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Jeanne Marie Bouvier de La Motte Guyon

1648 - 1717 Person Name: Madame Guyon Gender: F Author of "'Tis folly all - let me no more be told" in Translations from the French of Madame de la Mothe Guion Guyon, Madame. (1648-1717.) Jeanne Marie Bouyieres de la Mothe was the leader of the Quietist movement in France. The foundation of her Quietism was laid in her study of St. Francis de Sales, Madame de Chantal, and Thomas ä Kempis, in the conventual establishments of her native place, Montargis (Dep. Loiret), where she was educated as a child. There also she first learned the sentiment of espousal with Christ, to which later years gave a very marked development. She was married at sixteen to M. Guyon, a wealthy man of weak health, twenty-two years her senior, and her life, until his death, in 1676, was, partly from disparity of years, partly from the tyranny of her mother-in-law, partly from her own quick temper, an unhappy one. Her public career as an evangelist of Quietism began soon after her widowhood. Her first labours were spent in the diocese of Geneva, at Annecy, Gex, and Thonon, and in Grenoble. In 1686 she came to Paris, where she was at first imprisoned for her opinions in the Convent of St. Marie in the Faubourg St. Antoine, but released after eight months at the instance of Madame de Maintenon. She then rose to the zenith of her fame. Her life at all times greatly fascinated those around her; and the court, Madame de Maintenon, Fénelon (who ardently sympathised with her doctrine of pure and disinterested love of God), and Madame de Maintenon's College of Ladies at Cyr, came under the spell of her enthusiasm. But the affinity of her doctrines with those of Molinos, who was condemned in 1685, soon told against her. Her opinions were condemned by a commission, of which Bossuet was president. She then incurred Bossuet's displeasure by breaking the promises she had made to him to maintain a quiet attitude, and not return to Paris. She was imprisoned at Vincennes, Dec. 1695, and in the following year removed to Vaugirard, under a promise to avoid all receptions and correspondence, except by special permission. In 1698 she was immured in the Bastille, and not released until 1702. The Quietist controversy had meanwhile ruined the saintly Fénelon in the favour of Louis XIV., and obtained the condemnation by the Pope (1699) of his book (Maxima des Saints) written in defence of the doctrine of disinterested love. The remainder of Madame Guyon's life was spent in retirement with her daughter, the Marquise de Vaux, at Blois. She was visited there by numbers of persons of all ranks, some of them from foreign countries; and she had a considerable correspondence. She heard Mass daily, and died in full communion with the Roman Church. Madame Guyon's works fill 40 volumes. The principal ones are:— (1) Les Torrents (1683), a description of God's dealings with souls, founded on her own spiritual history. (2) Le Cantique des Cantiques interpreté selon le sens mystique. Le Moyen Court defaire oraison (1684). Her (3) Autobiography. (4) Poésies et Cantiques Spirituels (pub. 1722). The Cantiques Spirituels comprise nearly 900 pieces. The dates of composition are mainly to be gathered from internal evidence; some appear to have been written in the country; many were certainly written in her imprisonments at the Convent of St. Marie and Vincennes; many also apparently in her last sickness at Blois. They were composed to ballad tunes, and with an effortless facility, five or six hymns being often written in a day, while confined to her bed. She believed them to originate from the Divine impulse, more than from herself. The Cantiques are at once illustrated and interpreted by her Autobiography (which is one of the most remarkable books in the delineation of spiritual enthusiasm) and by her Commentary on the Song of Solomon, which applies its passionate love to the union of Christ with the soul. The leading ideas are, (1) the absorption of the soul, utterly emptied of self, into the Infinite Being of God: which is expressed at other times as the entire occupation of the soul, reduced to nothingness ("le néant, le rien"), and deprived of all independent will, by the Personality of God. The perfect state of the soul is one of complete passiveness; its energy is the energy of God directing and wielding the human powers; prayer becomes not the expression of desire, but rapt contemplation, wordless intercourse, and reception of the Divine Voice to the soul. (2) Pure and disinterested love of God, as Himself the Perfect Love, uninfluenced by any consideration of His favour and blessing either here or in eternity. If it be His will to cast the soul into hell itself, even this is to be accepted without fear or deprecation, if the Love of God remains as the joy of His creature. (3) The Love of God is consistent with terrible, often unintelligible or apparently capricious infliction of suffering and desertion on the soul He loves. A selection of 37 pieces from these poems was translated by the poet Cowper, in 1782 (published by his friend William Bull, in 1801). Bull had introduced the poems to him, and requested him to translate some of them. Whether Bull or Cowper selected the pieces for translation is uncertain, Their leading theme is that of Love unshaken, submissive, not asking for release, though under the extremity of desertion and suffering inflicted by God's Hand, which is heavy with anger and seems threatening destruction. Mixed with these awful seasons there are others, in which the manifestation of the Divine Love floods the soul with transport. The points of affinity with Cowper's thought are obvious; and Bull may have hoped that the spectacle of her unmoved belief in the hidden love of God might help to drive away the terrible delusion of his reprobation. The nervous style is very different from the flabby lines of the French: and Cowper designedly modified the amative metaphors, which, especially when they represent the dealings of Christ with her as His spouse, in language suggested by the caprice of Cupid or that of conjugal infidelity, are very painful and unconsciously irreverent. (See his letters to W. Unwin, 1782-3.) The most characteristic pieces are those beginning, "Twas my purpose on a day," "I suffer fruitless anguish," "Long plunged in sorrow," and "Source of Love, my brighter Sun." The translations from Madame Guyon's hymns which are in common use are mainly in American hymnbooks. They include :— 1. Ah! régnez sur toute la terre. Triumph of heavenly love desired. From her Cantique des Cantiques, vol. ii. No. 236. Translated by W. Cowper in his posthumous Poems Translated from the French of Madame de la Mothe Guion, fee., 1801, p. 14, in 3 stanzas of 4 lines, as, "Ah! reign, wherever man is found." It is in Spurgeon’s Our Own Hymnbook, 1866. 2. Amour que mon âme eat contente. The soul that loves God finds Him everywhere. From vol. ii., Cantique 108. Translated by W. Cowper, 1801, p. 33, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines, as "0 Thou, by long experience tried." This has been abbreviated and altered to "My Lord, how full of sweet content," in Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, and others, and as "0 Lord, how full of sweet content," in the Andover Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858; the Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865, &c. It is also in use in its original form. Cowper's translation is more nervous than the original, but not always close thereto. 3. Divin objet, auquel nul objet n'est pareil. The Nativity. From her works, vol. iv., Poëmes Héroїques, 1. W. Cowper's translation of the poem (1801, p. 1) begins "Tis folly all—-let me no more be told." The cento in common use begins on p. 4 with "Infinite God, Thou great unrivall'd One," and is composed of 14 lines, not consecutive in all cases, and with extraneous additions. 4. Esprit Saint, viena dedans nos cœurs. Charity. From vol. ii., Cant. 96, beginning with stanza iii. Translated by W. Cowper, 1801, p. 26, as "Spirit of charity dispense.” This is in American common use. 5. Je n'aime plus d'un amour mien. Life in the love of God. From vol. iv., sect. 2, cant. 80. An anonymous translation of a part of this as "I love my God, but with no love of mine," appeared in the Andover Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858; the Church Praise Book, N. Y., 1881, &c, in 2 stanzas of 6 lines. Of this translation st. i. is apparently an expansion of the four first lines of this short hymn; stanza ii. may be only an expansion of the two remaining lines, or may have added to it some verse of a hymn not identified. Guyon, vol. iii., cant. 136, is somewhat similar, especially at its close, but is on a much larger scale. 6. L'amour me tient asservie. Divine love. From vol. ii., cant. 155. Translated by W. Cowper, 1801, p. 38, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines, as “Love is the Lord whom I obey." It is generally used in an abbreviated form. 7. La fontaine dans sa source. Living Water. From vol. iv., cant. 81. Translated by W. Cowper, 1801, p. 28, in 2 stanzas of 4 lines, as “The fountain in its source." In 1812 it was given in Collyer's Selections, No. 322, with an additional stanza by Collyer. This is the form of the text in common use in Great Britain and America. 8. Mon cœur depuis longtems plongé. The Joy of the Cross. From vol. iii., cant. 97. Translated by W. Cowper, 1801, pp. 81-84, in 12 stanzas of 6 lines, as "Long plung'd in sorrow, I resign." The following centos therefrom are in common use:— 1. "Long plunged in sorrow, I resign." 2. "O Lord, in sorrow I resign." 3. "Self-love no grace in sorrow sees." Of these centos 1 is in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866; and 2 and 3 in American collections. 9. Nous portons un doux témoignage. God's Chosen. Vol. ii., cant. 78. Translated by W. Cowper, 1801, p. 35, as "How happy are the newborn race." This is usually altered to "O happy they, God's chosen race," as in Mercer, 1854, and others. 10. Souffrons, puisqu’l le faut, souffrons toute la vie. The love of God the end of Life. From vol ii., cant. 165. Translated by W. Cowper, 1801, p. 50, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, as “Since life in sorrow must be spent." In the Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865, and other American collections it is altered to "If life in sorrow must be spent." In addition to these there are also translations of hymns in common use, the originals of which are attributed to Madame Guyon. These we have not identified in her poetical works:— 11. By suffering only can we know. Resignation. This is part of a poem written at nineteen. In a letter written from Blois in 1717, Madame Guyon thus alludes to it: "I remember that when I was quite young, only nineteen years of age, I composed a little song in which I expressed my willingness to suffer for God. ... A part of the verses to which I refer is as follows: ‘By suffering only can we know.’ ”The translation in the American Hymns for the Church of Christ, 1853, is anonymous. 12. I would love Thee, God and Father. This we cannot identify. It appeared in the Andover Sabbath Hymnbook, 1858, No. 649, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. It is in Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865, Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872, and others. 13. 'Tis not by skill of human art. Love. Not identified. The translation appeared in the Hymns for the Church of Christ, 1853, No. 606. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ===================== Guyon, Madame, p. 475, i. Other translations in common use are:— 1. From No. 3 on p. 476, i., the cento in Martineau's Hymns, 1840, No. 160, "Almighty Former of creation's plan" is taken. 2. Source of love, and Light of day. This in Martineau's Hymns, 1840, No. 425, is from W. Cowper's translation of Cantique 125, in 1801, p. 40. 3. To me remains nor place, nor time. This cento In Dale's English Hymn Book, 1874; "My country, Lord, art Thou alone," in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866; and "All scenes alike engaging prove," are from No. 2 on p. 476, i. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Anna Letitia Waring

1823 - 1910 Person Name: A. L. Waring Gender: F Author of "Father, I know that all my life" in Hymns and Meditations See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church ================ Waring, Anna Laetitia, daughter of Elijah Waring, and niece of Samuel Miller Waring, was born at Neath, Glamorganshire, in 1820. In 1850 she published her Hymns and Meditations, by A. L. W., a small book of 19 hymns. The 4th edition was published in 1854. The 10th edition, 1863, is enlarged to 38 hymns. She also published Additional Hymns, 1858, and contributed some pieces to the Sunday Magazine, 1871. Her most widely known hymns are: "Father, I know that all my life," "Go not far from me, O my Strength," and "My heart is resting, O my God." The rest in common use include:— 1. Dear Saviour of a dying world. Resurrection. (1854.) 2. In heavenly love abiding. Safety in God. (1850.) 3. Jesus, Lord of heaven above. Love to Jesus desired. (1854.) 4. Lord, a happy child of Thine. Evening. (1850.) 5. My Saviour, on the [Thy] words of truth. Hope in the Word of God. (1850.) Sometimes stanza iv., "It is not as Thou wilt with me," is given separately. 6. O this is blessing, this is rest. Rest in the Love of Jesus. (1854.) 7. O Thou Lord of heaven above. The Resurrection. 8. Source of my life's refreshing springs. Rest in God. (1850.) 9. Sunlight of the heavenly day. New Year (1854.) 10. Sweet is the solace of Thy love. Safety and Comfort in God. (1850.) 11. Tender mercies on my way. Praise of Divine Mercies. (1850.) 12. Thanksgiving and the voice of melody. New Year (1854). 13. Though some good things of lower worth. Love of God in Christ, (1860.) These hymns are marked by great simplicity, concentration of thought, and elegance of diction. They are popular, and deserve to be so. [George Arthur Crawford, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =============== Waring, Anna L., p. 1233, ii. Of her hymns we have found the following in Lovell Squire's Selection of Scriptural Poetry, 3rd ed., 1848: 1. Father, I know that all my life, p. 367, ii. 2. Sweet is the solace of Thy love, p. 1233, ii. 10. 3. Though some good things of, &c., p. 1233, ii. 13. The statement in J. Telford's The Methodist Hymn Book Illustrated, 1906, p. 271, that Miss Waring contributed to her uncle's (S. M. Waring's) Sacred Melodies, 182G, cannot be correct, as she was then only six years old. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Catherine Winkworth

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

Electress Luise Henriette

1627 - 1667 Person Name: Louisa Henrietta of Brandenburgh Gender: F Author of "Jesus Christ, my sure Defence" in Chorale Book for England, The Luise Henriette, Electress of Brandenburg, daughter of Friedrich Heinrich, Prince of Nassau-Orange and Stadtholder of the United Netherlands, was born at 'S Gravenhage (The Hague), Nov. 27, 1627. She received a careful Christian training, not only in literature, but also in domestic economy and feminine handicrafts. On Dec. 7, 1646, she was married, at the Hague, to the Elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg, who was then residing at Cleve, but remained at the Hague to nurse her father, who died March 14, 1647. She then, in June, 1647, joined her husband at Cleve, where her first child, Wilhelm Heinrich, was born in May 1648. In the autumn of 1619 she set out with her husband and child on the way to Berlin, but in the inclement weather the child sickened and died at Wesel, Oct. 24,1649, and it was not till April 10, 1650, that she entered Berlin. On the birth of her second son, Carl Emil (who died 1674), at Oranienburg, near Berlin, on Feb. 16, 1655, she founded an orphanage there as a thank-offering (now the Oranienburg Orphanage at Berlin). On July 11, 1657, her third son, afterwards King Friedrich I. of Prussia, was born at Königsberg. After the birth of her youngest son, Ludwig, at Cleve, in 1666, she never entirely recovered. In the spring of 1667 she was conveyed to Berlin in a litter, and died there June 18, 1667. (Koch, iv. 158; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, xix. 623; Goedeke's Grundrias, vol. iii., 1887, p. 319, &c.) Luise Henriette was a woman of noble character; a devoted wife who accompanied her husband in many of his expeditions, and was his right-hand counsellor in matters of state; and a true mother of her people, introducing the culture of the potato, founding model farms, establishing elementary schools, and in many ways interesting herself in restoring their welfare after the ravages of the Thirty Years' War. She was, like the Elector, a member of the Reformed Church, but earnestly desired to promote peace between the Lutheran and Reformed communions, and exerted herself especially on behalf of P. Gerhardt. Another of her efforts in this direction was by means of the Union Hymn Book, which Christoph Runge edited at her direction, and published in 1653. To this book she herself contributed four hymns. In his dedication to the Electress, Runge says she had "augmented and adorned it with your own hymns, viz.: ‘Ein ander stelle sein Vertrauen'; ‘Gott der Reichthumb deiner Güter'; 'Jesus meine Zuversicht'; 'Ich wil von meiner Missethat.' Your Electoral Highness has not only in those your now mentioned hymns (itzt gemeldten geistreichen Ihren eigenen Liedern) made known to all the world your Christian spirit; how your confidence is directed to God alone; how you ascribe to him with thankful heart all the benefits you enjoy; and how you rest the hope of your future everlasting life in Heaven on Christ alone as on a steadfast rock, but have also," &c. &c. The question however remains. Did Runge here mean more than that she had sent for insertion certain hymns which were favourites of her own, perhaps written for her, but not necessarily written by her? Such cases were common enough at an earlier period. It is certainly strange that her name should not be given in any of the many hymn-books in which the third of these ("Jesus meine Zuversicht") was included during the next century. It was not till 1769 that Runge's dedication suggested to D. G. Schöber, and, after him, to other compilers, the idea of the Electress's authorship; but once suggested it was soon generally accepted. Fischer, i. 390-396, gives various additional reasons that make this theory unlikely; such as that while in Runge's dedication they are mentioned as above, yet her name is not affixed to the individual hymns in the body of the book; that in the funeral oration by her private chaplain, no mention is made of her poetical gifts; that Crüger gave them in his Praxis pietatis melica without her name (in the 1664 and later editions the first was omitted), and that in particular the third is too classic and correct in style to have been written by so poor a German scholar as the Electress. This last objection would of course be met if we could suppose with Koch (iv. p. 169) that the hymn was originally written in Dutch, or with Dutch idioms, and was revised and corrected by her minister, Otto von Schwerin, or by Runge. In view of the present evidence we can only say that if the Electress were not the author of these hymns there is at least no proof of any kind to show that they were composed by any of those whose names have sometimes been attached to them; such as Otto von Schwerin (b. 1616, d. 1679), Caspar Ziegler (b. 1621, d. 1690), Hans von Assig (b. 1650, d. 1694), and others. In this state of uncertainty the case must be left till definite proof be forthcoming. Two of these hymns have passed into English, viz.:— i. Ich will von meiner Missethat. Lent. This beautiful hymn first appeared in the Crüger-Runge Gesang-Buch, 1653, No. 45, in 16 st. of 7 1., entitled, "Hymn of Penitence," and without signature. Koch, iv. 160, conjectures that it may have been written at Cleve in 1648. In the Unverfälschter Liedersegen 1851, No. 380. The translations are :— (1) "With sorrow now for past misdeeds," by Miss Cox, 1864, p, 204. (2) "I will return unto the Lord," by Miss Winkworth, 1869, p. 221. ii. Jesus meine Zuversicht. Easter. This beautiful hymn, founded on Job xix. 25-27 and 1 Cor. xv. 35 ff., appeared in the Crüger-Runge Gesang-Buch, 1653, No. 140, in 10 st. of 6 l., and without signature. Its origin is thus given by Lauxmann, in Koch, viii. 69:— "It dates from the early years of her married life. In the autumn of 1649 she lost her first child, the Crown Prince Wilhelm Heinrich, at Wesel, while on her journey [to Berlin], by which death for a long time the hope of succession in the Electoral House and in the Hohenzollern family line seemed to be lost. At Tangermünde, in the Altmark [on the Elbe], she had to spend some quiet winter months, and here probably the princess of twenty-two years poured out her heart before the Lord in this hymn." This, however, is conjecture rather than history; for, as stated above, it is not yet clearly proved that the Electress wrote any hymns. The hymn itself is of the first rank; and A. J. Rambach calls it "an acknowledged masterpiece of Christian poetry;" while C. von Winterfeld says, "it will ever remain a treasure among the hallowed songs of the Evangelical Church." It bears a certain resemblance to the concluding section of the Apotheosis of A. C. Prudentius (lines 1063-1085, with the subtitle "De resurrectione carnis humanae," and beginning, "Nosco meum in Christo corpus consurgere. Quid me"); but can hardly be called a translation of it. It was included in Crüger's Praxis, 1656, No. 182, passed into almost all later hymn-books, and is No. 866 in the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851. The beautiful chorale (as in the Chorale Book for England) appeared in its first form in 1653, along with the hymn. C. von Winterfeld conjectured that it may have been by the Electress. The form now in use is modified from that given by Crüger in his Praxis, 1656. Translated as:— 1. Christ, my Rock, my sure Defence. Omitting st. ix., as No. 51 in the Moravian Hymn Book 1769. In the edition of 1789. No. 833, st. viii. was omitted, and a translation from Christian Gregor’s "Nein, ach nein, er lasst mich nicht," was added as st. iii. (ed. 1886, No. 1241). Abridged forms are in J. A. Latrobe's Collection, 1841, and Dr. Hook's Church School Hymn Book, 1850. 2. Jesus, on Whose name I rest. A good translation of st. i.-iv., vi., by A. T. Russell, as No. 264, in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851. 3. Jesus, my Redeemer, lives. A good translation, omitting st. iv., v., by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica 1st Ser., 1855, p. 93. Repeated, in full, in the Ohio Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal

Ludämiliä Elisabeth Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

1640 - 1672 Person Name: Ludämilia Elisabeth, Countess of Schwarzburg Rudolstadt Gender: F Author of "Draw us to Thee, Lord Jesus" in Chorale Book for England, The Ludämilia Elisabeth, second daughter of Count Ludwig Gunther I. of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, was born April 7, 1640, at the castle of Heidecksburg, near Rudolstadt, and was educated there along with her cousin Emilie Juliane (q.v.). In 1665 she went with her mother to the dowager castle of Friedensburg near Leutenberg; but after her mother's death, in 1670, she returned to Rudolstadt, where, on Dec. 20, 1671, she was formally betrothed to Count Christian Wilhelm of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. At this time measles was raging in the district, and her eldest sister, Sophie Juliane, was seized, and died Feb. 14, 1672. By attending on her, Ludämilia and the youngest sister, Christiane Magdalene, caught the infection, and both died at Rudolstadt on March 12,1672. (Koch, iv. 50-56; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie xix. 365-367, &c.) She received a careful and pious training, was a good Latin scholar, and well read in divinity and other branches of learning. Her hymns show her to have been of a deeply pious nature, and of intense love to Jesus. They were composed rather for her own edification than for use in public worship. Ten of them were included in the Budolstadt Gesang-Buch, 1682. They, were collected, to the number of 206, and edited by her cousin Emilie (probably assisted by A. Fritsch) as Die Stimme der Freundin, das ist: Geistliche Lieder welche, aus brünstiger und biss ans Ende beharrter Jesus Liebe verfertiget und gebraucht, &c. Rudolstadt, 1687. This was reprinted, with an introduction by W. Thilo, at Stuttgart, 1856. Three of those hymns have been translated viz.:— i. Jesus, Jesus, nichts als Jesus. [Love to Christ] 1687, No. 104, p. 312, in 5 st. of 6 1., entitled “Resignation to the Will of God." The initials of the stanzas form the word Jesus, and each stanza ends, "Herr, wie du willt." It seems to have appeared in the 2nd edition of A. Fritsch's Jesus Lieder (not in the first edition of 1668. No copy of the 2nd edition is now known), and in the 3rd edition, Jena, 1675, is No. 43, Rambach, iii. 188, gives it from the Vermehrtes Gesang-Büchlein, Halberstadt, 1673. In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863. The translation in common use is :__ Jesus, Jesus, Jesus only. In full, by A. Crull, as No. 282 in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. Other translations are :—(1) "Jesus, Jesus, nought but Jesus, Shall my wish and," in the Supplement to German Psal., ed. 1765, p. 11. (2) "Jesus, 'tis my aim divine," by Miss Dunn, 1857, p. 107. (3) “ 'Tis Jesus that's my sole desire," by Dr. G. Walker, 1860, p. 92. (4) "Jesus, Jesus, naught but Jesus, Can my," by R. Massie, in the British Herald, July, 1865, p. 103, and in Reid's Praise Book, 1872, No. 393. (5) "Jesus, Jesus, nought but Jesus, Shall my wish be," in Cantica Sanctorum, 1880, No. 97. ii. Jesu Blut komm über mich. [Holy Communion.] A Passiontide Hymn on the Blood of Jesus. 1687, p. 45, No. 14, in 8 st. In the Blätter für Hymnologie, 1886, p. 180, it is cited as in the 2nd ed., 1679, of A. Fritsch's Himmels-Lust (1st ed., 1670, does not contain it); and as there marked "S. J. G. Z. S. V. H.," the initials of the elder sister, Sophie Juliane. Translated as:-—"Jesus' Blood come over me," as No. 448, in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754. iii. Sorge, Vater! sorge du. [Morning.] 1687, No. 168, in 7 st., entitled "On Resignation to the Care of God," and founded on 1 Peter v. 7. Previously in the Rudolstadt Gesang-Buch,1682, p. 692. Translated as:—"Care, O Father, care for me," in the Monthly Packet, xiv., 1872, p. 211. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Elisabeth Creutziger

1500 - 1535 Person Name: Eliz. Creutziger Gender: F Author of "O Thou, of God the Father" in Chorale Book for England, The Cruciger, Elisabethe, née von Meseritz, was the daughter of a family belonging to the Polish nobility. Her parents, suffering from the persecutions of these times, had been forced to seek refuge at Wittenberg There, in May or June, 1524, she was married to Caspar Cruciger, son of a Leipzig burgess, who had enrolled himself as a student at Wittenberg in 1522. Cruciger, who was treated by Luther as his own son and accounted his most hopeful pupil, became in 1525 Rector of St. John’s School and preacher in St. Stephen's Church, Magdeburg; and in 1528 was called to become professor in the philosophical faculty at Wittenberg, but, by Luther's wish, was appointed one of the professors of Theology. Of his wife, who died at Wittenberg, May, 1535, little is known save that she was a friend of Luther's wife, a lover of music, and an affectionate wife and mother (Koch, i. 281-285; Caspar Cruciger, by Dr. Pressel, Elberfeld,1862, p. 76; Allg. Deutsche Biographie, xviii. 148, &c). The only hymn known as by her is:— Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn. Christmas, first published in Eyn Enchiridion, Erfurt, 1524. In the Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1531, it is given as "Ein geistlich liedt von Christo, Elisabet Creutzigerin," and from the Rostock Gesang-Buch, 1531, it seems clear that in King's Gesang-Buch, Wittenberg, 1529, it bore the same title. Wackernagel , iii. pp. 46-47, gives four forms, all in 5 stanzas of 7 lines. In the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 37. Koch, i., 282, calls it "a sublime hymn fully embracing in itself the true power of the Gospel." It has been ascribed to Andreas Knopken, but for this external evidence is entirely wanting, and in the Riga Kirchenordnung, 1537, in which his hymns appeared, this hymn is ascribed to E. Cruciger. That he as a theologian might fitly have written a hymn such as this, displaying power of theological expression (cf. st. v.) and knowledge of Latin (cf. st. i. with Prudentius's "Corde natus ex parentis") may be granted, but ladies learned in Latin and theology were not unknown in those days. Translations in common use:— 1. The only Son from heaven. A good translation of stanzas i.-iii., by A. T. Russell, as No. 41 in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851, repeated, with alterations, as No. 119 in Kennedy, 1863. 2. O Thou, of God the Father. A translation of stanzas i., iii., iv., by Miss Winkworth, as No. 155 in her Chorale Book for England , 1863, and thence as No. 277 in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. Translations not in common use:— (1) "Christ is the only Sonne of God," by Bp. Coverdale, 1539, (Remains, 1846, p. 553). Almost identical with (2) "Christ is the onlie Son of God," in the Gude and Godly Ballates (ed. 1567-8, folio 74), ed. 1868, p. 127. (3) "Lord Christ the eternal Father's” in the Supplement to German Psalmody, ed. 1765, p. 3. (4) "Christ, that only begotten," as No. 335 in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754. (5) "Thou Maker of each creature," No. 193 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789, is st. iii., iv. of the 1754, rewritten by P. H. Molther. In later editions a translation of st. vi. of "Herr Jesu, Gnadensonne" (see L. A. Gotter, No. i.) was added. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Aemilie Juliane, Gräfin von Schwarzburg Rudolstadt

1637 - 1706 Person Name: Emilie-Juliane, Countess of Schwarzburg Rudolstadt Gender: F Author of "Who knows how near my end may be?" in Chorale Book for England, The Emilie Juliane was daughter of Count Albert Friedrich of Barby and Mühlingen (on the Elbe, near its junction with the Saale). During the Thirty Years' war her father and family had to seek refuge in the Heidecksburg, the castle of his uncle, Count Ludwig Günther of Schwarzburg Rudolstadt, and Emilie was born at the Heidecksburg, Aug. 16, 1637. After the death of her father (1641) and mother (1642), she was adopted by her mother's sister (who was her godmother, and had become the wife of Count Ludwig Günther), and was educated at Rudolstadt with her cousins, under the care of Dr. Ahasuerus Fritsch, and other tutors. She became the wife of her cousin, Albert Anton, July 7, 1665, and died at Rudolstadt, Dec. 3, 1706 (Koch, iv. 56-63; Allg. Deutsche Biog, i. 127; Pasig's Introduction; Bode, pp. 63-64, &c). She was the most productive of German female hymn-writers, some 600 being attributed to her. Her early education in music and in poetry, and the influence of the kindred spirits of her cousin Ludamilia Elizabeth and of Dr. Ahasuerus Fritsch, no doubt fostered and developed her gifts. Her hymns, which are full of deep and child-like love to the Lamb of God, the Bridegroom of the Soul, partake too largely of the character of revelations of her inner life, and of reflections in verse, “improving" the events of her daily life, to be suited for Church use. A considerable number did, however, pass into the hymn-books, and the first here noted is a hymn of the first rank. Of those published in her lifetime the most appeared in her devotional works. (1) Geistliche Lieder und Gebete vor und nach Erlangung gottl Ehesegens, Rudolstadt, 1683. (2) Kühlwasser in grosser Hitze des Creutzes, Rudolstadt, 1685. (3) Tägliches Morgen- Mittags- und Abend-Opffer, Rudolstadt, 1685 (2nd ed., enlarged, 1699). Others appeared in the editions of the Rudolstadt Gesang-Buch, 1682-1704. After her death they appeared, collected, under the title of Der Freundin des Lammes Geistlicher Brautschmuck, pt. i., 1714, and enlarged 1742; pt. ii. 1742; pt. iii. 1770; a number of hymns by other authors, which the editors had found transcribed in the Countess's handwriting, being included by mistake. A selection of 108 of her Geistliche Lieder, ed. with an introduction, biographical and critical, by Dr. Pasig, appeared at Halle, 1855. Three have passed into English, viz.:— i. Wer weiss wie nahe mir mein Ende. For the Dying. This beautiful hymn was in last century the subject of an unpleasant controversy. It 1st appeared in the Appendix of 1688 to the Rudolstadt Gesang-Buch, 1682; and, like all the other hymns in that collection, it was given without an author's name. It at once passed into other collections, generally as anonymous, but sometimes under the name of the Countess. In the Schwartzburgische Denhmahl einer Christ-Gräflichen Lammes-Freundin, 1707, she was expressly named as author. On this G. M. Pfefferkorn (q.v.) claimed it as his own. The resulting controversy is given in detail in Wetzel, i. 4-26, ii. 294-307; iii. 156-191, and his A. Hymns i. 9-10, ii. 115-117; in Fischer, ii. 365-369; in Pasig's Introduction, xxiii.-xxxi.; and in Koch, viii. 637-639. The translations in common use are:— 1. Who knows how near my life's expended, omitting stanzas ix., x., in Dr. H. Mill's Horae Germanica, 1845 (1856, p. 245). His translations of stanzas i., vi.-viii. are included as No. 982 in the American Lutheran General Synod's Hymn Book, 1850-52, and as No. 430 in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. 2. Who knows how near my end may be! Time speeds away, a good and full translation by Miss Winkworth, in the 2nd Series of her Lyra Germanica, 1858, p. 204, and then as No. 187 in her Chorale Book for England, 1863. In the Pennsylvania Lutheran Church Book, 1868, stanzas i., vi., xi., xii., were included as No. 546. Other translations are: (1) "Who knows how soon my end may be," by Dr. G. Walker, I860, p. 97; (2) "Who knows how near my end may be? Time," &c, by E. Massie, 1867, p. 155. In addition the following have been translation, but are not in English common use:— ii. "Herr! mein Gott! lehre mich!" Evening, in No. iii., 1685, p. 30. iii. "Jesu Güte hat kein Ende." Morning, in No. ii., 1685, p. 228. Both translations are by H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 104. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ===================== Emilie Juliane , p. 330, i. The title of her 1683 book begins Geistliches Weiber-Aqua-Vit [ VVolfenbüttel Library]. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Marie J. Post

1919 - 1990 Gender: F Versifier of "Hear, O LORD, My Urgent Prayer" in Psalter Hymnal (Gray) Marie (Tuinstra) Post (b. Jenison, MI, 1919; d. Grand Rapids, MI, 1990) While attending Dutch church services as a child, Post was first introduced to the Genevan psalms, which influenced her later writings. She attended Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she studied with Henry Zylstra. From 1940 to 1942 she taught at the Muskegon Christian Junior High School. For over thirty years Post wrote poetry for the Grand Rapids Press and various church periodicals. She gave many readings of her poetry in churches and schools and has been published in a number of journals and poetry anthologies. Two important collections of her poems are I Never Visited an Artist Before (1977) and the posthumous Sandals, Sails, and Saints (1993). A member of the 1987 Psalter Hymnal Revision Committee, Post was a significant contributor to its array of original texts and paraphrases. Bert Polman

Helen Otte

b. 1931 Gender: F Versifier of "LORD, Listen to My Righteous Plea" in Psalter Hymnal (Gray) Helen Ann (Brink) Otte Walter (b. Grand Rapids, MI, 1931) versified this psalm in 1982 for the Psalter Hymnal. She received her education at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has worked as a teacher, proofreader, and librarian. She was a member of the Poets' Workshop that worked with the revision committee to prepare psalm versifications for the 1987 Psalter Hymnal. After her first husband died and she remarried, she remained active as a freelance writer, especially of children's stories and dramas, some of which have been published in Reformed Worship under the name Helen Walter. Bert Polman

Ada Roeper-Boulogne

b. 1931 Gender: F Versifier of "How I Love You, LORD, My God" in Psalter Hymnal (Gray) Ada Roeper-Boulogne (b. Haarlem, the Netherlands, 1931) received her elementary education at the Dutch-Chinese Christian School in Central Java, Indonesia (then the Dutch East Indies), where her father, an organist and rebuilder of organs, served as a missionary and teacher. After Japan conquered Indonesia during World War II (1942), Roeper-Boulogne's family was placed in a concentration camp and remained there until 1945. Because a teacher organized a children's choir in the camp, even there Roeper-Boulogne was not totally devoid of music. In 1946 the family returned to the Netherlands and in 1951 immigrated to St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Roeper-Boulogne has translated several Dutch songs and is the author of "Little Children Be Happy," which was published in Bible Steps (1983). Bert Polman