BOOK I Hymns for Worship and Praise (continued 4)

The following Wednesday, leaving his study for a moment, he went to the barn floor, where a mule was at work on a horse-power, shelling corn. Patting him on the neck, the sleeve of his silk study gown caught in the cogs of the wheel, and his arm was torn out by the roots! His death occurred in a few hours. Never was there greater lamentation over a young man than over him, and when Gen. 50:26 was announced as the text for his funeral sermon, the place at once became a Bochim, and continued so for many minutes.

The following Sunday the author of the hymn preached from Eph. 6:14, and the above verses were written simply as the concluding exhortation. The superintendent of the Sabbath-school had a fly-leaf printed for the children—a stray copy found its way into a Baptist newspaper—and from that paper it has gone in English, and in German and Latin translations all over the world. The first time the author heard it sung outside of his own denomination, was in 1864, as the favorite song of the Christian soldiers in the Army of the James.

... George Duffield

Detroit, May 29, 1883.

George Duffield, Jr., 1818-88, son of Rev. George Duffield, was educated at Yale and Union Theological Seminary for the Presbyterian ministry and held pastorates in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Galesburg, Ill., Adrian and Lansing, Michigan. His son, Samuel W. Duffield, was the author of English Hymns.

MUSIC. WEBB. For comments on this tune see Hymn 65.

194. God’s trumpet wakes the slumb’ring world

Samuel Longfellow, 1819-92

A stirring call to a loyal stand for truth and witness against wrong. The hymn first appeared in Hymns of the Spirit, 1864.

For comments on Samuel Longfellow see Hymn 28.

MUSIC. ALL SAINTS NEW was written for Bishop Heber’s hymn, “The Son of God goes forth to war.”

The composer, Henry Stephen Cutler, 1824-1902, received his education 121 at Boston, his birthplace, and in Europe. He became a well-known organist and choir master, serving churches in Boston, New York, and other cities, and attracted attention by robing his choir members and seating them in the chancel, innovations in his day.

TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS

195. In the hour of trial

James Montgomery, 1771-1854

Alt. Frances A. Hutton and Godfrey Thring

The hymn is based on Luke 22:32: “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” It was written October 13, 1834, with the title, “In trial and temptation,” and published in 1853 in Montgomery’s Original Hymns under the title “Prayers on Pilgrimage.” The third and fourth stanzas have been altered considerably, not entirely for the better. Montgomery began the second stanza:

In the first stanza he had

to which there was much objection on scriptural grounds, in spite of the words of Christ, “I pray for them” (John 17:9).

For comments on James Montgomery see Hymn 62.

MUSIC. PENITENCE was composed by Spencer Lane, 1843-1903, who received musical training in the Boston Conservatory of Music and became a teacher of vocal and instrumental music. He was in charge of music in various churches in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Maryland. While choirmaster at St. James Church, Woonsocket, R. I., he wrote this tune one Sunday while his wife was preparing dinner. It was used at a parish choir festival on “Easter Tuesday, 1899, at 7:30 p.m.” and at the suggestion of the rector of the church, it was sent to Dr. Chas. L. Hutchins, who included it in the Episcopal Hymnal of 1879. Of the various tunes composed by Lane, this is the only one in general use today.

196. Lord Jesus, think on me

Synesius, c. 375-430

Tr. Allen W. Chatfield, 1808-96

A subjective and meditative hymn of trust, coming to us from the ancient Eastern Church.

Synesius, a native of Cyrene, came from an illustrious family. He studied at Alexandria and became a Christian in 401. Against his own 122 wishes, but in response to the will of the people, he was elected bishop of Ptolemais. He is described in Chas. Kingsley’s Hypatia as a distinguished churchman, philosopher, statesman, and patriot.

The translator, Rev. A. W. Chatfield, was an Anglican clergyman who had a distinguished career at Cambridge. He translated many of the hymns of the early Greek poets into English.

The original poem, of which this is a paraphrase rather than an exact translation, is as follows:

MUSIC. SOUTHWELL, a characteristic psalm tune, was set to Psalm 45 in Damon’s Psalms of David, 1579, and was named “Southwell” in Ravencroft’s Psalm Book of 1621. It was originally written in the Dorian mode (the first “authentic” Gregorian mode, D as keynote). A fuller explanation may be found in the History of Music in the Western Church, by Dickinson, pp. 113 ff.

For comments on Damon’s Psalter see Hymn 589.

197. O for a closer walk with God

William Cowper, 1731-1800

A tender, beautiful hymn, in use wherever English is spoken.

It was published in the Olney Hymns (See 60) under the title “Walking with God.” It is based on Genesis 5:24: “Enoch walked with God.” The hymn was written December 9, 1769, during the serious illness of the poet’s dear friend, the wife of Rev. Morley Unwin, in whose home 123 he stayed and found the tenderest of care during his own illness. Concerning her, Cowper wrote in a letter the day following the composition of this hymn:

She is the chief of blessings I have met with in my journey since the Lord was pleased to call me.... Her illness has been a sharp trial to me. Oh, that it may have a sanctified effect, that I may rejoice to surrender up to the Lord my dearest comforts, the moment He may require them.... I began to compose the verses yesterday morning before daybreak but fell asleep at the end of the first two lines: when I awaked again, the third and fourth were whispered to my heart in a way which I have so often experienced.

For comments on William Cowper see Hymn 60.

MUSIC. BELMONT is an adaptation from a melody in Sacred Melodies ... adapted to the best English poets, Vol. I; 1812, by William Gardiner. The Sacred Melodies appeared in six volumes containing tunes by the best masters, adapted to English words.

The composer, William Gardiner, 1770-1853, was an English stocking manufacturer who travelled extensively at home and abroad, principally in the interests of his business, but also making acquaintance with musicians of all ranks and with their music. He published songs and duets of his own composition in his youth, over the nom de plume of “W. G. Leicester.” His Sacred Melodies, referred to above, did valuable service in drawing attention to many fine compositions otherwise unknown.

198. Soldiers of Christ, arise

Charles Wesley, 1707-88

For comments on Charles Wesley see Hymn 6.

“The Whole Armor of God” is the title of this hymn in Wesley’s Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1749. It is based on Ephesians 6:10-18: “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil,” etc. The entire poem contains 16 double stanzas, of which our hymn is a selection of the first, second, and sixteenth.

MUSIC. DIADEMATA. For comments on this tune see Hymn 118.

ASPIRATION AND HOPE

199. While Thee I seek, protecting Power

Helen M. Williams, 1762-1827

A hymn of faith and trust in God.

Helen Maria Williams, an English Unitarian, lived for some years with her sister who had married a French Protestant. It was during the period of the Revolution and the reign of terror. Being an outspoken 124 republican, she was imprisoned by Robespierre, and was released only after his death in 1794. She was a woman of extraordinary intellectual strength and published many volumes on politics, religion, and literary questions, and finally her collected poems, entitled, Poems on Various Occasions. She lived in England and in France, and the closing years of her life were spent in Holland in the home of a nephew who was pastor of a Reformed Church in Amsterdam.

MUSIC. BRATTLE STREET. For comments on the composer of this tune, Ignace Pleyel, see Hymn 238.

200. Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings

Robert Seagrave, 1693-c. 1759

This hymn, entitled “The Pilgrim’s Song,” first appeared in Hymns for Christian Worship, by Robert Seagrave, London, 1742.

Robert Seagrave, son of Rev. Robert Seagrave, was educated at Cambridge and was ordained a clergyman in the Church of England. He became interested in the Wesleys and Whitefield and published pamphlets and sermons designed to reform the clergy and Church of England. He wrote 50 original hymns, of which this one is still in use. The exact year of Seagrave’s death is not certain.

MUSIC. AMSTERDAM is attributed to James Nares, 1715-1783, but most authorities believe the tune to be much older. It appears in what is known as the Foundery Collection, the first Methodist hymnal, by John Wesley, 1742, and is said to be one of the German chorale tunes which John Wesley acquired from the Moravian Brethren.

201. We would see Jesus

Anna B. Warner, 1820-1915

Based on John 12:20-23: “There were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.... And Jesus answered them saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.”

The hymn first appeared in six stanzas in Hymns of the Church Militant, compiled by Anna Warner, New York, 1858, and published in 1861. It is another example of a fine hymn contributed by a woman.

The third and fourth stanzas, omitted here, are of the same excellent quality as the others:

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Anna Bartlett Warner, lived on Constitution Island in the Hudson River, near West Point, where she and her more famous sister, Susan Warner, conducted a Bible class for nearly two generations for the cadets of the United States Military Academy. Because of this service, she was buried with military honors upon her death in 1915. Miss Warner wrote novels under the pseudonym of “Amy Lothrop,” but she is best known for this hymn and the song beloved of all little children, “Jesus loves me: this I know.”

MUSIC. HENLEY. For comments on this tune see Hymn 188.

202. Nearer, my God, to Thee

Sarah Flower Adams, 1805-48

A hymn of high poetic quality which has preserved its popularity from generation to generation. It is based on the story of Jacob at Bethel in Gen. 28:10-22:

And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.... And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel.

Sarah Flower Adams was the daughter of Benjamin Flower, an editor; she married William B. Adams, an engineer and inventor, in 1834. She was a member of a Unitarian congregation in London. A woman of fine intellect, she wrote much prose and verse, and was a friend of Robert Browning. She died of tuberculosis, contracting the disease while caring for her sister, Eliza, who had fallen victim to the same disease two years earlier.

MUSIC. BETHANY was written by Lowell Mason for this hymn. Its resemblance to the tune of the well-known “Oft in the stilly night” has been noted. The tune to this hymn was played by the ship’s band on board the “Titanic” as the vessel sank on its maiden voyage, Sunday, April 14, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg in the Atlantic. 1635 passengers were lost, ending life’s voyage with the strains of the familiar 126 and appropriate prayer resounding across the waters—“Nearer, my God, to Thee.”

For comments on Lowell Mason see Hymn 12.

203. When the weary, seeking rest

Horatius Bonar, 1808-89

Entitled, “Intercession for All Conditions of Men,” in Bonar’s Hymns of Faith and Hope, 3d series, 1867.

The history of this hymn is given by the author’s son, Rev. H. N. Bonar, as follows:

My father was asked to provide words to the music, and was especially requested to furnish a fitting refrain to the two lovely lines of Mendelssohn’s with which Callcott’s tune, “Intercession,” ends. In searching for a Scripture theme containing some reiterated phrase almost of the nature of a refrain, he was struck with Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple (2 Chron. 6) in which every separate petition concludes with substantially the same words.

This idea was taken for his starting point, and Solomon’s words, “Hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place and forgive,” became the familiar couplet:

This foundation once provided, the rest of the hymn was built upon it.

For comments on Horatius Bonar see Hymn 129.

MUSIC. INTERCESSION was composed by William H. Callcott, 1807-82, an English musician. He was organist of Ely Chapel, Holborn, and afterwards of St. Barnabas’ Church, Kensington, and composed anthems and songs.

The refrain is from Mendelssohn’s oratorio, Elijah, part of the prayer for rain by the prophet and the people. Bonar’s hymn was written for this tune.

204. Lord, I hear of show’rs of blessing

Elizabeth Codner, 1824-1919

Based on Gen. 27:34: “Bless me, even me also, O my Father,” and Ezek. 34:26: “There shall be showers of blessing.” It is an especially useful hymn at revival meetings.

Elizabeth Codner was the wife of Rev. David Codner, a clergyman of the Church of England. She engaged in some literary work and was much interested in the Mildmay Protestant Mission in North London.

The author has given the origin of the hymn as follows:

A party of young friends over whom I was watching with 127 anxious hope attended a meeting in which details were given of a revival work in Ireland. They came back greatly impressed. My fear was lest they should be satisfied to let their own fleece remain dry, and I pressed upon them the privilege and responsibility of getting a share in the out-poured blessing. On the Sunday following, not being well enough to get out, I had a time of quiet communion. Those children were still on my heart, and I longed to press upon them an earnest individual appeal. Without effort words seemed to be given to me, and they took the form of a hymn. I had no thought of sending it beyond the limits of my own circle, but, passing it on to one and another, it became a word of power, and I then published it as a leaflet. Of its future history I can only say the Lord took it quite out of my own hands. It was read from pulpits, circulated by tens of thousands, and blessed in a remarkable degree. Every now and then some sweet token was sent to cheer me in a somewhat isolated life, of its influence upon souls. Now it would be tidings from afar of a young officer dying in India and sending home his Bible with the hymn pasted on the flyleaf as the precious memorial of that which brought him to the Lord. Then came the story of a poor outcast gathered into the fold by the same means. Then came to me a letter given me by Mr. E. P. Hammond, which he had received, and in which were the words: “Thank you for singing that hymn ‘Even Me,’ for it was the singing of that hymn that saved me. I was a lost woman, a wicked mother. I have stolen and lied and been so bad to my dear, innocent children. Friendless, I attended your inquiry meeting; but no one came to me because of the crowd. But on Saturday afternoon, at the First Presbyterian Church, when they all sang that hymn together, those beautiful words, ‘Let some drops now fall on me,’ and also those, ‘Blessing others, O bless me,’ it seemed to reach my very soul. I thought, ‘Jesus can accept me—“even me”’ and it brought me to his feet, and I feel the burden of sin removed. Can you wonder that I love those words and I love to hear them sung?”

The original rendering has in a variety of instances been departed from. To some alterations I have consented, but always prefer that the words remain unchanged from the form in which God so richly blessed them. The point of the hymn, in its close and individual application, is in the “Even me” at the end of the verse. I thankfully commit them to whoever desires to use them in the services of our blessed Master.

MUSIC. EVEN ME. For comments on the composer, Wm. B. Bradbury, see Hymn 103.

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PURITY AND UPRIGHTNESS

205. Blest are the pure in heart

J. Keble, 1792-1866 and others

A hymn of the simple, pure life. Purity of heart has a wider meaning than the specific virtue of chastity. Stanzas 1 and 3 are from Keble’s, The Christian Year, 1827. Stanzas 2 and 4 are from the New Mitre Hymn Book, 1836, and their authorship is uncertain. Some think they are from the pen of the editor of the book, W. J. Hall, or of the co-editor, Edward Osler.

For comments on John Keble see Hymn 22.

MUSIC. FRANCONIA is from a book compiled by Johann Balthasar König, Harmonischer Lieder-Schatz, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1738, where it is set to the hymn, Was ist, das mich betrübt? The original melody may have been by König himself.

The present tune, arranged by Rev. W. H. Havergal, has become one of the best known Short-Meter (6.6.8.8.) tunes.

For comments on W. H. Havergal see Hymn 153.

206. How blest are they whose hearts are pure

W. H. Bathurst, 1796-1877

Based on the beatitude in Matt. 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

For comments on the author, W. H. Bathurst, see Hymn 153.

MUSIC. GLENLUCE is one of the Common Tunes (See 20) in the Scottish Psalter of 1635.

For comments on the Scottish Psalter see Hymn 575.

207. I would be true

Howard Arnold Walter, 1884-1918

A popular hymn at young people’s summer conferences and other youth gatherings. The words have often been reprinted in trade journals and newspapers and used on many a motto card. The ideals of youth—truth, purity, strength, bravery, friendship, generosity, humility, laughter, love, and helpfulness, encompassed in these few lines—were all revealed in the author’s brief life.

Howard Arnold Walter was graduated cum laude in 1905 from Princeton University while Woodrow Wilson was president of the institution. He then entered Hartford Theological Seminary to prepare himself for the ministry, but after the first year went to Japan to teach English in Waseda University in Tokyo. After one year, he returned to Hartford where, upon graduation, he won the Two-Year Fellowship. In 1909 and 1910 he studied in Edinburgh and in German 129 Universities. He chose the foreign mission field for life service but, owing to a weak heart, was unable to pass the required physical examination. In spite of his handicap, he volunteered for Y.M.C.A. work and was assigned by John R. Mott to India, where he worked among the Mohammedan students in Foreman Christian College, Lahore. He died there November 1, 1918, during the influenza epidemic, leaving a devoted wife and three small children. The words, “I would be true,” were inscribed on a memorial tablet erected in his home church in New Britain, Conn.

The hymn was written in 1907 in Japan when Walter was just 23 years old. Recalling the joys and friendships of his home, the words came to him on New Year’s morning as he was on his knees. He mailed the poem entitled, “My Creed,” to his mother who sent it to Harper’s Magazine in order to share with others the beauty of its message. It appeared in the May, 1907, issue of that magazine and later found its way into a number of hymn books.

The third stanza, making the hymn more complete, was later written by the author and sent to Rev. Theodore A. Green, minister of the First Church of Christ, New Haven, Connecticut:

MUSIC. PEEK. No one seemed to know anything of the composer of this tune until very recently when Dr. Reginald L. McAll, secretary of the Hymn Society of America, assigned to the Hon. Edgar M. Doughty, Brooklyn, an official referee of the New York State Supreme Court, an accomplished musician and active member of the Baptist Church, the task of searching out in behalf of the Society the facts concerning Mr. Peek. The Hon. Mr. Doughty completed his research just before his death in 1947, at the age of 80 and the information presented here is based on a document compiled from his papers by his secretary. Miss Mildred Taylor Denisch:

Joseph Yates Peek, 1843-1911, born in Schenectady, N. Y., had very little formal musical training, but was endowed with a love for music and considerable native musical ability and became a proficient amateur performer on the violin and piano. In early life he was a carpenter and farmer but later established a business as florist and horticulturist. A deeply religious man, always interested in the church, he retired from business in 1904, and in spite of his advanced years, became a prominent lay preacher in the Methodist Church. In 1911 he was ordained, but his career as a regular minister was cut short when a heart attack, which occurred while preaching, resulted in his death. 130 Peek was a humble Christian gentleman who sought no honors for himself, which may account for the fact that his identity as the composer of this tune remained hidden so long. Then, too, he may have felt that the credit for the tune did not belong entirely to himself, for he received considerable help from a friend, Dr. Tuller, an organist and composer, who jotted down the notes as Peek whistled the melody, and later added the harmonization.

Peek had received a copy of Walter’s poem which was printed on a New Year’s card and entitled, “My Creed.” He was greatly impressed with the words, and in a moment of inspiration gave them wings of song to carry them over the wide world.

The tune has become immensely popular in spite of its weak down-curve of melody. The hymn may also be sung to Barnby’s more sturdy tune, “Perfect Love” (312), which fits the words perfectly.

208. How happy is he born and taught

Henry Wotton, 1568-1639

The original of this hymn was published in Reliquiae Wottonianae with a memoir by Isaac Walton, 1651. The poem was altered somewhat to make it suitable for a congregational hymn.

Henry Wotton graduated from Oxford in 1588. He had a varied career, travelling on the continent, acting as agent to the Earl of Essex for collection of foreign intelligence, and then settling in Venice where he was ambassador at the court from 1604-24, with two intervals during which he was engaged in diplomatic missions to other countries and in parliamentary work in England. From 1624 until his death he was provost of Eton. Besides the above-named book, he published The Elements of Architecture, 1624, and Ad Regem e Scotia reducem in 1633.

MUSIC. WAREHAM, by William Knapp, is from A Sett of New Psalm Tunes and Anthems, in Four Parts by Wm. Knapp, 1738, where it is set to Psalm 36:5-10 with the heading, “For the Holy Sacrament.” It is a deservedly popular melody, remarkably smooth, moving throughout by step except the perfect fourth interval between the fifth and sixth notes.

209. Walk in the light! so shalt thou know

Bernard Barton, 1784-1849

A useful hymn, by a Quaker poet, setting forth the characteristic Quaker doctrine of the “Inner Light,” based on I John 1:7: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

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The hymn appeared in the author’s Devotional Verses, London, 1826.

Bernard Barton, known in England as the “Quaker Poet” (as was Whittier in America), was born in London and educated at a Quaker school at Ipswich. When 26 years old he became a Clerk in Alexander’s Bank at Woodbridge, Suffolk, and stayed there the remainder of his life. On Nov. 16, 1843, he wrote in a letter:

I took my seat on the identical stool I now occupy at the desk to the wood of which I have now well-nigh grown, in the third month of the year 1810, and there I have sat for three and thirty years beside the odd eight months without one month’s respite in all that time. I often wonder that my health has stood this sedentary probation as it has and that my mental facilities have survived three and thirty years of putting down figures in three rows, casting them up and carrying them forward, ad infinitum.

He might have given some of these years to literary pursuits had he not followed the good advice of Charles Lamb who wrote him:

Throw yourself on the world, without any rational plan of support beyond what the chance employ of booksellers would afford you! Throw yourself rather, my dear sir, from the steep Tarpeian rock, slap-dash headlong upon iron spikes. If you have but five consolatory minutes between the desk and the bed, make much of them, and live a century in them, rather than turn slave to the booksellers. They are Turks and Tartars when they have poor authors at their beck. Hitherto you have been at arm’s length from them—come not within their grasp. I have known many authors’ want for bread—some repining, others enjoying the blessed security of a counting-house—all agreeing they had rather have been tailors, weavers, what not? rather than the things they were. I have known some starved, some go mad, one dear friend literally dying in a workhouse. Oh, you know not—may you never know—the miseries of subsisting by authorship!

He published eight or ten volumes of verse. His writings show an extensive acquaintance with the Scriptures.

MUSIC. DEDHAM. For comments on the composer, William Gardiner, see Hymn 197.

210. Believe not those who say

Anne Brontë, 1820-49

A hymn of courage. The original is in 10 stanzas, of which this hymn is a selection of stanzas 1, 2, 8, 9, 10.

Anne Brontë, one of three illustrious sisters, the other two being Charlotte and Emily, was born near Bradford, England, the daughter of the Rev. Patrick Brontë, Vicar of Haworth, Yorkshire. She was joint 132 author with her sisters of a book of Poems, 1846, and wrote other volumes under the pseudonym, “Acton Bell.”

MUSIC. The tune, VIGIL, is by the Italian composer, Giovanni Paisiello, 1741-1816, whose works include 100 operas, a Passion oratorio, 30 masses, a requiem, 40 motets, and 8 symphonies. From 1776 to 1784, he was in the service of Empress Catherine of Russia, who a few years later was receiving Mennonites from Danzig and West Prussia to settle her crown lands at Chortitz. Paisiello was called to Paris to organize the music of the First Consul, meanwhile composing some church music. His last years were spent in Naples, where he was choirmaster to Joseph Bonaparte and Murat.

211. Go forth to life

Samuel Longfellow, 1819-92

A challenge to live life bravely and true. The hymn is from Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, prepared by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson. It is one of the lyrics which helped establish Longfellow’s reputation as a hymn writer.

For comments on Samuel Longfellow see Hymn 28.

MUSIC. MENDON is a variation of a “German Air” introduced into American hymn books by Samuel Dyer. The original had an additional note in each line and a different last line. The change to the present form and its name is attributed to Lowell Mason.

Samuel Dyer, 1785-1835, born in England, came to America when 26 years old and became a choir leader and teacher of sacred music in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. He published several collections of sacred music, one of which, Philadelphia Collection of Sacred Music, 1828, gives valuable sketches of composers, and information about Dyer himself.

CONSECRATION AND STEWARDSHIP

212. O Jesus, I have promised

John Ernest Bode, 1816-74

A hymn of consecration which the author wrote on the occasion of the confirmation of his daughter and two sons as “O Jesus, we have promised.” It is frequently, and appropriately, used at baptismal services.

John Ernest Bode graduated with high honors from Oxford, where he was a fellow and tutor for six years; then became rector of Westwall, Oxfordshire, and later of Castle Campus, Cambridgeshire. He was a man of considerable attainments and was Bampton Lecturer in 133 1855. He wrote a number of hymns and is the author of several volumes of poetry.

MUSIC. ANGEL’S STORY, also known as “Supplication” and “Watermouth,” was written for Emily H. Miller’s hymn, “I love to hear the story which angel voices tell,” from which it derives its name. It first appeared in the Methodist Sunday School Hymn Book, 1881, but has since come into wide usage set to “O Jesus, I have promised.”

The composer, Arthur H. Mann, 1850-1930, was a distinguished English organist, and musical editor of The Church of England Hymnal. He was an authority on the music of Handel, and composed much church music. Oxford University gave him the degrees of Bachelor of Music and Doctor of Music.

213. We give Thee but thine own

W. W. How, 1823-97

Based on Prov. 19:17: “He that hath pity on the poor lendeth to the Lord.” It is a hymn on Christian giving and liberality, sounding the real humanitarian note, a side of religion which an effective and virile hymnology cannot ignore. It may appropriately be sung by choir or congregation in the dedication of the offering. (See comments at 611.)

For comments on W. W. How see Hymn 144.

MUSIC. SCHUMANN, a fine short-meter tune, is ascribed to Robert Schumann but it seems as if no one has ever found anything among his musical writings from which the tune could have been derived. It appeared in Lowell Mason’s Cantica Laudis in 1850.

For comments on Schumann see Hymn 296.

214. A charge to keep I have

Charles Wesley, 1707-88

One of the greatest of Wesley’s short hymns taken from Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures, 1762, where it is headed, “Keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not” (Lev. 8:35).

The hymn strikes a much-needed note regarding the serious significance of this life. Thomas Carlyle expressed the same thought in his old age when he said: “The older I grow, and now I stand upon the brink of eternity, the more comes back to me the sentence in the catechism which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper its meaning becomes: ‘What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’”

For comments on Charles Wesley see Hymn 6.

MUSIC. BOYLSTON was composed by Lowell Mason and named after one of the towns in his native state. It appeared in The Choir, 1832, set to “Our days are as the grass.” The tune is widely used with “Blest be the tie that binds.”

For comments on Lowell Mason, see Hymn 12.

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215. Take my life and let it be

Frances R. Havergal, 1836-79

One of the finest hymns of consecration and service. It has been translated into many languages, including Russian, and many of Africa and Asia.

The author’s own story of how this hymn was written after her visit in a certain home throws a vivid light on her evangelical zeal:

There were ten persons in the house, some unconverted and long prayed for, some converted but not rejoicing Christians. He gave me the prayer, “Lord give me ALL in this house.” And He just did. Before I left the house everyone had got a blessing. The night of my visit, after I had retired, the governess asked me to go to the two daughters. They were crying. Then and there both of them trusted and rejoiced. I was too happy to sleep, and passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration; and these little couplets formed themselves and chimed in my heart one after the other, till they finished with “Ever, ONLY, ALL for Thee!”

The hymn appears here unaltered from the original.

For further comments on Frances Havergal see Hymn 126.

MUSIC. HENDON. This tune appeared first in America in Carmina Sacra, 1841, edited by Lowell Mason. The composer, Henri Abraham César Malan, 1787-1864, born in Geneva, Switzerland, was a man of many interests. He was a well educated minister, a blacksmith, carpenter, printer, and artist. He had a burning zeal for the conversion of souls. Convinced that the national church stood in need of reform, he aroused much opposition. After preaching an unorthodox sermon at the College of Geneva, he was dismissed from his regentship at the college and was finally driven from the state church. He then built a chapel in his own garden and preached there for 43 years, attracting overflowing crowds and becoming widely known throughout Belgium, France, England, and Scotland for his evangelism. He wrote more than 1,000 hymns and set tunes to them, a remarkable achievement. As the originator of the modern hymn movement in the French Reformed Church, Malan has a permanent place in French Hymnody.

216. My Jesus, I love Thee

William Rolf Featherstone, 1842-78

The authorship of this hymn was unknown until recently when Robert McCutchan, author of Our Hymnody, discovered that it was written by William Rolf Featherstone, a Canadian by birth, when he was only sixteen years of age. The author sent the hymn to an aunt, Mrs. E. Featherstone Wilson, living in Los Angeles, who suggested to her nephew that it be published. No further information concerning Featherstone is at hand.

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MUSIC. GORDON. The tune was written for this hymn which the composer, Dr. Gordon, found in the London Hymn Book, 1864. This combination of hymn and tune became popular and is widely known in America.

Adoniram Judson Gordon, 1836-1895, was born at New Hampton, New Hampshire, educated at Brown University and Newton Theological Seminary, and became the distinguished pastor of the Clarendon Street Baptist Church, Boston. He at one time was editor of The Watchword, and is author of a series of books called Quiet Talks.

217. Have Thine own way, Lord

Adelaide Pollard, 1862-1934

A hymn of the believer’s humble resignation to God, as the clay to the potter.

The author, Adelaide Addison Pollard, was a modest poet. She signed her writings for many years with only her initials, but in recent times her publishers have used her full name. Miss Pollard was born in Iowa, but died in New York City. She was buried in the family plot at Ft. Madison, Iowa. While a teacher of elocution and expression, she became interested in deeper spiritual things through the ministry of R. A. Torrey and James M. Gray, and enrolled for further Bible training at the Moody Bible Institute, Chicago. She became a teacher in the Missionary Alliance Bible School at Nyack, N. Y., and also did missionary work in South Africa. Miss Pollard wrote numerous hymns and devotional poems. Her two best-known hymns are: “Have Thine own way, Lord,” and “Shepherd of Israel.” Her mother was Rebecca Pollard who wrote the song poem, “I surrender all,” for which D. B. Towner wrote the music.

MUSIC. ADELAIDE. The name of the tune is obviously derived from the name of the author of the words for which it was composed. For comments on the composer, Geo. C. Stebbins, see Hymn 38.

218. Fountain of good, to own thy love

Philip Doddridge, 1702-51

An appealing hymn on fellowship and service as well as consecration.

The author entitled the hymn, “On Relieving Christ in the Poor.” The original first line began “Jesus, my Lord, how rich thy grace.” The hymn was rewritten by Edward Osler, 1798-1863, for Hall’s Mitre Hymn Book, 1836, in which form it is found in modern hymnals, including the Hymnary.

For comments on Philip Doddridge see Hymn 56.

MUSIC. DALEHURST was composed by Arthur Cottman, 1842-79, an Englishman trained for the law but interested keenly in sacred music. 136 It was first published in Cottman’s Ten Original Tunes, 1874, and has since been introduced into the hymnals and set to various texts. It is a tune of simple pattern, contemplative in mood, and should be sung in an even, moderate tempo.

219. Master, speak! thy servant heareth

Frances R. Havergal, 1836-79

Based on the conversation between Samuel and Eli, I Sam. 3:1-10.

Miss Havergal’s favorite name for Christ was “Master,” because, she said, “it implies rule and submission, and this is what love craves. Men may feel differently, but a true woman’s submission is inseparable from deep love.”

For comments on Frances Havergal see Hymn 126.

MUSIC. AMEN, JESUS HAN SKAL RAADE (“Amen, Jesus, He shall reign”) comes from Denmark. The composer, Anton Peter Berggreen, 1801-80, was born in Copenhagen and lived there all his life. He studied music and became a composer of many works, the most popular being his National Songs in eleven volumes. His collection of Psalm Tunes are widely used in Danish churches. He was organist at Trinity Church, Copenhagen, and organized musical associations among laboring people which are still popular. For a number of years he was Professor of Singing at the Metropolitan School and inspector of the public schools in his native city.

220. Savior, thy dying love

Sylvanus D. Phelps, 1816-95

Phelps gave this hymn to be published in Pure Gold, a Sunday school songbook which Robert Lowry, composer of music, was then editing and of which more than a million copies were sold. The hymn was given the heading, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6.)

Sylvanus Dryden Phelps, Baptist minister, was born in Suffolk, Conn.; received his education at Brown University; and in 1846 became pastor of the First Baptist Church, New Haven, Conn., where he remained for 28 years. He published three volumes of poetry. His son, William Lyon Phelps, was the distinguished Professor of English Literature at Yale and a lay preacher.

MUSIC. SOMETHING FOR JESUS was written for this hymn. At the time he composed this tune, Lowry was pastor of a Baptist Church in Lewisburg, Pa., and Professor of Literature in Bucknell University.

For further comments on Robert Lowry see Hymn 187.

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SERVICE AND BROTHERHOOD

221. Work, for the night is coming

Anna Louisa Coghill, 1836-1907

Based on John 9:4: “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” The hymn was written when the author, eighteen years old, lived in Canada. It was published in a Canadian newspaper and later in her small volume of poems, Leaves from the Backwoods, Montreal, 1864.

Anna Louisa Walker was born in England but went in her teens with her parents to Sania, Canada, where her brothers were railway engineers. Returning to England, she became a governess for a time, then she reviewed books, making her home with her second cousin, a Mrs. Oliphant, for some years. In 1883 she married Harry Coghill, a wealthy merchant. She published six novels and a book of poems, Oak and Maple, and edited the Autobiography and Letters of Mrs. Oliphant.

MUSIC. WORK SONG, known in England as “Diligence,” was written for this hymn. To fit the tune it became necessary to drop a syllable in the fourth line of each verse, an alteration which the author disliked extremely and which she never sanctioned.

For comments on Lowell Mason see Hymn 12.

222. Where cross the crowded ways of life

Frank Mason North, 1850-1935

An unexcelled “Hymn for the City.” The following account of it is given in The Churchman, July, 1938, in an article by Eloise R. Griffith, on “Our Great Hymns”:

Frank Mason North, D.D., a well-known clergyman of the Methodist Church, is the author of this well-loved hymn. It is sometimes called “A Prayer for the City,” or “A Prayer for the Multitudes,” and has the distinction of appearing in more standard hymnals today than any other hymn written in this century. To those of us who are concerned about “how the other half lives,” and who know either from our own experiences or those of friends about the darker side of life in a great city and particularly in our own country during the last nine years,—this beautiful hymn never fails to find a heartfelt response. It paints a picture with which many city dwellers are all too familiar.

In 1903, Dr. North was editor of The Christian City, the organ of the Methodist City Missionary Society. His office was in the Fifth Avenue building of the Methodist Book Concern. One day one of the professors of Wesleyan University (who was on the committee to prepare and revise the new Methodist 138 hymnal, and who knew North’s ability to write hymns), met him in one of the halls. “Why don’t you write a missionary hymn for us, Dr. North?” asked the professor. “We need more missionary hymns in our new hymnal.” Dr. North modestly answered that he did not feel he would be able to write a hymn worthy of the proposed new hymnal, but that he would try.

Soon after this incident occurred, Dr. North was preaching a sermon from the text in St. Matthew 22:9: “Go ye therefore into the highways,” etc. During his preparation for this sermon, he was again especially impressed by the rendering of the Greek text in the Revised Version, which reads “Go ye therefore into the partings of the highways.” Dr. North thought of and described in his sermon the appealing challenge made by great crowds of people thronging the crossroads of the city—places like Madison Square and Union Square in the New York of 1903. Dr. North knew New York City very thoroughly, and his heart yearned over the sick, the lonely, the destitute, the troubled. So, while he preached, the first line of this great hymn came to him—“Where cross the crowded ways of life.” It did not take him long to compose the words which followed, and after the publication of the hymn in The Christian City, it was at once accepted for the new Methodist hymnal of 1905. The hymn is widely used in Canada and throughout Great Britain, and has been translated into several foreign languages, including some of the Far East ones.

MUSIC. GERMANY is a fine long-meter tune found in a book, Sacred Melodies, in which the compiler, William Gardiner, 1770-1853, an English stocking manufacturer interested in music, collected compositions by the best foreign composers, adapting them to English words. The tune is also known by the name “Walton,” especially in England. As to its origin, Gardiner says in his book, Music and Friends, that it “is somewhere in the works of Beethoven, but where I cannot now point out.” This may be a mistake, for no one else has ever found it in a Beethoven collection.

223. O Master, let me walk with Thee

Washington Gladden, 1836-1918

A greatly loved service hymn which the author entitled, “Walking with God.” In a note dated June 15, 1907, Gladden says:

This hymn was written in 1879 for a magazine, Sunday Afternoon, which I was then editing. There were three eight-line stanzas. Dr. Charles H. Richards found the poem, which was not intended for a hymn, and made a hymn of it by omitting the second stanza, which was not suitable for devotional purposes.

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The omitted stanza reads as follows:

Washington Gladden, distinguished Congregational minister and author, was reared on a farm near Oswego, N. Y., attending country school and Oswego Academy and later entering Williams College, from which he graduated in 1859. He was licensed to preach in 1860; then held pastorates in Congregational churches in New York and Massachusetts, and finally in 1882 began his widely known and influential work as pastor of the First Congregational Church in Columbus, Ohio, which was to last for 28 years. His lectures and writings on social questions were prophetic messages of the time. After 50 years in the ministry, he wrote: “If the church would dare to preach and practice the things which Jesus Christ has commanded, she would soon regain her lost power.” He is the author of thirty or more volumes but is remembered best by this poem which has come into such wide use in the worship services of all the churches.

MUSIC. MARYTON was written for the words, “Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear,” in Church Hymns and Tunes, 1874; but it has become inseparably associated with Gladden’s hymn. Permission to use this hymn was granted by the author only on condition that it be used with this tune.

The composer, Henry Percy Smith, 1825-98, was a minister in the Church of England, deeply interested in church music. After graduating from Balliol College, Oxford, he served various churches as curate and vicar and finally became chaplain at Cannes and Canon of Gibraltar.

224. O Thou great Friend to all the sons of men

Theodore Parker, 1810-60

Based on the Scriptural passages, John 15:14: “Ye are my friends if ye do the things which I command you” and John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

The author, Rev. Theodore Parker, an outstanding abolitionist and a leader in New England Unitarianism, was educated at Harvard and spent most of his ministry in Boston. While travelling abroad in the 140 hope of restoring his health, he became ill and died at Florence, Italy, where he was buried.

MUSIC. FFIGYSBREN. For comments on this tune see Hymn 183.

225. Onward, Christian soldiers

S. Baring-Gould, 1834-1924

A hymn of the Christian warfare, written by a Church of England clergyman for a children’s processional, but now having a much wider use. The author gave the following account of the writing of the hymn:

Whitmonday is a great day for school festivals in Yorkshire. One Whitmonday, thirty years ago, it was arranged that our school should join forces with a neighboring village. I wanted the children to sing when marching from one village to another; so I sat up at night, resolved that I would write something myself. “Onward, Christian soldiers” was the result. It was written in great haste, and I am afraid some of the rhymes are faulty. Certainly nothing has surprised me more than its popularity.

An omitted stanza reads:

For comments on the author, S. Baring-Gould, see Hymn 29.

MUSIC. ST. GERTRUDE was written for these words by Sir Arthur Sullivan and dedicated to Mrs. Gertrude Clay-Ker-Seymer, in whose house the composer often stayed. The hymn derived a great part of its popularity from its use with this stirring tune.

For comments on Sullivan see Hymn 113.

226. Teach me, my God and King

George Herbert, 1593-1633

Adapted by John Wesley

A hymn of consecration and heavenly-mindedness that marks the Christian life. Verses 2 and 4 are by John Wesley, and the third verse was altered by him. For comments on John Wesley see Hymn 170.

George Herbert, noted English poet and minister in the Church of England, was born in Wales; educated at Cambridge; and became a great pastor and preacher, serving, during his all too brief career, 141 churches at Layton Ecclesia in 1626, and at Bemerton from 1630 to his death in 1632. His spare moments were given to the cultivation of sacred music. His principal work is The Temple, a book of poems. His popularity was greatly increased through the publication of his Life, written by Isaak Walton.

MUSIC. MORNINGTON is an arrangement of a chant written about 1760 by the Earl of Mornington, whose name was Garret Wellesley (or Wesley), 1735-81. He was the father of the Duke of Wellington. The name was changed from Wesley to Wellesley about 1790. A composer of much secular and sacred music, he lived most of his life in Dublin, and was the first Professor of Music at Dublin University.

227. When thy heart with joy o’erflowing

Theodore C. Williams

A hymn setting forth the spirit of brotherhood in terms of sharing. Information regarding the author, Rev. Theodore C. Williams, has not been traced.

MUSIC. BULLINGER was written in 1874 by Ethelbert William Bullinger, 1837-1913, an English clergyman who made the study of music his avocation. He is remembered principally as the composer of this tune with its last phrase somewhat awkward due to the long, tied initial note.

228. Who is thy neighbor?

William Cutter, 1801-87

Based on the parable of the Good Samaritan. The hymn first appeared in The Christian Mirror, Portland, Me., 1838, in seven stanzas. One of the omitted stanzas reads:

The author, William Cutter, was an editor and publisher, born at Yarmouth, Me., a graduate of Bowdoin College, and member of the Congregational Church. He was in business in Portland, Me., for several years and then in Brooklyn, N. Y. He has been described as “a deserving writer who has hitherto missed his due meed of acknowledgement.”

MUSIC. BURFORD, a very good tune in triple time, written in the minor mode, is of uncertain authorship, though it is credited in some books to Henry Purcell, c. 1658-95, one of England’s great composers and organists. It is set to Psalm 42 in A Book of Psalmody, 1718, by 142 John Chetham, and appears in a large number of other 18th century psalmodies, invariably without composer’s name.

229. O brother man, fold to thy heart thy brother

John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807-92

A hymn of brotherly love and service, taken from a poem of 15 stanzas, entitled, “Worship,” to which was affixed the scriptural reference, James 1:27: “Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” A concern for the well being of his fellow man was to Whittier a vital part of the Christian faith, as witness his championship of the cause of the slaves.

For comments on John Greenleaf Whittier see Hymn 173.

MUSIC. COMFORT. The tune appears anonymously in the “Supplement” to Hymns of the Spirit, 1937.

230. Rise up, O men of God

William P. Merrill, 1867—

A hymn challenging the men of the church to loyal service to Christ. It is widely used in America and has found a place in English and Canadian hymnals. Concerning the origin of the hymn, Dr. Merrill says, in a letter to the writer, dated, April 18, 1947:

I was asked back in 1911 to write a hymn to be used in the “Brotherhood Movement,” then going strong. I had come upon an article by Gerald Stanley Lee, entitled, “The Church of the Strong Men”; and that gave me a start. I can give no interesting details as to how I wrote it; I just did it.

Highchurchmen have objected to the hymn, because they have said that only God can make the church great. To that I have answered that if anyone can show me a single instance in history where God has made the church great without using MEN OF GOD to do it, I should be interested. No answer has ever come. I heard that hymn sung in Europe, in India, China, and Japan.

For comments on the author, William P. Merrill, see Hymn 183.

MUSIC. LEIGHTON was composed by Henry Wellington Greatorex, 1811-58, an Englishman by birth. Coming to the United States in 1839, he served as organist at Central Congregational Church, Hartford, Conn., in St. Paul’s and Calvary Churches, New York City, and finally in an Episcopal Church at Charleston, S. C. He edited the Greatorex Collection of 1856 and did much to improve the standards of music used in the worship service. He composed a widely used setting for the “Gloria Patri” (606). Dr. Merrill’s hymn has been set to various 143 tunes, the one generally used and preferred by the author being “Festal Song,” by William H. Walter.

231. Go, labor on; spend and be spent

Horatius Bonar, 1809-89

A hymn to encourage Christian workers. It was published in Songs for the Wilderness, 1843, under the title, “Labour for Christ.” In Hymns of Faith and Hope, 1867, it was entitled, “The Useful Life.”

Regarding the origin of the hymn, Rev. H. N. Bonar, son of the author wrote:

It was probably in the year 1836 that my father first wrote a hymn not primarily intended for the young. To encourage his faithful fellow workers in his mission district, he wrote, to the tune of the “Old Hundredth,” the now-familiar hymn, “Go, labour on.”

For comments on Horatius Bonar see Hymn 129.

MUSIC. ERNAN was written for Cantica Laudis, 1850, one of the books which Mason published with the assistance of Geo. J. Webb. For comments on the composer, Lowell Mason, see Hymn 12.

THE INNER LIFE

232. O have you not heard of that beautiful stream

R. Torrey, Jr.

Based on Rev. 22:1, 17: “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

It is reminiscent also of Ezek. 47:1-12, the vision of the healing stream of water flowing from the house of God to the Dead Sea, causing new life to flourish. “Everything shall live whither the river cometh.” (v. 9).

An omitted stanza reads:

The poem, with the present music, appeared in Asa Hull’s, The Casket, published in Philadelphia, 1865, where it is credited to R. Torrey, Jr. To date, no information has come to light concerning the author. He lived a generation earlier than the well known preacher and teacher, R. A. Torrey. In 1868, the hymn was published, anonymously, 144 in Spiritual Harp, Boston, a book of songs for congregational use dedicated by the authors to “the Spiritualists and Reformers of the world, love of truth and progress.” Two years later, in 1870, the words and music appeared in England, in the Sunday School Hymnary, published by the National Sunday School Union in London.

The German version is a free translation made by Ernst Heinrich Gebhardt, 1832-99, a Methodist minister and evangelist, known in Germany, the place of his birth, as the father of German revivalistic and holiness songs. It is superior, in poetic quality and evangelistic appeal, to the English original.

Gebhardt was born in Ludwigsburg, Württemberg, July 12, 1832. He prepared to be an apothecary but later decided to go to Chile, South America, to live with relatives. After spending five years on a farm in Chile, he returned to Germany to visit his mother. A shipwreck on the return voyage resulted in a deep spiritual awakening. Arriving in Ludwigsburg, he accompanied his mother to the Sylvester service on New Year’s night, 1859, in the Methodist Church, where he dedicated his life to Christian work. Having decided to become an evangelist, he attended the school for ministers in the Methodist Church at Bremen where his zeal and musical gifts were quickly recognized. He was appointed Reiseprediger and in this capacity served in Ludwigsburg (1860-62), Heilbronn (1862-66), Pforzheim (1866-68), Bremen (1868-71), Ludwigsburg (1871-74), Zurich (1874-77), Strassburg i. E. (1877-81), Biel, Kt. Bern (1880-84), Zwickau (1884-88) and finally in Karlsruhe (1888-99). Gebhardt was married and had a family of nine children.

His activities included a trip to the United States, 1881-83, during which he travelled through 30 States. In Brighton, England, he took part in holiness meetings held there, and later travelled with R. Pearsall Smith, of Philadelphia, through Germany and Switzerland, serving as song leader in the evangelistic meetings conducted by Smith.

Gebhardt is the author of many original hymns and made over 50 translations from the English, most of them from the Moody and Sankey songs. He compiled numerous song books where his works appeared. “Ich weiss einen Strom” was published in his Frohe Botschaft, 1875, a popular book of gospel songs drawn mostly from English sources, both words and music. The third stanza, omitted here, reads:

MUSIC. ICH WEISS EINEN STROM, originally entitled, “Beautiful Stream,” and written in 6/8 time, first appeared in Casket of Sunday School Melodies, 145 1865, published by the composer, Asa Hull, in Philadelphia. The tune is wedded inseparably to Torrey’s words. It is very popular among General Conference of Mennonites churches where it is usually sung in the slow tempo and dignity of a chorale. Neither the words nor the music, with its refrain, have the characteristics of a chorale. It is a useful song, especially for evangelistic services.

Asa Hull was born January 18, 1828, in Keene, N. Y. He studied harmony and composition with B. F. Baker and Geo. J. Webb in Boston, and at the age of 20 became organist and choirmaster at Watertown, Mass. He composed many church tunes. Hull, a pioneer publisher of Sunday school and gospel song books, was also known as a shrewd business man. His publications numbered 30 books and about 100 pamphlets. Gem of Gems, published in 1881, sold over 300,000 copies. On the fly leaf of his Casket of Sunday School Melodies is found this advertisement:

Asa Hull, Philadelphia agent for the Hallett and Cumston Piano Fortes, will keep a variety of styles and exhibits at his store, which he will sell at lower prices for cash than any other first class instrument can be bought in the city. 240 S. Eleventh Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

233. O holy Savior, Friend unseen

Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871

A hymn which is best understood by those who have had experience in suffering and sorrow. Entitled, “Clinging to Christ,” it was written in 1834, shortly after the death of the author’s father and published in the 1834 edition of her Invalid’s Hymn Book.

Charlotte Elliott, a member of the Church of England, was born and reared amid refined, cultured, Christian surroundings. Her grandfather, Rev. Henry Venn, was an “eminent Church of England divine of apostolic character and labors,” and the author of The Whole Duty of Man. Charlotte was a woman of keen intellect and was gifted in music and art. Unfortunately, she became an invalid at 32 and remained so till the end of her long life, oftentimes enduring great suffering. This may account for the note of tenderness found in all her hymns. In spite of her invalidism, she did a large amount of literary work, publishing four or five volumes of poetry. She was a modest woman, publishing all her books anonymously. A large number of her 150 hymns are still in use, the most popular being “Just as I am, without one plea” (458).

MUSIC. INTEGER VITAE (FLEMMING). For comments on this tune see Hymn 59.

234. Thou true Vine, that heals the nations

T.S.N.

Based on John 15:1-5: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the 146 husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now are ye clean through the work which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

The hymn was composed for Songs of Praise, 1933, London. The author is not identified except by the initials T.S.N.

MUSIC. PLEADING SAVIOUR, a folk-song type of tune, is from the Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes, New York, 1855, which Henry Ward Beecher compiled for use in the Plymouth Congregational Church, Brooklyn, of which he was pastor. The musical editors were John Zundel (178) and the Rev. Charles Beecher.

235. God of my heart

Anonymous

A hymn celebrating the believer’s life in God. It was taken from St. Basil’s Hymnal compiled by the Basilian Fathers, published in 1918. The musical editors were Healey Willan and Jules Brazil. The authorship of the hymn is anonymous.

MUSIC. CARMEN NATURAE is an arrangement from a melody in Donizetti’s opera, Carmen.

Gaetano Donizetti, 1797-1848, son of an Italian weaver, studied music in Naples. He composed 66 operas, 6 masses, 12 string quartets, a requiem, songs, and other compositions.

236. Since Jesus is my Friend

Paul Gerhardt, 1607-76

Tr. by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-78

A hymn of consolation and joy to give strength and courage to troubled hearts. It is based on Romans 8:31: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” The original has 15 stanzas. The lines translated here are as follows:

147

For comments on the author, Paul Gerhardt, see Hymn 134.

The translation by Miss Winkworth appeared in her Lyra Germanica, first series, 1855.

Catherine Winkworth, an English poet, was the foremost translator of German chorales. She made a special study of the German hymns and hymn writers and is the author of Lyra Germanica, 1st. ser., 1855; 2d. ser., 1858; The Chorale Book for England, 1863; and Christian Singers of Germany, 1869. Twenty-five of her works are found in the Hymnary. She was a member of the Church of England.

MUSIC. GREENWOOD was composed for the hymn beginning, “We lift our hearts to Thee,” in a Collection of Church Music, 1849, by Root and Sweetser.

The composer, Joseph Emerson Sweetser, 1825-73, was an English organist and composer of vocal music. A part of his life was spent in New York City as organist at the Church of the Puritans.

237. O heart of God!

F. Stanfield

A hymn of confidence and trust resulting from the mystical repose in the heart of God.

The words and tune are found in St. Basil’s Hymnal, compiled by the Basilican Fathers, and published in Chicago, 1918.

The author, Francis Stanfield, a Roman Catholic priest, was born in London, November 5, 1836, the son of Clarkson Stanfield, an artist. He was educated at St. Edmund’s College, near Ware. After ordination, he spent most of his time conducting missions and retreats, though he was stationed for brief periods in several parishes. He is the author of numerous hymns which were collected and published by the Benedictine Fathers, at Ramsgate, England. The present hymn is an adaptation, made by the editors of the Hymnary, of his “O Sacred Heart, our home lies deep in Thee.” The original is too Catholic for Protestant use.

No information is at hand concerning the composer of the tune.

148

238. Life of all that lives below

Charles Wesley, 1707-88

Samuel Longfellow, 1819-92

This hymn, a prayer for a fuller life nurtured by Christ, the living Bread, is of composite authorship, but no information is at hand concerning the part which Wesley and Longfellow, respectively, had in it. It is not listed in Julian’s Dictionary of Hymnology.

For comments on Charles Wesley see Hymn 6.

For comments on Longfellow see Hymn 28.

MUSIC. PLEYEL is taken from the Andante movement of the composer’s Fourth String Quartet, Op. 7. It appeared as a long-meter tune in Arnold and Callcott’s Psalms, 1791, set to Addison’s hymn, “The spacious firmament on high.”

Ignace Josef Pleyel, 1757-1831, 24th child of an Austrian schoolmaster, was a favorite pupil of Haydn and gained fame as a composer and conductor. Mozart spoke highly of his quartets. Later in life he engaged in business, publishing and selling music, and manufacturing pianos of high quality. The manufacturing house of Pleyel and Company is still well and favorably known in Europe.

239. There is a place of quiet rest

Cleland B. McAfee, 1866-1944

The heart of the message of this popular devotional hymn, according to a statement made by the author to the present writer, is in the second stanza, “There is a place of comfort sweet, near to the heart of God.” Cleland B. McAfee was a distinguished preacher, author, and teacher in the Presbyterian Church. He was accustomed to write an original hymn for the communion service in his church. It was in 1901, during his pastorate in Chicago, that a great sorrow came into his life occasioned by the death of his nephew. The communion was to be held the following Sunday and the members of the congregation came to the church tense with speculation about the service and the kind of hymn their pastor had composed for the day. These simple words and tune were offered them and seemed to fit the occasion perfectly. Since then the hymn has been translated into many languages and gone all over the world. It was not included in the new Presbyterian Hymnal, 1933, because the words and music were considered to be more of the nature of a gospel song than a hymn.

Cleland M. McAfee received his education at Park College and Union Theological Seminary, New York. From 1888 to 1901, he was pastor and professor at Park College; pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Chicago, 1901-04; and of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, 1904-12. He later was connected with McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, first as Professor of Systematic Theology and then as president of the institution. He is the author of several 149 books on religious subjects, and also wrote extensively on foreign missions, a subject in which he had a keen interest.

COURAGE AND COMFORT

240. Come unto Me, ye weary

William C. Dix, 1837-98

Based on some of the precious promises of Christ, especially Matt. 11:28: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” It may be compared with Bonar’s hymn, “I heard the voice of Jesus say” (142) on the same text.

The author gives the story of the hymn as follows:

I was ill and depressed at the time, and it was almost to idle away the hours that I wrote the hymn. I had been ill for many weeks, and felt weary and faint, and the hymn really expresses the languidness of body from which I was suffering at the time. Soon after its composition I recovered, and I always look back to that hymn as the turning point in my illness.

For comments on the author, William Chatterdon Dix, see Hymn 78.

MUSIC. ICH WEISS AN WEN ICH GLAUBE is taken from the Gesangbuch mit Noten (206) where it is used with a hymn by Ernst Moritz Arndt, beginning with these words.

241. When in the madd’ning maze of things

John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807-92

Preëminently an experienced person’s meditation on trust in God. The hymn is taken from a poem of 22 stanzas entitled, “The Eternal Goodness,” written apparently without any thought of their being sung. In the first line the editors substituted the initial word “when” for the original “yet.”

For comments on John Greenleaf Whittier see Hymn 173.

MUSIC. ES IST EIN BORN. For comments on this tune see Hymn 99.

242. Thy way is in the deep, O Lord

James Martineau, 1805-1900

Based on Psalm 77:19: “Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters.”

James Martineau, English Unitarian, was a man of letters, a philosopher, a theologian, and the most eloquent and distinguished preacher of his church in his time. He served churches in Liverpool and London and was Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy in Manchester New College. He edited Hymns for the Christian Church and Home, 1840, a book widely used among Unitarians in England.

MUSIC. GRÄFENBERG, sung somewhat slowly, is a tune of fine stateliness 150 and dignity. It is from the 5th edition of Crüger’s Praxis Pietatis Melica, Berlin, 1653. It is also known as “Nun Danket All.”

Johann Crüger, 1598-1662, one of the most distinguished musicians of his time, was born near Brandenburg. He received a thorough musical training under Paulus Homberger in Regensburg and in 1622 he was appointed cantor of the St. Nicholas Lutheran Church, in Berlin, and one of the masters of the Greyfriars Gymnasium. He founded the noted choir of St. Nicholas Church. Crüger was a tune-writer of the first rank and composed some of the most famous and favorite chorales. He published various collections of hymns, among them the celebrated Praxis Pietas Melica, 1644, which passed through more than fifty editions. He died in Berlin, February 23, 1662.

243. Come, ye disconsolate

Thomas Moore, 1779-1852

Thomas Hastings, v. 3

A hymn of consolation by an author whose life was far from exemplary. It may be the hymn should on this account have been omitted; but something in his heart enabled the author, through his lyrics, to touch the heart of humanity, and his songs have been widely used and admired in spite of the strange chapters and romantic incidents in his life.

Thomas Moore, Irish poet, was born in Dublin, studied at Trinity College, and then moved to London and began the study of law. He held a government position in Bermuda for some time and during his life published many volumes of prose and poetry. He will always be remembered by his songs, “Believe me if all those endearing young charms,” “The last rose of summer,” and “Oft in the stilly night.”

The third stanza is by Thomas Hastings, coeditor with Lowell Mason of Spiritual Songs for Social Worship, in which the hymn first appeared. Moore’s third stanza, omitted in all hymn books, reads:

It is a good stanza, but, then, good hymns do not argue.

For comments on Thomas Hastings see Hymn 120.

MUSIC. CONSOLATOR, also known as “Consolation,” “Webbe,” “Alma” or “Alma Redemptor,” is an adaptation of a tune by Samuel Webbe.

For comments on Samuel Webbe see Hymn 22.

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244. I look to Thee in every need

Samuel Longfellow, 1819-92

A hymn, much-needed, to express the effect of religious faith and trust upon mental and bodily health. The idea, so essential to the Gospel, has been too largely neglected in most Protestant Churches. The hymn is representative of the fine literary and devotional quality of the author’s poetry. Though an American hymn, it was introduced into the church’s worship in England before it was used in this country.

For comments on Samuel Longfellow see Hymn 28.

MUSIC. O JESU appeared in J. B. Reimanns Org. v. Hirschb. alter und neuer Melodien Evangel. Lieder, etc., 1747, where it was set to the hymn, “O Jesu, warum legst du mir.” In the original, the first and last notes of each line were half-notes. It is a tune “of a simple, familiar pattern but with a certain quiet dignity.”

The composer, Johann Balthaser Reimann, 1702-47, was a German cantor and organist in churches in Neustadt, Breslau, and Hirschberg, Schleswig.

245. My God and Father, while I stray

Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871

A hymn written by one who had disciplined herself to accept with patience and resignation the bitter cross of ill health which was laid upon her.

She writes of her experience:

Oh, many struggles and apparently fruitless ones it has cost me to become resigned to the appointments of my Heavenly Father. But the struggle is now over. He knows, and he alone, what it is, day after day, hour after hour, to fight against bodily feelings of almost overpowering weakness, languor, and exhaustion; to resolve not to yield to slothfulness, depression, and instability, such as the body causes me to long to indulge, but to rise every morning determined to take for my motto: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

The hymn is based on Matt. 26:42: “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” It is a hymn of humble resignation. Another hymn, setting forth the will of God as demanding active co-operation, is found at No. 342. Some fine stanzas have been omitted here:

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For comments on Charlotte Elliott see Hymn 233.

MUSIC. HANFORD was written for “Jesus, my Saviour, look on me,” another of Miss Elliott’s hymns. The composer, who often stayed in the home of Mrs. Gertrude Clay-Ker-Seymer at Hanford, in Dorsetshire, wrote the tune there, hence its name.

For comments on the composer, Arthur Sullivan, see Hymn 113.

246. Give to the winds thy fears

Paul Gerhardt, 1607-76

Tr. by John Wesley, 1703-91

A hymn of comfort to the afflicted and courage to the dying. It is a part of Paul Gerhardt’s poem, “Befiehl du deine Wege” (558). These are stanzas 9, 10, 12, 13, unaltered, of Wesley’s translation, which contains 16 four-line stanzas. Gerhardt passed through the agonies of the Thirty Years’ War, and suffered, in addition, the loss of his wife and four children. He gives expression in this hymn to his own deep feelings of trust and assurance. His words have helped many anxious souls maintain faith in God who “sitteth on the throne, and ruleth all things well.”

For comments on Paul Gerhardt see Hymn 134.

For comments on John Wesley, who translated the hymn, see No. 170.

MUSIC. STATE STREET is a popular tune, scarcely any hymn book missing it, but it is not wedded to any single hymn. The composer, J. C. Woodman, 1813-94, born at Newbury, Mass., became one of Lowell Mason’s assistants in introducing music into the public schools of Boston. He was one of the first soloists of the Boston Academy of Music and served for a time as organist of the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn. In 1858, Woodman compiled The Musical Casket, which contained many of his songs, sacred and secular. “State Street” is the last tune in the book, set to Watts’ lyric, “Blessed are the sons of peace.”

247. Day by day the manna fell

Josiah Conder, 1789-1855

A hymn of confidence that God will supply daily strength for daily 153 needs, based on Exodus 16:12-21 and the petition in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

The hymn suggests a Jewish story quoted by W. F. Tillett in The Hymns and Hymn Writers of the Church:

The pupils of Rabbi Ben Jochai once asked him with regard to the manna sent to the Israelite host in the wilderness: “Why did not the Lord furnish enough manna to Israel for a year all at one time?” “I will answer you with a parable,” responded the teacher. “Once there was a king who had a son to whom he gave a yearly allowance, paying him the entire sum on a fixed day. It soon happened that the day on which the allowance was due was the only day in the year when the father ever saw the son. So the king changed his plan and gave his son day by day that which sufficed for the day. And now the son visited his father every morning. Thus God dealt with Israel.”

The author, Josiah Conder, born in London, was an editor and publisher. His friends included a large number of eminent literary and church men of the early 19th century. He was a member of the Congregationalist Church. A devout and earnest believer who knew what it was to struggle for daily bread, he had the occasion to practice the gospel of daily trust. He wrote many hymns, published more than a dozen scholarly books, and edited The Congregational Hymn Book in 1836, a work which attained wide popularity in England.

MUSIC. SEYMOUR. For comments on this tune see Hymn No. 36.

248. One thought I have, my ample creed

Frederick L. Hosmer, 1840-1929

Several of Hosmer’s hymns express his “thought of God,” this being one of the finest. It relates all of life and its needs to the thought of God.

For comments on Frederick L. Hosmer see Hymn 72.

MUSIC. PRAETORIUS is from Harmoniae Hymnorum Scholae Gorlicensis, Görlitz, 1599. It is supposed to have been written by M. Praetorius, for it appeared in his Musae Sionae, Pt. VI, 1609, and hence its name.

Michael Praetorius, 1571-1621, was born in Kreuzburg, Thuringia. He was educated at the University of Frankfurt-an-der-Oder and became Kapellmeister at Lüneburg. Praetorius was a prolific composer, but his fame rests chiefly on a four-volume work on musical theory entitled, Syntagma musicum.

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249. Father, to Thee we look in all our sorrow

Frederick L. Hosmer, 1840-1929

A hymn of comfort written in 1881 on the death of a member of the author’s congregation. The hymn was published in Hosmer’s Thought of God, 1st series, 1885. The last lines are particularly striking:

MUSIC. STRENGTH AND STAY. For comments on J. B. Dykes, the composer of this tune, see Hymn 1.

250. My Jesus, as Thou wilt

Benjamin Schmolck, 1672-1737

Tr. Jane Borthwick, 1813-97

Based on Mark 14:36: “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” The hymn was originally published in eleven stanzas in his Heilige Flammen, 1704. We give here five stanzas of the original, our hymn being the usual selection of 1, 3, and 5.

Schmolck was known all over Germany for his many hymns and 155 spiritual songs. A number of them have been translated into English. This one reflects his fervent love for Christ and bears a message of trust and comfort which grew out of his own exhausting labors and physical suffering.

For further comments on Benjamin Schmolck see Hymn 505.

The translation is by Jane Borthwick in her Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1854. For comments on Jane Borthwick see Hymn 54.

MUSIC. JEWETT is from a melody in Weber’s opera Der Freischütz. The present arrangement was made by Joseph Holbrook, in 1862. The tune has become associated almost exclusively with this hymn in America.

Joseph Holbrook, 1822-88, born near Boston, was a tune writer of the school of Mason, Hastings, and Bradbury. He compiled several hymn books and was musical editor of Songs of the Sanctuary, a popular Methodist book under the editorship of the eminent hymnologist, Charles S. Robinson.

251. Father, whate’er of earthly bliss

Anne Steele, 1716-78

Based on I Tim. 6:6-8: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”

Anne Steele was the first woman writer of English hymns. Her father was a timber merchant who for 30 years was deacon and occasional preacher in the Baptist Church in Hampshire, England, and then for 30 years more he was pastor, without salary, of the same church. On the day before Miss Steele was to be married, at the age of 21, her fiance met accidental death through drowning. Out of this bitter experience in her early life and a succession of other trials, came this lyric of resignation and hope. The original has 10 stanzas, the last three of which have been edited by Augustus Toplady to make this her best hymn. Miss Steele is the foremost of Baptist hymn writers.

MUSIC. NAOMI, a tune brought to America by Lowell Mason, was set to this hymn in his Modern Psalmist, 1839. It at once gained popularity and was included in many hymn books.

For comments on the composer, Hans Nägeli, see Hymn 41.

252. Thy way, not mine, O Lord

Horatius Bonar, 1808-89

An admirable hymn of submission, faith, and love, based on Matt. 26:39: “Not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”

It was published in 7 stanzas in the author’s Hymns of Faith and Hope, 156 1st series, 1857 under the title, “Thy way, not Mine.”

The omitted stanza (No. 6) reads:

For comments on Horatius Bonar see Hymn 129.

MUSIC. O LEIDE, LEIDE GERN is from the Gesangbuch mit Noten, where it appears anonymously set to the words, “O leide, leide, gern! Es ist der Will’ des Herrn.”

253. Lord, it belongs not to my care

Richard Baxter, 1615-91

A hymn of love, trust, and hope, based on Phil. 1:21: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Richard Baxter, English Presbyterian, was born in Shropshire, England. He took holy orders in the Church of England, but withdrew from this church to become one of the outstanding Nonconformists of his time. Though he never attended university, he published over 250 volumes, among them several classics, The Reformed Pastor and The Saints’ Everlasting Rest. A fearless man and willing to suffer for what he believed to be right, Baxter did not hesitate to rebuke Cromwell for his assumption of supreme power of the State. Once, when falsely charged of libeling the Church, Chief Justice George Jeffreys taunted him by, “Richard, I see the rogue in thy face.” Baxter replied, “I had not known before that my face was a mirror.” After an infamous trial, Baxter was condemned and thrown into prison where he remained for 18 months.

As to music in the church, he did not share the views of the large number of his fellow Puritan clergymen who disapproved of it. “I have made a psalm of praise in the holy assembly the chief delightful exercise of my religion and my life, and have helped to bear down all the objection which I have heard against church music.” He also took a stand for the use of original hymns to supplement psalm singing, and favored the use of the organ, though he did not introduce the latter where it led to disputes.

MUSIC. EVAN. For comments on this tune and its composer, William H. Havergal, see Hymn 153.

254. Holy Father, cheer our way

Richard H. Robinson, 1842-92

Based on Zech. 14:7: “But it shall come to pass, at evening time it shall be light.” The hymn was written in 1869 for the author’s congregation, to be sung at evening prayer. It appeared in Church Hymns, 1871, published by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, London.

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Richard Hayes Robinson, a clergyman of the Church of England, was born in London. He was educated at King’s College, London, and served as minister in various churches. On the day of his second wedding, he was taken ill on the train and died the next day. He published several volumes of sermons.

MUSIC. MÜDE BIN ICH, GEH ZUR RUH is a well-known German melody in the Gesangbuch mit Noten, where it appears anonymously, set to Louise Hensel’s hymn from which the tune derives its name. The melody, in slightly different form, appeared in 1842 in Lieder-Buch für Kleinkinder-Schulen ... con Theodor Fliedner. It is used in the Methodist Hymnal (1935) set to the words, “Jesus, tender Shepherd, hear.”

255. O Lord, how happy should we be

Joseph Anstice, 1808-36

Based on I Peter 5:7: “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you,” and on the Scripture lesson in Matthew 6:24-34. The original poem was in five stanzas. The hymn was written out of experiences of sickness, pain, and trial.

Joseph Anstice, a friend of Gladstone during student days at Oxford, was appointed Professor of Classical Literature at King’s College, London, at the age of 22. Within three years his health failed, and he died at the age of 28, whereupon Gladstone, who had been deeply influenced by him at Oxford, wrote in his Diary, “Read to my deep sorrow of Anstice’s death on Monday. His friends, his young widow, the world can spare him ill.” This and 53 other hymns were dictated to his wife in the afternoons during his last illness.

MUSIC. MERIBAH. For comments on the composer, Lowell Mason, see Hymn 12.

256. Peace, perfect peace

Edward H. Bickersteth, 1825-1906

This hymn on perfect peace is based on Isaiah 26:3: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.”

The origin of the hymn was furnished Dr. Julian by Rev. S. Bickersteth, a son of the author:

This hymn was written by Bishop Edward Henry Bickersteth while he was spending his summer holiday in Harrogate in the year 1875. On a Sunday morning in August the Vicar of Harrogate, Canon Gibbon, happened to preach from the text, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee,” and alluded to the fact that in the Hebrew the words are “peace, peace,” twice repeated and happily rendered in the 158 1611 translations by the phrase “perfect peace.” This sermon set my father’s mind working on the subject. He always found it easiest to express in verse whatever subject was uppermost in his mind, so that when on the afternoon of that Sunday he visited an aged and dying relative, Archdeacon Hill, of Liverpool, and found him somewhat troubled in mind, it was natural to him to express in verse the spiritual comfort which he desired to convey. Taking up a sheet of paper, he then and there wrote down the hymn just exactly as it now stands and read it to this dying Christian.

It is not always noticed that the first line in each verse is in the form of a question referring to some one or other of the disturbing experiences of life, and the second line in each verse endeavors to give the answer.... The hymn has been translated into many tongues, and for years I doubt if my father went many days without receiving from different people assurances of the comfort which the words had been allowed to bring to them. The most touching occasion on which, personally, I ever heard it sung was round the grave of my eldest brother, Bishop Edward Bickersteth, of South Tokyo, at Chiselden in 1897, when my father himself was chief mourner.

MUSIC. PAX TECUM was written for this hymn by George Thomas Caldbeck, 1852-?, concerning whose life one reads contradictory statements. Some writers say he was a missionary in China when he wrote this tune; others, including James Moffatt, give the account essentially as follows: that Caldbeck, while a student in London, was compelled through ill health to give up his purpose of becoming a missionary, went to Ireland to teach school and engage in independent missionary work. Later he returned to London where he did much open-air preaching, making a meagre living by selling Scripture text-cards from door to door. For selling without a license, he was arrested one day but dismissed by the judge on being informed that the defendant was the composer of this well-known hymn tune.

The tune was arranged by Charles John Vincent, born 1852, English organist, composer and editor of much church music.

257. God is the refuge of His saints

Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

Based on Psalm 46:1-5: “God is our refuge and our strength; a very present help in time of trouble,” etc., and was entitled by Watts, “The Church’s Safety and Triumph.” It is interesting to compare this free rendering of the Psalm with that of the Scotch Psalter, 1650, (588), where the thought of the psalm and the stately King James version combine to make up the greatest metrical form of the psalm. Martin Luther’s version of the same Psalm is found in his great hymn “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (549).

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For comments on Isaac Watts see Hymn 11.

MUSIC. WARRINGTON was composed by Ralph Harrison, 1748-1810, an Englishman and son of a Presbyterian minister. Educated at Warrington Academy, he became a noted teacher of ancient languages, but maintained a keen interest in sacred music. He compiled Sacred Harmony, 2 vols., 1784-1791, a collection of psalm tunes, ancient and modern, in which were found some of his own compositions, including this tune.

258. Awake, our souls! away, our fears

Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

A free rendering of Isaiah 40:28-31.

The hymn is from Watts’ Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1707, where it is headed, “The Christian Race.”

For comments on Isaac Watts see Hymn 11.

MUSIC. SAMSON. This tune is an adaptation, a very considerable one, from Chorus 31: “Then round about the starry throne,” in Handel’s oratorio, Samson. The tune is taken from various parts of the chorus.

For comments on Handel see Hymn 70.

259. There is no sorrow, Lord, too light

Jane Crewdson, 1809-63

Another of the “songs in the night,” written by one who, like Charlotte Elliott (See 245), was an invalid the greater part of her life and suffered much pain.

Jane Fox was born in Cornwall, England. In 1836 she married Thomas D. Crewdson, a Manchester manufacturer. Always delicate, she became a confirmed invalid, but her sufferings served to deepen her spiritual life. She was a woman of fine intellectual power and poetic gifts and through her writings testified gloriously to the all-sufficiency of her Savior’s love. Her attitude toward her suffering is well expressed in the beautiful third verse of the hymn:

This was the favorite hymn of Dr. John Henry Jowett, at one time minister of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City.

MUSIC. COOLING first appeared in The American Choir, 1858. No information has been obtained concerning the composer, Alonzo Judson Abbey, 1825-87.

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ETERNAL LIFE

260. Hark, hark, my soul! angelic songs are swelling

Frederick W. Faber, 1814-63

A lovely song of the journey of life—the Christian’s pilgrimage to heaven, the heart’s true home. “The Pilgrims of the Night” was the title given this hymn by its author, F. W. Faber, the warm-hearted Roman Catholic hymn writer. The phrases of the poem are wrapped in mystery and loveliness. Their meaning is not always clear but the rhythm and musical ring of the hymn are effective and its popularity is genuine and wide-spread.

For comments on F. W. Faber see Hymn 44.

MUSIC. PILGRIMS was written for this hymn for the appendix to the original edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern.

For comments on the composer, Henry Smart, see Hymn 46.

261. Forever, with the Lord!

James Montgomery, 1771-1854

From Montgomery’s poem of twenty-two 4-line stanzas, in two parts, published in the Amethyst, 1835. It is based on I Thess. 4:17: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Canon Farrar once said, “I can scarcely ever join in singing ‘Forever with the Lord’ without tears.”