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John Wesley
1703 - 1791 Person Name: John Wesley Translator (from German) of "O God, Thou Bottomless Abyss" in The Cyber Hymnal John Wesley, the son of Samuel, and brother of Charles Wesley, was born at Epworth, June 17, 1703. He was educated at the Charterhouse, London, and at Christ Church, Oxford. He became a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, and graduated M.A. in 1726. At Oxford, he was one of the small band consisting of George Whitefield, Hames Hervey, Charles Wesley, and a few others, who were even then known for their piety; they were deridingly called "Methodists." After his ordination he went, in 1735, on a mission to Georgia. The mission was not successful, and he returned to England in 1738. From that time, his life was one of great labour, preaching the Gospel, and publishing his commentaries and other theological works. He died in London, in 1791, in his eighty-eighth year. His prose works are very numerous, but he did not write many useful hymns. It is to him, however, and not to his brother Charles, that we are indebted for the translations from the German.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872
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John Wesley, M.A., was born at Epworth Rectory in 1703, and, like the rest of the family, received his early education from his mother. He narrowly escaped perishing in the fire which destroyed the rectory house in 1709, and his deliverance made a life-long impression upon him. In 1714 he was nominated on the foundation of Charterhouse by his father's patron, the Duke of Buckingham, and remained at that school until 1720, when he went up, with a scholarship, from Charterhouse to Christ Church, Oxford. Having taken his degree, he received Holy Orders from the Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Potter) in 1725. In 1726 he was elected Fellow of Lincoln College, and remained at Oxford until 1727, when he returned into Lincolnshire to assist his father as curate at Epworth and Wroot. In 1729 he was summoned back to Oxford by his firm friend, Dr. Morley, Rector of Lincoln, to assist in the College tuition. There he found already established the little band of "Oxford Methodists" who immediately placed themselves under his direction. In 1735 he went, as a Missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, to Georgia, where a new colony had been founded under the governorship of General Oglethorpe. On his voyage out he was deeply impressed with the piety and Christian courage of some German fellow travellers, Moravians. During his short ministry in Georgia he met with many discouragements, and returned home saddened and dissatisfied both with himself and his work; but in London he again fell in with the Moravians, especially with Peter Bohler; and one memorable night (May 24, 1738) he went to a meeting in Aldersgate Street, where some one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. There, "About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." From that moment his future course was sealed; and for more than half a century he laboured, through evil report and good report, to spread what he believed to be the everlasting Gospel, travelling more miles, preaching more sermons, publishing more books of a practical sort, and making more converts than any man of his day, or perhaps of any day, and dying at last, March 2, 1791, in harness, at the patriarchal age of 88.
The popular conception of the division of labour between the two brothers in the Revival, is that John was the preacher, and Charles the hymnwriter. But this is not strictly accurate. On the one hand Charles was also a great preacher, second only to his brother and George Whitefield in the effects which he produced. On the other hand, John by no means relegated to Charles the exclusive task of supplying the people with their hymns. John Wesley was not the sort of man to depute any part of his work entirely to another: and this part was, in his opinion, one of vital importance. With that wonderful instinct for gauging the popular mind, which was one element in his success, he saw at once that hymns might be utilized, not only for raising the devotion, but also for instructing, and establishing the faith of his disciples. He intended the hymns to be not merely a constituent part of public worship, but also a kind of creed in verse. They were to be "a body of experimental and practical divinity." "In what other publication," he asks in his Preface to the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780 (Preface, Oct. 20,1779), "have you so distinct and full an account of Scriptural Christianity; such a declaration of the heights and depths of religion, speculative and practical; so strong cautions against the most plausible errors, particularly those now most prevalent; and so clear directions for making your calling and election sure; for perfecting holiness in the fear of God?" The part which he actually took in writing the hymns, it is not easy to ascertain; but it is certain that more than thirty translations from the German, French and Spanish (chiefly from the German) were exclusively his; and there are some original hymns, admittedly his composition, which are not unworthy to stand by the side of his brother's. His translations from the German especially have had a wide circulation. Although somewhat free as translations they embody the fire and energy of the originals.
It has been the common practice, however for a hundred years or more to ascribe all translations from the German to John Wesley, as he only of the two brothers knew that language; and to assign to Charles Wesley all the original hymns except such as are traceable to John Wesley through his Journals and other works.
The list of 482 original hymns by John and Charles Wesley listed in this Dictionary of Hymnology have formed an important part of Methodist hymnody and show the enormous influence of the Wesleys on the English hymnody of the nineteenth century.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Hymn Writers of the Church
John Wesley
Martin Luther
1483 - 1546 Person Name: M. Luther, 1483-1546 Composer of "VOM HIMMEL HOCH (ERFURT)" in The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes Luther, Martin, born at Eisleben, Nov. 10, 1483; entered the University of Erfurt, 1501 (B.A. 1502, M.A.. 1503); became an Augustinian monk, 1505; ordained priest, 1507; appointed Professor at the University of Wittenberg, 1508, and in 1512 D.D.; published his 95 Theses, 1517; and burnt the Papal Bull which had condemned them, 1520; attended the Diet of Worms, 1521; translated the Bible into German, 1521-34; and died at Eisleben, Feb. 18, 1546. The details of his life and of his work as a reformer are accessible to English readers in a great variety of forms. Luther had a huge influence on German hymnody.
i. Hymn Books.
1. Ellich cristlich lider Lobgesang un Psalm. Wittenberg, 1524. [Hamburg Library.] This contains 8 German hymns, of which 4 are by Luther.
2. Eyn Enchiridion oder Handbuchlein. Erfurt, 1524 [Goslar Library], with 25 German hymns, of which 18 are by Luther.
3. Geystliche Gesangk Buchleyn. Wittenberg, 1524 [Munich Library], with 32 German hymns, of which 24 are by Luther.
4. Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert. Wittenberg. J. Klug, 1529. No copy of this book is now known, but there was one in 1788 in the possession of G. E. Waldau, pastor at Nürnberg, and from his description it is evident that the first part of the Rostock Gesang-Buch, 1531, is a reprint of it. The Rostock Gesang-Buch, 1531, was reprinted by C. M. Wiechmann-Kadow at Schwerin in 1858. The 1529 evidently contained 50 German hymns, of which 29 (including the Litany) were by Luther.
5. Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert. Erfurt. A. Rauscher, 1531 [Helmstädt, now Wolfenbüttel Library], a reprint of No. 4.
6. Geistliche Lieder. Wittenberg. J. Klug, 1535 [Munich Library. Titlepage lost], with 52 German hymns, of which 29 are by Luther.
7. Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert. Leipzig. V. Schumann, 1539 [Wernigerode Library], with 68 German hymns, of which 29 are by Luther.
8. Geistliche Lieder. Wittenberg. J. Klug, 1543 [Hamburg Library], with 61 German hymns, of which 35 are by Luther.
9. Geystliche Lieder. Leipzig. V. Babst, 1545 [Gottingen Library]. This contains Luther's finally revised text, but adds no new hymns by himself. In pt. i. are 61 German hymns, in pt. ii. 40, of which 35 in all are by Luther.
For these books Luther wrote three prefaces, first published respectively in Nos. 3, 4, 9. A fourth is found in his Christliche Geseng, Lateinisch und Deudsch, zum Begrebnis, Wittenberg, J. Klug, 1542. These four prefaces are reprinted in Wackernagel’s Bibliographie, 1855, pp. 543-583, and in the various editions of Luther's Hymns. Among modern editions of Luther's Geistliche Lieder may be mentioned the following:—
Carl von Winterfeld, 1840; Dr. C. E. P. Wackernagel, 1848; Q. C. H. Stip, 1854; Wilhelm Schircks, 1854; Dr. Danneil, 1883; Dr. Karl Gerok, 1883; Dr. A. F. W. Fischer, 1883; A. Frommel, 1883; Karl Goedeke, 1883, &c. In The Hymns of Martin Luther. Set to their original melodies. With an English version. New York, 1883, ed. by Dr. Leonard Woolsey Bacon and Nathan H. Allen, there are the four prefaces, and English versions of all Luther's hymns, principally taken more or less altered, from the versions by A. T. Russell, R. Massie and Miss Winkworth [repub. in London, 1884]. Complete translations of Luther's hymns have been published by Dr. John Anderson, 1846 (2nd ed. 1847), Dr. John Hunt, 1853, Richard Massie, 1854, and Dr. G. Macdonald in the Sunday Magazine, 1867, and his Exotics, 1876. The other versions are given in detail in the notes on the individual hymns.
ii. Classified List of Luther's Hymns. Of Luther's hymns no classification can be quite perfect, e.g. No. 3 (see below) takes hardly anything from the Latin, and No. 18 hardly anything from the Psalm. No. 29 is partly based on earlier hymns (see p. 225, i.). No. 30 is partly based on St. Mark i. 9-11, and xvi., 15, 16 (see p. 226, ii.). No. 35 is partly based on St. Luke ii. 10-16. The following arrangement, however, will answer all practical purposes.
A. Translations from the Latin.
i. From Latin Hymns:
1. Christum wir sollen loben schon. A solis ortus cardine
2. Der du bist drei in Einigkeit. O Lux beata Trinitas.
3. Jesus Christus unser Heiland, Der von. Jesus Christus nostra salus
4. Komm Gott Schopfer, heiliger Geist. Veni Creator Spiritus, Mentes.
5. Nun komm der Beidenheiland. Veni Redemptor gentium
6. Was flirchst du Feind Herodes sehr. A solis ortus cardine
ii. From Latin Antiphons, &c.:
7. Herr Gott dich loben wir. Te Deum laudamus.
8. Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich. Dapacem, Domine
9. Wir glauben all an einen Gott.
iii. Partly from the Latin, the translated stanzas being adopted from Pre-Reformation Versions:
10. Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott.
11. Mitten wir im Leben sind. Media vita in morte sumus.
B. Hymns revised and enlarged from Pre-Reformation popular hymns.
12. Gelobet seist du Jesus Christ.
13. Gott der Vater wohn uns bei.
14. Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet.
15. Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist.
C. Psalm versions.
16. Ach Gott vom Himmel, sieh darein.
17. Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu dir.
18. Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott.
19. Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl.
20. Es wollt uns Gott genädig sein.
21. War Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit.
22. Wohl dem, der in Gotten Furcht steht.
D. Paraphrases of other portions of Holy Scripture.
23. Diess sind die heilgen zehn Gebot.
24. Jesaia dem Propheten das geschah.
25. Mensch willt du leben seliglich.
26. Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin.
27. Sie ist mir lieb die werthe Magd.
28. Vater unser im Himmelreich.
E. Hymns mainly Original.
29. Christ lag in Todesbanden.
30. Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam.
31. Ein neues Lied wir heben an.
32. Erhalt uns Herr bei deinem Wort.
33. Jesus Christus unser Heiland, Der den,
34. Nun freut euch lieben Christengemein.
35. Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her.
36. Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schaar.
In addition to these —
37. Fur alien Freuden auf Erden.
38. Kyrie eleison.
In the Blätter fur Hymnologie, 1883, Dr. Daniel arranges Luther's hymns according to what he thinks their adaptation to modern German common use as follows:—
i. Hymns which ought to be included in every good Evangelical hymn-book: Nos. 7-18, 20, 22, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38.
ii. Hymns the reception of which into a hymn-book might be contested: Nos. 2, 3, 4, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 33.
iii. Hymns not suited for a hymn-book: Nos. 1, 5, 6, 27, 31, 37.
[Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Martin Luther
Lowell Mason
1792 - 1872 Composer of "HEBRON" in Hymn and Tune Book of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (Round Note Ed.) Dr. Lowell Mason (the degree was conferred by the University of New York) is justly called the father of American church music; and by his labors were founded the germinating principles of national musical intelligence and knowledge, which afforded a soil upon which all higher musical culture has been founded. To him we owe some of our best ideas in religious church music, elementary musical education, music in the schools, the popularization of classical chorus singing, and the art of teaching music upon the Inductive or Pestalozzian plan. More than that, we owe him no small share of the respect which the profession of music enjoys at the present time as contrasted with the contempt in which it was held a century or more ago. In fact, the entire art of music, as now understood and practiced in America, has derived advantage from the work of this great man.
Lowell Mason was born in Medfield, Mass., January 8, 1792. From childhood he had manifested an intense love for music, and had devoted all his spare time and effort to improving himself according to such opportunities as were available to him. At the age of twenty he found himself filling a clerkship in a banking house in Savannah, Ga. Here he lost no opportunity of gratifying his passion for musical advancement, and was fortunate to meet for the first time a thoroughly qualified instructor, in the person of F. L. Abel. Applying his spare hours assiduously to the cultivation of the pursuit to which his passion inclined him, he soon acquired a proficiency that enabled him to enter the field of original composition, and his first work of this kind was embodied in the compilation of a collection of church music, which contained many of his own compositions. The manuscript was offered unavailingly to publishers in Philadelphia and in Boston. Fortunately for our musical advancement it finally secured the attention of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, and by its committee was submitted to Dr. G. K. Jackson, the severest critic in Boston. Dr. Jackson approved most heartily of the work, and added a few of his own compositions to it. Thus enlarged, it was finally published in 1822 as The Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music. Mason's name was omitted from the publication at his own request, which he thus explains, "I was then a bank officer in Savannah, and did not wish to be known as a musical man, as I had not the least thought of ever making music a profession." President Winchester, of the Handel and Haydn Society, sold the copyright for the young man. Mr. Mason went back to Savannah with probably $500 in his pocket as the preliminary result of his Boston visit.
The book soon sprang into universal popularity, being at once adopted by the singing schools of New England, and through this means entering into the church choirs, to whom it opened up a higher field of harmonic beauty. Its career of success ran through some seventeen editions. On realizing this success, Mason determined to accept an invitation to come to Boston and enter upon a musical career. This was in 1826. He was made an honorary member of the Handel and Haydn Society, but declined to accept this, and entered the ranks as an active member. He had been invited to come to Boston by President Winchester and other musical friends and was guaranteed an income of $2,000 a year. He was also appointed, by the influence of these friends, director of music at the Hanover, Green, and Park Street churches, to alternate six months with each congregation. Finally he made a permanent arrangement with the Bowdoin Street Church, and gave up the guarantee, but again friendly influence stepped in and procured for him the position of teller at the American Bank.
In 1827 Lowell Mason became president and conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society. It was the beginning of a career that was to win for him as has been already stated the title of "The Father of American Church Music." Although this may seem rather a bold claim it is not too much under the circumstances. Mr. Mason might have been in the average ranks of musicianship had he lived in Europe; in America he was well in advance of his surroundings. It was not too high praise (in spite of Mason's very simple style) when Dr. Jackson wrote of his song collection: "It is much the best book I have seen published in this country, and I do not hesitate to give it my most decided approbation," or that the great contrapuntist, Hauptmann, should say the harmonies of the tunes were dignified and churchlike and that the counterpoint was good, plain, singable and melodious.
Charles C. Perkins gives a few of the reasons why Lowell Mason was the very man to lead American music as it then existed. He says, "First and foremost, he was not so very much superior to the members as to be unreasonably impatient at their shortcomings. Second, he was a born teacher, who, by hard work, had fitted himself to give instruction in singing. Third, he was one of themselves, a plain, self-made man, who could understand them and be understood of them."
The personality of Dr. Mason was of great use to the art and appreciation of music in this country. He was of strong mind, dignified manners, sensitive, yet sweet and engaging.
Prof. Horace Mann, one of the great educators of that day, said he would walk fifty miles to see and hear Mr. Mason teach if he could not otherwise have that advantage.
Dr. Mason visited a number of the music schools in Europe, studied their methods, and incorporated the best things in his own work. He founded the Boston Academy of Music. The aim of this institution was to reach the masses and introduce music into the public schools. Dr. Mason resided in Boston from 1826 to 1851, when he removed to New York. Not only Boston benefited directly by this enthusiastic teacher's instruction, but he was constantly traveling to other societies in distant cities and helping their work. He had a notable class at North Reading, Mass., and he went in his later years as far as Rochester, where he trained a chorus of five hundred voices, many of them teachers, and some of them coming long distances to study under him. Before 1810 he had developed his idea of "Teachers' Conventions," and, as in these he had representatives from different states, he made musical missionaries for almost the entire country. He left behind him no less than fifty volumes of musical collections, instruction books, and manuals.
As a composer of solid, enduring church music. Dr. Mason was one of the most successful this country has introduced. He was a deeply pious man, and was a communicant of the Presbyterian Church. Dr. Mason in 1817 married Miss Abigail Gregory, of Leesborough, Mass. The family consisted of four sons, Daniel Gregory, Lowell, William and Henry. The two former founded the publishing house of Mason Bros., dissolved by the death of the former in 1869. Lowell and Henry were the founders of the great organ manufacturer of Mason & Hamlin. Dr. William Mason was one of the most eminent musicians that America has yet produced.
Dr. Lowell Mason died at "Silverspring," a beautiful residence on the side of Orange Mountain, New Jersey, August 11, 1872, bequeathing his great musical library, much of which had been collected abroad, to Yale College.
--Hall, J. H. (c1914). Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.
Lowell Mason
Charles Wesley
1707 - 1788 Person Name: C. Wesley Author of "O God, thou bottomless abyss!" in Methodist Hymn-Book Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepened, and he became one of the first band of "Oxford Methodists."
In 1735 he went with his brother John to Georgia, as secretary to General Oglethorpe, having before he set out received Deacon's and Priest's Orders on two successive Sundays. His stay in Georgia was very short; he returned to England in 1736, and in 1737 came under the influence of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians, especially of that remarkable man who had so large a share in moulding John Wesley's career, Peter Bonier, and also of a Mr. Bray, a brazier in Little Britain. On Whitsunday, 1737, [sic. 1738] he "found rest to his soul," and in 1738 he became curate to his friend, Mr. Stonehouse, Vicar of Islington, but the opposition of the churchwardens was so great that the Vicar consented that he "should preach in his church no more." Henceforth his work was identified with that of his brother John, and he became an indefatigable itinerant and field preacher. On April 8, 1749, he married Miss Sarah Gwynne. His marriage, unlike that of his brother John, was a most happy one; his wife was accustomed to accompany him on his evangelistic journeys, which were as frequent as ever until the year 1756," when he ceased to itinerate, and mainly devoted himself to the care of the Societies in London and Bristol. Bristol was his headquarters until 1771, when he removed with his family to London, and, besides attending to the Societies, devoted himself much, as he had done in his youth, to the spiritual care of prisoners in Newgate. He had long been troubled about the relations of Methodism to the Church of England, and strongly disapproved of his brother John's "ordinations." Wesley-like, he expressed his disapproval in the most outspoken fashion, but, as in the case of Samuel at an earlier period, the differences between the brothers never led to a breach of friendship. He died in London, March 29, 1788, and was buried in Marylebone churchyard. His brother John was deeply grieved because he would not consent to be interred in the burial-ground of the City Road Chapel, where he had prepared a grave for himself, but Charles said, "I have lived, and I die, in the Communion of the Church of England, and I will be buried in the yard of my parish church." Eight clergymen of the Church of England bore his pall. He had a large family, four of whom survived him; three sons, who all became distinguished in the musical world, and one daughter, who inherited some of her father's poetical genius. The widow and orphans were treated with the greatest kindness and generosity by John Wesley.
As a hymn-writer Charles Wesley was unique. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and though, of course, in so vast a number some are of unequal merit, it is perfectly marvellous how many there are which rise to the highest degree of excellence. His feelings on every occasion of importance, whether private or public, found their best expression in a hymn. His own conversion, his own marriage, the earthquake panic, the rumours of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots, every Festival of the Christian Church, every doctrine of the Christian Faith, striking scenes in Scripture history, striking scenes which came within his own view, the deaths of friends as they passed away, one by one, before him, all furnished occasions for the exercise of his divine gift. Nor must we forget his hymns for little children, a branch of sacred poetry in which the mantle of Dr. Watts seems to have fallen upon him. It would be simply impossible within our space to enumerate even those of the hymns which have become really classical. The saying that a really good hymn is as rare an appearance as that of a comet is falsified by the work of Charles Wesley; for hymns, which are really good in every respect, flowed from his pen in quick succession, and death alone stopped the course of the perennial stream.
It has been the common practice, however for a hundred years or more to ascribe all translations from the German to John Wesley, as he only of the two brothers knew that language; and to assign to Charles Wesley all the original hymns except such as are traceable to John Wesley through his Journals and other works.
The list of 482 original hymns by John and Charles Wesley listed in this Dictionary of Hymnology have formed an important part of Methodist hymnody and show the enormous influence of the Wesleys on the English hymnody of the nineteenth century.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Charles Wesley, the son of Samuel Wesley, was born at Epworth, Dec. 18, 1707. He was educated at Westminster School and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated M.A. In 1735, he took Orders and immediately proceeded with his brother John to Georgia, both being employed as missionaries of the S.P.G. He returned to England in 1736. For many years he engaged with his brother in preaching the Gospel. He died March 29, 1788. To Charles Wesley has been justly assigned the appellation of the "Bard of Methodism." His prominence in hymn writing may be judged from the fact that in the "Wesleyan Hymn Book," 623 of the 770 hymns were written by him; and he published more than thirty poetical works, written either by himself alone, or in conjunction with his brother. The number of his separate hymns is at least five thousand.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.
Charles Wesley
Ernst Lange
1650 - 1727 Author of "O God, Thou Bottomless Abyss" in The Cyber Hymnal Lange, Ernst, was born at Danzig, Jan. 3, 1650, where his father, Matthias Lange, was in the service of the Senate. He was for some time secretary in Danzig, and thereafter in Warsaw. In 1691 he was appointed judge in the Altstadt of Danzig, and in 1694 senator. He died at Danzig, Aug. 20, 1727 (Bode, p. 103; Allegemeine Deutsche Biographie, xvii. 623, &c). After a visit to the Netherlands in 1698, Lange allied himself with the Mennonites and Pietists in Danzig, and came into conflict with the Lutheran clergy. His hymns were mostly written about the time when the pestilence visited Danzig, in 1710, and principally appeared in his LXI. Gott geheiligte Stunden, without place or date of publication., but probably at Danzig, 1711 (Preface dated "Danzig, Feb. 12, 1711"). The idea of this work was as a thankoffering for preservation during this trying time; and it embraced 61 hymns, viz., one for each year of his life. A number of additional hymns seem to have been contributed in manuscripts to Freylinghausen's Neues geistreiches Gesang-Buch, 1714.
Lange's hymns which have passed into English are:—
i. Im Abend blinkt der Morgenstern. Epiphany, 1711, as above, p. 4, in 19 stanzas of 4 lines, entitled, "The Saviour Who appeared at Bethlehem to the Wise men from the East, set forth; from Matt. ii. 1-12." A new stanza was added as xx. (probably from his MS.), when the hymn was included by Freylinghausen, 1714, No. 59. Repeated, abridged, in Knapp's Evangelischer Lieder-Schatz, 1837, No. 435 (1865, No. 414). The translation in common use is:—
The wondering sages trace from far. A translation of stanzas i., ii., xx., by Miss Cox, in her Sacred Hymns from the German, 1841, p. 23 (1864, p. 43). Repeated in Hedge & Huntington's American Hymns for the Church of Christ, Boston, 1853; Schaff's Christ in Song, 1869 and 1870, &c.
Another translation is: "At eve appears the Morning Star," by Lady E. Fortescue, 1843, p. 5.
ii. 0 Gott, du Tiefe sonder Grund. God's Majesty, First printed as No. 140, in Freylingkausen, 1714> in 10 stanzas of 141.; repeated in the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863. F. Schleiermacher called it "A masterpiece of sacred poetry." The translation in common use is :—
0 God, Thou bottomless abyss. A spirited tr., omitting stanzas vi., ix., and in 8 stanzas of 12 lines, by J. Wesley, in his Collection of Psalms & Hymns, Charlestown, 1737, No. 16, and the Wesley Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739 (Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. i. p. 143). The lines—
"Thy wakened wrath doth slowly move,
Thy willing mercy flies apace"
are adapted from the New Version of Ps. ciii. 8. The hymn passed into the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, in two parts, Nos. 231 and 232 (ed. 1875, Nos. 240, 241). In other hymn-books it has appeared in a variety of centos. As these are all from the text of the Wesleyan Hymn Book, more or less altered and transposed, it will suffice to give their first lines with references to the text of 1780. These centos include:—
(1) While Thee, Unsearchable, I set (i., line 9 alt.). Martineau's Hymns, 1840.
(2) Unchangeable, all-perfect Lord (ii., line 9). Longfellow & Johnson's Book of Hymns, Boston, U.S., 1848.
(3) Thy parent-hand, Thy forming skill (iii). American Methodist Episcopal South Collection, 1847.
(4) Thou, true and only God, lead'st forth (v.). Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, No. 232.
(5) Thine, Lord, is Wisdom, Thine alone. Wesleyan Hymn Book (vi.). Scottish Evangelical Union Hymn, 1856.
(6) Parent of good! Thy bounteous hand (vii.). Martineau's Hymns, 1840.
(7) Parent of good! Thy genial ray (vii. alt.). Dr. Thomas's Augustine Hymn Book, 1866.
These details show the extensive use of this hymn in English-speaking countries.
Another translation is, "O God, Thou bottomless Abyss! How shall I competently know Thee," as No. 673 in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754. In the edition 1886, No. 174, it begins, "O God, Thou fathomless abyss."
iii. Unter denen grossen Gütern. Brotherly Love, or, Quinquagesima. A fine paraphrase of 1 Cor. xiii. First published 1711, as above, p. 37, in 5 stanzas of 10 1., entitled, "The preeminence of Love. From 1 Cor. xiii. 1, 2, 3, 13." When included as No. 423, in Freylinghausen, 1714, a new stanza was added as stanza vi., and this form is No. 798 in the Univerfälschter Liedersegen, 1851. Translated as:—
Many a gift did Christ impart. A full and good translation by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 1855, p. 50; repeated, abridged, in Kennedy, 1863. In the American Unitarian Hymns of the Spirit, Boston, 1864, and in the Laudes Domini, N. Y. 1884, &c., it begins with the translation of stanza ii., line 5, "Though I speak with angel tongues." [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Ernst Lange
Joachim Justus Breithaupt
1658 - 1732 Person Name: Dr. Breithaupt Author of "O God, thou bottomless abyss!" in African Methodist Episcopal hymn and tune book Breithaupt, Joachim Justus, son of Christian Breithaupt, Superintendent of the district of Hohenstadt or Honstedt, Hannover, was born at Nordheim, in Hannover, Feb., 1658. After a theological course at Helmstadt he became, in 1680, Conrector of the Gymnasium at Wolfenbüttel, but left in 1681, and, after being Professor of Homiletics in Kiel, was appointed, in 1685, Court preacher and member of the Consistory at Meiningen. In 1687 he became Pastor and Professor of Theology at Erfurt, receiving in the same year the degree of D.D. from the University of Kiel. Driven from Kiel by the Pietistic Controversy, he was appointed in 1691 pastor of the Cathedral Church, and dean of the Theological Faculty, at Halle; and in 1705, in addition, General Superintendent of the Duchy of Magdeburg. In 1709 he became Abt of Kloster-Bergen and Inspector of the Saalkreis. He died at Kloster-Bergen, March 16, 1732 (Koch, iv. 331-312; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, iii. 291-292; Bode, p. 49). Of his 4 (5?) hymns one has passed into English:—
Jesus Christus, Gottes Lamm. [Passiontide.] Founded on Romans viii. 8-11. First in the Geistreiches Gesang-Buch, Halle, 1697, p. 549, in 5 stanzas. The translations are—(1) "Christ, th' eternal Lamb of God," by J.C. Jacobi, 1725, p. 13), repeated as No. 537 in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754. (2) "Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God," in G. Moultrie's Hymns and Lyrics, 1867, p. 64. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Joachim Justus Breithaupt
A. H. Mann
1850 - 1929 Person Name: Arthur H. Mann Composer of "LASUS" in Redemption Hymnal Arthur Henry ‘Daddy’ Mann MusB MusD United Kingdom 1850-1929. Born at Norwich, Norfolk, England, he graduated from New College, Oxford. He married Sarah Ransford, and they had five children: Sarah, Francis, Arthur, John, and Mary. Arthur died in infancy. Mann was a chorister and assistant organist at Norwich Cathedral, then, after short stints playing the organ at St Peter’s, Wolverhampton (1870-71); St. Michael’s Tettenhall Parish Church (1871-75); and Beverley Minster (1875-76); he became organist at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge (1876-1929), Cambridge University organist (1897-1929), and music master and organist at the Leys School, Cambridge (1894-1922). In addition to composing an oratorio and some hymn tunes, he was music editor of the Church of England Hymnal (1894). In 1918 he directed the music and first service of “Nine lessons & carols” at King’s College Chapel. He was an arranger, author, composer, and editor. His wife, Sarah, died in 1918. He died at Cambridge, England.
John Perry
A. H. Mann
