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Cecil Frances Alexander
1818 - 1895 Person Name: Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander Author of "Alstone" in Childhood Songs As a small girl, Cecil Frances Humphries (b. Redcross, County Wicklow, Ireland, 1818; Londonderry, Ireland, 1895) wrote poetry in her school's journal. In 1850 she married Rev. William Alexander, who later became the Anglican primate (chief bishop) of Ireland. She showed her concern for disadvantaged people by traveling many miles each day to visit the sick and the poor, providing food, warm clothes, and medical supplies. She and her sister also founded a school for the deaf. Alexander was strongly influenced by the Oxford Movement and by John Keble's Christian Year. Her first book of poetry, Verses for Seasons, was a "Christian Year" for children. She wrote hymns based on the Apostles' Creed, baptism, the Lord's Supper, the Ten Commandments, and prayer, writing in simple language for children. Her more than four hundred hymn texts were published in Verses from the Holy Scripture (1846), Hymns for Little Children (1848), and Hymns Descriptive and Devotional ( 1858).
Bert Polman
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Alexander, Cecil Frances, née Humphreys, second daughter of the late Major John Humphreys, Miltown House, co. Tyrone, Ireland, b. 1823, and married in 1850 to the Rt. Rev. W. Alexander, D.D., Bishop of Derry and Raphoe. Mrs. Alexander's hymns and poems number nearly 400. They are mostly for children, and were published in her Verses for Holy Seasons, with Preface by Dr. Hook, 1846; Poems on Subjects in the Old Testament, pt. i. 1854, pt. ii. 1857; Narrative Hymns for Village Schools, 1853; Hymns for Little Children, 1848; Hymns Descriptive and Devotional, 1858; The Legend of the Golden Prayers 1859; Moral Songs, N.B.; The Lord of the Forest and his Vassals, an Allegory, &c.; or contributed to the Lyra Anglicana, the S.P.C.K. Psalms and Hymns, Hymns Ancient & Modern, and other collections. Some of the narrative hymns are rather heavy, and not a few of the descriptive are dull, but a large number remain which have won their way to the hearts of the young, and found a home there. Such hymns as "In Nazareth in olden time," "All things bright and beautiful," "Once in Royal David's city," "There is a green hill far away," "Jesus calls us o'er the tumult," "The roseate hues of early dawn," and others that might be named, are deservedly popular and are in most extensive use. Mrs. Alexander has also written hymns of a more elaborate character; but it is as a writer for children that she has excelled.
- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Alexander, Cecil F., née Humphreys, p. 38, ii. Additional hymns to those already noted in this Dictionary are in common use:—
1. Christ has ascended up again. (1853.) Ascension.
2. His are the thousand sparkling rills. (1875.) Seven Words on the Cross (Fifth Word).
3. How good is the Almighty God. (1S48.) God, the Father.
4. In [a] the rich man's garden. (1853.) Easter Eve.
5. It was early in the morning. (1853.) Easter Day.
6. So be it, Lord; the prayers are prayed. (1848.) Trust in God.
7. Saw you never in the twilight? (1853.) Epiphany.
8. Still bright and blue doth Jordan flow. (1853.) Baptism of Our Lord.
9. The angels stand around Thy throne. (1848.) Submission to the Will of God.
10. The saints of God are holy men. (1848.) Communion of Saints.
11. There is one Way and only one. (1875.) SS. Philip and James.
12. Up in heaven, up in heaven. (1848.) Ascension.
13. We are little Christian children. (1848.) Holy Trinity.
14. We were washed in holy water. (1848.) Holy Baptism.
15. When of old the Jewish mothers. (1853.) Christ's Invitation to Children.
16. Within the Churchyard side by side. (1848.) Burial.
Of the above hymns those dated 1848 are from Mrs. Alexander's Hymns for Little Children; those dated 1853, from Narrative Hymns, and those dated 1875 from the 1875 edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern.
Several new hymns by Mrs. Alexander are included in the 1891 Draft Appendix to the Irish Church Hymnal.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
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Alexander, Cecil F. , p. 38, ii. Mrs. Alexander died at Londonderry, Oct. 12, 1895. A number of her later hymns are in her Poems, 1896, which were edited by Archbishop Alexander.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
See also in:Hymn Writers of the Church
Cecil Frances Alexander
James Montgomery
1771 - 1854 Author of "Here In Thy Name, Eternal God" in American Lutheran Hymnal James Montgomery (b. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1771; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1854), the son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school, Montgomery inherited a strong religious bent, a passion for missions, and an independent mind. He was editor of the Sheffield Iris (1796-1827), a newspaper that sometimes espoused radical causes. Montgomery was imprisoned briefly when he printed a song that celebrated the fall of the Bastille and again when he described a riot in Sheffield that reflected unfavorably on a military commander. He also protested against slavery, the lot of boy chimney sweeps, and lotteries. Associated with Christians of various persuasions, Montgomery supported missions and the British Bible Society. He published eleven volumes of poetry, mainly his own, and at least four hundred hymns. Some critics judge his hymn texts to be equal in quality to those of Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley . Many were published in Thomas Cotterill's Selection of Psalms and Hymns (1819 edition) and in Montgomery's own Songs of Zion (1822), Christian Psalmist (1825), and Original Hymns (1853).
Bert Polman
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Montgomery, James, son of John Montgomery, a Moravian minister, was born at Irvine, Ayrshire, Nov. 4, 1771. In 1776 he removed with his parents to the Moravian Settlement at Gracehill, near Ballymena, county of Antrim. Two years after he was sent to the Fulneck Seminary, Yorkshire. He left Fulneck in 1787, and entered a retail shop at Mirfield, near Wakefield. Soon tiring of that he entered upon a similar situation at Wath, near Rotherham, only to find it quite as unsuitable to his taste as the former. A journey to London, with the hope of finding a publisher for his youthful poems ended in failure; and in 1792 he was glad to leave Wath for Shefield to join Mr. Gales, an auctioneer, bookseller, and printer of the Sheffield Register newspaper, as his assistant. In 1794 Mr. Gales left England to avoid a political prosecution. Montgomery took the Sheffield Register in hand, changed its name to The Sheffield Iris, and continued to edit it for thirty-one years. During the next two years he was imprisoned twice, first for reprinting therein a song in commemoration of "The Fall of the Bastille," and the second for giving an account of a riot in Sheffield. The editing of his paper, the composition and publication of his poems and hynms, the delivery of lectures on poetry in Sheffield and at the Royal Institution, London, and the earnest advocacy of Foreign Missions and the Bible Society in many parts of the country, gave great variety but very little of stirring incident to his life. In 1833 he received a Royal pension of £200 a year. He died in his sleep, at the Mount, Sheffield, April 30, 1854, and was honoured with a public funeral. A statue was erected to his memory in the Sheffield General Cemetery, and a stained glass window in the Parish Church. A Wesleyan chapel and a public hall are also named in his honour. Montgomery's principal poetical works, including those which he edited, were:—
(1) Prison Amusements, 1797; (2) The Wanderer of Switzerland, 1806; (3) The West Indies, 1807; (4) The World before the Flood, 1813; (5) Greenland and Other Poems, 1819; (6) Songs of Zion, 1822; (7) The Christian Psalmist, 1825; (8) The Christian Poet, 1825; (9) The Pelican Island, 1828; (10) The Poet’s Portfolio, 1835; (11) Original Hymns for Public, Private, and Social Devotion, 1853. He also published minor pieces at various times, and four editions of his Poetical Works, the first in 1828, the second in 1836, the third in 1841, and the fourth in 1854. Most of these works contained original hymns. He also contributed largely to Collyer's Collection, 1812, and other hymnbooks published during the next 40 years, amongst which the most noticeable was Cotterill's Selections of 1819, in which more than 50 of his compositions appeared. In his Christian Psalmist, 1825, there are 100 of his hymns, and in his Original Hymns, 1853, 355 and 5 doxologies. His Songs of Zion, 1822, number 56. Deducting those which are repeated in the Original Hymns, there remain about 400 original compositions.
Of Montgomery's 400 hymns (including his versions of the Psalms) more than 100 are still in common use. With the aid of Montgomery's MSS. we have given a detailed account of a large number. The rest are as follows:—
i. Appeared in Collyer's Collection, 1812.
1. Jesus, our best beloved Friend. Personal Dedication to Christ.
2. When on Sinai's top I see. Sinai, Tabor, and Calvary.
ii. Appeared in Cotterill's Selection, 1819.
3. Come to Calvary's holy mountain. The Open Fountain.
4. God in the high and holy place. God in Nature. The cento in Com. Praise, 1879, and others, "If God hath made this world so fair," is from this hymn.
5. Hear me, O Lord, in my distress. Ps. cxliii.
6. Heaven is a place of rest from sin. Preparation for Heaven.
7. I cried unto the Lord most just. Ps. cxlii.
8. Lord, let my prayer like incense rise. Ps. cxxxix.
9. O bless the Lord, my soul! His grace to thee proclaim. Ps. ciii.
10. Out of the depths of woe. Ps. cxxx. Sometimes "When from the depths of woe."
11. The world in condemnation lay. Redemption.
12. Where are the dead? In heaven or hell? The Living and the Dead.
iii. Appeared in his Songs of Zion, 1822.
13. Give glory to God in the highest. Ps. xxix.
14. Glad was my heart to hear. Ps. cxxii.
15. God be merciful to me. Ps. lxix.
16. God is my strong salvation. Ps. xxvii.
17. Hasten, Lord, to my release. Ps. lxx.
18. Have mercy on me, O my God. Ps. li.
19. Hearken, Lord, to my complaints. Ps. xlii.
20. Heralds of creation cry. Ps. cxlviii.
21. How beautiful the sight. Ps. cxxxiii.
22. How precious are Thy thoughts of peace. Ps. cxxxix.
23. I love the Lord, He lent an ear. Ps. cxvi.
24. In time of tribulation. Ps. lxxvii.
25. Jehovah is great, and great be His praise. Ps. xlviii. Sometimes, "0 great is Jehovah, and great is His Name."
26. Judge me, O Lord, in righteousness. Ps. xliii.
27. Lift up your heads, ye gates, and wide. Ps.xxiv.
28. Lord, let me know mine [my] end. Ps. xxxi.
29. Of old, 0 God, Thine own right hand. Ps. lxxx.
30. O God, Thou art [my] the God alone. Ps. lxiii.
31. 0 Lord, our King, how excellent. Ps. viii. Sometimes, "0 Lord, how excellent is Thy name."
32. O my soul, with all thy powers. Ps. ciii.
33. One thing with all my soul's desire. Ps. xxvii. From this, "Grant me within Thy courts a place."
34. Searcher of hearts, to Thee are known. Ps. cxxxix.
35. Thank and praise Jehovah's name. Ps. cvii.
36. Thee will I praise, O Lord in light. Ps. cxxxviii.
37. The Lord is King; upon His throne. Ps. xciii.
38. The Lord is my Shepherd, no want shall I know. Ps. xxiii.
39. The tempter to my soul hath said. Ps. iii.
40. Thrice happy he who shuns the way. Ps. i.
41. Thy glory, Lord, the heavens declare. Ps. xix.
42. Thy law is perfect, Lord of light. Ps. xix.
43. Who make the Lord of hosts their tower. Ps. cxxv.
44. Yea, I will extol Thee. Ps. xxx.
iv. Appeared in his Christian Psalmist. 1825.
45. Fall down, ye nations, and adore. Universal adoration of God desired.
46. Food, raiment, dwelling, health, and friends. The Family Altar.
47. Go where a foot hath never trod. Moses in the desert. Previously in the Leeds Congregational Collection, 1822.
48. Green pastures and clear streams. The Good Shepherd and His Flock.
49. Less than the least of all. Mercies acknowledged.
50. Not to the mount that burned with fire [flame]. Communion of Saints.
51. On the first Christian Sabbath eve. Easter Sunday Evening.
52. One prayer I have: all prayers in one. Resignation.
53. Our heavenly Father hear. The Lord's Prayer.
54. Return, my soul, unto thy rest. Rest in God.
55. Spirit of power and might, behold. The Spirit's renewing desired.
56. The Christian warrior, see him stand. The Christian Soldier. Sometimes, "Behold the Christian warrior stand."
57. The days and years of time are fled. Day of Judgment.
58. The glorious universe around. Unity.
59. The pure and peaceful mind. A Children's Prayer.
60. This is the day the Lord hath made (q. v.). Sunday.
61. Thy word, Almighty Lord. Close of Service.
62. What secret hand at morning light ? Morning.
63. While through this changing world we roam. Heaven.
64. Within these walls be peace. For Sunday Schools.
v. Appeared in his Original Hymns, 1853.
65. Behold yon bright array. Opening a Place of Worship.
66. Behold the book whose leaves display. Holy Scriptures.
67. Come ye that fear the Lord. Confirmation.
68. Home, kindred, friends, and country, these. Farewell to a Missionary.
69. Let me go, the day is breaking. Jacob wrestling.
70. Not in Jerusalem alone. Consecration of a Church.
71. Praise the high and holy One. God the Creator.
In common with most poets and hymnwriters, Montgomery strongly objected to any correction or rearrangement of his compositions. At the same time he did not hesitate to alter, rearrange, and amend the productions of others. The altered texts which appeared in Cotterill's Selections, 1819, and which in numerous instances are still retained in some of the best hymnbooks, as the "Rock of Ages," in its well-known form of three stanzas, and others of equal importance, were made principally by him for Cotterill's use. We have this confession under his own hand.
As a poet, Montgomery stands well to the front; and as a writer of hymns he ranks in popularity with Wesley, Watts, Doddridge, Newton, and Cowper. His best hymns were written in his earlier years. In his old age he wrote much that was unworthy of his reputation. His finest lyrics are "Angels from the realms of glory," "Go to dark Gethsemane," "Hail to the Lord's Anointed," and "Songs of praise the angels sang." His "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire," is an expanded definition of prayer of great beauty; and his "Forever with the Lord" is full of lyric fire and deep feeling. The secrets of his power as a writer of hymns were manifold. His poetic genius was of a high order, higher than most who stand with him in the front rank of Christian poets. His ear for rhythm was exceedingly accurate and refined. His knowledge of Holy Scripture was most extensive. His religious views were broad and charitable. His devotional spirit was of the holiest type. With the faith of a strong man he united the beauty and simplicity of a child. Richly poetic without exuberance, dogmatic without uncharitableness, tender without sentimentality, elaborate without diffusiveness, richly musical without apparent effort, he has bequeathed to the Church of Christ wealth which could onlv have come from a true genius and a sanctified! heart.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
James Montgomery
Samuel Medley
1738 - 1799 Person Name: Medley Author of "Awake, my soul, to joyful lays" in New Manual of Praise Medley, Samuel, born June 23, 1738, at Cheshunt, Herts, where his father kept a school. He received a good education; but not liking the business to which he was apprenticed, he entered the Royal Navy. Having been severely wounded in a battle with the French fleet off Port Lagos, in 1759, he was obliged to retire from active service. A sermon by Dr. Watts, read to him about this time, led to his conversion. He joined the Baptist Church in Eagle Street, London, then under the care of Dr. Gifford, and shortly afterwards opened a school, which for several years he conducted with great success. Having begun to preach, he received, in 1767, a call to become pastor of the Baptist church at Watford. Thence, in 1772, he removed to Byrom Street, Liverpool, where he gathered a large congregation, and for 27 years was remarkably popular and useful. After a long and painful illness he died July 17, 1799. Most of Medley's hymns were first printed on leaflets or in magazines (the Gospel Magazine being one). They appeared in book form as:—
(1) Hymns, &c. Bradford, 1785. This contains 42 hymns. (2) Hymns on Select Portions of Scripture by the Rev. Mr. Medley. 2nd ed. Bristol. W. Pine. 1785. This contains 34 hymns, and differs much from the Bradford edition both in the text and in the order of the hymns. (3) An enlargement of the same in 1787. (4) A small collection of new Hymns, London, 1794. This contains 23 hymns. (5) Hymns. The Public Worship and Private Devotion of True Christians Assisted in some thoughts in Verse; principally drawn from Select Passages of the Word of God. By Samuel Medley. London. Printed for J. Johnson. 1800. A few of his hymns are also found in a Collection for the use of All Denominations, published in London in 1782.
Medley's hymns have been very popular in his own denomination, particularly among the more Calvinistic churches. In Denham's Selections there are 48, and in J. Stevens's Selections, 30. Their charm consists less in their poetry than in the warmth and occasional pathos with which they give expression to Christian experience. In most of them also there is a refrain in the last line of each verse which is often effective. Those in common use include:—
1. Come, join ye saints, with heart and voice. (1800). Complete in Christ.
2. Death is no more among our foes. Easter.
3. Eternal Sovereign Lord of all. (1789). Praise for Providential Care.
4. Far, far beyond these lower skies. (1789). Jesus, the Forerunner.
5. Father of mercies, God of love, whose kind, &c. (1789.) New Year.
6. Great God, today Thy grace impart. Sermon.
7. Hear, gracious God! a sinner's cry. (1789). Lent.
8. In heaven the rapturous song began. Christmas.
9. Jesus, engrave it on my heart. (1789). Jesus, Needful to all.
10. Mortals, awake, with angels join. (1782). Christmas.
11. My soul, arise in joyful lays. (1789). Joy in God.
12. Now, in a song of grateful praise. Praise to Jesus. In the Gospel Magazine, June, 1776.
13. O could I speak the matchless worth. (1789.) Praise of Jesus.
14. O for a bright celestial ray. Lent.
15. O God, Thy mercy, vast and free. (1800). Dedication of Self to God.
16. O let us tell the matchless love. Praise to Jesus.
17. O what amazing words of grace. (1789). Foutain of Living Waters.
18. Saints die, and we should gently weep. (1800). Death and Burial. From his "Dearest of Names, Our Lord and King."
19. See a poor sinner, dearest Lord. Lent.
20. Sing the dear Saviour's glorious fame. (1789). Jesus the Breaker of bonds.
In 1800 a Memoir of Medley was published by his son, which is regarded by members of the family now living as authoritative. But in 1833 appeared another Memoir by Medley's daughter Sarah, to which are appended 52 hymns for use on Sacramental occasions. These she gives as her father's. But 8 of them are undoubtedly by Thos. Kelly, published by him in 1815, and reprinted in subsequent editions of his Hymns. The remainder are by Medley. Nearly all of these 52 hymns (both Medley's and Kelly's) have been altered in order to adapt them to Sacramental use. In Sarah Medley's volume, Kelly's hymns all follow one another, and three of them are in a metre which Medley apparently never used. What could have been Sarah Medley's motive in all this it is hard to divine. She is said to have been a clever, though unamiable woman, and was herself the author of a small volume of Poems published in 1807. In the Memoir she does not conceal her hatred of her brother. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Samuel Medley
Samuel Longfellow
1819 - 1892 Author of "O life that maketh all things new" in The Beacon Hymnal Longfellow, Samuel, B. A., brother of the Poet, was born at Portland, Maine, June 18, 1819, and educated at Harvard, where he graduated in Arts in 1839, and in Theology in 1846. On receiving ordination as an Unitarian Minister, he became Pastor at Fall River, Massachusetts, 1848; at Brooklyn, 1853; and at Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1860. In 1846 he edited, with the Rev. S. Johnson (q. v.), A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion. This collection was enlarged and revised in 1848. In 1859 his Vespers was published, and in 1864 the Unitarian Hymns of the Spirit , under the joint editorship of the Rev. S. Johnson and himself. His Life of his brother, the Poet Longfellow, was published in 1886. To the works named he contributed the following hymns:—
i. To A Book of Hymns , revised ed., 1848.
1. Beneath the shadow of the Cross. Love.
2. 0 God, thy children gathered here. Ordination.
ii. To the Vespers 1859.
3. Again as evening's shadow falls. Evening.
4. Now on land and sea descending. Evening.
iii. To the Hymns of the Spirit, 1864.
5. A voice by Jordan's shore. Advent.
6. Father, give Thy benediction. Ordination.
7. Go forth to life, 0 child of earth. Life's Mission.
8. God of ages and of nations. Holy Scriptures.
9. Holy Spirit, Truth divine. The Holy Spirit desired.
10. I look to Thee in every need. Trust in God.
11. In the beginning was the Word. The Word.
12. Love for all, and can it be? Lent. The Prodigal Son.
13. 0 God, in Whom we live and move. God's Law and Love.
14. 0 God, Thou Giver of all good. Prayer for Food.
15. O still in accents sweet and strong. Missions.
16. 0 Thou, Whose liberal sun and rain. Anniversary of Church dedication.
17. One holy Church of God appears. The Church Universal.
18. Out of the dark, the circling sphere. The Outlook.
19. Peace, peace on earth! the heart of man for ever. Peace on Earth.
20. The loving Friend to all who bowed. Jesus of Nazareth.
21. ’Tis winter now, the fallen snow. Winter.
Of these, hymn No. 2 was written for the Ordination of E. E. Hale (q. v.), at Worcester, 1846. Several are included in Martineau's Hymns, 1873.
Died Oct. 3, 1892. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907), p. 685
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Longfellow, S., p. 685, i. Since Mr. Longfellow's death on Oct. 3, 1892, his hymns have been collected by his niece, Miss Alice Longfellow, as Hymns and Verses(Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1904.) From this work we find many of the hymns signed Anon, in the Index to Longfellow and Johnson's Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, were his; several of these, including E. Osier's "O God unseen, yet ever near," were popular English hymns which he rewrote from his own theological standpoint. These re¬written hymns are very widely used by Unitarians and others. During the last ten years the following additional hymns by S. Long¬fellow have come into common use:—
1. Eternal One, Thou living God. Faith in God.
2. God of the earth, the sky, the sea. God in Nature.
3. God's trumpet wakes the slumbering world. Call to duty.
4. Light of ages and of nations. God in and through all time.
5. Lo, the earth is risen again. Spring. (1876.)
6. Now while we sing our closing psalm. Close of Worship.
7. O Life that maketh all things new. Unity. (1874.)
8. O Thou in Whom we live and move. The Divine Law.
9. The summer days are come again. Summer. From his hymn,"The sweet[bright] June days are come again."
10. Thou Lord of lite, our saving health. In Sickness. (1886.)
Of these hymns Nos. 2, 3 appeared in the Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, and all with the dates appended in Hymns and Verses, 1904.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Longfellow
Samuel Longfellow
J. M. Neale
1818 - 1866 Person Name: Rev. John Mason Neale, 1818-1866 Author of "Around the throne of God a band" in Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly temperament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackville College in East Grinstead, a retirement home for poor men. There he served the men faithfully and expanded Sackville's ministry to indigent women and orphans. He also founded the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, which became one of the finest English training orders for nurses.
Laboring in relative obscurity, Neale turned out a prodigious number of books and artic1es on liturgy and church history, including A History of the So-Called Jansenist Church of Holland (1858); an account of the Roman Catholic Church of Utrecht and its break from Rome in the 1700s; and his scholarly Essays on Liturgiology and Church History (1863). Neale contributed to church music by writing original hymns, including two volumes of Hymns for Children (1842, 1846), but especially by translating Greek and Latin hymns into English. These translations appeared in Medieval Hymns and Sequences (1851, 1863, 1867), The Hymnal Noted (1852, 1854), Hymns of the Eastern Church (1862), and Hymns Chiefly Medieval (1865). Because a number of Neale's translations were judged unsingable, editors usually amended his work, as evident already in the 1861 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern; Neale claimed no rights to his texts and was pleased that his translations could contribute to hymnody as the "common property of Christendom."
Bert Polman
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Neale, John Mason, D.D., was born in Conduit Street, London, on Jan. 24, 1818. He inherited intellectual power on both sides: his father, the Rev. Cornelius Neale, having been Senior Wrangler, Second Chancellor's Medallist, and Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, and his mother being the daughter of John Mason Good, a man of considerable learning. Both father and mother are said to have been "very pronounced Evangelicals." The father died in 1823, and the boy's early training was entirely under the direction of his mother, his deep attachment for whom is shown by the fact that, not long before his death, he wrote of her as "a mother to whom I owe more than I can express." He was educated at Sherborne Grammar School, and was afterwards a private pupil, first of the Rev. William Russell, Rector of Shepperton, and then of Professor Challis. In 1836 he went up to Cambridge, where he gained a scholarship at Trinity College, and was considered the best man of his year. But he did not inherit his father's mathematical tastes, and had, in fact, the greatest antipathy to the study; and as the strange rule then prevailed that no one might aspire to Classical Honours unless his name had appeared in the Mathematical Tripos, he was forced to be content with an ordinary degree. This he took in 1840; had he been one year later, he might have taken a brilliant degree, for in 1841 the rule mentioned above was rescinded. He gained, however, what distinctions he could, winning the Members' Prize, and being elected Fellow and Tutor of Downing College; while, as a graduate, he won the Seatonian Prize no fewer than eleven times. At Cambridge he identified himself with the Church movement, which was spreading there in a quieter, but no less real, way than in the sister University. He became one of the founders of the Ecclesiological, or, as it was commonly called, the Cambridge Camden Society, in conjunction with Mr. E. J. Boyce, his future brother-in-law, and Mr. Benjamin Webb, afterwards the well-known Vicar of St. Andrew's, Wells Street, and editor of The Church Quarterly Review. In 1842 he married Miss Sarah Norman Webster, the daughter of an evangelical clergyman, and in 1843 he was presented to the small incumbency of Crawley in Sussex. Ill health, however, prevented him from being instituted to the living. His lungs were found to be badly affected; and, as the only chance of saving his life, he was obliged to go to Madeira, where he stayed until the summer of 1844. In 1846 he was presented by Lord Delaware to the Wardenship of Sackville College, East Grinstead. This can hardly be considered as an ecclesiastical preferment, for both his predecessor and his successor were laymen. In fact the only ecclesiastical preferment that ever was offered to him was the Provostship of St. Ninian's, Perth. This was an honourable office, for the Provostship is equivalent to a Deanery in England, but it was not a lucrative one, being worth only £100 a year. He was obliged to decline it, as the climate was thought too cold for his delicate health. In the quiet retreat of East Grinstead, therefore, Dr. Neale spent the remainder of his comparatively short life, dividing his time between literary work, which all tended, directly or indirectly, to the advancement of that great Church revival of which he was so able and courageous a champion, and the unremitting care of that sisterhood of which he was the founder. He commenced a sisterhood at Rotherfield on a very small scale, in conjunction with Miss S. A. Gream, daughter of the rector of the parish; but in 1856 he transferred it to East Grinstead, where, under the name of St. Margaret's, it has attained its present proportions. Various other institutions gradually arose in connection with this Sisterhood of St. Margaret's, viz., an Orphanage, a Middle Class School for girls, and a House at Aldershot for the reformation of fallen women. The blessing which the East Grinstead Sisters have been to thousands of the sick and suffering cannot here be told. But it must be mentioned that Dr. Neale met with many difficulties, and great opposition from the outside, which, on one occasion, if not more, culminated in actual violence. In 1857 he was attending the funeral of one of the Sisters at Lewes, when a report was spread that the deceased had been decoyed into St. Margaret's Home, persuaded to leave all her money to the sisterhood, and then purposely sent to a post in which she might catch the scarlet fever of which she died. To those who knew anything of the scrupulously delicate and honourable character of Dr. Neale, such a charge would seem absurd on the face of it; but mobs are not apt to reflect, and it was very easy to excite a mob against the unpopular practices and sentiments rife at East Grinstead; and Dr. Neale and some Sisters who were attending the funeral were attacked and roughly handled. He also found opponents in higher quarters; he was inhibited by the Bishop of the Diocese for fourteen years, and the Aldershot House was obliged to be abandoned, after having done useful work for some years, in consequence of the prejudice of officials against the religious system pursued. Dr. Neale's character, however, was a happy mixture of gentleness and firmness; he had in the highest degree the courage of his convictions, which were remarkably definite and strong; while at the same time he maintained the greatest charity towards, and forbearance with, others who did not agree with him. It is not surprising, therefore, that he lived all opposition down; and that, while from first to last his relations with the community at East Grinstead were of the happiest description, he was also, after a time, spared any molestation from without. The institution grew upon his hands, and he became anxious to provide it with a permanent and fitting home. His last public act was to lay the foundation of a new convent for the Sisters on St. Margaret's Day (July 20), 1865. He lived long enough to see the building progress, but not to see it completed. In the following spring his health, which had always been delicate, completely broke down, and after five months of acute suffering he passed away on the Feast of the Transfiguration (Aug. 6), 1866, to the bitter regret of the little community at East Grinstead and of numberless friends outside that circle. One trait of his singularly lovable character must not pass unnoticed. His charity, both in the popular and in the truer Christian sense of the word, was unbounded; he was liberal and almost lavish with his money, and his liberality extended to men of all creeds and opinions; while it is pleasing to record that his relations with his ecclesiastical superiors so much improved that he dedicated his volume of Seatonian Poems to the bishop of the diocese. If however success in life depended upon worldly advantages, Dr. Neale's life would have to be pronounced a failure; for, as his old friend, Dr. Littledale, justly complains, "he spent nearly half his life where he died, in the position of warden of an obscure Almshouse on a salary of £27 a year." But, measured by a different standard, his short life assumes very different proportions. Not only did he win the love and gratitude of those with whom he was immediately connected, but he acquired a world-wide reputation as a writer, and he lived to see that Church revival, to promote which was the great object of his whole career, already advancing to the position which it now occupies in the land of his birth.
Dr. Neale was an industrious and voluminous writer both in prose and verse; it is of course with the latter class of his writings that this sketch is chiefly concerned; but a few words must first be said about the former.
I.— Prose Writings.— His first compositions were in the form of contributions to The Ecclesiologist, and were written during his graduate career at Cambridge. Whilst he was in Madeira he began to write his Commentary on the Psalms, part of which was published in 1860. It was afterwards given to the world, partly written by him and partly by his friend, Dr. Littledale, in 4 vols., in 1874, under the title of A Commentary on the Psalms, from Primitive and Mediaeval Writers. This work has been criticised as pushing the mystical interpretation to an extravagant extent. But Dr. Neale has anticipated and disarmed such criticism by distinctly stating at the commencement that "not one single mystical interpretation throughout the present Commentary is original;" and surely such a collection has a special value as a wholesome correction of the materialistic and rationalistic tendencies of the age. His next great work, written at Sackville College, was The History of the Holy Eastern Church. The General Introduction was published in 1847; then followed part of the History itself, The Patriarchate of Alexandria, in 2 vols.; and after his death another fragment was published, The History of the Patriarchate of Antioch, to which was added, Constantius's Memoirs of the Patriarchs of Antioch, translated from the Greek, edited by the Rev. G. Williams, 1 vol. The whole fragment was published in 5 vols. (1847-1873). The work is spoken very highly of, and constantly referred to, by Dean Stanley in his Lectures on the History of the Eastern Church. Dr. Neale was naturally in strong sympathy with the struggling Episcopal Church of Scotland, and to show that sympathy he published, in 1856, The Life and Times of Patrick Torry, D.D., Bishop of St. Andrews, &c, with an Appendix on the Scottish Liturgy. In the same direction was his History of the so-called Jansenist Church in Holland, 1858. Next followed Essays on Liturgiology and Church History, with an Appendix on Liturgical Quotations from the Isapostolical Fathers by the Rev. G. Moultrie, 1863, a 2nd edition of which, with an interesting Preface by Dr. Littledale, was published in 1867. It would be foreign to the purpose of this article to dwell on his other prose works, such as his published sermons, preached in Sackville College Chapel, his admirable little devotional work, Readings for the Aged, which was a selection from these sermons; the various works he edited, such as the Tetralogia Liturgica, the Sequentiae ex Missalibus Germanicis, Anglicis, Gallicis, aliisque Medii Aevi Collectae; his edition of The Primitive Liturgies of S. Mark, S. Clement, S. James, S. Chrysostom and S. Basil, with a Preface by Dr. Littledale; his Translation of the same; his many stories from Church History, his Voices from the East, translated from the Russ, and his various articles contributed to the Ecclesiologist, The Christian Remembrance, The Morning Chronicle, and The Churchman's Companion. It is time to pass on to that with which we are directly concerned.
II. —Poetical Writings.— As a sacred poet, Dr. Neale may be regarded under two aspects, as an original writer and as a translator.
i. Original Writer.—Of his original poetry, the first specimen is Hymns for Children, published in 1842, which reached its 10th edition the year after his death. It consists of 33 short hymns, the first 19 for the different days of the week and different parts of the day, the last 14 for the different Church Seasons. This little volume was followed in 1844 by Hymns for the Young, which was intended to be a sequel to the former, its alternative title being A Second Series of Hymns for Children; but it is designed for an older class than the former, for young people rather than for children. The first 7 hymns are "for special occasions," as "on goiug to work," “leaving home” &c.; the next 8 on "Church Duties and Privileges," "Confirmation," "First Holy Communion," &c, the last 13 on "Church Festivals,” which, oddly enough, include the Four Ember Seasons, Rogation Days, and the Sundays in Advent. In both these works the severe and rigid style, copied, no doubt, from the old Latin hymns, is very observable. Perhaps this has prevented them from being such popular favourites as they otherwise might have been; but they are quite free from faults into which a writer of hymns for children is apt to fall. They never degenerate into mere prose in rhyme; and in every case the purity as well as the simplicity of their diction is very remarkable. In the same year (1844) he also published Songs and Ballads for Manufacturers, which were written during his sojourn in Madeira, and the aim of which (he tells us) was "to set forth good and sound principles in metaphors which might, from their familiarity, come home to the hearts of those to whom they were addressed." They are wonderfully spirited both in matter and manner, and their freedom of style is as remarkable as the rigidity of the former works. They were followed eleven years later (1855) by a similar little work entitled Songs and Ballads for the People. This is of a more aggressive and controversial character than the previous ones, dealing boldly with such burning questions as "The Teetotallers," "Why don't you go to Meeting?" &c. Passing over the Seatonian Poems, most of which were of course written before those noticed above, we next come to the Hymns for the Side, which is a fitting companion to the Readings for the Aged, and then to Sequences, Hymns, and other Ecclesiastical Verses, which was published just after the author's death (1866), and may be regarded as a sort of dying legacy to the world. In fact, the writer almost intimates as much in the preface, where he speaks of himself as "one who might soon be called to have done with earthly composition for ever." Many of the verses, indeed, were written earlier, "forty years ago," he says, which is evidently intended for twenty. The preface is dated "In the Octave of S. James, 1866," and within a fortnight, on the Feast of the Transfiguration, “the veil” (to use the touching words of his old friend, Dr. Littledale) "was withdrawn from before his eyes, and the song hushed on earth is now swelling the chorus of Paradise." Was it an accident that these verses dwell so much on death and the life beyond the grave? or did the coming event cast its shadow before? Not that there is any sadness of tone about them; quite the reverse. He contemplates death, but it is with the eye of a Christian from whom the sting of death has been removed. Most of the verses are on subjects connected with the Church Seasons, especially with what are called the "Minor Festivals:" but the first and last poems are on different subjects. The first, the "Prologue," is "in dear memory of John Keble, who departed on Maundy Thursday, 1866, "and is a most touching tribute from one sacred poet to another whom he was about to follow within a few months to the "land that is very far off." The last is a poetical version of the legend of "the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus," and is, the writer thinks, "the first attempt to apply to primitive Christianity that which is, to his mind, the noblest of our measures." That measure is the hexameter, and undoubtedly Dr. Neale employed it, as he did all his measures, with great skill and effect; but it may be doubted whether the English language, in which the quantities of syllables are not so clearly defined as in Latin and Greek, is quite adapted for that measure. Throughout this volume, Dr. Neale rises to a far higher strain than he had ever reached before.
ii. Translations.— It is in this species of composition that Dr. Neale's success was pre-eminent, one might almost say unique. He had all the qualifications of a good translator. He was not only an excellent classical scholar in the ordinary sense of the term, but he was also positively steeped in mediaeval Latin. An anecdote given in an appreciative notice by "G. M." [Moultrie] happily illustrates this:—
Dr. Neale "was invited by Mr. Keble and the Bishop of Salisbury to assist them with their new hymnal, and for this purpose he paid a visit to Hursley Parsonage." On one occasion Mr. Keble "having to go to another room to find some papers was detained a short time. On his return Dr. Neale said, ‘Why, Keble, I thought you told me that the "Christian Year" was entirely original.' ‘Yes,' he answered, 'it certainly is.' ‘Then how comes this?' and Dr. Neale placed before him the Latin of one of Keble's hymns. Keble professed himself utterly confounded. He protested that he had never seen this 'original,' no, not in all his life. After a few minutes Neale relieved him by owning that he had just turned it into Latin in his absence."
Again, Dr. Neale's exquisite ear for melody prevented him from spoiling the rhythm by too servile an imitation of the original; while the spiritedness which is a marked feature of all his poetry preserved that spring and dash which is so often wanting in a translation.
(i.) Latin.— Dr. Neale's translations from the Latin include
(1.) Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences (1851). He was the, first to introduce to the English reader Sequences, that is, as he himself describes them, " hymns sung between the Epistle and Gospel in the Mass," or, as he explains more definitely, "hymns whose origin is to be looked for in the Alleluia of the Gradual sung between the Epistle and the Gospel." He was quite an enthusiast about this subject:—
"It is a magnificent thing,” he says, "to pass along the far-stretching vista of hymns, from the sublime self-containedness of S. Ambrose to the more fervid inspiration of S. Gregory, the exquisite typology of Venantius Fortunatus, the lovely painting of St. Peter Damiani, the crystal-like simplicity of S. Notker, the scriptural calm of Godescalcus, the subjective loveliness of St. Bernard, till all culminate in the full blaze of glory which surrounds Adam of S. Victor, the greatest of them all."
Feeling thus what a noble task he had before him, it is no wonder that he spared no pains over it, or that he felt it his duty to adopt "the exact measure and rhyme of the original, at whatever inconvenience and cramping." That he succeeded in his difficult work, the verdict of the public has sufficiently proved. Of all the translations in the English language no one has ever been so popular as that of the Hora Novissima, in this volume, afterwards (1858) published separately, under the title of the Rhythm of Bernard de Morlaix, Monk of Cluny. Some original hymns may be as well known as "Jerusalem the Golden," "For thee, O dear, dear country," or "Brief life is here our portion,” but it would be hard to find any translations which come near them for extensive use. A second edition of the Mediaeval Hymns, much improved, came out in 1863, and a third, "with very numerous additions and corrections," in 1867.
(2.) We next come to the Hymnal Noted, in which 94 out of the 105 hymns are the work of Dr. Neale. These are all translations from the Latin. The first part appeared in 1852, the second in 1854. Dr. Neale has himself given us an interesting account of his connection with this work:—
"Some," he writes, "of the happiest and most instructive hours of my life were spent in the Sub-Committee of the Ecclesiological Society, appointed for the purpose of bringing out the Second Part of the Hymnal Noted It was my business to lay before them the translations I had prepared, and theirs to correct. The study which this required drew out the beauties of the original in a way which nothing else could have done, and the friendly collisions of various minds elicited ideas which a single translator would in all probability have missed." Preface, Mediaeval Hymns & Sequences
(3.) The last volume of translations from the Latin published by Dr. Neale appeared in 1865, under the title of Hymns, chiefly Mediaeval, on the Joys and Glories of Paradise. It was intended to be a companion volume to the Rhythm of Bernard of Cluny. In this work the writer gives the general reader an opportunity of comparing the translation with the original by printing the two together in parallel pages.
Before quitting the subject of Dr. Neale's translations from the Latin, it is only fair to notice that while they have been almost universally accepted by the English Church, and some of them adopted by dissenting congregations, they called down upon the translator a storm of indignation from an opposite quarter. The Roman Catholics accused him of deliberate deception because he took no pains to point out that he had either softened down or entirely ignored the Roman doctrines in those hymns. So far, they said, as the originals were concerned, these translations were deliberate misrepresentations. As however the translations were intended for the use of the Anglican Church, it was only to be expected that Neale should omit such hymns or portions of hymns as would be at variance with her doctrines and discipline.
(ii.) Greek.— Dr. Neale conferred even a greater boon upon the lovers of hymnology than by his translations from the Latin, when he published, in 1862, his Hymns of the Eastern Church. In his translations from the Latin he did what others had done before; but in his translations from the Greek he was opening entirely new ground. "It is," he says in his preface to the first edition, "a most remarkable fact, and one which shows how very little interest has been hitherto felt in the Eastern Church, that these are literally, I believe, the only English versions of any part of the treasures of Oriental Hymnology." As early as 1853 he had printed a few of his versions in The Ecclesiastic, but it was not till the appearance of the complete volume that the interest of the general public was awakened in them. Then they became wonderfully popular. His translations "Christian, dost thou see them?" "The day is past and over," "'Tis the day of Resurrection," and his Greek-inspired "Art thou weary," and "O happy band of pilgrims," are almost as great favourites as "Jerusalem the golden," and the first in his Hymns of the Eastern Church, "Fierce was the wild billow," deserves to be. Dr. Neale had a far more difficult task before him when he undertook these Greek hymns than he had with the Latin, and he appeals to the reader "not to forget the immense difficulty of an attempt so perfectly new as the present, when I have had no predecessors and therefore could have no master." That difficulty in comparison with the Latin cannot be better stated than in his own words:—
"Though the superior terseness and brevity of the Latin hymns renders a translation which shall represent those qualities a work of great labour, yet still the versifier has the help of the same metre; his version may be line for line; and there is a great analogy between the collects and the hymns, most helpful to the translator. Above all, we have examples enough of former translation by which we may take pattern. But in attempting a Greek canon, from the fact of its being in prose (metrical hymns are unknown) one is all at sea. What measure shall we employ? Why this more than that? Might we attempt the rhythmical prose of the original, and design it to be chanted? Again, the great length of the canons renders them un suitable for our churches as wholes. Is it better simply to form centos of the more beautiful passages? or can separate odes, each necessarily imperfect, be employed as separate hymns? . . . My own belief is that the best way to employ Greek hymnology for the uses of the English Church would be by centos."
That, in spite of these difficulties, Dr. Neale succeeded, is obvious. His Greek hymns are, indeed, adaptations rather than translations; but, besides their intrinsic beauty, they at any rate give some idea of what the Greek hymn-writers were. In this case, as in his translations from the Latin, he omitted what he held was not good from his Anglican point of view, e.g., the Doxologies to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
One point strikes us as very remarkable in these hymns, and indeed in all Dr. Neale's poetry, viz., its thorough manliness of tone. Considering what his surroundings were, one might have expected a feminine tone in his writings. Dr. Littledale, in his most vivid and interesting sketch of Dr. Neale's life, to which the present writer is largely indebted, has remarked the same with regard to his teaching: "Instead of committing the grave error of feminising his sermons and counsels [at St. Margaret's] because he had only women to deal with, he aimed at showing them the masculine side of Christianity also, to teach them its strength as well as its beauty."
In conclusion, it may be observed that no one had a higher opinion of the value of Dr. Neale's labours in the field of ancient and mediaeval hymnology than the one man whose competency to speak with authority on such a point Dr. Neale himself would assuredly have rated above that of all others. Over and over again Dr. Neale pays a tribute to the services rendered by Archbishop Trench in this domain; and the present sketch cannot more fitly close than with the testimony which Archbishop Trench has given of his sense of the services rendered by Dr. Neale. The last words of his preface to his Sacred Latin Poetry (ed. 1864) are:—" I will only, therefore, mention that by patient researches in almost all European lands, he [Dr. Neale] has brought to light a multitude of hymns unknown before: in a treatise on sequences, properly so-called, has for the first time explained their essential character; while to him the English reader owes versions of some of the best hymns, such as often successfully overcome the almost insuperable difficulties which many among them present to the translator." [Rev. J. H. Overton, D.D.]
Dr. Neale's original hymns and translations appeared in the following works, most of which are referred to in the preceding article, and all of which are grouped together here to facilitate reference:—
(1) Hymns for Children. Intended chiefly for Village Schools. London, Masters, 1842. (2) Hymns for the Sick. London, Masters, 1843, improved ed. 1849. (3) Hymns for the Young. A Second Series of Hymns for Children. London, Masters, 1844. (4) Songs and Ballads for Manufacturers. London, Masters, 1844. (5) Hymns for Children. A Third Series. London, Masters, 1846. (6) Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences. London, Masters. 1851; 2nd ed. 1861; 3rd. ed. 1863. (7) Hymnal Noted. London, Masters & Novello, 1852: enlarged 1854. Several of the translations were by other hands. Musical editions edited by the Rev. T. Helmore. It is from this work that a large number of Dr. Neale's translations from the Latin are taken. (8) Carols for Christmas and Eastertide. 1853. (9) Songs and Ballads for the People. 1855. (10) The Rhythm of Bernard de Morlaix, Monk of Cluny, on the Celestial Country. London, Hayes, 1st ed. 1858: 3rd ed., with revision of text, 1861. It contains both the Latin and the English translation. (11) Hymns of The Eastern Church, Translated with Notes and an Introduction. London, Hayes, 1862: 2nd ed. 1862: 3rd ed. 1866 : 4th ed., with Music and additional notes, edited by The Very Rev. S. G. Hatherly, Mus. B., Archpriest of the Patriarchal (Ecumenical Throne. London, Hayes, 1882. Several of these translations and notes appeared in The Ecclesiastic and Theologian, in 1853. (12) Hymns, Chiefly Mediaeval, on the Joys and Glories of Paradise. London, Hayes, 1865. This work contains notes on the hymns, and the Latin texts of the older amongst them. (13) Original Sequences, Hymns, and other Ecclesiastical Verses. London, Hayes, 1866. This collection of Original verse was published posthumously by Dr. Littledale.
In addition to these works Dr. Neale published collections of Latin verse as:—
1.) Hymni Ecclesiae e Breviariis quibusdam et Missalibus Gallicanis, Germanis, Hispanis, Lusitanis, desumpti. Oxford & Lond. J. H. Parker, 1851: and (2) Sequentiae e Missalibus Germanicis, Anglicis, Gallicis, aliisque Medii Aevi collectae. Oxford & Lond. J. H. Parker, 1852.
A few of his translations appeared from time to time in The Ecclesiastic; and a few of his original hymns in The Christian Remembrancer. In the collection compiled for use at St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, St. Margaret's Hymnal, Printed Privately for the use of the Community only, 1875, there are several of his hymns not traceable elsewhere. [Many of his translations and original compositions are not listed here].
Some of the original hymns in common use which remain to be noted are:—
i. From Hymns for Children, 1842.
1. No more sadness now, nor fasting. Christmas.
2. 0 Thou, Who through this holy week. Passiontide.
3. The day, 0 Lord, is spent. Evening.
4. The grass so green, the trees so tall. Morning of the Third Day.
5. Thou art gone up, 0 Lord, on high. Evening.
6. Thou, Who earnest from above. Whitsuntide.
7. With Thee, 0 Lord, begins the year. Circumcision, or, the New Year.
ii. From Hymns for the Sick, 1843.
8. By no new path untried before. Support in Sickness.
9. Count not, the Lord's Apostle saith. Communion of the Sick.
10. Lord, if he sleepeth, he shall sure do well. Watching.
11. 0 Thou, Who rising long before the day. In a sleepless Night.
12. The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken away. Death and Burial.
13. There is a stream, whose waters rise. In dangerous Sickness or Fever.
14. They slumber not nor sleep. Guardian Angels.
15. Thy servants militant below. In Affliction.
iii. From Hymns for the Young, 2nd series, 1844.
16. Lord Jesus, Who shalt come with power. Ember Week in Advent.
17. 0 God, in danger and distress. In time of Trouble.
18. 0 God, we raise our hearts to Thee. Ember-Week in Advent. From this, "0 Lord, we come before Thee now” is taken.
19. 0 God, Who lovest to abide. Dedication of a Church.
20. 0 our Father, hear us now. Rogation. The first of three hymns on The Lord's Prayer.
21. 0 Saviour, Who hast call'd away. Death of a Minister.
22. 0 Thou, Who lov'st to send relief. In Sickness.
23. 0 Thou, Who once didst bless the ground. Ember-Week in September.
24. 0 Thou, Who, when Thou hadst begun. On going to Work.
25. Still, 0 Lord of hosts, we share. Rogation. The Second of his hymns on The Lord's Prayer.
26. Strangers and pilgrims here below. On entering a new Dwelling to reside there.
27. They whose course on earth is o'er. Communion of Saints. From this, "Those whom many a land divides," is taken.
2S. Till its holy hours are past. Rogation. The third of his hymns on The Lord's Prayer.
iv. Songs and Ballads for Manufacturers, 1844.
29. Work is over; God must speed it. Evening.
v. Hymns for Children, 3rd series, 1846.
30. Before Thy Face, 0 God of old. St. John the Baptist.
31. By pain, and weariness, and doubt. St. Stephen.
32. First of the twelvefold band that trod. St. James.
33. Four streams through happy Eden flow'd. St. Mark.
34. Is there one who sets his face. St. Bartholomew. From this "He, for man who suffered woe," is taken.
35. Not a single sight we view. St. Matthias.
36. 0 Great Physician of the soul. St. Luke.
37. 0 Heavenly Wisdom, hear our cry. Christmas. “0 Sapientia."
38. 0 Key of David, hailed by those. Christmas. "0 Clavis David."
39. 0 Root of Jesse, Thou on Whom. Christmas. “O Radix Jesse."
40. 0 Thou, on Whom the nations [Gentiles] wait. Christmas. "0 Rex Gentium."
41. 0 Thou, Who earnest down of old [to call] . Christmas. "0 Adonai."
42. 0 Thou, Whose Name is God with us. Christmas. "0 Emmanuel."
43. 0 Very God of Very God. Christmas. "0 Oriens."
44. Saints of God, whom faith united. SS. Simon and Jude.
45. Since the time that first we came. St. Andrew. From this, "Every bird that upward springs," is taken.
46. That love is mighty love indeed. St. Barnabas.
47. We cannot plead, as others may. St. Matthew.
48. We have not seen, we cannot see. St. Thomas.
49. Would we go when life is o'er? St. Peter.
v. Carols for Christmas and Eastertide. 1853.
50. Gabriel's message does away. Christmas.
51. Joy and gladness be to king and peasant. Christmas.
52. Joy to thee, joy to thee, Day of our victory. Easter.
53. Sing Alleluia, all ye lands. Easter.
54. The world itself keeps Easter Day. Easter. From this "There stood three Marys by the tomb," is taken.
55. With Christ we share a mystic grave. Easter or Holy Baptism.
vi. From Sequences, Hymns, &c, 1866.
56. Can it, Master, can it be? Maundy Thursday.
57. Need it is we raise our eyes. All Saints.
58. Prostrate fell the Lord of all things. Maundy Thursday.
59. Rear the column, high and stately. All Saints.
60. The Paschal moonlight almost past. Easter.
61. Though the Octave-rainbow sometimes. Low Sunday.
62. When the earth was full of darkness. St. Margaret.
63. Young and old must raise the lay. Christmas Carol.
vi. From the St. Margaret's Hymnal, 1875.
64. O gracious God, Who bid'st me now. On Leaving Some.
65. Thou Who came to save Thy people. For a School.
66. Thy praise the holy Infants shewed. Holy Innocents.
These 66 hymns now in common use by no means represent Dr. Neale's position in modern hymnody. Many others must be added thereto. Even then, although the total is very large, it but feebly represents and emphasises the enormous influence which Di. Neale has exercised over modern hymnody.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
J. M. Neale
John Greenleaf Whittier
1807 - 1892 Person Name: John G. Whittier Author of "Once more the lib'ral year laughs out" in Hymns and Songs for the Sunday School Whittier, John Greenleaf, the American Quaker poet, was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, Dec. 17, 1807. He began life as a farm-boy and shoemaker, and subsequently became a successful journalist, editor and poet. In 1828 he became editor of the American Manufacturer (Boston), in 1830 of the New England Review, and an 1836 (on becoming Secretary to the American Anti-Slavery Society) of the Pennsylvania Freeman. He was also for some time, beginning with 1847, the corresponding editor of the National Era. In 1840 he removed to Amesbury, Massachusetts, where most of his later works have been written. At the present time [1890] he lives alternately at Amesbury and Boston. His first poetical piece was printed in the Newburyport Free Press in 1824. Since then his publications have been numerous, including:—
Voices of Freedom, 1833; Songs of Labour, and other Poems, 1850; Ballads and other Poems, London, 1844; The Panorama, and other Poems, 1856; In War Time, 1863; Occasional Poems, 1865; Poetical Works, 1869; Complete Poetical Works, 1876; The Bay of the Seven Islands, and other Poems, 1883, &c.
From his numerous poems the following hymns have been compiled, and have come into common use, more especially amongst the American Unitarians:—
1. All as God wills, Who wisely heeds. Trust. This begins with stanza xi. of Whittier's poem, "My Psalm." in his workThe Panorama, and other Poems, 1856 (Complete Poetical Works, Boston, 1876, p. 179), and is given in Lyra Sacra Americana , 1868; Border's Congregational Hymns, 1884, &c.
2. All things are Thine: no gift have we. Opening of a Place of Worship. Written for the Opening of Plymouth Church, Minnesota, 1872 ( Complete Poetical Works , p. 281). In Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884.
3. Another hand is beckoning us. Bereavement. From his poem " Gone," written in 1845 (Complete Poetical Works, p. 106). In Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884.
4. Dear Lord and Father of mankind. Calmness in God desired. From his poem “The Brewing of Soma," beginning with stanza xii. (Complete Poetical Works p. 266). In Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884.
5. God giveth quietness at last. Death and Burial. This begins with stanza xvii. of his poem, “The Singer," written in 1871 (Author's MS.), and included in the Complete Poetical Works, 1876, p. 265. In Martineau's Hymns, 1875.
6. Hast thou, 'midst life's empty noises. The Purpose of Life. Written in 1842. It is in Longfellow and Johnson's Unitarian Book of Hymns, Boston, 1846, and several other later American collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1864.
7. I ask not now for gold to gild. Resignation. From his poem "The Wish of To-Day." Written in 1848 (Author's MS.). In Hedge and Huntingdon's Unitarian Hymns for the Church of Christ, Boston, 1853; the Laudes Domini, 1884, and other collections.
8. Immortal love, for ever full. The Love of Jesus. This poem, entitled “Our Master," appeared in Whittier's work, The Panorama, and other Poems, 1856, in 35 stanzas of 4 lines; in Schaff’s Christ in Song, 1869-70, p. 117; and in the Complete Poetical Works, 1876, p. 231, and others. From this poem the following centos have come into common use:—
(1) Immortal love for ever full. In the 1890 edition of the Hymnal Companion and others.
(2) 0 Lord and Master of us all. Begins with stanza xvi.
(3) 0 Love! O Life! our faith and sight. Begins with stanza xxiv. In several American hymnals, including the Unitarian Hymn [and Tune Book ], Boston, 1868, and others.
(4) Our Friend, our Brother, and our Lord. Begins with stanza xxxiv. In Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884, &c.
(5) We faintly hear, we dimly see. Begins with stanza xxvi. In Barrett's Congregational Church Hymnal, 1887.
(6) We may not climb the heavenly steeps. Begins with stanza v. In Laudes Domini, 1884; the Primitive Methodist Hymnal, 1887, &c.
The use of these centos shows that the hymnic element in the original poem is of a high and enduring order.
9. It may not be our lot to wield. Duty and its Reward. This begins with stanza iv. of his poem "Seedtime and Harvest." Written circa 1850 (Author's MS.). Given in his Complete Poetical Works, p. 114. The hymn is in Laudes Domini, 1884, and other American collections.
10. May freedom speed onward, wherever the blood. Freedom. In the 1848 Supplement to the Boston Book of Hymns, Boston, No. 582, Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, and other collections. In Whittier's Poetical Works, Boston, 1869, p. 68, it is given as, “Right onward, O speed it! Wherever the blood”.
11. Now is the seed-time; God alone. Self-Sacrifice. In the Boston Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, No. 683.
12. 0 backward-looking son of time. New and Old. This begins with stanza xix. of his poem "The Reformer," and is given in this form in the Boston Hymns for the Church of Christ, Boston, 1853, No. 835, and again in later collections. In full in the Complete Poetical Works, p. 78.
13. 0 beauty, old yet ever new. The Law of Love. This in the Boston Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, begins with stanza xxi. of his poem on “The Shadow and the Light,” given in full in the Complete Poetical Works , p. 173.
14. 0 fairest-born of love and light. American National Hymn. This is from his poem "Democracy," which is dated "Election Day, 1843," and is in his Ballads and other Poems, London, 1844, p. 214, and his Complete Poetical Works, p. 82.
15. 0, he whom Jesus loves has truly spoken. True Worship. This in the 1848 Supplement to the Boston Book of Hymns, 1848, No. 578, begins with stanza xi. of his poem on “Worship," given in full in his Complete Poetical Works, p. 96. The poem is dated by the Author, 1848 (Author's MS.).
16. 0 holy Father, just and true. Freedom. "Lines written for the Celebration of the third Anniversary of British Emancipation at the Broadway Tabernacle, N. Y., First of August, 1837." (Complete Poetical Works, p. 47.) It was included in the Unitarian Christian Hymns, Boston, 1844, and has been repeated in later collections.
17. 0 Maker of the Fruits and Flowers. Flower Services. This begins with stanza iv. of his "Lines for the Agricultural and Horticultural Exhibition at Amesbury and Salisbury, Sep. 28, 1858," as given in his Complete Poetical Works , p. 183. It is in the Boston Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, and as "O Painter of the fruits and flowers," in Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884.
18. O not alone with outward sign. Divine Invitation. This begins with stanza ii. of his poem, "The Call of the Christian," given in his Ballads and other Poems, London, 1844, p. 185, and his Complete Poetical Works, p. 73. The hymn appeared in the Boston Book of Hymns, 1846, and again in later collections.
19. O pure Reformers, not in vain. Freedom. This begins with stanza xii. of his poem "To the Reformers of England," as given in his Complete Poetical Works, p. 77. The hymn was included in the Boston Book of Hymns, 1846, and has been repeated in later collections.
20. O sometimes gleams upon our sight. Old and New. This is taken from his poem "The Chapel of the Hermits," 1852 (in 94 stanzas of 4 lines), and begins with stanza xi. (Comp. Poetical Works, p. 115.) The cento was given in the Boston Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, and repeated in later collections.
21. O Thou, at Whose rebuke the grave. Mercy. This was given in the Boston Book of Hymns, 1848, No. 44l.
22. O [God] Thou, Whose presence went before. National Hymn. This hymn is dated by the author 1834 (Author's MS.), and was written for the Anti-slavery Meeting at Chatham Street Chapel, New York, "on the 4th of the 7th month, 1831." It is No. 750 in the Unitarian Christian Hymns, 1844. It is sometimes given as “0 God, whose presence went before."
23. 0, what though our feet may not tread where Christ trod. Presence of Christ's Spirit. The author dates this 1837 (Author's MS.). It is No. 150 in the Boston Book of Hymns, 1846. In their Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, No. 652, it begins: "0, wherefore the dream of the earthly abode." Both centos are from his poem “Poledom."
24. Shall we grow weary in our watch? Patience, or Resignation. This begins with stanza x. of his poem "The Cypress-Tree of Ceylon." (Complete Poetical Works, p. 84.) This form of the text was given in the Boston Book of Hymns, 1846, No. 278, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines, and again in Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884, in 3 stanzas.
25. Sport of the changeful multitude. Persecution. This begins with line 6 of stanza x. of his poem "Ezekiel," and was given in the Boston Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, No. 65lines In full in Complete Poetical Works, p. 67.
26. The green earth sends its incense up. Worship of Nature. The author dates this 1845 (Author's MS.). It is from his poem “The Worship of Nature," and was given in this form in the Boston Hymns for the Church of Christ, 1853, No. 193. The cento "The harp at Nature's advent strung," in the Unitarian Hymn [and Tune] Book, Boston, 1868, No. 195, is from the same poem. The cento No. 321 in the Boston Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, is also (altered) from this poem.
27. The path of life we walk today. The Shadowing Rock. This in the Boston Hys. of the Spirit, 1864, begins with stanza i. of his poem on "The Rock in El Gh'or," which the author dates 1859 (Author's MS.). In full in Complete Poetical Works, p. 180.
28. Thine are all the gifts, 0 God. Children's Missions, or Ragged Schools. Written for the Anniversary of the Children's Mission, Boston, 1878. It is given in Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884.
29. Thou hast fallen in thine armour. Death. From his poem "To the memory of Charles B. Storrs, late President of Western Reserve College," published in his Ballads and other Poems, London, 1844, p. 84. Dated by the author 1835 (Author's MS.). Abridged form in the Hymns of the Spirit, 1864.
30. To-day, beneath Thy chastening eye. Seeking Rest. This begins with stanza iv. of his poem, "The Wish of To-Day," dated by the author 1847 (Author's MS.), and given in full in his Complete Poetical Works, p. 114. The cento is in Martineau's Hymns, 1873, and others.
31. We see not, know not; all our way. Resignation. "Written at the opening of the Civil War, 1861" (Author's MS.), and included in his In War Time, 1863, and his Complete Poetical Works, p. 190. In full in the Prim. Methodist Hymnal, 1887.
32. When on my day of life the night is falling. Old Age. Written in 1882 (Author's MS.), and included in his work The Bay of the Seven Islands, and other Poems, 1883. In Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884.
33. With silence only as their benediction. Death. 1845. "Written on the death of Sophia Sturge, sister of Joseph Sturge, of Birmingham, England" (Author's MS.). It is in several collections, including Martineau's Hymns, &c, 1873; Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1884, and others.
Notwithstanding this extensive use of portions of Mr. Whittier's poems as hymns for congregational use, he modestly says concerning himself: "I am really not a hymn-writer, for the good reason that I know nothing of music. Only a very few of my pieces were written for singing. A good hymn is the best use to which poetry can be devoted, but I do not claim that I have succeeded in composing one." (Author's MS.) We must add, however, that these pieces are characterized by rich poetic beauty, sweet tenderness, and deep sympathy with human kind.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Whittier, J. G, p. 1277, i. In addition to the large number of this author's hymns already annotated from his own manuscript, the following have also come into use, mainly in the form of centos from his poems, during the past ten years:—
i. From Poems, 1850:—
1. O brother man! Fold to thy heart thy brother. [Brotherly Love.] From his poem, “Worship." Written in 1848, and published in Poems, 1850.
ii. From Songs of Labour, and Other Poems, 1850;—
2. Bowed down in lowliness of min. [Resignation.] From the poem “The Wish of To-day."
iii. From The Chapel of the Hermits, and Other Poems, 1853:—
3. O, sometimes glimpses on our sight. [Light in Darkness.] First published in The National Era, 1851, and again as above, 1853. In The Pilgrim Hymnal, N.Y. 1904, it begins " 0 sometimes gleams upon our sight," and in Hymns of the Ages, 1904, "Yet sometimes glimpses on my sight"; see p. 1277, ii. 20.
iv. From The Panorama, and Other Poems, 1856:—
4. Thou, 0 most compassionate. [Divine Compassion.] This cento is from the poem "My Dream," and is dated 1855.
v. From Home Ballads and Poems, 1860:—
5. I mourn no more my vanished years. [Life's Review.] A cento from "My Psalm," dated 1859, opening with st. i.
6. No longer forward nor behind. This begins with st. iii. of "My Psalm."
7. O hearts of love, O souls that turn. [Life from, Christ.] A cento from the poem, "The Overheart."
8. O Love Divine, Whose constant beam. [Divine Love Universal.] From the poem, "The Shadow and the Light." The form in which it is given in The Pilgrim Hymnal, 1904, first appeared in The Independent, Nov. 1860.
9. Once more the liberal year laughs out. [Autumn.] From his "For an Autumn Festival," 1859.
vi. From In War Time, and Other Poems, 1864:—
10. I can only urge the plea. [Cry for Mercy.] A cento from “Andrew Rykman’s Prayer,” dated 1863.
11. What Thou wilt, O Father, give. Also from “Andrew Kykman's Prayer."
vii. From The Tent on the Beach, and Other Poems, 1867:—
12. I bow my forehead to [in] the dust. St. ix., &c.
13. I know not what the future hath. St. xvi., &c.
14. I long for household voices gone. St. xv., &c.
15. I see the wrong that round me lies. St. x., &c.
16. Who fathoms the Eternal Thought. St. iv., &c.
17. Yet, in the maddening maze of things. St. xi., &c.
These centos are taken from the poem, "The Eternal Goodness," which is dated 1865.
viii. From Among the Hills, and Other Poems, 1869:—
18. For ever round the mercy-seat. [God's Love and Man's Unfaithfulness.] From the poem, “The Answer."
ix. From The Pennsylvania Pilgrim, and Other Poems, 1873:—
19. Best for the weary hands is good. [Daily Renewal.] This is from "My Birthday," which appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, 1871, and again as above, 1873.
x. From Hazel Blossoms, 1875:—
20. All things [gifts] are Thine, p. 1277, i. 2. The church for which this was written, in 1873, was Plymouth Church, St. Paul, Minn. The hymn was included in Hazel Blossoms, 1875.
21. We need love's tender lessons taught. [Love.] From Child-Songs," in Hazel Blossoms, opening with st. ix.
xi. From The Bay of the Seven Islands, 1883:—
22. As from the lighted hearths behind me. [Anticipation of the Future.] This begins with st. iii. of the poem, "What the Traveller said at Sunset."
xii. Additional Notes:—
23. Lord, for the things we see. [Public Gatherings.] This hymn is from "Poledom," 1837.
24. Not always as the whirlwind's rush. [Call to the Ministry.] Published in The Poetical Writings, 1857, Vol. i., p. 254, and again in the Oxford edition of his Poetical Works, 1904, p. 455. It is dated 1833.
25. Sound over all waters, [The Coming Kingdom.)
This, in Horder's Worship Song, 1905, is from Whittier's Complete Poetical Works, Boston, 1876, p. 280, where it is dated 1873.
26. Take courage, Temperance workers. [Temperance.] Mr. Pickard, Whittier's literary executor, cannot trace this hymn in any of the author's writings, and we also are at fault.
27. The harp at Nature's advent strung. [Nature's acknowledgement of God.] Dr. Charles L. Noyes, one of the editors of The Pilgrim Hymnal, 1904, writes us concerning this hymn: "It was first published in its present form [as in the American hymn-books] in 1867 in The Tent on the Beach." But a hymn almost identical was written when Whittier was in his teens, and published in the Haverhill Gazette, October 5, 1827. The same poem appeared in The Palladium, 1829. It was revised for The Tent on the Beach, 1867 (p. 1278, i. 26).
28. We see not, know not; all our way, p. 1278, i. 31. This hymn, written in 1861, first appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, 1862, vol. 10, p. 235.
29. Wherever through the ages rise. [Love is universal.] Opens with line 1 of a section in the poem "Miriam," in Miriam, and Other Poems, 1871, p. 13.
30. Who calls Thy glorious service hard? [Duty.] This begins with st. iii. of his poem "Seedtime and Harvest," noted on p. 1277, ii. 9.
31. O Lord and Father of mankind. This is a slightly altered form of "Dear Lord and Father of mankind." p. 1277, i. 4.
The poem, “Our Master," stated on p. 1277, i., No. 8, as having appeared in The Panorama, 1856, in error, was given in The Tent on the Beach, and Other Poems, Boston, 1867, pp. 143-152.
In compiling the foregoing, we have been materially assisted by Mr. Pickard, the poet's literary executor, and the Rev. Dr. Charles L. Noyes, of Somerville, Mass. Whittier died at Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, Sep. 7, 1892.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
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See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
John Greenleaf Whittier
C. H. Spurgeon
1834 - 1892 Person Name: Charles H Spurgeon 1834-92 Author of "Among us our beloved stands" in Praise! psalms hymns and songs for Christian worship Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, the world-famous preacher, was born June 19, 1834, at Kelvedon, in Essex, where his father was Congregational minister. He was educated at Colchester, and at an Agricultural College at Maidstone, after which he was for a few years usher in schools at Newmarket and Cambridge. In 1851 he became minister of a small Baptist church at Waterbeach, near Cambridge, and soon attained great popularity. In 1854 he removed to New Park Street, London, the place where Drs. Gill and Rippon had formerly ministered, and ere long the thronging of people to hear him led, first, to the temporary occupation of Exeter Hall, and of the Surrey Music Hall, and then to the erection of the great Metropolitan Tabernacle, where he still ministers.
Mr. Spurgeon is chiefly known as a preacher and as the author of many vols. of sermons, expositions, and other homiletical literature; but he is also a hymn writer, and the compiler of a well-known hymn book. This book was prepared, in 1866, primarily for the use of the congregation at the Tabernacle. Hence its title Our Own Hymnbook, a collection of Psalms & Hymns for public, social, and private worship. It contains 220 versions of the Psalms, and 910 hymns. Of Mr. Spurgeon's contributions noted below, only one, "Sweetly the holy hymn," can be regarded as possessing any particular merit. The others do not rise above respectable mediocrity. His psalm-versions and hymns, all dated 1866, are:—
1. Amidst us our Beloved stands. Holy Communion.
2. Behold, O Lord, my days are made. Ps. xxxix.
3. Blessed is the man that feareth. Ps. cxii.
4. Here, O ye faithful, see. Holy Baptism.
5. I will exalt Thee, Lord of hosts. Ps. xxx.
6. Jesus, poorest of the poor. Ps. xli.
7. Lord, I would dwell with Thee. Ps. xv.
8. Lord, make my conversation chaste. Ps. lxviii.
9. Lord, Thy church without a pastor. Election of a Minister.
10. Make haste, O Lord, my soul to bless. Ps. lxx.
11. O God, be Thou no longer still. Ps. lxxxiii.
12. O God, Thou hast cast off Thy saints. Ps. lx.
13. Our ears have heard, O glorious God. Ps. xliv.
14. Praise the Lord with exultation, My whole heart, &c. Ps. cxi.
15. Risen Lord, Thou hast received. Election of a Minister.
16. Sweetly the holy hymn. Prayer Meetings.
17. The foes of Zion quake for fright. Ps. liii.
18. The Holy Ghost is here. Prayer.
19. The Kings of earth are in the hands. Ps. lxxxii.
20. Thy strength, 0 Lord, makes glad our King. Ps. xxi.
In addition to these Mr. Spurgeon re-wrote or added to the hymns of others, as "Come ye who bow to sovereign grace"; "Great King of Zion, now"; "O God, before whose radiant throne"; and "Woe's me that I in Mesech am"; and composed two Graces for before, and two for after Meat. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
C. H. Spurgeon
Robert Grant
1779 - 1838 Person Name: Robert Grant, 1770-1838 Author of "The Starry Firmament on High" in The Cyber Hymnal Robert Grant (b. Bengal, India, 1779; d. Dalpoorie, India, 1838) was influenced in writing this text by William Kethe’s paraphrase of Psalm 104 in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (1561). Grant’s text was first published in Edward Bickersteth’s Christian Psalmody (1833) with several unauthorized alterations. In 1835 his original six-stanza text was published in Henry Elliott’s Psalm and Hymns (The original stanza 3 was omitted in Lift Up Your Hearts).
Of Scottish ancestry, Grant was born in India, where his father was a director of the East India Company. He attended Magdalen College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1807. He had a distinguished public career a Governor of Bombay and as a member of the British Parliament, where he sponsored a bill to remove civil restrictions on Jews. Grant was knighted in 1834. His hymn texts were published in the Christian Observer (1806-1815), in Elliot’s Psalms and Hymns (1835), and posthumously by his brother as Sacred Poems (1839).
Bert Polman
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Grant, Sir Robert, second son of Mr. Charles Grant, sometime Member of Parliament for Inverness, and a Director of the East India Company, was born in 1785, and educated at Cambridge, where he graduated in 1806. Called to the English Bar in 1807, he became Member of Parliament for Inverness in 1826; a Privy Councillor in 1831; and Governor of Bombay, 1834. He died at Dapoorie, in Western India, July 9, 1838. As a hymnwriter of great merit he is well and favourably known. His hymns, "O worship the King"; "Saviour, when in dust to Thee"; and "When gathering clouds around I view," are widely used in all English-speaking countries. Some of those which are less known are marked by the same graceful versification and deep and tender feeling. The best of his hymns were contributed to the Christian Observer, 1806-1815, under the signature of "E—y, D. R."; and to Elliott's Psalms & Hymns, Brighton, 1835. In the Psalms & Hymns those which were taken from the Christian Observer were rewritten by the author. The year following his death his brother, Lord Glenelg, gathered 12 of his hymns and poems together, and published them as:— Sacred Poems. By the late Eight Hon. Sir Robert Grant. London, Saunders & Otley, Conduit Street, 1839. It was reprinted in 1844 and in 1868.
This volume is accompanied by a short "Notice," dated "London, Juno 18, 1839."
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Grant, Sir R., p. 450, i. Other hymns are:—
1. From Olivet's sequester'd scats. Palm Sunday.
2. How deep the joy, Almighty Lord. Ps. lxxxiv.
3. Wherefore do the nations wage. Ps. ii.
These are all from his posthumous sacred Poems, 1839.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
Robert Grant
John Newton
1725 - 1807 Author of "As When The Weary Traveler Gains" in The Cyber Hymnal John Newton (b. London, England, 1725; d. London, 1807) was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumultuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton's conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett, (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide-surveyor in Liverpool, England, Newton came under the influence of George Whitefield and John and Charles Wesley and began to study for the ministry. He was ordained in the Church of England and served in Olney (1764-1780) and St. Mary Woolnoth, London (1780-1807). His legacy to the Christian church includes his hymns as well as his collaboration with William Cowper (PHH 434) in publishing Olney Hymns (1779), to which Newton contributed 280 hymns, including “Amazing Grace.”
Bert Polman
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Newton, John, who was born in London, July 24, 1725, and died there Dec. 21, 1807, occupied an unique position among the founders of the Evangelical School, due as much to the romance of his young life and the striking history of his conversion, as to his force of character. His mother, a pious Dissenter, stored his childish mind with Scripture, but died when he was seven years old. At the age of eleven, after two years' schooling, during which he learned the rudiments of Latin, he went to sea with his father. His life at sea teems with wonderful escapes, vivid dreams, and sailor recklessness. He grew into an abandoned and godless sailor. The religious fits of his boyhood changed into settled infidelity, through the study of Shaftesbury and the instruction of one of his comrades. Disappointing repeatedly the plans of his father, he was flogged as a deserter from the navy, and for fifteen months lived, half-starved and ill-treated, in abject degradation under a slave-dealer in Africa. The one restraining influence of his life was his faithful love for his future wife, Mary Catlett, formed when he was seventeen, and she only in her fourteenth year. A chance reading of Thomas à Kempis sowed the seed of his conversion; which quickened under the awful contemplations of a night spent in steering a water-logged vessel in the face of apparent death (1748). He was then twenty-three. The six following years, during which he commanded a slave ship, matured his Christian belief. Nine years more, spent chiefly at Liverpool, in intercourse with Whitefield, Wesley, and Nonconformists, in the study of Hebrew and Greek, in exercises of devotion and occasional preaching among the Dissenters, elapsed before his ordination to the curacy of Olney, Bucks (1764).
The Olney period was the most fruitful of his life. His zeal in pastoral visiting, preaching and prayer-meetings was unwearied. He formed his lifelong friendship with Cowper, and became the spiritual father of Scott the commentator. At Olney his best works—-Omicron's Letters (1774); Olney Hymns (1779); Cardiphonia, written from Olney, though published 1781—were composed. As rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, London, in the centre of the Evangelical movement (1780-1807) his zeal was as ardent as before. In 1805, when no longer able to read his text, his reply when pressed to discontinue preaching, was, "What, shall the old African blasphemer stop while he can speak!" The story of his sins and his conversion, published by himself, and the subject of lifelong allusion, was the base of his influence; but it would have been little but for the vigour of his mind (shown even in Africa by his reading Euclid drawing its figures on the sand), his warm heart, candour, tolerance, and piety. These qualities gained him the friendship of Hannah More, Cecil, Wilberforce, and others; and his renown as a guide in experimental religion made him the centre of a host of inquirers, with whom he maintained patient, loving, and generally judicious correspondence, of which a monument remains in the often beautiful letters of Cardiphonia. As a hymnwriter, Montgomery says that he was distanced by Cowper. But Lord Selborne's contrast of the "manliness" of Newton and the "tenderness" of Cowper is far juster. A comparison of the hymns of both in The Book of Praise will show no great inequality between them. Amid much that is bald, tame, and matter-of-fact, his rich acquaintance with Scripture, knowledge of the heart, directness and force, and a certain sailor imagination, tell strongly. The one splendid hymn of praise, "Glorious things of thee are spoken," in the Olney collection, is his. "One there is above all others" has a depth of realizing love, sustained excellence of expression, and ease of development. "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds" is in Scriptural richness superior, and in structure, cadence, and almost tenderness, equal to Cowper's "Oh! for a closer walk with God." The most characteristic hymns are those which depict in the language of intense humiliation his mourning for the abiding sins of his regenerate life, and the sense of the withdrawal of God's face, coincident with the never-failing conviction of acceptance in The Beloved. The feeling may be seen in the speeches, writings, and diaries of his whole life. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.]
A large number of Newton's hymns have some personal history connected with them, or were associated with circumstances of importance. These are annotated under their respective first lines. Of the rest, the known history of which is confined to the fact that they appeared in the Olney Hymns, 1779, the following are in common use:—
1. Be still, my heart, these anxious cares. Conflict.
2. Begone, unbelief, my Saviour is near. Trust.
3. By the poor widow's oil and meal. Providence.
4. Chief Shepherd of Thy chosen sheep. On behalf of Ministers.
5. Darkness overspreads us here. Hope.
6. Does the Gospel-word proclaim. Rest in Christ.
7. Fix my heart and eyes on Thine. True Happiness.
8. From Egypt lately freed. The Pilgrim's Song.
9. He Who on earth as man was Known. Christ the Rock.
10. How blest are they to whom the Lord. Gospel Privileges.
11. How blest the righteous are. Death of the Righteous.
12. How lost was my [our] condition. Christ the Physician.
13. How tedious and tasteless the hours. Fellowship with Christ.
14. How welcome to the saints [soul] when pressed. Sunday.
15. Hungry, and faint, and poor. Before Sermon.
16. In mercy, not in wrath, rebuke. Pleading for Mercy.
17. In themselves, as weak as worms. Power of Prayer.
18. Incarnate God, the soul that knows. The Believer's Safety.
19. Jesus, Who bought us with His blood. The God of Israel. "Teach us, 0 Lord, aright to plead," is from this hymn.
20. Joy is a [the] fruit that will not grow. Joy.
21. Let hearts and tongues unite. Close of the Year. From this "Now, through another year," is taken.
22. Let us adore the grace that seeks. New Year.
23. Mary to her [the] Saviour's tomb. Easter.
24. Mercy, 0 Thou Son of David. Blind Bartimeus.
25. My harp untun'd and laid aside. Hoping for a Revival. From this "While I to grief my soul gave way" is taken.
26. Nay, I cannot let thee go. Prayer. Sometimes, "Lord, I cannot let Thee go."
27. Now may He Who from the dead. After Sermon.
28. 0 happy they who know the Lord, With whom He deigns to dwell. Gospel Privilege.
29. O Lord, how vile am I. Lent.
30. On man in His own Image made. Adam.
31. 0 speak that gracious word again. Peace through Pardon.
32. Our Lord, Who knows full well. The Importunate Widow. Sometimes altered to "Jesus, Who knows full well," and again, "The Lord, Who truly knows."
33. Physician of my sin-sick soul. Lent.
34. Pleasing spring again is here. Spring.
35. Poor, weak, and worthless, though I am. Jesus the Friend.
36. Prepare a thankful song. Praise to Jesus.
37. Refreshed by the bread and wine. Holy Communion. Sometimes given as "Refreshed by sacred bread and wine."
38. Rejoice, believer, in the Lord. Sometimes “Let us rejoice in Christ the Lord." Perseverance.
39. Salvation, what a glorious plan. Salvation.
40. Saviour, shine and cheer my soul. Trust in Jesus. The cento "Once I thought my mountain strong," is from this hymn.
41. Saviour, visit Thy plantation. Prayer for the Church.
42. See another year [week] is gone. Uncertainty of Life.
43. See the corn again in ear. Harvest.
44. Sinner, art thou still secure? Preparation for the Future.
45. Sinners, hear the [thy] Saviour's call. Invitation.
46. Sovereign grace has power alone. The two Malefactors.
47. Stop, poor sinner, stop and think. Caution and Alarm.
48. Sweeter sounds than music knows. Christmas.
49. Sweet was the time when first I felt. Joy in Believing.
50. Ten thousand talents once I owed. Forgiveness and Peace.
51. The grass and flowers, which clothe the field. Hay-time.
52. The peace which God alone reveals. Close of Service.
53. Thy promise, Lord, and Thy command. Before Sermon.
54. Time, by moments, steals away. The New Year.
55. To Thee our wants are known. Close of Divine Service.
56. We seek a rest beyond the skies. Heaven anticipated.
57. When any turn from Zion's way. Jesus only.
58. When Israel, by divine command. God, the Guide and Sustainer of Life.
59. With Israel's God who can compare? After Sermon.
60. Yes, since God Himself has said it. Confidence.
61. Zion, the city of our God. Journeying Zionward.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Newton, J., p. 803, i. Another hymn in common use from the Olney Hymns, 1779, is "Let me dwell on Golgotha" (Holy Communion).
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
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John Newton was born in London, July 24, 1725. His mother died when he was seven years old. In his eleventh year he accompanied his father, a sea captain, on a voyage. For several years his life was one of dissipation and crime. He was disgraced while in the navy. Afterwards he engaged in the slave trade. Returning to England in 1748, the vessel was nearly wrecked in a storm. This peril forced solemn reflection upon him, and from that time he was a changed man. It was six years, however, before he relinquished the slave trade, which was not then regarded as an unlawful occupation. But in 1754, he gave up sea-faring life, and holding some favourable civil position, began also religious work. In 1764, in his thirty-ninth year, he entered upon a regular ministry as the Curate of Olney. In this position he had intimate intercourse with Cowper, and with him produced the "Olney Hymns." In 1779, Newton became Rector of S. Mary Woolnoth, in London, in which position he became more widely known. It was here he died, Dec. 21, 1807, His published works are quite numerous, consisting of sermons, letters, devotional aids, and hymns. He calls his hymns "The fruit and expression of his own experience."
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872
See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
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John Newton
Albert F. Bayly
1901 - 1984 Author of "Your light, O God, was given to earth" in Hymns and Psalms Albert F. Bayly was born on September 6, 1901, Bexhill on Sea, Sussex, England. He received his education at London University (BA) and Mansfield College, Oxford. Bayly was a Congregationalist (later United Reformed Church) minister from the late 1920s until his death in 1984. His life and ministry spanned the Depression of the 1930s, the Second World War, and the years of reconstruction which followed. After retiring in 1971, he moved to Springfield, Chelmsford, and was active in the local United Reformed Church. He wrote several pageants on mission themes, and librettos for cantatas by W. L. Lloyd Webber. He died on July 26, 1984 in Chichester, Sussex, England.
NN, Hymnary editor. Sources: www.hymntime.com/tch and Church Times, an Anglican newspaper, Tuesday 20 October 2015
Albert F. Bayly
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