Over the realms of pagan darkness

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Over the realms of pagan darkness

Author: Thomas Cotterill
Published in 97 hymnals

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Representative Text

1. O’er the realms of pagan darkness,
Let the eye of pity gaze;
See the kindreds of the people
Lost in sin’s bewildering maze;
Darkness brooding
On the face of all the earth.

2. Thou to whom all power is given,
Speak the word; at Thy command
Let the company of preachers
Spread Thy name from land to land!
Lord, be with them
Alway to the end of time.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #5295

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Author: Thomas Cotterill

Thomas Cotterill (b. Cannock, Staffordshire, England, 1779; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1823) studied at St. John's College, Cambridge, England, and became an Anglican clergyman. A central figure in the dispute about the propriety of singing hymns, Cotterill published a popular collection of hymns (including many of his own as well as alterations of other hymns), Selection of Psalms and Hymns in 1810. But when he tried to introduce a later edition of this book in Sheffield in 1819, his congregation protested. Many believed strongly that the Church of England should maintain its tradition of exclusive psalm singing. In a church court the Archbishop of York and Cotterill reached a compromise: the later edition of Selection was withdrawn… Go to person page >

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