Now that the daylight fi l ls the Skies is John

Mason Neale’s very beautiful translation o f a

hymn from the Latin, ascribed by many writers

to St. Ambrose. I t has never been conclusive ly

proved , however, that the famous M ilanese bishop

was the autho r, and in the majority o f hymnals

the hymn is merely stated to be by an anonymous


writer of the fi fth century. Though'

there have

been many translations of this mo rning hymn pub

lished—possibly thirty or mo re— that by Neale

is by far the most popular and is to be found

in nearly al l hymnals published during the last

fifty years. In most co l lections, however, i t has

been altered more or less by editors (in many

cases to its disadvantage) and probably not one

hymnal gives the text exactly as Neale wro te it.

I n Thring’s collection the second verse

May He restrain our tongues from stri fe,And sh iel d from anger’s d in our l ife ;And guard w ith watchful care our eyesFrom earth’s absorbing vanities,

has been altered by the Edito r to

Would guard our tongue in every word,Lest sounds of angry stri fe be heard ;From all i l l s ights would turn our eyes,And c lose our ears from van ities.

“ The day is gently sinking to a close, one of

the mo st beautiful of Christopher Wo rdswo rth’s

evening hymns, i s taken from his Holy Year.

I t was written about 1 862 and first printed in

leaflet form together with a companion hymn for

morning service,“ Son o f God, Eternal Word.

”

As my readers are probably aware, these two

3 2 MORN ING AND EVENING HYMNS

hymns,

“ Son o f God, Eternal Wo rd,

” and “ The

day is gently sinking to a close,”now fo rm the

opening hymns to the Hoiy Year. Both com

po sitions are we l l known in Great Britain and

Ameri ca, though ne ither has attained that popu

larity enjoyed by many of Bishop Wo rdsworth ’s

o ther hymns.

I t is somewhat unfo rtunate that apparently no

hymn by this writer appears to have been pre

served in manuscript. I n a letter rece ived from

his son,dated June 6, 1 895, the writer says

“ I am so rry to say that I have no certain recol

lection , even at the time of the i r compos ition(which

I do reco l lect), of see ing the manuscript o f my

father’s hymns. I was so far al ive to such matters

that I begged for a heap o f ‘ copy ’o f his ‘

Com

mentary and had it bound. I have some no tion

that the hymns were o riginally written on stray

pieces of pape r, very possibly hal f in penci l, with

corrections, and then copied fair by my mo ther

or sisters for the press. My father was such a

pro l ific writer that in house-movings there was

nothing for i t but large destruction of Copy which

had done i ts work.”

In a further letter he says“ I regret to say that my sister, Mrs. Steed

man,tel ls me that my father destroyed the


year. His beautiful hymn for the clo se o f ser

vice,“ And now the wants are to ld that brought,

”

was written in 1 865 and published the fo l lowing

year in the autho r’s Hymns and other P oems .

I t soon attracted the attention of SirHenry Baker,and when the Appendix to Hymns Ancient and

M odern was under d iscussion he asked Canon

Bright forpermission to include i t, a request which

was readily granted. The hymn was o riginal ly

wri tten in six stanzas,Canon Bright subsequently

adding the fo l lowing Doxo logy

All glory to the Father be,All glory to the Son,

All glory,Ho ly Ghost, to Thee,

While endless ages run.

Canon Bright had strong opinions with regard

to the question of “ copyright ” i n hymns. His

composit ions were always at the service o f any one

who cared to ask h im for them. He averred that

if a man w ro te a good hymn,a hymn which had

that in it which could bring comfort and conso la

t ion , the author had no more right to wi thho ld it

from the public than a publisher has to“ copy

right the Psalms.

Canon Bright was extraordinarily painstaking in

regard to his hymnal compositions. Though he

frequently wro te spontaneously, he would spend

MORNING AND EVENING'

HYMNS 35

hours of thought and care in altering and im

proving a s ingle l ine. Fo rtunately,his hymns

have escaped alteration and are published in the

majo ri ty of hymnals pretty much as he wrote

them.

Having called Canon Twells over the coals with

regard to his At even ere the sun was set,” it was

only r ight that Prebendary Thring Should in his

turn be brought to book in respect to one of his

own compositions. The hymn in question is“The

radiant morn hath pass’

d away,

”the second

verse of which o riginal ly ran

Our l ife i s but a fading dawn,I ts glorious noon how quickly past ;Lead us

, 0 Christ, when al l i s gone,Safe home at last.

A co rrespondent took the l iberty o f po inting

out to the autho r the inconsistency o f referring

to the dawn as fading,” inasmuch as the dawn

does not fade, but rather increases in bri l l iancy.

Prebendary Thring, however, had already been

struck with a similar idea, and he therefore altered

the verse to the fo l lowing

Our l i fe i s but an autumn day,Its glorious noon how quickly past ;Lead us, 0 Chri st, Thou Living Way,

Safe home at las t.


Subsequently Prebendary Thring again altered

this verse to

Our l ife i s but an autumn sun,

I ts glorious noon how quickly past ;Lead us

, 0 Chri st, our l i fe-work done,Safe home at last.

This last is the au tho r’s revised version , and the

one he would l ike to see copied by hymnal

ed itors.

The radiant morn hath pas s’

d away is

general ly supposed to have been wri tten for use

at evening services, but this is not the case. I n

a letter rece ived from the autho r a couple o f

years ago , Prebendary Thring gives the fo l low

ing particulars regarding the hymn and the

object for which he wro te i t.“ The hymn in question ,

”he writes

,was com

posed as an‘afternoon

’ hymn , as in most of the

country parishes in that part of Somersetshire in

which I l ived , the second service was nearly always

held in the afternoon, and not in the evening,

whilst al l the hymns in the hymn books in com

mon use were for the late evening or n ight. I’towro te ‘The radiant mo rn hath pass

’

d away

supply this want. Several o f my hymns were

written in consequence of some want of this

kind,felt e i ther by mysel f or o thers but most o f


them,I think, though I have never made any

calculations,

arose almost Spontaneously from

thoughts that happened to be running in my

mind at the time.

Prebendary Thring is the author of several

vo lumes o f poems, the most important be ing his

Hymns and S a cred Lyrics . This work met

with disaster soon after its publ ication , the

who le edition be ing burnt in a great fire at the

publ isher’s works. The autho r only discovered

the fact o f the fire some time afterwards, and

then merely by acciden t— a stranger having

wr i tten to him asking how he cou ld get a copy,as he had been to ld by every bookse l ler to whom

he had appl ied that it was out o f print

Prebendary Thring has written a great many

hymns,fifty

-nine o f which appear in his C/znrc/z

of Eng land Hymn Book. They have nearly al l

been wri tten with an “object

,

” and are, wi th very

few exceptions, of great exce l lence.

O Jesu,Lo rd of Heavenly grace ” is John

Chandler’s translation o f Splendo r paternae

gloriae,” by St. Ambrose. The exact date o f its

compo sit ion is uncerta in,but the autho rship is un

doubted . I n o lden days it is said to have been

invariably sung at Mat ins every Monday. Of

the many translat ions wh ich have been published


John Chandler’s has long been the most popu

lar,being found in a large number o f English

and American hymnals. John Chandler was for

many years Vicar of Witley, and devo ted much

of his time to the translation of Latin hymns.

I n the preface to his Hymns of t/ze P rimitive

cam e,where O Jesu ,

Lord of Heavenly Grace

appears next to Bishop Ken’s “ Awake

,my soul ,

and wi th the sun,

” Mr. Chandler thus accounts for

the publication of his translations

My attention was a short time ago directed to

some translations which appeared from time to

time in the British M ag a z ine, very beautiful ly

executed , of some hymns extracted from the

P aris ianBrevia fy with o riginals annexed. Some,

indeed , of the Sapphic and Alcaic and other Hora

tian metres seem to be o f l ittle value ;but the rest,

o f the pecul iar hymn -metre, D imeter I ambics, ap

pear ancient, s imple, str iking and devo tional—in a

wo rd,in every way l ikely to answer our purpose .

So I got a copy o f the P arisian Breo ia fy and one

or two o ther old books of Lat in hymns, especial ly

one comp i led by Geo rg ius Cassander, printed at

Co logne in the year 1 556, and regularly appl ied

myself to the work o f se lect ion and translation .

The resul t is the co l lection I now lay befo re the

public. I t wil l be observed that I have admitted


mns but what appear to be expressly wanted

e purposes of our Church my aim in trans

them has been to be as s imple as po ssible,ing it bet ter to be, o f the two , rather bald

ro saic than fine and obscure.

”

I I

Honcut 1bgmns

HOSE hymns written special ly for the season

o f Advent are very numerous,and comprise

some of the grandest examples of sacred verse in

our hymnals. Wi th very few exceptions, however,those wh ich have taken firmest ho ld of the a ffec

tions of the Church are translations from the Latin.

That greatest o f al l Advent hymns, the D ies I rae ,is general ly supposed to have been written by

Thomas o f Ce lano in the thirteenth century. The

number of translations wh ich have been published ,though very d ifficult to est imate

,canno t fal l far

sho rt of 1 50, and of these some twenty have be

come more or less fami l iar.

To S irWal ter Sco tt we owe what is, with one

except ion , probably the finest of al l translat ions of

the D ies lra e That day o f wrath,that dreadful

day. This hymn fo rms the concluding stanzas o f

the sixth canto of The Lay Of the Last M instre l,

”

40

42 ADVENT HYMNS

a very short period this hymn was singled out by

compilers and published in various co l lections. I t

soon became the most popu lar of al l the transla

tions,and few hymnals published during the last

half-century omit it.

Sco tt himsel f was a fervent admirer of this great

hymn in the original , and is said to have uttered a

few l ines o f i t a sho rt while befo re his death.

Ano ther translation of the D ies I rae which

equals Sco tt’s in excel lence and popularity is“ Day of wrath

, 0 day Of mourning,” by W. J .

I rons. I t was wri tten under somewhat remarkable

circumstances.

I t appears that Mr. I rons was in the French

capital during the Revo lut ion o f 1 848 when ,among o ther atrocities committed , the Archbishopof Paris was murdered . Owing to the revolu

tionary Spirit o f the people i t was many days

before the funeral could take place with any

degree of safety to the mourners. About a

fo rtnight later a Memorial Service was hel d in

Notre Dame,at which Mr. I rons was present.

The Archbishop’s heart

,which had been severed

from his body, was placed in a glass casket and

reverently la id on a raised dats in the cho ir so

that all who desired to do so might gaze upon it .

As the procession o f mourners fi led by, casting

BER RYHEAD HOUSE ,The b irthpla ce of Ab ide W ith me .Photo by Upha m , Brut/ta m .

On a pane of glass in th is house Harriet Auberwro te Ourb lest

R edeemer, ere I—I e breathed .

F ro m a Photo.

ADVENT HYMNS 43

looks of mingled terror and affection on the faith

ful heart which had so recently beat in the i r

interests, the entire congregation sang in muffled

tones the D ies I rae. AS may wel l be be l ieved

the so lemnity of the service made a deep and

lasting impression on the mInd of the English

clergyman present, and when the congregation

had dispersed he returned to his hote l and imme

diately made his now celebrated translation of the

great Latin hymn

Day of Wrath ! 0 day of mourning !See once more the Cross return ing ,Heav

’n and earth in ashes burning !

Dr. Will iam Josiah I rons was born at Hoddes

don—within a sho rt d istance of the house in which

Harriet Aube r wro te “ Our Blest Redeemer, ere

He breath’

d”—in 1 8 1 2

,be ing the son of Joseph

I rons , also a hymnis t o f some note. After taking

h is BA. Degree at Queen’s Co l lege, Oxford , he

took Ho ly Orders in 1 835, and two years later

became Incumbent o f St. Peter’s , Walwo rth. After

fi l l ing various l ivings he became Rec to r o f St.

Mary-Woo lno th and Prebendary o f St. Paul’s

Cathedral. He d ied on June 1 8,1 883 .

Dr. I rons wro te a great numbe r o f o riginal

hymns,but will be longest remembered by h is

translation of the D ies I rae.

44 ADVENT HYMNS

Hark the glad sound ! the Saviour comes

is one of the few o rig inal Advent hymns qualified

to be placed among tho se of the Mediaeval Church.

I t was written by Phil ip Doddridge in 1 835, and

first publ ished ten years later in a Sco tch hymnal.

I t was ten years mo re befo re i t appeared in

England,when it was published in a po sthumous

vo lume o f hymns by Dr. Doddridge. Ve ry few

of Dr. Doddridge’

s hymns were published prio r to

his death in 1751 . They were fi rst circulated in

manuscript, in the autho r’s own clear handwr i t ing

,

and, the number of copies being necessari ly

l imited,were much prized by the fortunate

possessors.

Another hymn by Phi lip Doddridge, which

might very wel l be regarded as an Advent hymn ,is “ Ye servants o f the Lord

,

” written prio r to“ Hark the glad sound and not publ ished unti l

after h is death. I t is written on the wo rds o f St.

Luke Blessed are those servants,whom the

Lo rd when He cometh Shal l find watching.

” As

a hymn o f exho rtat ion i t could hardly be sur

passed.

Perhaps the mo st unpopular hymn Doddridge

ever wro te was one for early rising. The very

object forwhich the good docto r wro te proved the

death blow to the composit ion , for i f there is one

ADVENT HYMNS 45

thing mo re than ano ther to which membe rs of the

human race strongly object it is leaving the ir beds

in the smal l hours. Dr. Doddridge was not unaware

of this,and

,in o rder that the hymn should not be

entire ly wasted , sang it h imself. At five o’clock ,”

says a contemporary writer,“ he prepared to leave

his bed, repeat ing five stanzas befo re do ing so at

the sixth he rose and dressed. I t is not related

how long the docto r l ingered over those first five

stanzas !

All his l ife Dr. Doddridge was mo re or less of

an invalid. At his birth he was laid aside as

dead , and would have been buried had it not been

for the intervention Of an affectionate nurse,who

refused to be l ieve that the child had been bo rn

but to die. He l ived for fo rty-nine years and died

at Lisbon from consumption brought on by over

wo rk.

Few hymns have occas ioned greater contro

versy as to the ir autho rship than Great God,what

do I see and hear ? ” I t appears to have been ,l ike Lo ! He comes with clouds descending

,

”the

combined work of numerous hymnists and edito rs.

I t is closely associated with the great German

hymnist, Bartholom'

aus R ingwaldt, and is said to

be a translation of one of his hymns which was

published about the year 1 556, and frequently

46 ADVENT HYMNS

sung in his native country during the Th i rty

Years’ War. This,however, is discredi ted by

most hymno logi sts , as is also the assumption that

i t was written by Martin Luther.

N0 record exists as to the actual autho rship of

the first verse, which seems to have been publ ished

anonymously in 1 802 in a smal l vo lume of hymns.

I t was there seen by Dr. Co l lyer, who included it

in a hymnal he was compi l ing in 1 8 1 2,adding

three stanzas of his own composition. I n 1 820 i t

was republ ished by Thomas Co tteri l l , considerably

altered , though, as in the case o f Dr. Co l lyer, the

first verse remained true to the o riginal. From

that time onward it has had very l ittle rest,appearing in various fo rms. Few edito rs were

found obliging enough to leave i t alone, and in

consequence scarcely two hymnals give i t in

exactly the same fo rm. One o f the last to alter

i t is Prebendary Thring in his Clznrc/z of Eng land

Hymn Book, but he has been more merciful: than

many others. The tune to which this great

Advent hymn is al l ied is called “ Luther,” and

appeared in Jo seph Klug’s Gesangouclt in 1 535.

“ Thou art coming, 0 my Saviour,” by M iss

Frances R idley Havergal, was written at Winter

dyne in 1 873 . I n connexion with thi s composi

tion it is interesting to recal l that it was the first

43 ADVENT HYMNS

to no te how each hymn had been arranged ac

co rding to i ts tit le,and the who le co l lection

prov ided with an exhaustive index.

A very fine hymn for Advent serv i ce i s “ Thy

kingdom come, 0 God, written by the R ev .

Lewis Hensley in 1 867. I t is special ly suitable

for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, and , indeed ,was written with the idea of its be ing sung on that

day. Mr. Hensley is ano ther example of a one

hymn man,

’

for though he has written o ther

compos itions of a simi lar kind ,“ Thy k ingdom

come” is the only one which has found favour

with hymnal compi lers. I t has been singularly

fortunate in escaping“editorial tinkering,

" be ing

general ly given exactly as the autho r wrote it.

One l ittle alteration,however, may be no ted , the

third verse as given in Mr. Hensley’s manuscript

When comes the promi sed timeThat war shall be no more,

Oppres s ion, lus t, and crimeShall flee Thy Face before ?

having been changed in most hymnals to

When comes the promi sed timeThat war shall be no more,And lust

, oppress ion, crimeShal l flee Thy Face before ?

The change is a smal l one , and, taken in con

ADVENT HYMNS 49

junction with the verse be ing in the form of a

question, perhaps an improvement.

The hymn was based on the sentence taken

from the Lord’s Prayer,

“ Thy kingdom come,

”

which, it wil l be no ted , also fo rms the open i ng

words of the hymn . The very beautiful tune,

“St. Ceci lia

,

” which was written for this hymn

by the R ev. L. G. Hayne, is an especially appro

priate one,and has materially helped to sustain

the deservedly high reputation which the hymn

Mr. Lewis Hensley, who is one o f our few l iving

hymnists, is Vicar o f H i tchin,in the county of

Hertfo rdshire.

Hark ! a thri l l ing vo ice is sounding is Edward

Caswall’

s translation of the Latin hymn “Vox

clara ecce intonat,” ascribed by some wr iters to

St Ambrose . There is, however, considerable

doubt wi th regard to the authorship, and mo st

hymnals content themse lves by ascribing i t to

an anonymous writer.

This hymn has been a favourite one for transla

tion with a great number of hymnists besides Cas

wall,a very fine rendering be i ng that by Cardinal

Newman , beginn ing,“ Hark ! a joyful vo ice is

thr i l l ing.

”Of the many translations, however,

that by Caswall has long S ince been awarded the

F . H . 4

50 ADVENT HYMNS

first place in public affection , and is tod ay found

in more hymnals than al l the other translations

put together.

The somewhat plaintive me lody to which it is

usual ly sung,cal led Veni Emmanuel ,

” is from

an ancient Plain-song, the o rigin of which is lost

in antiqui ty.

Lo ! He comes with clouds descending may

be said to combine the efforts o f two hymnists

and one editor—Cennick, Charles Wesley and

Madan . This celebrated Advent hymn made its

fi rst appearance in printed form in Cennick’

s

Collection of S acred Hymns , published in 1752 ,

the opening verse reading

Lo ! He cometh,countless trumpets

Blow before His bloody s ign !’M idst ten thousand saints and angel s

,

See the Crucified sh ine.

AllelujahWelcome, welcome, bleeding Lamb !

I n 1758 Charles Wesley publ ished a small

pamphlet containing fo rty hymns.‘ I n this l ittle

boo k Cennick’s hymn was included , altered by

Charles Wesley to the now fam i l iar

Lo ! He comes with c louds descending,Once for favour’d s inners slain ;Thousand thousand Saints attending,

ADVENT HYMNS 51

Swel l the triumph of H i s trainHallelujah

God appears on earth to re ign.

Two years later M. Madan again published it,g iv ing po rt ions by Cennick and portions by

Wesley , with addi t ions and alterations of his own.

I t is in this fo rm that the hymn now appears in

modern hymnals.

John Cennick was the author of a large number

of hymns, Of which a fair percentage are sung

to -day. He was bo rn at Reading In 171 8 , and

was educated with the intention of his fo l lowing

the profession of a surveyo r. At the early age o f

twenty-one , however, he came under the influence

o f the Wesleys, who persuaded him to leave the

Church o f England and assist them in the i r wo rk.

In 1 840 he became a teacher at Kingswood, on

the recommendat ion of John Wesley,his pupi ls

for the most part consisting of the children of

co l l iers. Shortly after his appo intment, however,he left the Wesleys and jo ined Geo rge Whitefield .

For a few years he wo rked under this leader, but

again becoming restless, left h im to jo in the

Mo ravians. Much of his t ime he spent in

Germany, where his preach ing attracted many

fo l lowers. He died in 1755 at the early age o f

thirty-seven.

52 ADVENT HYMNS

Besides “ Lo ! He comes, and several o ther

very fine hymns, Cennick was the autho r of the

Graces Be present at our table, Lo rd,” and “We

thank Thee, Lo rd, for this our food,

” which one

o ccasionally hears even in these degenerate days,when Grace appears to be becoming mo re and

mo re a custom of the past.

The tune with which “ Lo ! He comes with

Clouds descending ” is inseparably associated ,known as Helmsley ”

or“ O l ivers , appears to

have had as many vicissitudes as the hymn itse lf.

In Grove’s D ictionary of M a sic a writer says

The sto ry runs that Thomas Ol ivers, the friend

o f John Wesley,was attracted by the tune which

he heard whistled in the street, and that from it

he fo rmed the melody to which were adapted the

words o f Cennick and Wesley’s Advent hymn .

The tune heard by O l ivers is commonly said to

have been a hornpipe danced by M iss Catley in

the Go lden Pippin,’ a burlesque by Kate O’

Hara ,

but this seems inconsistent with chrono logy. The

hymn tune appeared first,as a melody only

,in

the second edition of Wesley’s S elect Hymns

wit/t Tunes Annexed,1765, under the name of

Ol ivers.’ In 1769 an improved version, in three

parts,was published by the R ev . Martin Madan

in Hymns and P salm Tunes. I t is there cal led

ADVENT HYMNS 53

He lms ley,’ and under that name became w idely

popular. But at this time the Go lden Pippin was

not even in existence. O’

Keefe, who possessed

the o riginal manuscript, te l ls in his R ecollections

that it was dated I 771 . The burlesque , in three

acts,was produced at Covent Garden in I773 . I t

fai led at fi rst, but obtained some success when

altered and abridged. The source from whence‘Ol ivers ’ was derived seems to have been a

co ncert- room song commencing Guardian angels ,

now pro tect me,’

the music o f which probably

o riginated in Dublin,where i t wa s sung by a

M r. Mahone , and no doubt also by M iss Catley,

who resided in the I rish capital in 1750. The

melody of ‘Guardian ange ls ’ was not in the

Go lden Pippin as o riginally written , but, adapted

to the wo rds o f the burlesque, was introduced in to

i t in 1776 in the place of a song by G io rdani,and

was sung by M iss Catley in the charac ter o f Juno .

The published sco re of the Go lden Pippin’ does

not contain any ho rn -

p ipe, but such a dance

may have been interpo lated in the action of the

piece.

”

The writer concludes by saying :“ I n 1765,

when Ol ivers was published , M iss Catley was in

I re land and did not return to London until five

years afterwards, and , see ing that the ho rnpipe was

54 ADVENT HYMNS

not of earlier date than the ‘Go lden Pippin ,’ it

seems to fo l low that instead o f the hymn tune

having been derived from the hornpipe , the latter

was actually constructed from the hymn tune ,which by that t ime had become a great favourite.

”

This reco l lection may he lp to conso le us when

next we s ing,

“ Lo ! He comes with clouds

descending.

”

The late R ev . Canon Tuttiett has written many

hymns for Special occasions, his Advent hymn ,

O quickly come,dread Judge o f al l ” be ing re

markably fine . I t is based on the words Surely

I come quickly. Amen. Even so,come , Lo rd

Jesus Christ.” In some respects it is not unlike

a translation o f the D ies I rae. I t was written

in 1 854 wh i le Mr. Tuttiett was Vicar of Lea

Marston , and was one o f the first hymns the

autho r ever wro te. Indeed,i t was always some

thing of a surprise to the hymnist that its success

was so much greater than many o f the com

positions he wro te in later l ife, when , i t may be

supposed , he had gained experience regarding the

kind of hymns l ikely to prove most attractive.

“ O quickly come, dread Judge of al l ” was

published in the author’s Hymns for Clznrclzmen,after which it passed into the first Appendix to

Hymns Ancient and M odern,and from thence

¢brtstmas tbgmns

F a general consensus o f opin ion were taken

as to which is the most popular o f al l

Christmas hymns the result would probably be

in favour of Hark ! the herald- ange ls sing.

” This

famous hymn was first published by Charles

Wesley in 1739 , when it began“ Hark ! how all

the welk in rings .” From that date i t has ap

peared in various hymnals with alterations by

various edito rs. I n one version , indeed , the open

ing stanza contained but a single wo rd to be found

in the o riginal, that wo rd be ing the exclamato ry

Hark .

” As first published this hymn consisted

o f ten stanzas o f four l ines each , bu t was subse

quen tly reduced to e ight, then to six, and , finally,

to three extended stanzas of e ight l ines each, with

the refrain“Hark ! the herald-angels S ingG lory to the new-born King.

”

56

CHRISTMAS HYMNS 57

Apparen tly no manuscript Of this hymn exists,

though Mr. Ke l ly, the Book S teward at the

Wesleyan Conference Office, thinks o therwise.

One day he hopes to make a systematic search

amo ng the many hundreds of Charles Wesley’s

manuscripts now under his care, when he fee ls

confident the o riginal o f Hark theherald-angels

sing wi ll come to l ight.

I t is rather curious that these hymnal manu

scripts Of Charles Wesley have only been dis

covered within comparatively recent years. The

sto ry o f how they were found is an interesting

one. I t appears that soon after Mr. Ke l ly wa s

appo inted Book S teward he was go ing on a tour

o f inspection through th e ce l lars of No . 2 , Castle

S treet, when he came to a smal l underground

room which was boarded up. On having the

lbarricade removed it was discovered that the

icompartment contained many th i ngs o f interest

connected with the Wes leys, not the least im

po rtan t be ing some fourteen vo lumes o f manu

Spript hymns i n the handwritings o f Charles, John ,ahd Samue l Wesley. Together w ith these vo lumes

Wiere numerous loo se sheets o f paper, on which

the ce lebrated hymnists had written the fi rst

dia fts of the i r composit ions befo re copying them

fair ” into the bound vo lumes. These loose

58 CHRISTMAS HYMNS

sheets are extremely interesting , as they contain

numerous co rrections which convey some idea of

what the first impressions o f the hymnists real ly

were.

Charles Wesley composed his hymns at al l

times of the day and night, never knowing when

a fine l ine or verse wou ld strike him. I n o rder

that these ideas should not be lost,he was in the

habit of carrying about with him a set of tablets

on which many of his hymns were written . He

would then copy out these rough no tes on a shee t

of quarto paper, co rrect and finally copy“ fair ”

into a manuscript book. Charles wrote a beauti

ful ly clear hand , bo ld , and , as was his character,fearless and straightforward .

“ Hark ! the herald -angels sing,is said to be

found in more hymnals than any o ther of Charles

Wesley’s compo sitions, not even excepting Jesu,Lover of my sou l.” I t has been translated into

numerous languages and dialects , and is as fami l iar

to the converted natives of China and Africa as

it is to the church-go ing population o f our own

country.

Christians, awake, salute the happy mom has

been a favourite Christmas hymn for the last 1 50

years or more. I t was written in 1745, and the

sto ry Of its composition is a pretty one. John

CHRISTMAS HYMNS 59

Byrom,the autho r, had several children , but, l ike

many ano ther father, he had his“ favourite .

”

This child was a l i ttle girl named “ Do l ly,”who

afterwards became Mrs. Doro thy Byrom. A few

days prior to Christmas , 1745, Mr. Byrom,after

having had a romp w ith the favoured Do l ly ,

promised to w rite her something for Christmas

Day. I t was to be written special ly for herse l f,and no one else. The child, highly honoured and

de l ighted , d id not fai l to remind her father o f his

promise each day as Christmas drew nearer. On

the morning of the great day, when She ran down

to breakfast, she found several presents waiting

forher. Among these was an envelope addressed

to her in her father’s handwriting. I t was the

firs t thing she Opened , and , to h er great de l ight ,proved to be a Christmas caro l addressed to her

,

and to her alone

In the o riginal the MS. is headed “ Christmas

Day for Do l ly.

” Th is very document is now

preserved in the archives of Cheeth am’

s Hosp ital ,Manchester, and , though a little creased and

crumpled, probably from be ing carried about in

6O CHRISTMAS HYMNS

Miss Do l ly’s po cket, is in an exce l lent state o f

preservation. After remaining in the Byrom

family for close upon a century it passed into the

po ssession of James Cros sby, at one time hono rary

Librarian to Cheetham’

s Hospital, and at his death

was purchased by the autho rities o f that insti

tution.

The caro l—it is perhaps more a caro l than a

hymn—was fi rst published in 1746 in Harrop’

s

M a nchester M ercury ,where i t soon attracted the

attent ion o f hymnists and o thers. Soon after the

publ ication o f the caro l i t was seen by the o rganist

o f the parish church (now the pro-cathedral), a

clever musician cal led John Wainwright,and a

composer o f some no te. He was struck by the

wo rds,and wrote for them the beaut i ful and

popular setting known as S tockport or Wain i

wright,

”to which they have ever s ince been sung.

The composer sent a copy o f the tune to the

autho r o f the hymn, who was del ighted with its

appropr iateness, and this introduct ion began a

friendship between the two men which was only

broken by death.

John Byrom had a chequered career. I n a

letter rece ived some time ago from Cheetham’

s

Ho spital , M r. W. E. A. Axon, of Manchester, thus

writes of him

CHRISTMAS HYMNS 6 1

He was bo rn in Kelsal in 169 1 . His father,

a l inen draper of Manchester, sent him to Cam

bridge,where he graduated M .A . and became a

Fel low o f Trinity Co l lege but, decl ining to take

Orders , he resigned this provision , and soon after

married his cousin, Mrs. El i zabeth Byrom ,against

the consent of bo th families. Be ing without a

pro fession , and pressed by the res angusta domi,

he repaired to the metropo l is, and suppo rted him

se lf by teaching shorthand , of which he had

invented the best system then befo re the publ ic.

In 1723 he was e lected Fel low of the Royal

Society, and in the fo l lowing year succeeded , by

the death of his elder bro ther, to the fami ly

estates, when he returned to Manchester, where

he remained til l his death in

Byrom’s early boyhood was passed at the King’s

Schoo l , Chester, a fact of which Cestrians are not a

litt le proud, for though the old schoo l can boast a

goodly l is t of famous men whose education has

been carried on w i thin its walls,the autho r of

“ Christ ians,awake wil l not be the first for

go tten.

To the l ibrary which now contains most o f his

MSS . John Byrom was a frequent visito r, and

numerous are the hymns wh ich he wro te for the

Cheetham Hospital boys. In a letter to Thyer,

62 CHRISTMAS HYMNS

the then librarian,he says he preferred that em

ployment to be ing Laureate to Frederick I I

who was then o ccupied in the Seven Years

War.

The portrait of this hymnist, ugly at first S ight,

but kindly and good -humoured on closer examina

tion,is from a print contained in the Co l lege

Scrap-book.

” I t is sa id to have been executed

by a friend.

Only one o ther hymn by Byrom has come into

general use, and is to be met with in ourhymnals.

I t is a tender l ittle composi t ion and somewhat

original. The manner in which the last l ine of

one verse forms the fi rst l ine of the fo l lowing

verse is quaint and effective. As it is short,

consisting of four stanzas only,I quote it

My spirit longeth for Thee,With in my troubled breast,Though I unworthy beOf so D ivine a guest :

Of so D iv ine a guestUnworthy though I be,Yet has my heart no restUnless it come from Thee

Unless it come from Thee,In vain I look around ;In all that I can see

No rest i s to be found

64 CHRISTMAS HYMNS

AS with gladness men of old one of the finest

compo sitions of the kind in the language.

The wonderful ly appropriate melody to which

this hymn is invariably sung was composed by

Conrad Kocher in 1 838 . Th is tune was first

connected with Mr. D ix’s hymn in Ancient

a nd M odern and wil l now probably always be

associated with it. I t has been suggested that

Mr. Chatterton D ix wro te the hymn to fi t the

music, but this is not the case.

“ While Shepherds watch’

d the ir flo cks by

night ” has for a hundred and fifty years or

more been the standard caro l of the “ Waits a t

Christmas time. I t was written by Nahum Ta te

some time near the close o f the seventeenth

century, and first published in Tate and Brady’s

P salter, 1702 . There is l ittle doubt that this hymn

was the work of Tate alone, though in some

hymnals it is ascribed to these wri ters jo in t ly.

Nahum Tate wa s an I rishman,and bo rn in

Dubl in in 1 652 . He was educated at Trin ity

Co l lege and at an early age became Poet Laure

ate. He co l labo rated with Brady in produc ing

in 1 696 A New Vers ion of the P salms of

Da vid. The different hymns in this vo lume

were written to certain tunes already fami l iar in

the churches, and though the book was subjected

CHRISTMAS HYMNS 65

to a good deal of adverse cri ticism it soon began

to be used in a considerable number of churches.

How the work was divided between the two , what

po rtion one wro te and what the o ther,wil l never

be known, and therefo re those versions of the

Psalms which have passed from th is wo rk into

our hymnals—“Through all the changing scenes

o f l i fe,” “ As pants the hart for coo l ing streams,

”

etc .,have come to be regarded as by Tate and

Brady. One of the few hymns conclusively

proved to be by Tate alone is While shepherds

watch’

d After leading anything but a tem

perate l i fe, Tate died in London at the age of

sixty- three .

0 come, al l ye faithful , Joyfu l and triumphant

is Canon Oakelezs translation of the Ades te Fideles .

I t is by far the most popu lar version we have, and

was first published in 1 852 . I t soon became one

of the foremost hymns for Christmas and is now to

be found in nearly al l hymnals publ ished during

the last fo rty years. Translations o f Canon Oake

ley’s version have been published in the languages

of nearly all countries where missions have pene

trated, and the hymn is a general favourite among

the Malays and Dyaks. In most cases the trans

lator has adhered to the o riginal metre so that the

music to which the translation is sung is the same

F .H . 5

66 CHRISTMAS HYMNS

as that with which -we are al l fami l iar—Adeste

This is not the only translation of this hymn

made by Canon Oakeley. When he was . I h

cumbent o f Margaret S treet Chape l in 1 841 he

made ano ther and an earl ier one beginning “ Ye

fa i thful, approach ye.

’ This,however, was written

exclusively for his own congregation, amongst

whom it was distributed in manuscript. Many

years afterwards, however, i t appeared in one or

two co l lections, though it has never gained much

favour wi th hymnal editors. Indeed, Canon Oake

ley may be said to have himse lf cast in the shade

his fi rst translation by the bri l l iancy of his second.

Canon Oakeley is but one of many cele

brated hymnists who have left the Church of

England in o rder to enter the Church of Rome.

He was bo rn in 1 802 and educated at Christ

Church, Oxford, taking Ho ly Orders in 1 828.

After becoming a Prebendary o f Lichfield Cathe

dral he was in 1 839 made Incumbent of Margaret

Street Chapel , London . Here he remained for six

years, but in 1 845 the great change o f his l ife came

and he seceded to the Church of Rome. Formany

years he worked among the poor of Westminster,

leading an uneventful but exemplary life. He died

in 1 880 at the age of seventy-eight.

CHRISTMAS HYMNS 67

Among the many o ther translations of the

Adeste Fideles , which have been publ ished during

the last fifty years or so , the only one which

comes into competition with Canon Oakeley’

s in

the matter o f public favour is by the R ev .William

Mercer, beginn ing with the same l ine,

“ 0 come ,al l ye faithful .

” I t was written later than Canon

Oakeley’

s version, and the two trans lations are not

dissimi lar. In o rder that readers may compare

the two , I give the fi rst verse o f Mr. Mercer’s

translation that by Canon Oakeleywil l be found

in any o rdinary modern hymnal

0 come, all ye faithful,Joyful ly triumphant.

To Bethlehem hasten now w ith glad accord ;LO ! in a mangerLies the King o f angel s ;

0 come, let us adore Him, Chri st the Lord.

Apart from his translation of the Adeste Fideles ,Mr. Mercer is l ittle known as a hymn writer. He

gained great reputation, however, as an edito r, his

Church P salter a nd Hymn-booh be ing at one time

the most popular co l lection in the language . He

was formany years Vicar of St. Geo rge’s, Sheffield ,

where he died in 1 873 at the age of s ixty-two .

A Christmas hymn, which is immensely popular

in America, and growing in favour in England, is

68 CHRI STMAS HYMNS

I t came upon the midnight clear. I t is the

wo rk of an American writer, and was written in

1 849. I t was sent to the edito r of the Christian

R eg ister, and first appeared in that magazine early

in 1 850. From thence i t passed into various

American hymnals, and soon made i ts way to

England. The author, Edmund Hami lton Sears,has also written ano ther hymn for Christmas

,

which is gaining in popularity in th is country.

Though not as perfect a composition as I t came

upon the midnight clear,” this hymn , beginning,

“ Calm on the l istening ear . o f night, is a very

beautifu l Christmas hymn , and deserves to be

mo re widely used. Mr. Sears was pastor o f

various churches in America, and died at Weston,Massachusetts , in 1 876.

“ From heaven above to earth I come is

M iss Catherine W inkworth’

s translation of Martin

Luther’s celebrated Christmas hymn. I t was

written special ly for his l ittle son, Hans, when the

chi ld was five years old, during the latter part o f

1 53 1 , but not published unti l four years later. No

man observed Christmas with more punctil ious

ness than did Martin Luther, and he educa ted his

children to regard the season with similar venera

tion.

On every Christmas Eve a festival took place

CHRISTMAS HYMNS 69

in Martin Luther’s house, and it was for the

chi ldren’s use at these festivals that From heaven

above to earth I come ” was written . Luther

himse l f was on these occasions the master of the

ceremonies, and for many days befo re Christmas

he conducted rehearsals , training his chi ldren to

sing the caro l perfectly when the fest ival night

came. The first seven verses o f the hymn were

always sung by a man dressed as an angel.

When he had finished, the children greeted him

w ith the remaining verses, beg inning

Welcome to earth, thou noble guest,Through whom e

’en w icked men are blest !

Thou com’

st to share our m iseryWhat can we render

,Lord

,to Thee ?

I n early editions of Luther’s Hymnal this hymn

is headed Children’s Song from the Second

Chapter of St. Luke. D rawn up by Dr. M. L.

I t is sti l l sung from the dome of the Kreuz

kirche in Dresden befo re daybreak on Christmas

morn ing.

The tune to which this hymn is usual ly sung is

also ascribed to Martin Luther, but whether hereal ly wro te i t or not i t i s diflicult to say.

Of the Father’s love bego tten is a translation

of a portion o f a poem by Prudentius, written in

the fifth century. This poem,which is of con

7° CHRISTMAS HYMNS

siderable length, deals with the miracles of Christ,and has long been a favourite with translators.

By far the most popu lar vers ion , however, is that

beginning Of the Father’s love bego tten,” which

first appeared in Hymns Ancient and M odern. I t

is the combined work of John Mason Neale and

Sir Henry Baker. The manner in which the two

hymnists made the ir translation is interesting,Each translated the hymn independently, after

wards comparing the translations. The best

verses were then chosen from each translation, and

thus the hymn was bui lt up. Each freely criti

cised the o ther’s work , the result being a very fine

hymn. I might mention that Neale had the

honour o f con tributing the first verse . Of the

entire hymn , Neale contributed five stanzas, and

Baker four. I t is usual ly sung to a very beautiful

Plainsong, Co rde natus,”so cal led from the fi rst

two wo rd s o f the o riginal Latin .

A hymn which should by rights be included in

a section devo ted to the season of Epiphany, i s

Bishop Heber’s

I t is,however, becoming year by year mo re

CHRISTMAS HYMNS 71

often sung at Christmas, and I therefore give

i t a place in this chapter. This hymn was

first publ ished in a weekly paper cal led the

Christian Observer, in 1 8 1 1 . I t did not, however,

make its appearance in any hymnal unti l after

Heber’s death, when it was publ ished in a co l lee

tion of his own hymns. I t has gradually made its

way in public favour unti l to-day it is side by side

with the same author’s “ Ho ly, ho ly, ho ly, Lo rd

God Almighty,in po int of popularity. Curiously

enough it has not yet been included in Hymns

Ancient and M odern.

The manuscript of this hymn wil l be found

in a smal l co l lection o f hymns compi led by

Bishop Heber,now depos ited in the Manuscript

Department of the British Museum . This col

lection, al l the hymns of which are written in

Bishop Hebe r’s wonderfully clear handwri t ing,

consists of two vo lumes made up of a couple

of o rdinary twopenny exercise books,which pos

Sibly belonged to one of his own children, for

the backs are scribbled al l over with problems

in Eucl id.

This MS . co l lection o f hymns,made by Heber

after see ing the Olney hymns, o f which he was

a great admirer, be longed to Dean M i lman,

having been presented to him by his friend

7: CHRISTMAS HYMNS

the Bishop. There were no hymns Heber ad

mired mo re than Dean M i lman’s, and the collec

tion contains several by the latter hymnist. After

remaining for many years in Dean M i lman’s

fami ly,i t was presented to the Bri t ish Museum.

The most successfu l Christmas hymn which

James Montgomery ever wrote was “Angels from

the realms o f glo ry,” which first appeared , l ike

many others of his compos ition , in a Sheflield

newspaper cal led the I ris , o f which he was bo th

owner and edi to r. I t was pri nted in the Christ

mas Eve number for the year 1 8 16, and attracted

no mo re no tice at the time than any o ther con

tribution in the paper. For many years it te

mained practical ly unknown , appearing in no

hymnal of no te unti l 1 825, when the autho r re

publ ished it in his Chris tian P salmist. After

that date i t began to find its way into numerous

hymnals, bo th Bri t ish and American , and tod ay

it ranks with the best of his compositions.

Mon tgomery is the autho r o f between 400 and

500 hymns, many of wh ich are wo rthy to rank

with the very best of Watts,Wesley, Cowpe r, and

Doddridge. His hymns were fi rst circulated in

manuscript, and a great numbe r o f these interest

ing documents have been preserved . He usual lywro te on half Sheets of w r i t ing paper, and each

CHRISTMAS HYMNS 75

composition bo re at the foo t the date when it was

written, and his s ignature. Though some of his

hymns came spontaneously, he co rrected a good

deal ; and even after publ ication he could se ldom

resist making further alterations when fresh edi

tions were needed . He was extreme ly sel f- criti cal,

and was as hard on his own compositions as those

o f o ther writers. A man of sterl ing qual it ies, his

character was as devo tional , S imple and refined as

his hymns. He passed away in his sleep in 1 854,

his funeral taking place with ful l public honours at

Sheffield.

“ Waken, Christian children is a Christmas

hymn which I cannot omit from men t ion in

this l ittle vo lume. I t was written when the

autho r, Samuel Co l l ingwood Hamerton, was bare ly

twenty years of age . I t appeared first of all , I

be l ieve,in a magazine and was afterwards te

published in a small book o f caro ls in 1 872— the

year the autho r d ied . I t was based on the text

They saw the young Child with Mary His

mother,and worshipped Him and they presented

unto Him gifts .” This hymn,or caro l

,as the

au tho r cal led i t , is specially su ited to chi ldren by

reason of the fo l lowing verses

Fear not then to enter,Though we cannot bring

74 CHRISTMAS HYMNS

Go ld,or myrrh, or incense

F itting for a King.

G ifts He asketh richer,Offerings costl ier sti ll ;

Yet may Chri stian childrenBring them if they w i ll.

Brighter than all jewel sShines the modest eye ;Best of gifts , He lovethInfant purity.

Mr. Hamerton was formany years Vicar of St.

Paul’s,Warwick

,where he died on January 6

,

1 872 , in the fortieth year of his age.

“Waken ,Christian ch i ldren is the on ly hymn by Mr.

Hamerton to be found in our hymnals . The

music to which i t is all ied is also by the autho r

a simple melody admirably fitting the words.

Dean Farrar has not written a great numbe r of

hymns,in fact they might al l be counted on the

fingers of one hand,but he is the author of several

caro ls, at least one of which should be in every

hymnal . I refer to his

S D W M W OL,

o f wh ich the fo l lowing is the first verse

CHRISTMAS HYMNS 75

In the field w ith the ir flocks abiding,They lay on the dewy ground,

And glimm’ring under the starl ight

The Sheep lay white around,When the l ight of the Lord streamed o

’er them,

And 10 ! from the heaven aboveAn angel leaned from the glory,And sang h is song of love ;

He sang, that first sweet Chri stmas,The song that shal l never ceaseG lory to God in the highest,On earth goo d-w i l l and peace.

This caro l , Dean Farrar tel ls me, was written

while he was an assistant master at Harrow

Schoo l . I t was composed expressly for the boys

there , and was frequently sung in the chapel. I t

has been very effectively set to music by Mr. John

Farmer in his Christ and His So ldiers.

Dean Farrar is also the author of Father,before Thy throne of l ight and God the Father,great and ho ly,

”

two hymns of great meri t,wh ich

are not in as many hymnals as they might be .

I cannot bring this chapter to a conclusion

without quo ting a l ittle sto ry relating to a Christ

mas caro l sung in the o lden days,which I came

across while making researches in the British

Museum . I t is to ld in Pasqui l’s Book o f Jests

and headed A Merrie Carro l l sung by Women.

”

“ There was sometime an o lde knight,” re lates

76 CHRISTMAS HYMNS

the chronicler,who , be ing disposed to make him

se l fe merrie in a Christmas time, sent for many of

his tenants and poore neighbours with the ir wives

to dinner ;when , having made meat to be set on

the table , would suffer no man to drinke unti l he

that was master ouer his wife shou ld sing a carro l l

to excuse al l the company. Muche niceness there

was who Should be the musician , yet wi th muche

adoe,looking one upon the o ther, wi th a dry

hemme or two , a dreamy companion drew out as

muche as he durst towards an old fashioned-ditty,

when,having made an end

, to the great comfo rt o f

the l isteners, at last it came to the women’s table ,where l ikewise commandment was given that there

should no drinke be touched unti l she that was

master ouer her husband had sung a Christmas

carro l l,whereupon they al l fel l to such a S inging

that there was never heard such a catterwalling

peece o f mus icke , whereat the knight laughed so

heartilly that it did him as muche good as a corner

o f his Christmas pie.

78 HYMNS FOR THE NEW YEAR

Whatever hymns o f Dr. Watts may cease to

be sung,“ O God, our he lp in ages past

”will

l ive so long as the Church endures. I n the

o riginal it co ns isted o f nine verses,but these

have long S ince been reduced to six. I t was

Charles Wesley who changed the opening l ine to

“ O God, our help in ages past,” besides making

many other alterations.

Dr. Watts is rightly looked upon as the founder

of English hymnody. He composed many o f his

hymns to o rder,” which probably accounts for a

great number o f them be ing very poor stuff. For

two years he is said to have written a new hymn

every week , the majority o f which were sung in

the church in Southampton where he was accus

tomed to wo rship. A sto ry is to ld that one day

Watts complained to one ofthe deacons respecting

the poo rness o f the hymns which were then in use ,and that the deacon , rather nettled at the remark,i ron ical ly suggested that he Should write some

thing better himself. Watts, not at al l o ffended ,dec ided to do so , and the fo l lowing Sunday arrived

wi th his first hymn , which was sung by the

congregation , be ing repeated after the clergyman.

This hymn was “ Beho ld the glories of the Lamb,”

and was so favourably rece ived that the autho r

was requested to write ano ther for the fo l lowing

HYMNS FOR THE NEW YEAR 79

Sunday. I t was in this way that Dr. Watts’

reputa tion as a hymn ist began.

The tune to wh ich O God, our help in ages

past” is almost universal ly sung, known as “ St.

Anne,

” was in existence some thirty years be fo re

the hymn was written , and first appeared in

Barbe/ s P salm Tunes 1 687, the compo sition

be ing ascribed to “ Mr. Denby. I t is not at al l

improbable , therefo re , that the hymn was sung to

this same tune in the days when Watts himself

jo ined in the s inging of his own compo si t ions.

Probably the greatest favouri te of al l hymns

special ly written forNew Year’s Day, and the one

which is most often sung on that occasion, is the

late Canon Tuttiett’s “ Father, let me dedicate.

”

I t is a hymn ful l of promise and hope for the

coming year. I n America it is equally popular,be ing invariably sung at every New Year’s service,bo th in chape l and church. The American

versions,however, nearly al l begin with

“ Father,here we dedicate ,

” and the number of alterations

are remarkable. The final verse in some hymnals

has been altered from the original to

If we must in grief and lossThy behest obey,

If beneath the shadowy CrossLies our homeward way ;


We w i l l th ink what Thy dear SonOnce for us became

,

And repeat ti ll l ife i s done,G lorify Thy Name.

I t is interesting to note that in this verse the only

line which adheres to the o riginal is the last“ G lo ri fy Thy Name.

”

This hymn was written sometime during the

year 1 864, while Mr. Tuttiett was Vicar of Lea

Marston , in Warwickshire. In a letter rece ived

from the author in 1 895, Canon Tuttiett tel ls me

that there is no particular incident connected with

the writing of this hymn. The autho r had been

struck for some time by the fact that hymns for

New Year’s Day were particular ly scarce, and he

therefore determined to try if he could supply

what he fel t was a very evident want. Father,let me dedicate ” was the result.

A very beautifu l hymn , written special ly for the

Old and the New Year, is Ho ratius Bonar’s “ A

few mo re years Shall ro l l.” This hymn was com

posed while Mr. Bonar was superintendent of the

Sunday Schoo l attached to the Church o f St.

James’, Le i th. I t was one of the first he ever

wro te, and was composed expressly for his Sunday

S choo l scho lars.

Dr. Bonar wro te his hymns at odd times and

8 2 HYMNS FOR THE NEW YEAR

the few o riginal hymns by the late Edward

Caswall which have gained any great ho ld on the

affections o f our own Church. I t was special ly

composed for use at Watch-night ” services on

New Year’s Eve or the day fo l lowing. Like a

great number of Mr. Caswall’s o ther hymns,this

composition was written after the autho r had

seceded to the Church of Rome, and while he

was at the Orato ry, Edgbaston . I t was first pub

lished in his M a sque of M a ry and other P oems

in 1 858 , and rapid ly made its way into public

favour with Protestants as we l l as Roman

Catho l ics.

Days and moments qu ickly flying appears in

various hymnals in various fo rms. Caswall is the

au thor of four stanzas only,the concluding stanza

as given in Hymns Acient and M odern

Whence we came, and wh ither wending ;Soon we must through darkness go ,

To inherit bl i ss unending,Or eternity of woe.

be ing by the compi lers o f that popular hymnal.

I n the Church Hymnary the hymn is given in

an extended fo rm and divided into two port ions,

each part concluding wi th the fo l lowing somewhat

curious stanza

HYMNS FOR THE NEW YEAR

Life passeth soon ;Death draweth nearKeep us, good Lord,Til l Thou appear,With Thee to l ive,With Thee to die,

With Thee to reign through eternity .

This hymn is sometimes also sung as a funeral

hymn. The exquisite me lody to which it is al lied

is by Dr. J . B . Dykes—one of the most successful

o f his many beautifu l compositions.

A hymn suitable for the New Year, though

o riginally written forAdvent, is Charles Wesley’s“ Thou Judge of quick and dead.

” I t is by no

means as o ften sung to -day as it was in Wesley’s

time,containing as it does verses of a rather

terrible nature. A hundred and fifty years ago

congregations gloried in such verses as

The solemn m idnight cry,Ye dead, the Judge i s come !Ari se and meet Him in the sky,And meet your instant doom !

but since then opin ions have changed and we have

come to regard the Great Judge of al l as merciful

rather than severe.

This hymn appears in the MS. vo lumes left

behind by Charles'

Wesley. The copy is a“ fair


one and contains no co rrections. I n John Wesley’s

Hymns for the Use of the P eople called M ethodists

this hymn is given,as o riginal ly written, in

four stanzas of e ight l ines each , but in many

co l lections it is broken up into e ight verses o f

four l ines. The final verse is one o f the finest

Charles Wesley ever wrote

0 may we thus be foundObedient to H is Word,

Attentive to the trumpet’s sound

And looking for our Lord !0 may we thus ensureA lot among the blest ;

And watch a moment to secureAn everlasting rest.

A hymn by the late M iss Frances Ridley

Havergal, which was special ly wri tten for New

Year’s Day, and which is becoming year by year

mo re universal ly sung, is“ Jesus

,blessed Saviour,

”

wri tten at Leam i ngton in November, 1 872 . This

hymn was o riginally intended for chi ldren ; but

after it was written M iss Havergal, thinking that

i t was perhaps quite as suitable for grown-uppeople as for l ittle fo lk , sco red through the wo rds“ For the l ittle ones,

” and it now appears among

those hymns special ly devoted to the New Year,

and may be sung with equal appropriateness by

e ither chi ldren or adults.


countries. The version as given in Hymns

Ancient and M odern has been a good deal altered

by the compi lers from M r. Po tt’s o riginal transla

t ion,and the fo l lowing Doxo logy added

All glory to the Father be,Al l glory to the Son,

All glory, Ho ly Ghost, to Thee,While endless ages run.

This Doxo logy is also used at the conclusion of

several o ther hymns.

Though M r. Po tt is the autho r o f several o riginal

hymns it is as a translato r tha t he is most widely

known.

V

fiavmns on the [passion

T is only natural,perhaps, that those hymns

which have been written commemo rative o f

the death o f our Lo rd should be among the

saddest in our hymnals . Many of them have

taken the i r place with the finest examples of

re l igious verse in the language, and have gained

for the ir au tho rs names which wil l be forgo tten

only when hymns cease to be sung.

I n this chapter I shal l not only refer to those

hymns which have been special ly wri tten on the

Passion,but also to several which are mo re or less

suited to that season. Among these latter may

be mentioned Cardinal Newman’s “ Praise to the

Ho l iest in the height,” which was written in 1 865

and formed part of a long poem entitled “The

Dream of Gerontius.”

This poem,as my readers are probably aware,

87

8 8 HYMNS ON THE PASSION

is descriptive o f the journey o f a soul to Paradise,and the many hymns introduced are supposed to

be sung by differen t cho i rs of Angel icals. As

the sou l is conducted into the presence chamber

of the Emmanue l, the Fifth Cho ir of Ange l i cals

sing the magn ificent l ines which have now been

incorporated into our hymnals

Praise to the Ho l iest in the height,And in the depth be prai se ;

In al l H i s words most wonderful,Most sure in al l H i s ways.

Newman himsel f though t l ittle o f the poem at

the time o f writing it. Three years after its com

posi t ion the edito r of a rel igious magazine wro te

to the cardinal asking him to contribute “ some

thing ”to his paper. He was just about to write

and decl ine when he bethought himse l f of the

D ream,

” and sen t it. The composi t ion was pub

lished and immediate ly attracted attention , though

it never became real ly popular. The same year

that saw its publicat ion the compilers of one o f

our most popular hymnals requested permission

to insert the hymn , as sung by the Fi fth Cho i r of

Angel icals,”to thei r appendix. This the cardinal

readily granted , and Dr. Dykes wro te for i t the

very fine tune entitled Gerontius ,”to which it is

now invariably sung. As in the case of “ Lead,

90 HYMNS ON THE PASSION

austere and splendid ado ration,‘ Praise to the

Ho l iest in the height.’

The names of G ladstone and Gordon wil l long

be l inked together,and it is strange as i t is

touching to recal l the fact that when al l hope had

been abandoned, the hero o f Khartoum fo rtified

himself for death with the very wo rds which were

the comfo rt and conso lation of Mr. G ladstone

during his last days on earth

0 Generous Love ! that He who smoteIn man for man the foe !

The double agony in man

For man Shoul d undergo.

A hymn special ly written for Passiontide, to

which is attached a double interest from the fact

that the wo rds and music are by bro ther arid

S ister, is

And now, beloved Lord, Thy Soul res igningInto Thy Father’s arms w ith consc ious Wil l,

Calmly, with reverend grace, Thy Head inc l ining,The throbbing Brow and labouring Breast grow sti l l .

This hymn was written in 1 868 by Mrs. El iza

S ibbald Alderson , s ister to the late Dr. Dykes. In

a letter rece ived from a relative of Mrs . Alderson’s ,

I learn that the hymn was written at her bro ther’s

request, who used to affirm that his sister had

unusual powers as a hymnist. After it was written

HYMNS ON THE PASSION 9 1

Mrs. Alderson handed a Copy of the hymn to

Dr. Dykes,who composed for i t the we l l-known

tune Commendatio .

”

I n the o riginal this hymn consists of six verses,but many co l lections omit the fo l lowing stanzas

0 love o’er morta l agony victorious,

Now i s Thy triumph ! now that Cross shall sh ineTo earth’s remotest age revered and glorious,Of suffering’s deepest mystery the S ign.

The present, past, and future here are blending,Moment supreme in this worl d

’s history,M id darkness , opening graves, and mounta ins tending ,New l ight i s dawning on humanity.

This is the best known of al l Mrs. Alderson’s

hymns,and appears in a great number of collec

tions. There are , however, several o thers of her

hymns for which Dr. Dykes wrote special tunes ,the most popular be ing that for “ Almsgiving

,

”

“ Lo rd o f G lory, who hast bought us.”

Mrs. Alderson’s husband was for many years

chaplain to the West Riding House of Co rrect ion

in Wakefie ld , and it was here that the greater

number o f Mrs. Alderson’s hymns were written.

The most popu lar hymn in the English language,according to a general consensus of opinions, is“ Rock of ages, cleft for me,

” which is essentially

a hymn for Passiontide. I t was written, as all


the wo rld knows,by the R ev . Augustus Montague

Toplady,sometime curate- in-charge o f the parish

o f Blagdon, on the Mendips, about e ight miles

from Wel ls. I n an interesting letter published

some time ago in the Times, S irW i l l iam Henry

Wills says : “ Toplady was one day overtaken by

a heavy thundersto rm in Burrington Coombe , on

the edge o f my property (Blagdon), a rocky glen

running up into the heart of the Mendip range ,and there, taking shelter between two massive

pi l lars of our native l imestone, he penned the

hymn

Rock of ages, c left for me,Let me h ide myself in Thee.

Whether this sto ry has a greater claim to

credence than many o thers wh ich naturally grow

around world~known compos itions , l canno t say,but I fear that it must be re legated to the same

catego ry as the sto ry somet imes to ld regarding the

sea -bird and “ Jesu,Lover of my soul.”So far as the

histo ry o f its compo sit io n can be traced , i t appears

to have been wri tten spontaneously, sent to the

Gospel M ag a z ine, Where i t first appeared in 1775,

and afterwards republished in Toplady’s co l lection

of hymns. I t was written only three years before

the author’s early death , which occurred on August


for approval,and his rendering, as translated back

into English,read like this

Very old stone, spl it for my benefit,Let me absent mysel f under one of your fragments.

I t is not difficult to be l ieve, after this, that many

of the nat ives see l i ttle that is beautiful in our

most cherished hymns and poems.

William Cowper’s most famous and widely

known hymn is said to be the one he wrote for

Passiontide

There i s a fountain fi l led w ith bloodDrawn from Immanue l’s ve ins ;And S inners plunged beneath its floodLose al l their gui l ty stains .

This hymn was written about the year 1770,

and was based on the text which usual ly heads

the compo sition in the majo rity of our hymnals“ I n that day there shal l be a fountain opened to

the house of David and to the inhabitants of

Jerusalem for Sin and for uncleanness.’ I t was

one o f the first hymns he wro te after his first

attack o f tempo rary madness, and as this period

of the poe t’s l ife always seems to have a fascina

tion for his admirers , I quote a passage taken from

an article published in theNorth American R ev iew

for January, 1 834, which appears to me to give

HYMNS ON THE PASSION 95

the best account of this distressing incident yet

published. My readers are probably we l l aware

that Cowper was of a painfully nervous and shy

temperament, his extreme sensi t iveness probably

account ing in no smal l measure for his malady.

He had been promised a post as Clerk of the

Journal to the House of Lo rds, an d was happy

in the con templation of his approaching appo int

ment, when , to his utter dismay, he learned that it

would be necessary to undergo a public examin

ation befo re the House befo re he entered upon his

duties.

As the time drew nigh, his agony became

more and mo re intense ; he hoped and be l ieved

that madness would come to re l ieve him ; he

attempted also to make up his mind to commit

suicide,though his conscience bo re stern testi

mony against i t ; he could not by any argument

persuade himsel f that it wa s righ t, but this

desperat ion prevailed , and he pro cured from an

apothecary the means of sel f-destruction. On the

day befo re his publ ic appearance was to be made ,he happened to no t ice a letter in the newspaper,which to his d iso rdered m ind seemed like a mal ig

nant l ibe l on himself. He immediate ly threw

down the paper and rushed into the fie lds,deter

mined to die in a ditch , but the thought struck


him that he might escape from the country. With

the same vio lence he proceeded to make has ty

preparations for his fl ight ; but while he was

engaged in packing his portmanteau his mind

changed , and he threw himself into a coach,

o rdering the man to drive to the Tower wharf,

intending to throw h imsel f into the river, and not

reflecting that it would be impo ssible to aecom

plish his purpose in that public spo t. On ap

proach ing the water, he found a po rter seated

upon some goods : he then returned to the coach

and was conveyed to his lodgings at the Temple.

On the way he attempted to drink the laudanum ,

but as o ften as he raised it, a convu lsive agitation

of his frame prevented its reach ing his l ips ; and

thus,regretting the loss of the Opportunity, but

unable to avail himsel f of it, he arrived , half dead

wi th anguish, at his apartment. He then shut

the doors and threw himsel f upon the bed with

the laudanum near him,trying to lash himse l f up

to the deed but a vo ice within seemed constantly

to forbid it, and as o ften as he ex tended his hand

to the po ison , his fingers were contracted and he ld

back by spasms.

At this time some one of the inmates of the

place came in , but he concealed his agitation , and

as soon as he was left alone, a change came over


he was we l l,mentally and physical ly, and during

that period a great deal o f his rel igious verse was

written . Then his mind gave way once mo re and

he made ano ther attempt to commi t suicide. He

was, however, again frustrated , this time by the

action of his coachman who had rece ived o rders

to drive to the river. The man purpo sely lost his

way and brought the poe t back to his home again .

His reason once more returned , and in one of

those fi ts o f contrition which appear to have

swift ly fo l lowed on every period o f madness; he

wro te that hymn which has since been a comfo rt

to countless thousands

God moves in a mysterious way,H i s wonders to perform

He plants H i s footsteps in the sea ,

And rides upon the storm.

To an American writer we are indebted for one

o f the most beau t i fu l hymns in the language and

one which is particularly su ited to Passiont ide. I

refer to

My faith looks up to Thee,Thou Lamb of Calvary,Saviour D iv ine

Now hear me wh ile I prayTake allmy gui lt away0 letme from th i s day

Be whol ly Th ine.

HYMNS ON THE PASSION 99

This hymn was written by the greatest of al l

American hymnists, the late Dr. Ray Palmer.

Although Dr. Palmer has been dead but a few

years this compo sition o f his has been a general

favourite among al l denominations for close upon

three-quarters of a century. From this it may

be inferred that the autho r wro te i t at a very early

age. This is so in fact it was the firs t hymn Dr.

Palmer ever compo sed , and it is as strange as it is

true that this initial perfo rmance in hymnody

should be by far his most successful. Dr. Palmer

is the autho r of many o ther hymns , not one of

which has attained , in this country at least, to the

popularity enjoyed by the composition at present

under consideration.“ My faith looks up to Thee was written a few

months after the author had graduated at Yale

Co l lege, New Haven, and while he was acting as

tutor in a schoo l in New Yo rk. Though Dr.

Palmer has left no record to the effect, I should be

incl ined to be l ieve that he was in low spirits at

the time, possibly fee l ing somewhat home s ick

owing to his be ing away from relations and

friends. I t is a wel l-known fact that he was

greatly affected when compos ing the hymn , and

he is said to have written the concluding verse

with the deepes t emotion and in tears.

I oo HYMNS ON THE PASSION

Very soon after i t was written the hymn was

published in a l ittle vo lume o f Spiritual Song s ,

and was there set to a me lody by the late Lowe l l

Mason,cal led Ol ivet, a tune to which it has ever

since been sung bo th here and in America.

My fa i th looks up to Thee is unique in many

respects. Though i t was the fi rst hymn the autho r

ever wro te i t became the mo st popular ; it was

written, practically, by a boy i t was set to music

the year of i ts birth and has bee n sung to the

same melody ever since ; and, lastly, i t was a

popular hymn for nearly sixty years during the

autho r’s l ifetime. Among American hymns,there

fo re,none surely has a more interesting reco rd

than My faith looks up to Thee.

”

A hymn for Passiontide, which was written by

Isaac Watts,but which is not now found in many

co l lections, is

Not al l the blood of beastsOn Jew ish altars S lain

Coul d give the gui lty consc ience peace,Or wash away our stain.

There is a general impression to the effect that

this hymn was written by Dr. Watts after a visit

paid to Smithfield marke t. There he had stood

for a few moments contemplating the newly-slain

animals, and the incident soon suggested to the

1 0 2 HYMNS ON THE PASSION

The task Thy wi sdom hath ass igned0 let me cheerful ly fulfi l ;

In al l Thy works Thy presence find,And prove Thy good and perfect wi l l.

This is a considerable improvement, but who is

answerable for the alteration I am unable to say.

The concluding verse of Not al l the blood of

beasts is rather a curious one

Bel ieving, we rejo iceTo feel the curse removeWe bless the Lamb with cheerful vo ice,And trust H i s bleeding love.

Altogether the hymn is one which suits the

e ighteenth century better than the twentieth.

Somehow it misses the del icacy and refinement

which is so characteristic of the best of Watts’

hymns. I t canno t, for instance, be compared with

his tender and beautiful

There i s a land of pure del ight,Where sa ints immortal re ign,Infin ite day exc ludes the night,And pleasures banish pain.

In connection with this hymn , which is not

of course one for Passiontide,i t is related that it

was written by Watts before he had reached his

twenty-first birthday,and that the theme was

HYMNS ON THE PASSION 1 03

suggested by the beautiful View of Southampton

Water as seen from the I sle of Wight. There is

strong reason to be l ieve that this is co rrect, for i f

we study the hymn we shal l find that there are

many expressions contained in it which substantiate

the theory Death l ike a narrow sea,

” “ Sweet

fie lds beyond the swel l ing flood Stand dressed in

l iv ing green , etc .

Over 500 hymns by Isaac Watts are said to be

in common use throughout the Engl ish - speaking

world,but the estimate is probably exaggerated .

Half that numbe r would certain ly be nearer the

mark, and even this is remarkable when we con

sider that the average hymnal contains but 500

contributions. L ike his contemporary hymnists

Watts wro te much that was exce l lent bu t also

much that was inferio r, and it is only the winnow

ing of years which brings al l the wheat to the

surface. As generat ion fo l lows generation the

number o f his hymns to be found in our collec

t ions may lessen unti l perhaps only thirty or forty

remain, but these wil l stand the test of al l times

and be sung as long as Christ ianity endures

surely a splendid monument to the memo ry of

any man .

A hymn which has been described as the most

pathetic o f the M iddle Ages is the S tabat Mater


Do lo rosa,rendered famil iar to us by the transla

t ion

At the Cross her station keepingStood the mournful Mother weep ing,Where He hung, the dying Lord ;

For h er soul of joy bereaved,Bow’

d with angui sh , deeply grieved,Felt the sharp and pierc ing sword.

This hymn has been ascribed to at least six

authors,and

,though no really satisfactory conclu

sion has ever been come to , i t i s general ly con

s idered to be the wo rk of e ither Pope Innocent I I I

or Jacobus de Benedictus . I f the opinion of a

dozen hymno logists were taken it would probably

be found that the majo rity were in favour of the

latter be ing the real autho r. But after so many

centuries and on such slender testimony obtain

able it is impossible to decide with abso lute cer

tainty, and l ike many ano ther hymn the Stabat

Mater wi ll have to be ascribed ,i f safety be de

sired,to that mysterious individual an anony

mous writer.”

Of the translations of the hymn there have been

many, the most popular be ing that by Edward

Caswall which appeared in 1 867. This vers ion

has appeared in more hymnals than al l the o ther

translations put together, though in some instances


Another great hymn which, though not perhaps

o riginal ly written for Passiontide, has come to be

general ly used for the season commemo rative of the

death o f ourLord,i s My God , I love Thee ;not

because,

” a translation of 0 Deus ego amo Te,

”

usual ly ascribed to St. Francis ! avier. That it

was written by the great Roman Catho l i c mis

s ionary has never conclusive ly been proved , but the

probabil ity is that it was . I t is a hymn which has

been known and loved by many countries formany

generations, and the translations are numerous. In

Great Britain that made by Edward Caswall has

gained the greatest amount o f favour, and is to be

found in the greatest numbe r o f English hymnals.

Exception has been taken by several edito rs to

the first verse of Mr. Ca swall’s translation,and for

this reason have omi tted it from the i r co l lections .

The verse, as my readers are probably aware, se ts

fo rth the terrible punishment meted out to those

who do not love God

My God, I love Thee ; not becauseI hope for Heaven thereby,

Nor yet because who love Thee not

Must burn eternally.

I n some co l lections this verse has been sl ightly

altered ,the last two l ines reading

HYMNS ON THE PASSION


Are lost eternally.

Perhaps the difli culty might be got over by chang

ing the wo rds lost or burn to“mourn

My God I love Thee ; not becauseI hope for Heaven thereby,


Must mourn eternal ly.

This is taking a l ibe rty with a hymn for which

I have not the excuse of be ing a hymnist to offer,but it seems a pity that owing to a wo rd unfor

tunately chosen a composition so beautiful should

be omitted from any co l lection.

That very wel l-known Passiontide hymn ,“Sweet

the moments, rich in blessing,” is the combined

work of two hymnists, James Allen and the R ev .

and Hon. Walter Shirley, grandson o f Earl

Ferrers. I t was first publ ished in the Kendal

Hymn Booh, but in a fo rm very different from

that now found in most modern co l lect ions. Had

not M r. Shirley taken it in hand and recast it,

there is more than a possibil ity that to -day the

composition would have been fo rgotten . From

half a dozen somewhat commonplace verses he

succeeded in producing what has become one of

the mo st prized hymns in the language .


Sweet the moments, rich in bless ing,Which before the Cross I spend,Life

,and health, and peace possess ing

From the S inner’s dying Friend.

James Al len must have been a somewhat re

markable man. After taking his degree at Oxford

he appears to have become a lay reader of the

Church of England , but owing to his peculiar

temperament did not get on very happi ly with the

clergymen with whom his wo rk brought h im in

contact.‘

He jo ined various meteo ric sects, w ith

none of which,however

,he remained forany length

o f time, and eventual ly bui lt a chapel of his own,

where he conducted service accord ing to his own

notions. He was the author o f several o riginal

hymns, and was the friend o f the celebrated Lady

Huntingdon. He ass isted in the compi lat ion of

the Kendal Hymn Book,and after leading an

uneven tfu l l ife , d ied at Gayle , in 1 804, at the age

o f severity.

James Al len’s fel low-hymnist,Walter Shirley,

his senio r by nine years,was an I rish rector

,and

a poet o f some abil ity. He was a far better

hymnist than Allen,be ing the author of some

real ly fine rel igious verse , his Good Friday hymn ,“ Flow fast, my tears, the cause is great, be ing

especial ly beautiful . I t is doubtful, taking al l things


My God , myGod, why hast Thou fo rsaken Me

The o riginal manuscript o f this very fine compo s i

tion has been preserved , and is now in the posse s

sion of the late hymnist’s son, the R ev . Frank

El lerton.

I understand that the hymn was o riginal ly

written in three stanzas,the fo l lowing verse be ing

subsequently added befo re publication in Canon

Ellerton’

s co l lection

Lord, should fear and angui sh ro l lDarkly o’er my s inful soul,Thou

,who once wast thus bereft

That Thine own m ight ne’er be left,Teach me by that b itter cryIn the gloom to know Thee nigh.

I n SirHen ry Baker’s hymnal this composi tion

is placed next to the S taba t Mater,“ At the Cross

her station keeping,” and perhaps no higher praise

could be given to a hymn than to say it is in every

way worthy o f its companion. Indeed it wou ld be

difficult to say which o f the two hymns is the

finen

Of the many hymns which Dean M i lman wro te,and which were published in 1 827, al l have stood

the test of time, and are to -day in common use:

throughout the English -speaking wo rld . Probably\

the only o ther writer of which the same can be

HYMNS ON THE PASSION 1 1 1

said is his friend and fe l low -hymn ist, Reginald

Heber. Dean Mi lman’s hymns include two for

Lent, two funeral hymns, two forAdvent , and one

each for Easter,Those at sea ,

” and Passiontide

This last is a remarkably beau t ifu l hymn , very

o riginal as to construction , and contain ing much

fine thought finely expressed. I t may not be very

we l l known to some o fmy readers , and I therefo re

quote the fi rst and last verses

Bound upon the accursed Tree,Faint and bleeding

,who i s He ?

By the eyes so pale and d im,

Streaming blood and writh ing l imb ;By the flesh w ith scourges torn ;By the crown of twi sted thorn ;By the s ide so deeply pierced ;By the baffled, burn ing th irst ;By the drooping, death -dewed brow :

Son of Man ! ’tis Thou ! ’ti s Thou !

Bound upon the accursedi

’

Tree,

Dread and awful , who i s He ?By the prayer for them that slewLord ! they know not wha t they do !By the spo i led a nd empty grave ;By the soul s He died to s aveBy the conquest He hath won ;By the saints before H i s throne ;By the rainbow round H i s browSon of God ! ’ti s Thou ! ’ti s Thou !


This composit ion , which in the o riginal consists

o f four stanza s of ten l ines each, was written at

Heber’s request, and is to be found in the Bishop’s

book of manuscript hymns now located in the

British Museum.

AS is we l l known,Bishop Hebe r thought more

highly of M i lman’s hymns than he did of those of

any o ther writer who l ived during his own times.

From a letter written to me some years ago by

Dean M i lman’s son I quo te the fo l lowing interest~

ing paragraphs

With regard to my father’s manuscript hymns,writes Mr. Arthur M i lman ,

“ I have never even

seen one, and I doubt very much whether they can

have survived . I have in my possession several

letters written to my father by Heber,and as they

may possibly interest your readers I send you one

or two extracts. Under date o f May 1 1 , 1 82 1 ,

which would be a couple of years before his

appo intment to the see of Calcutta, Heber writes

to my father“ ‘ I rejo ice to hear so good an account of the

progress which your saint (the Martyr of Antioch)i s making towards her crown , and I feel really

grateful for the kindness which enables you while

so occupied to reco l lect my hymn-book. I have

during the last mon th received some assistance


W e s ing the praise of Him who died,Of Him who died upon the Cross ;

The s inner’s Hope let men deride,For th is we count the worl d but loss.

This hymn was first publ ished in 1 8 1 5, and

quickly found i ts way into the co l lections o f every

denominat ion . In S irHenry Baker’s hymnal the

fo l lowing verse has been added

To Chri st, who won for s inners graceBy bitter grief and angui sh sore,

Be prai se from al l the ransom’d race

For ever and for evermore.

Thomas Ke l ly, the son of an I rish judge,was

bo rn in Dubl in in 1769 . I t had been his intention

to fo l low in the footsteps o f his father, but on

leaving Trinity Co l lege he altered his m ind and

took Ho ly Orders. Owing, however, to constan t

friction with the Primate o f I re land he left the

Established Church , and for many years preached

in unconsecrated buildings. He was a man pos

sessed of great magnetic powers, and his fine

o rations attracted considerable crowds . His hymns

were first sung by his own congregation , but after

publ ication were eagerly seized upon by compi lers

of every class of hymnal. The requests for the

use of his compo sit ions invariably met with a

ready and cheerful response.

HYMNS ON THE PASSION 1 1 5

S ingularly genial and kindly'

in disposition,Mr.

Kel ly was greatly beloved by the poor of Dublin,

who could always count on his assistance when

times were more than o rdinarily bad. I t is to ld in

the I rish capital how on one occasion,when a

worthy couple were passing through a period o f

exceptional hardship and privation, the husband

endeavoured to cheer his d isconso late wife with the

remark : Hould up, Bridget, bedad , there’s always

M istherKe lly to pul l us out o f the bog afthe r we’ve

sunk for thelast time.

” This somewhat paradoxical

remark is eminently characteristic of the faith

which the poo r had in Mr. Kel ly ; no deserving

case ever appealed to h im in vain , and his memo ry

is sti l l mo st affect ionately cherished in the capital

o f his “ most distresthful country.

”

Like Archbishop Maclagan, M r. Kel ly was also

a composer of considerable abi l ity, and many o f

his hymns were first set to music by the author

himse lf. Soon after the publ ication of his collec

tion of hymns in 1 8 1 5 he issued a companion

vo lume containing tunes suited to every kind Of

metre to be found in his hymnal. All these tunes

he composed himsel f, and among them are many

of great beauty and original ity. Mr. Kel ly died

in Dublin in 1 854 at the advanced age o f e ighty

five.


The late R ev .Frederick Wil l iam Harris, formany

years vicar o f Medmenham ,was the autho r of one

hymn so excel lent as to be wo rthy a place in every

co l lection . I t was written specially forPassiontide,and appeared first

,I bel ieve

,in a magazine after

which it was inserted in Prebendary Thring s col

lection. Here is the Opening verse

It i s finished—I t i s fini shed ! ” all the untold agony,When w ith death and hel l He wrestled all alone upon theTree ;

Al l alone—nor man nor angel near to comfort andsustain,

E’en the cry of mortal angui sh

,

“ E l i ! E l i ” ! spent inva in.

I n a note on this hymn Prebendary Thring

says : “ The first l ine o f each verse as o riginal ly

written began with the Greek wo rd Terexea ra c, o f

which I t is finished is the translation.

”

The final verse to this hymn differs somewhat

from the rest, containing as it does an extra l ine,which renders necessary a change in the musical

sett ing. I t is very fine, however, and as the hymn

is not so wel l known as it Should be I quo te this

stanza

It i s finished— It i s fini shed ! ” al l by heaven decreed of

old,

In the sacred volume written, or by ancient seer foretold


of which is very we l l known , even by those

use this hymnal . I t is by his l itanies that

Po l lock wi l l be longest remembered. He died in

1 896.

V I

Easter thymns

HE Resurrection was a favourite subject wi th

the majority o f ancient hymnists , and as a

consequence a large proportion o f those hymns

which we are accustomed to sing on Easter Dayhave come to us from the Latin . Foremost

among these is “ Jesus Christ is risen to -day,” a

hymn the authorship of which is shrouded in

mystery. I t has,however, been conclusive ly

proved to be a composition of the fourteenth cen

tury. Curiously enough the namek ’

Of‘

thCT '

t-

f-

a

-

n-

Sf

lator is also unknown .

This hymn,very much as we sing it to -day, first

appeared in a book entitled Lyra Da v idica , pub

lished in 1708, the fi rst verse reading

Jesus Chri st i s ri sen to -day,

Halle -Hal lelujah.Our triumphant Holy~day ;Who s o lately on the Cross,Suffer’d to redeem our loss.

1 1 9

1 z o EASTER HYMNS

No name of autho r was appended , and little

inquiry , if any, appears to have been made as to

who i t was who had contributed to our national

hymnary so fine a translation of the Latin hymn.

Three stanzas only were given , the fourth, the

Doxo logy, as published in some hymnals , be ing

afterwards written by Charles Wesley. As this

Doxo logy may not be in the hymnals used by

some o f my readers, I give i t

S ing we to our God aboveHallelujah !

Prai se eternal a s H i s love ;Halleluj ah !

Praise Him, al l ye heavenly host ;Hallelujah

Father, Son , and Holy Ghost ;Hal lelujah

The really magnificent melody with which this

hymn wil l always be asso ciated , rendering i t a

veritable “ triumphant song,” appeared in con

junction with the hymn in Lyra Dav idica . I t

seems quite in keeping with the mystery sur

rounding the au tho rsh ip Of hymn and translation

that the music should also be by an unknown

composer. And so i t is. No name was attached

to the setting, and though various composers have

been credited with its autho rship, i t has never

been conclusively proved who was the real com

EASTER HYMNS 1 2 I

po ser. The mystery surround ing the autho rs o f

hymn,translation

,and music

,wil l probably never

be unravel led in this wo rld.

Ano ther hymn which has come to us from the

Latin, and one o f which no thing is known regard

ing autho rship, i s“ The stri fe is o

’

er, the battle

done.

” I t is Said to have been written during

the twel fth century , but even this info rmation is

scarce ly to be rel ied upon . Dr. Neale and Dr.

Bonar have bo th made translations, but the i r

versions have long since been cast into obscurityby Mr Francis Po tt’s spi rited rendering

The strife is o’er, the battle done !

The V ictory of l ife i s won !The song of triumph has begun !

Alleluia !

Very soon after Mr. Po tt publ ished his transla

tion in 1 86 1 , i t was included in a great number

o f hymnals , usually in an altered condition . I n

one popular co l lection the on ly verse given as

the translato r wrote i t is the last. I n many

hymnals the fo l lowing verse is omitted

He c losed the yawning gates of hel l ;The bars from heaven’s high portals fell,Let hymns of praise H i s triumph tel l !

Alleluia

The melody called “ Vi ctory, to which this

1 2 2 EASTER HYMNS

hymn has for many years been sung,and which

commences, as my readers wil l reco l lect, with a

triumphant trio of al leluias, is from one of Pales

trina’s o rato rios.

M r. Francis Po tt, besides be ing a translato r, is

also known as a writer of original hymns. His“ Ange l vo ices ever s inging,

” and “ Lift up your

heads, eternal gates,”

are to be found in many

hymnals. I n a characteristi c l ittle no te rece ived

from Mr. Po tt some time ago , I was info rmed that

he could te l l me no thing about his hymns,from

the simple fact that there was nothing interes ting

to tel l .

One o f the finest and most beauti ful o riginal

Easter hymns we possess is

Chri st is risen ! Chri st i s r i sen !He ha th burst H i s bonds in twain,

by the late R ev . Archer Gurney. This hymn was

first published in a l ittle vo lume o f original and

co l lected hymns, entitled A Book of P ra ise, com

pi led by Mr. Gurney in 1 860. The compiler’s

own copy, which he used when chaplain o f the

Court Church, Paris, is beside me as I write,having been sent to me by a relative of the late

hymnist. I t is marked “Altar,” and is a very

smal l vo lume bound in clo th . The book contains

1 24 EASTER HYMNS

Chri st i s ri sen ! Chri st i s ri sen !Alleluia ! swel l the strain.

The melody, called“ R esurrexit, which was

special ly written to the wo rds o f Mr. Gurney’s

hymn , is by the late SirArthur Sul l ivan , and is

one o f the finest tunes in our hymn books. I t

was written about the year 1 874.

M r. Archer Gurney, be sides be ing a hymnist

was also a very clever musician,and many o f his

hymns were fi rst set to music by himse lf. Mrs.

Do rothy Gurney,the autho ress o f 0 pe rfect love,

al l human thought transcending ,” is the daughter

in- law o f the late M r. Archer Gurney.

Jesus l ives ! no longer now Can thy terro rs,death , appal us is the late M iss Frances E. Cox’s

translation o f the German hymn by C. F. Gel lert.

I t is general ly regarded by hymno logists to be

the finest o f the many fine hymns by this writer,and is to be found in nearly al l German hymnals

published during the last hundred years. In

Germany, where i t is as great a favourite at

Easter services as in th is country, i t is also very

often sung at funerals.

S ince M iss Cox published herexcel lent transla

tion of this hymn in 1 840 i t has become very

popular in Great Britain and al l English-speak

ing countries , few hymnals publ ished during the

EASTER HYMNS 1 25

last half century omitting it. In many co l lee

tions,however, the opening l ines have been

altered to

Jesus l ives ! thy terrors nowCan, 0 death , no more appa l us,

probably due to the fact that the fi rst l ine is apt

to convey a wrong impression unless due regard

be paid to punctuation.

Though several translations of o ther hymns by

Gel lert have been made , i t cannot be said that

any one of them has gained a popular i ty in this

country equal to that enjoyed by “ Jesus l ives ! ”

Christian Furchtegott Gel lert died at Le ipzig in

1769 at the age of fo rty- four.

From the Greek we get a very beautiful Easter

hymn,which has been translated by John Mason

Neale

Come, ye faithful, raise the stra inOf triumphant gladness.

This hymn is by St. John of Damascus, and was

written some time during the latter half o f the

e ighth century. S ince Dr. Neale’s translation ap

peared in 1 862 this hymn has taken its place

among those most frequently sung at Easter. In

his Hymns of the Ea stern Church, where the

translation fi rst appeared , i t is given in four

1 26 EASTER HYMNS

stanzas,but the fo l lowing verse is usual ly omitted

in most hymnals

Ne ither m ight the gates of death,Nor the tomb’s dark portal,

Nor the watchers , nor the sea l,Hold Thee as a mortal

But to -day ami dst the TwelveThou didst stand, bestowingThat Thy peace which evermorePasseth human knowing.

I n one hymnal the fo l lowing verse is sub

stituted

Alleluia now we cry

To our King Immortal,Who triumphant burst the barsOf the tomb’s dark portal ;Alleluia, w ith the SonGod the Father prais ing ;Alleluia yet againTo the Spirit ra i s ing.

Dr. Neale was the first to open up to us the

beauties of Oriental hymnody. Before his trans

lations began to find the i r way into our hymnals

the lyrics o f the Eastern Church were practically

unknown . In the Preface to his fi rst vo lume o f

Greek translations the autho r says I t is a most

remarkable fact, and one which shows how very

l ittle interest has been hitherto felt in the Eas tern

EASTER HYMNS 1 27

Church,that they are l iteral ly the only English

versions of any part of the treasures of Oriental

hymno logy.

’ This was a fact. S ince Dr. Neale’s

wo rk appeared, however, other writers have essayed

to fo l low in his footsteps, and have given us

further translations from the Greek, but the

majo rity o f them compare very poorly with Mr.

Neale’s excel lent versions.

Another hymn which has come to us from

Germany is “ Christ, the Lord , i s risen again ,”

by M ichae l We isse. Though translations o f this

hymn were published in England as early as 1750

i t was not until M iss Catherine W inkworth issued

her Lyra Germanica in 1 858 that the hymn

began to make i ts way into English co l lections.

I t has now become one of the most popular o f

al l Easter hymns and is to be met with in most

modern hymnals.

M ichae l Weisse was a S i lesian, being born at

Ne isse about the year 1480. For many years

he l ived in a monastery in Breslau,where a con

s iderable numbe r o f his hymns were wri tten . He

ul t imate ly left Breslau and jo ined the Bohemian

Brethren at Landskron. Here he spent the re

ma inderof h is l ife preaching and writing hymns.

He died in 1 540.

“ Christ, the Lo rd , is risen again is the on ly

1 28 EASTER HYMNS

hymn by We isse wh ich can be said to have

gained any great popularity in this country.

Alle luia, al lelu ia, Hearts to heaven and vo ices

raise,

” an Easter hymn of great beauty, is by the

late Christopher Wordswo rth,Bishop o f Linco ln.

I t first appeared in a co l lection of the bishop’s

hymns,after which it was included in several

hymnals. I t had the advantage o f be ing set to

music by the late Arthur Sul l ivan , who success

ful ly interpreted the joyful nature o f the wo rds,the result be ing an inspiring hymn, bo th as re

gards music and wo rds.

I t is based on the wo rds taken from the 1 5th

chapter of the second book o f Co rinthians Now

is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first

fruits o f them that slept.” In most hymnals i t

is given in an unaltered form with the except ion

of the fo l lowing verse,which is usual ly omitted .

Now the iron bars are broken, Chri st from death to l i fei s bornG lorious l ife, and l ife immortal, on the holy Easter morn °

Chri st has triumphed, and we conquer by H i s m ightyenterpri se,We with Him to l ife eternal by Hi s Resurrection ri se.

Th i s hymn is ful l o f praise and hope and is one

of the mos t lyrical compositions Dr. Wo rdsworth

ever penned.

1 30 EASTER HYMNS

ing one of the finest sacred lyrics in the language.

I t has been altered by various edito rs and appears

in few hymnals exactly as the author wro te it.

In Thring’s co l lection only one stanza is by

Mr. Bridges, the remain ing four be ing the wo rk

of the edito r. The fo l lowing verse is o ften

omitted

Crown Him th e V irg in’s Son,The God Incarnate born,Whose arm those crimson trophies wonWhich now His brow adorn :

Fruit of the mystic Rose,As of that Rose the Stem ;

The Root whence mercy ever flows ,The Babe of Bethlehem.

Matthew Bridges was born a t Maldon , in

Essex , in 1 800,and

,though brought up a membe r

of the Church of England, early in l ife seceded to

the Church o f Rome. He published two smal l

vo lumes o f hymns,one in 1 848 and the o ther

in 1 852 . From these the majo rity o f h is hymns

have been taken , not one o f which,however, can

compare in po int of popularity with his“ Crown

Him with many crowns. Mr. Bridges towards

the close of his l ife l ived in Canada. He died in

Quebec in 1 893 .

“ Rejo ice, the Lo rd is King is e qual ly suited

to e i ther Easter or Ascension. I t is by Charles

EASTER HYMNS 1 3 1

Wesley, and was first printed in 1746. In po in t o f

popularity and the number of hymnals in which i t

is to be found it compares favourably with the

same author’s Hark, the herald angels s ing,”

and “ Jesu, Lover o f my soul .” In many collec

tions the fo l lowing verse is omi tted

He all His foes shal l quel l,Shal l al l our s ins destroy,And every bosom swel lWith pure seraphic joy ;Lift up your heart, l ift up your vo ice,Rejo ice

,again I say, rejo ice.

This hymn attracted the attention o f Hande l,

who wro te for'

it the very fine melody called

Gopsal.”The o riginal o f this setting is at present

located in the Fi tzw i l l iam Museum,toge ther w ith

many o ther of Hande l’s manuscripts. I t is o ften

thought that the small no tes for the o rgan,which

my readers w i l l perhaps reco l lect are inter

polated between the two l ines of the refrain, were

added afterwards by another composer, but this is

not the case. The tune has been co l lated with

the original and agrees with it in every particu lar.“ Rejo ice, the Lo rd is King,

” is almost the only

hymn to be found in our hymnals which has been

set to music by Hande l .

All hai l the power of Jesus’ Name

,though

1 3 2 EASTER HYMNS

se ldom placed among the hymns for Easter or

Ascension , is distinctly suitable fore ither o ccasion.

I t was written by Edward P erronet, and publ ished

in the Gospel M ag az ine in I 780. I t is somewhat

curious that the tune by Shrubsole, which is as

famous as the hymn itse l f, was published at the

same time and in the same magazine . This tune,which might have been by the same hand as

penned that to“ LO

,He comes with clouds

descending,” received its name of “ M i les Lane,

”

i t is said , from the chape l in M i les Lane, Lon

don, where Shrubsole was for many years

o rganist.

The hymn as o riginal ly published contained

e ight stanzas . The fo l lowing verse, however, is

general ly omitted

Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre,And as they tune it fallBefore H i s face who tunes their cho ir ,And crown Him Lord of all .

This verse is rather a clumsy one, and does not

add in any degree to the value or beauty of the

hymn.

In Wesley’s Hymn Book appears ano ther verse

which is not by P erronet at al l. I t is the last in

the hymn, and reads as fo l lows

I 34 EASTER HYMNS

I wish to add,he said

,and this for the

publ isher as we l l as formysel f - that any compi ler

o f a future hymnal is perfectly wel come to make

use o f anything contained in this l ittle book,only

he will, perhaps, in that case, let us have a Copy of

his Hymnal when published . And I am very

glad to have this oppo rtunity o f saying how

strongly I fee l that a hymn , whether o rig inal or

trans lated,ought, the momen t i t is publ ished , to

become the common property o f Chr istendom,

the autho r retain i ng no pr ivate right in i t what

ever. I suppose that no one ever sent fo rth a

hymn without some fain t hope that he might be

cast i ng his two mi tes into that treasury of the

Church,into which the ‘many that were rich

Ambrose and Hildebert,and Adam and Bernard

o f Cluny, and S . Bernard— yes , and Santeiiil and

Coflin cast in much.

’

But having so cast it in,

is not the cla iming a vested interest in i t some

th i ng l ike ‘keep ing back part o f the price of the

The me lody,

“ Regent Square , to wh ich L ight’s

abode,ce lestial Salem i s usual ly sung

, was

composed by Henry Smart soon after the appear

ance of the translation.

An Easter hymn of great beau ty and vigour is

Robert Campbe l l’s translat ion from the Lat in

,

EASTER HYMNS 1 35

At the Lamb’s h igh feast we sing. The author

of the o riginal is unknown , but it is generally

supposed to have been written sometime during

the oth century. The translation was compi led ,according to a manuscript which is in the posses

sion o f Mrs . E. Campbel l , in 1 849 . I t was printed

the fo l lowing year in a smal l vo lume o f hymns

which has long S ince been out o f print.

Robert Campbel l is not known a s a writer o f

o r iginal hymns,though a few o f these have been

publ ished. The popularity of his At the Lamb’s

high feast we S ing,” however

,is beyond that o f

any o ther translat ion,though there have been

many. I t is to be found in a very large number

of hymnals and has been Copied i nto a great

many fore ign co l lec t ions. The s t i rr i ng me lody to

which it is al l ied,known as “ Salzburg,

” is from

J . Sebastian Bach.

Robert Campbel l was a Sco tch Advo cate , but

devo ted much of his time to the class ics. He found

re laxat ion from his pro fessional dut ies in mak i ng

translat ions o f Lat i n hymns,many of wh ich were

publ ished in a vo lume called the S t. Andrew’

s

Hymnal. In 1 852 , at the age of th irty- e ight,he

left the Ep iscopal Church o f Sco tland and be

came a Roman Catho l ic. He died in Ed i nburgh

in 1 868 at the early age of fifty- four.

1 36 EASTER HYMNS

The Day of Resurrection is a translation

from the Greek made by John Mason Neale.

The o riginal of this beautiful Easter song be longs

to the eighth centu ry, and is general ly supposed

to be by St. John o f Damascus . This hymn is

sung every Easter Day at Athens, and in his

bo ok of translations Dr. Neale quotes the fo l low

ing account by a modern writer of one o f those

Easter ceremonies which he witnessed previous

to making his translat ion

As midnight approached , the Archbishop, with

his priests,accompanied by the King and Queen ,

left the church, and stationed themse lves on the

platfo rm,which was raised considerably from the

ground , so that they were distinctly seen by

the people. Every one now remained in breath

less expectat ion , ho lding the i r unl ighted tapers in

readiness when the glad moment should arrive,while the priests sti l l continued murmuring the ir

me lancho ly chant in a low half-whisper. Sudden ly

a S ingle repo rt o f a cannon announced that twe lve

o’clock had struck, and the Easter Dayhad begun .

Then the old Archbishop, e levating the cross ,exclaimed in a loud exulting tone, Christos anesti

,

Christ is risen ! ’ and instan tly every single indi

vidual of al l the host took up the cry, and the vast

mu lt i tude broke through and d ispe l led for ever

1 38 EASTER HYMNS

was a sound of gladness , the aged priests were

distinctly heard chan t ing fo rth a glo rious old

hymn of victory in tones so loud and clear

that they seemed to have regained the ir youth

and strength to te l l the wo rld how Christ is risen

from the dead, hav i ng trampled death beneath

His feet,and hencefo rth the entomb

’

d have ever

lasting life.

’

He is gone—beyond the skies is one of the

few hymns by the late Dean Stanley which may

be said to have come into common use in this

country. I t fi rst appeared in a popular magazine ,signed with the Dean’s initials, after which it was

included in a large number o f co l lect ions . A

pretty s to ry is to ld in connexion with the writing

o f this hymn . While in conversation with the

Dean a friend happened to remark that h i s chil

dren had complained that there was no hymn

real ly su i table for Ascension Day. They were

also very much concerned as to what the disciples

thought when “ a cloud rece ived Him out of the ir

S ight. ” The Dean seems to haVC been struck by

the childish remarks,and repl ied that he wou ld

write such a hymn .

“ He i s gone— beyond the

Skies,was the resu lt. This story is re lated in a

vo lume of poems enti tled Christ in Song ,by

Dr. Phill ip Schaff.

EASTER HYMNS 1 39

Of the immense number of hymns which

Thomas Ke l ly wro te, the majo rity are o f a joyfu l

nature. He must have been a man possessed

of a tremendous fund of good spirits and wel l

able to look on the bright side of l ife,for though

h is career was anything but an untroubled one he

se ldom gave expression to fee l ings ofmelancho ly,even in his wri t i ngs. His hymns are characterized

by unbounded fai th, hope , joy and praise.

One o f Mr. Kel ly’s most beaut iful compositions

is The Head that once was crowned w i th thorns,

”

evidently intended by the autho r foruse at As cen

sion serv ices. I t was first published in a co l lect ion

o f his hymns i n 1 820, and subsequent ly in a great

number o f hymnals. Th is hymn has never had

the advantage of having a very good tune written

to i t. That by Jeremiah Clark , to which it is

usual ly sung, is a somewhat me lancho ly setting,

not at al l in keeping with the general character o f

the hymn. The wo rds are certa inly worthy the

attention of our fo remost composers.“ Alle lu ia ! sing to Jesus ” is not infrequent ly

sung as a Communion hymn , but I give i t a place

under th is chapter in consequence of the fo l low

ing verse , wh ich stamps i t, in my opin ion, as an

Ascension hymn

140 EASTER HYMNS

Alleluia ! not as orphansW e are left in sorrow now

Alleluia ! He i s near us,Faith bel ieves, nor questions howThough the cloud from s ight rece i vedWhen the forty days were o

’er,

Shal l our hearts forget H i s promi se“ I am w ith you evermore ” ?

This hymn was written by the late Will iam

Chatterton Dix about the s ame time that he

compo sed Come unto Me, ye weary.

’

The joyful nature o f the compo s it ion ind icates, however,that the autho r was in good health when he wro te

i t,and not, as in the case o f the latter hymn , just

recovering from a serious i l lness . This hymn has

been fo rtunate in be ing g iven in the majori ty o f

hymnals as the author wro te i t. The melody to

which i t is general ly al l ied was composed by

Dr. S . S. Wesley. I t is a spirited tune, and has

added in no smal l degree to the beau ty o f the

hymn .

1 42 PROCESSIONAL HYMNS

the kind o f hymn wanted,and so Mr. Wood wro te

o ff again to the Dean, po inting out that the hymn

was not we l l adapted to S ing on the march. Would

he , therefo re, go into his cathedral , walk slowly

along the course the pro cession would take, and

compose ano ther hymn as he did so The Dean,

not in the least o ffended,did as he was bid , and

the result was that grand hymn beginning

Forward ! be our watchword ,Steps and vo ices jo ined ;Seek the th ings before us ,

Not a look beh ind.

The MS . reached Mr. Wood w ith a humor

ous l i tt le note to the effect that the Dean had

written the hymn and put i t into its hat and

boo ts, and that Mr. Wood m ight add the coat and

trousers for himself ! On looking at the music,M r. Wood found acco rd i ngly that only the treble

and bass had been suppl ied by the composer ; the

alto and teno r were added by Mrs. Wo rthington

Bl iss. The effect o f the hymn when sung by the

vast body o f a thousand chori sters was utterly

beyond the power o fwo rds to describe.

”

The tune to which this hymn was o riginal ly

sung,and which

,as already stated , was composed

by the autho r, is now seldom used , having been

long S ince supplanted by Henry Gadsby’

s“ St.

PROCESSIONAL HYMNS 143

Bon iface,

or a very beaut iful me lody by Hen ry

Smart. The hymn is very o ften broken up into

two parts, be ing far too long for an o rdinary ser

vice. When compos ing the hymn Dean Alfo rd

kept be fo re him the words, Speak unto the ch i l

d ren o f I srae l,that they go fo rward.

” I t was on

these wo rds that the hymn was based

The Royal Banners fo rward go is Neale’s

translation o f a pro cess ional hymn by Fortunatus ,which dates back to the sixth century. This mag

nificent compo sition , known as the Vexil la Regis ,was written under except ional ly interesting c ir

cumstances . The sto ry goes that in the year 569 ,St. Radegund presented to the town of P o ictiers

a fragment o f what was be l ieved to be the true

Cross. Fortunatus was the one cho sen to rece ive

the sacred re l ic on its arrival at P o ictiers . When

the bearers o f the ho ly fragmen t were some two

mi les d istant from the town,Fo rtunatus

,with a

great gathering o f be l ievers and enthusiasts,some

carrying banners, crosses and o ther sacred em

blems , went fo rth to meet them. As they

marched they sang the hymn which Fo rtunatus

had composed, the Vexil la Regis, now rendered

fam i l iar to us by the version beginning,“ The

Royal Banners forward go.

”

There have been many translations of this


hymn , but that by Dr. Neale has ecl ipsed them

all. I t was fi rst publ ished in his M ediaeval

Hymns , from whence i t was soon transferred to

a great numbe r o f hymnals. Though it is dis

tinctly a processional hymn, Fo rtunatus himsel f

having that object in View when he wro te i t,i t is

also very o ften sung on the fifth Sunday in Lent,o therwise known as Passion Sunday.

There are two we l l known melod ies to th is

hymn,one cal led St. Ceci l ia, by the R ev . John

Hampton , and the o ther, a plain song, appropriately

named Vexil la Regis,” by an unknown compo ser.

Both these tunes are somewhat melancho ly and

quite unwo rthy so great a hymn. This compo si

tion also deserves the serious attention o f our best

compo sers.

A hymn we l l known to even the smallest child

attending Sunday schoo l is

In fact,it was written for children , though

many compi lers o f wo rks on hymnody affi rm

that the author had adults in his mind when he

wro te i t. The hymn was wri tten by the R ev .

146 PROCESSIONAL HYMNS

What th e Saints establ ishedThat I ho ld for true.

What the Saints bel ieved,That bel ieve I too .

Long as earth endureth,

Men the faith w i l l hold,

Kingdoms, nations, empiresIn destruction roll

’d,

is now general ly om itted . Some time ago I asked

Mr. Baring-Gould i f he had written the verse , and

i f so , why it was so o ften excluded from our

hymnals, and he repl ied :“ The verse to which

you refer was written by me,but as the hymn has

been used in many rel igious communities where

such wo rds would be absurd if sung,they have been

omitted .

” Mr. Baring-Gou ld has not the sl ightest

objection to this being done ; indeed , he says he

considers it very sensible.

Exception is sometimes taken to the fo l lowing

l ines,which occur in the third stanza

We are not divided,Al l one body we

,

One in hope and doc trine,One in charity.

Though no one would deny that al l true Christians

are one in hope and charity, or ough t to be , i t i s

more than probable that on occasions they are not

one in doctrine. But then , again , it is also equal ly

PROCESSIONAL HYMNS 1 47

true that, whenever the hymn is sung, whether in

church or chapel , that particular congregat ion is

not on ly one in hope and chari ty, but also one in

doctrine.

Rather a good story is to ld in connexion with

this hymn,wh ich may or may not be true. I t is

re lated that a certain rather low church Vicar,

though he l iked processions, particularly when

he headed them,stoutly objected to the cross

be ing carried. The o rganist and the cho i rmaster

bo th did the ir best to persuade h im that there was

no thing wrong in carrying a cro ss, but they might

just as wel l have addressed the ir remarks to h is

pu lpit. The vicar was adamant. At last,losing

all patience, the cho irmaster altered the first verse,

and the pro cession began the i r march round the

church to the words

Onward, Chri stian soldiers,March ing as to war,

With the Cross of JesusLeft beh ind the door.

Whether the v icar saw mo re clearly after that is

not recorded .

Ano ther hymn which has, through the transla

tion made by Mr. Baring-Gould , become a general

favourite in al l Engl ish - Speaking countr ies is,“ Through the n ight of doubt and so rrow.

” This

148 PROCESSIONAL HYMNS

hymn, while not special ly written as a pro cessional ,is, through the lesson it teaches of progress and

unity, eminently suited for s inging as a March

M i l itant.” M r. Baring-Gould’s translation has

become widely used and is to be found in most

hymnals published during the last thi rty-five years.

I t is not always given exactly as the translator

wro te it, but the alterations have been made inmost instances, I be l ieve, with Mr. Bar i ng-Gould’s

sanction. In some hymnals the fo l lowing verse

one of the best— is o ften omitted

Onward, therefore, pi lgrim brothers,Onward w ith the Cross our aid ;Bear i ts shame

,and fight its battle,

Til l we rest beneath its shade .

This hymn,I be l ieve , was also written for the chil

dren of Ho rbury Bridge, and was first sung by

them previous to be ing published in 1 867. I t has

been set to music by many celebrated composers,

but the tune wi th which it is mo st close ly al l ied is

that by Dr. J . B. Dykes, cal led St. Oswald. Dr.

Dykes had a fondness for naming tunes after

places o f which he had happy reco l lections, and

his tune to Through the n ight o f doubt and

so rrow received i ts name in memo ry o f his own

church in Durham.

The o riginal o f M r. Baring-Gould’s translat ion is


popular and has been copied into a great number

of o ther co l lect ions.

To the fo l lowing verse

Jesus i s the Name exaltedOver every other name

In th i s Name,whene’er assaulted,

W e can put our foes to shameStrength to them who e lse had halted,Eyes to bl ind and feet to lame,

exception ha s been taken . The separation of

the last two l ines from the i r verb,” writes some one,

makes it d ifficul t to fo l low the sense , and Eyes

to blind and feet to lame is not English.

”

Dr. Neale i s said to have been very rapid in

making his translations, and in suppo rt of this the

fo l lowing anecdo te is re lated by the late Gerald

Mou ltrie“Dr. Neale was invited by M r. Keble and the

Bishop of Sal isbury to assist them wi th the i r new

hymnal,and for this purpose he paid a visit to

Hursley parsonage . On one o ccasion,Mr. Keble,

having to go to ano ther room to find some papers ,was detained a sho rt time. On his return Dr.

Neale said,“Why, Keble, I thought you to ld me

that the Christian Year was entirely o riginal ? ”

Yes ,”he answered ,

“ i t certainly is.” Then how

comes this P” and Dr. Neale placed befo re him the

I THE REV. J . J . DAN I ELL .Photo by La m bert. Ba th .

2 TH E R EV . T. T . LYNCH. 3 THE R EV . G . S . HODGE S , R AP 110”) by E Debenha m , Hav ers tock H ill. Photo by IV. P lzu n be, Illa zden h ea a

4 I'

HE REV S . J . STONE , M .A . 5 TH E REV. THOMA S B INN EY , I ) D.

F ro m a Photo. F ro m a Photo.

6 THE REV. CANON ELLERTON,M

.A

.Photo by Gill m an, Oxf ord


with the autho r some years ago regarding his

famous hymn , M r. S tone to ld me that its o rigin

might be traced to the interest he took in BishopGrey’s defence o f the catho l ic faith against the

teachings o f Bishop Co lenso . I n the fo l lowing

verse Mr. Stone po intedly refers to this circum

stance

Though w ith a scornful wonderM en see her sore opprest,

By schisms rent asunder,By heres ies distrest ;

Yet saints their watch are keeping,The ir cry goe s up, How long ? ”

And soon the night of weepingShall be the morn of song.

The Church’s one Foundation has a remark

able effect on some tempe raments. I have been

to ld by men whose natures could hardly be termed“ gentle ” that to l isten to this hymn sung by a

large congregation was almost mo re than they

could stand ; i t made them fee l weak at the

knees, the ir legs trembled and they fe l t as though

they were go ing to co l lapse. I t seems an absurd

statement to make , and yet I think some o f us can

understand the sensation. Though the hymn is

triumphant,” in a sense there is a certain sadness

running through it which almost brings the tears

to one’s eyes. The melody with which it is inse

PROCESSIONAL HYMNS 1 53

parably asso ciated , though not special ly composed

for i t, also has a certain mournfulness which ad

mirably suits the suppressed exultation of the

words,and may perhaps in some measure account

for the feel ing of depression which the hymn some

t imes produces.

Mr. S tone altered the hymn a goo d deal after

its publication in 1 866 , changing certain verses ,omitting o thers, and substi tuting stanzas which

were written after the hymn had appeared

in a considerable number of co l lections. The

version as given in Hymns Ancient and M odern

is the one most widely known. I t has been

translated into many languages and finds a place

in nearly al l missionary hymnals.

The Church’s one Foundation has been sung

on many memo rable o ccas ions, perhaps the most

striking be ing in 1 888 when special services were

held,in connexion with the Lambeth Conference ,

at Canterbury Cathedral , Westminster Abbey,and

St. Pau l’s Cathedral. At each o f these services

The Church’s one Foundat ion ” was sung and

produced a pro found impression. By one who

was present at St. Paul’s on this occas ion I was

to ld that the effect was almost appall ing. I t

made a mo re last ing impression on his m ind than

anything e lse connected with that histo ric se rvice.


Only a very short time before his death in 1 90 1

I rece ived a letter from this great hymn ist wri tten

in a trembling hand. He apo logized for the poo r

ness o f the writing, excus ing himsel f wi th the

remark that he wa s dying and therefo re unable

to produce good penmanship. Two days later he

breathed his last, and the Church was the poo rer

by the loss o f a great man . He l ies buried in the

yard of the church over which he had presided for

so many years— St. Paul’s, Haggerston.

On a process ional hymn by St. Joseph of the

Studium Dr. Neale based his very beautiful

0 happy band of pi lgrims,I f onward ye w i l l treadWith Jesus as your Fel lowTo Jesus as your Head !

On Dr. Neale’s own confession this hymn may

almost be regarded as o riginal,see ing that there is

in it very l ittle that can be traced to St. Joseph .

In most co l lections it is headed The fe l lowship of

His sufferings,” and given exactly as Dr. Neale

wro te it, no alterat ion be ing made whatever. The

me lody with which this hymn has been associated

almost from the year o f its translation was com

posed by J . H. Knecht towards the close o f the

e ighteen th century.


Waving wanderers onwardTo the ir home on high .

This is the only hymn of Mr. Po tter’s which is to

be found in the o rd inary hymnal . He wro te a few

o thers, which have been published in co l lections o f

l imited circulation , and which have long since been

forgo tten. The autho r was a man of much learn

ing and the writer of many prose wo rks. He

dabbled in fiction as a recreation from his more

serious wo rk, and several o f his Sho rt stories ap

peared in various journals. Though brought up a

Pro testant he at the early age of twenty jo ined the

Roman Catho l i c faith, and subsequently took

great interest in fore ign missionary wo rk. He

died in I re land in 1 873 at the age of fo rty

six.

Hai l the day that sees Him rise , though

primari ly a hymn for Ascension, i s so o ften sung

as a pro cessional that I think no apo logy is

needed for placing i t in this chapter. I t is one o f

Charles Wesley’s most successfu l compositions and

was written before he had reached the age o f thirty.

I t has probably undergone mo re alterations at the

hands of edito rs than any o ther o f Charles Wesley’s

hymns, very few co l lections giving precise ly similar

versions.

I n four hymnals before me of wide circulation it

PROCESSIONAL HYMNS

is interesting to compare the different vers ions.

Charles Wesley’s co l lection the first verse reads

Hai l the day that sees Him ri se,

Ravished from our wi shful eyes !Chri st, awhile to mortal s given,Reascends h is native heaven.

In another co l lection this verse has been changed

Hai l the day that sees Him ri se,Alleluia !

To His Throne above the Skies ;Alleluia !

Chri st, the Lamb for s inners g iven,Alleluia !

Enters now the highest heav’n.

Alleluia !

In the Church Hymnary i t is given as Charles

Wesley wro te it, but in stanzas of e ight l ines each

instead of four. I n Thring’s co l lec t ion , besides

be ing considerably altered , each l ine ends with

Hal le lujah

A very successful processional hymn by a living

writer isSaviour

,blessed Saviour

,

Listen while we s ing ;

Hearts and vo ices rai s ingPraises to our King.

This hymn in the o rig inal consists o f nine

x58 PROCESSIONAL HYMNS

stanzas of e igh t l ines each,but in the majority

of hymnals i t has been reduced to six or seven .

The fo l lowing verse is very o ften omitted

Farther, even fartherFrom Thy wounded s ideHeed lessly we wandered,Wandered far and w i deTill Thou cam’

st in mercy,Seeking young and old,

Lovingly to bear them,

Saviour, to Thy fo ld.

There is no particular sto ry connected with the

wri t ing of this hymn. I n a letter rece ived from

the autho r some short t ime s ince,Prebendary

Thring says“ I am sorry to say that I am quite unable to

give you any account of the circumstances under

which I wrote ‘Saviour, blessed Saviour,’ as I

made no no te on the MS . I t probably aro se,

l ike a great number of my compositions, from

some though t which happened to be passing

through my mind at the time. I wrote i t a

great number o f years ago ,as far back as 1 862

,

and it was one of the fi rst o f the many hymns

I have written,the very first having been com

posed in

Prebendary Thring has written a great number

x6c PROCESSIONAL HYMNS

appendix to Hymns Ancient and M odern. He

wro te to the autho r requesting h is permission to

include i t in his hymnal , a request which Mr.

Plumtre cheerful ly granted. Sir Henry immedi

ately handed the hymn over to his musical edito r,

Dr. W i l l iam Henry Monk,who wrote for i t that

very spirited and appropriate me lody to which it

has ever s ince been sung. In compl iment to the

place of its birth and the grand old cathedral

where the l ines were first publicly sung, the com

poser christened the tune Peterbo rough. I t may

be mentioned that the composit ion was wri tten

with Dr. Monk’s usual ce leri ty,that is in some

ten or fifteen minutes.

In some hymnals the-

fo l lowing verse, one of the

finest, is often omitted

Bright youth and snow~crown’d age ,

Strong men and maidens meek,Raise high your free exulting song,God’s wondrous praises speak.

Rejo ice , ye pure in heart is not the only pro

cess ional hymn Dean P lumtre wro te. His March,

march onward,so ldiers true ” i s a very fine com

po sition, espec ially when sung to the“ March o f

the I srael ites,”forwhich it was written . I t is not

o f course as wel l known as “Rejo ice, ye pure in

heart,” though in many respects qui te equal to

PROCESSIONAL HYMNS 1 6 1

i t in merit. Ano ther processional hymn which

Dean P lumtre wrote i s “ O praise the Lo rd our

God,

” which is special ly suited for a thanksgiving

hymn . I t was written about the same time as“ Rejo ice, ye pure in heart.

”

V I I I

¢ommunion“

thymus

NCLUDED in the very large numbe r of

hymns which have been special ly written

for the office of Ho ly Communion are composi

tions by many of our greatest hymnists. Dr.

Doddridge’

s“My God, and is Thy table spread

”

was written for the admin istration o f the Ho ly

Sacrament. Curiously enough, though it is, per

haps, the best known of al l Doddridge

’

s com

po sitions in England and al l Engl ish- speaking

countries , i ts use in Scotland is very l imited.

Why this should be so i t is d iffi cult to say, see

ing that many o f Dr. Doddridge’

s o ther hymns

are wide ly sung and appreciated in northern

Britain.

My God, and is Thy table spread, l ike the

majo rity of Doddridge’

s hymns,was not published

until after his death. This is probably to be ac

1 62

1 64 COMMUNION HYMNS

Revive Thy dying Churches, Lord,And bid our drooping graces l ive ;And

,more

,that energy afi

'

ord

A Saviour’s love a lone can give.

In the hymnal which is said to have the largest

circulation in the wo rld , the fo l lowing Doxo logy is

given.

‘

I t is not, however, by Dr. Doddridge

To Father, Son, and Ho ly Ghost,The God whom heaven and earth adore,From men and from the angel -hostBe praise and glory evermore.

This hymn is usual ly sung to a very beautiful

melody cal led Ro ckingham,by Dr. E. M i l ler.

I t is the same tune which is associated with

When I su rvey the wondrous Cross.”

Among l iving hymnists who have given us com

positions which have already taken a firm ho ld on

the affections o f the Church is the R ev . Vincent

S tuckey S tratton Co les, the presen t Librarian of

Pusey House, Oxford . M r. Co les is the author

of several hymns which are included in many

modern hymnals,his most ce lebrated be ing the

one he wrote for Ho ly Communion,“We pray

Thee, Heavenly Father.” This hymn was wri tten

whi le the author was curate ofWantage. Here

Mr. Co les used to have large classes of young

COMMUNION HYMNS 1 65

people to prepare for confirmation,and it was

for them that he specially wrote this hymn .

S ince the inclusion o f “We pray Thee, Heavenly

Father in many hymnals Mr. Co les has written a

revised version , which has not, however, yet been

published. He sends it to me with permission to

reproduce, and as it d iffers in many respects from

the o riginal , I give it. Like the first version,i t is

in four stanzas of e ight l ines each. I n some

respects it is the finer hymn o f the two

We pray Thee, Heavenly Father,To hear us in Thy love,

And pour upon Thy chi ldrenThe unction from above ;

That so in love abiding,From al l defilement free,

W e may in pureness offer,Our Euchari st to Thee.

All that we have we offer,For it i s al l Thine own ;

Al l gifts by Thy appo intmentIn bread and cup are shown ;

One th ing alone we bring not,

The w i lfulness of s in ;And al l we bring i s noth ing,Save that wh ich i s w ithin.

With in the pure oblation,Beneath the outward s ign ,

Through that H i s operationThe Ho ly Ghost D iv ine,


Lies h id the Sacred Body,

Lies h i d the Prec ious B loodOnce slain, now ever glorious

,

Of Chri st our Lord and God.

Wherefore though‘

al l unworthyTo ofi

'

er sacrifice,W e pray that th is our dutyBe pleas ing in Th ine eyes ;

For thanks, and praise, and worsh ipFor mercy and for aid,

The cathol ic memori alOf Jesus Chri st i s made.

I t wil l be noticed in comparing this hymn

with the o riginal that the fi rst verse remains un

changed. Mr. Co les based his composition on the

words I love them that love Me : and those that

seek Me early shall find Me.

”The very beaut iful

and appropriate tune to which this hymn is al l ied,

known as “ D ies Dominica,

” i s by the late Dr.

Dykes.

The best known of al l Josiah Conder’s hymns

was written foruse at Ho ly Communion. This is

his very beautiful Bread of Heaven on Thee we

feed ,”or as o riginal ly written

,Bread of Heaven

on Thee I feed.

” M r. Charles E. Conder, son of

the ce lebrated hymnist, tel ls me that the hymn

was fi rst publ ished in the autho r’s S tar of Me

East, which appeared in 1 824 I t is there headed


large number of hymns,a very fine e legy on the

death of Henry Kirke White, and a poem on

Queen Caro l ine.

Among the hymns is one which has not been

publ ished. As it is qui te as terse and beautiful as

those which have already found the i r way into our

hymnals,I give i t with his son’s permission

0 God, whose all-creating mightGave birth to Nature’s laws ;Whose Sovereign working day and night,Knows ne ither rest nor pause.

Let Thy redemptive work of graceLike l ight its course pursue,Til l earth’s w ide c ircle it embrace,Creating al l th ings new.

Throughout the universe of mindLet l ight and heal ing spread :Then, come, Del iverer of mankind,And wake the slumbering dead .

Mr. Conder tel ls me that his father was a very

quick writer and very seldom altered his composi

tions when written. There is , unfortunate ly, no

portrait of the late Mr. Conder in existence. His

son possesses an old print depicting a group of

people, i n the midst o f which the late hymnist

appears, but it is so very minute that it i s im

po ssible to distingu ish one from the o ther. An

T

HE REV . CANON BR IGHT, D .D .

1 7° COMMUNION HYMNS

s inging,and the hymn as it now appears really

consists o f verse s taken from the longer poem .

Once , only once, and once for all ,” was written

about the same time as And now,0 Father,

” and

is considered by some hymnists to be the finer of

the two compo sitions, an opin ion which I do not

share. In some hymnals the fo l lowing Doxo logy

concludes the hymn it is not, I be l ieve, the work

of Canon Bright

All g lory to the Father be ,All glory to the Son,

All glory, Holy Ghost, to Thee,Wh ile endless ages run.

A hymn which was o riginal ly intended foruse

at Confirmation services, but which is now very

frequently sung at Ho ly Communion,is Mrs.

Maude’s “ Thine for ever ! God of Love ” This

hymn, the author o f which is a resident of Ruabon ,

was written as long ago as 1 847. I n a co rrespond

ence which I had with Mrs . Maude some few

years since I learned the sto ry o f i ts composition ,which is an interesting one.

“ The hymn in question, wro te the authoress,was written formy own class o f young women in

my late husband’s then parish, St. Thomas , New

po rt,I sle o fWight. I n 1 847we had large Sunday


Schoo ls, and I used to take a class of e lder girls.

They were be ing prepared for Confirmation by the

Bishop ofWinchester and I was helping them in

the i r work when I was suddenlyattacked by aserious i l lness. When I was somewhat recovered

I went for a change to the sea - side,and while

there I used to write many letters to my girls. I n

one of these letters I wrote, qu ite spontaneously,the hymn ‘Thine for ever ! God o f Love.

’ I t

was no effo rt to me whatever,the wo rds came un

sought ; and, without even co rrecting the l ines,the hymn

,together w i th the letter

,wa s despatched .

These letters were afterwards publ ished in amaga

z ine,and some months later on opening the new

hymnal publ ished by the Christ ian Knowledge

Society I was very much aston ished to see my

own l ittle composition. How i t got there I have

never found out to this day. I t has been a matter

of mos t genuine surprise to me that my s imple

l ines should have met with such acceptance in

many lands, and I can only fee l humble and

thankful that they have been of service to so

many.

”

The MS. which Mrs. Maude sent me of this

hymn consists of seven verses , but the fo l lowing

two stanzas, she explains, were never introduced

into any hymnal


Thine for ever in that dayWhen the world shal l pass awayWhen the trumpet note shal l sound,And the nations underground

Sha l l th e awful summons hear,Which proc laims the judgment near.Thine for ever. ’Neath Thy w ingsH ide and save us , King of kings.

I t has been a real regret to me, continues

Mrs. Maude’s interesting letter,“ and I have been

for many years trying to draw attention to the

matter, that in several co l lections the fourth verse

has been altered wi thout any reference to me. I t

o ften stands thus

‘Thine for ever Saviour keepU s Thy weak and trembl ing sheep.

’

Now the connection be tween Shepherd (as I

wro te)and sheep is too obvious to need comment

but bes ides this, the title of Shepherd introduces

a fresh and most endearing offi ce o f our Lo rd

into the hymn , where Saviour had already oc

curred .

“Then us is a most unmus ical word to begin a

l ine wi th , and moreove r the thought of the verse

i s lost, forthe fi rst two l ines are a prayer for the

catechumens from the congregation

1 74 COMMUN ION HYMNS

Ray Palmer, the American hymnist, and autho r

o f “ My Faith looks up to Thee ,” also made a

translation o f this hymn , the first l ine of which

begins “ O Bread to Pilgrims given.

” This ver

sion is not very wel l-known in England but in

America it is a great favourite, and one of the

most frequently sung o f al l Communion hymns.

James Montgomery never penned a mo re per

fect or pathetic hymn than his one for Ho ly

Communion. This composition

was written about the year 1 824, and published a

few months later in a co l lection o f his hymns .

In the o riginal manuscript,kindly sent to me

by a correspondent, this hymn is headed“ The

Lo rd’s Supper,” and in one co rne r Montgomery

has written This do in remembrance of Me.

”

The second verse

Thy Body, broken for my sake,My bread from Heaven sha l l beThy testamenta l cup I takeAnd thus remember Thee


does not appear to have been adhered to in all

hymnals. I n Thring’s co l lection it has been

changed to

Thy Body, broken for my sake,My bread from Heaven shal l be ;

The cup, Thy prec ious B lood, I take,And thus remember Thee.

I t is interesting to no te in the o riginal MS . that

Montgomery evidently desired that the words

wil l and me” in the first and last verses should

be emphas ised as he underl ines bo th, the verses

reading

According to Thy grac ious word,In meek humi l ity,

This w i l l I do, my dying Lord,I will remember thee.

And when these fai l ing l ips grow dumb,And mind and memory flee,When Thou shalt in Thy Kingdom come,

Jesus, remember me.

This interesting manuscript is s igned J . M., and

the word dying in the first verse has been sub

stituted for precious,” which the author has

scored through.

James Montgomery wro te about 400 hymns, o f

which some sixty may be said to have come into

common use. He was a lso the autho r of many


pro se wo rks and vo lumes of poems which have

sunk into oblivion. Montgomery himsel f does not

appear to have had any very great Opinion of his

poems i f we are to j udge from the reply he gave

when a Whitby so l icitor asked him which o f his

works would l ive. None, sir,repl ied the out

spoken poet,“ nothing, except, perhaps, a few of

He was a true prophet, for to-daymy hymns.’

while his hymns are remembered his poems and

prose wo rks have long since been fo rgotten.

In the days of Pope Urban IV. the greatest o f

al l Communion hymns was written Pange

l ingua glorios i corpo ris mysterium ,

’ known to

present time ce lebrants by the translation , Now,

my tongue, the mystery tel l ing. This vers ion is

the work o f the late Edward Caswall. I t has ,however, been considerably altered by various

compi lers. Other translations have been made by

Neale, I saac Will iams, J . W. I rons and many

o thers, but none o f these has gained the pOpu

larity enjoyed by that based on Edward Caswall’s

version.

A hymn, not special ly written for the service of

Commun ion,but one which is admirably suited to

that season, is Jesu,my Lord , my God , my All,

”

by the R ev . Henry Co l l ins. This hymn, with its

very beautifu l refra in


afterwards jo ined the Cistercian Order of Monks.

In a sho rt note rece ived from him a year ago in

answer to a request for a manuscript o f his we l l

known hymn,I was info rmed that he was unable

to send it as he now be longed to a clo istered o rder

and therefo re l ived apart from the wo rld.”

I n placing SirHenry Baker’s exquisite version

of the a3rd Psalm under this chapter, I do

so by reason of the fo l lowing verse, which appears

to me to render it a suitable Communion hymn

Thou spread’st a table in my s ight

Thy Unction grace bestowethAnd oh

, what transport of del ightFrom Thy pure Chal ice floweth .

The King of Love my Shepherd is, was

wri tten by SirHenry Baker in 1 868 and published

the same year in the appendix to his hymnal.

I t was one of the most popular of the new

hymns, and Sir Henry was soon inundated

with requests for permission to insert it in various

co l lections, reques ts which he never refused . The

autho r himsel f, I bel ieve, wro te the first tune to

this hymn, but, as it was not very successful, he

sent the MS . to his friend,Dr. Dykes, who com

posed for it the very beautifu l melody to which it

has ever since been usually sung,and which he

named “ Dominus regit me .

” I t wi l l fu rther be


remembered that one o f the late Charles Gounod’s

most successful sacred songs was a setting o f

“The King o f Love my Shepherd is.”

Canon El lerton,who was for many years a

pe rsonal friend o f S irHenry Baker, says in a note

on this hymn : “ I t may interest many to know

that the verse :

Perv erse and foo l i sh oft I strayed,But yet in love He sought me,

And on H i s shoulder gently laid,And home, rejo icing, brought me,

was the last audible sentence upon the dying l ips

of the lamented autho r.”

S ir Henry Baker’s last work was an edition of

the P salter and Ca ntz'

cles , po inted and set to

appropriate chants, ancient and modern, which he

edited in conjunction with his friend , the late Dr.

Monk. I t is greatly appreciated wherever used,and deserves to be mo re widely circulated.

Besides being a hymnist, SirHenry Baker was

also somethi ng of a composer, several of the most

popular tunes in his hymnal be ing from his own

pen. Perhaps h is most successful setting is that to

Art thou weary,art thou languid ? ” which he

cal led “ Stephanos, a beaut ifu l me lody, which is

as widely known as the hymn itself. Though S ir


Henry possessed a wonderful ear for music and

great creative gifts of me lody, he was not a master

o f composition, and the harmonies o f his hymn

tunes were in every case made by Dr. Monk.

Hymns written on the D ivine Love of Christ

are special ly suited for congregational s inging

during the administration o f Ho ly Commun

ion. Such a hymn is “Hark, my soul ! i t is the

Lo rd,” and a more tender and beautiful composi

tion it would be impossible to find in the who le

range of hymnody. Was ever a more pathetic

verse penned than the fo l lowing

Can a woman’s tender careCease towards the chi ld she bare ?Yes , she may forgetful be,Yet wi l l I remember Thee.

Hark,my soul !

” was written by Will iam

Cowper about the year 1765, and afterwards pub

lished in the Olney Hymn Book. I t was com

posed during that period , or soon after it, when

the author was passing through a phase of melan

choly which threatened to end in madness. One

of his delusions is said to have been a con

viction that he did not love his Maker with

sufficient fe rvour, and the last verse of Hark, mysoul rather suppo rts the supposition

COMMUNION HYMNS

Lord, it i s my ch ief complaintThat my love i s weak and faint ;Yet I love Thee and adore ;Oh for grace to love Thee more.

Of all Cowper’s hymns this is the finest. I t has

been translated into many languages, and is to be

found in every hymnal of any standingpublishedduring the las t hundred years. I t was one of the

favourite hymns of the late W. E. Gladstone , who

translated it into I tal ian a few years befo re his

death.

As an instance of the curious ideas chi ldren

sometimes associate w ith a hymn, I was to ld by a

lady who was in the habit of singing hymns to her

l ittle girl,aged six, in o rder to coax her to go to

sleep, that Hark,my soul !

” was the one which

appeared to give the greatest amount o f pleasure.

One evening, on her mo ther s inging a different

hymn, the ch i ld complained and begged for

“the

o ther one instead. Her mother,fo rgett ing for

the moment the hymn she meant,asked herhow

i t began. The l i ttle one repl ied that she didn’t

know, but it was about the she-bear This was

how the chi ld ish mind had construed the meaning

of the two l ines

Can a woman’s tender careCease towards the ch i ld she bare ?


There is only one recognized tune to Hark,my

soul ! ” though it is not improbab le that many

have been compo sed . This is St. Bees ,” by the

late Dr. Dykes. I n connexion with the writing of

this exquisitely tender setting to Cowper’s l ines,

M r. Bennet Kaye, of Durham, who was at one time

assistant o rganist at Dr. Dyke’s church, tel ls me

an incident which is not without interest. “ Dr.

Dykes,

” Mr. Kaye says, used frequent ly to come

to the boys’ rehearsals befo re mo rning service and

begin practising with them the music of the day.

Presently he would drift into something fresh , and

the boys would remain perfectly sti l l and l isten

entranced. On one o ccasion he wandered into a

particularly beauti fu l melody, playing it over

several times. The air made a lasting impres sion

upon me,and afterwards, when it came to be pub

lished, I recognized in the tune to Hark, my

sou l ! i t is the Lord,’

the me lody which had so

greatly attracted me. Dr. Dykes named the tune

St. Bees,’ from a little place where he had passed

many pleasant hours.”

Henry Kirke White’s “Oft in sorrow,o ft in

woe,”or, as o riginal ly written,

“Much in so rrow,

oft in woe ,” I place among Communion hymns on

the strength of the first verse, in which there

appears to be an intention on the part of the


which has become the mo st popular, be ing given

in nearly al l hymnals. The fo l lowing are the verses

which were compo sed by little Frances Ful ler

Maitland

Let your drooping hearts be glad ;March in heavenly armour clad ;F ight, nor think the battle long ;Victory soon sha ll tune your song.

Let not sorrow dim your eye ;Soon shal l every tear be dryLet not fea rs your course impede ;Great your strength i f great your need.

Onward, then, to battle move ;More than conquerors ye shal l prove ;Though opposed by many a foe,Chri stian so ldiers, onward go.

I had hoped to have been able to give a facsimile

of this hymn,thinking that so interes ting a MS.

would have been certain of preservation. I

therefo re wro te to M r. Po tter Briscoe , the prin

cipal l ibrarian of Nottingham Free Library, the

town where Kirke White was bo rn , and where

he l ived for many years, asking for information

respecting the poet’s MSS. I n reply, however,M r. Briscoe says : “After many years o f watching,I have at last arrived at the re luctant conclusion

that there are no Kirke White MSS. in existence.

I have been co l lecting material fora new edition of


White’s poems formany years, and my researches

would certainly have brought them to l ight had

they existed. Some years ago the housekeeper

to the late R ev . Kirke Vivyan became possessed

of MSS. o f Kirke White and burnt them.

”

I t is somewhat surpris ing to no te how few are

the hymns which have been special ly written for

the occas ion—so impressive to the young—of

first Communion. Neverthe less, though this is so ,there are several hymns more particularly suited to

those who are about to partake of the i r fi rst Eucha

rist,and among these is one which, in hymnody, is

acco rded a very high place. I refer to

0 Jesus, I have promi sedTo serve Thee to the end,

by the late M r. J . E. Bode. I n a l ittle vo lume

dealing wi th the Fi rst Communion , which I saw

in the hands of a young communicant the o ther

day, the fo l lowing verse, taken from this hymn , had

been inscribed on the title -

page

Oh let me feel Thee near meTh e world i s ever near ;

I see the s ights that dazzle,The tempting sounds I hear ;My foe s are ever near me,

Around me and w ith in ;But, Jesu, draw Thou nearerAnd shiel d my soul from s in.


A more appropriate quotation could hardly have

been chosen ; i t is one which should be inscribed

in al l Communion books presented to young cele

brants.

Mr. Bode was the autho r of two vo lumes of

verse , one of which contained hymns specially

su ited to the festivals of the Church. With the

exception of O Jesus , I have promised , very few,

however, have gained any great ho ld on the

public, and, in consequence , the autho r might be

classed among the “one-hymn writers. I t is

noti ceable that, though Mr. Bode wro te in the

o riginal “ O j esus , I have promised ,” i t has been

changed in the majo rity of hymnals to O j esu, I

have promised,”but probably more for the sake of

euphony than anything e lse. I n al l o ther respects

the hymn appears exactly as the author wrote i t—rather remarkable

,considering the popularity to

which it has attained.

“ O Jesus, I have promised was written about

the year 1 866, during the time when Mr. Bode

was recto r of Castle Camps,Cambridge. Like

“ Thine for ever,God o f Love

,and several o ther

hymns, i t was specially composed for the autho r’s

Confirmation classes I t was not then sung to

the melody which has become so familiar to us

and which was specially written for i t by Mr. J .

COMMUNION HYMNS

’Tis done, the great transaction ’s done,I am my Lord

’s,and He i s m ine ;

He drew me,and I fo l lowed on

,

Charmed to confess the vo ice D iv ine.

Tennyson was once credited with having written

th is hymn , the mistake be ing due to a young

repo rter whose visits to church were probably few

and far between. I t appears that at the reques t

o f the late Queen Victo ria “ 0 happy day that

fixed my cho ice” was sung at the Confirmation

o f one o f the Royal children. The fo l lowing day

it was repo rted in one o f the leading London

journals that the hymn had been spec ially com

posed for the o ccas ion by Tennyson, the Poe t

Laureate. Together with this startl ing announce

ment appeared some critical comments to the

effect that i f the Poet Laureate could wri te no thing

be tter it was high t ime tha t objection was raised

to his rece iving national pay !“ O happy day that fixed my cho ice is one

o f Doddridge’

s most successfu l hymns,and is to

be found in a large number of hymnals though

the one which is said to have the largest cir

culation omits it. I t has been translated into

numerous languag es and is included in a great

numbe r o f fo re ign miss ionary hymnals. I t has

never been very fortunate with regard to i ts


setting, the melody to which it is usual ly sung

be ing somewhat commonplace.

When I survey the wondrous Cro ss, though

o riginal ly intended for Good Friday services,is

equal ly su ited to Ho ly Commun ion . Written

early in the e ighteen th century by Isaac Watts,

i t has long since come to be regarded as that

author’s greatest hymn. Strange ly enough it is

not found in so large a number of co l lections as

many o ther hymns of lesser impo rtance. I n the

o riginal it consisted o f five verses, but the fo l low

ing is now more frequently omitted than in

serted

H i s dying crimson, l ike a robe,Spreads o

’er H i s Body l ike a tree ;

Then am I dead to al l the G lobe ,And al l the G lobe i s dead to me.

A sto ry is re lated in connexion with “When I

survey the wondrous Cross ” which may be taken

as an example o f the abso lutely meaningless

manner in which a congregation wil l sometimes

sing a hymn . I t is to ld, I be l ieve, o f the late

Rev . C. H. Spurgeon. I t was in h is early man

hood,befo re the days of those large offertories

which were so ungrudgingly given during his

ministry at the Tabernacle. His congregation

had finished singing “When I survey the wondrous


Cross and Mr. Spurgeon was in the pulpi t pre

paratory to beginning his d iscourse when , gazing

somewhat moumfully upon his flock, he said :“ Brethren, we have just finished singing Isaac

Watts’ grand hymn : the last wo rds you uttered

were these,Were th e whole realm of Nature mine,That were a present far too smal l ;Love so amazing, so D ivine,Demands my soul, my l ife, my al l.”

Then softly repeating the l ines

Were the whole realm of Nature mine,That were a present far too small,

he suddenly e lectrified his hearers by demanding

whether they knew what the co l lection amounted

to that morning. Without waiting for a reply,

he quickly added ,“ I wil l tel l you. Seventeen

shi l l ings and a penny. The who le realm of

nature,of course, is not yours to give, but you

can sure ly affo rd more than a paltry seventeen

shil l ings and a penny. I t is an insult to your

Maker. Perhaps you did not real ize what you

were singing. I fee l sure you did not, and in

o rder that you may not go away unhappy there

wil l be another co l lection at the close of the

se rvice.

”

Whether the sto ry is true or not I canno t say

1 9 2 COMMUNION HYMNS

come to the conclusion that it is not among those

MSS. placed under his charge.

Few hymns have had prettier legends woven

about thei r birth than “ Jesu,Lover o f my

soul .” Every one, o f course,knows the sto ry

o f the sea -bird which flew to Charles Wesley’s

breast for protection from the storm . Equal ly

wel l known is that which tel ls how a dove hunted

by a hawk sought safety in a similar refuge.

These and many o ther incidents have been associ

ated with the great hymn, and perhaps we should

be glad to think that some of them are true.

Whether they are or not i t i s impossible to say.

Certainly they have never been conclusively proved

abso lute ly devo id o f foundation. There is an old

saying that a man should be be l ieved until he

has proved himse l f unwo rthy of bel ief, and the

same maxim,with a sl ight variation

,may be

appl ied to these pretty sto ries regarding the

greates t o f al l great hymns.

I !

h ymns for 113019 matrimony,missions, anb

“Ebose at S ea

HE number of hymns special ly written for

use at marriage ceremon ies is not great, and

of these only four may be said to have come into

general favour. The one which now appears to be

universally sung at al l classes o f weddings is Mrs.

Doro thy Gurney’s

0 perfect Love, all human thought transcending,Lowly we knee l in prayer before Thy Throne,That the irs may b e the love that knows no ending,Whom Thou for evermore dost jo in in one.

This hymn wa s written in 1 883 .

“ I wrote it,says the authoress in a letter befo re me , “ for the

wedding ofmy sister, now Mrs. Hugh Redmayne .

I t was written some few weeks befo re hermarriage.

The sto ry o f i ts compo s ition is a very simple one

and I gladly te l l you the circumstances connected

with it. We were al l singing hymns one Sunday1 9 3

1 3

1 94 HYMNS FOR HOLY MATRIMONY

evening, and had just fin ished ‘0 Strength and

Stay,’

the tune to wh ich was an especial favourite

o f my s ister’s,when some one remarked what a

pity it was that the wo rds should be unsuitable for

a wedding. My sister, turning sudden ly to me,

said : What is the use o f a sister who compo ses

poetry if she canno t write me new wo rds to this

tune. I picked up a hymn -book and said

We l l,i f nobody wil l d isturb me I will go into the

l ibrary and see what I can do .

’ After about fifteen

m inutes I came back with the hymn ‘O perfec t

Love ’ and there and then we al l sang it to the

tune o f ‘S trength and Stay.

’ I t went pe rfectly

and my sis ter was del ighted, saying that i t must be

sung at her wedding. For two or three years it

was sung privately at many London weddings and

then it found its way into the hymnals. The

writing of i t was no effo rt whatever after the

initial idea had come to me of the two - fo ld aspect

o f perfect union , love and l ife, and I have always

fel t that God he lped me to write i t.

I n the great dearth o f marriage hymns O

perfect Love” was so much welcomed that i t is

now to be found in almost every sort o f hymnal o f

the Christian Church. The autho ress has rece ived

letters regarding it from al l parts of the wo rld, and

it has been translated in to many languages. S ir


hymnal edito rs and the fo l lowing verse is usual ly

om itted

For dower of bles sed ch i ldren,For love and faith’s sweet sake

,

For h igh mysterious unionWhich nought on earth may break.

In many cases the fi rst l ine of the fourth verse

Be present, awfu l Father” has been changed to

Be present, Ho ly Father which is an improve

ment.

The Vo ice that brea thed o’

er Eden is

in teresting not only by reason of the great

popularity to which it has attained, but also from

the fact that it was probably one of the last hymns

the au tho r ever penned. N0 o ther o f Keble’

s

hymns which has gained any degree o f ce lebr ity

bears a later date than this one and it appeared in

no wo rk by him published during his l ife. I t was

written by special request and has proved but

ano ther instance o f the success which occas ionally

attends the w riting o f a hymn to o rder.”

The melody w i th which this hymn is,

usual ly

associated and which is known by the t it le of St.

Alphege, was not specially written for i t though

there is a general impression to the contrary. I t

appears that the late Dr. Gauntlett real ly wro te

the tune to Brief life is here our po rtion but it

HYMNS FOR HOLY MATRIMONY 1 97

was afterwards found to su it Keble’s hymn so we l l

that a new tune was thought to be unnecessary.

I t has therefore ever since been usual ly sung to

St. Alphege.

”

How wel come was the call,another very

popular marr iage hymn , wa s written by the late

S ir Henry Baker for the first ed i tion of his

hymnal. At that time there was actually only

one o ther wedding hymn o f any degree o f

popularity in existence , and that was Keble’

s

“ The Vo ice that breathed o’

er Eden Sir

Henry saw,therefo re, how essential it was that a t

least a couple o f marriage hymns should appear

in his hymnal and he wro te “ How we lcome

was the cal l ,” which was set to music by h i s

friend Dr. Gaunt lett. Though the ex treme

scarcity ofmarriage hymns may be in some way

accountable for its immediate success, it is

unden iably one o f the best o f the author’s many

beau t iful hymns and in every way deserving o f i ts

great popularity.

The hymn , of course, is based on the wo rds

taken from St. John Bo th Jesus was called,and

His d isciples, to the marriage,”the autho r taking

as his subject the wedding feast at Cana.

No MS . of How welcome was the cal l

appears to be in existence. I ndeed,withou t


exception, al l the hymnal manuscripts of S irHenry

Baker seem to have been e ither destroyed or lost.

Probably the very fact of his be ing the edito r of

the hymnal for which his compo sitions were

written wou ld account for his carelessness regard

ing the i r preservation in manuscript, and it is not

at al l unl ikely that when they were returned from

the printers he threw them into the waste-paper

basket. I n a letter received some time ago from

the Cha i rman to the Committee o f the hymnal

with which Sir Henry’s name is inseparably

assoc iated I was info rmed that no manuscript

o f any of Sir Henry Baker’s hymns was known

to ex ist, and the same information has been

given me since by many relatives o f the late

hymn ist.

How we l come was the cal l is one of the few

hymns which have escaped alteration , appearing

in al l co l lections exactly as the autho r wro te it.

Another marriage hymn which,l ike The Vo ice

that breathed o’

er Eden,”owes its o rigin to a

request rece ived from a friend, i s the la te John

Ellerton’

s

0 Father, al l -creating,Whose w i sdom

,love, and power

F irst bound two l ives togetherIn Eden’s primal hour,

HYMNS FOR MISSIONS

This is not the only hymn Canon El lerton

wrote “to order. Indeed , he was accustomed to

rece ive requests for hymns on al l so rts o f subjects ,sometimes from people he had never seen. I n

many cases when the subject suggested was one

on which he considered a hymn would be useful he

compl ied with the request, and in this way many

of his hymns are said to have o riginated .

The mo st popu lar of al l m issionary hymns is

undoubtedly “ From Green land’s icy mountains ”

by B ishop Heber. I t was wr itten as far back as

1 8 19 at Wrexham,where Heber’s father-in-law,

Dr. Shipley, Dean o f St. Asaph , was vicar. The

s tory o f i ts compos ition is one which has been to ld

many times butwh ich wi l l bear repet ition. Briefly,

the circumstances are these. On Wh i tsunday Dr.

Shipley was to preach in Wrexham Church a

sermon in aid of the Society for the Propagation of

the Go spe l in Fo re ign Parts, and Reg inald Heber,

then Vicar ofHodnet,happened to be staying at

the Vicarage at the time. On the Saturday pre

ceding Whitsunday the Dean,Heber and a few

friends were co l lected together in the l ibrary, when

the Dean asked his son-in- law to write something

for them to s ing in the morning—somethingappropriate to the subject on which his discourse

would be based . Heber, readily consenting,

THE REV . I SAAC WATTS, D .O .

F ro m a Pa inting.

202 HYMNS FOR MISSIONS

allowed to write ano ther verse. The next mo rn

ing it was sung for the fi rst time in Wrexham

Church.

The o riginal MS . of “ From Greenland’s icymountains was formany years in the possession

o f the late Dr. Raffles, o f Liverpoo l, himsel f a

hymn-writer of some no te. Popular tradition

round Wrexham has it that a composito r in the

printing wo rks so ld the MS. for a pint of ale but

it is far more l ike ly that Dr. Raffles obtained it

d irect from the printer who was a personal friend

o f his. A few years since Dr. R affles’

effects were

so ld and among o ther objects o f interest put up for

auction was this identical MS . After some

1 )spirited bidding it was knocked down to an

unknown buyer for the sum o f fo rty gu ineas. On

the autho rity o f the auctionee r the MS. is now in

America.

From Greenland’s icy mountains is one o f the

finest examples o f spon taneous wri t ing we possess.

I t was wri tten in twenty minutes, which gives an

average o f five minutes tp each verse o fe ight l ines,

and the only co rrection Heber ever made was in

the second verse where he substitutes the word

heathen for that of savage .

”

Among the many fine hymns by the late R ev .

S . J . S tone, none, to my thinking, has ever sur

HYMNS FOR MISSIONS 2 6 3

passed the one he wrote for Foreign M issions in

1 871

Through mi dnight gloom from Ma cedonThe cry of myriads as of one,The vo iceful s i lence of despairI s eloquent in awful prayer,The soul’s exceeding bitter cry,Come o

’er and help us, or we die.

I t is equal in al l respects to his“ The Church’s

one Foundation,

” and some o f the stanzas surpass

i t. Few finer verses were ever written than the

fourth

Yet w ith that cry from MacedonThe very car of Chri st ro l l s on ;

“ I come—who would abide My dayIn yonder w i lds prepare My way ;My vo ice i s crying in their cry ;Help ye the dying, lest ye die.

”

Mr. S tone based th is hymn on the wo rds taken

from the Acts o f the Apostles —“ And a vision

appeared to Paul in the night ; There stood a

man of Macedonia,and prayed him,

saying,Come

over into Macedonia,and help us. And after he

had seen the vision , immed iately we endeavoured

to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the

Lo rd had called us for to preach the gospe l unto

them.

“ Through m idnight gloom from Macedon


i s not the on ly mission hymn M r. Stone has

written , though it is by far the best known. His

“ Far o ff our brethren’

s cry and “ Lo rd o f the

harvest, i t is right and meet, bo th written about

the same time as his more popular hymn, are very

fine and deserve to be in every hymnal .

A hymn for Fo re ign M iss ions, written by the

late M r. Henry Downton takes a high place

among such compositions. This is

Lord ! her watch Thy Church i s keeping ;When shall earth Thy rule obey ?When shall end the night of weeping ?When shal l break the promi sed day ?

See the wh itening harvest langui sh,Waiting sti l l the labourers’ to i lWas it vain—Thy Son

’s deep angui sh ?Shal l the strong retain the spo i l ?

This hymn was written at Geneva, where Mr .

Downton was Res ident Engl ish Chaplain , and it

owes i ts o rigin to the intense interest the autho r

took in al l matters connected with Fo re ign

M iss ions. He was a frequent vis i to r to the

Soc iety’s meetings , and it was during one of these

gatherings that the desire to wr i te a hymn suited

to Such o ccasions came to h im. I n the year 1 866,some t ime previous to the annual mee t ing of the

Church M issionary So ciety, Mr. Downton wro te

the hymn “ Lo rd ! her watch Thy Church is


This hymn fo rms the second part of Dr. Watts’

metrical version o f the 72nd Ps alm,and mus t

have been written very early in the e ighteenth cen

tury. I n most hymnals the fo l lowing verse s are

omi tted

For Him shall endless prayer be made,And praises throng to crown His HeadH is name l ike sweet perfume shal l ri seWith every morning sacrifice.

Where He displays His heal ing power,Death and the curse are known no moreIn Him the tribes of Adam boastMore bless ings than the ir father lost.

From M r. G. J . S tevenson’s Notes on tite M et/zo

a’z'

st Hymn Book, I quo te the fo l lowing,which has

special reference to“ Jesus shal l re ign

Perhaps one of the mo st interesting o ccasions

on which th is hymn was used wa s that on which

King Geo rge, the sable , of the South Sea I slands,but o f blessed memo ry, gave a new consti tut ion to

his people, exchanging a heathen for a Christian

fo rm of government. Under the spreading

branches o f the banyan trees sat some thousand

natives from Tonga, Fij i , and Samoa, on Whit

sunday, 1 862 , assembled for D ivine wo rship.

Fo remo st amongst them al l sat King George him

self. Around him were seated old chiefs and


warrio rs who had shared wi th h im th e dangers

and fo rtunes of many a battle—men who se eyes

were dim,and who se powerful frames were bowed

down with the weight o f years. But old and

young al ike rejo iced together in the joys o f that

day,the ir faces mos t o f them radiant with Chris

tian joy, love, and hope . I t wou ld be impo ssible

to des cr ibe the deep feel ing manifested when the

so lemn service began , by the entire audience sing

ing Dr. Watts’ hymn

Jesus shall re ign where’er the sun

Doth h i s success ive journeys run;H i s kingdom stretch from shore to shore,T il l suns shall ri se and s et no more.

Who so much as they could real ize the ful l mean

i ng o f the poet’

s wo rds for they had been rescued

from the darkness o f heathenism and cannibalism

and they were that day met for the first t ime

under a Christian constitution,under a Christian

k i ng, and w i th Christ H imsel f re igning in the

hearts o f mos t of tho se present. That was indeed

Chris t’s kingdom set Up in the earth.

”

Of al l mis sionary hymns,“ Jesus shal l re ign

,is

probably the be st known. I t has been written

now for close upo n two hundred years , and in al l

l ike l ihood it was one o f the first hymns introduced

into heathen countries penetrated by English


m issionaries. I t has been translated into more

languages and d ialects than any o ther of Dr.

Watts’ hymns,and i t would probably be a difficul t

matter to find a present day m issionary hymnal

in which it is not included.

The favourite sett ing to which this hymn is

usually sung,and which is known by the t itle

o f Gali lee, wa s composed by the late Dr. Phil ipArmes .

A mission hymn which has gained a good deal

o f popularity during the last half century is

Thou, Whose Almighty WordChaos and darkness heard,And took the ir fl ight ;

Hear us , we humbly pray,And where the Gospel-daySheds not its glorious ray,

Let there be l ight.

The metre o f this hymn natural ly suggests the

Nat ional Anthem,and on many o ccasions it has

been sung to the same me lody. Whether i t was

wri tten with this idea it would be somewhat

difficult to say. I t is not at al l unlike ly,how

ever, that the autho r cons idered it would be

to the advan tage o f a hymn i f it were wri tten

to a tune already known practical ly al l over

the world , and that by a happy inspiration he

2 1 0 HYMNS FOR MISSIONS

fo re ign missions, and by his lectures and influence

did much to spread the good wo rk of sending

missionaries into fo re ign lands.

I n some hymnals the fo l lowing verses contained

in Lift up your heads are omi tted

A holy war those servants wage ,In that mysterious stri fe ;

The powers of Heaven and hel l engageFor more than death or l i fe.

Fo l low the Cross the ark o f peaceAccompany your path ,

To slaves and rebel s bring releaseFrom bondage and from wrath .

This hymn is to be found in most co l lections

used by fo reign missionaries, and is wel l-known in

the mission fields o f India,Western Africa and

China. I t is usual ly sung to Myles Foster’s

Crucis Victoria ” (o riginally written for I saac

Watts’ hymn,G ive us the wings of faith to rise

or to a melody from Este’s Psalter, and known by

the title o f “Winchester.” This latter tune is more

clo sely associated with While shepherds watched

the i r flocks by n ight,but suits the m ission hymn

very we l l. The me lody dates back to the year

1 592 .

One o f the finest missionary hymns in the

language comes to us from an American source.


Th is is “ Saviour, sprinkle many nations, by the

late Arthur Cleveland Coxe , Bishop o f Western

New Yo rk. This hymn was begun in America in

1 850, one Good Friday. Bishop Coxe could not

fin ish it at the t ime, and it was laid as ide to awai t

the day when the spirit should move h im to com

plete i t. The fo l lowing year he visited England ,and while walking in the grounds o f Magdalen

Co l lege, Oxfo rd , the thought o ccurred to h im that

Saviour, sprinkle many nations” was s t i l l nu

completed . He therefo re took a scrap of pape r

from his pocket and with a pencil wro te the con

cluding verse to this very beau t i ful hymn .

I cannot refrain from quoting the second stanza

o f th is hymn which appears to me to be one o f

the very finest eight l ine verses in the language

Far and w ide,though al l unknowing,

Pants for Thee each mortal breast ;Human tears for Thee are flowing,Human hearts in Thee would rest ;Th irsting

,as for dews of even,

As the new-mown grass for rain,

Thee they seek, as God of heaven,Thee as M an for s inners slain.

Curiously enough this hymn , together with

many o thers by the same autho r, though found

in a great number of co l lections has been omi tted

from the American Episcopal hymnal . Of course

2 1 2 HYMNS FOR MISSIONS

there i s a reason for this and it is a very s impleone. B ishop Coxe unfo rtunate ly happened to beon the comm i ttee appo inted to select the hymns

for a new co l lection to be issued in connexion

wi th his own diocese. The hymns were selected

by ballo t, and he begged the commi ttee as a

favour to abstain from voting for any o f his own

compositions. They respected his wish, and , in

consequence , though his hymns are published in

every o ther co l lection in America, they do not

appear in that used by his own Church .

After fulfi l l ing the arduous duties o f B ishop o f

Western New Yo rk for th irty-one years,Dr. Coxe

d ied at Buffalo in 1 896, at the age o f seven ty

e ight.“ God o f mercy, God o f grace , by the R ev.

Henry Francis Lyte, is generally looked upon as a

m ission hymn , and is to be found in several collec

t ions used in the miss ion field . I t was one of M r.

Lyte’s earliest hymns and was written, not a t

Berry Head , the birthplace o f “ Ab ide with me,

”

but at Burton House, about a mi le distant from

the more h isto ric bu i ld i ng. This house,which is

si tuated in Lower Brixham (Berry Head is also in

the lower town)wa s the residence o f Mr. Lyte for

many years. On each side of the entrance to the

house are very fine weeping willows, and residents

2 14 HYMNS FOR MISSIONS

that among the mo st attrac t ive characteristi cs of

the hymnis t was his passionate love for animals.“One of his pets , writes Mr. Almy,

“ was a

tame eagle. This eagle chummed with a certain

jackdaw - an impudent, republ ican sort o f jack

daw,who waxed inso lent and publ icly abused his

feathered majesty. The royal bird upon the firs t

opportunity se ized the miscreant and kil led and

ate him.

“ I n a field that at one time be longed to M r.

Lyte, just outside the town of Brixham,reposes al l

that is mortal o f ho nest ‘Var.’ The tomb is let

into a high bank , and the tablet that marks the

spo t bears the fo l lowing inscription

Here l ies“ V A R

,

”

Lap-dog of the Rt . Honourable Lady Farnham.

Breathe,gentle spring, breathe on th i s grassy mound,

And s ing ye birds, and bloom ye flowers around,Ye suns and dews make green the resting-

placeOf honest Var, the noblest of his race ;Gentle yet fearless, active, fond and true,He reads, proud man, a lesson here to you,

And bids you (happy m ight you hear) to beGui ltless in l ife and calm in death as he.

Go, and as faithful to your Master prove,As firm in duty and as strong in love,You will not find th i s moment here m i sspentIn mus ing o

’er a spanie l

’s monument .May, 1 826.


These l ines are Mr. Lyte’s own composition ,and I had considerable difficulty in deciphering

them. This genuine rel ic o f a great man is in a

sad state of decay.

”

A hymn wh ich is a general favourite with home

missions is Charlo tte El l iott’s “ Just as I am, with

out one plea.’ There is a general ly credited sto ry

that the writing of this famous hymn was due to

the fo l lowing incident“ One day the pasto r of a small church met in

the street a young member of his congregation on

herway to be fi tted for a new dress which she con

templated wearing at an approaching ball. After

she had to ld him her errand he said to her, I wish

you would give up your l ife o f van ity and become a

Christian,and lead a godly life. Will you not stay

away from ! the ball because I wish you to do so

She answered ,‘ I wish you would mind your own

business ,’ and b idding him a cheerful good-bye,

went on herway.

That girl is supposed to have been the

autho ress of “ Just as I am -M iss Charlo tte

El l iott. The sto ry goes on to say that she went to

the ball and danced through the night. When she

returned, t i red and weary, her conscience smo te

her,and she went the next day to her pastor and

asked his fo rgiveness forthe wo rds she had spoken .

HYMNS FOR MISSIONS

I am the most wretched girl in the wo rld,

’

she said .

‘What must I do to be saved ? ’ The

pasto r d irected her to come to God just as she

was. ‘What ! just as I am ?’

she exclaimed in

aston ishment ‘Yes ,’ repl ied the pastor,

‘ just as

you are .

’

On her return home she knel t bes ide

her bed and prayed to God to accept her just as

she was then , rising from her knees,she got out

her writing materials and wro te the we l l- known

hymn

Just as I am,w ithout one plea,

But that Thy Blood was shed for me,

And that Thou b idd’st me come to Thee,

0 Lamb of God, I come.

”

This l ittle sto ry,charming though i t is

,canno t

be re l ied upon ; for the hymn was wri tten i n 1 834,

when M iss El l io tt was forty -five years old— an

age at which she could hardly be referred to as

a “ young girl .”

From Mrs. Synge , a niece of the autho ress,

I some time ago rece ived an interes t ing and

authentic accoun t of the o rigin of this most

popular hymn .

“ I n says Mrs . Synge, Miss El l iott wa s

residing at Brighton , in a house long since pul led

down , cal led Westfield Lodge. Her bro ther,the

R ev . H. V. El l iott , hav ing conce i ved the plan o f

2 I 8 HYMNS FOR MISSIONS

last fifty years. Referring one day to Just as I

am,

”the bro ther o f the late hymnis t s tated In

the course o f a long ministry I hope I have been

permitted to see some fruit ofmy labour, but I fee l

that far more has been done by a single hymn o f

my s ister’s.”

I much regret that I am unable to Show a MS.

o f “ Just as I am.

” I have co rresponded on

the subject with many of the late M iss El l io tt’s

relatives,who al l assure me that so far as they are

aware no hymns in the handwriting o f th is autho r

have been preserved.

Another hymn which is usually as sociated with

home missions is

There were ninety and nine that safely layIn the shelter of the fo ld,

But one wa s out on the h il l s awayFar off from the gates of go l d ;

Away on the mountains W i l d and bare,Away from the tender Shepherd

’s care.

This hymn was written by M iss El izabeth

Ceci l ia Clephane, the daughter of the Sheriff of

Fife. I t is said to have been compo sed whi le

the autho ress was stil l at schoo l and was fi rst

scribbled in one o f her exercise books. Whether

this was so ornot the hymn remained unpublished


unt i l after the autho ress’s death, which took place in

1 869 befo re she had comple ted her thi rty-e ighth

year.“ There were n inety and nine has come to

be associated in the minds of many with “ Te l l me

the old, Old sto ry,” and has, indeed , on mo re than

one o ccasion been ascribed to M iss Hankey .

Perhaps this is owing to i ts having been , l i ke

the latter, very successful ly set to music by Mr.

I ra D . Sankey. I t is related that one day when

Mr. Sankey was on his way to attend one o f the

great meetings with which his name i s associated ,and to wh ich he had to trave l by train , he bought

a paper to id le away the time . While perusing

this h is eye l ighted upo n M iss Clephane’

s hymn .

He was much struck by the simpl ic i ty and beauty

Of the poem,and determined to sing it at the

meet ing that n ight. Towards the clo se o f the

service he went to the piano , and doubling up

the paper placed i t befo re h im on the music

rest. Then he struck a few cho rds and began

to sing the hymn to a melody which he com

posed as he went along. When he was nearing

the end o f the fi rs t stanza the unpleasan t thought

struck him that poss ibly he m ight forget the

o riginal me lody when he came to the second

verse. His fears were groundless,however, and

2 20 HYMNS FOR “ THOSE AT SEA

he sang the second verse with equal success.

After that,

”he is repo rted to have said , the

rest was easy, and the hymn made a deep im

press ion on the vast assembly.

”

Soon after this it was inserted in Mr. Sankey’s

co l lect ion and was ever after a great favourite at

al l the meetings he ld by the celebrated American

M issioners.

M iss Clephane was the author o f several o ther

hymns,no ne o f which

,however, has attained to

the popu larity enjoyed by “ There were ninety

and n ine.

’

She took the greatest interest in the

wel fare o f chi ldren,and her early death was a

great loss to the poor of Edinburgh , where her

influence , s trengthened by unfai l ing sympathy

and charity, was immense.

Of the hymns special ly suited to“ Those at

sea”one o f the finest is that by St. Anatolius ,

rendered fam i l iar to us by Dr. Neale’s sp irited

translation

F ierce was the w i l d bil low,Dark wa s the n ight ;

Oars laboured heav ily,Foam g l immered wh ite ;Trembled the mariners,Peri l was nigh !

Then said the Lord of Lords,“ Peace it i s I l

2 2 2 HYMNS FOR “ THOSE AT SEA

we attempt the rhythm ical prose o f the o riginal,

and des ign it to be chanted ? Again,the great

length Of the canons renders them unsu i table

for our churches as wno/es . I s it better simply

to fo rm cento s of the mo re beautiful passages ?

or can separate odes , each necessarily impe rfect,be employed as separate hymns ? And above al l

we have no pattern or example o f any kind to

direct our labour.’ Further on Dr. Neale says :

My own be l ief is, that the best way to employ

Greek hymno logy for the uses o f the Engl ish

Church would be by cen to s.”

In spite o f these difi‘iculties,and the fact that

Dr. Neale was the fi rst to make translations from

the Greek , he sti l l remains our most successful

translato r.

Fierce was the wild bil low doe s not consist o f

centos, but is a translat ion o f the complete hymn .

Nearly al l the hymnal compositions by St. Anato

l ius— and they number over a hundred —are sho rt

and terse, and therefore Neale’s suggestion that it

is better to employ centos was not always neces

sary in the case o f this hymn ist The last verse

o f Fierce was the w i ld bi l low is exceptionally

beau t iful , and a s i t may not be known to al l

my readers I give i t

HYMNS FOR “ THOSE AT SEA”

1 1 3

Jesu,Del iverer !

Come Thou to me ;

Soothe Thou my voyagingOver l i fe’s seaThou, when the storm of deathRoars

,sweeping by,

Whisper, 0 Truth of Truth,Peace ! it i s I

Ano ther hymnist, whose reputation rests on a

single contribution , is the late Mr.Will iamWhiting.

He will be forgo tten only when men cease to go

down to the sea in ships, for he was the autho r

o f that very str ik i ng and popular hymn

1

fi l m

To the British sai lo r this hymn is as fami l iar as

Rule Britann ia or Tom Bowl ing,

” and I would

venture to say that i t is qu i te as wel l known to the

average Jack Tar as the Lo rd’s Prayer or any one

of the Ten Commandments. Ne i ther is it a stranger

in the French Navy,for a translation appears in

the Nouveau Liure Cantique(the hymnal in use on

the French men-of-war), w ith the tender and beau

t iful refrain

2 24 HYMNS FOR “THOSE AT SEA

Vo i s nos pleurs, entends nos sanglots,Pour ceux en péri l sur les flots .

I remembe r some time ago showing my co l lee

t ion of hymnal manuscripts to a young sai lor (on

his express ing a wish to see them) who had just

returned from a voyage round the wo rld. He was

a serious and excel lent young fe l low,but he to ssed

those manuscripts over in a manner which made

me nervous ;my most prized hymns he scarcely

looked at . Where’s the sea -hymn he sa id at

last . What sea -hymn I answered There’s‘Fierce raged the tempest,

’ i f that’s the one you

mean .

” N0,he answered

,

“not that one

,though

it’

s a fine hymn and one we o ften sing on board

I mean the one forthose in peri l on the sea.

” I

had not got i t then, nor did I know that it was in

existence unti l a co rrespondent wro te to me sug

gesting that I should write to the deceased hymn ist’s

son. I d id so ,and by return of post came a vo lume

of Mr. Whiting’s o riginal hymns, al l written in the

autho r’s wonderful ly clear,wel l - formed hand. Th is

interesting vo lume o f manuscripts conta i ns three

versions o f “ Eternal Father ! strong to save. To

one Mr. Wh i t i ng has added the date, February

9th , 1 875, and the words,This is my final

version .

”

2 26 HYMNS FOR “ THOSE AT SEA

was written about the same t ime as “Eternal

Father ! strong to save ” is :

“zin c. QW ’kI W £1 751 1. 414 ,

Wait /L old W fut/W

Aut7ka~i.sa q “1W

This is probably the best-known o f al l Preben

dary Thring’s compositions. Like M r. Whit ing’s

hymn,i t had the good fo rtune to be special ly set

to mus ic by the late Dr. Dykes, who composed for

it the very fine setting known as “ St. Aelréd.

”The

autho r based his hymn on the wo rds taken from

St. Mark’s Gospe l“ And He arose

,and rebuked

the w ind , and said unto the sea,Peace , be sti l l.

The o ther day I was somewhat amused to read

in an American paper the history o f this hymn.

I t owes i ts o rigin , wro te the imaginative scribe ,

to the fact that on one o ccasion,the autho r be ing

out by himse lf o ff the coast o f Sco tland in a smal l

sail ing-boat, was overtaken by a storm. His mast

snapped , his tiny sai l was to rn to shreds, and he

was himsel f in imminent danger o f be ing drowned ,when a vision of the scene on the Lake of Genesaret

appeared before him and calmed his nerves. Wi th

renewed hope he began to bail out the water from

HYMNS FOR “ THOSE AT SEA ”2 27

his now rapidly- sinking lit t le craft, and a few

moments later was rescued by a steam yach t .

When he had somewhat recovered he wro te, in

the heartfe l t gratitude which came upon him,the

wel l- known l ines beginning, Fierce raged the temi ”

pest o’

er the deep. This account is a pretty one ,but unfo rtunately it is not co rrect. The sto ry o f

the vis ion appearing to him is true enough,but the

rest is false. The fact is,Prebendary Thring was

safe on dry land when the idea of the hymn was

conce ived. He was sitting alone at the time,do ing

nothing. With half-closed eyes he saw the raging

sea , the terrified mariners , and ourSaviour sleeping

calmly and peacefully. Then, gtaking pen and

paper, he wro te Fierce raged the tempest as

rapidly and spontaneously as d id Heber when

he penned his immo rtal From Greenland’s icy

mountains.

Dr. E. H. Bickersteth , the lately- resigned Bishopo fExeter, is the au tho r of a great number ofhymns ,

many ofwhich were written with an especial object.

Among these is one which he wro te foruse at sea ,

and which is one o f his best known

Almighty Father, hear our cry,

As o’er the trackless deep we roam ;

Be Thou our haven always nigh ,On homeless waters Thou our home.

2 28 HYMNS FOR “THOSE AT SEA

Dr. Bickersteth te l ls me that there is no histo ry

attached to the writing of this hymn. He had

long been struck by the fact that there were prac

tical ly no hymns Special ly suited for use when in

mid-ocean , and he therefo re determined to write

one. He i s a great admi re r o fWhiting’s “Eternal

Father strong to save ,” and gives it a place in

his hymnal , but at the same t ime po ints o ut that

i t is not special ly suited for singing by those at sea ,be ing much mo re appropriate when sungfor those

at sea .

Almighty Father, hear our cry, wil l be found

in Dr. Bickersteth’

s vo lume of poems ent itled

Tzoo Brat/tors . I t there appears with the opening

l ine in a somewhat different form to that usual ly

met with in mo st co l lections. As some of. my

readers may be aware, the hymn , as given in the

autho r’s vo lume, commences, Lo rd of the ocean ,

hear our cry.

”

Besides be ing a hymnist, Dr. Bickersteth has

also done considerable wo rk as an edito r, having

issued several co l lect ions. His most widely used

is l e Hymnal Companion to tke Book of Common

P rayer, which is used in a great numbe r of churches.

I t was rece ived with considerable favour the first

year o f publication, and now takes i ts place among

the four most widely-circulated hymnals in Eng

land.

!

mineral anb h arvest tanninsALL SAINTS’

DAY

HYMN which is said to have been a

favourite wi th the late Queen Vi ctoria is

that for funeral services

Now the l abourer’s task i s o’er;Now the battle-day i s past ;Now upon the farther shoreLands the voyager at last .Father, in Thy grac ious keepingLeave we now Thy servant sleeping.

This hymn was o riginal ly written in six stanzas

o f four l ines each with the wel l-known refrain. I t

ha s,however

,in almost al l hymnals

,been reduced

,

and the fo l low i ng verse omitted

There the penitents, who turnTo the Cross their dying eyes

,

All the love of Jesus learnAt His Feet in Paradise.

In his Notes on Church Hymns , for which230

FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS 2 3 1

co l lection this composition was specially written ,Canon El lerton te l ls us that the who le hymn

,

especially the third , fifth,and sixth verses

,owes

many thoughts,and some expressions, to a beauti

ful poem of the R ev . Gerald Moultrie’s , beginning,“ Brother

,now thy to i ls are o

’

er.

”

Ano ther we l l-known funeral hymn by Canon

El lerton is “ God o f the l iv i ng, in whose eyes.”

This was one o f the first hymns the author wro te,

be ing composed befo re he had reached the age o f

thirty. I t is equal in meri t to many of his mo re

popular hymns, and wil l probably increase in

favour. Canon E l lerton wrote it, I be l ieve, for

the funeral o f one o f his Sunday schoo l chi ldren

at Brighton,where he was curate at the time. I t

soon found its way into several hymnals, one o f

the last edito rs to appropriate it be ing Prebendary

Thring. In the o riginal it does not appear in as

many stanzas as we are accus tomed to sing it,and

the probab i l i ty is that Canon El lerton added to

i t afterwards. I n many co l lect ions the fo l lowing

verse is omit ted

R eleased from earthly to i l and strife,With Thee i s h idden sti l l the ir l ife ;Thine are the ir thoughts, the ir works, the ir powers,All Thine, and yet most truly ours ;For wel l we know,

where’er they be,

Our dead are l iv ing unto Thee.

2 3 2 FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS

This hymn was a favourite wi th the autho r,

probably from its associations with his early days.

I t has been successful ly set to music by various

composers, one o f the most attractive and appro

priate melodies being“ God o f the l iving ” by

Mr. Everard Hulton .

M iss Sarah Doudney is, perhaps, better known

as a novel ist than a hymnist, probably from the

fact that her hymns are very few in number.

What she has written in this way, however, is

very exce l lent, and herhymn for funeral services is

now among the best for those so lemn occasions

S leep on,beloved, s leep, and take thy rest

Lay down thy head upon thy Saviour’s breast ;

We love thee wel l, but Jesus loves thee best :Good-night

This hymn,M iss Doudney te l ls me, was written

after the death o f a very dear friend of hergirl

hood . I t was suggested by a custom of the early

Christians who bade the i r fr iends “good -night”when

they entered the arena for the final trial o f thei r

faith , so sure were they o f the i r re-union. Dark

ness and Dawn ,” and “

Quo Vadis” have given

us a sense of the real i ty and simpl icity of the i r

be l ief in the awakening to a better l ife . Christ ina

Rosetti, in one of her poems, has the same idea,

beauti ful ly expressed

1 34 FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS

hidden by the trees darkness was closing in,and

I never saw them come or depart. But the strain

seemed even then to fo retel l the passing of the one

I loved best ; and one mo re sacred memo ry was

added to those which cl ing to the l ines, written so

long ago .

The beautiful setting to which this hymn is

invariably sung,known as “The Bles sed Rest” was

special ly composed for i t by the late S ir Joseph

Barnby.

From Dean M i lman’s Martyr o f Antio ch we

get one o f the love l ies t o f al l funeral hymns

Brother, thou art gone before us ; and thy saintly souli s flown

Where tears are w iped from every eye, and sorrow i sunknown

Fromthe burden of the flesh , and from care and fearreleased,

Where the w icked cease from troubl ing, and the wearyare at rest.”

To the many thousands who have l istened to

S ir Arthur Sul l i van’s musical vers ion o f “ The

Martyr o f Antioch ” it i s needless to say how

impres sive this funeral hymn is when sung, as i t

invariably is,unaccompanied. The me lody is

exqu isite in its so lemnity, and it is surprising to

find that Bro ther,thou art gone befo re us

” is in

FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS 1 35

comparatively few hymnals. What could be finer

than the subdued triumph of the closing l ines

And when the Lord shal l summon us, whom thou hastleft beh ind,

May we, untainted by the world,as sure a welcome

find !

M ay each, l ike thee, depart in peace, to be a gloriousgue st,

Where the w icked cease from troubl ing, and the wearyare at rest.”

The argument of the “ Martyr of Antioch ”is

given in the preface to Sul l ivan’s adaptation .

“Olybius is in love with Margarita , and she returned

his love. This, however, was in her heathen days .

She i s now a Chr i s t ian , and with her conversion, of

which both her lover and her father are igno rant,

she, though stil l not indifferent to h im,rejects al l

ideas o f union with a heathen . The piece opens

with a cho rus o f Sun-worshippers, prel iminary to

a so lemn sacrifice . The Prefect cal ls forMargari ta

to take heraccustomed place and lead the worsh ip.

During her non-appearance, the Pries t charges

h im wi th lukewarmness in the cause of Apo l lo ,

and he avows his intention to put al l Christians to

death.

The scene changes to the Chris tian Ceme tery,

where one of the brethren is bur ied, and a hymn


is sung over him Brother, thou art gone before

us After the funeral , Margarita remains behind ,

and pours fo rth her fee l ings in ado ration o f the

Saviour. Her father finds her thus employed , and

learns for the fi rst time of her convers ion .

“ The scene again changes to the Palace o f the

Prefect. The Maidens o f Apo l lo s ing thei r even

ing song. Olyb ius and Margari ta are left together ;he te l ls her o f the happiness which wil l be hers

when they are united. She then confesses she is a

Christian ; he curses her rel igion , and she leaves

him for prison .

The final scene take place outside the prison o f

the Christians on the road to the Temple o f

Apo l lo . The Maidens o f Daphne chant the

glo ries o f the god, while from within the prison

are heard the mo re so lemn and determined strains

o f the Christians. Margari ta is brought out and

required to make her cho ice. She proclaims her

faith in Christ. Her lover and her father urge her

to re tract,but in vain and she dies with the wo rds

o f rapture on her l ips

The Chri st, the Chri st, commands me to H i s HomeJesus, Redeemer, Lord, I come ! I come ! I come

This fine musical drama contains some o f

Sul l ivan’s finest inspirat ions,and it is rather


least of i t,is somewhat confus ing. Mr. Redhead

only d ied comparatively recently.

A hymn which is becoming year by year more

o ften sung at funerals is the late Lo rd Tennyson’s

Sunset and evening star,

And one c lear cal l for me !And may there be no moaning of the barWhen I put out to sea .

This hymn,i f hymn i t can be cal led , is the only

one which the autho r ever wro te. L ike “ Abide

with me the verses were among the last the

poet ever penned and are l ike ly to become his

most wide ly known . The couple o f stanzas were

written ve ry rapid ly and under the fo l lowing

in terest ing circumstances. I t appears that Dr.

Butler,of Trin ity Co l lege , Cambridge , when visit

ing Tennyson,asked how the poet came to write

Cross ing the bar.’ Po inting to a nurse who had

been with h im some e ighteen months, and had

had great influence over h im,he repl ied :

“ That

nurse was the cause o f my wri t ing‘Cro s sing the

Bar.’ She asked me to write a hymn,and I re

pl ied , Hymns are o ften such dul l things.’ But at

last he consented to write one, adding : They say

that I compose very slow ly, but I knocked that

o ff in ten m inutes . This l ittle sto ry was related

by Canon Fleming in an address del ivered at

FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS 1 3 9

Yo rk recently. As is wel l known,Sho rt ly be fo re

his death the poet cal led h is son to him and to ld

him that i t was his desire that Cros sing the Bar

should appear at the end o f al l future editions o f

his wo rks,an injunction which has faithful ly been

fulfi l led .

Not written special ly for funerals , but very

o ften sung on these occasions, is M iss Charlo tte

El l io tt’s

My God and Father ! whi le I strayFar from my home in l ife’s rough way,0 teach me from my heart to say ,

Thy w i l l be done.

”

This hymn is as popular as the same autho r’s

Just as I am,w ithout one plea. I t was written

some time befo re this latter hymn and pub

lished two years earl ier. Various versions appear

in different hymnals, and many edito rs have

altered it to suit the ir own particular co l lect ions.

The number of settings to which it is sung is

almost as great as the number of versions. What

makes it a part icularly suitable hymn for singing

at funerals is the lesson it teaches of resignation to

those who are left behind .

“ My God, my Father ! while I stray is not

only a beautiful hymn but interesting from the

fact that in it we can trace much of the author’s

240 FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS

own su ffering and pat ience. As already mentioned ,M iss El l io tt was a confirmed inval id

,and her

constan t prayer was that she should learn the

lesson o f patience. I n the fo l lowing verse how she

strove for the mastery is beau t ifully expressed

Though dark my path , and sad my lot,

Let me be sti l l and murmur not,0 1 breathe the prayer divmely taught ,

“ Thy W i l l be done .

”

M iss El l iott’s hymns were never written with the

intention of be ing sung in public,being, perhaps ,

more suitable for private use. After they had

appeared in her 1nvalia”s Hymn Book, however,

they were taken , by various compi lers, sometimes

with her leave but mo re o ften without it,and

inse rted in numerous congregational hymnals. Of

the 1 20 hymns which M iss El l io tt wro te, abo ut a

sixth are in common use to -day and sung in al l

parts o f the civil ized globe .

Among our harves t hymns there are few mo re

beautiful than M r St. H i l l Bourne’s “ The sower

went fo rth sowing. I t was written in 1 874 for a

Harvest Festival at Chris t Church , Sou th Ashfo rd ,Ken t, and first printed in a magazine. There is a

touching l ittle sto ry connected with the writing of

the music to th is hymn which I have the com

po ser’s permiss ion to reco rd here. I t appears that


be ourwatchward,which cons isted of n inety-six

lines !

Come, ye thankful people, come appeared in

so many different fo rms and phases as on more

than one Occasion to seriously o ffend the author.

In several instances the Dean wro te to complain

and repudiate the various versions published, but

it was o f l i ttle use,and very few hymnals even to

day give i t exactly as the autho r wro te i t.

Compare this verse, as in the o riginal

Even 50, Lord , quickly come

To Thy final Harvest-home !

Gather Thou Thy people in,Free from sorrow,

free from 5111 ;

There, for ever, purified,In Thy Presence to abide ;Come

,w ith al l Thine ange ls

,come

,

Raise the glorious Harvest-home !

to that which appears in Hymns Ancient and

Come then,Lord of mercy, come

,

Bid us s ing Thy Harvest-home :Let Thy saints be gather

’d in

,

Free from sorrow,free from s in ;

All upon the go lden floorPrais ing Thee for evermore ;Come , w ith al l Thine Angels come ;

B id us s ing Thy Harvest-home.

FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS 243

This hymnal was certainly the greatest sinner in

the matter of alteration,and the Dean was much

offended that his Opinion regarding the various

changes made was not even asked.

The very fine tune to this hymn was compo sed

by SirG. J . Elvey, who christened it“ St. Geo rge’s

,

Windso r,” in memo ry o f his connection with that

histo ric chape l.

Our second most popu lar harvest hymn comes

to us from a German source . This is

We plough the fields and scatterThe good seed on the land ,

which was written by Matthias Claudius sometime

about the year 1782 . I n the o riginal it was a

lengthy poem o f many verses, only a selection from

which is found in German hymnals. The au tho r,

who was born at Lubeck in 1740,was for many

years connected with the Hamburg News Agency,and subsequently edited various German papers.

He wro te poems and articles as wel l as a good

deal of rel igious verse. Many o f his hymns are to

be found in German hymnals, and of these some

two or three have been translated into English, the

most popular be ing the one for harvest. He died

during the latter part of the year which saw the

Battle o fWaterloo .


The translator of the most popular version of

We plough the fields and scatter is M iss J . M .

Campbel l, who has given us many o ther exce l lent

translations from the German. M iss Campbe l l ,who was the daughter of a country vicar, used to

teach in the schoo l s attached to her father’s parish ,and it was for these children that she made her

now famous translation . M iss Campbe l l scarcely

l ived suffi ciently long to appreciate to the ful l the

great popularity attained by her hymn, forshe died

in 1 878 . The very fine melody to which the

hymn has always been sung is also from the

German, having been composed by J . A. P. Schulz,and is contemporary with the o riginal poem .

I n Prebendary Thring’s co l lection I notice a

fourth verse is given. I t is not a translation but is

an o riginal stanza by H. Down ton . Like the

fourth verse to “ Lead, k indly l ight” there i s no

apparent reason for its being.

A very exultant harvest hymn is that by the

late Chatterton Dix

To Thee,O Lord, our hearts we raise

In hymns of adoration,To Thee bring sacrifice of praiseWith shouts of exultation.

This hymn was written in 1 863 , some four years

prior to the writ ing o f his better-known “ Come


or three years at St. Luke’s be fo re the outside

world had even heard o f i t. Mr. Blunt’s flower

services were events in the l ives of the many

hundreds Of children who flocked to his Church.

No child so poo r but managed to bring a

few blossoms as an o ffering, and some of the

bouquets were real ly beaut i ful . There was keen

competi t ion among the l i t tle ones as to who should

bring the prettiest po sy and mo re than one

instance is reco rded of a child having saved her

hal fpence for many months in o rder that her

bunch might be among the very best. Many o f

them knew the hymn Here,Lo rd, we o ffer Thee

by heart, for they used invariably to s ing i t as they

marched up to present the i r flowers. Mr. Blunt

was for nearly fo rty years recto r of St. Luke’s ,

and to -day he is sadly m issed , perhaps most o f al l

by the chi ldren . Only a few weeks befo re his

death he wrote out and sen t me a MS . o f his

wel l-known hymn , which has been most succes s

ful ly set to music by the R ev . P . Maurice .

A hymn which is usually associated with All

Saints’ Day, and which has come to us from the

German , is

Who are these l ike stars appearing,These before God’s Throne who stand ?Each a go lden crown i s wearing,

FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS 247

Who are all th is glorious band ?Alleluia

,hark ! they s ing,

Prais ing loud the ir heavenl y King .

This very fine translation was made by M iss

Frances E. Cox, and has been included in a great

numbe r of hymnals . There are o ther versions, but

they have al l been cast into shadow by M iss Cox’s

bril liant translation. The autho r of the o riginal

hymn was He inrich Theobald Schenk, the son o f

a German pasto r, bo rn in 1 656 . This is the only

hymn associated wi th his name,but it ha s been

sung in Germany for nearly two hundred years .

I t must have been written when he was an old

man o f s ixty-one or s ixty-two ,and the melody,

known as Al l Saints” is con tempo rary with the

hymn. Indeed , i t appears very probable that the

tune was in existence some years befo re Schenk’s

hymn was published , and it is not, therefore ,

altogether improbable that the hymn was w ritten

to the tune o r,‘

at al l ev ents, fitted to the tune after

it was written. M iss Cox, the translato r o f this

hymn,shares with M iss W inkworth the honour o f

be ing among the best translators from the German

who have flourished during the last half century.

Her translations are to be found in al l modern

co l lections.

Hark ! the sound o f ho ly vo ices, chan ting at


the crystal sea ,” by Bishop Christopher Wo rds

worth, is ano ther favourite hymn for All Saints’

Day. I t wil l be found in his Holy Year, from

whence i t has been taken by many edito rs , and

is now included in a great number of hymnals.

Canon El lerton makes an interesting reference

to this hymn. He says “ I n the earl ier

editions o f Church Hymns the fifth stanza o f th i s

hymn

Now they reign in heavenly glory, now they walk in

golden l ight,Now they drink as from a ri ver, ho ly bl is s and infinite ;Love and peace they taste for ever

,and al l truth and

knowledge see

In the Beatific Vi s ion of the B lessed Trini ty,

was omitted in deference to the judgment o f one o f

the Episcopal Referees o f the Society for Promot

ing Christian Knowledge,who held that the verse

was liable to be misunderstood as countenancing

the popular erro r that the Blessed‘

are al ready in

the ful l frui t ion o f the ir future and everlasting

glory—the Beatific V is ion.

’ I t is scarcely need

ful to say that so accurate a theo logian as the

Bishop Of Linco ln had no sympathy wi th this

View. His Lo rdship,while pressing forthe restora

tion of this verse, explained that the who le hymn ,from beginning to end

,was to be regarded as the

FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS

Then eyes w ith joy shal l sparkleThat brimm’

d w ith tears of late ;Orphans no longer fatherless,Nor w idows deso late

were somewhat sad and melancho ly,added

fo l lowing triumphan t verse

Bring near Thy great Salvation,Thou Lamb for s inners slain,F i l l up the ro l l of Th ine e lect,Then take Thy power and re ignAppear, Des ire of nations

,

Thine exiles long for home ;Show in the heavens Thy promi sed s ign ;Thou Prince and Saviour, come.

I n this fo rm the hymn was sung at the autho r’s

funeral on January 17, 1 871 .

There is b ut l ittle doubt that Archbishop Mac

lagan is best known by his hymn for All Saints’

Day

The saints o f God ! their confl ict past,And l ife’s long battle won at last,No more they need the shield or sword,They cast them down before the ir Lord0 happy Saints ! for ever blest,At Jesus’ feet how safe your rest !

This hymn, the au thor tel ls me, was first

publ ished in Church Bel/s in 1 870. I t was written

in 1 869 . The year fo l lowing its publicat ion

FUNERAL AND HARVEST HYMNS 1 51

i t appeared in the hymnal , and from

thence i t was taken for a considerable number of

co l lections . The love ly melody with which i t is

associated was composed by the late S ir John

Stainer, and is one o f the most'

successful o f al l

that composer’s refined hymn tunes. I t is gener

al ly supposed to have been wri tten expressly for

Archbishop Maclagan’

s hymn but this is inco rrect.

A few months befo re his death , having a desire to

compare the published setting with the o riginal,I

wrote to Dr. S tainer asking him i f he possessed

the MS . He repl ied that he did not, but very

kindly wro te me out a fresh Copy, adding on the

margin a humorous l ittle no te to the effect that I

might judge from the manuscript that he could

never earn his l iving as a music copyist ! The

melody was composed in 1 873 forperformance by

the London Church Cho i r Association in St. P aul’s

Cathedral,and sung to the hymn

Thou h idden love of God , whose he ight,Whose depth unfathom

’

d,no man knows ;

I see from far Thy beauteous l ight,Inly I s igh for Thy repose ;My heart i s pain’d, nor can i t beAt rest, ti l l it finds rest in Thee .

By the express wish o f Sir Hen ry Baker, Dr.

Monk, and Dr. Dykes, however, i t was, and ever


wil l be ,associated wi th The Sa ints o f God. I t

wil l be no ticed that the name of the tune i s

Rest.”

Bishop Heber’s fine hymn dedicated to St.

S tephen is just as o ften sung on All Sa i nts ’ Day,

and therefo re no apo logy is needed in giving it a

place under th is chapter. I t is found in Heber’s

co l lection o f’

manuscript hymns in the Brit ish

Museum,and there beg ins “ The Son o f God is

gone to war. Many fine sett ings have been

written for this hymn , and it is sometimes given in

stanzas o f four l ines and sometimes o f e ight. I n

the o r iginal i t appears in four- l ine stanzas.

This hymn was brought prom inen tly before the

public some years ago by Jul iana Ho rat ia Ewing in

her very beautiful S tory of a Short Life. In that

pathe t ic history o f the troubles of a courageous

l ittle sufferer i t w i l l be remembered that “The

Son o f God goes fo rth to war ” was the favourite

hymn in the barracks,and was always referred

to by the so ld iers as the “tug of war ” hymn .

The hero o f the story,one o f the o fficer’s sons

who meets with an accident and is crippled for

l i fe , begs a few moments befo re his death that

the so ld iers may be allowed to sing the ir “ tug

o f war hymn once again befo re he dies. The

so ld iers are to ld of his des ire,and they go beneath

b gmns for¢btlbren

STORY i s to ld of an old man over e igh ty

years of age, who , when he lay dying,endeavoured in vain to recal l a single prayer or

hymn which might help to comfo rt him in his

journey into the unknown. He had led anything

but a blameless l i fe ; s ince the age of twenty he

had never once entered a place of wo rship orgiven

a single thought to a future state and now,as he

stood on the thresho ld of a new l i fe , his brain could

frame no prayer to the God be fo re Whom he wa s

so soo n to appear.

And then suddenly his vis ion c leared , and he

saw himse l f a l ittle lad again, knee l ing at his

mo ther’s knee, repeating his evening hymn ; and

unconsciously from his l ips issued those tender

words which for nearly seventy years he had

ne ither u ttered nor heard264

HYMNS FOR CHILDREN

Gentle Jesus, meek and m i ld,Look upon thi s l ittle chi ld ;Pity my s impl ic ity,Sufl

'

er me to come to Thee.

I t is the same with a good many of us. We

o ften remember most clearly the lessons we

learned in childhood ,and it is probable that

there are few readers of this l ittle vo lume who

could not recal l the days when they too knelt and

repeated the same fami l iar l ines. I t was one of

the earl iest hymns Charles Wesley wro te,and he

compo sed it expressly forchi ldren. I t has,indeed ,

been stated that the autho r wrote i t for his own

ch i ldren , but this of course is inco rrect, inasmuch

as Charles Wesley was not married unti l many

years after its composit ion . There is l ittle doubt,

however, that in after years his own chi ldren loved

this l ittle hymn as much as any child who sings it

to -day. I t was written about the year 1740 , and

published two years later in the autho r’s Hymns

ana’S acrea

’ P oems . This simple and beautiful

composit ion is in two parts of seven verses each,the second part beginning

Lamb of God,I look to Thee

Thou shalt my Example beThou art gentle, meek, and mi ld,Thou wast once a l ittle child.

1 56 HYMNS FOR CHILDREN

Though Charles Wesley was fond o f children

and wro te many hymns for thei r benefi t, i t canno t

be said that he was ever very successful as a

writer for the young. The reason , as a contem

porary has po inted out, is not very far to seek .

He started with the wrong idea, attempting to

l i ft chi ldren up to the leve l of adults, merely

adapting his compositions to them by simpl icity

of diction . W i th the exception of Gentle Jesus,

meek and mild , not one o f the many hymns he

wrote for chi ldren has l ived to be sung to -day.

A children’s hymn which has become almost a

classic is

17a: M ia/HAMd un ;

M 5"in fi ts-ion“

W h y: cu d -fi lm .

wri tten by M iss Katherine Hankey some thirty-five

years ago . I t has probably been translated into

mo re languages and dialects than any o ther child’s

hymn,and every year the autho r rece ives numerous

requests from missionaries and wo rkers in distant

co rners of the globe for permission to make fresh

trans lations. The hymn has become so closely

identified wi th I ra D . Sankey’s Sacred S ong s a nd

S olos , as to give rise to an impression tha t the

1 58 HYMNS FOR CHI LDREN

herse l f some months ago , as she sat and wrote

an autograph o f the simple and beautiful hymn

for reproduction here.

“ The hymn as I first wro te it,said M iss

Hankey, consisted of fi fty verses of four l ines

each. I t was divided into two parts The Story

Wanted and The Story To ld.

’ I wro te Part 1.

towards the end o f January, 1 866. I was unwel l

at the t ime—just recovering from a serious i l lness—and the second verse real ly indicates my stateof health

,for I was

,l iterally,

‘weak and weary.

’

When I had written the first part,which consisted

o f e ight verses, I laid it aside ; and it was not

unti l the fo l lowing November that I completed the

who le hymn . I t is , perhaps, strange that the plea

for the story, and not the story itsel f, should be

come the favourite hymn but o f course the second

part is far too long for congregational singing.

”

M iss Hankey also composed a musical setting

for “ Te l l me the old, old sto ry,” which is very

simple and beautiful. Though frequently sung,however, i t has never attained the popularity

enjoyed by that publ ished in the American

hymnal.“ What has always greatly surprised me, con

tinued M iss Hankey, is that so many people,including hymnal ed i tors, should look upon it

HYMNS FOR CHILDREN 1 59

only as a children’s hymn ; I certainly had not

chi ldren in my mind when I wrote it. However,

i f i t answers i ts purpose, I suppose it matters very

l ittle whether it is sung by the young or the aged.

I am sincere ly grateful‘

that my little hymn has

proved a comfo rt and a bless ing to so many.

M iss Hankey is the author o f many o ther

hymns, not one of which, however, has become

very wel l known . Like many ano ther hymnist,she wil l be remembe red by a single composition.

A hymn which was perhaps more popular with

children fifteen years ago than it is to -day is“ There is a happy land , far, far away. I t was

written by Mr. Andrew Young in 1 838. Mr.

Young happened during that year to be spend

ing his ho l iday in Ro thesay, and one day cal led

at the house of a friend, where he passed the after

noon. In the drawing- room a little girl began to

play on the piano . The tune was a pretty little

I ndian me lody, very simple, and Mr. Young, who

was passionate ly fond of music, begged her to play

it again. He remarked that it would make a

capital tune for a children’s hymn,and again

asked to have it repeated. That night,as he

slept, the tune sti l l haunted him ,and early in

the morning he rose, and , while walking in the

garden, wro te the hymn which has now become

260 HYMNS FOR CHI LDREN

we l l known. I t has been translated into many

languages and dialects, and is a general favourite

among the converted natives o f China.

M r. Andrew Young was born in Edinburgh ,where he was educated , in 1 807. At the early age

o f twenty-three he was appo in ted Head Master of

N iddry Stree t Schoo l, Edinburgh, where, in less

than ten years, he raised the number of pupi ls

from 80 to 600. In 1 840 he became Principal

Engl ish Master at Madras Co l lege , St. Andrew’s,

where his success as a teacher was no less remark

able. This appo intment, however, he resigned in

1 853 , and became Superintendent o f the Greenside

Parish Sabbath Schoo ls. He died on Novembe r

Though Mr. Young was the autho r of numerous

hymns, many o f which he wro te for his pupi ls,on ly one has stood the test o f time There is a

happy land.

”

One of the most wide ly known and best loved

of al l chi ldren’s hymns is

.Jfihueut 1 uuLu v .)Qe s e cnnaewa a e ub 1 4e 77 gc aQQ

Vite.»f zj s m eé t 6 £9q

written in 1 841 . The authoress,Mrs. Jemima

Luke, is sti l l happily with us, and is now (1902)


l iving a retired l ife in the I sle o f Wight. This

lady has recently published a de l ightful book of

reminiscences , written in so fresh and interesting a

manner as to suggest the work of a young and

ingenuous girl rather than that o f a lady be tween

e ighty and ninety years o f age.

“ The Ch i ld’s Desire,” as Mrs. Luke entitled her

hymn,was written

,as many people are aware, in a

stage coach , between Taunton and We l l ington .

The story of i ts compo sition is wel l known , but

wil l bear repetition. At the No rmal Infant Schoo l ,Gray’s Inn Road, where M iss Thompson (as she

was then) had gone to learn the system,the

teachers had to march up and down the schoo l

room singing the marching pieces provided for

the ir future use, and amongst them was the air

to which Mrs . Luke’s hymn was subsequent ly

adapted. The wo rds set to i t in the book of

marching pieces were s imple and pre tty, bu t M iss

Thompson thought the air would better adapt

i tse lf to a hymn , and tried in va in to find one

to su i t the measure. Just about th is time she

be came serio usly i l l wi th erys ipelas, and for days

lay only half conscious. When She recovered she

was sent to Taun to n for change o f a i r,and i t was

dur ing this v is i t that “ The Ch i ld’s Des ire ” was

written .

HYMNS FOR CHILDREN

In the smal l town of We l l ington, to quo te

Mrs. Luke’s own words, “ five mi les away, there

was a l ittle associat ion in a id of the So ciety for

Female Educat ion in the East. One fine spring

morning I wen t in a two -horse coach to see how

the Society wa s prospering. I t was an hour’s ride.

There was no o ther inside passenger. I took a letter

from my pocket, and on the back of the envelope

wro te two verses o f the l ittle hymn now so wel l

known. The compos ition o riginal ly consisted o f

two verses only, but in response to a request from

my father to make it a missionary hymn, the third

verse was added.“ My father superintended the Sunday Schoo l

at the l ittle chape l belonging to the estate. He

used to let the chi ldren choose the first hymn

themselves. One Sunday afternoon they struck

up the i r new hymn. My father turned to my

younger sisters, who stood near him ,and said

,

‘Where did that come from ? I never heard it

before.

’ ‘Oh , Jemima made i t,’ was the reply

On the Monday he asked me for a copy of the

wo rds and tune. This he sent, with name and

address in fu l l, to the Sunday S chool Teachers

’

M ag az ine, where i t appeared the fo l lowing month .

But for my father’s intervention the hymn worild

in al l probabil i ty never have been preserved.

”

264 HYMNS FOR CHILDREN

W. Warner, and was bo rn in New York some

t ime during the latter part of the year 1 82 1 . She

has written several vo lumes of poems and hymns,bes ides numerous nove ls which have had a large

c ircu lat ion in the S tates.

M iss Warner was especially successful in writing

hymns for children,and many o thers of her com

positions besides“ Jesus loves me ”

are slowly

making the ir way into English hymnals. The

fo l lowing, which the autho ress calls A Mo ther’s

Evening Hymn,might have been written by the

author of Sweet and low ”

0 l ittle chi ld ! lie stil l and sleep ;Jesus i s near, thou need

’st not fear ;

No one need fear whom God doth keep,By day and night ;

Then lay thee down in slumber deepTil l morn ing l ight .

0 l ittle chi ld ! be sti l l and rest,He sweetly sleeps, whom Jesus keeps,And in the morn ing wakes so blest

,

H is child to be ;

Love every one, but love Him best,

He first loved thee.

Hosanna we s ing, l ike the children clear,by

G. S . Hodges is, found in mo st co l lections published

during the las t quarter of a century,and is an

especial favourite on Palm Sunday. Mrs . Hodges

HYMNS FOR CHI LDREN 1 65

te l ls me that, though her husband wro te a great

number of hymns, the one referred to here is the best

known and mo st appreciated. I t was written in

1 874, and published the fo l lowing year, with music

special ly written for it by the late Dr. Dykes.

Mr. G. S . Hodges,who was Vicar of Stubbings ,

near Maidenhead , from 1 882 to 1 899 , was passio n

ate ly fond of ch i ldren,and never happier than

when he had a child perched on his knee . This

love for chi ldren undoubtedly he lped him to

understand exactly the kind of hymn that would

please them best, and accoun ts in a measure for

the favour with which “ Ho sanna we sing ” was

rece ived . Indeed , this hymn was particu larly

fo rtunate bo th as regards autho r and composer ,see ing that Dr. Dykes was also devo ted to

chi ldren .

I n send i ng me a MS. of her husband’s hymn

Mrs. Hodges writes : “You wil l see that it is

not qui te the same as in the hymnals. I t must

have been touched up” afterwards

,I think

,but

whether by au tho r or ed ito r I canno t say. My

husband was not accustomed to speak much about

the method he adopted in writing his hymns. He

general ly altered a good deal after making the

first draft o f the hymn , and wou ld wr i te i t. out

several times before be i ng perfectly sat isfied.

”


Mr. Hodges is the autho r of a vo lume of sacred

and secular poems , which he publ ished in 1 876.

In this wo rk appear many translations from the

Latin as we l l as several hymns worthy the atten

tion of compilers.

Two s imple hymns by the late Dr. T. O. Sum

mers find places in most co l lections for children.

The morning bright,

” based on the text Whether

we wake or sleep, we should l ive together with

Him” was written abo ut the year 1 846 , and in

tended to be used as a mo rning hymn,while

“The dayl ight fades ,” founded on words taken

from the Psalms : The Lo rd is the strength ofmy

l i fe, of whom then shal l I be afraid,” was written

some three years later. Curiously enough these

two hymns appear to be the only compos itions

o f the kind Dr. Summers ever wrote. Concer ning

them,the autho r says

“ My first chi ld was bo rn in January,1 845.

When she was about a year old, as I was de

scending the Tombigbee River, in a l ittle steamer,

I wro te a mo rning hymn for her on the back of

a letter, transcribed it when I reached Mobi le,and sent it to her at Tuscaloo sa. That was the

o rigin o f ‘The morning bright.’ When editing

the Southern Christian Advoca te I put i t wi thout

name in the Child’s Department.’ I t was copied


and fervour as to give rise to the cheerful be l ief

that he was destined for an early grave. He has ,however, conclusively proved that prod igies do

not always die yo ung.

The very first hymn I wrote which was used,says M r. M idlane,

“ was written on May 24,

1 844, when I was nineteen years of age. I t was

publ ished under the title o f God bless ourSunday

Schoo ls ,’ and sung to the tune o f the National

Anthem. F i fty- seven years ago last summer it

was fi rst sung as ourAnniversary Hymn,and st i l l

i t finds expression from the l ips, and I trust ,from the hearts o f many l ittle pi lgrims.

But i t is his hymn for children that wil l keepM r. M idlane’s memory green when the hand that

penned it is sti l l .“ There’s a Friend for l i ttle

ch i ldren was written on February 27, 1 859 , and

was first scribbled in his no te book . The o riginal

manuscript i s st i l l preserved and the author some

times looks a t i t and smi les to think how tho se

few verses, coming, as they d id , straight from the

heart, sang themse lves round the wo rld in less

than a decade. This hymn fo rmed a contribut ion

to a l itt le serial cal led Good News for the

Little Ones , ed ited by C. H. Mackintosh, and

published by Broom,and was first printed in thei r

publication as the final article for the year 1 859 ,


under the heading o f “ Above the bright blue11sky I n the o riginal MS.,

and as first printed ,the opening verse began

“ There’s a rest for l i ttle

children,”

Friend ” be ing subsequently sub

stituted for “ rest.”

Mr. M idlane has written an immense number

o f hymns,and has late ly publ ished a co l lection

contain ing 400 of his own compositions. Not

one of his hymns,however, has attained anyth i ng

l ike the populari ty enjoyed by There’s a Friend

for l ittle children .

” Mr. M idlane, who has been

formo re than half a century engaged in business

at Newport, says that he first rece ived poet ic

encouragement when he went, as a l i ttle fe l low,

to Sunday Schoo l . He used to write his verses ,and after the lessons were over would show them

to his teacher, an enthus iastic reader of poetry ,

who gave him valuable advice. His first printed

hymn was written at the age of seventeen while

on‘

a visit to Carisbrook Castle This hymn ,beginning,

“ Hark ! in the presence o f our God,”

appeared in the Youth’

s M ag az ine for November,

1 842.

Another hymn for children which has come to

us from an American source is Shal l we gather at

the river ? by Robert Lowry. The fo l lowing rather

quaintly-expressed histo ry of the o rigin of this


hymn is given by M r. E. W. Long in his I llus

tra ted H istory of Hymns and theirAuthors

On a very hot summer day in 1 864 a pasto r

was seated in his parlour in Brooklyn , NY. I t

was a time when an epidemic was sweeping

through the city,and draping many persons and

dwel l ings in mourning. All around friends and

acquaintances were passing away to the spirit

land in large numbers. The question began to

arise in the heart, with unusual emphasis, Shall we

meet again ? We are parting at the river o f death

shal l we meet at the river of l ife ? ’ Seating myse lf at the o rgan , says he (Mr. Lowry),

“ simply

to give vent to the pent-up emo tions of the heart,the wo rds and music o f the hymn began to flow

out as if by inspiration

Shal l we gather at the river,Where bright angel feet have trod ? ”

Dr. Lowry wro te a great number of hymns,

for several of which he also compo sed effective

music which helped considerably to increase the i r

popularity. A hymn by Dr. Lowry which has

been taken by many authors as the foundation

o f pathetic sto ries is “Where is my wandering

boy to -night ?

Mr. George Rundle Prynne, the present Vi car

o f St. Peter’s, Plymouth, is the autho r of


special ly for chi ldren. When it is used in col

lections of hymns for children it m ight be wel l

to alter the fourth verse,which in the o riginal

runs

Lea d us on our journey,Be Thyself the WayThrough terrestrial darknessTo celestial day.

mo re simple

Lead us on our journey,Be Thysel f the Way

Through earth’s passing darknessTo heaven’s endless day.”

During a visit paid to St. Peter’s Vicarage some

time ago , I had the pleasure o f hearing from M r.

Prynne the circumstances under which he wro te

his now famous hymn.

“ I composed it,” said Mr. Prynne

,one sum

mer’s even ing just forty- six years ago , and I don’t

suppose the entire composition took me more than

half an hour. My wife , who was a very good

musician , was playing to me from my favouri te

compo sers at the t ime, and as she played so the

wo rds of the hymn came into my mind . I did not

at first think o f reducing them to paper, and it was

only after the entire hymn was conce ived that I at

HYMNS FOR CHILDREN 273

last took an old envelope from my pocket and

scribbled the verses on the back. Then I read

them over to M rs. Prynne, and as she seemed to

l ike them they were preserved , and subsequently

appeared in one of my own books: I have been

rather surprised that mo st hymnal editors should

take it for granted that I wro te the hymn for

children. Of course I d id no thing of the sort, but

I daresay it makes just as good a hymn for l ittle

one s as for adults, and after al l I suppose most o f

us are chi ldren only ‘ larger grown.’

A short time after its publ ication I went for a

ho l iday to Rome,and while there was asked to

conduct the service at the English Church. When

the time for giving out the hymns came I was

rather startled to find myse l f del ivering the first

l ine of my own composition : Hymn No .

‘ Jesu , meek and gentle.

’

The pleasure I ex

perienced on finding that it had so soon made

i ts way to Rome was in no way lessened on

hearing from the Vicar that the name of the

author had not o ccurred to him, in fact he had

never heard it ! ”

Mr. Prynne has been Vicar of St. Peter’s,Plymouth, for fifty- four years, having been ap

po inted to the l iving in 1 848.

A hymn for ch i ldren , by the late M iss Frances

F .H. 1 8


R idley Havergal, which has become very popular

bo th in this country and America is

W M W M '

Her sister gives the fo l lowing account of the

writing of this hymn“When visiting at Perry Barr Frances walked

to the boys’ schoo l room , and, be ing very ti red, she

leaned against the playground wal l while M r.

Snepp, a gentleman who was with her, went in.

Returning in ten minutes he found her scribbl ing

on an old enve lope. At his request she handed

him the hymn just pencil led ,“ Go lden harps are

sounding.

A few days later M iss Havergal compo sed a

special tune for this hymn, and it was this same

tune, Hermas,” that the gifted poetess sang a few

moments before she died.

M iss Havergal was once asked by a correspon

dent how she composed her hymns, to whom

she repl ied

I can never setmysel f to write verse. I be l ieve

my King suggests a thought and whispers me a

HYMNS FOR CHILDREN 275

musical l ine or two , and then I look up and thank

Him de l ightedly,and go on with it. That is how the

hymns and poems come. The Master has not put

a chest of poetic go ld into my possession and

said,Now use i t as you l ike ! But he keeps the

go ld and gives it me piece by piece just when He

wil l,and as much as He wil l and no mo re. Some

day perhaps He wil l send me a bright l ine o f

verses on‘Satisfied ’ ringing through my mind

,

and then I shal l look up and thank Him and

say, Now,dear Master, give me ano ther to

rhyme with it, and then another’

; and then per

haps He wil l send it al l in one flow of musical

thoughts , but mo re l i kely one at a time,that

I may be kept asking Him for every l ine.

There,that is the process, and you see there is

no‘ I can do i t ’ at al l. That isn’t His way with

me. I o ften smi le to mysel f when people talk

about ‘gifted pen’

or‘clever verses,

’etc ., be

cause they don’t know that it is nei ther, but

something really much nicer than be ing ‘ talented

or clever.’

Bishop Walsham How wrote a great number of

hymns for children, one of the mo st popular be ing

Come,praise your Lo rd and Saviour,

” written in

1 871 , and based on the words 0 come, let us sing

unto the Lo rd,” taken from the Psalms. The hymn


consists of four verses o f eight l ines each,the first

verse be ing sung by boys and girls together, the

second verse by boys only, the third verse by girls

only, and the concluding verse by boys and girls

together again. The effect when sung by wel l

trained ch i ldren’s vo ices is very pretty, and the

hymn is,natural ly

,a great favourite in Sunday

Schoo ls.

Another hymn for children, which was written

about the same time as Come, praise your Lord

and Saviour,” is

It i s a thing most wonderful,Almost too wonderful to be

,

That God’s own Son shoul d come from Heaven,And die to save a chi ld l ike me.

I t was written with the intention o f be ing sung at

Sunday Schoo l anniversaries, and based on the

text Herein is Love.

”

Bishop Walsham How had more than an

o rdinary love for chi ldren , and it is therefore not

surprising that his hymns for l ittle ones are s o

successful. I t is said of him that even when near

ing that age when he might be said to be getting

old he would sit down and write a set of non

sense verses for a favourite grandchild with the

greatest enthusiasm and earnestness. His char

acter was an extrao rd inarily lovable and unselfish

1 78 HYMNS FOR CHI LDREN

stronger, I took pen and paper and began to

wri te ‘ I love to hear the sto ry.

’ Though it i s

now close upon thirty-five years ago , I remembe r

that the words were suggested rapid ly and con

tinuously as i f I were writing from dictation.

I n less than fi fteen minutes the hymn was written

and sent away without any co rrections. I ts popu

larity has always surprised me,as among the

hundreds of hymns and songs which I have writ

ten, many seem to me to be of greater merit.”

A very beautiful hymn by this autho r, but

one which is not general ly known , is the fo l low

I ‘

ing,which should be included in al l chi ldren’s

hymnals

Father, wh ile the shadows fall,With the tw i l ight over all ,Deign to hear my evening prayer,Make a l ittle chi ld Thy care.

Take me in Thy holy keepingTill the morning break ;Guard me through the darkness s leeping,Bless me when I wake.

’Twas Thy Hand that al l the dayScattered joys along my way,Crowned my l i fe w ith bless ings sweet,Kept from snares my careless feet.Take me in Thy holy keepingTill the morning break ;Guard me through the darkness s leeping,Bless me when I wake.


Like Thy patient love to me,May my love to others be ;All the wrong my hands have done,Pardon, Lord, through Chri st, Thy Son.

Take me in Thy holy keepingTil l the morning break ;Guard me through the darkness sleeping,Bless me when I wake.

Above the clear blue sky, I n heaven’s bright

abode,” by John Chandler

,was first published in

the autho r’s Hymns for P ublic Worship, 1 856,

though when it was actually written is not very

certain . I t is one of the few o riginal hymns by

this autho r which has become what one might

term “

popular.” I t is an immense favourite with

chi ldren , having had the good fortune to be all ied

with any

inspiriting me lody composed for i t by the

late Dr. E. J. Hopkins.

Among the MSS . in possession of the Church

House , Westminster, there is a letter from John

Chandler, in which special reference is made to

this hymn. I t was written to a correspondent,

probably in reply to a question regarding M r.

Chandler’s method o f composition. The letter,which is dated March 20, 1 875, reads

With the exception of ‘Above the clear blue

sky’ I have composed no hymns since those pub

lished in 1 837, which are translations. ‘Above


the clear blue sky ’ appeared fi rst in some I rish

co l lection of hymns some years ago ; but that is

al l I can remember about it.”

The late Mrs. Ceci l Frances Alexander had

every right to be considered par exce l lence the

chi ldren’s hymnist. Her hymns are known wher

ever Christianity is preached , and the translations

that have been made are innumerable. The Rev .

F. A . Wall is, o f the Universi ties’ M ission to Cen

tral Africa,says he has heard Mrs. Alexander’s

hymns sung by half-clad Africans in a language

she had never known. Perhaps the best loved of

al l the hymns by th is writer is

I t was written in 1 847 and first publ ished in

the autho r’s Hymns j br Little Children, a tiny

vo lume of some thirty leaves, i l lustrated with

ful l -page co loured il lustrations. Mrs. Alexander

once to ld me that her hymns were usual ly written

for her Sunday Schoo l class , and were nearly

al l read over to her smal l scho lars before be ing

published. I t is re lated that the beautiful and


a green hil l not having a city wal l. This reminds

one o f the sto ry of the l ittle boy whose mother

was teaching h im a certain hymn, and when she

came to the wel l-known l ines

Satan trembles when he seesThe weakest sa int upon his knees ,

stopped his parent with the paralyzing question ,“Why does the weakest saint sit on Satan’s

knees ? The great beauty, however, o f Mrs.

Alexander’s hymns is their s impl icity , and prob

ably fewer questions have been asked regarding

the i r meaning (by children) than of those of any

o ther writer.

Among o ther hymns for children by Mrs.

A lexander is “ Once in royal David’s city,”

which ranks second in po int o f popularity to

“ There is a green hill.” I t might very we l l be

sung as a Christmas hymn , be ing founded on

wo rds taken from the Creed Who was con

ceived by the Ho ly Ghost,bo rn of the Vi rgin

Mary.

’ Mention must also be made of “ We

are but l itt le chi ldren weak , a hymn founded

on the proverb“Even a l ittle child is known

by his do ings “All things bright and beauti

ful , an exqu isite ly descriptive hymn based on the

verse “ God saw everything that He had made,


and beho ld it was very good, and“ Do no s inful

action.

”

Mrs. Alexander was the daughter o f Majo r

John Humphreys, who fought at the batt le o f

Copenhagen. In 1 847 she married the R ev .

William Alexander, who subsequently became

Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, and u lt imately

Primate o f All I reland. She took the greatest

interest in al l rel igious and charitable works and

was greatly be loved by the poo r. Her best-known

poem is“ The burial o f Moses

,

” which had a wide

circulation. Of this work Tennyson said that i t

was one of the poems by a l iving w ri ter of which

he would have been proud to be the autho r.

Mrs. Alexander died at the Palace,Londonderry,

in 1 895.

A hymn by Mrs. Alexander which is not so

we l l known as many o f her o thers, though charac

teriz ed by the same simpl icity and beau ty,is one

she wrote on the text ,“ Do all things without

murmurings, that ye may be children o f

God”

Day by day the l ittle daisyLooks up w ith its yel low eye,

Never murmurs , never w i shesIt were hanging up on high.

The most successfu l hymn which John Hampden


Gurney wro te was one for chi ldren Fair waved

the go lden corn.” I t was written on the text,

The first- fru its o f thy land thou shalt bring into

the house of the Lo rd thy God ,

” and first pub

lished in a co l lection of hymns compi led by the

author in 1 851 . Why this hymn Should be con

s idered as special ly suitable for chi ldren I do not

know ; i t would be far mo re appropriate amongst

the harvest hymns. However, i t has now for clo se

upon half a century been looked upon as a hymn

of praise for chi ldren, and I have therefo re in

cluded it in this chapter. I t has been translated

into several languages and its use i s ve ry exten

sive. John Hampden Gurney, who was no re la

tion of Archer Thompson Gurney, the autho r of

Christ is risen,Christ is risen,

” was for many

years recto r of St. Mary’s, Marylebone, and Pre

bendary of St. Paul’s Cathedral. He died in 1 862

at the age of fifty-nine.

M iss Janette Threlfal l has not written a great

numbe r o f hymns, but among them is one for

children which takes a very high place.

“ Ho

sanna ! loud Hosanna ! The l ittle chi ldren sang,

”

was written about the year 1 870 and first pub

lished in the author’s vo lumes of hymns and :

poems , Sunshine a nd Shadow . This l ittle book is

pre faced by a few remarks from the pen of Bishop


work and won the lasting friendship of Dean

Farrar and the late Dean S tanley. On her death

in 1 880 the fo rmer paid a glowing tribute to her

memory in a Special sermon which he preached

on the Sunday fo l lowing her decease.

A hymn for children which in po ints of simpl i

city and beauty has never been surpassed is that

by Mary Duncan

Jesus, tender Shepherd, hea r me ;Bless Thy l ittle lamb to -night ;Through the darkness b e Thou near me ;Watch my sleep ti ll morning l ight.

All thi s day Thy hand has led me,And I thank Thee for Thy care ;Thou hast c lothed me, warmed and fed me ;Listen to my evening prayer.

Let my s ins be all forgiven ;Bless the friends I love so wel l ;Take me, when I die, to heaven,Happy there w ith Thee to dwell.

This little hymn is by no means in as many

co l lections as one would suppose seeing that to

mo st children it is as fami l iar as Charles Wesley’s

Gentle Jesus, meek and mi ld.

” I t has been set-to music by various compo sers, perhaps the best

known tune being “ Evening Prayer by the late

Sir John S tainer.

The fact that this hymn was spec ial ly written

by the autho ress for her own l ittle chi ldren gives

HYMNS FOR CHI LDREN 287

an added interest to the compos ition. I t i s

generally be l ieved to have been compo sed three

years after her marriage,in 1 839 , when Mrs .

Duncan was bare ly twenty-five years of age .

Her children,of course , would at that time be

scarcely old enough to comprehend the meaning

of the l ines, or even pronounce the words after

her,but we can readily be l ieve that she was

anticipating, with al l a mo ther’s affection

, the

time when they wou ld come to her knee and

repeat the hymn she had written for them. That

time was never to be . Only two or three months

after writing the hymn Mrs. Duncan caught a

severe co ld which deve loped into pneumonia, and

a few days later the young life was closed . The

fo l lowing year the hymn was publ ished , and how

many mo thers have s ince taught the ir children the

beautiful l ines, who can say

One of the most remarkable men in the Church

o f England to - day is the present Vicar of Lew

Trenchard , the Rev . Sabine Baring-Gould . His

name i s appended to more wo rks in the Bri t ish

Museum than that of any other l iving writer,and

there are few subjects on which he canno t write

with authority. I t is, however, as a hymn writer

that Mr. Baring-Gould must be considered in the

present volume, and his claim to a place among


writers for children lies in his be ing the autho r

of

This beautiful l ittle hymn was written in 1 865

and appeared in the Church Times the same year.

Three years later it was included in Hymns

Ancient and M odern,and to-day it would be

diffi cult to find a hymnal publ ished during the

last twenty-five years, e ither in England or

America, in which it does not appear.

The second verse of this compo sit ion , which in

the o riginal read as fo l lows

Now the darkness gathers,Stars begin to peep,Birds, and beasts, and flowersSoon wi ll be as leep.

has been changed by the au tho r to

As the darkness deepens,Stars begin to peep,Shadows of the twi l ightDarker round us creep.

This version is, perhaps, the more poetical of

the two .

M r. Baring-Gould wrote the hymn special ly for

the children in his Sunday Schoo l at Horbury


music,and who was also blind. The marriage

was a very happy one in spite of the terrible

affi iction under which both husband and wife

laboured.

Most of Mrs. Alstyne’

s hymns appeared in

I ra D. Sankey’s co l lection and owe no inconsider

able amount of thei r popularity to the attractive

melodies to which they are al l ied. I t is said that

the number of copies o f Mrs. Alstyne’s hymns so ld

in America and Great Britain amounts to close

upon one hundred mil l ions.

Mr. St. H i l l Bourne, the Rector of Finchley, is

the autho r of at least one composition which takes

a high place among children’s hymns. I refer

to

Christ, Who once amongst usAs a chi ld did dwel l

written in 1 868 and first publ ished seven years

later. In answer to a question regarding the

genesis of this hymn, the author writes“ There is nothing very interesting to tel l you

about the writing of this very simple l ittle hymn

I t was one of the first I composed— in fact, was

written before I was o rdained. I really wrote it

for the chi ldren of a mission schoo l at Clerkenwel l

which I superintended on Sundays. This hymn

was written about the same time as my harves t

HYMNS FOR CHILDREN 2 9 1

hymn, The sower went fo rth sowing,’ bo th of

which have since found a place in many co l lee

t ions.”

Come, sing with ho ly gladness was written by

the late Mr. J . J . Danie l! about the year 1 864, and

first appeared in the Appendix to Hymns Ancient

a nd M odern. I t is one of the most successful of

al l chi ldren’s hymns, the third verse be ing especial ly

striking0 boys, be strong in Jesus,To to i l for Him i s gain,And Jesus wrought w ith JosephWith ch isel, saw, and plane ;

0 maidens, l ive for Jesus,Who was a maiden’s Son ;

Be patient, pure, and gentle,And perfect grace begun.

In a conversation with the author’s brother some

time ago I was informed that Mr. Danie l l had not

written many hymns, his time being general ly

occupied in writing prose wo rks. Mr. Daniel !

was ordained by the Bishop of Manchester in

1 848 , and after fi l l ing various curacies and l ivings ,was preferred to the Vicarage of Langley Burre l l

in 1 879 , which he occupied down to his death

in 1 890.

Mr. Daniel! wro te many hymns for special use

in his own church, but few of them have found

1 9 1 HYMNS FOR CHILDREN

thei r way into hymnals which are very widely

circu lated. Come, sing with ho ly gladness” was

written special ly for children , and , his brother

info rmed me,the autho r was never happier than

when hearing his own boys and maidens sing

ing this hymn. The tune to which it is sung is

the same as that to which Hosanna, loud

Ho sanna ” is set, a melody which appeared in

K ache/ s Z ionharfe in 1 855. Mr. Danie l l probably

had th is melody in his mind when he wrote his

now famous hymn.

1 94 SOME GENERAL HYMNS

deeply thankful that Bernard’s l ines seem to have

spoken to the hearts o f so many. I can reckon

up at least fourteen new hymnals in which more

or fewer of them have found a place.

”

The melodies to the various hymns taken from

the R hythm are almost as wel l known , perhaps

equal ly so,as the hymns themse lves. Dr. Neale

was frequent ly asked to what tune the wo rds of

Bernard might be sung. In the fourth edition ,

publ ished in 1 86 1,he publ icly answers the query.

Of the many tunes which have been composed ,”

he writes,“ I may here mention that of Mr. Ewing,

the earl iest written , the best known , and with

children the most popular that o f my friend,the

R ev . H. L. Jenner, perhaps the most ecclesiastical

and that o f ano ther friend , M r. Edmund Sedding,which

, to my mind , best expresses the meaning of

the wo rds.” The M r. Ewing referred to was the

husband of Jul iana Horatia Ewing, the au tho r of

j ackanapes and many other wel l-known sto ries

for ch i ldren.

There have been many paraphrases o f the

90th Psalm, some o f them exceedingly fine, but

they have al l given place to that by Dr. Watts

beginning,“ Our God, our help in ages past.

”

The exact date of this compo sit ion is uncertain,but it is generally supposed to have been written

SOME GENERAL HYMNS 1 95

when the authorwas past forty. In the Methodist

hymnal i t is placed in that section quaintly headed

Describing Death ,” and is sometimes used as a

funeral hymn. Though written originally Our

God, our he lp in ages past,” Watts himsel f sub se

quently changed the opening l ine to“ O God !

ourhelp in ages past,” and in this form it is found

in most hymnals.

I t has been said that nearly al l great men have

been members of large fami l ies, and this is borne

out by Isaac Watts,who was the e ldest of nine

children. The events of his l ife are too wel l known

to need recal l ing here, but it is rather an interest

ing fact that, when at an advanced age he was

approaching death, he found conso lat ion , not in

his own hymns, but in those of other writers. I n

this respect he resembled the Father of Method

ism who , when he lay dying, kept repeating the

opening line of Watts’ fine hymn,

“ I’ll pra ise my Maker whi le I’ve breath.”

Only a few moments befo re the end came he

endeavoured to repeat the hymn, but could only

gasp out I’l l praise , I’l l praise,

” and so struggling

for breath died. I t was a fine tribute to the

wo rth of Watts’ hymn, and it is probable that

many another Christian has also passed away with


the same words on his l ips. I saac Watts died

November 25, 1748, at the age of seventy-four. A

monument was afterwards erected to his memory

in Westminster Abbey.

One of the most successful of the many hymns

which have been written during the last twenty

years is George Matheson’s O Love that wi lt not

let me go .

” This hymn has been special ly set to

music by Dr. A. L. Peace, who wrote for i t the

extremely beautiful melody St. Margaret.”

Some short while since I wrote to Dr. Matheson

asking him for the sto ry of his hymn and also for

a MS. in his own handwriting, in o rder that I

might reproduce i t in facsimi le. I t was not unti l

after I had posted the letter that I remembered

with some dismay that the great Sco ttish preacher

was bl ind. By return of post, however, I received

a letter writ ten by Dr. Matheson’s secretary,in

which he said : “ I have been bl ind from youth,

and have long since given up al l cal igraphy now,

attempting nothing more fo rmidable than mysignature

,and this only when required for fo rmal

documents.“ The circumstances under which I wro te ‘0

Love that wilt not let me go ,’

Matheson’s letter,“ were these . I t was not com

posed ; it came as an inspiration. I wel l remem .

continues Dr.

SOME GENERAL HYMNS 297

ber the o ccasion. I t was at I nnel lan, on an

evening in June,1 882. I had suffered a severe

loss,and was greatly depressed. As I sat there,

very sad and unhappy, the wo rds flashed into mymind

,and in a few minutes the four verses of the

hymn were complete . I t seemed as if they had

been swiftly dictated to me by some invisible

medium,complete in language and rhy thm . I t

has been a constant source of pleasure to me that

the l ittle hymn has found so large an acceptance.

Every year I rece ive many requests from com

pi lers of hymnals in all parts of the world to be

al lowed to include O Love that wilt not let me

go’ in the ir co l lections

,requests which I am only

too de l ighted to grant.”

Dr. Matheson is at present minister o f St. Ber

nard’s,Edinburgh, a position which he has now

fi l led for many years. ’

There are many hymns which have associat ions

with the I s le o fWight. We have already referred

to several, and the number is increased by yet

another,this be ing Mr. Thomas Binney

’

s Eter

nal l ight ! eternal l ight ! ” This hymn was wri tten

at Newpo rt, not a great way from the house in

which Mrs. Luke now res ides . The o rigin of this

hymn was to ld me by one who in his youth was a

personal friend of Thomas Binney. I t appears

298 SOME GENERAL HYMNS

that the late hymnist, who had a fondness for

so l i tude, was one evening sitting at the window of

his house watching the sun set. He sat there

long after the l ight of day had disappeared,unti l

the moon rose and the stars began to come fo rth.

And then the thought struck him how wonderful

i t seemed that the sky was never free from light,i t was eternal . After sitting in contemplation for

some considerable time longer, the l ines of the

hymn began to frame themse lves in his brain .

Ris ing at last,he shut the window and retired to

his own room. That night before he closed his

eyes in sleep the hymn was written. I t was pub

lished about the year 1 820 with special music,

which,however, did not commend itse l f very

highly to the public taste. Thirty-five years later

i t was again set to music by a M r. Burnett of

Highgate , whose setting was very much more

successfu l. The hymn is a favourite in America,

though in American hymnals the o riginal text is

not general ly adhered to . The manner in which

his hymn was occasional ly mutilated was some

times a source of annoyance to M r. Binney, who

o ften referred rather sarcastical ly to the manner in

which compilers unblushingly altered a hymn to

su it the ir own particular views.

Dr. Binney, who for many years was pasto r at

3 9 9 SOME GENERAL HYMNS

to himself. This remarkable document began ,“ Dearest Mysel f, -As you have had some con

cern in writing these verses, and are besides myo ldest and most intimate friend, i t i s but proper

that I should dedicate them to you. I wish you

to take this rather as a token o f affection than

respect. Our near re lat ionship and close inti

macy make me sti l l retain some regard for you,al though you have much injured me and thwarted

many o f my designs,”etc . This curious address ,

over which Mr. Lynch had many a laugh in after

years,concluded

,

“ I remain , My dearest myse l f,Your affectionate though injured companion , I .

”

Both the poems and the dedication were written

befo re he had reached his fifteenth year.

For several years M r. Lynch discharged the

duties o f a min ister in London,but owing to

enfeebled heal th he was obliged to re t ire. On

partial ly recovering his strength in 1 860 , he took

a room in Gower S treet, where he continued to

preach every Sunday for a couple of years, when

he removed to Hampstead and became ministe r

of Mo rn ington Church. He died on May 9 , 1 871 ,at the age of fifty

- three.

A hymn which is general ly sung on Trin ity Sun

day, and wh ich wa s wri tten especial ly for that day,is Reginald Hebe r’s magnificent paraphrase


M .M 1M . M M M tg!

This beautifu l hymn is very o ften sung as a

mo rning hymn,and is

,in fact

,a generalfavourite

throughout the year. I t was not publ ished unti l

after Heber’s death, l ike very many o f his hymns,

but almost immediate ly after i ts appearance i t be

gan to be inserted in al l the new co l lections. I t

was written on the text taken from Revelations

They rest not day and night, saying, Ho ly,Ho ly,

Ho ly,Lord GodAlmighty,Which was, and is, and is

to come.

’ I have in my possession a pho tograph

o f the hymn as it appears in Heber’s co l lection of

MSS . at the British Museum. I t is headed For

Trinity Sunday,” and is initial led with the letters

R. H.

” I f it is not the most popular of all Heber’s

hymns—and many assert that it is—there is cer

ta inly no o ther of this author’s compo sitions which

exceeds it in beauty. I t has been translated into

as many fo re ign languages as From Greenland’s

icy mountains and is a favourite subject with

students for conversion into Latin.

A word must be said regarding the triumphant

and martial melody to wh ich it is al l ied. This


compo sition , known by the name o f “ N icaea,

was wri tten by the late Dr. Dykes. Many

attempts have been made to supplant this melody,but without success. Like that to Eternal

Father ! strong to save,” i t stands alone and

wil l l ive with the hymn . I t is one o f the best

known of Dr. Dykes’ tunes, and was very popular

in Durham. On one occas ion,when Dr. Dykes

went into a shop in that city to make a pur

chase, there happened to be standing behind the

counter three young assistants . A loo k of intelli

gence passed between them, and the first assistant

so ftly uttered the word “ Ho ly ”on E, the second

fo l lowed suit on G sharp and the third finished on

B. Dr. Dykes looked amused and rather scanda

lized but said nothing. The same thing o ccurred

on o ther o ccasions unti l the composer qu ietly asked

the young men to desist, which they very po l i te ly

d id. This l ittle incident was to ld me by a per

sonal friend of the late compo ser.

Now thank we al l our God is M iss Wink

worth’s translation of Martin R inkart’

s great

hymn. I t is said to have been written in com

memoration o f the Peace ofWestphal ia, but this is

a sto ry which can hardly be re l ied upon . Rinkart

passed through al l the horro rs of the Thirty Years’

War,and he can certainly have seen li tt le during

304 SOME GENERAL HYMNS

tune was composed about the year 1649 , so that i t

may po ssibly have been written specially forR in

kart’s compos ition. I t is a fine, impress ive setting,

and su its the hymn admirably.

Bishop Bickersteth has written a considerable

number of hymns, to some o f which reference has

already been made, but the one which wil l keep

his name longest in the Church’s memo ry is that

which he wro te in 1 875

M 76 1.

This hymn steadily increases in favour year

by year, and its growing popularity is in no way

lessened by the very beautiful melody entitled

Pax Tecum,

” which was special ly written for i t

by Mr. G. T. Coldbeck.

I t has been published in the form of a card,and

many hundreds of these have been distributed by

the Bishop among the numerous children he has

confirmed . The hymn owes its o rigin , the author

te l ls me, to the impression made upon him by a

sermon preached by Canon G ibbons from the text“ Thou wilt keep h im in perfect peace, whose mind

is stayed on Thee .

’ Canon G ibbons was a ce le

brated preacher, and so much was Dr. Bickersteth

SOME GENERAL HYMNS 3 9 5

moved by his discourse that, on reaching home, he

penned the l ines almost spontaneously. They

came with l ittle effort, and the who le composition

was completed in a very few minutes. He took

less time over it than any other of his hymns,and

yet i t has become the best known. I t has been

favourably compared to Newman’s Lead,kindly

Light,” a somewhat curious co incidence when one

remembers the hot water Dr. Bickersteth got into

for adding an additional stanza to that favourite

hymn. M r. Richard le Gallienne, who is a criti c

as we l l as a poet, says of Peace, perfect peace

I t would be diffi cult to name any o ther hymn

so fi l led with the sense of man’s security as this,

which tranquil l izes me at certain moments to a

remarkable degree.

”

“ 0 Jesu , Thou art standing was written by

the late Bishop of Wakefie ld in 1 867. I t is

one of the most popular of Bishop How’s com

po sitions, and is to be found in a great number o f

hymnals. I t has come to be assoc iated with Hol

man Hunt’s ce lebrated picture Of Christ knocking

at the doo r. Bishop How also wro te the special

hymn for the late Queen Victoria’s D iamond

Jubilee,but though it was a fine composition and

su ited its purpose wel l, it wil l probably not be in

cluded in many hymnals. This, of course , is due to

E .H . 20


the fact that i t was written for a unique and pro

bably never-to -be - repeated o ccas ion.

With regard to O Jesu , Thou art stand ing, I

find among my papers a letter from the autho r

enclosing a MS. of his wel l-known hymn. He

says There is very l ittle to be said regarding

the writing o f O Jesu , Thou art standing’

; cer

ta inly nothing wo rth cal l ing a story. I compo sed

the hymn early in 1 867, after I had been reading a

very beautiful poem entitled Bro thers and a Ser

mon.

’

The pathos of the verses impressed me very

fo rcibly at the time. I read them over and over

again,and finally closing the book I scribbled on

an odd scrap of paper my first ideas of the verses

beginning O Jesu , Thou art standing.

’ I altered

them a good deal subsequently,but I am fortunate

in be ing able to say that after the hymn left myhands it was never revised oraltered in any way.

”

“ Thy life was given for me,

”or

,as in some

co l lections,“ I gave My life for thee

,

” is one of

M iss Havergal’

s most popular hymns and is an

especial favourite in America. A few years be fo re

herdeath M iss Havergal rece ived a letter from an

unknown correspondent in Brooklyn asking for

some info rmation respecting this compos ition. I n

reply the au tho ress wro te The hymn was the

first thing I ever wrote wh ich could be called a


I n o rder to catch the thoughts that fly,John

Wesley invented a system of sho rt long-hand.

\Vhen walking or rid ing,appropriate l ines would

occur to him,and these were immediately entered

in a smal l no tebook which was kept ready for the

purpo se . When his destination was reached the

hymn was careful ly gone through,the weak l ines

expunged and the strong ones strengthened. He

was his own severest critic, and he never dis

tributed a hymn amongst his congregation without

spending an immense amoun t of thought upon it.

The most popu lar of John Wes ley’s translations

is

Now I have found the ground where inSure my soul’s anchor may remain.

M r. G. J . S tevenson in his notes says :“ Some

one has l ikened this hymn to the wo rd o f God,for

in it are found no less than thirty- six separate

passages o f Scripture which, in language or spiri t,correspond with the l ines o f the hymn.

When he had finished the translation John

Wesley sent a copy of it to a German Mo rav ian

who was at that time in London, asking him to

frankly crit ic ise i t , and if he thought i t might be

improved to kindly say so . I t was retu rned wi th

many express ions o f approval and a suggestion


that the third stanza should be altered. The

Mo ravian enclosed an improved version of this

verse which Wesley afterwards adopted . The

Father o f Methodism was always wi l l ing to

take sound advice and ever ready to consider

the opinions of his critics.

I heard the vo ice of Jesus say, the finest and

perhaps mo st loved of al l Horatius Bonar’s hymns,was written whi le the author was minister at Kelso .

A reproduction of the o riginal manuscript from Dr.

Bonar’s no tebook, which I am able to give through

the courtesy of his son,wil l be studied with peculiar

interest by al l lovers of the great Sco tsman’s com

positions. Among hymnal manuscripts it is un ique,for it gives some insight into the method the autho r

adopted when compos ing his hymns. His son tel ls

me that he wou ld take his no tebook , and while

thinking out the l ines of his hymn he would be

busy with his pencil , making l ittle sketches al l

over the margin o f the page. I t is evident from

the MS. that Dr. Bonar, l ike John Wesley, made

use o f a kind of sho rthand , though in his case the

s igns employed bear a strong likeness to Pitman’s

system. The o riginal MS . o f “ I heard the vo ice

of Jesus say ” is now very much worn and faded.

I t is written in penci l , and the pho tographer who

Copied the o riginal tel ls me that he had to give an


expo sure o f something l ike three-quarters of an

hour in o rder to get even a fairly good result

Dr. Bonar’s no tebook, which is now one o f the

most precious rel ics he has left behind , contains, I

be l ieve, many o ther hymns, including I was a

wandering sheep,” written two or three years

previous to“ I heard the vo i ce o f Jesus say,

”

and that very beautiful resignation hymn,Thy

way,not mine, O Lo rd , written in 1 855.

The name o f Harriet Auber will be remembered

in connection with a single hymn, though she wro te

o thers which are to - day in use at Spurgeon’s

Tabernacle and e lsewhere. Our blest Redeemer,ere He breathed ” was written as a Whitsuntide

hymn , but has now become so great a favourite

that in most co l lections i t finds a place among

those for General Use.

”

Apart from the great beauty o f “ Our blest

Redeemer, ere He breathed,

”the hymn is re

markable from the fact that the autho ress first

wro te i t on a pane o f glass in a window of her

house at Hoddesdon,where she resided for many

years. To Mr. C. W. Lock of that town I am in

debted for a pho tograph of this interesting house ,which shows the window which contained this

strange manuscript, though the pane has long

since been removed.


Writing from Hoddesdon, Mr. Lo ck says :“ I

remembe r the house we l l in which M iss Auber

used to l ive,and where she died in 1 862 at the

patriarchal age of e ighty-nine. She was buried

in the churchyard immediately opposi te the house .

She and a M iss Mackenzie l ived together, two

saintly old ladies who were known and loved for

many m i les round. While M iss Auber wro te

poe try M iss Mackenzie was the autho r o f a cons id

erable number o f prose wo rks o f a rel igious nature .

A lady resident here, who se relations l ived in

M iss Auber’s house after the decease o f the

hymnis t, te l ls me that when visi t ing her friends

she often saw the hymn on a pane o f glass in one

of the bedroom windows at the back of the house,

but that after her friends left Hoddesdon the pane

was removed by some person and has never been

recovered. No trace was ever found o f i t. This

lady has put a cross on the window in the pho to

graph to show which pane o f glass the hymn was

written on.

”

Though there has been a good deal of con

troversy as to who was the author of All people

that on earth do dwe l l ,” there can be l ittle doubt

that i t wa s the wo rk of W i l l iam Kethe. I t first

appeared in 1 560 ,and since that date few hymnals

have been publ ished in which i t has not found a


place. Perhaps the tune to which it is all ied , and

which is generally known as the Old Hundredth ,is almost as famous as the hymn itse lf. This tune

o riginally appeared in the Genevan P salter, which

dates back to about the year 1 543 , and it is not

therefo re at al l unl ikely that Kethe wro te his

hymn to the tune.

A somewhat interesting incident may be men

tioned in connection with this composition. As

sung to -day the second verse runs

The Lord, ye know,i s God i ndeed ;

Without our aid He did us make ;We are H i s flock, He doth us feed,And for H i s sheep He doth us take.

I n the o riginal,however, the wo rd in the third l ine

was not flock but fo lk ,” spe l t in the Old Eng

l ish folck.

” I t is general ly supposed that this

alteration, which o ccurred not so many years after

i t was first published, was due to a printer’s erro r,

the 0 and the l be ing transposed. I f this is cor

rect it was rather a happy mistake, the connection

between flock and sheep be ing decidedly

appropriate. Perhaps, after al l , the printer thought

that he could improve on the o riginal , and there is

l ittle doubt that he did so . I t may be mentioned

that Prebendary Thring in his co l lection has

reverted to the o riginal “ fo lk. The exact date


spondence with Mrs . Bride l l Fox,a nea r re lative

o f the late Mrs. Sarah Adams (nee Flower), in

which she gives an attractive wo rd po rtrait of the

au thoress of “Nearer, my God, to Thee.

”She

says : “ Sarah was tal l and singularly beautiful ,with noble and regular features ; in mariner she

was gay and impulsive, her conversation ful l of

sparkl ing wit and kindly humour

How she composed her hymns , Mrs. Fox says

in ano ther letter,can hardly be stated. She cer

ta inly never had any idea o f composing them.

They were the spontaneous expression o f some

strong impulse or fee l ing at the momen t she was

essential ly a creature o f impulse . Her translations

would be,of course, to a certain extent, an excep

tion also , perhaps, when she was writing wo rds

for music already in use at South P lace Chapel .

Otherwise she wro te when she fe lt that the spirit

moved her.”

Some years ago Mrs. Fox co l lected M iss

Flower’s sacred and secu lar music, and this has

since been lodged in the British Museum together

with Mrs . Adams’ rel igious drama Vim'

a P erpetua .

I ncluded in the fo rmer is an exquisi te setting of

Nearer, my God, to Thee .

” I t is not easy, how

ever, and requires several good soprano vo ices to

make i t effect ive.


Both s isters d ied at comparative ly early ages

and within two years o f each o ther—El iza in

December, 1 846, and Sarah on August 1 1, 1 848 .

At the funerals o f both, the hymns and music sung

were the compositions of the two gifted sisters.

Rather a remarkable sto ry is to ld in connection

with this hymn. When Mr. M cKinleywas almost

in extremis he derived great comfo rt from the

hymn “ Nearer, my God, to Thee,” and various

accounts of the composition appeared in the

London papers . One correspondent to ld a sto ry

which was re lated to him by the R ev . Dr. Moulton,

who was for over thirty years a missionary in the

Tongan Islands. On one of his periodical vis its

to the smaller is lands,” wro te the anonymous

correspo nden t,“ he landed at one rarely even

visited by missionaries, and there heard that an

old Tongan, who had some years before been con

verted to Christianity, was dying. The docto r

hastened to the hut of the sufferer,and there a

curious sight met his V iew. The old man had

been propped up by his friends so that he clung

by his two arms to a beam stre tching across the

room there he half hung with closed eyes and a

face drawn with agony constan tly murmuring

some words. The doctor drew silent ly near to

him,thinking that the dying man was making


some last request. ‘ Judge o f my astonishment,’

he said in re lating the incident,‘when I heard

these wo rds uttered over and over again—in

Tongan o f course Nearer, O God, to Thee !

I n those days—almost fo rty

years ago—the hymn o f the cultured , saintly

Englishwoman had not reached the Tongan

natives, but the same spiri t that inspired the

thought in her doubtless inspired it in the heart

o f the poor, untuto red Christian Tongan.

Nearer to Thee ,

I n the O lney Hymn Book there is no more

beautiful composition than John Newton’s How

swee t the name o f Jesus sounds. I t was written

when the autho r had passed his fiftieth year. I t is

probably the best known of al l Newton’s hymns

with the exception o f his “ G lorious th ings of

Thee are spoken.

”

Newton was the son o f a sailor and spent many

years at sea,where , on his own confession, he spent

the l i fe of a reckless and profligate sai lor. He was

at one time in the service o f an African s lave

dealer,and for some years commanded a slave

ship. There was no kind of wickedness which he

did not commit or boast o f having committed.

But when he reached his thirt ieth year he came

under the influence o f the Nonconfo rmists , and

forsaking his seafaring l ife he gave himse l f up to


preaching and became curate of Olney, where

most of his hymns were written. He has pub

lished his own l ife, where in he gives a faithful and

frank account o f himse l f, dwe l l ing wi th consider

able emphasis ou those years of w ickedness which

preceded his conversion . He l ived to the good

old age of e ighty-two and continued preaching

almost to the las t. The fo l lowing l ittle sto ry is

related regarding the hymnist which is notwithout

interest“When he had passed his foursco re years he

continued to preach . As it was with difficulty

that he could see to read his manuscript he took

a servant with him into the pulp i t, who stood

behind him and with a wooden po inter would

trace out the l ines. One Sunday mo rning New

ton came to the wo rds in his sermon ,‘ Jesus

Christ is precious,’ and

"

wishing to emphasize

them he repeated ‘Jesus Christ is precious.’

His

se rvant thinking he was getting confused whispered,

Go on, go on, you said that befo re

’ when Newton

looking round replied,‘John , I said that twice, and

I am go ing to say i t again then with redoubled

fo rce he sounded out the words,‘ JESUS CHR IST

IS P RECIOUS.

’

To the late R ev . William Bul lock , D .D.,Dean

of Hal ifax, Nova Sco tia, the Church is indebted


for “We love the place , 0 God,

”one of the best

known of modern hymns. I t has been my privi

lege to see the composition in the o riginal , and it

is remarkable to no te the amount o f alteration it

has undergone at the hands of compilers. The

last two verses as written by Dean Bullock have

appeared in few hymnals,and as they may be

new to many of my readers thei r reproduction

here may not be wi thout interest

We love Thy saints who comeThy mercy to proc laim,

To cal l the wanderers home,And magnify Thy name.

Our first and latest loveTo Z ion shal l be given

The house of God above,On earth the gate of heaven.

With regard to this hymn Mr. R. H. Bullock,

the Dean’s son, who sti l l l ives in Halifax, says

We have a strong impress ion that the hymn was

composed in 1 827 for the consecration of the

church in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland , of which

he was the Recto r. Two or three years ago this

hymn was sung at the consecration of a new

church erected on the same site, when the sermon

which was preached there in 1 827 was preached

again from the o r ig inal manuscript. My father


affection the settlers wil l tel l you-to who se in

fluence this is due.

I t has been said of the hymns by the late

Dr. J . S . B . Monsell that few of them ,i f any

,

wil l ce lebrate thei r second century. This is per

haps too severe a judgment, for a couple at leas t

wil l l ive—“O wo rship the Lord in the beauty of

ho l iness,and “ Fight the good fight with al l thy

might.” Either of these hymns is wo rthy the pen

of any hymnist. The latter came prominen tly

befo re the public during the years of the South

African war,and was heartily sung by congrega

tions of al l denominations. I n America, too , i t is

a great favourite,and

_played a prominent part

in rel igious services during the war between that

country and the Phil ippines. I t has been set to

mus ic several t imes by d ifferent compo sers, the

mo st popular tunes being St Crispin ,’ by

Sir G. J . Elvey, and“ Pentecost, by Will iam

Boyd.

“ O wo rship the Lord in the beauty of ho l i

ness ” is perhaps Monsell’

s best known hymn. I t

was written about the year 1 860, after the author

had passed his fiftieth year,so that it was not, as

I have seen it stated , one of Dr. Monsell'

s earl iest

compositions. After its publ ication Dr. Monsell

wro te a second version , but i t is the o rigina which

3


is usual ly found in our hymnals. I n many cases,however, the hymn begins, Wo rship the Lo rd in

the beauty of ho l iness,

”the interjection be ing

omitted. This hymn was very successful ly set to

music by S ir Henry Smart, his tune, Meredun,

”

be ing the one to which it is general ly now

sung.

John Samue l Bewley Monsell was bo rn in

Londonderry in 1 8 1 1 . I n 1 834 he took o rders,and subsequently became Vicar of Egham and

afterwards of Guildfo rd in Surrey. He published

several vo lumes of poems and hymns, as we l l as

some prose works . His death was due to an

accident. His church at Guildfo rd was under

go ing repairs, and Dr. Monsell, who took con

s iderable interest in the renovation , used o ften to

watch the men at wo rk. One day he stood in the

aisle, and was looking up at some alterations

which were be ing made in the roof when a large

piece of masonry fe l l. To the consternation of

the workmen, the stone struck Dr. Monsell on

the head , fel l ing him to the ground, where he lay

unconscious. He was tenderly carried to the

recto ry , where everything was done to save his

l ife, but without success. He died on Apr i l 9 ,1 875, at the age of sixty-four.

Nearly al l the hymnal manuscripts of the late

E .H . 2 !


hymnist are in the possession o f his son,Co lone l

Monsell,who res ides in London.

Between the two hymns,“ Come unto Me, ye

weary ” and “ I heard the vo ice of Jesus say,”

there is a good deal of s imilarity. Both are what

one m ight cal l Invitation hymns bo th are written

in verses of e ight l ines each ; and though the

metre is not the same, the difference i s so sl ight

as almost to be unnoticeable while the autho r o f

the remarkably beau t ifu l tunes to bo th , known as

Come unto Me and Vox Dilecti,” is the same,

namely John Bacchus Dykes. Curiously enough,too , in many hymnals they fo l low each o ther.

There was, however, a d ifference of over twen ty

years between the time of the ir composition ,Come unto Me

, ye weary not having been

written until 1 867, while, as already mentioned ,“ I heard the vo ice of Jesus say ” was written in

1 845.

Net a great while befo re his death Mr. Chat

terton D ix sent me a manuscript copy of his

hymn


Church of England . One , however, which appears

to be sung by all denominations is that very

fine hymn beginn ing “ I n the Cross of Christ I

glo ry. This was one of Sir John Bowring’s

earl iest hymns , be ing written when he was be

tween twenty and thirty years of age. I t is

popular in al l coun tries where the Engl ish tongue

is spoken and has been translated into severa l

languages .

To Charles I I ’s chaplain , R ichard Baxter, we

owe one o f the most beautiful resignation hymns

ever penned.

“ Lord , it be longs not to my care”

must have been composed when the au thor was

quite an old man , and was not published unti l

sho rtly be fo re his death. I t is said to have

been a great favourite with his wife and was sung

by her during her last i l lness. R ichard Baxter

wro te many o ther hymns not one ofwhich, however,has so staunchly stood the tes t of time as Lo rd ,i t be longs not to my care.

’ I t was Baxter, it wi l l

be remembe red , who , when greeted by the terrible

Judge Jeffreys with the remark,“ Richard , I see

the rogue in thy face,” replied “ I had not known

before that my face was a mirro r. Baxter died

in 169 1 at the age of seventy- six.

A hymn which,though o riginally written for

Trinity Sunday, ha s become a general favourite


for any season o f the ye ar is Bishop Mant’s“ Bright the V is ion that del ighted

,

” sometimes

commencing “ Round the Lo rd in glo ry seated ,”

as in Thring’s co l lection . I t was written in the

early thirties and published in the au tho r’s

Ancient Hymns . From thence it passed into

numerous co l lections and ultimately took its place

as the most popular of al l this writer’s hymns.

Bishop Mant d ied in 1 848.

The number of hymns which have. come to us

from the We lsh is not great, but among them is

one which I canno t refrain mentioning befo re

bringing this l itt le vo lume to a clo se. I t is

Will iam W i l l iams’ “ Guide me, O Thou great

Jehovah. The hymn was first publ ished in the

o riginal We lsh in 1745, bu t i t was not unti l some

twenty-five years later that the fi rst Engl ish

translation appeared. This translation , which is

partial ly the one now in general use, was made

by Peter Wil l iams, a clergyman o f Carmarthen.

Whether any relationship existed between autho r

and translato r I do not know, but as Will iams is

by no means an uncommon name in the Princi

pality i t is not improbable that the sim i larity in

names is mere ly a co incidence. After Peter

Will iams’ vers ion had appeared , the autho r of

the o r iginal , not be ing altogether satisfied with i t,


determined to make a translat ion of his own.

This he did so successful ly that in nearly al l

modern hymnals the last two verses are generally

those taken from his own translation.

William Wil l iams was born near Llandovery in

1717, and after o rdination became curate in vari

ous We lsh par ishes . He was a fine preacher, and

had a large fo l lowing. His hymns,most o f which

were written at odd moments, were co l lected and

published in book fo rm . They became immensely

popular in Wales, and are to -day sung in the

o riginal tongue in many of the vil lages and towns .

The only composition , however, wh ich may be

said to be universal ly known in England is“ Gu ide me , 0 Thou great Jehovah. For this

hymn S ir Geo rge Elvey wro te the very fine

melody “ P i lgrimage ,”to which it is usual ly sung.

Mr. Will iams d ied in 179 1 at the age o f seventy

four.

3 28

Cotteri ll, Thomas, 46Cowper, Will iam, 94, 1 80

Cox, Frances E., 1 24, 247

Coxe,Arthur C., 2 1 1

Crosby, Fanny, 289Grossby, John, 60Cruger, Johann, 303

Daniell, J . J., 29 1D i x, Wi ll i am Chatterton, 63 ,140, 244, 3 22

Doane, W. H ., 257, 289

Doddri dge, Phi ll ip, 44, 162,

1 87

Doudney, Sarah , 232Downton, Henry, 204, 244Dykes , Dr. J . B., 8, 1 9, 25,

55. 83. 88. 90, 1 05. 148.

1 66, 1 78, 1 82 , 1 95, 226,

Edmeston, James, 20El lerton, John, 1 5, 17, 109 ,

I 791 1 951 1 981 2051 23 1 1 248

E l l iott, Charlotte, 2 15, 239Elvey, S ir G. J., 243 , 320,

326

Ewing, Alexander, 253 , 294

Faber, Father, 9, 177Farmer

,John, 75

Farrar, Frederick W ., 74,

286

Ferrars , Earl , 107Fortunatus, Venantius , 143Foster, Myles, 2 10Fuller Maitland, Frances ,1 83

INDEX OF AUTHORS’ NAMES

Ful ler-Ma itland, Mrs , 1 83

Gadsby, Henry, 142Gauntlet, Dr., 145, 1 96Gel lert, C. F., 1 24

G ladstone, W. E., 1 8 1

Gounod, Charles, 28 1Gurney, Archer T. , 1 2 2, 2 84

Gurney (née Blomfield),Dorothy, 1 24, 1 93Gurney, John Hampden, 283

Hamerton, Samuel C., 73Hampton, John, 144Handel , George Frederick,1 3 1

Hankey, Katherine, 2 19, 256Harris , F. W ., 1 16

Havergal, Frances Ridley,46. 841 273 1 306

Haydn, Joseph , 105Hayne, L. G., 8 1

Heathcote, S irWill iam,6

Heber, Reginald, 70, 1 1 1,

200,2 29, 252 , 3oo

Hensley, Lew i s, 48Hodges, George S 265Hopkins, E.J., 279

How,Bishop W. W .

,275,

305Hulton, Everard, 232Huntingdon

,Lady

,108

Hyne, L. G., 49

Ingemann, B . S ., 149

Innocent I I I , Pope, 104Irons, Joseph , 43


Irons, Wm . Jos iah , 43 , 176

Jenner, H. L.,294

John, St., of Damascus, 1 25,

1 36

Joseph, St., of the Studium,

I S4

Keble, John, 4, 1 50 , 1 95Kel ly, Thomas, 57, 1 1 3 , 1 14,

Ken, Bishop, I , 22 , 38 [ 1 39Kethe, Will iam, 3 1 1

King,Joseph, 46

Knecht, J . H. , 1 54

Kocher, Conrad , 64

Lowry, Robert, 269Lynch , Thomas Toke, 299Lyte, Henry Franc i s, 1 1 ,

Luke (ne'

e Thompson), Jemima, 260

Lundie, R. H., 8 1

Luther, Martin, 46, 68

Mac lagan, Archbishop, 1 1 5,169, 250

M adan, Martin, 50, 52Mant, Bishop Richard, 325Marriott, John, 209Mason, Lowel l , 100Matheson, George, 296Maude, Mary F., 170

Maurice, P .,246

Mercer, Will iam,67

M idlane, Albert, 267M i l ler

,E.,

164

3 29

M i l ler, Emi ly Huntington,277

M i lman,Arthur, 1 1 2

Mi lman, Dean H. H., 71 ,1 10

,237

Monk, W. H .,16, 47, 1 09 ,

1 60, 1 80, 251

Monsell, John S . B., 320

Montgomery, James, 8, 72.I 741 ZO9

Moultrie, Gerald, 1 50, 23 1

Neale, John Mason, 22 , 27,

301 701 1 2 1 1 1 251 1 29 1 1 33 1

149, 1 54. 176,

2 20,293

Newman, John Henry, 23 ,

49 , 87, 89

Newton, John, 3 16

Oakeley, Frederick, 65Oakeley, S ir Herbert, 6Ouseley, S ir F. A. G. , 1 09

Palestrina, 1 05, 1 22Palmer, Ray, 99 , 174Peace, A. L , 296

P erronet,Edward

, 1 32

P lumtre, Dean E. H ., 1 59Po llock, Thomas B.

,1 17

Pott, Franc i s, 85, 1 2 1Potter

,Thomas J., 1 55

Prudentius , 69 .

Prynne, George Rundle, 270

Redhead, Richard, 237R ingwaldt, Bartholomaus ,

‘

45

33°

R inkart, Martin, 302Ritter, Paul, 7Ros s ini , 105

Sankey, Ira D ., 2 1 9, 233 ,

256, 290

Schafl’

,Phi l l ip, 1 3 8

Schefl‘ler, Johann, 307

Schenk, H . T., 247

Schulz , J . A. P ., 244

Scott,S irWalter

, 40

Sears, Edmund Hami lton,68

Sedding , Edmund, 294Se lbourne, Lord, 63Shirley

,Walter, 107

Shrub sole, Will iam, 1 32

Smart, S ir Henry, 1 34, 143 ,

32 1

Stainer, S ir John, 241 , 251Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn,1 38, 286

Stone, Samuel John, 1 51 ,

1 87, 202

Sul l ivan, S ir Arthur, 1 24,

1 28. 14s.234. 245Summers, T. O .

,266

Tate, Nahum, 64

Temple, Dr., 1 51Tennyson, Lord, 1 88, 238Threlfall, Jeannette, 284


Thring,Godfrey, 2 1 , 30, 35,

46. 1 57. 1 99 , 2261

244

Toplady, AugustusMontagu,92

Tuttiett, Lawrence, 54, 79TWCIIS, Henry. 271 35

Wainwright, John, 60Warner, Anna B.

,263

Watts,I saac, 77, 100

, 1 89,

205, 2 1 0, 294

Wei sse, M ichael, 1 27Wesley, Charles, 8, 50, 56,57. 83. 10 1 . 1 20. 1 30. I 56.

1 9 1 1 251 1 255Wesley.John.51. 57.Wesley, Samuel , 57Wh ite, Henry Kirke, 1 82Whitefield, George, 51Wh iting, Wil l iam, 223

Will iams, Isaac, 176Will iams, Will iam, 325W inkworth , Catherine, 68,

1 271 2471 302

Wordsworth , BishopChristopher, 3 1 , 284

! avier, Franci s, 106

Young, Andrew,259

33 2 INDEX OF FIRST

Brightly gleams our banner,I SS

Brother, thou art gone beforeus. 234

Calm on the l i stening ear ofnight, 68

Christ i s ri sen Chri st i sri sen ! 1 22 , 284

Chri st the Lord i s ri senagain

,1 27

Chri st,who once amongst us ,241 , 290

Chri st, Whose glory fi l l s theskies

,8

Chri stians, awake, salute thehappy morn, 58

Come, praise your Lord andSaviour, 275

Come, s ing w ith ho ly gladness, 29 1

Come unto M e, ye weary,

Come, ye faithful, raise thestrain

,1 25

Come, ye thankful people,come

,241

Crown Him w ith manycrowns , 1 29

Day by day the l ittle daisy,283

Day of wrath, 0 day of

mourning, 42 GentleJesus , meek and mi ld,

Days and moments quick 255

ly flying, 8 1 G i ve us the w ings of faith toDies I rae, 40 ri se

,2 10

LINES OF HYMNS

Eternal Father, strong to

save,223

Eternal Light,Eternal Light,

Fair waved the golden com ,

284

Far off our brethren’s cry,

204

Father,before Thy throne of

Ind u.7sFather, letme dedicate, 79Father

,whi le the shadows

fall,278

F ierce raged the tempest onthe deep, 226F ierce was the w i ld billow,

2 20

F ight the good fight with allthy might, 3 20F low fast, my tears, the

cause i s great, 108For thee, Oh dear, dearcountry

,293

Forth in Thy name, 0 Lord,I go, 1 0 1

Forward be ourwatchword,

From Greenland’s icymountains

,200

From heaven above to earthI come

,68

INDEX OF FIRST L INES OF HYMNS

G lorious things of Thee are

spoken, 3 16Go to dark Gethsemane,

109

God moves in a mysteriousway, 98

God ofmercy, God o fGrace,2 1 2

God of the l iv ing, in whoseeyes , 23 1

God the Father, great andho ly.75Golden harps are sounding,274

Grac ious Spirit, dwel l withme, 299Great God, what do I see

and hear ? 45Gu ide me, 0 Thou greatJehovah , 325

Hai l the day that sees Himri se, 1 56Hark ! a joyful vo ice i sthri l l ing, 49Hark ! a thri l l ing vo ice i ssounding, 49Hark ! in the presence of

ourGod, 269

Hark ! my soul, it i s the

Lord, 1 80Hark, the glad sound, the

Saviour comes , 44Hark ! the herald angel ss ing. 56.58. 1 3 1Hark ! the sound of holyvo ices, 247

3 33

He i s gone—beyond the

skies,1 38

Heré,Lord, we offer Thee all

that i s fairest, 245Ho ly, ho ly, ho ly, Lord GodAlmighty, 71 , 30 1Hosanna ! loud hosanna,284, 292

Hosanna, we s ing l ike the

chi ldren dear, 264How sweet theName of Jesussounds, 3 16

How welcome was the call,I 97

Hues of the rich unfo ldingmorn, 4

I heard the Voice of JesusS3 Y1 309 1 3 22

I love to hear the story, 277I th ink when I read thatsweet story of old, 260

I wa s a wandering sheep,3 10

I’ll praise my Maker whi leI’ve breath

,295

In the Cro ss of Chri st I

glory. 3 24In the field with the ir flocksabiding

, 74

In the name ofourSalvation,I49

I t came upon the midnightc lear

, 68

It i s a th ing most wonderful ,276

“ It i s fini shed ! ” 1 16

3 34 INDEX OF FIRST

Jerusalem the Go lden, 253 ,

293

Jesu, Lover Ofmysoul , 58, 92,1 3 1 , 1 9 1

Jesu, meek and gentle, 271Jesu

,meek and lowly, 177

Jesu, my Lord, my God, myall , 176Jesus

,blessed Saviour, 84

Jesus Christ i s ri sen to day,1 1 9

Jesus l ives ! no longer now,

Jesus loves me, th is I know,

263

Jesus shal l re ignwhere’er thesun

,2o5

Just as I am,w ithout one

plea. 2 1 5. 239

King of Saints, to whom the

number, 205

Lead, kindly l ight, 23 , 88Lead us, Heavenly Father,lead us , 2 2Lift up your heads, eternalgates, 1 22Lift up your heads, ye gateso f brass, 209Light’s abode, celestial Salem,

1 33

L0 ! God i s here, let us

adore, 307LO ! He comes with c loudsdescending, 45, 50, 54, 1 32

LO, to us a chil d i s born, 286

L INES OF HYMNS

Lord herwatch Thy Churchi s keeping, 204Lord, it belongs not to mycare, 3 24Lord of G lory, who hasbought us

, 9 1

Lord of the harvest, it i sright and meet, 204

March, march onward, sol

diers true, 1 60My faith looks up to Thee, 98,I 74

My God and Father ! whi leI stray, 239My God, and i s Thy Tablespread, 162My God, I love Th ee, not

because, 106My spirit longeth for Thee,62

Nearer,myGod, to Thee, 3 1 3New every morn ing i s the

love, 4Not all th e blood of bea sts

,

100

Now I have found the groundwherein, 308

Now, my tongue, the mystery tel l ing, 176

Now thank we al l our God,

302

Now that the dayl ight fil l sthe skies, 30

Now the day is over, 288

Now the labourer’s task i so’er, 230

3 3 6

Saviour, breathe an eveningbless ing, 20Saviour, sprinklenations

, 2 1 1

Shal l we gather at the ri ver ?269

S leep on, beloved, 232Solpraeceps rapitur,proximanox adest, 26

Son of God, Eternal Word,3 1

Splendor paternae gloriae, 37Stabat Mater Do lorosa, 103Sun o fmy soul, 4, 6, 17Sunset and evening star, 238Swee t Saviour, bless us ere

we go , 9

Sweet the moments, rich inbless ing, 107

many

Tel l me the old, old story,

Ten thousandthousand, 249That day of wrath, thatdreadful day, 41

The Church’s one Foundafion, 1 51

The day is gently sinking toa c lose, 3 1

The day i s past and over, 2The Day ofResurrection, 1 36The dayl ight fades, 266The foe behind, the deepbefore, 1 29

The Head that once wa s

crowned with thorns , 1 39

times ten

INDEX OF FIRST LINES OF HYMNS

The King of Love my Shepherd is

,178

The morning bright, 266

The radiant morn hathpass

’d away

, 35The Royal Banners forward8 01 143

The saints of God

confl icts past, 250The Son of God goes forthto war, 252

The Sower went forth sow

ing , 241

The stri fe i s o’er, the battledone, 1 2 1

The sun i s s inking fast, 26

The Vo ice that breathedo’erEden, 1 95

The world i s very evil, 293The year i s gone beyondrecall, 85Thee w i l l I love, myStrength, myTower, 307There i s a fountain fi l ledw ith blood, 94There’s a Friend for l ittlech ildren, 267There i s a green h il l faraway, 280There i s a happy land , far,far away, 259There i s a land of pure del ight, 102There were ninety and ninethat safely lay, 2 1 8Thine forever God of love,

the ir

INDEX OF FIRST L INES OF HYMNS 3 3 7

Thou art coming, 0 mySaviour, 46Thou hidden love of God,251

Thou Judge of quick anddead

, 83

Thou, WhoseWord, 208Through all the changingscenes of l i fe, 65Through mi dnightfrom Macedon, 203Through the night of doubtand sorrow, 147

Thy kingdom come, 0 God,

48

Thy l ife was given for me,306

Thy way, not mine, 0 Lord,3 10

’T is gone, that bright andorbed blaze, 5

To Thee, O Lord, our heartswe rai se, 244

Almighty

gloom

Vox clara ecce intonat, 49

Waken, Chri stian chi ldren,

73

W e are but l ittle childrenweak, 284

We are soldiers of Chri st,

Who i s m ighty to save, 1 17W e have not known Theeas we ought

, 1 1 7

We love the place, 0 God,

3 1 8

\Ve plough the fields and

scatter, 243We pray Thee, HeavenlyFather, 1 64

W e s ing the praise of Him

Who died,1 14

We thank Thee,Lord, for

this our food, 52When I survey the wondrousCross , 77, 164, 1 89When our heads are bow’d

w ith woe, 237When through the torn sai lthew i l d tempest i s streaming, 229While shepherds watchedthe ir flocks by night, 64,2 10

Who are these l ike stars appearing ? 246

Ye faithful , approach ye, 66Ye serv ants of the Lord

,

44

Butler ér‘ Ta nner The Selwood P rinting lVorks Frome and London

R H . 22

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