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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 


COMMODORE  BYRON  MCCANDLESS 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE 
IMMORTAL 

With  some  account   of  their 

Authorship,    Ori^^in, 

History    and 

Influence 

? 


BY 

WILSON  T.  HOGUE,  Ph.  D. 


•jf    ^    1^    <f 


'^Teaching  and  admonishing  one  another  in  psalms  and 
hymns  and  si^iritual  songs,  singing  with  grace  in  your 
hearts  to  the  Lord.''' — Colossians  3:16. 


SECOND  EDITION 


CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 

S.  K.  J.  CHESBEO,  Agent 

14  North  May  Street 

1907 


Copyright  190« 

by 

Wilson  T.  Eogne 


i-  b    ^   n. 


I'tc7 


DEDICATED 

TO    MY 

WIFE    AND   DAUGHTERS 


PREFACE 

The  preparation  of  Hyjins  that  are  Im- 
mortal was  undertaken  as  a  result  of  studies 
]>ursued  by  the  author  in  the  fulfilment  of 
duties  imposed  upon  him  by  his  appointment 
to  serve  on  a  committee  on  hvmn-book  re- 
vision, and  also  from  a"  conviction  that  tliere 
is  a  field  for  its  circulation  within  which  it 
will  accomplish  mtich  good. 

The  compilation  of  the  hymns  it  contains, 
and  of  the  historical,  biographical,  exj'lana- 
torv  and  illustrative  information  regarding 
them,  should  be  of  interest  to  all  Christians, 
and  of  particular  interest  and  helpfulness  to 
pastors,  evangelists,  lay  preachers,  Sunday- 
school  superiutendents  and  teachers,  and  gos- 
pel workers  in  general.  One  special  aim  in 
the  i)roductlon  of  the  work  has  been  that  of 
making  it  practically  helpful  to  these  classes. 

The  book  has  not  been  written,  however, 
for  the  foregoing  classes  exclusively  or  chief- 
ly. In  its  entire  preparation  the  author  has 
had  an  equal  regard  to  making  it  a  volume 
of   interesting  and    valuable  reading   matter 

vii 


PREFACE 

for  the  Home  Circle,  and  especially  for  Sab- 
bath perusal. 

While  some  thirty  or  forty  volumes  have 
been  consulted  in  the  preparation  of  the 
Avork,  and  due  credit  has  generally  been  given 
for  borrowed  matter  where  it  appears  in 
the  following  pages,  the  author  desires  to 
make  special  acknowledgement  of  aid  re- 
ceived from  the  following  works:  "A  Dic- 
tionary of  Hymnology,"  by  the  Rev,  John 
Julian,  M.  A,,  a  monumental  work  of  more 
than  sixteen  hundred  closely  printed  double- 
column  pages,  with  sketches  of  about  five 
thousand  authors  and  translators  of  hymns, 
whose  productions  number  about  thirty  thou- 
sand; "The  ^lethodist  Hymn  Book  [British], 
Illustrated  with  Biography,  History,  Inci- 
dent and  Anecdote,"  by  George  John  Steven- 
son, M.  A.,  the  world's  leading  authority  on 
Methodist  hymnology;  "English  Hymns, 
Their  Authors  and  History,"  by  the  Rev. 
Samuel  DulTfield,  i»erhaps  the  best  American 
Mork  on  the  subject;  "Annotations  Upon 
Popular  Hymns,"  by  Charles  Seymour  Robin- 
son, D.  I).,  an  illustrated  volume  of  five  hun- 
dred eighty-one  double-column  pages,  closely 
printed,  based  on  the  "New  Laudes  Domini ;" 
"Historical  Sketches  of  Hymns,"  by  Jose])h 
Belcher,  1).  D. ;  "Hymn  Studies,"  by  the  Rev. 

viii 


PREFACE 

Charles  S.  Nutter.  J).  D ;  ''Hymns  Historical- 
ly Famous,"  bv  Colouel  Nicholas  Smith;  "The 
Story  of  the  Hymns."  by  Hezekiah  Butter- 
worth;  "Studies  in  Familiar  Hymns."  by  the 
Rev.  Louis  F,  Benson.  D.I).;  and  "Hymus 
That  Have  Heli)ed,"  by  :Mr.  W.  T.  Stead. 

The  writing-  of  the  book  was  mostly  done 
during'  a  season  of  confinement  from  i)ublic' 
duties  occasioned  by  a  broken  arm.  Under 
these  conditions  the  writer  had  an  excellent 
opportunity  to  test  the  value  of  the  hymns 
appearing  in  this  volume,  and  to  ascertain 
their  hel])fulness  in  seasons  of  disappoint- 
ment and  affliction.  If  their  publication 
shall  in  any  degree  bring  to  others  such  de- 
light and  comfort  as  preparing  them  for  pub- 
lication in  their  i)resent  form  afforded  him, 
God  shall  have  the  i>raise.  w.  t.  h. 


IX 


CONTENTS 


Preface 

PAGB 

vii 

Introductouy        

xiii 

Praise: 

I. 

The  Te  Deum  Laudamus 

3 

II. 

Heber's  Trinity-Sunday  Hymn 

14 

III. 

Coronation:  Thie  English  Te  Deum 

19 

IV. 

Medley's  Hymn  to  Christ  Our  King 

28 

V. 

L3  T~^     ft    W  T^  T^    • 

Bishop  Ken's  Sublime  Doxology 

33 

jtRayer: 
VI. 

Montgomery's  Lyric  on  Prayer 

43 

VII. 

The  Mercy  Seat        -        -  -      - 

47 

VIII. 

Wrestling  Jacob     -        -        -        .        . 

51 

IX. 

John  Keble's  Evening  Hymn 

63 

X. 

A  Woman's  Hymn  on  Twilight   Devo- 

tion       ---.-. 

72 

Consecration: 

XI. 

W^atts's  Hymn  on  the  Crucifixion 

81 

XII. 

Wesley's  Hymn  on  the  Living  Sacrifice 

90 

XIII. 

Ray  Palmer's  Hymn  of  Full  Surrender 

94 

XIV. 

Miss  Havergal's  Consecration  Hymn 

102 

Salvation: 

XV. 

Most  Helpful  Hymn  for  Seekers 

II  r 

XVI. 

Greatest  Hymn  of  the  Cross 

120 

XVII. 

Noblest  Heart-Hymn  Ever  Written 

128 

xvttf; 

Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee 

136 

XIX. 

Great  Hymn  on  Purity  of  Heart 

146 

XX. 

A  Matchless  Hymn  on  Perfect  Love 

150 

XI 


CONTENTS 


Resignation: 

XXI.    The  Cross-Bearer's  Hymn 

Schmolck's  Hymn  of  Rpsignation 
Thy  Will  Be  Done        -        - 


XXII. 
XXIII. 

Guidance: 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

Tkust: 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

Warfare: 
XXX. 
XXXI. 

Missions: 

XXXH. 

XXXIII. 
XXXIV. 


Lead,  Kindly  Light 

Noble  Hymn  by  a  Welsh  Composer 

The  Shepherd  Psalm  in  Meter 

The  Firm  Foundation 

Cowper'sHymn  on  Divine  Providence  2ig 

Gerhardt's  Noble  Hymn  of  Trust  232 


161 

169 
175 

181 
191 
201 

-  211 


Luther's  Battle-Hymn 
Processional  Hvmn 


Prince  of  Missionary  Hymns 
Messiah's  Universal  Reign 
Hail  to  the  Lord's  Anointed 
Our  Country: 

XXXV.     National  Hymn 
XXXVI.    Battle-Hymn  of  the  Republic 
Death: 

XXXVU.    Abide  W^ith  Me        -        -        . 
XXXVIII.     Asleep  in  Jesus 
XXXIX.     Crossing  the  Bar 

Future  Life: 

XL.     Prospect  of  Immortality 
XLL    The  Land  of  Puro  Delight 
XLII.     Forever  With  the  Lord 


-  243 
256 

263 

-  271 
276 

283 
288 

297 

305 

-  308 

320 
324 


Xll 


INTRODUCTORY 

"I  wonder  if  ever  a  soug  was  sung 
But  the  singer's  beart  sang  sweeter ! 
I  wonder  if  ever  a  rhyme  was  rinig 
But  the  thought  surpassed  the  meter !" 

Tlie  hymnody  of  the  Christian  Churcli  is 
deserving  of  mnch  more  attention  than  it 
generally  receives  from  the  Christian  pnblic. 
Its  inllnence  in  the  past  has  been  incalculable, 
iind  it  is  to-day  one  of  the  most  powerful  in- 
strumentalities in  use  for  the  diffusion  of 
Christian  truth  and  for  the  culture  of  the 
si)iritual  life. 

God's  ])eo])le  have  always  been  a  singing 
people,  and  the  singing  of  the  saints  has  ever 
been  a  mighty  inspiration  to  the  Church  in 
the  fierce  conflicts  she  has  encountered  in  at- 
tempting to  propagate  the  gospel  and  evan- 
gelize tiie  world.  Hebrew^  psalmody  was  thor- 
ouglily  interwoven  with  the  wiiole  develoj)- 
ment  of  the  Flebrew  nation,  and  Hebrew 
poetry  and  song  are  the  forms  in  which 
many  of  the  most  valuable  portions  of  the  in- 
si)ired  Scriptures  have  come  down  to  us. 

xiii 


INTRODUCTORY 

The  early  Christians  iu  jiarticiihir  were 
singing  saints.  The  ^hister  Himself  led  them 
in  the  use  of  devotional  song.  Both  Matthew 
and  Mark  have  told  ns  of  how,  after  He  had 
instituted  the  Lord's  Supper,  Jesus  and  His 
chosen  few  "sang  an  hvmn" — prohably  the 
Jewish  Hallel  of  Psalms  113  and  118 — as  a 
fitting  conclusion  to  the  solemn  service,  and 
then  "went  out  into  the  Mount  of  Olives." 

Saint  Paul  also  is  an  authority  in  reference 
to  singing  as  having  formed  an  important  part 
of  early  Christian  worship.  He  both  recognizes 
the  custom  and  emphasizes  its  value  when, 
TO  the  Colossian  Christians,  he  writes:  "Let 
llie  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richh'  in  all 
wisdom;  teaching  and  admonishing  one  an- 
other in  }).salms  and  hymns  and  spiritual 
songs,  singing  Avith  grace  iu  your  hearts  to 
the  liOrd"  (Col.  ;J:1()).  Numerous  rythmical 
passages  in  his  epistles  are  also  fragments  of 
I)rimitive  hymns,  suggesting  both  the  doc- 
trinal and  devotional  value  of  singing  in  llic 
early  Clnirch.  I  lis  marvelous  climax  rolalivc 
to  the  great  "mystery  of  godliness"  (1  Tim. 
o:10),  which  most  beautifully  summarizes 
llio  fundamental  items  in  the  Christology  of 
the  ]>rimilive  Church,   is  a  striking  example. 

"Tertullian    [born  before  A.   i).   100.    died 
after  A.    I).   220]    records  that  at  the   love 

xiv 


INTRODUCTORY 

feasts,  after  water  was  furnished  for  tho 
hands  and  the  lights  lit,  according  as  any 
could  remember  Scripture  or  compose,  *  *  * 
he  was  invited  to  sing  praises  to  (iod  for  the 
general  good;"  and  Pliny's  declaration,  that 
•'the  Christians  are  wont  on  a  fixed  day,  be- 
fore dawn,  to  meet  and  sing  a  hymn  in  al- 
ternate responses  to  Christ  as  God/"  is  gen- 
erally familiar. 

Throughout  all  subsequent  ages  Christian 
hymnody  has  increased  in  volume,  ricliness 
and  effectiveness.  8ome  estimate  of  the  im- 
portant part  it  has  wrought  in  the  making 
of  Christian  historv  may  be  formed  from  con- 
sidering  the  voluminous  amount  of  hymnic 
literature  now  extant.  The  total  number  of 
distinctively  Christian  hymns  in  existence  is 
not  less  than  400,000  and  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead,  in 
his  valuable  little  volume  on  "'Hymns  That 
Have  Helped,"  gives  the  aggregate  number  as 
500,000.  German  composers  have  produced 
nearly  100,000.  English  composers  have  pro- 
duced the  next  largest  number.  Dr.  Watts 
alone  wrote  between  five  and  six  thousand, 
and  Charles  Wesley  upwards  of  six  thousand 
five  hundred.  It  is  estimated  that  the  hymns 
of  Watts,  Wesley,  lirowne,  Doddridge.  New- 
ton, Beddome,  Kelly  and  Montgomery  now  in 
use  number  about  0.500 ;  and  "Mr.  Sedgwick. 

XV 


INTRODUCTORY 

an  Engiisli  wrilor  on  hymns,  published  in 
1801  a  catalojiue  of  (JIS  authors  who  are  rep- 
TestMited  ill  the  various  English  hynm-books." 

There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that 
those  hymns,  and  tunes  as  well,  which  have 
stood  the  tests  of  time  and  criticism,  and 
have  won  their  way  to  general  recognition 
as  classic  productions,  are  best  suited  on  the 
whole  to  ])rodncing  reverence,  devotion,  spir- 
ituality, and  general  soundness  in  the  faith. 
This  being  true,  the  growing  tendency,  aris- 
ing largely  from  the  ])revalence  of  a  wide- 
spread but  shallow  and  sensational  revival- 
ism, to  relegate  these  noble  productions  to 
the  shades  of  forgetfulness.  and  to  substitute 
therefor  a  class  of  undignified  and  shallow 
ditties,  and  too  often  of  wretched  doggerel 
jind  mere  jingling  "rag-time"'  melodies,  is  an 
evil  omen,  and  greatly  to  be  lamented. 

<1iristians  sliould  learn  to  distinguish  be- 
tween good  hymns  and  mere  sentimental 
jingles ;  lu'tween  hymns  that  can  be  sung  by 
(lie  soul,  and  those  which  are  sung  chietly  by 
llic  feet.  According  to  Earl  Nelson,  as 
(]ii(>I(m1  by  Hezekiah  I'utterworth,  the  marks 
of  a  good  hymn  are  llie  following:  "1.  It 
must  I)("  full  of  Scripture.  2.  Full  of  indi- 
\iilual  lii'f  and  reality.  .">.  It  iiiiisl  have  the 
ncceptan<-e  of  the  use  of  the  cliui-ch.     4.     It 

xvi 


INTRODUCTORY 

must  be  pui'e  in  its  English,  its  rhyme  and  its 
rythm."  The  same  eminent  authority  also 
adds :  '*A  hymn  coming  from  a  deep  com- 
munion with  God,  and  from  the  special  ex- 
perience of  the  human  heart,  at  once  fulfils, 
and  only  can  fulfil,  the  tests  I  have  ventured 
to  lav  down.'' 

In  his  ^'Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Ser- 
mons" Dr.  John  A.  Broadus  sets  forth  the 
qualities  of  a  good  hymn  more  at  length,  and 
from  his  presentation  of  the  subject  we  give 
the  following  summary :  '*A  good  hymn  must 
be:  ''(a)  Correct  in  sentiment,  (b)  Devo- 
tional in  spirit,  (c)  Poetical  in  imagery  and 
diction,  (d)  Rythmical;  being  correct  as  to 
meter,  animated  and  varied  in  movement,  and 
yet  not  rugged  or  halting,  but  truly  melo- 
dious, (e)  Symmetrical;  the  verses  exhibit- 
ing a  I'egnilar  progress  in  thought,  and  form- 
ing a  eomjilete  and  harmonious  whole." 

A  collection  of  hymns  conformed  to  the 
foregoing  standards  is  of  immeasurable 
worth  as  an  inspiration  in  public  worship,  an 
aid  to  private  devotion,  and  a  means  of  con- 
serving and  propagating  sound  docti-ine.  The 
hymns  of  such  a  collection  "have  been  culled 
from  the  sacred  poetry  of  all  ages,  and  so  rich 
and  abundant  is  the  material  that  only  the 
best  lyrics  of  the  best  poets  can  find  a  per- 

xvii 


INTRODUCTORY 

numeiit  xjlace  among  them."  Such  hymns 
were  never  written  as  a  pastime,  nor  as  an  ex- 
perimentation in  the  art  of  poesy;  but,  like 
tlie  productions  of  the  Hebrew  Psalter,  they 
have  as  a  rule  been  born  of  experiences  so 
profound,  varied  and  pathetic,  that  the}^  voice 
the  universal  emotions  of  humanity,  thereby 
enshrining  themselves  forever  in  the  favor 
of  mankind. 

As  a  rule  the  standard  hymns  liave  had  an 
origin  and  history  the  knowledge  of  which 
serves  to  exalt  tliem  in  ])ublic  appreciation, 
and  to  increase  their  value  as  aids  to  both 
public  and  private  devotion ;  and  it  is  the  ob- 
ject of  this  volume  to  contribute  in  some  de- 
gree to  a  wider  intelligence  than  now  prevails 
regarding  the  authorship,  origin,  history  and 
influence  of  a  few  of  the  great  hymns  of  the 
church. 

The  hvmns  considered  in  the  following 
pages  are  all  far  above  commoni)lace — hymns 
universally  recognized  as  classics  and  master- 
|)ie(es  of  their  kind.  They  are  productions 
with  whicli  evei-y  one  ^^ho  sjieaks  the  I^nglish 
language  should  be  familiar,  and  which  the 
autiior  urges  young  iieoi)le  especially  to  com- 
mit thoi'o uglily  to  memory.  Thus  treasured 
in  the  mind  tluy  will  not  only  .serve  as  jjower- 
ful  aids  in  the  building  up  of  character,  but, 

xviii 


INTRODUCTORY 

tlu'Oiig^h  the  coming  years,  will  also  afford  de- 
liglilful  coinpaniouships  along-  the  vngged 
liiglnvay  of  life,  and  be  fonnd  invaluable 
sonrees  of  light,  inspiration  and  comfort  in 
times  of  darkness  and  de])ression,  and  amid 
the  gathering  shadows  of  life's  declining 
^ears. 


XIX 


Praise 


THE   TE    DEUM    LAUUAMUS 

What  is  generally  considered  the  sublimest 
and  most  regal  of  all  Christian  hymns  is  one 
that  has  come  down  to  ns  through  thirteen 
centuries  and  more,  bearing  the  title,  Te 
Deum  Laudamns,  from  the  opening  words  of 
the  Latin  text,  Te  Deum  laudamus,  Te  Do- 
niinum  confitemur — ''We  praise  Thee,  O  God. 
we  acknowledge  Thee  to  be  the  Lord."  Its 
mnjestic  and  inspiring  strains  have  for  ages 
been  among  the  most  familiar  rythmical  ex- 
pressions of  devotion  in  every  great  cathedral 
of  the  world,  and  its  lofty  sentiments  of  ador- 
ing reverence  have  evoked  responsive  echoes 
throughout  all  Christendom. 

Tliree  grent  Christian  hymns  have  come 
down  to  us  from  antiquity — the  Trisagion,  or 
Thrice  Holy,  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  and  the 
Te  Deum — "which  belong  peculiarly  and  ex- 
clusively to  no  sect  or  section  of  the  Church, 
but  ecjually  to  tlie  whole  Church.  Neither 
Churchman  nor  Komanist  can  claim  exclu- 
sive proprietorship  in  them ;  but,  like  the  Bi- 


n Y:\rxs  that  are  immortal 

ble  itself,  of  -which  thej'  are  so  evidently  the 
OiTsi)riug,  they  belong  to  all  who  'profess  and 
call  themselves  Christians/  of  every  tongue 
and  clime." 

The  Te  Denm  is  exceedingly  valuable  as  a 
summary  of  orthodox  Christian  beliefs,  as 
well  as  for  its  adajjtation  to  the  loftiest  pur- 
jioses  of  holy  song  among  great  assemblies 
of  worshipers.  Although  partaking  more  the 
<-haracter  of  '*u;easured  i)rose"  than  of  exact 
meter,  it  is  nevertheless  poetic  in  concej)tion 
and  spirit,  and  also  in  its  lofty  reach  and 
measured  and  majestic  sweep.  Rendered  as 
we  once  heard  it  at  one  of  the  Sabbath  ser- 
vices of  a  great  eastern  university  there  is 
a  power  in  it  sufficient  to  lift  one  well  nigh 
to  the  third  heaven.  The  following  is  the 
English  text: 

We    i)r;iiso    Thoe,    O    Cod:    we    ackiiowlod^je    Thee 

to  I;e  the  Lord. 
All  the  earth  dotli  worship  Thee,  the  Father  ever- 

histin;:^. 
To  Thee  all  aiif^'cls  cry  aloud:   the  heavens  and  all 

the  powers  therein. 
To    Thee    the    (■herul)im    and    s(M-aphiin    continually 

do  cry. 
Holy,  holy,  holy.   T.ord  (Ux\  of  Sidiaoth  ; 
Heaven   and  earth   are  full  of  the  majesty  of  Thy 

fr'lory. 
The  glorious  company  of  tlie  .Vpostlc^;  jiraisc  Thee. 


THE  TE  DEUM  LAUDAMUS 

The  goodly  fellowship  of  the  Prophets  praise  Thee, 

The  noble  army  of  the  Martyrs  praise  Thee. 

The  holy  Church  throuf?hont  the  whole  world  doth 

acknowledge  Thee ; 
The  Father  of  an  Infinite  Majesty ; 
Thine  adorable,  true,  and  only  Son ; 
Also  the  Holy  Chost  the  Conjforter. 
Thou  art  the  King  of  glory,  O  Christ. 
Thou  art  the  everlasting  Son  of  the  Father. 
When    Thou    tookest    upon    Thee    to    deliver    man, 

Thou  didst   humble  Thyself    to    be    born  of   a 

virgin. 
When  Thou  hadst  overcome  the  sharpness  of  death. 

Thou  didst  open  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  all 

believers. 
Thou  sittest  at  tlie  right  hand  of  God,  in  the  glory 

of  the  Father. 
We  believe  that  Thou  shal't  come  to  be  our  Judge. 
We  therefore  pray  Thee,  help  Thy  servants   whom 

Thou   hast   redeemed  with   Thy  precious   Itlood. 
Make    them    to    be    numbered    with    Thy    saints    in 

glory  everlasting. 
O  Lord,  save  Thy  people,  and  bless  Thine  heritage. 
Govern  them,  and  lift  them  up  for  ever. 
Day  by  day  we  magnify  Thee ; 
And    we    worship    Thy    name    ever,    world    without 

end. 
Vouchsafe,  O  Lord,  to  keep  us  thj.s  day  without  sin. 
O  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us.  have  mercy  upon  us. 
O  Lord,  let  Thy  mercy    lighten  upon    us,    as    our 

trust  is  in  Thee. 
O   Tx)rd,   in  Thee  have  I   trusted,   let  me  never  he 

confounded. 

Dt.  Diilif*  ^chair  has  characterized  this  as 

5 


HYMNS  THAT  AK1-:  IMMORTAL 

a  ••iiia^uiliceiit  aiitlieni,  *  *  *  which  is 
worthy  of  a  place  amoug  David's  Psalms  of 
thaiiksjiivino/' 

:Mrs.  KiiiKlle  Charles,  author  of  -The 
Chronicles  of  the  Schouberg  Cotta  FaiiiilY.'' 
says:  "It  is  at  ouce  a  hymn,  a  creed  and  a 
jirayer.  It  is  a  creed  taking  wing  and  soar- 
ing heavenward;  it  is  Faith  seized  with  a 
sudden  joy  as  she  counts  her  treasures,  and 
laying  them  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  in  a  song; 
it  is  the  incense  of  prayer  rising  so  near  the 
rainbow  round  aliout  the  throne  as  to  catch 
its  light  and  become  radiant  as  well  as  fra- 
grant—a (hmd  of  incense  illumined  into  a 
cloud    of  glory.'' 

Colonel  Nicholas  Smith,  in  his  "Hymns 
Historically  Famous."  ju-onounces  it  ''the 
kingliest  of  all  the  songs  which  have  come 
down  to  us  from  antiiiuity.''  and  further 
says,  "In  universality  of  use  no  ascrijttion 
of  i»raise  in  modern  times  (•omi)ares  with  it. 
except   I'ishop  Ken's  doxology." 

Dr.  \V.  15.  Huntington,  of  New  Voi-k,  is 
ouoted  as  saying:  "Other  hymns  may  sur- 
j)ass  the  T<*  Dcniii  in  exhibition  of  this  or 
that  state  of  feeling.  l)nt  there  is  none  other 
iliat  condtines.  as  this  cond)ines.  all  tlie  ele- 
ments that  enter  into  a  Clii-istian's  concep- 
tion of  i-e]igif»n.    Tlic  Te   Do  ni  i-  an   orclics- 


THE  TE  DEtTM  LAUDAMUS 

tra  in  which  no  single  instrument  is  lacking; 
first  or  last,  every  chord  is  struck,  every  note 
sounded.  The  soul  listens  and  is  satisfied; 
not  one  of  her  large  demands  has  been  dis- 
honored.'' 

The  authorship  of  this  ancient  production 
is  involved  in  obscurity.  Tt  has  been  popu- 
larlv  but  uncriticallv  ascribed  to  St.  Am- 
brose.  or.  more  accurately  sjieaking,  to 
Saints  Ambrose  and  Augiistine  conjointly. 
A  i)icturesque  and  popular  tradition  relates 
how  Ambrose,  as  he  led  Augustine  up  from 
his  ba|)tism,  under  a  sudden  inspiration  from 
above  broke  out  in  singing, 

"We   praise   Thee,    O    God :    we    acknowledge   Tbee 
to  be  the  Lord;" 

whereu]>on  Augustine,  under  the  power  of  a 
like  inspiration  responded. 

"All  tile  eiirtli  doth  worship  Thee,  the  Father  ever- 
lasting :" 

and  that  the  whole  hymn  was  produced  in 
til  is  manner,  Ambrose,  and  Augustine  each 
responsively  producing  and  singing  verse 
after  verse. 

This  account  must  be  regarded  as  chiefly 
symbolical  and  legendary,  however,  inasmuch 
as  no  mention  is  made  of  either  the  circum- 
stance or  the  hvmn  in  the  works  of  the  distin- 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

giiished  fathers  to  whoso  joint  authorship  it  is 
ascribed.  Nor  has  the  most  thorough  research 
found  any  mention  of  the  hymn  as  employed 
in  public  worship  before  the  beginning  of  the 
sixth  century,  when  St.  Caesarius  Aries  or- 
dered it  :o  be  sung  in  the  Sunday  morning 
services.  Tt  is  generally  believed  among 
scholars  to  have  originated,  like  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  in  a  growth  covering  a  consider- 
able ]»eriod  of  time.  Dr.  Schatf  informs 
us  that  several  lines  of  the  hymn,  as 
it  tinally  ai»i)eared  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sixth  century,  "can  be  traced  to  an  older 
Greek  original.''  and  the  SchatT-Herzog  En- 
cyclopedia of  Religious  Knowledge  regards  it 
as  "a  translation,  in  part,  probably  by  Am- 
brose, of  an  older  Greek  hymn."  From  its 
])0])ular  ascri}»tion  to  St.  Ambrose  it  is  known 
as  ''the  Andn-osian  hymn." 

The  Te  Deum  has  been  associated  with  a 
greater  variety  of  celebrated  events  in  history 
than  any  other  liymn  of  the  (Minicli.  It  is 
commonly  sung  on  all  great  occasions  of  de- 
liverance and  triumph,  and  a1  Ihc  coronation 
of  kings  and  (pieens.  "Its  strains  have 
leaj>ed  the  barriers  of  thirteen  centuries,  hav- 
ing been  chanted  at  the  baptism  of  (Movis, 
at  Pai'is,  in  VM'k  sung  at  the  coronation  of 
Nicholas  II..  of  Russia.  180i,  and  in  1807  it 

8 


THE  TE  DEUM  LAUDAMUS 

was  the  song  of  rejoicing  at  the  Diamond 
Jubilee  ot  Queen  Victoria."  It  is  said  to 
have  been  sung-  In-  order  of  Frederick  the 
Great  to  commemorate  the  battle  of  Prague 
in  1774,  to  the  setting  by  Graun,  generally 
regarded  as  the  most  famous  musical  render- 
ing of  the  hymn  on  the  (,'ontineut.  It  was 
also  sung  to  celebrate  the  recovery  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  in  1872,  and  as  a  hymn  of 
thanksgiving  for  the  safety  of  Napoleon  III., 
in  1854.  Naturally  enough  iu  view  of  its 
celebrity,  it  is  ''a  theme  upon  which  the  most 
celebrated  composers  have  exercised  their 
musical  genius." 

This  hymn  was  largely  instrumental  in  the 
conversion  of  Thomas  Olivers,  a  very  wicked 
and  profligate  youth,  who  finally  became  a 
Wesleyan  i)reacher  of  great  power,  and  who 
wTote  the  hymn  beginning, — 

"The  Ood  of  Abrah'm  praise, 
Who  reigns  enthroned  above," 

which  has  won  highest  praise  from  poets  and 
scholars  generally.  Olivers  became  one  of 
Wesley's  most  valued  i>reachers,  and  was  con- 
sidered by  Wesley  as  fully  a  match  for  To])- 
lady  in  the  doctrinal  discussions  incident  to 
the  great  Calvinistic  controversy  of  the  time. 
After    thirty-six    vears    of   faithful    and    etti- 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

cient  work  lie  passed  peacefully  to  his  reward 
in  1709. 

The  followinj?  narrative,  calling  to  mind  a 
bit  of  thrilling-  and  comparatively  recent  his- 
torv  with  which  tlu;  Te  Deum  was  and  ever 
will  be  associated,  is  quoted  from  Colonel 
Smith's  ''Tlvmns  Historicallv  Famous:" 

"The  universality  of  the  Te  Deum  is  illus- 
trated in  this  incident:  On  the  first  Sunday 
in  Scj»tcnd)er,  IDOO,  a  solemn  high  mass  was 
celebrated  in  the  Cathedral  of  Peking.  It 
was  a  thanksgiving  service  in  which  the  ])eo- 
ple  joined  in  ex])ressing  gratitude  that  the 
armies  of  the  allied  powers  had  so  promptly 
and  successfully  marched  to  the  city  at  the 
trumpet  call  of  humanity. 

"There  were  two  special  features  associ- 
ated with  that  solemn,  yet  inspiring  occa- 
sion. On  the  facade  and  sjiires  of  the  Cathe- 
dral, that  had  suffered  much  from  the  shot 
and  shell  of  the  Boxers,  waved  in  triumph  the 
flags  of  America,  Austria,  Belgium,  France, 
Croat  Britain,  Italy,  Japan  and  Russia. 
.\mong  tli(»  worshipei's  on  tliat  day  were  min- 
isters rei)resenting  many  governments,  and 
missionaries  of  all  creeds.  The  climax  of  in- 
terest was  reached  when  the  organ  an<l  choir 
bioke  fortli  into  Dial  universal  asci'i])ti<)n  of 
praise — tiie  Te  heuui   Laudamus.     It  seemed 

10 


4J 


o(J 


KEGINALD  IIEBER. 


HEBER'S  TRiyiTY-SrXDAY  HYMN 

He  traveled  two  rears  after  leaving  the  uni- 
versity, and  then,  after  his  ordination  in 
1807,  became  rector  at  Hodnet.  the  family  liv- 
ing of  that  parish  having-  been  given  him 
by  his  brother.  For  sixteen  vears  he  labored 
faithfully  among  the  peojile  of  Hodnet.  to 
whom  he  became  greatly  endeared.  He  was 
appointed  iMiSvSionary  Bishoj)  to  Calcutta  in 
1823,  after  having  on  two  former  occasions 
declined  the  appointment  on  account  of  his 
wife  and  child.  His  deep  interest  in  mis- 
sions, however,  and  particularly  his  fondness 
for  India,  finally  UmI  him  to  accept  the  ajt- 
])ointment;  and,  on  June  KJth.  1823,  he 
turned  from  Iiis  delightful  home  at  Hodnet 
toward  his  new  field  on  "India's  coral 
strand,"  never  again  to  revisit  the  scenes  from 
which  he  so  reluctantly  and  yet  courageously 
turned  away. 

liisho])  Helper  entered  ujion  The  w(U-k  of  his 
vast  field,  which  included  all  India,  Ceylon, 
the  Mauritius,  and  Australasia,  with  great 
zeal  and  courage;  and  his  admirable  S])ii-it. 
great  abilities  and  energetic  devotion  to  the 
welfare  of  India's  millions  left  a  deep  and 
imperishable  imjiression  for  good  u])on  his 
extensive  diocese.  But  the  good  man's  admin- 
istration was  destined  to  be  brief.  Ketui-n- 
ing  from  a  service  at  Trichiuopoly.  April  3rd, 

15 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

182(5,  whore  he  had  confirmed  a  large  class  of 
natives,  he  retired  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
a  cold  bath,  and  half  an  hour  later  was  found 
dead  in  his  room  bv  his  servant,  a  stroke  of 
apo])lexy  having  taken  him  off  instantly. 

Bishop  Hel)er  wrote  fifty-seven  hymns  of 
rare  merit,  all  of  which  are  supposed  to  have 
been  written  during  his  ministry  at  Hodnet, 
and  all  of  which  are  said  to  be  in  common 
use.  He  will  always  be  particularly  and  de- 
lightfully remembered  in  connection  with  and 
as  the  author  of  that  stirring  missionary 
hymn. 

"From  (ireenlaud's  icy  mountain,'" 

considered  elsewhere  in  this  volume,  and 
which  alone  would  have  been  sufficient  to  im- 
mortalize his  name.  But  the  sublimest  and 
divinest  of  all  his  sacred  lyrics  is  Ti'inity- 
Sunday  Hymn,'  of  which  the  following  is?  the 
original  form : 

Holy,  holy,  holy,  JjOnl  God  Almighty ! 

Kariy  in  the  morning  our  song  shall  rise  to  Thee; 

Holy,   holy,  holy,  merciful'  and  miglityl 

(Jod  in  Three  Persons,  hlessed  Trinity ! 

Holy,   holy,  holy !  all  the  saints  adore  Thee, 
Casting  down  their  golden  crowns  around  the  glassy 

sea, 
Cherubim  and  Seraphim  falling  down  before  Thee, 
Which  wert,  and  :iit.  and  evermore  shall  be. 

i6 


HEBER'S    TRINITY-SUNDAY   HYMN 

Holy,   holy,   holy !   though  the  darkness   hide  Thee, 
Though  the  eye  of  sinful  man  Thy  glory  may  not 

see, 
Only  Thou   art  holy,   there  is  none   beside  Thee, 
Perfect  in  [lower,  in   love,  in  purity. 

Holy,  holy,   holy,  Lord  God  Almighty! 

All  Thy  works  shall  praise  Thy  name  in  earth  and 

sky  and  sea ; 
Holy,  holy,   holy,   merf'iful   and  mighty! 
God  in  Three  Persons,  blessed  Trinity. 

Tune — "Nicea." 

^'This  grand  hvmn  has  been  sung  into 
great  popularity/'  says  Mr.  G.  J.  Stevenson, 
''among  Clnirchnien  whose  mnsic  is  in  keep- 
ing witli  their  ritnal ;  but  the  spiritless  level 
of  their  monotonous  chant  has  been  utterly 
unsuited  to  the  words  themselves.  Sung  on 
Sabbath  morning  as  an  anthem,  as  it  now 
is  every  Sunday  in  some  Methodist  churches, 
to  the  tune  'Trinity,'  by  A.  Stone,  it  goes 
with  exhilarating  force.  The  words  and  mu- 
sic harmonizing,  raise  the  singer  to  the  high- 
est point  of  hallowed  praise.  It  thus  becomes 
a  kindling  and  exultant  melody." 

While  "Trinity"  may  be  the  tune  most  ac- 
ceptable to  English  Methodists,  ''Nicea,"  in 
the  composition  of  which  for  this  particular 
hvmn  in  adoration  of  the  Holv  Trinity  no 
less  a  master  than  Dykes  "reached  the  zenith 

17 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

of  his  musical  f^eniiis,"  is  generallv  regarded 
as  better  suited  to  the  character  of  the  hymu 
than  any  other  ever  written.  The  tune  was 
hai)|)ily  nam^d  from  Nice,  in  Asia  Minor, 
where,  in  A.  D.  325.  the  first  Christian  Ecu- 
menical Council  was  held,  which  determined 
that  the  Eternal  Sonshij)  of  Christ  and  his 
equality  with  the  Father  should  constitute  a 
part  of  the  creed  of  the  Church.  The  great 
popularity  of  the  hymn  is  chiefly  due  to  its 
association  with  this  majestic  tune,  to  which 
it  is  usually  sung  throughout  the  English- 
speaking  world. 

''Holy,  holy,  holy,"  was  first  published 
among  Bishop  Heber's  posthumous  hymns, 
in  1S27.  according  to  Julian's  "Dictionary  of 
Hymnology."  Tt  was  soon  adopted  by  hymji- 
book  comi>ilers  generally,  and  at  length  be- 
came the  best  known  and  most  widely  used  of 
all  the  author's  hvmns.  Tt  is  a  magnificent 
metrical  paraphrase  of  Revelation  4  :  8-11 : 
''And  thev  rest  not  dav  and  niuht  savins. 
Holy,  lioly.  holy.  Lord  Cod  Almighty,  which 
was,  and  is.  and  is  to  come,"  etc.  Nor  could 
the  spirit  of  I  he  whole  chapter  be  better  ex- 
pressed in  metrical  form  than  Heber  has  ex- 
j)ressed  it  in  this  incomparable  anthem. 


i8 


ni 

CORONATION:  THE  ENGLISH  TE  DEUM- 

No  loftier  hymn  of  praise  to  Jesus  Christ 
has  ever  been  written  in  any  language  than 
Perronet's 

"All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name." 

"If  the  Te  Deuni  be  the  Hymn  of  Praise  set 
apart  by  the  Universal  Church  as  the  su- 
preme expression  of  gratitude  and  adora- 
tion," savs  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead,  ''the  hymn  which 
serves  the  same  purpose  in  English  congre- 
gations is  'All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus'  name.' 
It  is  one  of  the  ten  hymns  most  used  in  English- 
speaking  lands."-  It  was  written  in  1779,  and 
was.  first  published  anonymously  in  the  Gos- 
pel Magazine  the  following  year.  In  17S5 
it  appeared  in  a  collection  of  "Occasional 
A^erses,  Moral  and  Sacred,"  which,  though 
anonymous,  was  generally  known  to  be  Mr. 
Perronet's  production.  It  is  the  only  hymn  of 
the  author  which  has  found  its  way  into 
standard  hymnals,  "but  one  needs  to  write 

19 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

onlv  one  such  hymn  to  gain  an  enviable  im- 
mortality in  the  Christian  Church." 

Edward  Perronet,  son  of  the  Rev.  Vincent 
Perronet,  "an  excellent  English  clergyman  of 
the  old  school,  who  was  vicar  at  Shoreham 
for  fifty  years,"  and  at  one  time  a  confiden- 
tial friend   of  John  Wesley,  was  a   man  of 
very  unassuming  character.  His  life  was  one 
of  trying  and  changeful  vicissitudes,  amidst 
which  he  was  ever  sustained  by  a  strong  and 
unwavering  faith.     Though  a  member  of  the 
English    Church    he    was    for    some    time    a 
IMethodist    itinerant    preacher    under    John 
Wesley,   with  whom  he  endured  many  hard- 
ships, as,   for  instance,   when   at   Bolton   he 
"was  thrown   down  and  rolled   in   mud  and 
mire,"    while    at    the    chapel    "stones    were 
hurled   and   windows  broken."     He  was  one 
of  the  preachers  appointed  under  the  patron- 
age of  the  Countess  of  Huntington,  in  which 
position    his   ardent   zeal,    coupled    with    his 
deep  humility  and  his  broad  and  tender  sym- 
pathy, made  him  a  shining  success. 

At  heart,  however.  :\li'.  Perronet  was  de- 
cidedly hostile  to  the  union  of  Church  and 
State,  and  this  hostility  finally  found  out- 
ward oxftression  in  the  i)r()(luction  of  an  a- 
nonymous  poem  entitled,  "The  Mitre,"  which 
was  devoted  to  keenly  satirizing  the  Estab- 

20 


CORONATION 

lished  Church,  This  brought  upon  him  the 
strong  disapprobation  of  the  Countess,  and 
finally  occasioned  his  withdrawal  from  the 
position  held  under  her  patronage.  Later 
he  became  pastor  of  a  small  congregation  of 
Dissenters,  to  whom  he  ministered  accept- 
ably until  summoned  from  earthly  labor  to 
his  heavenly  reward,  in  January,  1792. 

The  death  of  Perronet  is  described  as  a 
most  triumphant  one.  His  last  utterances, 
well  worthy  the  author  of  that  nmtchless 
hymn  which  has  been  an  inspiration  to  so 
many  millions,  added  much  to  the  sublimity 
and  impressiveness  of  the  occasion : 

•'GFory  to  God  in   the  height  of  His  divinity! 
Glory  to  God  in  the  depth  of  Ills  humanity! 
CUory  to  CJod  in  His  iill-sufficienoy ! 
Into  His  hands  I  commend  my  spirit!" 

In  its  original  form  '^ill  hail  the  power  of 
Jesus'  name"  contained  eight  stanzas.  It 
has  undergone  so  many  changes  that  we  re- 
produce it  here  as  originally  written: 

All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name ! 

Let  angels  prostrate  fall ; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem. 

To  crown  Him  Lord  of  air! 

Let  high-born  seraphs  tune  the  lyre, 
And,  as  they  tune  it,  fall 

21 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

Keforp  His  face  who  tunes  their  choir, 
And  crown  Ilini  Lord  of  all! 

Trown   Him.   ye   morning  stars  of   light, 

Who   fixed  this  floating  ball : 
Now  hail   the  strength  of  Israel's  might, 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all  1 

Crown  Him,  ye  martyrs  of  your  God, 

Who  from  His  altar  calf: 
F^xlol  the  Stem  of  Jesse's  rod, 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all! 

Ye  seed  of  Israel's  chosen  race. 

Ye  ransomed  of  the  fall. 
Hail  Him  who  saves  you  by  His  grace, 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all ! 

Hail  Him.  ye  heirs  of  Jacob's  line. 

Whom   David  Lord  did  call. 
The  God  incarnate,  Man  divine. 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all ! 

Sinners,  whose  love  can  ne'er  forget 

The  wormwood  and  the  gall, 
(io,  spread  your  tropin c^s  at  His  feet. 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all ! 

Let  every  tribe  and  every  tongue 

That  bound  creation's  call. 
Now  shout  in  universal  song. 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all ! 

Tune — "Coronatton." 

Most  of  the  alterations  found  in  tlio  livmn 
«■  we  n«nv  sing  it  are  improvements.    Some 

22 


CORONATION 

of  them,  however,  have  been  the"  subjects  of 
v.iifavoralde  criticism,  but,  owing  to  their  hav- 
inii;  been  so  lonjj  acce)ttecl.  it  seems  lilcely  that 
the  hymn  in  its  jiresent  form  will  remain  un- 
changed. 

The  last  stanza  of  the  hymn  as  it  now  ap- 
pears in  all  the  hymnals  was  not  written  by 
Mr.  Perronet,  but  by  some  unknown  hand. 
Colonel  Nicholas  Smith  in  ^'Hymns  Histori- 
cally Famous-'  says,  u))on  Avhat  authority  we 
do  not  knoAv,  that  it  was  ''written  by  Dr. 
Kipjjon.  of  London,  in  1787.''  For  more  than 
a  century  it  has  constituted  a  part  of  the 
hymn,  and  so  fitting  a  climax  does  it  form 
that  it  ay)})ears  to  have  been  inspired  for  the 
I)urpose. 

An  incident  in  the  exj)erience  of  Rev.  E. 
P.  Scolt,  a  missionary  in  India,  as  related  by 
Ml'.  ^^Mlliam  Reynolds,  a  gentleman  of  wide 
rejtutation  in  Sunday-school  circles,  illus- 
trates the  power  of  this  hymn  and  tune  over 
the  worst  and  most  dangerous  of  heathen 
tribes.  He  had  gone,  against  the  I'emon- 
Htrances  of  his  friends,  to  take  the  gospel  to 
one  of  the  island  tribes  noted  for  their  savage 
and  murderous  proclivities.  No  sooner  had 
he  arrived  than  he  was  met  by  a  dozen 
l»ointed  spears,  and  instant  death  appeared 
inevitable.     While  they  paused  a  moment  he 

23 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

drew  out  his  violin,  with  which  he  always 
accompanied  his  sacred  songs,  and,  closing 
his  eves,  began  to  play  Coronation  and  sing 
a  translation  of  this  hymn  which  those  about 
him  could  all  understand.  "When  he  had 
finished  he  opened  his  eyes  to  witness,  as  he 
thought,  his  own  death  at  the  point  of  their 
spears;  but  to  his  joy  he  found  that  the 
spears  had  fallen  and  his  murderers  were  all 
in  tears.  This  song  had  saved  him  from 
death,  and  opened  an  effectual  door  for  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the  tribe."  It  is 
said  that  he  remained  with  them  nmny  years, 
doing  a  great  work  for  them  and  surrounding 
tribes,  and  finally  died  among  them,  beloved 
and  venerated  by  all. 

During  the  year  18G0  one  of  the  greatest 
revivals  of  the  last  century  occurred  in  Ire- 
land. Mr.  White,  a  general  missionary, 
whose  position  and  observation  enabled  him 
to  write  intelligently  regarding  the  great 
work,  in  a  rej;ort  of  the  same  originally  j)ub- 
lislied  in  the  Amcricon  and  Forcif/n  Christian 
Union  Maqazinc,  of  Dublin,  in  1S(>0,  and  re- 
published the  same  year  in  the  Earnest 
Cftn.s^/a/i.  of  P.ufTalo,  New  York,  gave  the  fol- 
lowing description  of  the  services  of  one  par- 
ticularly memorable  Sabbath: 

"At  our  morning  service,  at  ten  o'clock,  we 

24 


CORONATION 

liad  a  down-pour  of  heavenly  blessings.  The 
congregation  was  very  large,  almost  entirely 
composed  of  those  who  were  happy  in  God. 
How  easy  it  was  to  preach  to  them  I  How 
good  was  it  to  be  there!  At  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  we  had  an  open-air  service  in 
the  field,  where  the  former  meeting  was  held. 
Between  four  and  fi\e  thousand  were  there. 
Brother  Wilson  opened  the  meeting  with 
praise  and  prayer.  Mr.  Johnson,  Wesleyan 
minister,  read  the  scriptures  and  prayed. 
Then  Mr.  AA'ilev,  from  Belfast,  a  Presbv- 
terian,  addressed  the  meeting  with  great 
power.  After  this  I  preached  a  short  sermon 
on  the  sufferings  of  Christ  for  sinners  and 
the  service  was  concluded  with  a  short 
prayer-meeting.  It  was  a  very  solemn  time. 
Many  wejit  silently;  others  groaned  in  dis- 
tress, one  was  stricken,  and  all  seemed  con- 
scious that  God  was  there. 

''It  was  a  beautiful,  calm  summer  evening. 
It  seemed  as  if  God  had  hushed  the  winds, 
arrested  the  rain  and  curtained  the  sun  with 
clouds,  so  that  we  worshiped  with  great  com- 
fort. It  was  announced  that  our  chapel,  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  the  Wesleyan 
chai)el,  were  to  be  opened  for  prayer-meet- 
ings, when  the  people  retired  from  the  field. 
As  they  moved  down  the  slope  of  the  beauti- 

25 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

ful  hill  leading  to  the  town,  a   few  friends 
commenced  singing — 

'All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name! 

Let  angels  prostrate  fall ; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem 

And  crown  Ilim  Lord  of  all.' 

"The  mntitnde  joined  with  much  earnest- 
ness in  singing  this  beautiful  hymn ;  and  sel- 
dom did  sitch  music  float  on  the  evening  air. 
T  have  read  of  the  glorious  march  of  the 
armies  after  a  victorv,  as  thev  entered  the 
capitol  of  their  country  with  martial  music, 
amidst  the  plaudits  of  the  populace,  and  felt 
the  blood  course  more  quickly  through  my 
veins  as  I  read  of  the  glorious  spectacle:  but 
what  is  such  a  pageant  when  compared  with 
such  a  spectacle  as  this — four  thousand  men 
and  women,  from  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, of  different  denominations,  many  of 
whom  had  never  seen  each  other  before,  and 
all  singing — 

'Crown   Ilini   Lord  of  all  I' 

''It  was  doubtless  music  that  angels  bent 
down  from  their  seats  of  glory  to  listen  to." 

It  was  estimated  that  not  less  than  80,000 
souls  had  been  converted  to  God  up  to  the 
time  when  Mr.  White's  report  was  written. 

26 


CORONATION 

and  still  the  good  work  was  moving  on  with 
unabated  interest. 

A  pious  man  lay  djing.  Just  before  the 
end  came  he  turned  to  his  daughter,  bent 
lovingly  over  his  bed,  and  said :  "Bring — '" 
but  could  go  no  further,  for  the  power  of 
utterance  failed  him.  The  grief-stricken 
daughter  looked  with  earnest  gaze  into  his 
face  and  said :  "What  shall  I  bring,  my  fa- 
ther?" "Bring — ,"  he  gasped,  and  again  his 
voice  failed  him.  His  child  was  now  in  an 
agonv  of  desire  to  know  her  dving  father's 
last  request,  and  she  said :  "Dear,  precious 
father,  do  try  to  tell  me  what  you  want.  T 
will  do  anvthing  vou  wish  me  to  do."  The 
dying  man  then  rallied  all  his  strength  and 
murmured : 

"Briug — forth — the  royal — diadem, 
Aud  crown  Him  Lord  of  .ili:" 

And  with  these  words  he  sank  to  rest  and 
spoke  no  more. 


27 


IV 


medley's    hymn    to    CHRIST    OUK    KING 


One  of  the  sublimest  of  all  hymns  in  cele- 
bration of  the  Kingship  of  Jesus  Christ — a 
lyric  worthy  to  be  coui)le(l  with  Perronet's 
"All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name" — is  ^^am- 
uel  Medley's 

"O  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth, 
O  could  I  sound  the  glories  forth, 
Which  in  my   Savior  shine!" 

It  first  ai>peare(l  in  the  Author's  "Hymns/' 
in  17S0.  with  eight  six-line  stanzas.  The 
original  was  entitled,  "('hrist  Our  King." 
The  four  stanzas  of  which  it  is  comi)Osed  as 
found  in  most  niodern  hymnals  are  the  sec- 
ond, fifth,  sixth  and  eighth  stanzas  of  the 
original. 

The  hymn  was  fully  reprinted  in  the  Lyra 
liritanniva,  beginning  with  the  line, 


"Not    of    terrestrial    mortal    themes." 

It  never  became  popular  until  Dr.  Lowell 

28 


HYMN  TO  CHRIST  OUR  KING 

Mason,  in  1836,  wedded  it  to  Mozart's  "Ariel," 
so  altered  as  to  adapt  it  to  the  purpose. 
Then,  **like  Aaron's  rod  that  budded,  the 
splendid  old  song  took  new  life,  and  is  now 
laid  up  in  the  ark  of  our  Christian  hym- 
nodj'."  The  text  of  the  hymn,  as  now  gener- 
ally published,  is  as  follows: 

Oh  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth, 
Oh  could  I  sound  the  glories  forth, 

Which  in  my  Savior  shine ! 
I'd  soar  and  touch  the  heavenly  strings, 
And  vie  with  Gabriel  while  he  sings 

In  notes  almost  divine. 

I'd  sing  the  precious  blood  he  spilt, 
My  ransom  from  the  dreadful  guilt 

Of  sin  and   wrath  divine: 
I'd   sing   his   glorious   righteousness, 
In  which  all-perfect,  heavenly  dress 

My  soul  shall  ever  shine. 

I'd  sing  the  characters  he  bears. 
And  all  the  forms  of  love  he  wears, 

Exalted  on  His   throne: 
In  loftiest  songs  of  sweetest  praise, 
I    would   through  everlasting   days 

Make  all  His  glories  known. 

Well,  the  delightful  day  will  come, 

When  my  dear  Lord   will   bring  me  home, 

And  I  shair  see  His  face: 
Then  with  my  Savior,  Brother,  Friend. 

29 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

A  blest  eternity   I'll   spend, 
Triumphant   in   His  grace. 

Tune— "Ariel." 

The  bvmn  is  one  of  lofty  sweep  and  senti- 
ment, every  way  suited  to  the  exalted  theme 
of  which  it  treats,  and  admirably  adapted  foy 
use  in  public  worship.  Well  rendered  it  is 
jiowerful  in  its  effect  upon  the  worshipers,  and, 
judging  from  the  writer's  own  experience,  is 
equally  helpful  as  an  inspiration  for  preach- 
in  j:. 

Samuel  Medley,  the  author  of  the  hymn, 
was  born  in  Hertfordshire,  England,  in  1738. 
He  was  reared  in  a  godly  home,  and  by  de- 
voted (Christian  parents.  Notwithstanding 
this,  he  became  a  reckless  and  wicked  youth, 
joined  the  navy,  and,  in  his  soldier  life,  went 
farther  and  farther  away  from  God.  He  be- 
came a  midsbipjiian  and  is  said  to  have 
fought  bravely  under  some  of  old  William 
IMtt's  stout  admirals.  Being  severely  wound- 
ed in  the  service  in  1750,  he  was  allowed  to 
return  home,  where,  through  the  efforts  of 
his  pious  grandfather,  who  read  to  him  Isaac 
Watts's  sermon  on  Isaiah  42  :G.  7.  he  was 
«oundly  converted  to  God. 

Following  his  conversion  Medley  aban- 
doned his  sea-faring  life,  taught  school  for 
a  nural)er  of  years,  and  then,  as  Dr.  Cuyler 

30 


HYMN  TO  THRIST  OFR  KING 

puts  it,  •'entered  the  army  of  Christ's  min- 
isters, serving  in  the  Baptist  'cor])s'  wirli  re- 
markable zeal  and  success." 

For  manv  years  he  served  as  pastor  of  a 
Ba])tist  cliurch  in  Liverpool,  where  he  at- 
tracted large  numbers  of  seamen  to  his 
fhajjel.  AYhile  serving  in  this  ca]»acity  he 
wrote  two  hundred  and  thirty  hymns,  which, 
the  year  after  his  death,  were  published  in  a 
volume  entitled.  "Hymns.  The  Public  Wor- 
ship and  Private  Devotions  of  True  Chris- 
tians Assisted,  in  some  thoughts  in  verse, 
Principally  drawn  from  Select  Passages  in 
the  Word  of  God.  By  Samuel  Medley."  The 
hymn  we  are  considering  quite  a])propriately 
stood  first  in  this  published  collection  of  hii 
sacred  lyrics. 

Although  a  settled  pastor  Medley  went  out 
at  times  on  missionary  tours,  and  preached 
the  gospel,  as  did  the  early  ^Methodists,  in 
whatever  ])laces  were  accessible.  On  one  of 
these  tours  he  Avas  preaching  in  a  barn  from 
the  text,  ''cast  down,  but  not  destroyed." 
During  the  discourse  the  rude  pulpit  on  which 
he  stood  gave  way.  throwing  him  to  the 
floor.  Unhurt  he  lea])ed  to  his  feet  and  hu- 
morously exclaimed:  ''Well,  friends,  you 
see  we  too  are  'cast  down,  but  not  de- 
stroyed.' " 

31 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

"Like  Perronet,  Samuel  Medley  died 
shouting,''  says  Dr.  Cuyler  in  his  "Hymns  of 
Honor  to  Christ."  "On  his  dying  bed  he 
seemed  to  be  watching  the  points  of  a  com- 
pass, and  kept  saying,  'One  point  more;  now- 
only  one  point  more.'  Then  he  shouted, 
'How  sweet  will  be  the  port  after  the  storm! 
Dying  is  sweet  work  !  Home,  home,  hallelujah  ! 
Glory  I  HoDic,  home!-  And  so  the  glorious 
old  mariner  i)assed  in,  with  sails  set,  to  'the 
desired  haven'." 

Then  began  with  Samuel  Medley  the  rea- 
lization of  that  exalted  hope  and  glorious  an- 
ticipation expressed,  when  in  the  last  stanza 
of  the  hymn,  he  wrote : 

"Well,    the   delifiktfnl    day   will    come 
When  luy  dear   Lord  will    bring  nie  home. 

And  I  shall  see  His  face ; 
Tlien    with    my    Savior,    Brother,    Friend, 
A   blest   eternity    I'll   spend. 

Triumphant  in  His  grace." 

Forgiven  much,  he  loved  much,  and  wrote, 
"O  could  1  speak  the  matchless  worth."  as 
an  expression  of  that  love,  and  in  exaltation 
of  the  Cln'ist  who,  from  the  very  depths  of 
sin  and  ruin,  had  redeemed  and  saved  him. 


32 


BISHOP  ken's  sublime  doxology 


Preeininently  above  all  other  metrical  as- 
criptions of  praise  in  its  popularity  and  in 
its  approach  to  universality  is  Bishop  Ken's 
sublime  Doxolog:;\' : 

Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow ; 
Praise   Him,    all   creatiu'es   here   below; 
Praise    Him    above,    ye    heavenly    host ; 
Praise  Father.    Son,   and    Holy   Ghost. 

'J'u.xn: — "Or.n  Hundred." 

Originally  forming  the  closing  stanza  of 
the  author's  Morning  Hymn. 

"Awake,  my  soul,  and  with  the  sun 
Thy   daily   stage  of   duty   run," 

he  derived  so  much  benefit  from  its  use  in 
his  morning  worship  that  he  al.so  added  it  t<t 
his  now  equally  popular  Evening  Hymn. 

"Glory  to  Thee,  my  God.  this  night. 
For  all  the  blessings  of  the  light." 

So  greatly   was   the  good    liishoj)    in    love 

33 


HYMNS  TUAT  AKIO   IMMOliTAL 

with  liis  own  sacred  Ijrics  that  he  believed, 
shoiiJd  he  gain  heaven  and  be  permitted  to 
liear  the  singing  of  his  songs  l)y  the  saints 
on  earth,  it  would  add  ninth  to  his  enjoyment 
m  that  celestial  world.  The  thought  was 
thns  expressed : 

"And   phonld  the   well-meant   song   I    leave  behind, 
With  Jesus"  lo\ers  some  acceptance  find, 
"J"\\  ill   lieijijhten  e'en  the  joys   of   heaven   to  know 
That,  in  mj-  verse,  saints  sing  God's  praise  below.'' 

If  such  a  privilege  as  that  for  which  he 
hoped  be  «. ranted  to  the  saints  in  heaven, 
tlien  surely  IJishoj)  Ken's  joy  must  be  im- 
measurably great,  since  no  other  stanza  ever 
writlf-n  is  sung  so  often  and  so  widely  among 
<  Christians  of  all  denominations  as  his  grand 
])oxology. 

Thomas  Ken,  a  Bishoj)  of  the  Church  of 
Ihigland,  was  born  at  Little  Berkhamj)Stead, 
in  Berkshire.  England,  in  lO.")?.  After  his 
r.rdinatiou  he  was  made  (Miajtlain  to  the 
Princess  of  Orange,  and  later  to  Charles  IT. 
In  H»S4  he  was  made  IJishoj)  of  Uath  and 
Wells.  T»y  order  of  James  TI.  he  was  iTnytris- 
oned  in  the  Tower  of  Loudon,  with  six  oiher 
b'siiops.  for  his  refusal  to  sign  the  I)e:-lara- 
tion  of  Indulgence.  Hieir  release  l)eing  se- 
cured   by    j>o]tular    feeling,    however,    after 

34 


r,rSH(>P  KION'S   DOXOLOGY 

their  trial.  "At  the  Revolution  he  declined 
to  swear  alleiiiaiue  to  AVilliam  III.,  and  re- 
tired into  private  life,  sjiending  his  remain- 
ing? (lays  in  the  niagnitieent  mansion  of  an 
endeared  friend,  at  Lougleat.  Wilts,  where  he 
died  in  March,  1710." 

The  liood  T{isli0[»  was  the  author  of  three 
immortal  compositions — his  Morning,  Even- 
ing and  Midnight  Hymns — first  ])nblished  in 
1G75  at  the  end  of  a  ^'Manual  of  Prayers"  for 
the  use  of  boys  in  Winchester  School,  where 
Ken  himself  had  been  edncated.  Referring 
to  these  three  ])roductions  James  Mont- 
gomery said,  as  quoted  by  Stevenson,  "Had 
the  Risliop  endowed  three  hos]):tals,  he 
might  have  been  less  a  benefactor  to  pos- 
terity." 

Bishop  Ken  was  a  sweet  singer  as  well  as 
a  skilful  composer,  and  found  gTcat  delight 
in  rendering  the  songs  of  Zion,  especially 
when  called  to  "endure  hardness  as  a  good 
soldier  of  Jesus  Christ."  ''It  was  the  habit 
of  this  saintly  sufferer,"  says  Mr.  Stead,  "to 
accompany  his  ever  cheerful  voice  with  the 
lute  which  penetrated  beyond  his  jtrison 
v.alls;  and  the  oft-repeated  song  of  praise, 
which  was  soon  taken  uj)  by  his  religious 
syn!]>athizers  listening  without,  has  gone  on 
singing  itself   into   the   hearts   of   Christians 

35 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

until  tlie  frajnn^nt  has  very  nearly  ap- 
proached the  hymn  iinivei'sal." 

"Old  hundred,"  the  tune  with  which  this 
magnificent  Doxology  is  almost  invariably  as- 
sociated, was  composed  by  Wilhelm  Franc,  a 
German  musician,  whose  Avork  in  this  ease  is 
thought  by  some  authorities  to  have  been  re- 
vised by  Martin  Luther. 

Bisho]»  Ken's  Doxology  is  alike  adapted  to 
expressing  the  gratitude  of  living  saints  in 
their  most  enraptured  moments,  and  the  trust, 
comfort  and  hope  of  dying  pilgrims  as  they 
bid  farewell  to  earthly  scenes  and  go  "sweep- 
ing through  the  gates"  into  the  golden  City 
of  God.  It  is  sung  with  tremendous  effect 
in  great  assemblies  met  to  celebrate  national 
deliverances  and  vktories. 

It  was  sung  under  decidedly  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances in  New  York  City  on  October 
15th,  1884.  A  vast  concourse  of  people 
awaited  till  late  at  night  in  front  of  the  Re- 
publican headquarters  the  returns  from  an 
important  Ohio  election.  It  was  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning  before  the  last  bulletin  ap- 
I)eared.  A  short  time  ])revious  to  its  appejir- 
ance  a  multitude  of  voices  were  singing  "We 
won't  go  home  till  morning;"  but  the  mo- 
ment the  last  message  was  displayed  the 
steropticon    Hashed    out    the     line — ''Praise 

36 


THOMAS  KEN. 


BISHOP  TvEN'S  DOXOLOGY 

God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow.  Good 
night." — whereupon,  according  to  one  of  the 
newspaper  rejtorts.  "A  deep-voiced  man  in 
the  throng  ])itched  the  Doxology,  and  a 
mighty  volume  of  song  swept  upward,  the 
lights  went  out,  and  the  happy  watchers  de- 
parted to  their  homes." 

The  strains  of  this  sublime  stanza  are  oft- 
repeated  in  every  great  revival  season,  some- 
times, as  in  one  of  Billy  Dawson's  meetings 
where  it  was  repeated  thirty-five  times  in  a 
single  evening,  being  sung  after  every  new 
conversion.  "A  twelve  miles'  walk,  through 
the  midnight  hours,  and  in  the  snow  of  a 
cold  February,"  says  Mr.  Stevenson  in  rela- 
ting this  last  occurrence,  ''did  not  dissipate 
the  blessedness  of  the  memories  of  that  day. 
and  they  are  fresh  and  fragrant  on  the  mind 
of  the  writer  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  fifty 
years." 

Hundreds  of  departing  saints  have  also 
uttered  or  attempted  to  utter  its  lofty  strains 
with  their  expiring  breath,  as  expressive  of 
their  joy  in  the  consciousness  of  victory  over 
the  last  enemy. 

"Glory  be  to  God,  T  am  come  to  the  mount! 
I  am  filled  with  the  glory  of  God!"  exclaimed 
John  West,  an  English  Methodist  who  had 
joined  the  church  in  times  of  persecution  and 

.*7 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

had  been  faithful  in  all  things,  as  he  was 
abont  to  make  passage  to  the  heavenly  home. 
Then  followed  an  effort  to  sing — 

"rraise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow! 
Praise  Him,  all'  creatures  here  below :'' 

after  which  he  said  to  those  about  him,  "Tell 
the  friends.  Jesns  is  a  precious  Savior," 
closed  his  eyes,  and  went  to  be  '"forever  with 
the  Lord." 

"Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart 
in  peace,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salva- 
tion," exclaimed  Elizabeth  Hudson,  convert- 
ed at  twenty  and  thereafter  made  instru- 
mental in  liv.ilding  up  two  strong  and  flour- 
ishing ]\rethodist  societies,  as  she  found  her 
day  of  earthly  service  closing.  Shortly  after- 
ward she  was  taken  with  a  fatal  fever,  and, 
when  apprised  of  the  situation,  was  filled  with 
joy  at  knowing  she  was  so  near  the  "desired 
haven."  To  a  friend  who  asked.  "Are  you 
hapj)y?"  she  replied,  "Oh,  yes;  T  feel  more 
than  I  can  express."  Tn  the  evening,  waving 
her  hand,  she  exclaimed  : 

"Praise  God  from  whom  air  blessings  flow; 
T'raise    Him.    all    creatures    here    Iielow; 
Praise    Ilim    above,    je    heavenl.v    host; 
Pr.nise  Father.  Ron.  and  Holy  Ghost." 

38 


JilSIlOP   KEN'S    DOXOLOGY 

Then  deelai-ing.  '"('liri^st  is  precious,  and  I 
long  to  be  witli  Him,"  she  passed  within  the 
vail,  thei-e,  in  accordance  with  lier  longing, 
to  "'see  the  King  in  His  beauty,"  and  abide 
in  His  ]»ala(e  forever. 

In  his  book  on  "The  King's  Stewards"  Dr. 
Louis  Albert  Banks  relates  the  following 
story,  which  also  strikingly  illustrates  the 
l)Ower  of  tliis  old  Doxology: 

A  man  who  was  for  a  long  time  shut  up 
in  Libby  Prison  says  that  they  used  to  con- 
sole themselves  frequently  by  singing  the 
Doxology,  "Praise  God  from  whom  all 
blessings  flow."  Day  after  day  they  saw 
comrades  passing  away,  and  their  nund)ers 
increasing  by  fresh  living  recruits  for  the 
grave.  One  night,  about  ten  o'clock,  through 
Ihe  stillness  and  the  darkness  they  heard  the 
Irani])  of  coming  feet  that  soon  stopped  be- 
fore the  prison  door  until  ai'rangements 
could  be  made  insi«h>.  In  the  company  was  a 
young  Baittist  minister,  whose  heart  almost 
fainted  as  he  looked  on  those  cold  walls  and 
thought  of  the  suffering  inside.  Tired  and 
weary,  he  sat  down,  put  his  face  in  his  hands 
and  wept.  Just  then  a  lone  voice  of  deep, 
sweet  pathos  sung  out  from  an  ui>])er  win- 
dow, 

"Praise  Ood    from    whom   all  blessings  flow," 

39 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

and  a  dozen  manly  voices  joined  in  the  second 
line, 

"Praise  Him,  all  creatures  here  below ;" 

then  by  the  time  the  third  was  reached  more 
than  a  score  of  hearts  were  full,  and  joined 
to  send  the  words  on  high, 

"Praise  Him  above,  ye  heavenly  host ;" 

by  this  time  the  prison  was  all  alive  and 
seemed  to  quiver  with  the  sacred  song,  as 
from  every  room  and  cell  those  brave  men 
sang — 

"Praise  Father,  Sou,  and  Holy  Ghost!" 

As  the  song  died  out  on  the  still  night  that 
enveloped  in  darkness  the  doomed  city  of 
Richmond,  the  young  man  arose  and  happily 
began  himself  to  sing : 

"And  prisons  would  palnces  prove. 

If  Jesus  would  dwell  with  mo  there." 


40 


Prayer 


41 


VI 


Montgomery's  lyric  ox  prayer 


Nearly  every  bymn-book  we  have  ever  ex- 
aniiued  contains  James  Montffomerv's  hvnin 
on  the  nature  of  prayer,  beginning — 

"Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire, 
Uttered,  or  unexpressed." 

It  was  written  in  1818  at  the  request  of  the 
Rev.  E.  Biclierstetb,  for  that  <]istinguishe<1 
clergyman's  "Treatise  on  Prayer,"  and  was 
pnblislied  nnder  the  title,  "What  is  Prayer?" 
The  first  five  stanzas  are  wholly  didactic, 
or  suited  to  purposes  of  instruction  rather 
than  of  devotion,  and  the  sixth  stanza,  which 
contains  a  fervent  prayer,  is  the  only  one  hav- 
ing the  qualities  of  a  genuine  hymn.  As  the 
spirit  of  this  stanza  pervades  those  preced- 
ing it,  however,  and  as  the  first  five  stanzas, 
containing  the  finest  metrical  setting  forth 
of  the  nature  of  true  prayer  ever  written,  pre- 
pare the  wax  for  the  more  fervent  breathing 
of  the  sentiment  expressed  in  the  last  stanza, 
the  production  has  not  only  won  its  way  to 

43 


JJY.MNS  TPIAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

general  recognition  as  a  hymn,  but  also  to 
a  popularity  greater  than  any  other  its  high- 
ly gifted  author  ever  wrote. 

The  following  is  the  full  text  of  the  hymn, 
which  every  Christian,  old  and  young,  should 
thoroughly  know  by  heart : 

Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere   desire, 

Uttered,  or  uuexj^rossed ; 
The  motion  of  a  hidden  fire 

That  trembles  in  the  breast. 

Prayer  is  the  burden  of  a  sigh, 

The  falling  of  a  tear, 
The  up^^■ard   glancing  of   an  eye, 

When  none  but  (Jod  is  near. 

Prayer  is  the  simplest  form  of  si)eeeh 

That  infant  lips  can  try ; 
Prayer  the  sublimest  strains  that  reach 

The  .Majesty  on  high. 

Prayer  is  the  Christian's  vital  breath. 

The  Christian's   native   air; 
His  watchword  at  the  gates  of  death ; 

lie  enters  hea^•en  with  prayer. 

Prayer  is  the  contrite  sinner's  voice, 

Ivcturning  from  his  ways, 
Willie  angels  in  their  songs  rejoice, 

And    cry,    "r>ehold.    he    prays!" 

44 


.  LYKIC  ON  PRAYER 

O  Thou,  by  whom  we  come  to  God, 

Tlie  Life,  the  Truth,  the  Way ! 
The  path  of  prnyer  Thyself  hast  trod : 

Lord,  teach  us  how  to  pray. 

Tune — "Naomi"  or  "Maklow." 

The  author  of  these  remarkable  lines  once 
said  he  had  received  directly  and  indirectly 
more  testimonials  to  the  appreciation  of 
them  than  of  any  other  hymn  he  had  written, 
which  shows  two  things,  namely,  the  almost 
universal  interest  of  men  and  women  in  the 
subject  of  prayer,  and  their  keen  perception 
of  and  profound  satisfaction  in  a  hymn  that 
expresses  the  heart  of  that  subject.  Besides 
having  found  its  way  into  most  hymnals  of 
our  time  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke  regarded  this  hymn  as  of  sufficient 
merit  to  occupy  a  ])lace  in  his  great  Com- 
mentary on  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Nothing  ever  Avritten  on  the  subject  more 
beautifully  sets  forth  the  sim])licity  and  dig- 
nity of  a  true  supplicant's  act  of  devotion  as 
he  bends  before  the  mercy-seat  in  prayer  than 
this  noble  lyric.  None  but  a  man  of  devout 
sj)irit  and  accustomed  to  communion  with 
his  Maker  at  the  throne  of  grace  could  have 
given  us  such  a  production.  To  the  fact  of 
its  having  been  born  of  experience  in  the  holy 
art  of  supi)lication  it  chiefly  owes  its  popular- 

45 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

ity,  x\s  long  as  Iminan  aspiration  Godward 
seeks  expression  in  prayer  and  supplication 
this  simjile  but  glowing  lyric  will  live  and  re- 
tain its  popularity  in  the  hymnody  of  the 
church. 

Montgomery  never  dreamed  when  writing 
this  the  most  i)opular  of  all  his  hymns  that 
there  was  anything  in  it  prophetic  of  his  own 
death,  yet  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  his 
departure  show  such  to  have  been  the  case. 
One  evening  in  1854,  he  conducted  family 
worship,  as  he  was  wont  to  do,  but  with  un- 
usual fervency  in  his  devotions ;  and  this  was 
the  last  of  his  earthly  services  and  utter- 
ances. He  retired  for  the  night  apparently 
well,  but  was  found  on  the  floor  in  the  morn- 
ing in  an  unconscious  state  from  which  he 
never  rallied.  He  lingered  some  hours,  but 
never  spoke  again.  In  a  literal  sense,  and  in 
fulfilment  of  his  own  unconsciously  prophet- 
ic words. 

"He    entered    heaven    with    prayer." 


46 


VII 


THE    MERCY-SEAT 


Another  sacred  poem  which  has  been  great- 
ly blessed  to  the  good  of  individual  souls  for 
many  years,  and  also  to  the  edification  of 
the  church  at  large,  and  which,  because  of 
these  facts,  has  won  for  its  author  world- 
wide and  imperishable  fame  and  affection,  is 
the  Rev.  Hugh  Stowell's  sweet  and  tender 
lyric,  beginning, 

"From  every  stormy  wind  that  blows." 

It  was  originally  contributed  to  a  Euro- 
pean illustrated  annual  known  as  Winter's 
Wreath,  in  1827,  from  which  it  was  copied 
into  LittclVs  Religious  Magazine  (Philadel- 
phia) in  1828.  The  author  republished  it, 
with  some  slight  revisions,  in  his  "Pleasures 
of  Religion  and  Other  Poems,"  in  1832.  The 
hymn  originally  contained  six  stanzas,  now 
generally  appearing  as  follows: 

From  every  stormy  wind   tliat  blows, 
From  every  swelling  tide  of  woes, 

47 


PJYMNS  THAT  AKE  IMMORTAL 

Th^i'ft  is  a  calm,  a  sure  retreat; 
'Tis  found  beneath  the  mercy -seat. 

There  is  a  place  where  Jesus  sheds 
The  oil  of  gladness  on  our  heads; 
A  place  than  all  besides  more  sweet : 
It  is   the  Idood-bought   mercy-seat. 

TluM-c   is   a   scene  where  spirits   blend, 
Wlicic    fri(Mul    holds    fellowship    with    friend: 
Though   sundered   far,    by    faith   they    meet 
Around  one  common  mercy-seat. 

Ah :   whither  could   we   flee  for  aid, 
When    temi)ted.    desolate,    dismayed; 
Or  how  the  hosts  of  hell  defeat, 
Had  suffering  saints  no  mercy-seat? 

There,    there  on   eagle  wings   we  soar. 
And  sin  and  sense  molest  no  more ; 
And  heaven  comes  down  our  souls  to  greet, 
While   glory   crowns   the   mercy-seat. 

Oh:  let  my  hand  forget  her  skill,' 
-My  tongue  he  silent,  cold  and  still ; 
This  throl)l)ing  heart  forget  to  beat. 
If  I   forget  the  mercy-seat. 

1'uNE — "Retreat." 

The  Rev.  Plnoli  Stowell,  wlio  wrote  this 
liynin,  was  a  clerj^Tiiian  of  high  re])iite  in  the 
(Mmi-ch  of  Enohind.  jje  was  born  in  Doug- 
las, Isle  of  :Man.  December  ::5rd.  1701).  His  fa- 
ther was  also  a  clergymau,  rector  of  Ballaugh, 

48 


THE  MERCY-SEAT 

near  Ramsey.  The  son  was  educated  at  St. 
Ediiinnd's  Hall.  Oxford.  <iTadnatinji  in  1822. 
He  took  Holy  Orders  in  1823,  and,  first  as 
curate  in  Yorkshire,  then  as  incumbent  of 
St.  Stephen's  Church,  Salford,  he  drew  such 
throngs  to  hear  his  plain  and  earnest  i)reach- 
ing  that  the  people  were  moved  to  give  liber- 
ally and  cheerfully  for  the  erection  of  an  ele- 
gant structure  known  as  Christ  (Jhurch.  Sal- 
ford;  and  therein  thousands  attended  upon 
liis  ministry  with  great  delight  and  ]»rofit. 
In  1845  he  was  promoted  to  the  j)osition  of 
Honorary  Canon  of  Chester,  and  later  was 
made  Rural  Dean  of  Salford.  He  was  an 
Evangelical  Churchman.  Init  had  no  sympa- 
thy with  High  Church  princi})les,  and  vigor- 
ously ()])posed  the  Tractarian  or  High  Church 
movement.  He  finished  his  earthly  course 
October  8th,  18(55. 

Canon  StowelTs  death,  according  to  the  ac- 
count of  it  given  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Alfred 
Stowell,  his  son,  beautifully  illustrated  the 
sentiment  expressed  in  his  remarkable  and 
popular  hymn.  We  quote  from  Duffield's 
''English  H^inns:" 

"My  father's  last  utterances  abundantly 
showed  his  love  of,  and  delight  in,  prayer. 
Almost  every  word  was  prayer,  couched  for 
the  most  part  in  the  language  of  the  Holy 

49 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

Scriptures  or  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer ; 
and  these  utterances  were  characterized  by 
the  deepest  humility  and  most  entire  self-dis- 

tl'U.St. 

"Equally  apparent  was  his  simple  and 
firm  reliance  on  his  Savior.  To  the  question, 
'Is  Jesus  with  you  and  precious  to  you?"  the 
answer  was,  'Yes,  so  that  He  is  all  in  all  to 
me.' 

''During  his  waking  moments  he  fi'equently 
exclaimed,  'Very  much  peace,'  and  sometimes, 
'No  fear,'  'Abundance  of  joy,'  'A  very  present 
help  in  time  of  trouble.'  The  morning  of  his 
death  the  only  articulate  words  that  we 
could  catch,  uttered  two  or  three  hours  before 
liis  decease,  were  'Amen!  Amen!' 

'His  watoliword  at  the  gates  of  death, 
He  enters  heaven  with  prayer.' " 

Around  the  world  he  had  taught,  in  the 
stanzas  of  his  beautiful  hymn,  the  preciousness 
of  the  mercy-seat  as  the  meeting-place  of  God 
with  man,  and  there  it  was  that,  not  onlv  in 
his  life  but  even  uxore  abundantly  in  his 
death, 

"Heaven  came  down  his  soul  to  greet, 
While   glory   crowned   the  mercy-seat." 


50 


VIII 

WRESTLING   JACOB 

Unique  and  matchless  among  all  sacred 
poetry  having  imi)ortunity  in  prayer  as  its 
theme  is  Charles  Weslev's  Ivrical  drama, 
based  on  the  story  of  Jacob  wrestling  with 
the  angel,  and  beginning, 

"Come,  O  Thou  Traveler  unknowu. 
Whom  still  I  hold,  but  cannot  see." 

Its  illustrious  author,  whom  mauy  regard 
as  the  foremost  hymn-writer  of  the  ages,  was 
bom  in  the  Epworth  rectory,  England,  of 
which  his  father,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley, 
was  incumbent,  in  1707.  Susanna  Wesley, 
his  mother,  was  one  of  the  most  intelligent 
and  devoted  of  Christian  women,  and  to  the 
training  she  gave  her  sons  the  world  will  ever 
be  largely  indebted,  since  no  other  single 
factor  figured  more  largely  in  the  making  of 
those  remarkable  men. 

Charles  Wesley  took  his  degree  from  Ox- 
ford in  1728,  where  his  brother  John,  himself 
and  a  few  others,  for  their  devoted  manner  of 

51 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

life,  were  first  nicknamed  ''The  Holy  Club," 
and  later,  because  of  their  methodical  divis- 
ion and  use  of  their  time  were  contempt- 
uously called  "Methodists,"  In  17e35  he  re- 
ceived Ploly  Orders  from  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  immediately  sailed  with  his  brother 
John  for  Georgia,  as  a  missionary.  He  soon 
returned,  however,  encountering  a  most  ter- 
rific storm  on  the  passage,  from  which  the 
ship's  company  escaped  almost  as  by  mir-icle. 
Not  until  later  (1738)  did  he  experience  that 
change  of  heart  which  made  him  ever  after- 
ward a  flame  of  fire  for  the  spread  of  evan- 
gelical holiness.  With  this  new  experience 
also  beiian  that  career  of  hvmn-writing  which 
made  him  the  chief  singer  of  Methodism. 
He  cooperated  with  his  brother  John  in  his 
great  work  of  reformation  to  the  close  of  his 
long  life,  and  died  in  peace  in  1788, 

The  hymn  on  "AVrestling  Jacob"  first  ap- 
peared in  ''Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,"  in 
1742,  and  contained  fourteen  six-line  stanzas. 
The  break  in  its  uniformity  by  dividing  it 
into  several  briefer  hymns  was  made  by  the 
editors  of  the  1707  edition.  To  divide  it  thus 
was  to  mar  it,  since  its  full  beauty  and  force 
can  neither  be  perceived  nor  appreciated  ex- 
cept by  considering  it  as  an  undivided  whole. 
Its  length,  however,  seems  to  have  made  divis- 

52 


CHAKLES   WESLEY. 


WRESTLING  JACOB 

ion  neceKSsai'v  in  order  better  to  adapt  it  to 
use  in  the  church  hymnals.  When  printed  in 
two  or  three  successive  hymns,  as  is  quite 
commonly  done,  the  connection  and  unitv  can 
be  readily  discerned,  and  still,  to  read  or  sing 
the  hymn  in  part  only  is  to  miss  much  of  its 
beauty  and  worth. 

The  scriptural  narrative  on  which  the 
hymn  is  based  is  recorded  in  Genesis  32 :  24- 
oi,  and  must  be  known  in  order  that  tlie 
hymn  may  be  understood  and  appreciated. 
The  hymn  is  now  seldom  if  ever  printed  in 
full  in  the  church  hymnals,  two  of  its  origi- 
nal stanzas  being  omitted  wherever  we  have 
found  it.  Restored  to  its  original  complete- 
ness and  order,  it  reads  as  follows: 

Come.  O  Thou   Traveler   unknown, 
Whom  still  I  hold,  but  cannot  see ; 

Illy  company  Ijefore  is  gone. 

And  I  am  left  alone  with  Thee: 

With   Thee   all   night    I    mean    to   stay, 

And  wrestle  till  the  break  of  day. 

I  need  not  tell  Thee  who  I  am  ; 

INIy  sin  and  misery  declare ; 
Thyself  hast  called  me  by  my  name. 

Look  on  Thy  hands  and  read  it  tliere ; 
But  wiio.  1  ask  Thee,  who  art  ThouV 
Tell   Die  Thy   name,   and  tell   me  now. 

In  vain  Thou  strugglest  to  get  free ; 
I   never   will   unloose   mv    liold  I 


53 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

Art  Thou  the  ^lan  that  died  for  me? 

Tbe  secret  of  Thy  love  unfold ; 
Wrestling,  I  will  not  let  Thee  go, 
Till  I  Thy  name.  Thy  nature  know. 

Wilt  Thou  not  yet  to  me  reveal 

Thy    new,    luuitterable    name? 
Tell  me,  I  still  beseech  Thee,  tell ; 

To  know  it  now,  resolved  I   am : 
Wrestling,  I  will  not  let  Thee  go, 
Till  I  Thy  name,  Thy  nature  know. 

"Tis  all  in  vain  to  hold  Thy  tongue. 
Or    touch   the   hollow   of   my    thigh : 

Though  every  sinew  be  unstrung. 

Out  of    my   arms  Thou  shalt   not   fly; 

Wrestling.    I    will  not    let    Thee   go. 

Till  1  Thy  name.  Thy  nature  know. 

Wliat  though  my  shrinking  flesh  complain, 
And  nuu'nuir  to  contend  so  long? 

I  rise  superior  to  my  pain  : 
When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong ! 

And  when  my  all  of  strength  shall  fail, 

I  shall  with  the  God-man  pi-evail. 

Yield  to  me  now.  for  I  am  weak. 

But   confident   in  self-despair; 
Speak  to  my   heart,   in   blessing  speak ; 

Be  conquered  by  my  instant  prayer : 
Speak,  or  Thou  never  hence  shalt  move. 
And  tell  me  if  Thy  name  be  Love. 

'Tis  Love!  'tis  Love!  Thou  difdst  for  me; 
I   hear  Thy  whisper  in   my  heart ; 


54 


WREf^TLING  JACOB 

The  nioriiing  breaks,  the  shadows  flee; 

Pure,  unixersal  Love  Thou  art : 
To  me,  to  all  Thy  bowels  move, 
Thy  nature   and   Thy   name   is   Love. 

My  prayer  liath  power  with  God ;  the  grace 

Unspeakable    I    now    receive ; 
Through  faith  I  see  Thee  face  to  face; 

1  see  Thee  face  to  face  and  live! 
In  vain  I  have  not  wept  and  strove; 
Thy   nature   and   Thy   name    is   Love. 

I  know  Thee,  Savior,  who  Thou  art, 
Jesus,   the    feeble   sinner's    Friend : 

Nor   wilt    Thou    with    the    night    depart, 
But  stay  and  love  me  to  the  end : 

Thy   mercies   never  shall    remove ; 

Thy   nature   and   Thy   name    is   Love. 

The    Sun  of    Righteousness   on   me 

Hath  risen,  with  healing  in  his  wings; 

Withered  my  natui'e's  strength,  from  Thee 
My  soul  its   life  and  succor  brings ; 

My  help  is  all  laid  up  above ; 

Thy   nature   and   Thy   name   is   Love. 

Contented  now,  upon  my  thigh 

I  halt,  till  life's  short  journey  end : 

All    helplessness,    all    weakness.    I 
On  Thee  alone  for  strength  depend : 

Nor  liave  I   pov.er  from  Thee   to  move; 

Thy   nature   and   Thy   name   is   Love. 

Lame  as  T  am,  I  take  the  prey : 

Hell,  earth,  and  sin,  with  ease  o'ercome; 


55 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

I  leap  for  joy,  pursue  my  way, 

And,  as  a  bounding  hart,  fly  home ; 
Through  all  eternity  to  i)rove 
Thy  nature  and  Thy  name  is  Love. 

Tune — "Kockaway." 

Coniiuenda^ioiis  of  this  remarkable  Iiyiim 
from  the  pens  of  able  critics  are  numerous 
and  forcibly  expressed.  A  few  of  them  will 
snflfice  to  show  the  esteem  in  which  it  has 
ever  been  held. 

In  the  obituar}^  of  (Mmrles  Wesley,  pub- 
lished in  the  conference  minutes,  John  Wes- 
ley says :  ''His  least  praise  was  his  talent  for 
poetry;  although  Dr.  Watts  did  not  scruple  to 
say,  that  the  single  poem,  'Wrestling  Jacob,' 
was  worth  all  the  verses  he  himself  had  writ- 
ten." 

James  ^Montgomery  regarded  the  ])r(^duc- 
tion  as  ''among  Charles  Wesley's  highest 
achievements/'  "in  which,  with  consumm'ate 
art,  he  has  carried  on  the  action  of  a  lyrical 
drama :  every  turn  in  the  conflict  with  the 
mysterious  Being  against  whom  he  wrestles 
all  night  being  marked  with  precision  by  the 
various  language  of  the  speaker,  accompanied 
by  intense,  increasing  interest,  till  the  raptur- 
ous moment  of  discovery,  when  he  prevails, 
and  exclaims,  'I  know  Thee,  Savior,  who 
Thou  art.' " 

56 


WRESTLING  JACOB 

Mr.  Stevonson  quotes  the  Rev.  John  Kirk 
as  writing  of  "its  wonderful  conciseness,  yet 
perfect  and  finislied  picturing  of  tlie  scene 
on  the  Transjordanic  hills,  beyond  the  deep 
defile  where  the  Jabbok,  as  its  name  implies, 
Avrestles  with  the  mountains  through  which 
it  descends  to  the  Jordan.  The  dramatic 
form,  so  singular  in  hymnic  composition, 
shadowing  forth  the  action  of  the  conversa- 
tion ;  the  great  force  of  its  thoroughly  Eng- 
lish expression:  its  straightforward  ease, 
without  any  mere  straining  at  elegance;  and 
the  minuleness  and  ])eauty  of  its  general  aj)- 
jtlication  of  the  narrative,  have  Avon  the  com- 
mendation of  all  competent  critics." 

The  late  Hugh  Trice  Hughes  regarded 
"Wrestling  Jacob"  as  one  of  Charles  Wes- 
ley's greatest  hymns,  and  Dean  Stanley  is 
said  to  have  quoted  it  with  remarkable  effect 
at  the  unveiling  of  the  Wesley  memorial  in 
Westminster  Abbey. 

The  narrative  suggesting  the  hymn  was  not 
only  a  source  of  poetic  but  also  of  homiletic 
inspiration  to  Charles  Wesley.  It  was  one  of 
his  favorite  pulpit  themes.  He  i)reaclied 
from  it  before  the  hymn  was  published,  as 
a])pears  from  his  Journal,  and  records  at  least 
six  times  Avhen  he  preached  from  it  after  the 
hymn  api»eared,  describing  the  remarkable  ef- 


:>/ 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

fects  in  some  of  the  instances.  These  in- 
stances of  preaching  from  the  passage  are 
all  cited  h\  Mr.  Stevenson,  in  his  "Methodist 
Hymn  Book  Illustrated,"  who  also  adds: 
''To  have  heard  the  poet's  sermon  on  this 
mighty  wrestling,  with  all  the  play  of  fine 
fancy  arranging  the  eminently  evangelical 
toi)ics  in  glowing  colors  before  a  crowded  as- 
sembly, and  then  to  have  closed  that  dis- 
course with  the  singing  of  that  grand  hymn, 
m,ust  have  been  a  privilege  of  surpassing  in- 
terest and  delight.'.' 

The  historical  associations  of  the  hymn  are 
numerous  and  thrilling.  It  was  one  of  John 
Wesley's  special  favorites,  and  its  use  by  him 
a  short  time  after  his  brother's  death,  as  re- 
lated bv  Tverman  in  his  "Life  and  Times  of 

r  c 

Wesley,"  is  peculiarly  pathetic.  "Wesley  had 
no  disposition  to  tell  the  deep  sorrows  of  his 
heart,"  savs  Mr.  Tverman ;  "but  that  he 
severely  felt  the  departure  of  his  brother, 
there  can  be  no  question.  A  fortnight  after- 
wards^ when  at  Bolton,  he  attempted  to  give 
out,  as  his  second  hymn,  the  one  beginning 
with  the  words,  'f'ome,  6  Thou  Traveler  un- 
known,' but  when  he  came  to  the  lines, — 

'My  company   before   is  gone. 

And  I  am  left  alone  with  Thee,' 

the  bereaved  old  man  sunk  beneath  emotion 

58 


WKEt^TLING  JACOB 

which  was  uncontrollable,  burst  into  a  flood 
of  tears,  sat  down  in  the  pulpit,  and  hid  his 
face  with  his  hands.  The  crowded  congrega 
tion  well  knew  the  cause  of  his  speechless  ex- 
citement; singing  ceased;  and  the  chape'  be- 
came a  IJochim.  At  length,  Wesley  recovered 
himself,  rose  again,  and  went  through  a  ser- 
vice which  was  never  forgotten  by  those  who 
were  present." 

Tliis  hvmn,  sum»'  with  seekers  in  revival 
services,  has  been  remarkably  blessed  in  help- 
ing struggling  souls  out  of  darkness  into 
the  marvelous  light  of  God,  and  in  leading 
true  believers  into  full  redemption.  On  many 
such  occasions  we  have  witnessed  scenes  that 
thrilled  and  awed  all  present,  and  must 
have  occasioned  great  demonstrations  of  joy 
in  heaven.  One  verse  of  it  sung  in  the  Spirit 
at  such  a  time  is  worth  a  score  of  the  shallow 
ditties  too  commonly  characteristic  of  mod- 
ern revivalism. 

Not  only  in  life  but  also  in  the  trying  ex- 
perience of  a  dying  hour  has  "Wrestling 
Jacob"  often  proved  a  comforting,  inspiring 
and  hel]>ful  liyjun,  as  the  following  instances, 
the  first  two  condensed  fi'om  Mr.  Stevenson's 
narration  will  show : 

It  is  recorded  of  Solomon  IJurrall,  of 
Tuckingmill,     England,     who     for     forty-five 

59 


liY.MNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

years  "was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Soci- 
ety, and  a  useful  worker  in  the  Lord's  vineyard, 
living  in  the  uninten-upted  enjoyment  of  the 
perfect  love  of  God."  that  the  evening  before 
he  passed  within  tlie  vail  he  summoned  all 
his  strength  and  sang  the  lines, — 

"Come,  O  Tbou  Traveler  unknown, 
Whom  still  I  hold,  but  cannot  see! 
My  company  before  is  gone. 

And  I  am   left  alone  with  Thee : 
With  Thee  all  night   I   mean   to  stay, 
And  wrestle  till  the  break  of  day." 

After  this  he  spoke  no  more,  except  to  de- 
clare his  strong  confidence  in  God,  but  soon 
passed  to  join  the  song  of  the  redeemed  in 
heaven. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Hare,  an  able  and  useful 
l-^nglish  ilethodist  preacher,  amid  great  phj^si- 
cal  sufferings  through  which  he  passed  short- 
ly before  his  death,  called  for  the  reading  of 
"Wrestling  Jacob,"  and  directed  particular 
attention  to  the  following  stanza : 

"What  though  my  shiinking  flesh  complain, 
A  lid  nmrmur  to  contend  so  long? 
T  rise  superior  to  my  pain : 

When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong : 
And  when  my  all'  of  strength  shall  fail, 
I   sliall  with  the  God-nian  prevail." 

60 


WEESTLING  JACOB 

He  theu  gave  his  dying  testimony,  and  short- 
ly after  entered  into  rest. 

Mrs.  Bora  Burdick,  of  Central  New  York, 
was  awakened  and  thoronghly  converted  nn- 
der  the  labors  of  President  Finney  some  time 
during  the  fifties,  and  latei*,  in  a  Methodist 
church  of  Syracuse  was  led  into  '"the  fulness 
of  the  blessing  of  the  gospel  of  Christ."  She 
was  a  deeply  spiritual  woman,  who  spent 
much  time  alone  with  God  in  prayer.  Her 
life  is  said  to  have  been  remarkable  for  the 
spirit  and  power  she  had  in  coming  to  the 
tlirone  of  grace.  Tt  seemed  at  times  that 
three  worlds  were  being  moved  as  she 
wrestled  with  God,  Jacob-like.  She  knew 
that  God  heard  prayer,  and  her  language 
was, 

"Iii    vain   Thou    strugglest    to    get   free, 
I      I  never  will  unloose  my  lioUl ; 
Art  Thou  the  ^lan  that  died  for  me? 
,         The  secret  of  Thy  love  unfold ; 
Wrestling,  I  will  not  let  Thee  go, 
Till   I  Thy  name,  Thy  nature  know." 

At  length  her  health  failed,  and  the  time 
of  her  departure  was  at  hand.  Her  theme  re- 
mained the  same,  however,  and,  if  there  was 
no  one  present  in  her  sick  room  who  could 
sing  "^Vrestling  Jacob,"  she  would  often  ask 

6i 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

to  hear  the  hymn  read.  It  was  like  ^'angels' 
food"  to  her  hungry  soul,  and  braced, 
strengthened  and  comforted  her  many  a  time 
as  she  passed  through  the  valley  of  the  death- 
shade.  In  faith  and  prayer  she  wrestled  on 
amid  her  suffering  until,  *'more  than  con- 
queror'' over  ''the  last  enemy,"  she  received 
an  abundant  enti'ance  into  the  everlasting 
kingdom  of  her  Redeemer. 


62 


TX 

JOHN   KEBLE's    E vexing    HYMX 

No  English  liyinu  ever  written  is  belter  en- 
titled to  a  place  in  classic  liymBodv  than 
John  Keble's 

"Snti    of   my   soul.    Thou    Savior  dear." 

Xothinc;  equnl  to  it  has  ever  been  written  as 
an  eveninjjj  hymn.  It  combines  the  rarest 
beauty,  sweetness,  tenderness,  love,  trust  and 
devotion  with  deepest  spirituality  and  mosi 
fervent  breathing  after  God.  Its  sentiment 
and  spirit  are  all  that  could  be  desired,  and 
in  true  poetic  excellence  it  is  unsurpassed. 

''The  Christian  Year,"  of  Avhich  it  forms  a 
part,  ''has  ijone  throuuh  one  hundred  edi- 
tions,'' "the  last  of  which  placed  the  bulk  of 
it  before  one  hundred  thousand  readers;"  but 
"this  hymn  is  known,  not  to  thousands,  but 
to  millions,  and  the  music  of  its  verse  is 
familiar  in  every  nook  and  cornei-  of  the  Eiit?- 
lish-speakini:  world.'' 

Tt  is  a  sij>nilicaut  circumstance  that  the 
author  of  this  universally  popular  lyric  wrote 

63 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

it  with  no  intention  of  its  becoming  a  hymn. 
"The  (.Miristian  Year,"  in  which  it  originally 
^ippeared,   was  a  collection   of  "Thoughts  in 
Verse  for  the  Sundays  and  Holidays  Through- 
out  the  Y>ar.''    The  title-page  bore  the  motto, 
"In   quietness   and   coufldeuce  shall   be  your 
fitrength."     It  was  first  jjublished  at  Oxford. 
England,  in  1827,  in  two  thin  16mo  yolumes. 
It  was  put  forth  anonymously  at  first,  the 
secret  of  its  authorship   being  shared  by  a 
number  of  the  poet's  friends  to  whom  he  had 
submitted  the  manuscript,  and  from  whom, 
little  by  little,  it  leaked  out.     The  work,  like 
Oray's  elegy,  was  the  product  of   long  and 
l)ainstaking     labor,    which    was    amply    re- 
warded,  howeyer,    by   the   remarkable    |)opu- 
larity  it  won,  the  ninety-sixth  edition  haying 
been  reyised  by  Keble's  own  hand,  and,  as  al- 
I'eady  suggested,  the  hundreth  edition  haying 
since  been  giyen  to  the  public. 

The  hymn  as  it  a])pears  in  the  yarious 
hymnals  is  composed  of  the  third,  seyenth, 
eighth  nnd  last  three  stanzas  of  the  original 
l)oem.  which  contains  fourteen  stanzas.  To 
whom  belongs  the  honor  of  haying  discoy- 
ered  the  elements  of  so  remarkable  a  hymn 
imbedded  in  llie  ])oem  from  which  they  were 
extracted  is  a  j)roblem  not  yet  solyed  with 
absolute   certainty.     According  to   Dr.   Ben- 

64 


KEBLE'S  EVENING  HYMN 

son  the  Rev.  IleiiiT  Venn  Elliott,  brother  of 
Cliai'lotte  Elliott,  ])ut  a  selection  of  foni- 
Htan/.us  from  Keble's  poem  into  his  "Psalms 
and  Hymns,"  beginning  with  '-vSun  of  my 
soul,"  etc..  and  "other  editors  followed  his  ex- 
am])le,  some  of  them  nsing  additional  verses. 
This  is  the  earliest  appearance  of  the  hymn, 
in  anything  like  its  present  form,  yet  dis- 
covered; and,  unless  some  instance  of  its 
earlier  publication  shall  come  to  liiiht.  Mr. 
Elliott  will  be  credited  with  the  original  dis- 
covery of  the  hymn  as  imbedded  in  the  larger 
poetical  production  from  which  its  various 
stan/as  were  collected"  ("Studies  of  familiar 
llyTiins"). 

As  generally  published  in  the  hymnals  of 
the  present  time  the  hymn  ap]»ears  in  six 
stanzas,  as  follows: 

Sun    of    my    soul.    Tlum    Savior    dear. 

It  is  not  night  if  Tliou  bo  near: 

O  may   no  eartli-Itoni   cloud   arise 

To    hide    Thee    from    Thy    servant's    eyes ! 

When   the   st)ft  dews  of  kindly   sleep 
My  wearied  eyelids  gently   steep, 
Be  my   last  thought,   how  sweet  to  rest  ^ 
Forever  on  my  Savior's  breast ! 

Abide  with  me  from  morn  tiir  eve. 
For  without  Thee   T    <annot   live; 

65 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

Abide  with  nie  when  niffht  is  nigh, 
For  without   Thee   I    dare   not   die. 

If  some  poor   wfind'riuij:   eliihl  of  Thine 
Have  spurned,  to-day,  the   voice  divine, 
Now,    Lord,   the   gracious   work  begin ; 
Let  liim  no  more  lie  down  in  sin. 

A\'atch  by  the  sick  ;  enrich  the  poor 
With  blessings  from  Thy  bounteous  store ; 
Be  every  mourner's  slee]i  to-night. 
Like  intant  slumbers,  pure  and   light. 

Come  near  and  bless  us  when  we  wake, 
I'h'e  throiigh  the  world  our  AAay  we  take ; 
Till   in  the  ocean  of  Thy  love. 
We  lose  ourselves  in  heaven  above. 

Tune — "IIursley." 

Two  other  stanzas  are  included  in  the 
liynm  as  sometimes  published,  constituting 
respectively,  when  included,  stanzas  one  and 
five.  We  reproduce  them  herewith  as  follows, 
and  leave  the  i-eader  to  judge  for  himself  as 
to  whether  iheir  exclusion  im])roves  or  les- 
sens the  beauty  and  worth  of  the  hymn: 

^\■||('ll  Willi  dear  friciuls  sweet  talk   I  hold, 
And  ail  the  flowers  of  life  unfold, 
jA?f   iiitt  my   heart   within   me  burn, 
Excei't  in  all   I  Thee  discern. 

Thou  Franier  of  the  light  and  dark. 
Steer  tlirouuii  tlic  lempest  Thine  own  arl:  : 

66 


KEBLE'S  EVENING  HYMN 

Amid  the  howling  wintry  sea, 
We  are  in  port  if  we  have  Thee. 

Jolin  Koblo,  llio  distinguished  antlior  of 
"The  Christian  Year,"  was  born  at  Fairford. 
England,  in  171)2,  his  father  being  an  honored 
clergyman  of  the  Established  Chnreh.  He 
was  edncated  at  Oxford,  graduating  in  1810, 
with  donble  first  class  honors.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  Orders  in  the  ICstablished  Ohva-ch 
in  181 G.  Twelve  years  later  appeared  his 
"Christian  Y'^ear,"  embodying  in  its  various 
poems  for  the  Sundays  and  holidays  of  the 
year  a.  number  of  what  are  now  regarded  as 
.iniong  the  choicest  hyn>ns  of  the  Church. 
"Sun  of  my  soul"  being  chiefest  of  them  all. 
In  1831  he  was  elected  professor  of  poetry  at 
Oxford,  which  ])osition  he  occupied  for  ten 
years.  In.  1833  he  preached  his  fam.ous 
Assize  Sermon  at  Oxford,  on  "National 
Apostasy,"  which  Cardinal  Newman,  then 
within  the  English  Church,  subsequently  de- 
clared gave  rise  to  the  High  Church  or  Ox 
ford  Movement — a  ^lovement  which  "trans- 
formed the  Church  of  England,"  and  of  which 
"Keble,  Newman  and  Dr.  Pusey  were  the 
leading  spirits." 

The  Oxford  or  "Tractarian  Movement" 
finally  landcMl  Newman  in  Ihc  Koman  Catho- 
lic Church,  where  his  distinguished  ability  and 


HYMXS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

his  devotion  to  the  Church  at  last  secured 
Iiim  a  place  in  the  College  of  Cardinals. 
Keble,  Avho  remained  a  firm  adherent  of  the 
Church  of  England,  grieved  greatly  over  New- 
man's secession.  His  attitude  of  attachment 
to  Anglican  traditions  was  expressed  in  his 
publication  of  "The  Christian  Year,"  which 
also  had  the.  effect  of  confirming  thousands 
of  others  in  a  similar  attitude.  He  was  a 
prolific  Avriter  of  both  prose  and  poetry  for 
many  years,  and  the  various  productions  of 
his  pen  did  much  to  influence  and  mold  the 
national  affairs  of  his  time. 

After  the  death  of  his  father  in  1835  Keble 
married  and  became  Vicar  of  Hursley,  where, 
for  the  rest  of  his  davs  he  remained,  content- 
edly  ''leading  the  life  of  a  retired  scholar 
and  faithful  country  pastor."  Tlis  church 
was  always  open  for  morning  and  evening 
prayers.  "Night  and  day  he  was  unwearied 
in  his  ministrations  to  the  sick,  the  poor, 
the  alUicted.  On  many  a  dark  evening  he  was 
seen,  lantern  in  hand,  wending  his  way  to 
some  distant  cottage,  with  words  of  cheer. 
Though  a  m,an  of  fine  scholarly  tastes  and 
culture,  he  was  so  meek  and  unassuming, 
that  the  jmor  looked  up  to  him  as  their  best 
friend." 

II is  death  occurred    at    Bournemouth,    in 

68 


KEBLE'S  EVENING  HYMN 

March,  1866.  His  wife  survived  him  but  six 
weeks,  and  both  are  buried,  side  by  side,  in 
Hursley  church-yard.  Immediately  folk>winji: 
his  death  a  movement  was  originated  to  pro- 
vide for  him  a  suitable  monument,  which  fi- 
nally resulted  in  the  founding  of  Keble  Col- 
lege, Oxford,  in  1870,  "by  subscription  in 
memory  of  the  Kev.  John  Keble,  Vicar  of 
Hursley,  s(»metime  fellow  and  tutor  of  Oriel 
College.  ])rofessor  of  poetry  in  the  University, 
and  author  of  'The  Christian  Year.'  " 

As  sung  to  the  tune  "Hursley,"  Keble's 
''Sun  of  mv  soul"  is  a  favorite  hvmn  in  most 
Christian  congregations  of  the  English-speak- 
ing world.  Its  tender  melody,  its  pleasing 
rhythm,  its  soft  and  mellow  strains,  together 
with  the  fervor  and  confidence  of  its  breath- 
ing after  God,  adapt  it  to  inspiring  the  faith, 
calming  the  agitations,  assuaging  the  griefs 
and  (|uickening  and  brightening  the  hopes  of 
believers  amid  all  the  changeful  vicissitudes 
of  their  earthly  pilgrimage.  As  illustrative  of 
its  value  in  the  foregoing;  directions,  and  also 
as  a  fitting  conclusion  to  our  consideration  of 
its  origin,  character  and  history,  we  subjoin 
the  following  pathetic  narrative,  as  related 
by  the  liev.  Dr.  Tillett  in  "Our  Hymns  and 
Their  Authors :" 

•'A  young  lady  of  lovely  C'hristian  charac- 

69 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

ter  lay  seriously  ill  iu  hei-  chamber.  Her 
mother  and  loved  oues  were  about  her.  The 
room  seemed  to  her  to  be  growing  dark.  She 
asked  them  to  raise  the  curtains  and  let  in 
the  light.  But.  alas,  the  curtains  were  al- 
ready raised,  and  it  was  broad-open  daylight. 
It  was  t)ie  night  of  death  that  had  come, 
and  she  knew  it  not.  As  she  kept  asking  them 
to  let  in  the  light  they  had  to  tell  her  the 
nature  of  the  darkness  that  was  gathering 
about  her.  But  she  was  not  dismayed.  With 
a  sweet,  quiet,  plaintive  voice  she  began  sing- 
ing her  favorite  hymn : 

'Sun  of  uiy  soul.  Tliou  Savior  dear. 
It  is  not  niylit  if  Tliou  be  near: 
O  let  no  earth-born  cloud  arise 
To  hide  Thee  from  Thy  servant's  eyes.' 

''The  eyes  of  all  in  the  room  suffused  with 
tears  r.s  the  sweet  singer's  tremulous  voice 
continued : 

'When    the    soft    dews   of    kindly    sleep 
INIy  wearied  eyelids  gently  stoop. 
Be  my  last  thought,  how  sweet  to  rest 
For  ever  on  my  Savior's  breast!' 

"She  had  often  sung  this  hymn  to  the  de- 
light of  the  liome-circle,  but  now  it  seemed 
like  the  song  of  tlio  dying  swan,  the  sweetest 

70 


KEBLE'S  EVENING  HYMN 

she  had  ever  simg.  Her  conntenanee  lighted 
np  wifh  a  beauty  and  a  radiance  that  came 
not  from  earth  as  she  sang  once  more  in 
feebler  but  more  heavenly  sti'ains : 

'Abide    with    lue    from    morn    till    eve, 
For  without  Thee  I  cannot  live : 
Abide  with  mo  when  night  is  nigh, 
For  without  Thee  I  dare  not  die.' 

And  with  these  fitting  words  the  sweet  voice 
was  hushed   in   death   which   ceased    not   to 


sing, 


'Till,  in  the  ocean  of  Cod's  love, 
She  lost  herself  in  heaven  above.'  " 


''I 


X 

A  woman'.s  hymn  on  twilight  devotion 

From  time  immemorial  the  fields  and 
groves  have  been  favorite  resorts  and  twi- 
light has  been  a  favorite  season  Avith  godly 
men  and  women  for  private  meditation  and 
prayer.  There  is  much  in  both  season  and 
surroundings  favorable  to  concentration  up- 
on the  object  in  view,  and  ada})ted  to  lifting 
the  soul  to  loftiest  contemjdations  of  and 
most  enra])turing  communion  with  the  Majes- 
ty on  High. 

One  of  the  finest  and  most  jiopular  little 
i;oems  expressive  of  delight  in  twilight  de- 
votion— a  lyric  which,  though  not  intended 
as  a  hymn,  has  won  its  way  into  many  of  the 
cliurcli  hymnals  through  firsi  having  won  its 
way  into  the  hearts  of  j)raying  men  and 
women — is  one  beginuiiig.  as  usually  printed, 

"I    love    to    steal    awhile    away 
From  every  cumbering  care." 

Mrs.  I'hoebe  II.  lirown,  its  author,  was 
born    in   Canaan,    New    York,    in    1783,    and 

72 


TWILIGHT  DEVOTION 

died  in  Heiii'v.  Illinois,  in  1S()1.  She  was 
:t  devout  Christian  mother,  in  humble  cir- 
cumstances, burdened  with  many  a  ''cumber- 
ing care,"  and  daily,  toward  nightfall,  was 
accustomed  to  retire  to  a  solitary  place  a 
little  distant  from  her  home  for  meditation 
;ind  secret  prayer.  Observed  in  this  daily  re- 
tirement by  a  wealthy  neighbor  who  severely 
'•ritieised  her,  and  even  imjiugned  her  mo- 
I  ives.  she  was  deeply  wounded,  and.  to  relieve 
her  burdened  heart,  went  to  her  home  and 
wrote  the  following: 

A>;    APOLOGY    FOR    MY  TWILIGHT   RAMBLES, 

ADDRESSED  TO  A  LADY. 

(Elliugton,  August,  3818.) 

Yes,  when  the  toilsome  day  is  gone, 

AjKl  night  witli  l)anuei-s  gray. 
Steal's    silently    the   glades   along 

In    twilight's    soft    aiTaj% 

I   love  to  steal  awhile  away 

From  little  ones  and  care, 
And  spend   the   honrs   of   setting  day 

In  gratitude  and  prayer. 

I    love  to   feast  on  Nature's  scenes 

Wlifii   fails  the  evening  dew, 
.\nd  dwell  uiwn  the  silent  themes. 
Forever  rich  and  new. 

73 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

I  love  in  solitude  to  shed 

The  poiiiteutiiil   tear. 
And  all  God's  promises  to  plead 

AVliere  none  can  see  or  hear. 

T  love  to  think  on  mercies  past. 

And  future  ones  implore, 
And  all  my  cares  and  sorrows  cast 

On  II im  whom   I   adore. 

I  love  to  meditate  on  death  I 

When    shall    His    message    come. 
With    friendly    smiles    to    steal    my    breath. 

And  take  an  exiU'  home? 

I   lovo  by  faitli  to  take  a   view 

Of  blissful   scenes  in   II(>aven  : 
Tlie  sif^l'.t  doth  all  my  .streni^th  renew 

While  here  by  storms   I'm  driven. 

I   love  this  silent  twilisht  hour 

Far  better  than  the  rest ; 
It  is  of  all  the  twenty-four. 

The   happiest   and   best. 

Thus,  when  life's  toilsome  day  is  o'er, 

INIay   its   departinij   ray 
Be  calm  as  this  imj)ressiv('  hour. 

And   lead  to  endless  day. 

Tpne — "Arlington." 

Although  written  in  ISlS  llie  fii-st  r.dop- 
tion  of  tlipse  linos  as  a  livinn  appears  to  have 
been     in     Xettleton's    "Villap.'     llvnms,"    in 

74 


TWILIGHT   I)i:VOTION 

1825.  Strictly  speakin^i;  the  ]»r()(hictioii  is  ;i 
poem  aiul  not  a  liyuin.  Its  antlior  wrote  it 
merely  to  ease  ber  troubled  beart  wben  stiiiiji 
by  Ibe  gronndless  accusations  already  men 
tioned,  and  witb  no  tlion<iIit  of  its  ever  gping 
into  print,  to  say  uotbinji  of  its  findinu,-  a  ]»er- 
manent  place  in  tbe  bynmody  of  tbe  ('Inn-cb. 
Her  own  version  of  its  oriiiin.  wbicb  lias  been 
quite  widely  circulated  for  years,  will  bear 
repetition  in  eacb  new  volume  devoted  to  tbe 
story  of  tbe  Cburcb's  bymns. 

''It  was  in  Ellington  tbat  I  wrote  tbe  'Twi 
ligbt  Hymn,' ''  sbe  says.  "My  bal)y  daugbter 
M'as  in  my  arms  wben  I  wrote  it.  T  bad  been 
out  on  a  visit  to  Dr.  Hyde's  and  several  were 
present,  xlfter  tea  one  of  my  neigbbors,  wbo 
1  bad  always  felt  was  my  su])erior  in  every 
way.  came  and  sat  down  near  me.  cbatting 
witb  anotbcr  lady,  Avitbout  noticing  me.  Just 
as  I  was  rising  to  go  bome,  sbe  turned  sud 
denlA^  upon  me  and  said  :  "Mrs.  JJrowu,  why  do 
you  come  up  at  evening  so  near  our  bouse, 
and  then  go  back  witbout  coming  in?  If  you 
want  anytbing,  wby  don't  you  come  in  and 
ask  for  it?  I  could  not  tbiidv  wbo  it  was.  and 
sent  my  girl  down  to  tbe  garden  to  see;  and 
sbe  said  it  was  you — tbat  you  came  to  tbe 
fence,  but,  seeing  ber,  turned  quickly  away, 
muttcriug  sometbiug  to  y(mrself.' 

75 


HYMNS  THAT  AKE  IMMORTAL 

"There  was  something  in  her  manner,  more 
than  her  words,  that  grieved  me.  I  went 
home,  and  that  evening  Avas  left  alone.  After 
my  children  were  all  in  bed.  except  mv  baby, 
T  sat  down  in  the  kitchen,  with  my  child  in 
my  arms,  Avhen  the  grief  in  my  heart  bnrst 
forth  in  a  flood  of  tears.  I  took  pen  and 
I»aper,  and  gave  vent  to  my  oppressed  heart 
in  what  I  called  'My  Apology  for  my  Twi- 
light Kaijibles,  Addressed  to  a  Lady.'  It  will 
be  found  in  its  original  form  in  an  old  manii- 
scrij)t  among  my  papers.  In  preparing  it 
(some  years  after)  for  Nettleton's  'Village 
Hymns'  some  three  or  four  verses  were  sup- 
])vessed  and  m  few  expressions  altered.  In 
the  original  of  what  is  now  the  first  stanza 
was : 

I    love    to    steal    awhile    away 

From  liltlc  (iiia<  and  care,' 

[instead  of  "From  cveri/  cu inhering  care"  in- 
iroduced  later]. 

"This  was  strictly  true.  I  had  four  little 
children;  a  sm,ali  unfinished  house;  a  sick 
sister  in  the  only  finished  room;  and  there 
was  not  a  ])lace  above  or  l)eiow.  where  1 
could  retire  for  devotion,  without  a  liability 
to  be  interruj)ted.  There  was  no  retired 
room,  rock,  or  grove  wiiere  I  coubl  go  as  in 
former  days;  but  there  was  no  dwelling  be- 

76 


TWILIGHT  DEVOTION 

tween  our  house  and  the  one  where  that  lady 
lived.  Her  garden  extended  a  good  way  be- 
low her  house,  which  stood  on  a  beautiful 
eminence.  The  garden  was  highly  cultivated, 
with  fruits  and  flowers.  I  loved  to  smell  the 
fragrance  of  both  (though  I  could  not  see 
them).  When  I  could  do  so  without  neglect- 
ing my  duty,  I  used  to  steal  away  from  all 
within  doors,  and,  going  out  of  our  gate, 
stroll  along  under  the  elms  that  were  planted 
for  shade  on  each  side  of  the  road ;  and 
as  there  was  seldom  any  one  passing  that 
way  after  dark,  I  felt  quite  retired  and  alone 
with  God. 

"I  often  walked  quite  up  to  that  beautiful 
garden,  and  snu  filed  the  fragrance  of  the 
peach,  the  grape,  and  the  rii)ening  ai)ple.  if 
not  the  flowers.  I  never  saw  any  one  in  the 
garden,  and  T  felt  that  I  could  have  tlie  i)rivi- 
lego  of  that  walk  and  those  few  moments  of 
uuinterrujited  communion  with  God  without 
encroaching  ujton  any  one;  but,  after  once 
knowing  that  my  steps  were  watched  and 
made  the  subject  of  remark  and  censure,  I 
never  could  enjoy  it  as  I  had  done.  I  have 
often  thought  Satan  had  tried  his  best  to  i)re- 
vent  me  from  prayer  by  de])riving  me  of  a 
place  to  pray." 

One  of   those  "little  ones''   referred  to   in 


IIYMNiS  TIIxVT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

the  original  form  of  the  second  stanza  of  this 
hymn  beeanie  the  Rev.  S.  R.  Brown,  D.  D., 
and  went  as  the  first  Christian  missionary  to 
Japan,  possibly  in  answer  to  some  of  the 
many  prayers  breathed  by  that  holy  mother 
in  her  favorite  place  of  twilight  meditation. 
The  hymn  as  now  generally  printed  omits 
the  first,  third,  sixth  and  eighth  stanzas  of 
tlie  original,  which  improves  it  and  renders 
it  more  suitable  for  use  in  the  hymnals. 


78 


Consecration 


79 


XI 

watts' S    IIYMX    OX    THE    CRUCIFIXIOX 

lu  the  rear  1707,  when  he  was  but  thirty- 
three  rears  of  age,  Isaac  Watts  published  a 
volume  of  "Hviims  and  Sacred  Songs,"  in- 
tended to  be  used  as  a  church  hymn-book, 
every  hymn  of  which  was  his  own  composi- 
tion. The  first  edition  of  this  work  contained 
two  hundred  and  ten  hymns,  supposed  to 
have  been  mostly  written  before  he  Ayas 
twenty-five  years  of  age  and  Avhile  he  was  liv- 
ing in  his  father's  home  making  preparation 
for  beginning  his  public  ministry.  That  these 
hymns  were  of  a  high  order  is  evident  from 
the  general  favor  with  which  the  book  was  at 
once  received,  as  also  from  the  fact  that  they 
were  instrumental  in  producing  a  new  epoch 
in  church  hymnody. 

By  far  the  most  ]»()])uhir  of  all  ilie  hymns 
in  this  collection,  as  also  of  all  tlu>  hymns 
Watts  ever  composed,  is  the  one  beginning, 

"Whon  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross 
Ou  which  the  Prince  of  glory  died." 

In  the  first  edition  of  ^'ITymns  and  Spiritual 

8i 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

Songs,"  :md  also  in  the  enlarged  edition  of 
1700,  this  hymn  appeared  under  the  title  of 
"Crucilixion  to  the  World  by  the  Cross  of 
Christ.  Gal.  (> :  14."  The  Scripture  passage 
on  Avhicli  it  is  based  reads :  ''But  God  for- 
bid that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is 
crucilied  unto  me,  and  1  unto  the  world." 
No  nobler  hymn  has  ever  been  written  on  the 
(rncilixion  than  this.  "In  popularity  and 
use,  in  its  original  or  slightly  altered  form," 
says  I)i'.  Julian,  ''this  hymn  is  one  of  the  four 
which  stand  at  the  head  of  all  hymns  in  the 
Engl  is!!  language." 

Dr.  Watts,  who  has  had  no  peer  as  a  hymn- 
writer,  except  it  be  Charles  Wesley,  was  born 
in  Southampton,  TCngland.  in  1074.  His  fa- 
ther was  a  deacon  in  the  (Congregational 
Church.  Young  Watts  received  a  fair  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  his  native  town.  aftiM- 
which  cerlain  well-to-do  parlies,  because  of 
his  extraordinary  brightness  and  ]>romise. 
]>r()])Osed  to  give  him  a  university  education, 
liut  English  universities  were  then  closed 
against  Dissenters,  and  young  Watts  chose 
rather  1o  sufler  alUiction  among  his  Dissent- 
ing brethren  than  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of 
an    lOuglish    university   for  a   season. 

He    cntc'rcHl    the   academy   of   Rev.   Thoma.s 

82 


ON  THE  CRUCIFIXION 

Eowo  at  '^tokc  Newingtou,  and  iu  1093  be- 
taiue  a  member  of  Mr.  Rowe's  cliiirch.  On 
finishing  his  course  he  returned  to  the  home 
of  liis  father,  where  the  next  two  years  were 
spent  in  special  preparation  for  the  ministr3\ 
In  101)(>  ho  became  a  tutor  to  Sir  John  Har- 
topp's  children,  in  Newington,  for  a  time,  for 
whom  he  com])osed  many  of  his  hymns  for 
cbihlren  which  afterAvard  became  so  popular. 

He  began  preaching  in  1G9S  at  Mark  Lane, 
near  the  Tower,  in  London.  Not  long  after 
this  he  was  seized  with  a  physical  infirmity 
which  left  him  practically  an  invalid  for 
life.  lie  continued  to  hold  his  pastorate,  but 
was  compelled  to  rely  largely  upon  an  as- 
sistant to  perform  tlie  duties  of  his  cliarge, 
giving  himself  cliieily  to  the  writing  and  pub- 
lishing of  hymns.     He  was  never  married. 

In  ITlo  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  s])end 
a  little  timeatthehouseof  Sir  Thomas  Abney, 
wliich  was  tlie  occasion  of  Mr.  Abn€\v*s  res- 
idence becoming  his  i)ermanent  home.  Many 
A  ears  later  he  wrote  the  Countess  of  Hunt- 
ingdon :  ''This  dav  thirtv  vears  I  came 
hither  to  the  house  of  my  good  friend  Sir 
Thomas  Abney,  intending  to  spend  but  one 
single  week  under  his  friendly  roof,  and  I 
have  extended  my  visit  to  exactly  the  length 
of  thirty  years." 

23 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  TMMORTAI, 

He  published  his  metrical  version  of  the 
Psalms  of  David  in  1719.  He  also  published 
many  volumes  in  prose  as  well  as  in  verse, 
his  publications  numbering  fifty-two  volumes 
in  all.  He  died  in  peace  in  1718.  and  was 
long  held  in  precious  memory  ''as  a  patriarch 
among  the  Dissenting  clergy." 

"\Alien    1  survey     *     *     *     *     (^.^^j^  hardly 

be  said  to  have  liad  a  special  history,"  says 
Dr.  Eenson,  "apart  from  the  others  in  Watts's 
epocli-making  book.  But  there  are  several 
things  that  single  out  this  hymn  from  among 
the  rest.  One  is  its  extraordinary  excellence. 
It  is  not  only  the  best  of  all  Watts's  hymns, 
but  it  is  placed  by  common  consent  among 
the  greatest  hymns  in  the  language.  An- 
other is  the  wideness  of  its  use.  The  greater 
part  of  Watts's  hymns  are  left  behind;  this 
Is  sung  in  every  branch  of  the  English-speak- 
ing Church, 

''Judged  by  the  number  of  church  hym- 
nals containing  it,  only  one  hymn  is  used 
more  widely — Toplady's  'Rock  of  Ages.'  Its 
greatest  glory,  however,  is  the  part  it  has 
had  in  the  experience  of  Christians.  Only 
God  can  know  how  many  living  eyes  it  has 
inspired  with  the  ideal  of  the  cross  of  renun- 
ciation, how  many  dying  eyes  it  has  com- 
forted with  the  vision  of  the  cross  of  hope." 

84 


••  /--.■ 


ISAAC  WATTS. 


ON  THE  CRUCTFIXIOX 

The  following  is  the  complete  original  text 
of  tbe  hymn : 

WLen  I  survey  tbe  wondrous  cross 

Where  the  young   rriuce  of  glory   died, 

My  richest  gain  I  count  but  loss, 
And  pour  contempt  on  all  u)y  pride. 

Forbid   it.   Lord,   that    I   should   boast, 
Save  in  the  death  of  Christ  my  God: 

x\U  the  vain  things  that  charm  me  most, 
I  sacrifice  them  to  His  blood. 

See.  from  ITis  bead.  His  hands.  His  feet, 
Sorrow  and  love  flow  mingled  down : 

Did  e'er  such  love  and  sorrow  meet? 
Or  thorns  compose  so  rich  a  crown? 

His  dying  crimson  like  a  robe 

Spreads  o'er  His  body  on   the  tree: 

Then  I  am  dead  to  all  the  globe. 
And  air  the  globe  is  dead  to  nie. 

Were  the  whole  realm  of  nature  mine, 
That  were  a  present  far  too  small; 

Love  so  amazing,  so  divine,  _^ 

Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all. 

Tune — "Eucharist." 

Modern  hymnals  generally  omit  the  fonrth 
stanza,  and  that  wisely  in  onr  opinion.  The 
hymn  is  complete  withont  it,  and  a  snper- 
fluons  stanza  always  detracts  from  the  beau- 
ty  and   worth    of  a    hymn.      Then   the   word 

85 


IIYMXB  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

",ulobe"  is  unfortiniately  introduced  for  the 
sake  of  rliynie.  wliere  tcorld  is  the  sense  in- 
tended— not  tlie  world  as  a  planet,  but  the 
morally  coiTU])t  order  of  things  surrounding 
and  continually  a]>])ealing  to  us  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  being.  This  does  violence  to  the 
SciM])ture  passage  which  forms  the  basis  of 
liie  hymn.  ^loreover,  the  simile  contained  in 
the  first  couplet  seems  far-fetched  and  un- 
natural, while  the  last  couplet  expresses  as 
:i  se(iuence  what  does  not  naturally  or  nec- 
essarily follow  from  the  fact  the  tirst  couplet 
was  intended  to  express.  That  Dr.  Watts 
himself  attached  less  importance  to  this 
stanza  than  to  the  rest  of  the  hymn  is  evi- 
dent from  the  fact  that,  in  the  second  edition 
of  his  "Hymns  and  Songs,''  he  ]>laced  it  with- 
in brackets,  as  the  stanza  to  be  omitted  if 
any  part  were  to  be  left  out  iu  the  singing 
of  the  hymn. 

"Our  hymns  have  never  had  a  critic  so  se- 
\ere  as  Matthew  Arnold,"  says  Dr.  P.euson  in 
^'Studies  of  Familial-  Hymns."  ''But  on  jlic 
l.'.st  day  of  Ills  life  he  attended  the  Sefton 
I'ark  Presbyterian  rhurcli,  Liverpool,  of 
which  Dr.  Watson  (  Ian  Maclaren)  is  pastor. 
The  hymn.  A>'lien  I  survey  the  wondrous 
cross,'  was  sung.  Coming  down,  afterward, 
from  his  bedroom  in  his  brother-in-laAv's  house 

86 


ON  THE  CRUCIFIXION 

to  Inncheon,  ifr.  Arnold  was  heard  softlv  re- 
peating  to  himself  the  opening  lines.  At 
luneheon  he  spoke  of  it  as  the  greatest  livnii) 
in  the  language.  Afterward  he  went  out,  and 
in  ten  niinules  was  dead.  Does  not  such  au 
incident  (attested  by  Dr.  ^Vatsoni  show  the 
importance  of  literary  merit  in  hvnins?  It 
recalls  the  appeal  of  .John  AVesley  for  hymns 
'such  as  wonld  sooner  provoke  a  critic  to  turn 
Christian  than  a  Christian  to  turn  critic' "' 
This  hymn  should  be  sung  in  the  S]»irit 
of  that  time,  practical  consecration  which  it 
breathes,  or  not  snng  at  all.     To  sing, 

"Love  so  aiuazincr,  so  Divine, 

Demaiuls  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all." 

and  then  go  on  living  to  one's  self,  withhold- 
ing tithes  from  the  Lord's  treasui'y,  unmoved 
by  the  most  powerful  appeals  for  aid  on  be- 
half of  the  sick,  the  poor  and  the  unfortunate 
-—or,  if  giving  at  all,  giving  stintedly  and 
grudgingly — is  naught  but  hollow  mockery,  a 
wicked  i)]'ofanation  of  divine  worship. 

After  the  taking  of  a  collection,  in  a 
church  in  London,  the  congregation  led  bv  the 
choir,  sang  this  beautiful  hymn  of  the  cross. 
When  the  echo  of  the  last  word  had  died 
away  the  pastor'  slowly  repeated  the  last 
line, — 

87 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAI. 

"Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all," 

and  added:  "\Vell  I  am  surprised  to  hear 
you  sing  that.  Do  you  know  that  altogether 
you  only  put  flfteen  shillings  into  the  bag 
this   morning?" 

In  a  certain  charity  sermon  the  preacher 
dwelt  on  the  inconsistency  of  singing  this 
hymri  without  making  the  practise  of  one's 
life  correspond  with  its  sentiments  of  con- 
secration and  self-sacrifice.  A  parsimonious 
old  brother,  nearly  deaf,  was  much  moved  by 
the  remarks  and  unconsciously  tallied  out 
the  struggle  which  was  going  on  within  his 
heart.  The  periodical  which  reported  the  oc- 
cni'rence  siiid  that  he  "sat  under  the  puljiit 
with  his  ear-trumi)et  directed  upward  toward 
the  ])reacher.  *  *  *  *  ^\f  ojjg  ^jj^^g  j^^ 
said  to  himself — 'I'll  give  ton  dollars;-  again 
he  said,  'I'll  give  fifteen.'  At  the  close  of  the 
a[)peal  he  was  very  much  moved  and  thought 
he  would  give  fifty  dollars.  Now,  the  boxes 
were  passed.  As  they  moved  along,  his  ( har- 
ity  began  to  ooze  out.  He  came  down  from 
fifty  to  twenty,  to  ten,  to  five,  to  zero.  'Yet,' 
J  aid  he,  "this  won't  do — I'm  in  a  bad  fix. 
This  covetousness  will  be  niv  ruin.' 

''The  boxes  were  getting  nearer  and  near- 
er.    The  crisis  was  now   ujton  him.     What 

88 


ON  THE  CRUCIFIXION 

slioiild  he  do?  The  box  was  now  under  his 
chin — all  the  congregation  were  looking.  He 
had  been  holding  his  i)Ocket-book  in  his  hand 
dni'ing  this  soliloquy,  which  was  half  audible, 
though  in  his  deafness  he  did  not  know  that 
he  was  heard.  In  agony  of  the  final  moment 
he  took  his  pocket-book  and  laid  it  in  the  box, 
saying  to  himself  as  he  did  it, — ^Noic  squirm, 
old  licit  a  r?  '^ 

Self-crucifixion  is  the  spirit  of  the  hymn, 
and  the  old  brotlier  described  in  the  forego- 
ing paragraph  finally  acted  upon  the  princi- 
ple of  self -crucifixion.  Would  that  many 
others  who  need  to  achieve  a  similar  victory 
would  go  and  do  likewise. 


89 


XII 

Wesley's  hymn  on  the  living  sacrifice 

In  Romans  12 : 1  Saint  Paul,  turning  to  a 
jjowerfnl  application  of  the  truths  dis"ussed 
in  tlie  preceding-  chapters  of  his  epistle, 
says:  "I  beseech  you  therefore,  brethreu.  by 
the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  present  your  bod- 
ies a  living-  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto 
God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service."  No 
sacred  lyrist  has  ever  more  completely  and 
concisely  embodied  the  sentiment  of  this  ex- 
hortation in  verse  than  Charles  Wesley,  in 
the  following  famous  consecration  hymn: 

Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
One  in  Three,  and  Three  in  One, 

As  by  the  celestial  host. 

Let  Thy  will  on  earth  be  done: 

rraise  by  all  to  Thee  be  given. 

Glorious  Lord  of  earth  and  heaven! 

Vilest  of  the  sinful  race, 

Lo !  I  answer  to  Thy  call : 
Meanest  vessel  of  Thy  grace. 

(Grace  divinely   free   for  all), 
Lol  I  couie  to  do  Thy  will. 
All  Thy  counsel  to  rnltii. 

90 


O^'  THK  JJVIXG  SACIUFICE 

If  so._poor  a  worm  as  I 

May  to  Thy  great  glory  live. 
All  my  actions  sanctiiy. 

All  iiiy  words  and  tbougUts  receive ; 
Claim  me  for  Tby  service,  claim 
All  1  have  and  all  I  am. 

Take  my   soul   and   body's  powers; 

Take  my  memory,  mind,  and  will ; 
All  my  goods,  and  all  my  hours; 

All  I  know,  and  all  I  feel ; 
All  I  think,  or  speak,  or  do; 
Take  my  heart:   Init  make  it  new. 

Now,  my  God,  Thine  own  I  am, 
Nov\    I  give  Thee  hack  Thine  own  : 

Freedom,  friends,  and  liealth.  and  fame, 
Lonseci'ate  to  Thee  alone  : 

Thine  I  live,  thrice  happy  I. 

Happier  still  if  Thine  I  die. 

Father.  Son,  and   Holy   Ghost. 

One   ill  Three,  and  Three  in  One, 
As  by  the  celestial  host. 

Let  Thy  will  on  earth  be  done: 
Praise  by  all  to  Thee  be  given, 
(ilorlous  Lord  of  earth  and  heaven' 

T  L'  XE '■  A  l.KTTA." 

Tliis  ai>pe;irs  as  No.  155  in  Charles  Wps- 
lov's  collection  of  "Hynms  on  the  Lord's 
Siii»]>er.""  dated  1745.  It  is  eminently  ai>i)i'o- 
j)i'iate  for  use  as  a  closing  hymn  on  a  sacra- 
mental occasion,  and  equally  appropriate  for 
use  as  a  consecration    hymn  in  revival    ser- 

91 


HYMN^^  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

vices,  as  also  tor  use  in  one's  daily  personal 
dedication  of  himself  to  God.  He  who  daily 
lives  in  the  spirit  of  this  thoroughly  evangeli- 
cal hymn  will  ever  be  ''more  than  conqueror" 
over  hell,  earth  and  sin  while  life's  battle 
rages,  and  will  also  be  gloriously  triumphant 
at  last  over  the  mortal  foe. 

''Directed  by  his  own  choice  to  the  medical 
jtrofession,  Daniel  M'Allum  was  subsequently 
called  by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  to 
minister  in  holy  things.  In  obedience  to  this 
call,  he  exercised  his  ministry  among  the 
[English]  Wesleyans  until  (by  a  mysterious 
dispensation  of  Providence)  he  Avas  removed, 
in  the  midst  of  his  years  and  his  usefulness, 
from  his  labors  on  earth  to  his  reward  in  hea- 
ven. *  *  *  *  When,  in  1810,  he  asked 
the  consent  of  the  conference  to  be  relieved 
from  the  law  which  prohibits  the  marriage  of 
]trobationers,  he  was  successful,  and  made  the 
following  entry  in  his  Journal  on  Ihe  occa- 
sion: ^Vs  it  resi)ects  temporal  things,  my  de- 
sire is  to  live  honestly  in  the  sight  of  all  men; 
::nd  my  prayer  is  that  which  Agur  offered  u]). 
As  it  regards  heavenly  things,  my  wisli  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  lines: 

'Ir  so   poor  a  worm  as  I 

May  to  Thy  ,i:n»at  crlory  live, 

92 


ON  THE  LIVING  SACRIFICE 

All  my  actions  sanctify, 
Air  my  words  and  tliouglits  receive.' " 

His  last  testimony  T\'as,  'My  labors  are  done, 
but  I  build  onlv  on  the  merits  of  mv  Savior. 
I  feel  that  Jesus  died  for  me.'  " 


93 


XIII 

RAY   palmer's   hymn   OF  FULL   SURRENDER 

If  ''Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,''  is  the 
most  popuhir  of  all  American  hymns,  the  next 
most  popular  sacred  lyric  produced  on  Amer- 
ican soil  is  Dr.  Ray  Palmer's 

"My   faith   looks  up  to  Thee, 
Thou  Lamb  of  Calvary, 
Savior  divine." 

In  fact,  some,  like  the  venerable  Dr.  Cuyler, 
assign  to  the  latter  hymn  the  chief  place  in 
American  hvmuic  literature.  The  Doctor  de- 
Clares  it  "by  far  the  most  precious  contribu- 
tion which  American  genius  has  yet  made  to 
the  hynmology  of  the  Christian  Church."  Per- 
haps if  we  distinguish  properly  between  the 
words  "precious"  and  "poi)ular"  his  judg- 
ment is  a  just  one.  The  former  hymn  being 
chiefly  theistic  and  the  latter  distinctively 
evangelical,  the  one  has  in  it  the  elements  of 
a  wider  popularity  and  the  other  the  ele- 
ments of  more  distinctively  Christian  value. 
"My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee"  was  written 

94 


HYMN  OF  FILL  SITRRENDER 

in  1830.  and  was  entitled,  ''Self-ronsecra- 
tion."  Dr.  Puliuer  was  then  a  young  man,  but 
twenty -two  years  of  age.  and  was  teaching 
in  a.  vonng  ladies'  school  in  New  York  Citv. 
He  had  recently  graduated  from  Yale  Col- 
lege. His  health  was  poor,  and  he  was 
prosecuting  his  work  under  many  discourage- 
ments, Tn  this  condition  he  came,  not  by 
chance,  but  ]tro\identialIy,  ujjou  a  (ierman 
poetic  descri])tion,  in  two  stanzas  only,  of 
'*A  Suppliant  Before  the  Cross,"  and  was  so 
deejdy  touched  by  the  tender  beauty  of  the 
lines  that  he  at  once  translated  them  into 
English  verse.  He  then  added  four  stanzas 
of  liis  own  composition,  setting  forth  what 
the  suppliant  was  saying,  and  those  four 
stanzas  make  up  the  hymn  as  it  now  appears. 
When  asked  on  one  occasion  for  an  account 
of  the  origin  of  the  hymn,  the  aufhor  made 
the  following  statement  as  to  the  mood  in 
which  it  was  com])Osed:.  ''I  gave  form  to 
what  T  felt  by  writing,  with  little  effort,  these 
stanzas.  T  recollect  I  wrote  them  with  very 
tender  emotion,  and  ended  the  last  line  with 
tears.  I  composed  them  with  a  deej)  con- 
sciousness of  my  own  needs,  without  the 
slightest  thought  of  writing  for  another  eye, 
and  least  of  all  of  writing  a  hymn  for  Chris- 
tian worship."  After  the  hymn  had  attained  its 

95 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

great  popularity  Dr.  Palmer  expressed  it  as 
his  opinion  that  the  production  brought  com- 
fort to  the  hearts  of  Christians  "chiefly  be- 
cause it  expresses  in  a  simple  way  that  act 
which  is  the  most  central  in  all  true  Chris- 
tian life — the  act  of  trust  in  the  atoning 
Lamb." 

The  hymn  originally  appeared  in  the  fol- 
lowing form : 

My  faith  looks  np  to  Thee, 
Thou  Lamb  of  Calvary, 

Savior  divine. 
Now   hear  me  while  I  pray, 
Take  all  my  guilt  away, 
O  let  me  from  this  clay 

Be  wholly  Thine ! 

May  Thy  rich  grace  impart 
Strength  to  my  tainting  heart. 

My  zeal  inspii'e ! 
As  Thou  hast  died  for  iwo. 
O  may  my  love  to  Thee 
I'ure,  warm  and  changeless  be, 

A  living  fii-e! 

While  life's  dark  maze  I  tread, 
And  griefs  around  me  spread, 

Be  Thou  my   guide : 
Bid  darkness  turn  to  day. 
Wipe  sorrow's  tears  away. 
Nor  let  me  ever  stray 

FroiB  Thee  aside. 

96 


RAY  PALMEE. 


HYMN  OF  FULL  SURRENDER 

Wlaeu  ends  life's  transient   dream, 
Wiieu  death's  cold,  sullen  stream 

Shall  o'er  me  roll : 
Blest  Savior,  then,  hi  love. 
Fear  and  distrust  remove ; 
O  bear  me  safe  above, 

A  ransomed  soul ! 

TuNK — "Olivet." 

About  two  vears  after  the  hymn  was  wiit- 
tcD  Dr.  Lowell  Mason  met  the  author  on  one 
of  the  streets  of  Boston.  After  they  had  ex- 
changed greetings  the  famous  composer  in- 
formed Mr.  Palmer  that  he  and  Dr.  Hastings 
were  compiling  a  church  music-book,  and  re- 
quested a  contribution  for  its  pages.  Mr. 
Palmer  remembered  the  verses  he  had  written 
two  years  before,  drew  them  from  his  pocket, 
made  a  co]>y  of  them  and  submitted  it  for 
apjtroval.  Dr.  Ma.sou,  after  he  had  taken  time 
to  examine  them  was  peculiarly  impressed 
by  llie  verses,  and  predicted  that  they  would 
yet  be  sung  around  the  world.  He  proceeded 
at  once  to  set  them  to  appropriate  music,  com- 
posing the  tune  ''Olivet"  as  the  most  suitable 
means  of  rendering  them  in  song.  Assuredly 
(here  was  a  divine  providence  in  the  wedding 
of  this  hymn  and  tune;  ''and  what  God  hath 
joined  together  let  no  man  ])ut  asunder." 

The  next  time  Dr.  Mason  met  Mr.  l*alir,er 
after  receiving  the  hymn  he  said  to  him :  'Mr. 

97 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

I'almer.  you  may  live  many  years  and  do 
Tiiany  good  things,  but  I  think  yon  will  be 
best  known  to  posterity  as  the  author  of  ^My 
faith  looks  np  to  Thee.'  "  That  was  a  ti'ue 
jd'ophecy,  although  Mr.  Palmer  wrote  many 
(^tlier  hvmu.'^  of  rare  merit,  and  himself  re- 
garded 

".Jesus,   tliese  eyes  have  never  seen 
Th>it  radiant  form  of  Thine," 

as  his  best  production. 

After  filling  pastorates  acceptably  in  Bath, 
Maine,  and  Albany,  New  York,  he  was  made 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Union  in  1865.  He  continued  in  this 
position  until  1878,  when  ill  health  compelled 
him  to  resign.  He  then  settled  in  Newark, 
New  Jersey,  where  he  finished  his  course  in 
1887.  It  is  said  that  on  the  day  before  his 
death  he  was  heard  faintly  murnmriug  to 
himself  the  lines, 

"When    death   these   mortal   eyes   shall   seal. 
And  still  this  throl>hins  heart, 
The  rendinfi  veil  shall  Thee  reveal 
All  iilorious  as  Thou  art." 

In  his  "Recollections  of  a  Long  Life"  Dr. 
Cuyler  says:  "Dr.  Palmer  preached  several 
times  in  my  lirooklyn  pulpit.  He  was  once 
with    us  on    a   sacramental   Sabbath.     While 

98 


HYMN  OF  PULL  SUKRENDEE 

the  deacons  were  passing  the  sacred  elements 
among  the  congregation  the  dear  old  man 
broke  out  in  a  trennilons  voice  and  sang  his 
own   heavenly   lines : 

"My    faith    looks    up    to    Thee, 
Tliou  Lamb  of  Calvary, 
Savior   divine.' 

It  was  like  listening  to  a  rehearsal  for  the 
heavenly  choir,  and  the  whole  assemblv  was 
most  deeply  moved." 

While  not  as  old  as  many  of  the  hymns  in 
general  use  among  English-sj^eaking  Chris- 
tians, "My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee"  has  won 
for  itself  as  imperishable  a  place  in  the  hearts 
of  Irue  bel level's  as  any  of  those  which  have 
been  longer  on  (.rial.  It  is  hallowed  by  asso- 
ciations most  touching  and  sacred,  and  by 
u  historv  which  is  full  of  interest  and  signif- 
icance.  Perhaps  there  is  no  Christian  home 
in  English-S])eaking  Christendom  where  its 
])laintive  strains  have  not  inspired  faith, 
quickened  hope,  and  imparted  consolation  in 
hours  of  distracting  trouble,  bewildering 
temptation  and  heart-crushing  sorrow.  To 
how  many  it  has  brought  the  ministry  of 
light,  peace  and  comfort  as  they  passed 
''through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death," 
God  only  knows.  Such  a  hymn  is  a  boon  of 
priceless   worth. 

99 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

"In   connection   with   the  spiritual  use   of 
the  hymn,"  says  Colonel   Smith,  '"this  story 
thonoh  old,  is  still  interesting.    Mrs.  Layath 
Baraket,   a  natiye   of   Syria,   who   was  edu- 
cated in  the  mission  schools  at  Beirut,  went 
as  a  teacher  to  Egypt,  where  slie  made  much 
use  of  '^Ij  faith  looks  up  to  Thee.'     By  the 
insurrection  of  Arabi  Pasha  in  1882,  she  was 
driven  out  of  that  country,  and  with  her  hus- 
band and  child  came  to  the  United  States. 
'Her  history  is  a  sti-ange  illustration  of  God's 
providential  care,  as  they  were  without  any 
friends  in  Philadelphia,  where  they  landed.' 
During  her  visit  in   America  Mrs.   Baraket 
made   many   ])ublic   addresses   and   attracted 
large  audiences.    Her  talks  on  missionary  ef- 
forts in  Syria  and  Egypt  were  rich  in  prac- 
tical and  interesting  incidents  and  illustra- 
tions.    She  had  been   permitted   to  see   her 
whole  family,  who  were  ^laronites  of  Mount 
Lebanon,    converted    to    Christianity.      Her 
mother,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two,  was  taught 
to  sing  an  Arabic  translation  of  Dr.  Palmer's 
hymn;   and  in    1S84,   wl:en  she  received   the 
news  that  her  daughter  had  reached  the  Uni- 
ted Stales  in  safety  and  was  kindly  received, 
she  responded  by  simi)Iy  repeating  the  words 
of  this  liymn. 

"In  the  evening  before  one  of  tl:e  terrible 

100 


HYMN  OF  FULL  SURRENDER 

battles  of  the  Wilderness  during  the  Civil 
War,  eigiit  young  men  who  were  w^armly  at- 
tached to  each  other  by  the  ties  of  Christian 
comradeship,  held  a  prayer-meeting.  A  great 
battle  was  imminent,  and  it  seemed  improb- 
able that  all  of  them  wonld  survive  the  con- 
flict. F>efore  separating  for  the  night,^  they 
wrote  an  ex[tression  of  their  feelings  on  a 
sheet  of  paper.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  death 
pledge;  and  Avas  to  remain  as  an  evidence  of 
their  Cliristian  faith  should  they  fall  in  bat- 
tle. The  words  to  which  all  the  young  men 
subscribed  their  names  were  those  of  the 
hymn, 

'My    faith    looks    up    to    Thee.' 

The  battle  went  hard  with  the  regiment  to 
which  these  eight  soldiers  of  the  Cross  and 
T'nion  belonged,  and  seven  of  them  fell  before 
the  blazing  discharge  of  shot  and  shell  of  the 
enemy." 

In  the  composition  of  this  hymn  Dr.  Palm- 
er wrote  his  own  heart's  experience  and  ex- 
I>ressed  his  faith  and  hope  for  the  future.  In 
doing  this  he  wrote  the  experience  and  ex- 
pressed the  faith  and  hope  of  all  true  Chris- 
tians. This  is  what  gives  vitality  and  popu- 
btrity  to  llie  hymn  and  will  cause  it  to  sing 
its  way  on  to  latest  generations. 

lOI 


XIV 

MISS  havergal's  great  consecration 

HYMN 

Miss  Frances  Ridlev  Havergal  was  evident- 
ly designed  bv  Providence  for  extraordinary 
tichievements  in  the  interests  of  Clirist's 
Cliurcb  and  kingdom,  and  that  partienlarly 
in  the  realm  of  holy  song.  The  daughter  of 
a  devout  English  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Wil- 
iam  Henry  Havergal,  who  was  himself  the 
author  of  much  valuable  church  music,  in- 
cluding such  tunes  as  ''Evan/'  ''Zoan,"  and 
"Patmos.''  and  baptized  by  another  hymn- 
A\  riter  of  distinction,  the  Rev.  John  Cawood, 
author  of  "Hark!  what  mean  those  holy 
^()ices?"  it  will  be  seen  that  she  was  reared 
amid  the  most  favorable  religious  surround- 
ings and  '"in  an  atmosphere  of  hymns." 

She  was  a  }»recocious  child,  too,  and  the 
story  of  her  early  development,  though  well 
authenticated,  reads  quite  like  fiction.  "A 
study  of  her  short  life  reminds  us  that  she 
could  read  at  three;  tluit  she  wrote  verses  at 
seven   with   remarkable   lluency;  that    in   her 

1 02 


HYMN  OF  CONSECRATION 

Siirlhood  davs  she  knew  the  Avhole  of  the  New 
Tostaiiieut,  the  Psalms,  and  Isaiah  by  heart, 
and  afterward  memorized  the  Minor  Proph- 
ets; tbut  when  fourteen  years  oUl  she  had  a 
glowing  spiritual  enthusiasm ;  that  she  early 
acquired  the  French,  German,  Italian,  Latin, 
Greek  and  Hebrew  languages;  that  she  daily 
read  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  the  orig- 
inal; that  she  could  play  through  Handel  and 
much  of  Mendelssohn  and  Beethoven  without 
notes;  that  she  had  a  sweet  singing  voicf*  and 
was  a  reputable  composer;  and  that,  in  her 
school  days,  though  having  a.  frail  constitu- 
tion, she  climbed  the  Swiss  mountains  that 
she  might  revel  in  the  scene  of  perpetual 
snow." 

Such  in  early  years  was  she  whom  the  Lord, 
by  providential  discipline  and  through  the  be- 
stowal of  extraordinary  grace,  prepared  for 
that  exalted  ministry  in  the  realm  of  hal- 
lowed song  which  reached  its  culmination  in 
the  com]>osition  of  the  Consecration  Hymn  be- 
ginning, 

"Take   uiy    life,    and    let    it    be 
Consecrated,  Lord,  to  Tliee." 

The  hymn  was  written  as  the  expression  of 
her  own  entire  and  irrevocable  devotement  of 
herself   to   God's    service,    and    was    born    of 

103 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

an  inspiration  which  came  to  its  author 
on  her  reception  of  the  sanctifying  fulness  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  She  had  been  awakened  to 
an  unquenchable  longing  for  "unreached  at- 
tainments" in  the  divine  life  through  the  read- 
ing of  a  little  book  on  the  subject  which  came 
into  her  hands  in  1873.  Yielding  herself  up 
fully  to  God  she  soon  received  "the  blessing" 
and  entered  upon  a  new  era  in  her  Christian 
history.  Previously  inclined  to  depression  of 
spirits,  such  as  drove  Cowper  to  madness,  she 
now  lived  in  a  realm  of  perennial  sunshine, 
and  shed  the  light  of  holy  gladness  on  all 
around  her. 

''^It  was  on  Advent  Sunday,  December  2nd. 
3873,"  she  says  in  a  letter  to  her  sister,  ''I 
first  saw  clearly  the  blessedness  of  true  con- 
secration. I  saw  it  as  a  flash  of  electric 
light,  and  what  you  sec,  you  can  never  unsee. 
There  must  be  full  surrender  before  there  can 
be  full  blessedness.  God  admits  you  by  the 
one  into  the  other."  That  "full  surrender" 
which  is  the  only  and  the  sure  way  into  ''full 
blessedness"  ]Miss  Havergal  had  most  definite- 
ly and  consciously  reached;  and,  v»hal  it  then 
meant  to  her  and  must  ever  mean  to  all  who 
intelligently  make  it,  she  has  expressed  with 
remarkable  clearness  and  great  i)oetic  beauty 
in  the  hymn  which  follows: 

104 


FKANCES   KIDLEY  HAVERGAL. 


HYMN  OF  CONSECRATION 

Take  my  life,  anrl  let  it  be 
Consecrated,  Lord,  to  Tliee. 
Take  my  momeuts  and  my  days ; 
Let  them  How  in  endless  praise. 

Take  my  bands,  and  let  tbem  move 
At  the  impulse  of  Tby  love. 
Take  my  I'eet,  and  let  tbem  be 
Swift  and  beautiful  for  Tbee. 

Take  my  voice,  and  let  me  sing, 
Always,  only,  for  my  King. 
Take  my  lips,  and  let  tbem  be 
Filled  with  messages  from  Tbee 

Take  my  silver  and  my  gold  ;     .  ' 

Not  a  mite  would  I  witbbold.    . 
Take  my  intellect,  and  use 
•    Every  power  as  Tbou  sbalt  cboose. 

Take  my  will,  and  make  it  Tbine ; 
It  sball  be  no  longer  mine. 
I'ake  my  beart,  it  is  Tbine  own ; 
It  sball  be  Tby  royal  tbrone. 

Take  my  love ;  my  Lord,  I  pour 
At  Tby  feet  its  treasure-store. 
Take  myself,  and  I  will  be 
Ever,  only,  all  for  Tbee. 

Tune— "Hendon"  or  "Patmos." 

Miss  Havergal  wrote  this  hymn  February 
4th,  1874,  and  has  lierself  given  us  an  account 
of  its  origin  in  the  following  words:     "Per- 

105 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

haps  Tou  Avill  be  interested  to  know  the  ori- 
gin of  the  Consecration  Hymn,  ^Tixke  My 
Life.'  I  went  for  a  little  visit  of  five  days  to 
the  Arely  House.  There  were  ten  persons  in 
the  house,  some  unconverted  and  long  prayed 
for,  somp  converted,  but  not  rejoicing  (Chris- 
tians. He  gave  rae  the  prayer,  'Lord,  give  me 
all  in  tliis  house!'  And  He  just  did!  Before  I 
left  the  house  every  one  had  got  a  blessing. 
The  last  night  of  my  visit  I  was  too  liappy 
to  sleep,  and  jjassed  most  of  the  night  in 
I)raise  and  renewal  of  my  own  consecration, 
and  these  little  couplets  formed  themselves 
and  chimed  in  mv  heart  one  after  anotlier  till 
they  finished  with,  "Ever,  only,  ALL  for 
Thee." 

The  hymn  has  been  translated  into  several 
languages,  in  all  of  Aviiich  it  is  accomplishing 
a  blessed  ministi'y. 

The  life  of  the  talented  and  holv  woman 
who  wrote  tliis  Consecration  HymXi  was  not 
jirotracted  long  on  earth.  She  first  saw  light 
in  Astley  rectory,  December  14th,  183G.  and 
closed  her  eyes  to  earthly  scenes  June  3rd, 
1879.  Her  last  days  were  spent  at  Caswell 
Bay,  Swansea,  South  Wales,  whither  she  had 
gone  in  quest  of  renewed  strength.  On  learn- 
that  her  end  was  very  near  she  rejoiced  at  the 
tidings  as  "too  good  to  be  true."     She  died 

1 06 


tlYMN  OF  COySECKATlOX 

in  peace  and  boly  triumph,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Astlev  churchvard  beside  her  father 
and  near  the  home  of  her  early  years.  On 
her  tombstone  appears,  carved  by  her  own 
direction,  her  favorite  text  of  scripture — 
"The    blood    of    Jesus    Christ    his    Sox 

CLEANSETH    US    FROM    ALL    SIN." 


107 


Salvation 


r09 


XV 

MOST  HELPFUL   HYMN   FOR    SEEKERS 

No  IiTmn  in  the  E'loiisli  tongne  inoro  r-or- 
rectly  iiidicatos  tlie  way  iu  which  a  i)eniteiit 
sinner  may  find  ])ai'(]on  or  is  better  adapted 
to  leading  him  to  the  very  heart  of  the  Savior, 
than  Charlotte  Elliott's 

"Just  as  I  am  without  one  plea, 
But  that  Tliy  blood  was  shed  tor  me." 

It  is  probable  that  no  other  hymn  has  ever 
been  instrnmental  in  leading  so  many  pen- 
itents through  the  successive  steps  of  self-re- 
nunciation, self-surrender,  and  ai)pro])riating 
faith  in  Christ,  out  into  "the  measui-eless 
depths  of  His  love"  as  this.  Its  very  great 
popularity  and  its  translation  into  nearly  all 
languages  of  the  civilized  world  indicate  that, 
judged  by  the  measure  of  its  use  and  influ- 
ence, it  deserves  to  be  classed  among  the  fore- 
most hyn\ns  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Miss  Elliott,  the  author  of  tlie  hymn,  was 
born  iu  (Mapliam,  England,  :March  18,  1780. 
She  was  reared  in  the  Established  Church, 

1 1 1 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

and  jirew  to  womanhood  amid  advantages  of 
the  most  favorable  kind.  Bred  in  a  home  not 
only  of  piety,  but  of  culture  and  refinement, 
where  poetry  and  music  continually  exercised 
their  elevating,  inspiring  and  ennobling  in- 
fluence upon  her,  she  was  early  molded,  both 
mentally  and  spiritually,  for  the  invaluable 
service  she  rendered  to  the  Church  of  God  as 
a  hymn-writer  in  her  maturer  years. 

When  about  thirty-two  years  of  age  she 
suffered  from  a  serious  illness  which  left  her 
an  invalid  for  life.  This  appears  to  have 
been  another  of  the  peculiar  providences  by 
which  she  was  prepared  for  that  ministry  of 
song  through  which  she  was  made  a  blessing 
to  the  Church  and  to  the  world  for  all  genera- 
tions. Songs  like  hers  seldom  emanate  from 
any  but  hearts  which  have  been  broken  by 
sorrow  or  chastened  and  mellowed  by  afflic- 
tion. 

Tn  1832  Miss  Elliott  first  became  acquaint- 
ed with  Dr.  Capsar  Malan,  a  devout  and  dis- 
tinguished Swiss  preacher,  on  the  occasion  of 
a  visit  which  he  made  at  her  father's  home  in 
(.'lapham.  He  soon  recognized  her  superior 
talents  and  possibilities,  and  appreciated 
Ihem;  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  chiefiy 
through  him  that  she  was  led  to  abandon  sec- 
ular pursuits  and  devote  her  talents  wholly 

112 


HELPFUL  HYMN  FOR  SEEKERS 

to  the  cause  of  Christ.  Dr.  Malan  was  also 
instrumental  in  putting  that  spiritual  im- 
press upon  her  life  and  character  which  has 
so  beautifully  expressed  itself  in  the  hymns 
she  wrote,  the  number  of  w^hich  considerably 
exceeds  one  hundred. 

The  hymn  by  which,  more  than  by  any  or 
all  others,  she  has  immortalized  herself  is  the 
one  now  under  consideration,  the  original  of 
which  is  as  follows: 

Just  as  I  am.  without  one  plea, 
But  that  Thy  blood  was  shed  for  me. 
'  And  that  Thou  bidd'st  me  come  to  Thee, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come! 

Just  as  I  am,  and  waiting  not 
To  rid  n)y  soul  of  one  dark  blot. 
To  Thee,  whose  blood  can  cleanse  each  spot, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come  ! 

Just  as  I  am,  though  tossed  about. 
With  juany  a  conflict,  many  a  doubt, 
Fightings  and  fears  within,  without, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come ! 

Just  as  I  am,  poor,  wretched,  blind, 
Sight,  riches,  healing  of  the  mind. 
Yea,  all  I  need  in  Thee  to  find, 
O  Lamb  of  (Jod.  I  come  I 

.Tust  as  I  am,  Thou  wilt  receive. 
Wilt  welcome,  pardon,  cleanse,  relieve, 

113 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

Because  Thy   promise  I  believe, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come ! 

Just  as  I  am    (Tby  love  unknown 
lias  broken  every  barrier  down), 
Now  to  be  Tbiue,  yea,  Thine  alone, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come ! 

Just  as  I  am,  of  that  free  love 
The  breadtli,  length,  depth  and  height  to  prove, 
Here  for  a  season,  then  above, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come ! 

Tune — "Woodworth." 

The  last  of  the  forcgoiug  stanzas  is  gen- 
erally omitted  in  the  hymnals.  There  is  some 
(litference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  its  omis- 
sion is  wise  or  otherwise.  Its  poetry  does 
not  flow  quite  as  smoothly  as  that  of  the  other 
stanzas,  but  the  sentiment  is  fine  and  forms 
a  final  climax  of  thought  which  is  both  nat- 
ural and  scrii)tural,  and  without  which  the 
Iiymn  is  less  complete  than  it  is  with  the 
stanza  retained. 

This  beautiful  Christian  lyric  has  had  a 
marvelous  history  of  association  with  the 
conversion  of  sinners.  Said  the  Rev.  H.  V. 
Elliott,  brother  of  Charlotte,  ''In  the  course 
of  ii  long  ministry  I  hope  I  have  been  per- 
mitted to  see  some  fruit  of  my  labors,  but  I 
feel  far  more  has  been  done  by  a  single  hymn 

114 


HELPFUL  HYMX  FOl!  SEEKERS 

of  my  sister's."  He  referred  to  "Just  as  I 
Am."' 

Tliere  are  before  the  author  as  he  writes  a 
considerable  number  of  published  instances  of 
the  influence  of  this  hymn  upon  the  hearts 
and  lives  of  saints  and  sinners.  From  among 
them  the  following  are  presented  in  con- 
densed form : 

On  one  occasion  the  Epworth  League  of  the 
Lenox  Road  church,  Brooklyn,  at  its  exer- 
cises previous  to  the  Sunday  evening  preach- 
ing service,  sang,  "Just  as  I  Am,"  and  then 
at  the  regular  hour  of  public  service  the  same 
hymn  was  announced  and  sung  again.  It 
being  a  sultry  evening  the  windows  of  the 
church  were  open  during  the  service.  A  few 
doors  away  lived  a  young  lawyer,  who,  lying 
in  his  room  with  his  windows  raised,  could 
distinctly  hear  the  words  of  the  hvmn.  He 
had  become  hardened  and  skeptical  regarding 
religious  matters.  All  gracious  intluences 
had  been  resisted,  and  he  had  come  to  regard 
himself  as  too  far  gone  for  reformiation.  But 
"Just  as  I  Am,"  sung  by  the  two  different 
congregations  the  same  evening,  produced  a 
deep  impression  ujjon  his  mind,  and  led  him 
to  a  change  of  heart.  The  next  day  he  sent 
for  the  pastor  of  the  church  and  related  to 
him  with   deep  and   strong  emotion  the  cir- 

"5 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

cnmstances  of  his  conversion.  Fortunate  in- 
deed was  it  for  him  that  he  experienced  this 
change  when  he  did,  since  failing  health  soon 
compelled  him  to  go  South  for  a  change  of 
climate,  where  death  claim'ed  him  as  its  vic- 
tim a  few  months  later. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  McCook,  during  his  pastorate 
in  St.  Louis,  was  sent  for  on  one  occasion  to 
visit  a  young  woman  who  was  slowly  dying 
of  consumption.  She  had  been  attending  a 
normal  school,  and  from  one  of  her  teachers 
had  imbibed  infidel  sentiments.  Her  keen  in- 
tellect quickly  warded  off  every  effort  to  in- 
duce her  to  acknowledge  the  claims  of  the 
gospel.  After  the  man  of  God  had  exhausted 
all  his  arguments  she  still  remained  unshaken 
in  her  skepticism,  while  he  was  perplexed  to 
know  what  more  he  could  do  toward  secur- 
ing the  conversion  of  the  dying  girl.  So  ad- 
verse was  she  to  hearing  more  on  the  subject 
of  religion  that  she  turned  her  face  to  the 
wall  aud  declined  giving  him  further  atten- 
tion. After  a  time  the  minister  said  to  her, 
"Lucy,  I  have  not  come  to  argue  with  you 
another  word,  but  before  leaving  you  to  meet 
the  issues  of  eternity  I  wish  to  recite  a  hymn." 
With  much  earnestness  and  emphasis  he  then 
repeated, 

"Just  as  I  nui.   without  one  plea," 

ii6 


HKLPFUL  HYMN  FOR  SEEKERS 

and  kiudly  bade  lier  adieu.  She  gave  him  no 
recognitiin  and  no  resjjonse.  He  sadly  left 
her,  and  went  his  way  debating  whether,  after 
snch  a  determined  refusal  of  all  his  tender 
edorts  to  do  her  good,  it  would  be  best  to 
visit  her  again.  Realizing  the  gravity  of  her 
situation,  however,  he  decided  to  make  one 
more  ett'ort  to  reach  her  obdurate  heart.  Call- 
ing again  he  took  his  seat  by  her  side,  where- 
upon she  slowly  turned  toward  her  visitor. 
Unwonted  luster  beamed  from  her  sunken 
eyes  as  she  placed  her  emaciated  hand  in  hia 
and  slowly,  but  with  deep  emotion,  said : 

"Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea. 
But  that  Thy  blood  was  shed  for  me. 
Aud  that  Thou  bidd'st  me  come  to  Thee, 
O  Lamb  of  God.  I  come,  I  come !" 

and  then  added:  ''0  Sir,  I've  come!  Fee 
comeP'  The  hymn  had  done  what  argument 
and  persuasion  had  failed  to  do— determined 
the  dying  girl  to  the  choice  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  of  eternal  life  in  Him.  The  end,  which 
came  not  long  afterward,  was  one  of  such 
peace  as  Christ  alone  can  give. 

In  the  year  18(»0  The  Examiner  published 
the  following  interesting  account:  *'A  few 
weeks  ago  a  little  boy  came  to  one  of  our 
city   missionaries,   and    holding   up   a   dirty, 

117 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

worn-out  bit  of  x)rinted  paper,  said :  'Please 
sir,  father  sent  me  to  get  a  clean  paper  like 
that.'  Taking  it  from  his  hand,  the  mission- 
ary unfolded  it,  and  found  that  it  was  a  page 
containing  that  precious  lyrical  epitome  of  the 
gospel,  of  which  the  first  stanza  is  as  follows: 

Musi;  as  I  ;mi.  without  one  plea. 
But  that  Thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  Thou  bidd'st  me  come  to  Thee, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  come!' 

"The  missionary  looked  down  with  interest 
into  the  face  earnestly  ui)turned  to  him,  and 
asked  the  little  boy  where  he  got  it,  and  why 
he  wanted  a  clean  one.  'We  found  it,  sir,' 
said  he,  'in  sister's  i)Ocket,  after  she  died,  and 
she  used  to  sing  it  all  the  time  while  she  was 
sick ;  and  she  loyed  it  so  much  that  father 
wanted  to  get  a  clean  one,  and  \mt  it  in  a 
frame  to  hang  up.  Won't  jou  please  to  giye 
us  a  clean  one,  sir?' 

''This  little  page,  with  a  single  hymn  on  it, 
had  been  cast  upon  the  air,  like  a  fallen  leaf, 
],y  Christian  hands,  humbly  hoping  to  do 
some  possible  good.  In  some  little  mission 
Sablcith-scJiool,  probably,  this  ])oor  girl  had 
Hioughtlessly  receiyed  it,  afterward  to  find 
it.  we  may  hope,  the  gospel  of  her  salyation." 

iJi.sliop  McHyaine,  of  Ohio,  was  so  charmed 

ii8 


HELPFUL  HYMN  FOR  SEEKERS 

with  Miss  Elliott's  lyrical  masterpiece  that 
he  had  it  i)rinted  on  cards  for  use  in  one  of 
his  conventions,  and  said :  ''I  have  adoi)ted 
it  fcr  all  time  to  come,  as  long  as  I  shall  be 
here,  as  mj  liymn,  always  to  be  sung  on  such 
occasions,  and  always  to  the  same  tune.  *  * 
*  *  That  hymn  contains  my  religion,  my 
theology,  my  hope.  It  has  been  my  ministry 
to  preach  jnst  what  it  contains.  AYhen  I  am 
gone  I  wish  to  be  remembered  in  association 
with  that  hymn.  I  wish  that  my  ministry 
may  be  associated  with 

Must  as  I  am,  witbout  one  plea, 
But  that  Tliy  Mood  was  shed  for  me, 
And   that  Tliou   bidd'st  me  come  to   Thee, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  come!' 

Dying  some  years  later  in  Florence,  Italy, 
he  sejit  last,  loving  messages  to  his  Ohio 
friends,  and  then  said  to  those  about  him : 
''Read  to  me  (hree  hymns — 'Just  as  I  am,' 
'Jesus,  Lover  of  my  Soul,'  and  'Rock  of 
Ages.' "  The  hymns  were  read;  and.  "filled 
with  joy  and  peace,''  the  good  man  closed  his 
eyes  on  eai-th  to  open  them  in  heaven. 


119 


XVI 

THE  GREATEST  HYMX  OF  THE  CROSS 

Toplady's  ''Kock  of  Ages''  contends  stout- 
ly with  Charles  Wesley's  "Jesus,  Lover  of  my 
Soul"  for  the  most  popular  recognition  of 
any  hymn  in  the  English  language.  It  is 
almost  universally  used.  It  has  even  been 
adoi)ted  by  the  Roman  Catholics,  in  England. 
A  London  paper,  Sunday  at  Home,  asked 
3,500  of  its  readers  to  name  twenty  of  the 
greatest  hymns,  and  3,215  placed  "Rock  of 
Ages"  first.  Nor  is  its  influence  restricted  to 
English-speaking  countries,  since  the  late 
Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone  translated  it  into 
Latin.  Greek  and  Italian. 

"Rock  of  Ages"  is  certainly  one  of  the 
brightest  gems  in  the  hymnody  of  the  Church, 
and  has  become  so  inwrought  with  the  deep- 
est and  holiest  experiences  of  Anglo-Saxon 
Christianity  as  have  few  things  else  outside 
the  word  of  God. 

Tn  palace  and  cottage  alike  it  has  min- 
istered its  ins])iration  and  consolation  to  the 
tempted,  the   disconsolate,   the  sick   and  the 

120 


GREATEST  HYMN  OF  THE  CROSS 

dying.  The  late  Prince  Consort,  ''Albert  the 
Good.''  quoted  it  just  before  passing  within 
the  vail,  as  expressing  his  own  experience  of 
faith  and  hope,  and  as  affording  him  most 
precious  consolation  while  earthly-  things 
were  dissolving  from  his  view  forever.  In 
many  a  humble  cot  and  cabin,  as  well  as  in 
the  palace  of  the  prince,  its  sublime  and  ten- 
der strains  have  been  a  divine  benediction  to 
the  dying,  inspiring  faith,  enkindling  hope, 
assuaging  grief  and  quelling  fear;  while  to 
almost  innumerable  thousands  it  has  been  as 
a  sovereign  balm  for  the  wounded  spirit  in 
times  of  deep  distress  and  amid  various  dis- 
tracting and  bewildering  experiences.  It  is 
a  hymn  that  will  live  forever. 

Augustus  Montague  Toplady,  the  author  of 
*'Rock  of  Ages,"  was  born  at  Farnham,  Sur- 
rev,  England,  in  1740.  His  father  fought  and 
fell  in  the  battle  of  Carthagena,  and  Augustus 
was  thereafter  reared  by  his  devout  and  holy 
mother.  He  was  educated  at  Westminster 
School,  and  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  He 
was  converted  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  in  a  barn, 
at  an  obscure  place  called  Codymain,  Ireland, 
whither  he  had  gone  to  hear  an  illiterate  lay- 
man preach.  The  impression  made  upon  him 
by  the  sermon  was  most  unexpected,  and  so 
powerful  that  it  led  to  his  immediate  conver- 

121 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

sion.    He  has  recorded  the  following  account 
of  the  event: 

"That  sweet  text,  'Ye  who  sometime  were 
afar  off  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ/ 
was  particularly  delightful  and  refreshing  to 
my  soul.  It  was  from  that  passage  that  Mr. 
Morris  preached  on  the  memorable  evening  of 
my  eJfectual  call  by  the  grace  of  God.  Un- 
der the  ministry  of  that  dear  messenger, 
under  that  sermon,  I  was,  I  trust,  brought 
nigli  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  in  August,  1756. 

"Strange  that  I,  who  had  been  so  long  un- 
der the  means  of  grace  in  England,  should  be 
brought  nigh  to  God  in  an  obscure  part  of  Ire- 
land, amidst  a  handful  of  God's  people  met 
together  in  a  barn,  and  under  the  ministry  of 
one  who  could  scarcely  spell  his  name.  The 
excellency  of  such  power  must  be  of  God,  and 
cannot  be  of  men." 

T(){)lady  became  a  minister  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  and,  while  studying  for  the 
ministry,  was  made  a  high  Calvinist  by  at- 
tending Dr.  Mantou's  lectures  on  the  Seven- 
teenth Chapter  of  John.  When  the  discus- 
sion over  Calvinism  arose  in  connection  with 
the  Wesleyan  reformation  he  naturally  took 
sides  with  the  Calvinists,  and  preached  and 
wrote  in  opposition  to  the  Wesleys  and  their 
views  with  most  intemperate  zeal.    It  is  much 

122 


GREATEST  HYMN  OF  THE  CROSS 

to  be  regretted  that  one  of  so  loftv  a  s])ii'it, 
and  of  a  eliaracter  in  all  other  respects  so  ex- 
emplary, should  have  been  betrayed  into  such 
fierce  vituperation  as  characterizes  his  contro- 
versial \vritings.  His  intemperate  language 
and  his  intolerance  in  controversv  are  the 
only  blemishes  on  his  exalted  character. 

In  1775  Tojilady's  health  began  to  fail.  The 
.fiery  ardor  with  which  he  applied  himself  to 
the  duties  of  his  calling  Avas  more  than  the 
earthern  vessel  could  endure.  His  physician 
sent  him  to  London.  A  new  field  opened  to 
him  here,  in  the  pastorate  of  the  French  Cal- 
vinistic  Church,  the  duties  of  which  he  as- 
sumed and  performed  with  great  faithfulness. 
Some  time  during  the  year  of  his  settlement 
in  London  he  produced  that  sublime  hymn, 
which,  had  he  never  achieved  anything  else 
of  distinction,  would  have  immortalized  his 
name.  > 

The  hymn  first  apeared  in  the  Gospel  Maga- 
zine, a  i)eriodical  of  whicli  T()])lady  was  then 
editor.  He  published  an  article  on  "Tiie  Na- 
tional Debt,"  in  which,  along  with  other 
things,  he  adverted  to  the  debt  of  sin.  dis 
coursing  on  Hie  multitudinous  sins  of  hu- 
manity, and,  by  numerical  calculations,  ex- 
hibited tlie  enormity  of  the  indebtedness  of 
the  redeemed  to  Christ  for  having  cancelled 

123 


HYJilNS  THAT  ARE    IMMORTAL 

their  sins,  thereby  setting  forth  the  trans- 
cendent love  of  God  and  the  measureless  value 
of  Christ's  atonement.  Exalted  to  the  realm 
of  such  inspiring  contem])lations  and  of 
visions  thus  glowing  and  ecstatic,  he  con- 
cluded with  this  matchless  "hvmn  of  the 
cross :" 

Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me, 

TiOt  me  bide  myself  in  Thee ; 

Let  the  water  and  tbe  blood. 

From  Thy  riven  side  wbich  tlowed, 

Be  of  sin  tbe  double  cure, 

Cleanse  me  from  its  guilt  and  power. 

Not  tbe  labor  of  my  bands 

Can  fulfil'  Tby  law's  demands ; 

Could  my  zeal  no  respite  knovA-. 

Coiild  my  tears  forever  flow.  % 

All  for  sin  could  not  atone. 

Tboii  must  save,  and.  Tbou  alone. 

Nothing  in  my  band  I  bring, 
Simply  to  Tby  f-ross  I  cling; 
Naked,  come  to  Tbee  for  dress. 
Helpless,  look  to  Tbee  for  grace; 
I'onl,  1  to  tbe  fountain  fly  ; 
Wash  me,  Savior,  or  I  die. 

Whilst  I  draw  this  fleeting  breath, 
\Vhen    m.v   eyestrings    bi'eak    in    death : 
When  I  soar  through  tracts  unknown, 
See  Thee  on  'i'by  judgment  throne. 

124 


GREATE^iT  HYMN  OF  THE  CROSS 

Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  iu  thee. 

Tune — "Toplady." 

The  foregoing  is  the  hymn  in  its  original 
form,  from  which  it  will  be  readily  seen  that 
numerous  and  important  changes  have  been 
made  in  giving  it  the  form  in  which  it  is  now 
general Iv  used. 

Neither  in  the  article  in  connection  witli 
Vviiich  the  hymn  was  first  given  to  the  {>ublic, 
nor  in  Topladj's  hymn-book  published  the 
same  year,  is  his  authorship  of  the  hymn  di- 
rectly given.  This  fact  led  to  some  mistaken 
views  as  to  its  authorship  in  the  earlier  pe- 
riod of  its  history.  "In  a  letter  iu  the  TFes- 
Icyan  Magazine,  as  late  as  1832,"  says  Dr. 
Tillett,  ^'Richard  Watson  erroueouslv  attri- 
butes  it  to  Charles  Wesley.  The  early  JMeth- 
odists  would  have  welcomed  proof  that  Wes- 
ley was  the  author:  for  the  m'ost  unpleasant 
controversy  that  John  Wesley  was  ever  drawn 
into  was  that  which  he  had  with  the  author 
of  this  hymn  over  doctrinal  points,  Toplady 
being  a  pronounced  Calvinist." 

It  adds  to  the  interest  and  impressiveness 
of  the  hymn  to  know  that  it  was  written  near 
the  close  of  Toplady's  life,  when  he  was  sen- 
sible that  the  day  of  his  dissolution  was  draw- 
ing   near,  and  when  his  feet    were    already 

125 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

standing  on  Pisgali's  height,  from  which  vis- 
ions of  celestial  glory  were  vouchsafed  to  his 
redeemed  spirit.  About  two  years  after 
the  first  appearance  of  the  hymn  its  author, 
at  the  age  of  thirty-eight,  came  to  the  time 
of  his  departure  from  earth,  a  victim  of 
consumption;  and,  in  that  supremely  try- 
ing hour  he  realized  in  blessed  fulfilment  the 
prayer  breathed  in  the  last  stanza  of  his  im- 
mortal hvmn. 

"Rock  of  Ages"  was  originally  entitled,  ''A 
Living  and  Dying  Prajer  for  the  Holiest  Be- 
lievers in  the  ^V^orld."  Although  the  hymn 
Avas  written  by  one  of  John  ^yesley's  bitter- 
est opponents  and  given  a  title  which  was 
itself  a  sneer  at  the  Wesleyan  doctrine  of 
perfection,  Methodists  everywliere  have  adoj)t- 
ed  it  as  orthodox,  and  in  a  high  degree  spirit- 
ually helpful.  Comparatively  few  of  them 
know,  or  ever  stop  to  consider  if  they  do 
know,  that  it  had  its  origin  in  the  midst  of 
the  heated  controversy  between  the  Calvinists 
and  Arminians  which  was  incidental  to  the 
rise  of  IMethodism,  and  was  perhaps  written 
more  or  less  under  the  influence  of  contro- 
versial bias.  Whatever  of  human  imperfec- 
tion may  have  been  associated  with  its  pro- 
duction, the  hymn,  in  its  intrinsic  merit,  true 
sublimit v  and   historic  associations,  has  be- 

126 


GREATEST  HYMN  OE  THE  CROSS 

come  so  entirely  dissociated  from  all  trace 
and  remembrance  of  those  imperfections  as 
to  sulfer  no  depreciation  tlierefronv,. 

The  historic  associations  which  enhance  its 
interest  and  value  are  too  nnmerons  for  re- 
hearsal here.  The  following  are  simply  sam- 
ples :  "A  translation  of  it  was  sunj;-  by  a 
company  of  Armenians  while  they  were  being 
massacred  in  Constantinople,  (leneral  J.  E. 
M.  Stuart,  the  cavalry  leader  of  the  Con- 
federacy, sang  it  as  he  was  dying  from 
wounds  received  in  battle.  When  the  shij* 
'London'  sank  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  in  ISiid, 
the  last  thing  which  the  last  man  who  left 
the  ship  heard  as  the  boat  pushed  off  from 
the  doomed  vessel,  was  the  voice  of  the  ]>as- 
sengers  singing,  'Rock  of  Ages.' " 

Toplady  wrote  various  other  hymns  of 
merit,  but  his  reputation  as  a  hymn-writer 
will  always  be  associated  with  "Rock  of 
Ages,"  the  sublimest  and  most  popular  of  all 
his  productions. 


127 


XVII 

NOBLEST   HEART    HYMN   EVER   WRITTEN 

Xotwithstandinp:  all  that  was  said  and 
quoted  in  a  former  chapter  in  praise  of  Top 
lady's  famous  hymn,  the  writer  believes  that 
Charles  \yesley's  ''Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul," 
is  the  most  popular  Christian  lyrio  in  the 
JOnglish  lannuajie. 

Dr.  Duffield,  author  of  "Stand  uj),  stand 
np  for  Jesus,"  wrote  of  it  as  follows:  "One 
of  the  most  blessed  davs  of  mv  life  was  when 
r  found,  after  my  harp  had  long  hung;  on  the 
Millows,  that  I  could  sing  again;  that  a  new 
song  was  ])ut  in  my  mouth ;  and  when,  ere 
ever  I  was  aware.  I  was  singing,  'Jesus,  lover 
of  my  soul.'  If  there  is  anything  in  Christian 
ex]>orience  of  joy  and  sorrow,  of  ailliction  and 
])rospority.  of  life  and  death — that  hymn  is 
the  hynni  of  the  ages." 

Henry  Ward  Heecher  referred  to  it  in  the 
following  terms  of  praise:  "T  would  rather 
have  written  th;it  hymn  of  Wesley's, — 

'Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul. 
Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly,' 

128 


JESUS,  LOVER  OF  MY  SOUL 

than  to  have  the  fame  of  all  the  kiug>»  that 
ever  sat  on  the  earth.  It  is  more  ji'lorioiis.  Tt 
has  more  power  in  it.  I  would  rather  he  the 
author  of  that  hymn  liian  to  hold  the  wealth 
&f  the  richest  man  in  New  York.  He  will 
die.  He  is  dead  and  does  not  know  it.  He 
Avill  ])ass.  after  a  little  while,  out  of  men's 
thoughts.  \Vhat  will  there  be  to  speak  of 
him?  What  will  he  have  done  that  will  stop 
trouble  or  encoura<2je  hope?  His  money  will 
.yo  to  his  heirs,  and  they  will  divide  it.  It  is 
like  a  stream  divided  and  f^voxvini;-  narrower 
by  division.  And  they  will  die,  and  it  will 
j?o  to  their  heirs.  In  three  or  four  venera- 
tions everything  comes  to  the  ground  again 
for  redistribution.  But  that  hymn  will  go  on 
singing  until  the  last  trumj)  brings  forth  the 
angel  band-  nnd  then,  1  think,  it  will  numnt 
up  on  some  lip  to  the  very  presence  of  (lod." 
The  hymn  was  written  in  IT^iO.  within  six 
months  after  the  founding  of  the  fir.st  Meth- 
odist society.  It  appeared  in  "Hymns  and 
Sacred  Poems"  in  1740,  entitled,  "In  Temj)!;)- 
tion."  It  originally  contained  five  stanzas, 
the  third  being  now  generally  omitted.  The 
complete  text  of  the  hynm.  as  Tharles  Wesley 
wrote  it,  is  as  follows : 

Jesus,  r.owr  of  my  soul. 
Let  me  to  Thy  hosoin  fly, 

129    ■ 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

W'liile  the  nearer  v.aters  roll. 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high! 
Hide  uie,  O  my  Savior,  hide, 

Till  the  storm  of  life  be  past; 
S.i'.e  into  the  haven  guide, 

0  receive  my  soul  at  last! 

Other  refuge  have  I  none, 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee: 
Leave, ah!  leave  me  not  alone, 

Still  support  and  comfort  me  ! 
All  my  trust  on  Thee  is  stayed. 

All  my  help  from  Thee  I  bring. 
Cover  my  defenseless  head 

With  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing. 

Wilt  Thou  not  regard  my  call? 

Wilt  Thou  not  accept  my  prayer? 
Lo!  I  sink,  I  faint,  I  fall— 

Lo,  on  Thee  I  cast  my  care : 
Reach  me  out  Thy  gracious  hand! 

While  I  of  Thy  strength  receive, 
Hoping  against  hope  I  stand. 

Dying,  and,  behold.  I  live. 

Thou.  O  Christ,  art  all  I  want; 

More  than  ;U1  in  Thee  I  find: 
I{aise  the  fallen,  cheer  the  faint. 

Ht-al  the  sick,  and  lead  the  blind. 
Just  and  holy  is  Thy  name ; 

1   am  all   unrighteousness: 
False,  and  full  of  sin.  T  am  : 

Thou  art  full  of  truth  and  grace. 

rienteous  grace  with  Thee  is  found, 
Grace  to  cover  all  my  sin: 

no 


JESUS,  LOVER  OF  MY  SOUL 

Let  the  healing  streams  abound, 
JNIake  and  keep  me  pure  within, 

Thou  of  life  the  fountain  art ; 
Freely  let  me  take  of  Thee : 

Spring  Thou  up  within  my  heart. 
Rise  to  all  eternity. 

Tune — "Martyn"   or   "Refuge." 

Various  accounts  of  how  the  hjnm  came  to 
be  written  have  gained  more  or  less  currency, 
but  none  of  them  can  be  regarded  as  authen- 
tic. Dr.  Nutter  in  his  "Hymn  Studies"  savs, 
''The  original  title  ('In  Temptation')  gives 
us  some  light,  and  the  omitted  stanza,  es- 
pecially in  connection  with  the  first  verse, 
shows  that  some  of  the  imagery  and  language 
of  this  hymn  was  borrowed  from  the  stcry  of 
Peter's  attempt  to  walk  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee, 
Matt.  14:28-31.  The  authors  -genius  and 
his  rough  experience  on  the  Atlantic  ac- 
count for  the  rest." 

IMr.  Stevenson,  in  his  "^Methodist  Hymn 
Book  Illustrated,''  gives  the  following  es- 
timate of  this  popular  hymn :  ''The  Lord  of 
glory  bestowed  on  Charles  AVesley  the  high 
honor  of  composing  the  finest  heart-hyn],n  in 
the  English  tongue.  If  the  greatest  hymn  of 
the  cross  is  'Rock  of  Ages,'  and  the  greatest 
hymn  of  providence  is  Cowper's  'God  moves 
in  a  mysterious  way,'  and  the  grandest  bat- 
tle-hvnm  is  Martin  Luther's  'A  mighty  fort- 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

ress  is  our  God,'  then  it  may  be  said  that 
tlie  noblest  7iearf-7(y/m7i  ever  written,  the  queen 
of  all  the  lays  of  holy  love,  is  this  immortal 
sonjj;.  It  is  at  once  a  confession  and  a  prayer 
in  meter.  The  figures  of  speech  vary,  but  not 
the  thought.  In  one  line  we  see  a  storm-tossed 
voyager  crying  out  for  slielter  until  the  tem- 
yjest  is  over.  In  another  we  see  a  timid,  tear- 
ful child  nestling  in  its  mother's  arm." 

The  solacing  power  of  this  hymn  in  times 
of  sorrow  is  marvelous;  and  there  are  com- 
paratively few  among  English-speaking  Chris- 
tians who  have  not  had  occasion  to  praise 
God  and  bless  the  memory  of  Charles  Wesley 
for  its  wondrous  ministry  of  comfort  in  some 
of  their  own  dark  hours  and  heart-breaking 
experiences. 

"Two  lines  of  the  hymn  have  been  breathed 
fervently  and  often  out  of  bleeding  hearts," 
says  Dr.  T.  L.  (?^uyler.  "'^A'hen  we  were  in 
the  valley  of  death-shade,  with  one  beautiful 
child  in  the  new-made  grave,  and  others 
threatened  with  fatal  dise.'ise,  there  was  no 
prayer  which  we  said  oftener  than  this: 

'Leave,  ah  I  leave  me  not  alone, 
Still  support  and  comfort  me.' 

"We  do  not  doubt  that  tens  of  thousands  of 
other  bereaved  and  wounded  hearts  have  ut- 

132 


JESUS,  LOVEK  OF  MY  SOUL 

^tered  this  pierciug  cry,  out  of  the  depths, 
'Still  support  and  comfort  me." " 

It  is  said  of  the  late  Presideut  Charles  G. 
Finney,  of  Oberlin.  Ohio,  that,  as  he  was 
walking  about  his  grounds  not  long  before 
his  death,  in  the  church  where  he  had 
preached  for  forty  years  the  evening  serv- 
ice had  just  begun.  Presently  the  strains 
of  holy  song  arose  from  the  fissembly.  and, 
floating  to  him  on  the  breeze,  he  heard  the 
words  of  this  imperishable  hymn.  His  soul 
was  touched,  and  taking  up  the  strains,  he 
sang  with  the  invisible  worshipers,  uniting 
in  their  praises  to  the  end.  Before  morning 
he  had  joined  the  choir  invisible  within  the 
vail. 

It  was  in  the  ''Young  Reaper,"  if  we  re- 
member correctly,  a  P)aptist  Sunday-school 
paper  with  which  we  were  familiar  in  early 
years,  that  we  once  read  an  account  of  two 
young  women  Avho  were  sisters,  being  left  to 
their  fate  on  the  deck  of  a  sinking  shij).  the 
vessel  having  been  abandoned  by  the  captain 
and  his  crew.  The  only  passenger  on  the  ship 
besides  themselves  was  a  gentleman,  who. 
after  vainly  appealing  to  the  captain  to  un- 
dertake their  rescue,  threw  a  small  hatch  into 
the  water,  plunged  in  himself,  seized  the 
hatch,  clung  to  it,  and  floated  until  rescue 

133 


HYMNS  THAT  AKE   IMMORTAL 

reached  him.  His  little  raft  remained  near 
enongh  to  the  sinking  ship  for  him  to  see  the 
end.  According  to  his  report,  as  the  steamer 
was  gradually  sinking  with  the  setting  of  the 
sun.  lie  saAv  the  sisters  standing  on  the  deck, 
their  arrns  about  each  other,  and  their  voices 
mingled  in  singing, 

"Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul, 
Let  iiie  to  Tliy  bosom  fly, 
Wiiiie  tlie  raging  billows  roll, 
Wbile  tlie  tempest  still  is  high." 

Listening,  as  their  song  continued,  he  heard 
at  hist  the  words, 

"Co^-cr  my  defenseless  head. 

With  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing," 

and  in  a  moment  all  was  over;  the  ship  had 
made  its  llnal  jdunge,  and  with  it  those  two 
sisters  sank  to  rise  no  more. 

"The  one  central,  all-pervading  idea  of  this 
matclUess  hvnm  is  the  souTs  yearning  for  its 
Savior."  It  is  adapted  alike  to  the  needs  of 
Ihe  jienitent.  in  quest  of  pardoning  mercy;  to 
the  tried  and  tempest-tossed  believer,  in  his 
diiily  burden-bearing  and  warfare  against  sin 
and  Satan;  to  the  bereaved  and  heart-broken 
of  all  (lasses;  to  the  saint  whose  lot  it  is  to 
suffer  long  under  the  Avasting  of  slow   and 

134 


JESUS,  LOVER  OF  MY  SOUL 

painful  disease;  and  to  those  wlio,  in  early 
years,  in  the  midst  of  their  days,  or  "'in  age 
and  feebleness  extreme/'  ninst  i)ass  '•through 
the  valley  of  the  sliadow  of  death." 
I  Precious  hymn!  May  its  ministry  of 
heavenly  ins])iration  and  holy  comfort  never 
cease  until  distracting  care,  deferred  hope, 
depressing  sorrow  and  heart-rending  grief 
shall  be  known  on  earth  no  more. 


1.13 


XVIII 

NEARER,   MY   GOD,  TO  THEE 

Another  hyinn  which,  for  general  accejit- 
ance  and  extensive  use,  can  scarcely  be  re- 
garded as  of  inferior  rank  to  those  already 
considered  is 

"Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee." 

No  hymn-book  of  to  day  is  complete  without 
it.  It  is  a  favorite  with  Christian  worshipers 
of  all  chisses.  Romanists  and  Protestants, 
Trinitarians  and  Ihiitarians,  Conformists 
and  Independents,  Calvinists  and  Arminians, 
all  alike  express  their  yearnings  for  greater 
nearness  to  the  Divine  in  the  singing  of  its 
plaintive  but  exalted  strains.  Nor  is  it  i)op- 
ular  with  English-speaking  peo])le  alone,  as 
appears  from  the  fact  that  '"it  has  been  trans- 
lated into  many  languages,  and  has  followed 
the  triumphs  of  the  gospel  in  heathen  lands." 
"It  is  the  best  metrical  expression  of  the 
desire  for  a  moi-e  intimate  spiritual  acquaint- 
ance with  (lod.  ;ind  the  riches  of  His  grace," 
says  Mr.  liutterworth,  "tliat  Ave  have  in  mod- 

136 


^^EARER,   MY   GOD,   TO  THEE 

ern  psahtmody.  It  is  a  fresh  and  touchinjj 
expression  of  the  same  yearning  aspirations 
toward  Ood  that  we  prize  in  Cowper's  'Oh. 
for  a  closer  walk  with  God,'  which  it  succeeds 
in  popular  favor.  It  expresses  a  willingness 
to  know  God  through  the  discipline  of  afflic- 
tion ;  to  descend  into  the  valleys  in  the  ascent 
of  that  spiritual  mountain  whose  summit  is 
everlasting  light.'' 

Sarah  Flower  Adams,  the  author,  was  born 
at  Harlow,  in  Essex,  England,  February  22, 
1805.  ller  father,  Benjamin  Flower,  was  edi- 
tor of  the  Camhridfje  ItitclUgoicer.  an  influ- 
ential weekly  ])ublication  devoted  to  the  sup- 
port of  radical  principles.  "Accused  of  libel- 
ing the  Bishop  of  Llandatf,  whose  political 
conduct  he  had  censured,"  says  Dr.  Benson, 
''he  was  sentenced  to  six  months'  ini'prison- 
nient  in  Newgate  with  a  fine  of  £100.  He  was 
visited  in  prison  by  Miss  Eliza  Gould,  a  lady 
who  is  said  to  have  suffered  for  her  own  lib- 
eral principles,  and  shortly  after  his  release 
he  married  her.  They  settled  at  Harlow  in 
Essex,  where  Mr.  Flower  became  a  printer 
and  where  Mrs.  Flower  died  in  ISIO.  Sarah's 
mother  is  described  as  a  lady  of  talent,  as 
was  also  her  sister  Eliza,  a  few  years  older 
than  herself,  and  likewise  an  authoress. 

In  183-1  Miss  Flower  was  married  to  Wil- 

137 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

liam  Bridges  Adams,  an  eminent  engineer, 
and  also  a  contributor  to  several  of  tlie  lead- 
ing newspapers  and  magazines  of  the  time. 

In  1847  she  was  sorely  shocked  by  the  death 
of  her  sister  Eliza,  Avho  had  been  steadily  de- 
dining,  from  pulmonary  trouble,  for  some 
time,  and  to  whom  she  most  tenderly  minis- 
tered during  the  whole  period  of  the  gather- 
ing sljadows.  From  this  time  her  own  health 
gradually  declined,  while  her  religious  aspira- 
tions, always  strong,  grew  more  vigorous,  un- 
til, two  years  after  her  sister's  departure,  she 
too,  fell  asleep  in  Christ.  Her  end  was  quite 
in  keeping  with  her  life  of  faith  and  hope, 
''almost  her  last  breath  bursting  into  un- 
conscious song,  illustrating  the  stanza, 

'Or  if  on  joyful  wiug, 

Cleaving  the  sky, 
Sun,  moon  and  stars  forgot, 

I'pward  1  fly, 
Still  all  my  song  shall  be, 
Nearer,  my  God  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee.'  " 

The  story  of  the  hymn,  is  as  follows :  After 
the  death  of  their  father  the  sisters  settled  in 
a  suburb  of  London,  where  they  united  with 
a  religious  society  having  for  its  pastor  the 
Rev.  William  Johnson  Fox,  "a  man  who. 
though  classed  among  L^nitarians,  was  neither 

138 


NEARER,  MY   GOD,   TO  THEE 

a  rationalist  nor  a  sympathizer  with  Chan- 
iiiiig  or  Martiueau."  Mr.  Fox  prepared  a 
collection  of  "'Hymns  tiud  Anthems"  for  use 
in  his  own  congregation,  for  which,  at  his  re- 
quest, Mrs.  Adams  Avrote  thirteen  original 
hymns  and  a  few  translations.  Among  these 
contributions  was  "Nearer,  my  God.  to  Thee." 
Tlie  hymn  first  appeared  in  the  second  part 
of  Mr.  Fox's  collection,  with  the  title,  '"Near- 
ness to  God  Desired,"  in  ISJll. 

This  hvmn  has  had  to  win  its  war  against 
more  prejudice  and  hostile  criticism,  perhaps, 
than  any  other  that  ever  approxim,ated  to  the 
same  degree  of  popularity.  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  author  was  a  Unitarian,  and  that 
the  hymn  makes  no  direct  mention  of  Christ. 
It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  her 
I>iety  "was  gauged  by  devotional  feeling  and 
high  religious  attainments,  rather  than  by 
denominational  requirements  or  sectarian 
views."  God  often  leads  sincei-e  souls  to  the 
mount  of  spiritual  vision  and  into  heart  ex- 
periences of  grace  in  spite  of  errors  in  in- 
tellectual belief.  Martin  Luther  is  a  remark- 
able illustration  of  this.  It  will  be  well  to 
remember  too  that  "Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee" 
is  by  no  means  the  only  liyiiin  of  devotion  in 
our  hymnals  that  fails  to  make  direct  mention 
of  the  name  of  Christ.  No  one  objects  to 
Addison's 

139 


HYMNS   THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

"When   all  Thy  mercies,   O   my  God, 
My  rising  soul  surveys," 

because  it  makes  no  mention  of  tlie  second 
Person  in  tlie  Trinity. 

Tlie  Rev.  Dr.  Tillett  has  well  said,  ''Chris- 
tians will  never  consent  to  give  up  those 
sweetest  and  tenderest  hymns,  'O  Thou  who 
driest  the  mourner's  tears,'  and  'Come,  ye  dis- 
consolate,' because  the  gifted  author,  Thomas 
Moore,  was  far  from  being  a  Christian.  Ba- 
laam and  Saul  were  among  the  pro])hets." 

The  original  text  of  the  hymn,  which,  not- 
withstanding the  many  efforts  made  to  im- 
])rovo  it  by  alterations  and  additions,  re- 
mains in  most  hymnals  substantially  un- 
changed, is  as  follows: 

Nearer,  my  God  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee ! 
E'en  though  it  be  a  cross 

That  raiseth  me; 
Still   all   my  song  would  be, 
Nearer,  my  (iod  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee. 

Though  lilvc  the  wanderer. 

The  sun  gone  down, 
Darkness  be  over  me, 

^ly  rest   a   stone ; 
Yet  in  my  dreams  I'd  be, 
Nearer,  my  God  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee. 

340 


.''-V^v^'/ 


NEAREE,   MY  GOD,   TO  THEE 

There  let  the  way  appear, 

Steps  iiuto    heaven  : 
All  that  Thou  seiul'st  to  me 

111   mercy  given : 
Angels   to   heckou   me  •    ■ 

Nearer,  my  God  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee. 

Then,  with  my  waking  thoughts, 

Bright    with   Thy   praise. 
Out   of  my   stony   griefs 

Bethel  I'll  raise; 
So  Iiy  my  woes  to  he 
Nearer,   niy   God  to   Thee, 

Nearer  to  Tliee. 

Or  if  on  joyful  wing 

Cleaving  the  sky. 
Sun,  moon,   and  stars  forgot, 

Upwards  I   tly. 
Still   all   my   song  shall   be, 
Nearer,    my   God   to   Thee. 

Nearer   to   Thee. 

Tune — "Bethany." 

About  half  a  dozen  persons,  most  of  tl:e:ii 
of  some  distinction,  have  tried  the  experiment 
of  adding  to  the  original  a  stanza  that  ex- 
presses dependence  on  Christ  for  salvation, 
but  none  of  them  have  been  regarded  as 
improvements  by  the  Church  generally,  or 
are  likely  to  be  so  regarded.  ^Aliat  was  orig- 
inally the  jiroduct  of  an  inspiration  can  not 

141 


HYMXB  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

well  be  improved  by  alterations  made  in  the 
interest  of  doctrinal  or  sectarian  prejudice. 

This  hymn  has  been  peculiarly  endeared  to 
the  writer  through  a  circumstance  which  oc- 
curred in  connection  with  his  own  devoted 
mother's  final  illness.  It  was  his  privilege  to 
minister  to  her  most  of  the  time  the  last  two 
weeks  before  she  passed  to  her  heavenly 
home.  During  one  of  her  paroxysms  of  suf- 
fering she  turned  her  face  suddenly  toward 
him',  and  exclaimed:  "Oh,  Wilson,  sing!  I 
do  belie\e  if  you  would  sing  it  would  ease 
my  pain!''  To  the  question.  '^Mother,  what 
shall  T  sing?"  she  replied,  with  great  fervor, 
"Sing  'Nearer,  my  God  to  Thee.'  " 

Struggling  with  emotion  we  sang  the  hyi#n 
as  best  vve  could,  the  sufferer  in  the  meantime 
becoming  more  at  ease.  At  the  conclusion  of 
Ihe  singing  she  exclaimed,  with  much  em- 
phasis, ^'Yoii  dkhi't  sing  it  ally'  When  told 
that  one  stanza  had  been  forgotten,  recalling 
a  part  of  it  heisclf.  she  said,  with  increased 
emfthasis.  "Sing 

'So  by  my  woes  to  l)e 
Nearer,  my  (iod  to  Tbee.'  " 

Then  we  sang,  greatly  to  her  satisfaction,  the 
stanza  that  had  been  fitrgotten: 

142 


nearp:k.  my  god,  to  thee 

"Then  with  my  waking  thoughts, 

Bright  with  Thy  praise, 
Out  of  my  stony  griefs. 

Bethel  I'll  raise ; 
So  by  my  woes  to  be 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee." 

With  as  clear  a  voice  as  she  was  able  to  com- 
mand in  her  best  (lavs  she  joined  in  singing 
the  entire  stanza — the  last  she  ever  sang  until 
she  joined  in  the  music  of  the  skies. 

"In  the  battle  of  Fort  Dounelson  a  brave 
little  drnmmer  bov  had  his  arm  taken  off  bv 
a  cannon  bull.  One  who  visited  the  field  after 
the  battle  was  over  found  him  dying  of  ex- 
haustion through  loss  of  blood ;  but  he  was 
heard  singing,  even  while  his  life-blood  ebbed 
awa}-, 

'There  let  the  way  appear, 

Steps  unto  heaven : 
All  that  Thou  sendest  me 

In  mercy  given : 
Angels  to  beckon  me 
Nearer,  my  God  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee.'  " 

It  would  hardly  be  suitable  to  dismiss  our 
consideration  of  this  hymn  without  recalling 
its  asociation  with  the  tragic  death  of  the  late 
President    McKinley.     As    reported    by    Dr. 

143 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE    IMMORTAL 

Matthew  D.  IMann,  the  distinguished  suffer- 
er's attending  pbysician,  his  last  utterances 
were, 

"  'Nearer,  my  God  to  Thee, 
E'en  though  it  be  a  cross,' 

has  been  my  constant  prayer." 

Nor  will  the  present  generation  ever  forget 
how,  in  memory  of  their  illustrious  dead  and 
as  expressive  of  the  general  yearning  for  a 
sense  of  divine  nearness  and  consolation, 
Christian  assemblies  over  all  the  land  sang 
this  hymn  in  their  churches  and  memorial 
services  the  Sabbath  following  the  announce- 
ment of  bis  death.  Then  came  the  day  of  his 
funeral,  with  that  solemn  ''five  minutes."  dur- 
ing which,  from  east  to  west  and  from  north 
to  south,  business  of  every  kind  was  suspend- 
ed, tlie  whirr  of  machinery  hushed,  street  cars, 
steamboats  and  railway  trains  were  halted 
in  their  courses  and  telegraph  instruments 
and  telephone  bells  were  silenced,  while  prac- 
tically the  M'hole  nation,  with  bowed  heads 
and  breaking  hearts,  joined  in  singing  their 
fallen  chieftain's  favorite  hymn  and  dying 
]>rayer,— - 

"Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee." 

It   was  indeed  an    unprecedented  occasion 

144 


XEAKER,  MY   GOD,   TO  THEE 

of  public  sorrow — a  marvelous  demonstration 
of  the  religions  sentiment  wlik-li.  however 
largely  subordinated  to  the  prevalent  com- 
mercialism and  competition  of  the  age,  is  nat- 
ural to  our  huujanity,  and  will,  in  times  of 
great  stress  and  cahimity  at  least,  assert  it- 
self with  emphasis.  It  was  an  equally  unprec- 
edented testimonial  to  the  value  and  popu- 
laritv  of  the  hvmn  we  have  been  considering. 


145 


XIX 

GREATEST  HYMN   ON   PURITY   OF  HEART 

Among  the  finest  of  Charles  Wesley's  lyr- 
ical productions  and  the  greatest  lyric  ever 
written  on  the  subject  of  heart-purity  is  the 
hymn  beginning, 

"O  for  a  heart  to  praise  my  God, 
A  heart  from  siu  set  free." 

It  is  based  on  Psalm  51 :  10 :  ''Create  in  me  a 
clean  heart,  O  God ;  and  renew  a  right  spirit 
within  me;"  and  was  published  in  "Hymns 
and  Sacred  Poems,"  1742.  The  saintly  John 
Fletcher,  of  Madeley,  commenting  on  it,  once 
said:  "Here  is  undoubtedly  an  evangelical 
prayer  for  the  love  which  restores  the  soul 
to  a  state  of  sinless  rest  and  scriptural  perfec- 
lion." 

As  originally  written  the  hymn  contained 
eight  stanzas,  but  as  now  generally  published 
what  were  formerly  the  fifth,  sixth  and 
seventh  stanzas  are  omitted,  the  hymn  being 
(piite  complete  without  them,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  following  commonly  used  text : 

146 


HYMN  ON  PURITY  OF  HEART 

O  for  a  heart  to  praise  my  God, 

A  heart  from   sin  set  free, 
A    heart   that  always  feels   Thy   blood, 

So  freely  spilt  for  me : 

A  heart  resigned,  submissive,  meek, 

My  great  Redeemer's  throne. 
Where  only  Christ  is  heard  to  speak, 

Where  Jesus   reigns  alone. 

O  for  a  lowly,  contrite  heart. 

Believing,  true,   and  clean, 
Which  neither  life  nor  death  can  part 

From  Him  that  dwells  within! 

A  heart  in  every  thought  renewed, 

And  full  of  love  divine; 
Perfect,  and  right,  and  pure,  and  good, 

A  copy.  Lord,  of  Thine. 

Thy  nature,  gracious  Lord,  impart: 

Come  quickly  from  above; 
Write  Thy  new  name  upon  my  heart. 

Thy  new,  best  name  of  Love.  ^^-^ 

Tune— "Arlington." 

That  the  omitted  stanzas  are  unnecessary 
to  the  completeness  of  the  hymn,  and,  if 
retained,  would  impair  rather  than  improve 
it,  will  be  evident,  we  think,  to  all  who  com- 
pare the  text  as  rendered  above  with  the  way 
it  would  read  were  the  following  stanzas 
inserted  immediately  after  stanza  three: 

147 


HY^INS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

Thy  tender  heart  is  still  the  same. 

And  melts  at  human  woe ; 
Jesus,  for  Thee,  distressed  I  am, 

I  want  Thy  love  to  know. 

My  heart.  Thou,  know  est,  can  never  rest 

Till  Thou  create  my  peace; 
Till,  of  my  Eden  re-possessed, 

From  self  and  sin  I  cease. 

Fruit  of  Thy  gracious  lips,  on  me 

Bestow  that  peace  unknown. 
The  hidden  manna,  and  the  tree 

Of  life,  and  the  white  stone. 

Charles  Wesley  was  a  master  poet  and  John 
Weslej  a  master  critic  of  poetry.  As  a  critic 
John  pnt  many  a  finishing  touch  on  his  broth- 
er's productions  without  which  they  would 
have  exhibited  more  imperfections  than  now 
characte7'ize  them.  The  foregoing  hymn  is 
an  instance  of  this  kind.  Charles  wrote,  ''O 
for  an  heart."  and  used  the  expression  ^^an 
lieart"  throughout  the  hymn.  John  changed 
it  to  ''a  heart''  throughout.  Charles  wrote, 
"O  for  an  liumble,  lowly  heart,"  which  John 
altered  so  as  to  read,  ''O  for  a  lowly,  contrite 
heart."  Charles  v.-rote  "dear  Redeemer's 
throne,"  in  line  two  of  stanza  two,  and  '^dcar- 
est  Lord  im])art,"  in  line  one  of  the  last 
stanza,  which  John  changed  respectively  to 

148 


JOHN  WESLEY, 


HYMN  OX  rURITY  OF  HEART 

"great  rjedcemer's  throne''  and  '•gracious 
Lord  impart."  These  alterations  were  made 
by  John  Weslej  iu  preparing  the  hymn  for 
his  '"Collection"  published  in  1789. 

The  singing  of  this  hymn  in  the  Spirit  has 
been  the  means  of  leading  many  a  soul  hun- 
gering and  thirsting  after  righteousness  into 
''the  fulness  of  the  blessing  of  the  gos])el  of 
Christ."  Its  precious  and  deeply  significant 
words  have  also  dwelt  on  the  lips  of  many  a 
dying  believer,  inspiring  faith,  quickening 
hope,  and  enabling  him  to  shout  in  glorious 
triumph  over  "the  last  enemy."  It  is  one  of 
the  hvmns  destined  to  live  as  long  as  the  crv 
for  inward  purity  finds  place  in  human  hearts 
and  seeks  expression  on  human  lips. 


149 


XX 

A  MATCHLESS   HYMN   ON    PERFECT   LOVE 

Of  tlie  six  thousand  five  hundred  hymns 
prodnced  bv  Charles  Wesley,  the  princely 
singer  of  early  Methodism,  none  exceeds  in 
poetic  worth  or  in  the  depth  and  richness  of 
its  spirituality  and  in  genuine  helpfulness 
his  lofty  and  glowing  lyric  on  perfect  love, 
beginning. 

"Love  di\iiR'.  all  loves  excelling. 

Jcfy  of  heaven  to  earth  couie  down !" 

It  was  first  given  to  the  public  in  his  "TTymns 
for  those  that  Seek,  and  those  that  have 
Kedemption  in  the  blood  of  Jesus  (Mirist." 
1747.  It  soon  became  i»opular  among  the 
Alethodist  societies,  and  finally,  by  genuine 
merit  alone,  won  its  way  1o  almost  universal 
favor  throughout  the  English-si»eaking  world. 
"It  is  one  of  the  most  jmpular  and  helpful 
hymns,"  says  Mr.  Stead,  '-which,  originating 
in  ^Methodist  hymnody.  have  found  an  hon- 
oi'cd  place  in  the  hymn-books  of  almost  every 
other  dcnouiinatioii.'"     The  late  Kev.  Charles 

150 


HY3IX  ON  PERFECT  LOVE 

S.  Robinson.  J ).  I).,  who  was  one  of  the  fore- 
most hyninologists  of  this  eoiintrv,  declared 
it  ''one  of  the  noblest  of  all  the  compositions 
of  Rev.  Charles  Wesley;"  Dr.  Xutter  regards 
it  as  "one  of  the  most  valuable  hymns  the 
anthor  ever  Avrote;''  and  the  late  Rev.  Henry 
Ward  Beecher  cherished  it  as  a  special  favor- 
ite. It  is  said  that  no  one  who  ever  heard  the 
great  conoregation  in  Plymouth  ('hurch  sing 
"Love  Divine''  is  likelv  to  forget  the  soul- 
stirring  effect.  "This  is  one  of  the  hymns  of 
Charles  Wesley,"  says  Mr.  Stead  again, 
"which  enabled  Methodism  to  sing  itself  into 
the  heart  of  the  world." 

The  hymn  as  published  in  many  hymnals 
is  considerably  altered  from  its  original  form, 
some  com])iIers  having  omitted  the  second 
stanza,  and  others  having  changed  various 
expressions  in  other  stanzas,  in  both  cases 
the  alterations  having  been  made  to  suit  the 
hymn  to  the  doctrinal  bias  of  those  who  made 
them.  The  following  is  the  full  text  of  the 
hymn : 

Love  divine  all  loves  excelling, 

Joy  of  lieaven  to  earth  come  down ! 
Fix  in  us  Tliy  humble  dwellinjsr : 

All  Thy  faithful  mercies  crown. 
Jesus,  Thou  art  all  compassion, 

Pure  unhouiuled  love  Thou  art; 
Visit  us  with  Thy  salvation  : 

Enter  every  treinliling  heart. 

Isl 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

Breathe.  0  breathe  Thy  loving  Spirit 

Into  every  troiihled  breast  I 
Let  lis  all  in  Tliee  inherit. 

Let  us  find  that  second  rest. 
Take  away  our  bent  to  sinning; 

Aljiha   and  Omega  be ; 
End  of  faith,  as  its  beginning, 

Set  our  hearts  at  liberty. 

Come,  almighty  to  deliver. 

Let  us  all  Thy  life  receive ; 
Suddenly  return,  and  never. 

Never  more  Thy  temi)les  leave : 
Thee  we  would  be  always  blessing. 

Serve  Thee  as  Thy  hosts  above. 
Fray  and  praise  Thee  without  ceasing, 

Glory  in  Thy  perfect  love. 

Finish  then  Thy  new  creation ; 

Pure  and  spotless  let  us  be ; 
Let  us  see  Thy  great  salvation. 

Perfectly  restored  in  Thee: 
Changed  from  glory  into  glory. 

Till  in  heaven  we  take  our  i>lace, 
Till  we  cast  our  crowns  before  Thee, 

Lost  in  wonder,  love,  and  iiraise. 

TUXK — "Beeciieb." 

The  Englisli  ^fotliodist  Hynin-Book  omits 
tlu'  second  stnnza,  -arising  probably,"  says 
Mr.  Stovensoii,  "from  tAvo  linos  wliicli  are 
tlioujiht  to  be  defective  iu  doetriual  accu- 
racy." Those  lines  are  the  fourth  and  fifth, 
the  fourth  line  reading,  "Let  us  find  thai  sec- 

152 


HYMN  OX  PERFECT  LOVE 

f»uJ  rest,"  and  the  fifth  line,  as  originally 
written,  "Take  a\^■ay  our  power  of  sinning," 
-Vmerican  Methodists  generally  retain  this 
stanza,  with  the  expression,  "power  of  sin- 
ning,'' in  line  5  changed  to  '*bent  to  sinning.'' 
This  is  quite  in  accord  with  the  suggestion 
of  the  Rev.  John  Fletcher,  a  very  judicious 
critic  in  his  day,  who  justified  the  expression 
"second  rest,"  but  took  excei)tions  to  the  line, 
''Take  away  our  power  of  sinning,"  as  too 
strong.  His  words  respecting  "that  second 
rest"  are  as  follows :  "Mr.  Wesley  says  sec- 
Olid  rr.si ,  because  an  imperfect  believer  enjoys 
a  first  inferior  rest;  if  he  did  not,  he  would 
be  no  believer."  Regarding  "Take  away  our 
jiower  of  sinning"  he  says:  ''Is  not  this  ex- 
pression too  strong?  Would  it  not  be  better 
to  soften  it  by  saying,  'Take  away  the  love  of 
sinning?'  Can  God  take  away  from  us  our 
poiccr  of,,  siDiiina  without  taking  away  our 
power  of  free  obedience?" 

The  late  Rev.  Charles  S.  Robinson,  D.  D.,  an 
eminent  i'resbyterian  divine,  in  his  "Annota- 
tions Upon  Popular  Hymns/"'  offers  some  in- 
structive, just  and  interesting  observations 
regarding  tlie  line,  "Let  us  find  that  second 
rest,"  which  has  been  an  oft'ense  to  so  many. 
We  give  our  readers  the  benefit  of  the  same 
in  the  three  following  ])aragraphs: 

153 


HYMNB  THAT  ARE    IMMORTAL 

"Come  uDto  me.  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavj'  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take 
my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me;  for  I  am 
meek  and  lowly  in  heart;  and  je  shall  find 
rest  unto  your  souls."  Matthew  11:28.  29. 
^^'hat  strikes  us  so  strangely  in  reading  over 
these  verses  is  the  discovery  that  Christ  says 
in  the  beginning,  ''I  will  girc  you  rest."  and 
at  the  end  says,  ''Ye  shall  find  rest."  With 
the  one  offer  the  rest  seems  to  be  fi'ee;  with 
the  other  it  is  evidently  somewhat  severely 
conditioned.  ^Moreover,  the  figures  employed 
seem  parado.vical.  To  propose  to  relieve  a 
man  who  labors  by  putting  on  him  a  yoke. 
or  to  help  a  man  who  is  heavy  laden  by  impos- 
ing upon  him  a  burden,  gives  ohance  for  a 
cavil. 

The  exjdanation  is  found  by  assuming  that 
in  Christian  ex])erience  there  are  fico  rests, 
and  not  just  (me  only.  The  fii-st  of  these  is  a 
gift,  .the  other  is  an  acquisition.  These  differ 
(Miite  elementallv.  Thev  do  not  arrive  in  the 
same  moment.  They  are  not  precisely  of  the 
same  character.  They  certainly  do  not  come 
in  anything  like  the  same  way.  The  second 
one  is  never  attained  till  the  first  has  pre- 
ceded it.  Tbe  first  may  be  reached  years 
i)efore  tlie  otlier   is   made  perfect,  so  that    it 


154 


HYMN  ON   PEKFECT   LOVE 

might  liappon  that  the  spiritual  distance  be- 
tween them  shall  be  sorrowfully  wide.       -  " 

In  tlie  second  stanza  of  the  hvmn  now  be- 
fore us*  is  the  line,  "Let  us  find  thy  promised 
rest."  This  is  singularly  unfortunate,  for  a 
fine  allusion  is  lost.  Hut  singers  insisted  that 
they  did  not  know  what  the  original  line 
meant.  Charles  Wesley  wrote  quite  sorii»tur- 
ally.  but  we  miss  the  point.  For  he  said,  "Let 
us  tind  that  second  rest."  He  was  singing  of 
what  this  verse  [of  Scripture]  puts  second. 
No  one  can  appreciate  accurately  the  signili- 
cance  of  these  figures  who  prefers  to  sing  it. 
"Let  us  find  Thy  promised  rest."  The  yoke 
comes  before  the  doctrine:  "Take  my  yoke 
n])on  you,  and  learn  of  me."  Therein  lies 
our  duty.  The  rest  still  waits.  Yoke-bearing 
leads  to  it.  Jesus  olfers  His  hand  to  you. 
Rei)ent  of  all  your  sins;  put  your  simple  trust 
in  Him.  Tlien  comes  a  new  endeavor.  Sub- 
mit at  once  to  Christ's  will.  "If  any  man 
will  do  His  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doc- 
trine." The  doing  is  ahead  of  even  the  doc- 
trine. Make  (me  simple  resolve  in  deiiendencc 
on  divine  aid:  "Here  I  give  myself  to  Thee! 
I  put  on  the  yoke.  I  go  joyfully  under  the 
burden  I" 

This  hvmn  lia.s  often  been  used  with  <.reat 


•As  found  in  Laude?  Domini. 


iiy:\ixs  that  are  immortal 

elfectiveiiess  in  revival  services,  at  camp- 
meetings  and  in  various  conventions  and  asso- 
ciations. Tiie  writer  recalls  instances  of  this 
kind  in  which  the  singing  of  the  hymn  has 
been  accompanied  with  manifestations  of  the 
divine  presence,  reminding  one  of  the  scenes 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 

Various  portions  of  the  hymn  have  also 
been  greatlv  blessed  to  the  comfort  and  in- 
sj)iration  of  dying  saints.  A  devout  Method- 
ist woman  of  England  Avho,  in  accordance 
with  strong  jjresentiments,  had  lost  several 
relatives  and  was  herself  nearing  the  grave. 
when  asked  by  her  sorrowing  husband,  '"la 
Jesus  precious?"  remained  silent  for  a  little, 
and  then,  summoning  all  her  strength,  sang: 

".Jesus,    Thou   art   all   compassion; 
I'ui'e  unhouuded  lovo  Thou  art ; 
Visit  us  witii  Thy  salvation; 
Enter  eveiy  treniltllnK  heart." 

After  this  slic  continued  ]>raising  (lod  and 
singing  her  notes  of  triuni]»h  until  the  ])early 
gates  opened  and  li<'r  laiisomed  sj)irit  passed 
iiiio  the  Celestial  City. 

Aii'itJKi-  lioly  wdiiian  as  .sju'  came  to  the 
cross'ing  <il'  -lordan  testified,  saying. 

"Aniicls  now   ,ire  hovering'  nnujti  us," 
156 


HYMN  OX  PERFECT  LOVE 

and  then  sang,  as  her  last  note  of  triumph  on 
earth, 

"Finish  then  Thy  new  creatior, 

I'nre  and  spotiess  let  us  be ; 
Let  us  see  Thy  great  salvation, 

Perfectly  restored  in  Thee : 
Chan.sed  from  glorj'  Into  glory. 

Till  in  lieaven  we  take  our  i)laee, 
Till  we    cast   our   crowns   before   Thee, 

Lost  in  wonder,  love  and  praise." 

How  beautiful  to  pass  from,  the  singing  of 
such  a  victorious  strain  on  earth  to  the  sing- 
ing of  the  "new  song"  before  the  throne  of 
(}od  in  heaven ! 


157 


Resignation 


159 


XXT 

THB   cross-bearer's    HYMX 

''If  -inv  man  will  coino  after  me.  let  him 
deny  himself ,  and  take  up  his  cross  daily,  and 
follow  me''  (Lnke  0:2:*.).  are  the  words  in 
which  the  Son  of  God  announced  for  all  time 
the  terms  of  Christian  discipleship.  Nor-  has 
any  hymn  of  the  Christian  (Muirch  ever  em- 
bodied more  fully  the  spirit  of  that  anuouuce- 
Dient  than  Henry  Francis  Lyte's 

"Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken. 
All  to  leave,  and  follow  Thee."' 

^Ir.  Lvte.  the  autlior  of  the  livmn,  was  born 
near  Kelso,  Scotland,  in  17!)3.  His  father 
was  a  captain  in  the  Eniilish  army,  and  both 
the  father  and  mother  died  while  Henry  was 
a  child.  Friends  took  charge  of  his  educa- 
tion, and  he  was  finally  sent  to  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Dublin,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 
1814.  He  had  j purposed  to  devote  himself  to 
the  practice  of  medicine,  and  studied  with 
that  end  in  view  for  a  time.  In  1815,  however, 
he  changed  his  })lans,  decided  to  preach  the 

i6i 


HYiVrNS  THAT  arp:  im mortal 

J;(»^<llt'l,  and  was  ordaiued  to  the  ministr}-  of 
the  Church  of  England.  "A  dreary  Irish 
curacy"  was  the  fiehi  of  his  earliest  minis- 
terial hibors,  in  which  he  served  as  faithfully 
and  efficiently  as  could  be  expected  of  one 
who,  although  sincere,  had  never  known  by 
cxjjerience  the  regenerating  power  of  the  gos- 
])el  of  (Mirist. 

In  181S  Mr.  l^yte  was  the  subject  of  a  re- 
markable spiritual  change,  brought  about 
through  an  ecpially  remarkable  providence. 
xV  brother  clergyman  who  was  near  the  gates 
of  death  desired  Mr.  Lyte's  counsel  in  spirit- 
ual matters,  and  sent  for  him.  The  sick  man, 
according  to  Mr.  Lyte's  account,  was  a  minis- 
ter of  exalted  standing,  whose  life  had 
abounded  in  benevolence,  good  sense  and 
Christian  virtues.  Still,  the  ai>]>roach  of  death 
convinced  him  that  he  was  not  at  heart  a 
Christian — that  he  was  without  that  expert- 
mental  knowledge  of  Christ  which  alone  gives 
l)eace,  hope  and  victory  in  a  dying  hour.  lie 
insisted  upon  their  examining,  in  the  light  of 
Ihe  Xew  Testament,  the  grounds  of  Christian 
faith  and  hojie,  and  the  means  by  which  sin- 
ful men  may  be  prepared  for  the  bliss  of 
liciucn. 

'•My  blood  almost  curdled,"  wrote  Mr.  Lyte, 
as  quoted   by  his   daughter.   ^Irs.   Hogg,   "to 

162 


TIIP]  CKOSH-BEARER'S  HYMX 

liear  the  dyinji'  mau  declare  and  prove,  with 
irrefutable  clearness,  that  both  he  and  I  had 
been  utterly  mistaken  in  the  means  we  had 
adopted  for  ourselves,  and  recommended  to 
others,  if  the  explanatory  epistles  of  St.  Paul 
were  to  be  taken  in  their  plain  and  literal 
sense.  You  can  hardly,  perhaps,  conceive  the 
effects  of  all  this,  jiroceeding  from,  such  a 
man,  in  such  a  situation."  As  a  result  of  their 
conference  the  dying  minister  found  "peace 
with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ," 
and  the  living  minister  went  forth  a  renewed 
man,  having  experienceda  change  akin  to  that 
wrought  upon  Isaiah  the  prophet  when  by 
seraphic  ministry  his  lips  were  touched  with 
hallowed  fire.  This,  according  to  one  account, 
was  the  occasion  which  led  to  the  writing  of 
"Jesus,  1  my  cross  have  taken."  the  original 
motto  of  which  was  the  words  of  St.  Peter  to 
his  ]\Iaster,  "Lo,  we  have  left  all  and  followed 
thee." 

The  following  is  the  full  text  of  the  hymn, 
which  is  one  of  the  Church's  noblest  lyrics, 
and  should  be  thoroughly  memorized  by  all 
Christians,  especially  by  those  who  are 
young : 

Jesus,  I  mj    cross  have  taken, 
All  to  Ipavo  and  follow  Tliee: 

163 


HYATXS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

Nakerl,  poor,  despised,  forsaken, 
Tliou  from  hence  my  all  sbaltbe. 

Perish,    every    fond   ambition, 

All  I've  soufiht,  or  hoped,  or  known, 

Yet  bow  rich  is  my  condition  ! 
God  and  heaven  are  still  my  own. 

Let  the  world  despise  and  leave  me ; 

They  have  left  my  Savior  too : 
Human  hearts  and  looks  deceive  me; 

Thon  art  not,  like  them,  imtrue; 
And  while  Thon  sbalt  smile  upon  me, 

God  of  wisdom,   love,  and  might, 
Foes  may  hate,  and  friends  disown  me; 

Show  Tby  face,  and  all'  is  bright. 

Go,  then,  earthly  fame  and  treasure; 

Come,  disaster,  scorn  and  pain ; 
In  Tby  service  pain  is  pleasure; 

With  Thy  favor  loss  is  gain. 
I  have  called  Thee,  Abba.  Father, 

I  have  set  my  heart  on  Thee : 
Storms  may  howl,   and  clouds  may  gather, 

All  must  work  for  good  to  me. 

Man  may  trouble  and  distress  me; 

'Twill  but  di-ive  me  to  Thy  breast: 
Life  with  trials  hard  may  press  me; 

Heaven  will  l)ring  me  sweeter  rest. 
O  'tis  not  in  grief  to  harm  me, 

Wbile  Thy  love  is  left  to  me! 
O  'twere  not  in  joy  to  charm  me. 

Were  that  joy  unmixed  with  Thee! 

Soul,  then  know  tby  full  salvation; 
Rise  o'er  sin.  and  fear,  and  care ; 

164 


THE  rROSS-BEARER'S   HYMN 

Joy   to   find    in  every   station 

Sometlunff  still  to  do  or  bear. 
TliiJik  \^iiat  Spirit  dwells  witliin  thee ; 

Think  what  Father's  smiles  are  thine; 
Think  that  Jesus  died  to  win  thee : 

Child  of  heaven,  canst  thou  repine? 

Haste  thee  on  from  grace  to  glory, 

Armed  by  faith,  and  winged  by  prayer; 
Heaven's  eternal  day's  before  thee. 

God's   own    hand   shall   guide   thee  there. 
Soon  shall  close  thy  earthly  mission, 

Soon  shall  jiass  thy  pilgrim  days; 
Hope  shall  change  to  glad  fruition. 

Faith  to  sight,  and  prayer  to  praise. 

Tune — ■"Disciple." 

This  hymn  has  he'^n  a  great  source  of  in- 
spiration and  strength  in  hnndreds  of  cases 
to  tliose  who  were  ojipressed  and  persecnted 
for  their  adlierence  to  Christ,  His  truth,  and 
His  cause.  Tlie  writer  recalls  with  nnich  viv- 
idness instances  in  which,  during  his  early 
years,  it  was  snng  in  his  hearing  during  such 
circumstances,  his  own  godly  i)arents  some- 
times being  among  the  oppressed  but  victori- 
ous singers.  He  owes  much,  too,  to  the  influ- 
ence of  this  noble  ])roduction  in  the  direction 
of  strengthening  and  developing  his  own  faith 
while  little  more  than  a  child  in  years  and 
Christian  ex])erience.  Much  as  he  esteemed  it 
then,   however,   its   sentiments   have   become 

165 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

more  precious  with  the  passing  years,  and 
to-day  its  value  is  appreciated  more  than  ever. 
It  is  expressive  of  tliat  rugged  type  of  Chris- 
tianity exhibited  by  the  glorious  company  of 
the  apostles  and  the  noble  army  of  the  mar- 
tyrs, whose  self-denial,  resignation,  purity  of 
character,  and  unswerving  loyalty  to  truth 
and  duty  challenge  our  eui;ulation. 

We  read  some  years  ago  an  account  of  an 
intelligent  young  woman,  the  daughter  of  a 
notorious  infidel,  who,  in  a  revival  meeting 
near  her  father's  home,  gave  her  heart  to  God 
and  became  soundly  converted.  On  being 
ap})rised  of  her  action  the  father  called  her  to 
account  for  it,  whereupon  she  "witnessed  a 
good  profession,"  and,  with  much  courage  and 
great  blessing,  declared  what  God  had  done 
for  her  soul.  The  father,  unable  to  dissuade 
her  from  her  well-chosen  course  by  gentler 
means,  at  lengtli  became  enraged  and  in- 
formed her  that,  unless  she  would  give  up  her 
])rofession  of  Christ  and  her  relation  with 
His  people,  she  must  leave  his  home  forever. 

Terrible  as  was  the  situation  now  confront- 
ing her,  she  remembered  how  her  divine  Mas- 
ter had  said,  ''Whoso  loveth  father  or  mother 
more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me."  and,  in- 
stead of  weakening,  her  faith  grew  stronger 
and  her  purpose  more  firm.     The  fime  soon 

i66 


THE  CRO«S-BEAKER'S   HYMN 

passed  within  wliicli  her  lather  demanded  a 
final  decision,  and  when  the  critical  moment 
came  she  made  no  hesitation,  but,  assuring,' 
her  father  of  her  love  and  respect  for  him. 
j'ssured  him  also  of  her  supreme  love  for  the 
Christ  who  had  redeemed  her,  and  of  her  pur- 
pose to  cleave  to  Him  at  all  hazards.  This 
was  a  signal  for  the  culmination  of  the 
father's  Avralh.  Slie  was  unceremoniously 
commanded  to  leave  the  home  she  held  so 
dear,  and  to  darken  its  doors  no  more.  This 
only  seemed  to  nerve  her  for  more  heroic  de- 
votion to  the  Christ  she  loved  above  all  others. 
Gathering  up  such  of  her  effects  as  it  was  con- 
venient to  take  with  her,  she  tenderly  and 
through  tears  bade  her  father  and  the  rest  of 
the  family  farewell,  and  started  out.  like 
Abraham,  when  he  set  out  upon  his  pilgrim- 
age ''not  knowing  whither  he  went." 

The  sun  was  going  down,  and,  as  the  shad- 
ows of  night  began  to  thicken  ar-ound  her,  she 
turned  aside  into  a  grove,  not  far  from  the 
home  she  had  left,  to  pray  for  divine  grace  and 
guidance.  Ood  came  to  her  heart  in  great 
blessing,  and  so  confident  did  she  become  that 
He  would  make  all  her  trouble  work  for  her 
good  tliat  she  soon  found  herself  singing: 

"Jesus.  T  my  cross  havo  taken. 
All  to  loav(»  and   Inllow  Thee; 

167 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

Naked,  poor,  despised,  forsaken. 
Thou  from  hence  my  all  shalt  be. 

Perish  every  fond  ambition. 
Air  I've  sought,  or  hoped,  or  known. 

Yet  how  rich  is  my  condition ! 

God  and  heaven  are  still  my  own." 

As  she  sang  on  amid  the  gathering  shades, 
little  thinking  that  any  bnt  God  was  listen- 
ing to  her  heartfelt  strains,  the  gentle  breeze 
wafted  the  voice  of  the  singer  toward  the  home 
she  had  left,  where  it  fell  upon  the  ear  of  the 
father  who  had  so  inhumanly  banished  her 
from  beneath  his  roof.  As  he  listened  the 
voice  of  the  singer  was  soon  recognized,  tlie 
words  of  the  hymn  became  distinguishable, 
strange  emotions  struggled  for  expression, 
and  soon  his  feet  were  bearing  liim  in  the 
direction  from  whence  came  those  notes  of 
holy  but  pathetic  song.  In  a  short  time  the 
banished  daughter  was  in  the  tender  embrace 
of  the  relenting  father,  who,  amid  tears  and 
sobs,  Avilhdrew  the  ban  he  had  pronounced, 
entreated  her  forgiveness,  led  her  back  to  the 
liome  she  had  left,  ])1odged  her  full  liberty  to 
serve  and  Avorship  CJod  as  she  might  ])l(»ase, 
besought  her  prayers,  and  Avas  soon  himself 
rejoicing  in  a  Savior's  i)ardoniug  love. 


1 68 


XXII 

schmolck's  hymx  of  resignation 

One  of  the  teiiderest  aiul  sweetest  of  all 
hyiiins  of  submission  to  the  divine  will  was 
originally  written  in  the  German  bv  Pastor 
Benjamin  Sc-hmolck,  of  Schweidnitz,  about 
1704,  under  the  title,  "^lein  Jesu,  wie  du 
Willst,''  and  has  been  beautifully  rendered 
into  Knjilish  by  Miss  Jane  Borthwick,  of 
Scotland,  her  translation  beginning", 

"'Sly  .Tosns,  as  Tlion  wilt, 

Oh.  limy  Tliy  will  be  niiiie." 

It  is  founded  upon  Mark  14 :  80 :  ''And  He 
said,  Abba,  Father,  all  things  are  ])Ossible 
unto  Thee;  take  away  this  cup  from  me: 
nevertheless,  not  what  I  will,  but  what  Thou 
wilt."  The  hymn  is  thoroughly  saturated 
with  the  s])irit  of  these  remarkable  utter- 
ances, called  forth  from  our  Lord  by  His 
agony  in  CJethsemane,  and  so  is  marvelous  in 
its  adaptation  to  expressing  ''the  fellowship 
of  His  suH'erings." 

"Tlie  thought  is  this,"  says  Dr.  Robinson : 

169 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

''We  are  to  bend  oni-  wills  in  simple  submis- 
sion to  Jesus,  as  Jesus  bent  His  to  that  of  the 
Father,  and  so  settle  the  restive  iuquisitive- 
ness  of  our  wounded  sensibility.  There  is  no 
other  way  of  dealing  with  such  a  question  as 
Ihis.  We  must  take  the  testimony  of  those 
who  have  had  experience  of  troulde.  Four 
eminent  men  there  have  been  whose  history 
in  this  particular  is  before  us.  Aaron  was 
terribly  bereaved  when  his  sons  were  struck 
dead;  but  'he  held  his  peace.'  That  was  well, 
but  Eli  took  higher  ground;  he  spoke;  he 
said  :  'Tt  is  the  Lord,  let  Him  do  what  seeni- 
eth  good  in  His  sight.'  P.ut  Job  reached  a 
step  higher  than  either;  he  s])oke  not  only  in 
the  language  of  submission,  but  of  thankful- 
ness: 'lilessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord."  And 
then,  from  a  far  more  serene  and  elevated 
summit  of  satisfaction,  Paul,  that  grand  old 
Apostle  of  the  New  Testament,  declared,  '1 
take  pleasure  in  my  distresses.'  This  ought 
l(»  be  enough  for  us." 

The  hymn  in  the  German  and  also  in  its 
translated  form  contains  seven  stanzas,  of 
which  only  the  first,  fourth  and  last  usually 
iippear  in  the  hymnals.  The  translation  is 
liom  ''Hymns  fntm  the  Land  of  Luther,''  a 
volume  of  translations  from  the  (Jerman,  pro- 
duced and  published  by  Miss  Borthwick  and 


170 


HYMN  OF  REir^IOXATION 

her  sister,  .Mrs.  Eric  J.  Fiudkitei-.     The  fol 
lowing-  are  the  stanzas  comprising  tlie  liymn 
as   now  generally   smig   in    English-speaking 
<hurf'hes : 

My  Jesus,  as  Thou  wilt : 

0  may  Tby  will  lu'  mine; 
Into  Tliy  hand  of  love 

1  would  my  all  resign. 
Through  -sorrow  or  tlu-ou.i;h  joy, 

Conduct  me  as  Thine  own, 
And  help  me  still  to  say. 

"My  Lord.  Thy  will  be  done," 

My  .Tesus,  as  Thou  wilt : 

Thouj^h  seen  through  many  a  tear, 
Let  not  my  star  of  hope 

Grow  dim   and  disappear. 
Since  Thou  on  earth  hast  wept 

And  sorrowed  oft  alone. 
If  I  must   weep  with  Thee. 

My  Lord.  Thy  will  he  done. 

My  Jesus,  as  Thou  wilt : 

All  shall  be  woU  for  me: 
Each   chanjiins  future  scene 

I  .eladly  trust  with  Thee. 
Straight  to  my  home  above, 

I  travel  calndy  on. 
And  sing  hi  life  or  death. 

"My  Lord.  Thy  will  lie  done." 

Tr  NE — "  Jf.wett." 

Benjamin    Schmolck.    the    author    of   these 

171 


HYMXS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

])athetic  and  beautiful  Hues,  was  a  Silesian, 
born  in  Braucliitsclidorf,  December  21,  1G72, 
and  was  one  of  the  most  popular  hvmn- 
writers  of  Germany.  He  graduated  at  Leip- 
sic  in  1697;  became  pastor  of  Schweidnitz  in 
1702;  remained  faithful  to  the  numerous  and 
grave  responsibilities  of  this  position  until 
1737,  when,  upon  the  anniversary  of  his  wed- 
ding, February  twelfth,  he  entered  into  final 
rest.  The  Schweidnitz  parish  was  large,  and 
Schmolck's  responsible  and  laborious  posi- 
tion was  rendered  the  more  difficult  by  the 
machinations  of  the  Jesuits,  who  secretly 
sought  to  counterwork  his  efforts.  It  is  said, 
however,  that  the  earnestness  of  his  labors 
and  the  sweetness  of  his  disposition  not  only 
won  for  him  the  hearts  of  his  parishioners, 
but  disarmed  the  Jesuits  as  well. 

'That  i)ious  German  pastor,  Benjamin 
Schmolck  is  an  example  of  how  a  hymn  is 
written,"  says  Dr.  Arthur  T.  Pierson.  "A 
fire  raged  over  his  parish  and  laid  in  ruins 
his  church  and  the  homes  of  his  jteople.  Then 
God's  Angel  of  Death  took  wife  and  children, 
and  only  graves  were  left.  Then  disease 
[paralysis]  smote  him  and  laid  him  i»ros- 
1rate;  then  blindness  took  the  light  of  his 
eyes  away,^ — and  under  all  this  avalanche  of 
ills  Schmolck  dictated  these  words.-'    Uis  be- 

172 


HYMN  OF  RESIGNATION 

reavenients  appear  to  have  suggested  the 
words, 

"Into  Tliy  hand  of  love 
I  would  my  all  resign;" 

his  blindness  to  have  called  out  the  expres- 
sions, 

"Through  sorrow  or  through  joy, 
Coiiducl  VIC  as  Thine  own," 

and 

"Let  not   my  star  of  hope 
Grow  dim  and  disappear !" 

while  the  breaking  up  of  his  home  and  the 
palsying  of  his  body  seem,  to  have  suggested 
the  stanza, 

"Then  to   my  home   above 
I  travel  calmly  on, 
And  sing  in  life  or  death. 

'My  Lord,  Thy  will  be  done !'  " 

As  suggested  by  Mv.  Pierson  the  italicised 
words  refer  to  his  various  afflictions.  The 
foregoing  facts  regarding  the  circumstances 
out  of  which  this  remarkable  hymn  grew  help 
us  the  better  to  understand  and  a])preciate 
its  significance.  It  is  j)reemiuently  a  hymn 
for  those  experiencing  the  disappointments 
and  adversities  of  life;  for  seasons  of  be- 
wildering calamity  and  distress;  for  times  of 

173 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

bereayement  and  desolation  of  spirit;  for  the 
sick  room,  and  the  hour  when  the  shadows 
of  death  are  gathering. 

Dr.  Dnffield,  in  Ids  ^'English  Hrmns,"'  re- 
fers to  the  fact  of  this  livnin  having  been  a 
fnvorite  with  the  hite  Dr.  T.  H.  Skinner,  as 
follows:  "'As  the  olive  did  not  yield  its  oil 
before  it  was  bruised/  so,  say  the  rabbis,  'Is- 
rael never  produced  the  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness before  the  affliction  of  God  came  upon 
them.'  Perhaps  it  was  from  some  such  sense 
of  the  nature  of  the  divine  discipline  that 
this  hymn  was  so  great  a  favorite  with  the 
late  Dr.  T.  H.  Skinnei'.  of  I'nion  Theological 
Seminary." 

The  hymn  certainly  breathes  the  spirit  en- 
joined by  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ilebre^vs  Avhen  he  says,  ''My  son,  desj)ise  not 
thou  the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint 
when  thou  art  rebuked  of  Him  :  for  whom  the 
Lord  loveth  He  chastenetli,  and  scourgeth 
everv  son  whom  lie  receiveth." 


174 


XXIII 

THY    WILL   BE    DONE 

Another  boauriful  and  widely  used  hymn 
brenthinc;  (jnite  the  same  si»ii-it  of  meek  and 
trustful  submission  to  the  divine  will  as 
t^climolck's  i)athetic  hymn  of  resi<;natiou  is 
(Miarlotte  Elliott's  ''Thy  Will  be  Done," 
which  a{)])ears  in  most  hynnnals,  but,  unfor- 
tunately, with  two  stanzas  omitted.  The  fol- 
lowing- is  the  hymn  in  full : 

My  Cod  and  Fntlier,  while  I  stray 
Far  from   my  homo  on  life's  roui,'h  way, 
O  teach  me  from  my  heart  to  say, 
Thy  will  he  done. 

Thons:h  dark   my  ])ath  and   sad  my  lot, 
Let  me  he  still  and  ninrmnr  not. 
Hut  l)r(>athe  the  prayer  divinely  taught, 
Thy   will  he  done. 

What  though  in  lonely  grief  I  sigh 
For  I'l'ieiids   I  cldAcd   no  longer  nigh, 
Suhnussive  still'  woidd  I  reply, 
'riiy   will   he  done. 

Tliougli   Tliou   liast  ealled   r  >e   to   resign 
What  most  I  prized,  it  ne'er  was  mine, 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE    IMMORTAL 

I  linvc  lint  yiekled  wbat  was  Tbiue 
Thy  will  be  done. 

Should  grief  or  sickness  waste  away 
My  life  in  premature  decay, 
Father  divine.  I  still  would  say, 
Thy   will   he  done. 

If  but  njy  fainting  heart  be  blessed 
With  Thy  sweet  Spirit  for  its  guest, 
;My  God,  to  Thee  I  leave  the  rest : 
Thy  will  be  done. 

Renew   niy  will  from  day  to  day. 
Blend    it   with   Thine   and   tal<e   away 
All  that  now  makes  it  hard  to  .say, 
Thy  Mill   be  done. 

Tune — "Herbert." 

rommenting  on  this  liymn  'Mr.  Stevenson 
snvs :  "Tlie  j)ion.s  author,  during-  her  h^ng  life 
of  more  than  fourscore  rears,  outlived  most 
of  her  frien-ds.  Her  own  brother  Henry,  she 
had  ho])ed  would  have  survived  her,  and  min- 
istered to  her  in  her  last  hours,  but  when  in 
lS(;r)  lie  died  before  her,  her  gentle  spirit 
(juailed  under  the  bereavement.  She  often 
said  Ills  removal  ehange<l  I  lie  aspect  of  her 
life,  yet  she  meekl\  submitted  io  Die  heavy 
sli'okc  from  her  loving  Father's  hand,  and  she 
sang  ill  the  language  of  llie  two  omitted 
verses  of  this  hymn: — 

176 


THY  WILL  r.i:  DONE 

'Wliat  tlioujih  in  lonely  grief  I  .sigh 
For  friends  beloved  no  longer  nigb. 
Snbniissive  still    uould    1    rt'iily. 
Thy   will   111'  done. 

•Though  Thou  hast  called  nie  to  resign 
What   most   I    prized,    it   ne'er  was   mine. 
I  have  but  yielded  w  hat  was  Thine. 
Thy  will  be  done." 

It  was  not  justice  to  the  author  to  omit  these 
verses." 

In    some    collections    the    latter    of    these 
•stanzas  is  retained,  but  altered  slightly  with 
a    view  to  adapting  it  better  to  general   nse, 
TIh^  altered  form  is, 

"If  Thou   slioiililfKt  call  nie  to  resign." 
in  line  one,  and  in  line  three,     - 

'7  fittJii  !/irI,l  Thcr  what   is  Thine." 

These  alterations  in  no  material  degree 
change  the  sense,  while  thev  relieve  the 
stanza  of  ex]»ressions  rather  too  personal  for 
public  use.  Tiie  hymn  is  a  gem  with  which 
all  riiristians  should  be  familiar,  and  which, 
with  its  usually  omitted  stanzas,  is  worthy  of 
a  i>lace  in  every  collection  of  Christian 
livmns. 


177 


Guidance 


179 


XXIV 

LEAD,   KINDLY  LIGHT 

Lead,  kindlj-  Light,  amid  the  encircling  gloom, 

Lead  Thou  mo  on  ; 
The  night  is  dark,  and  I  am  far  from  home ; 

Lead  Thou  me  on : 
Keep  Thou  my  feet ;  I  do  not  ask  to  see 
The  distant  scene, — one  step  enough  for  me. 

I  was  not  ever  thus,  nor  prayed  that  Thou 

Shouldest  lead  me  on ; 
I  loved  to  choose  and  see  my  path ;  hut  now 

Lead  Thou  me  on. 
I  loved  the  garish  day,  and,  spite  of  fears, 
Pride  ruled  my  will :  remember  not  past  years. 

So  long  Thy  power  hath  blessed  me,  sure  it  still 

Will  lead  me  on 
O'er  moor  and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent,  till 

The  night  is  gone; 
And  with  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile, 
Which  I  have  loved  long  since,  and  lost  awhile. 

Tune — "Lux  Benigna." 

It  may  be  safely  asserted  that  no  lyric  ever 
written  expressing  the  yearning  of  a  soul  per- 
plexed and  troubled  for  divine  illumination 
and  guidance  surpasses  the  foregoing  in  gen- 

i8i 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

nine  pathos  and  poetic  worth.  Although 
never  intended  by  its  author  for  use  as  a 
liynin,  and  subject  as  it  is  on  some  accounts 
to  criticism  when  admitted  to  a  place  in  the 
hvninody  of  the  church,  still  it  possesses 
other  elements  which  so  highly  recommend  it 
as  a  lyric  for  devotional  use  that  it  has  won 
its  wav  into  the  foremost  hymnals  of  our 
time  and  to  a  popularity  not  exceeded  by  any 
other  hymn  of  its  class. 

The  hymn  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  hav- 
ing been  written  by  Cardinal  Newman,  and 
therefore  as  a  Roman  Catholic  production, 
Avliicli,  with  a  certain  class,  is  a  sufficient 
ground  for  its  condemnation.  If  it  were  true 
thai  a  iloman  Catholic  ])roduced  it,  that  of  it- 
self should  I'e  no  bari'ier  to  its  admission  into 
the  hymnody  of  Protestant  churches,  provid- 
ing its  intrinsic  merits  entitle  it  to  such  re€- 
ogiiiiioii  and  use.  Most  Protestant  hymnals 
of  our  day  include  productions  from  such 
writers  as  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  Bernard  of 
Cluny,  Mannis  Rabanus.  Thomas  of  (>elano. 
Francis  Xaviei*.  ^ladame  CUiion  a  ml  Freder- 
ick AN'illiam  P^iber.  all  of  whom  were  Roman 
Catholics;  yet  those  hymns  are  among  the 
choiccsl  portions  of  devotional  literature 
\\hi(li  have  come  to  us  from  bygone  genera- 
tions. 

182 


LEAD,  KINDLY  LKiHT 

But  '^Lead,  Kindlv  Light,"  was  not  written 
bj  a  Roman  Catholic.  Xor  was  it  written  by 
Cardinal  Newman,  but  by  John  Henry  New- 
inan,  of  the  Church  of  England,  some  dozen 
years  before  he  became  a  Romanist,  and  more 
than  thirty  years  before  he  was  made  a  Car- 
dinaL  He  declares  em])hatically  in  his  Apol- 
ogia Pro  Vita  f^ua,  which  is  a  history  of  his 
religions  o])inious,  that  at  the  time  of  writing 
the  hymn  he  had  no  thought  of  leaving  the 
Church  of  England.  Moreover,  in  his  later 
years  he  declared  that  the  hymn  did  not  re]>- 
resent  his  feelings  as  a  Roman  Catholic,  add- 
ing, with  a  quaint  and  quiet  smile,  "For 
we  Catholics  believe  wo  have  found  the  light.'' 

John  Llenry  Newman  Avas  born  in  London, 
England,  Februarv  21,  1801.  When  less  than 
sixteen  years  of  age  he  entered  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Oxford,  Avliere  he  won  a  scholarship  two 
years  later,  and  took  his  degree  in  1820.  In 
1822  he  was  elected  to  a  fellowship  at  Oriel 
College,  at  that  time  the  highest  distinction 
of  Oxford  scholarship.  This  advancement 
brought  liim  into  touch  with  many  of  the  most 
distinguished  men  of  the  time.  Among  them 
was  E(h\ard  Bouverie  Pusey,  then  also  a  fel- 
low at  Oriel,  with  whom  Newman  was  later  to 
be  m;ost  closely  associated  in  originating  and 
promoting  the  famous  Oxford  Movement.    In 

I  S3 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

382t  he  took  Deacon's  Orders  and  continued 
with  his  college  duties  the  curacy  of  St. 
Clement's  church.  In  1828  he  became  vicar 
of  St.  Marj's,  where  he  exercised  a  powerful 
influence  over  the  young  men  of  the  Univer- 
sity in  favor  of  High  Church  principles.  He 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  Tractarian  or  Ox- 
ford Movement.  Of  the  ninety  tracts  written 
in  furtherance  of  tlie  Movement,  twenty-nine, 
including  the  famous  '"No.  00,"  which  closed 
the  series,  were  the  products  of  his  pen.  The 
]>ul)lication  of  this  Tract  brought  on  a  fierce 
controversy  between  Newman  and  his  friends 
among  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church.  They 
finally  requested  hira  to  retract  its  contents. 
He  refused  to  do  this,  but  consented  to  dis- 
continue its  circulation.  His  prestige  began 
to  decline,  various  events  took  place  which 
tended  to  alienate  him  from  the  Church  in 
Avhifh  he  had  risen  to  such  high  distinction, 
and,  four  years  after  the  writing  of  Tract 
Ninety,  he  connected  himself  with  the  Church 
of  Rome — driven  to  this  extremity,  accordinj' 
to  those  critics  who  sympathized  with  his  ac- 
tion, ''by  the  narrowness  of  English  Cliurch- 
men.*'  The  Romish  ecclesiastics  gave  him  en- 
thusiastic welcome,  advanced  him  from  one 
I)()siti<)n  to  another,  and  finally  in  1S70  gave 
him  a  Cardinal's  hat.     He  died  in  1890. 

184 


LEAD,  KTXDLY  LTOHT 

"Lead,  kindly  Liftht"  was  written  June  16, 
1833,  while  the  author  Mas  en  route  from  Pa- 
lermo to  Marseilles,  on  board  an  orange  boat 
becalmed  for  a  week  in  the  Straits  of  Boni- 
facio. He  has  given  a  full  account  of  those 
conditions  in  the  riiurch  at  home  which  op- 
l)ressed  and  troubled  him,  and  of  his  own 
weakness,  loneliness,  agitation  and  grave  |)er- 
plexity.  at  the  time  he  wrote  these  immortal 
lines,  in  his  Apologia  Pro  Vita  *S'»rt,  pages  32- 
35,  American  edition  of  1893,  with  a  further 
reference  to  the  same  event  on  pages  118  and 
110.  This  account  is  intensely  interesting, 
l>ut  too  long  for  reproduction  here  in  full. 
We  give  the  following  brief  extracts  only : 

"At  this  time  T  was  disengaged  from  col- 
lege duties  *  *  *  and  was  easily  persuaded 
1o  join  Tlurrell  Fronde  and  his  fathei%  who 
were  going  to  the  south  of  Europe  for  the 
health  of  the  former.  *  *  *  I  went  down  at 
once  to  Sicily,  *  *  *  struck  into  the  middle 
of  the  island,  and  fell  ill  of  a  fever  in  Leon- 
forte.  My  servant  thought  I  was  dying,  and 
begged  for  my  last  directions.  I  gave  them, 
as  he  wished;  but  I  said,  'I  shall  not  die.' 
T  repeated,  'I  shall  not  die,  for  I  have  not 
sinned  against  light,  I  have  not  sinned 
against  light.'  I  have  never  been  able  quite  to 
make  out  what  I  meant.     *     *     *     i  got  to 

185 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

Castro-Giovanni,  and  was  laid  np  there  for 
nearly  three  Aveeks.  Towards  the  end  of  May 
1  left  for  Palermo,  taking  three  days  for  the 
journey.  ''  *  *  I  was  aching  to  get  home;  yet 
for  want  of  a  vessel  I  was  kept  at  Palermo 
for  three  weeks.  -'  *  *  At  last  I  got  otf  in 
an  orange  boat  bound  for  Marseilles.  Then 
it  was  that  I  wrote- the  lines,  'Lead.  Kindly 
Light,'  which  have  since  become  well  knoAvn." 
The  circumstances  under  which  it  was 
written  help  to  explain  the  signification  of  the 
hymn,  Newman's  heart,  overshadowed,  op- 
pressed, and  dee}>ly  agitated  by  conditions  at 
home,  affecting  both  Church  and  State,  was 
yearning  intensely  for  light,  rest,  and  as- 
surance, such  as  all  his  High  Church  jn-inci- 
ples  had  failed  to  give  him ;  and  out  of  that 
intense  heart-yearning  gushed  the  utterances 
of  "Lead,  Kindly  Light." 

Still,  he  was  endeavoring  to  work  out  the 
problem  on  intellectual  lines.  Committed  as 
lie  had  been  for  vears  to  High  Church  and 
Sacramentarian  views,  and  making  these  the 
fundamental  ])rinciples  of  his  reasoning,  all 
his  rationalizing  had  led  him  straight  toward 
Rome,  although  he  seems  to  have  known  it 
not.  He  had  already  ]tractically  renounced 
the  right  of  private  judgment,  and,  although 
he  tells  us  that,  at  the  time  of  writing  the 

1 86 


LEAD.  KINDLY  LKiHT 

hymn,  tlio  thought  of  leaving  the  Anglican 
Church  "had  never  crossed  his  imagination." 
he  was  even  then  "a  Romanist  in  all  but  a 
few  points  on  which  he  inconsistently  con- 
tinned  to  hold  indejieudent  opinions  for  about 
a  dozen  years.'' 

The  hvmn  was  the  crv  of  the  author's  heart 
for  illumination  and  guidance;  and,  as  such, 
answers  to  the  ex])erience  of  manv  a  perplex- 
ed, bewildered  and  oppressed  i»ilgrim  on  the 
highwav  of  life.  But  Newman's  error  lay  in 
the  direction  of  seeking  the  illumination  and 
guidance  he  had  failed  to  lind  in  High  Eccle- 
siasticisiii  of  one  form  in  High  Ecclesiasticism 
of  another,  a  corrupter,  and  a  more  supersti- 
tious form.  ^Liy  not  this  explain  why  the 
eminent  ecclesiastic  who  breathed  so  fervent- 
ly the  prayer,  ''Lead,  Kindly  Light."  went 
groping  on  "amid  the  encircling  gloom,"  un- 
til, wearied  v.ith  his  wanderings  ''o'er  moor 
and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent."  he  settled 
down  to  rest  in  the  quagmire  of  Romish 
suijerstition  and  idolatry,  mistaking  the 
phosjthorescent  gleams  arising  from  a  swamp 
for  illumination  from  the  celestial  hills? 

Three  things  have  given  this  production  its 
I)laee  in  tlie  hymnody  of  the  church — its  ])oet- 
ry,  its  jtathos.  and  the  music  to  which  it  has 
been   wedded.      To   the    music   more   than    1o 

187 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

anything  else  is  it  indebted  for  its  great  pop- 
ularity as  a  hymn.  An  Anglican  divine  once 
said  to  Cardinal  Newman,  ''It  mnst  be  a 
great  jtleasure  to  you  to  know  that  you  have 
written  a  hymn  treasured  wherever  English- 
s]>e;'.kiug  Christians  are  to  be  found."  After 
a  luief  silence  the  Cardinal  answered,  with 
deep  emotion,  "Yes;  deeply  thankful,  and 
more  than  thankful."'  Then,  after  another 
pause,  he  continued :  "But  you  see  it  is  not 
the  hymn  but  the  tune  that  has  gained  the 
popularity.  The  tune  is  by  Dykes,  and  Dykes 
was  a  great  master.*' 

The  universal  character  of  this  hymn  is  il- 
lustrated in  the  fact  that,  "when  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Religions  met  at  Chicago  during  the 
Columbian  Exposition,  the  re})resentatives  of 
every  creed  known  to  man  found  two  things 
on  which  they  Avere  agreed.  They  could  all 
join  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  could  all  sing 
'Lead,  Kindly  Light.'" 

The  hymn  was  a  great  favorite  with  ^Ir. 
Chidstone,  and  also  with  the  late  President 
McKinley.  In  rnion  and  ^ladison  S(piares, 
New  York,  on  the  day  of  the  hitter's  burial, 
at  Canton,  Ohio,  im.niense  throngs  were  gath- 
ered reverently  to  observe  the  occasion.  A 
period  of  solemn  silence  i)assed,  after  which 
the  bands  played  "Nearer,  my  Ood.  to  Thee" 

1 88 


LEAD.  KINDLY  LIGHT 

— the  President's  prayer  upon  his  death  bed — 
and  then,  ''Lead,  Kindly  Light,"  another  of 
the  dead  President's  favorites,  every  head  re- 
maining uncovered  during  the  solemn  and  pa- 
thetic sei'vice. 

The  following  storv,  told  bv  Dr.  Louis  Al- 
bert  Banks  in  his  ''Anecdotes  and  Morals,'' 
will  close  our  consideration  of  this  hymn : 
"A  little  girl  of  four,  with  her  nurse,  was 
walking  at  the  seaside.  They  came  to  an  in- 
let, and  the  nurse  decided  to  row  across,  be- 
lieving that  by  so  doing  she  would  shorten 
the  walk  home.  When  the  boat  reached  the 
op])osite  side,  she  put  the  child  ashore,  think- 
ing she  was  but  a  little  distance  from  home, 
and  rowed  the  borrowed  boat  back.  The  dis- 
tance was  not  great,  but  was  very  rough  and 
difficult  for  a  child  so  small.  She  struggled 
on  through  the  coarse  grass  and  heavy  sand, 
until  at  last  her  mother  saw  her  coming,  and 
hurried  to  meet  hei*.  The  mother  exclaimed: 
'Were  you  frightened,  my  sweet?'  'I  felt  very 
lost,'  was  the  reply,  'but  I  sang,  "Lead,  Kind- 
ly Light''  to  myself  all  the  way.' 

"This  sweet  little  story,"  continues  Dr. 
Banks,  "suggests  to  our  thought  the  multi- 
tude of  children  who  have  grown  taller,  who 
are  pressing  their  way  Ihrough  the  hard 
thickets  of  life  and  the  heavy  sand  of  the  sea- 

189 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

shores  of  mystery,  to  whom  the  Easter  hope 
is  the  'Lead,  Kindly  Light'  that  is  nerving 
their  souls  and  inspiring  their  courage  to 
press  forward — 

'O'er  moor  and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent,  till 

The  night  is  gone, 
And  with  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile, 
Which  they  have  loved  long  since,  and  lost  awhile.'  " 


190 


XXV 

A  XOBLE  HYMN  BY  A  WELSH  COMPOSER 

Judging  from  tlie  extent  to  which  it  is 
sung  throughout  all  Christendom,  as  also 
from  the  length  of  time  it  has  been  used  and 
tested,  the  hymn  beginning, 

"Guide  me,  O  Tlioii  great  .Tehovali." 

is  entitled  to  rank  among  those  lyrics  of  the 
Church  which  will  never  be  relegated  to  a  by- 
gone age.  For  a  hundred  and  sixty -five  years 
or  more  it  has  been  singing  itself  around  the 
world,  and  to-day  it  has  a  wider  poi)ularity 
than  ever.  Its  author,  in  producing  it,  left 
to  the  Church  of  Christ  a  legacy  of  incalcu- 
lable worth. 

The  hvmn  was  written  bv  the  Eev.  William 
AYilliams,  a  celebrated  preacher  and  poet  of 
Wales,  although  it  has  sometimes  been 
mistakenly  attributed  to  Thomas  Olivers, 
who  composed  the  music  for  it  soon  after  it 
was  written.  Olivers  was  a  musician,  as 
well  as  a  preacher  and  poet,  and  was  also 
himself  a  Welshman  by  birth.     Having  com- 

191 


HY^INS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

I)Osed  the  iiuisic  to  which  the  hymn  was  orig- 
inal ]y  sun<j;\  it  is  not  altogether  strange  that 
in  time,  his  name  became  associated  with 
these  beantifnl  stanzas  as  their  author. 

Mv.  AVilliams  was  born  at  Cefncjoed,  Car- 
marthenshire. Wales,  in  1717.  He  studied 
medicine,  and  acquired  a  good  educational 
equipment  for  his  chosen  profession.  Tender 
the  influence  of  a  powerful  sermon  from  the 
lips  of  Howell  Harris,  in  Talgarth  church- 
yard, he  was  smindly  converted,  and  with 
his  conversion  came  that  call  to  the  Christian 
ministry  Mhich  changed  the  whole  course  of 
his  life.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  was 
ordained  Oeacon  in  the  Established  Church. 
He  was  never  advanced  to  ''full  orders"  in 
the  Establishment — probably  because  of  his 
affinity  for  and  his  inclination  toward  the 
Methodists.  Encouraged  by  Whitefield  and 
Lady  Huntingdon  he  finally  became  a  Metho- 
dist itinerant  i)i'eaclier.  at  thirtv-two  vears 
of  age.  "He  povssessed  the  warm  heart  and 
gloAving  imagination  of  a  true  Welshman, 
and  his  .sei-mons  abounded  with  vivid  i>ictur- 
ing,  and,  always  radiant  with  the  ]>resence 
of  his  divine  ^faster,  they  produced  an  extra- 
ordinary elVect  on   susceptible   Welshmen." 

Associated  with  such  men  as  Harris  and 
Rowlands,    ardent    and    incessant    in   all    his 

192 


HYMN   BY   A  WELSH   CO^MPOSEK 

labors,  aud  endowed  iu  a  high  degree  with 
Welsh  ehjqiience,  poetic  genius  and  the 
choicest  gift  of  song,  he  very  naturally  be- 
came popular  with  his  countrymen  and  exert- 
ed a  powerful  influence  over  them.  During 
half  a  century  he  inured  himself  to  the  toils, 
trials,  disappointments,  sacrifices  and  liard- 
shijis  of  an  itinerant  ministry,  his  ardor 
never  abating  nor  his  zeal  flagging,  until,  in 
171)1,  lie  jiassed  to  be  with  his  adorable  Mas- 
ter forever.  He  is  said  to  have  traveled  "on 
an  average  tvro  thousand  two  hundred  thirty 
miles  a  year,  for  forty-three  years,  when  there 
were  no  railroads  and  few  stage  coaches.'' 

As  a  hymn-writer  Williams  did  for  Wales 
what  Watts  and  Wesley  did  for  England  and 
what  Luther  did  for  Germany — inaugurated 
a  new  era  in  religious  hynmody  and  iu  the 
Church's  devotional   song. 

The  time  of  his  dei>ariure  found  him  lully 
prejtared  to  go.  His  end  was  a  peaceful  and 
blessed  realization  of  what  he  had  prayed  for 
as  he  wrote, 

"Wlioii  I  tread  the  verse  of  .Tord;\n 
Bid  my  anxious  fears  subside." 

The  hymn  was  written  in  or  about  tlu^  _\ear 
1745.  At  any  rate  it  was  first  ])ublished  ihat 
year,  at  Bristol,  lu  a  liyuiii  boolc  publislicd  by 

193 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

:Mi-.  W  illiiuus  uuder  the  title  of  ''Alleluia." 
Tt  wns  oritinallv  written  in  the  Welsh  Ian- 
iiuage.  with  five  verses  of  six  lines  each.  The 
following'  is  a  copy  of  the  hymn  in  its  orig- 
inal tongue,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to 
Julian's  "Dictionary  of  Hynmology :" 

l^orth  i  fyned  tru-y'r  Aiiiahcch. 

Argl^-ydd,    arwaiu   twry'r   anilwch 

Fi  bererin  gwael  ei  wedd, 
Nad  oes  ynof  north  na  bywyd. 

Fel  yn  gorwedd  yn  y  bodd  : 
Hollaluog 

Ydyw'r  un  a'm  eywd  i'r  Ian. 

Colofn  dau  rho'r  nos  i'm  harwain, 

A  rho'r  golofn  niiol  y  dydd ; 
Dal  fi  pan  bwy'n  teithio'r  nianan 

(Jeirwon  yn  fy  ffordd  }•  sydd : 
Rho  imi  fanna. 

Fel  na  bwyff  yn  llwfrhan. 

Agor  y  ffynnonan  niohis 

Sydd  yn  tarddn  o'r  (Jraig  i  maes ; 

'Khyd  yr  anial  niowr  canlynod 
Afon  iachawdwrint'th  gras : 

Rho  imi  hyny  : 
Dim  i   mi  ond  dy  fwynhan. 

Pan  bwy'n  mynod  trwy'r  lorddoncn — 

Angon  croulon  yn  ci  rym. 
Fi  est  trwiddi  gynt  dy  liuuan. 

I*'am  yr  ofnaf  bellach  ddim? 
Ruddngoliaeth. 

Gwna  imi  waoddi  yii  y  llif ! 

194 


HYMN   BY   A  WELSH   COMPOSER 

Ymddiriedof  yn  dy  allu. 

Mawr  gw'r  gwaith  a  wnest  erioed: 
Fi  gest  angan,  ti  gost  ufforu, 

Fi  gest  Satan  dau  dy  droel": 
Pen  Calfaria. 

Nac  aed  hwnw  byth  o'm  cof. 

From  the  authority  above  quoted  we  also 
learn  that  the  hymu  was  first  transhited  (in 
part  only)  into  English  by  Peter  Williams, 
also  a  AVelsh  minister,  and  printed  for  him  at 
Carmarthen,  1771,  as  follows : 

Guide  me,  O  Thou  great  Jehovah, 
rilgrhii  tliro"  this  barren  b^nd ; 

I  am  weak,  luit  Thou  art  mighty. 
Hold  me  with  Thy  powerful  hand ; 

Bread  of  heaven, 
Feed  me  till  I  want  no  more. 

Open  Thou  the  pleasant  fountains. 
Where  the  living  waters  flow ; 

Let  the  river  of  salvation 
Follow  all  the  desert  thro' : 

May  Thy  presence 
Always  lead  and  comfort  me. 

Lord,  I  trust  Thy  mighty  power, 
AA'ondrous  are  Thy  works  of  old; 

Thou  deliver'st  Thine  from  thraldom. 
Who  for  nought  themselves  had  sold: 

Thou   didst  conquer 
Sin  and  Satan  and  the  grave. 


HYMNS  THAT  AKE  IMMORTAL 

These  stanzas  are  translations  of  stanzas 
1,  3  and  5  of  the  original.  William  Williams 
himself  adopted  the  translation  of  verse  1, 
translated  3  and  4  (and  added  another)  into 
English,  and  then  printed  the  whole  in  leaflet 
form,  as  follows: 

A   FAVOURITE    HYMN 

Sung  By 

Lady  Huntingdon's  Young  Collegians 

Printed  by  the  (lesirc  of  many  Christian  friends 

Guide  me,  O  Thou  great  Jehovah, 
Pilgrim  through  this  barren  Tand : 

I  am  weak,  but  Thou  art  mighty, 
Hold  me  by  Thy  powerful  hand; 

Bread  of  heaven, 
Feed  me  till  I  want  no  more. 

Open  now  the  crystal  fountain, 
Whence  the  healing  streams  do  flow; 

Let  the  fiery,  cloudy  pillar 

Guide  nio  all   my  .iouriioy  through  : 

Strong  Deliverer, 
Be  Thou  still  my  strength  and  shield. 

When  I  tread  the  verge  of  .Tordan, 

Bid  my  an.Kious  fears  subside ; 
Death  of  deaths  and  hell's  destruction, 

Land  me  safe  on  Canaan's  side. 
Songs  of  praises 

I  will  ever  give  to  Thee. 

196 


HYMX   BY   A   WELSH   COMPOSER 

^Musing  ou  my  habitatiou, 

Musing  ou  my  heavenly  home, 
Fills  my  heai-t  with  holy  longiug; 
Come,  Lord  Jesus,  (luickly  come. 
Vanity  is  all  I  see. 
Lord,  I  long  to  be  with  Thee. 

Tune — "GinoE." 

In  this  form  the  hymn  appeared  in  Lady 
Huntinodon's  Collection,  1772,  in  George 
Whitelleld's  "Psalms  and  Hymns,"  1773,  in 
Conyer's  Collection,  1771,  and  in  others,  of 
almost  every  communion,  until,  changed  into 
the  form  in  which  it  is  now  generally  sung, 
it  has  become  one  of  the  most  extensively 
used  hymns  of  Christendom.  Speaking  of 
the  <han*:e  in  the  third  line  of  the  third 
stanza  from  "Death  of  deaths,  and  hell's 
destruction"  to  "Rear  me  through  the  swell- 
ing current,"  Mr.  P>utterworth  justly  depre- 
cates it  as  producing  "an  inferior  picture  for 
the  singer,  whatever  it  may  be  to  the  rhetori- 
cian." 

The  hymn,  in  one  form  or  another,  has 
been  translated  into  many  languages,  but 
always  from  the  English.  "These  translations 
include  the  Rev.  R.  Bingham's  rendering  of 
it  into  Latin,  under  the  title,  Magne  tii,  Je- 
hovah:^ 

In  Paxton  Hood's  "Christmas  Evans,  the 
Preacher  of  Wild  Wales.''  various  specimens 

197 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

of  ]\Ii'.  Evans's  allegorical  sermonizing  are 
given,  among  which  are  extracts  from  his  ser- 
mon on  "Satan  U'alking  in  Dry  Places."  The 
obje(  t  of  the  disconrse  seems  to  have  been 
tiiat  of  showing  how  a  mind  preoccupied  with 
holy  thonglits  and  asi.irations  is  fortified 
against  I  lie  intrusion  of  evil  suggestions  from 
the  I'rince  of  Darkness.  After  describins: 
Satan  as  a  vast,  invisible,  and  wicked  spirit, 
moving  about  in  the  realm  of  moral  darkness 
and  seeking  opportunity  to  insinuate  himself, 
througli  the  avenues  of  sense,  into  some  un- 
suspecting soul  and  lure  it  to  destruction,  he 
sees  him  fix  his  fiery  but  invisible  glance  upon 
a  lad,  in  the  rosy  blush  of  health  and  in- 
nocence, as  he  sits  upon  the  box  of  his  cart 
driving  to  the  (piarries  for  slate  or  lime. 

••'There  he  is/  said  Satan  ; 'his  veins  are  full 
of  blood,  his  bones  are  full  of  marrow.  I  will 
cast  my  sparks  into  his  bosom,  and  set  all  his 
imssions  on  tii-e;  I  will  lead  him  on,  and  he 
shall  rol)  his  master,  and  lose  his  place,  and 
find  another,  and  rol)  again,  and  do  worse; 
and  he  shall  lo  on  from  worse  to  worse,  and 
then  his  soul  shall  sink,  never  to  rise 
j.gain.  into  the  lake  of  fire.'  But  just  then 
;is  he  \v;is  about  to  dart  a  fiery  tem}>tation 
iiilo  the  hfiiri  (d"  the  youth,  the  evil  one  heard 
liini  sing, 

198 


HY]\IN  BY  A  WELSH   COMPOSER 

'Guide  mo.    O   Thou   great  .lohovali. 

Pilgrim  through  this  barren  land; 
I  am  weak,  but  Thou  art  mighty. 

Hold  me  by  Thy  powerful  hand  : 
Strong  Deliverer, 
Be  Thou  still  my  strength  and  shield.' 

'Oil.  l)iit  this  is  a  dry  place,'  said  tlie  fiery 
dragon  as  lie  fled  away." 

It  was  allegory  indeed,  bnt  allegory  trne  to 
the  experience  of  thonsands  who  have, 
throngli  the  singing  of  this  precious  hyinn. 
been  safegnarded  from  the  cruel  wiles  and 
fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one. 

A  minister's  wife  lay  dying  in  England  in 
1883.  From  her  eighteenth  year  she  had  been 
a  deyoted  Christian,  and,  since  her  marriage, 
had  also  been  a  faithful  helper  of  her  husband 
in  his  work.  "I  am  not  afraid  to  die,"  she 
said,  as  the  end  drew  near,  "but,  if  it  pleases 
our  heayenly  Father,  I  should  like  to  have 
greater  joy.  Pray  for  nie  tliat  I  may  feel 
very  happy."  The  hymn  Ave  are  considering 
had  been  sung  not  long  before  by  an  audience 
from  a  screen  on  which  it  had  been  thrown  by 
a  magic  lantern.  The  last  three  days  of  her 
illness  slip  was  greatly  comforted  and  helped 
by  the  words  of  the  last  stanza,  which  were 
much  uj)on  her  mind  : 


199 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

"When  I  tread  the  verge  of  Jordan. 

Bid  my  anxious  fears  subside; 
Death  of  deaths,  and  hell's  destruction, 
Land   nie  safe  on  Canaan's  side ; 

Songs  of  praises 
I  will  ever  give  to  Thee." 

Thus,  through  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Williams's 
immortal  lyric,  her  desire  was  granted,  and 
in  great  happiness  she  passed  from  earthly 
scenes  to  mansions  in  the  skies. 


200 


XXVI 

THE   SHEPHERD   PSALM   IN   METER 

No  other  livmn  of  the  Church  is  so  gener- 
ally aud  deeply  engraven  on  the  hearts  of  the 
Scottish  people  as  Rous's  metrical  version  of 
the  twenty-third  Psalm,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  a  reproduction : 

The  Lord's  my  Shepherd,  I'll  not  want, 

He  makes  me  down  to  lie 
In  pastures  green  ;  He  leadeth  me 
The  quiet  waters  by. 

My  soul  He  doth  restore  again ; 

And  me  to  walk  doth  make 
Within  the  paths  of  righteousness, 

Ev'n  for  His  own  name's  sake. 

Yea.  though  I  walk  in  death's  dark  vale, 

Yet  will  I  fear  no  ill : 
For  Thou  art  with  me ;  and  Thy  rod 

And  staff  me  comfort  still. 

My  table  Thou  hast  furnished 

In  presence  of  my  foes ; 
My  head  Thou  dost  with  oil  anoint, 

And  my  cup  overflows. 

201 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

Goodness  anrl  mercy  all  Diy  life 

Shall  surely  follow  me : 
And  in  God's  house  forevermore 

My  dwelling  place  shall  be. 

Tune— "Evan." 

"'Its  author  is  said  to  be  Francis  Rons, 
once  the  Lord  of  Halton  Hall,  near  the  banks 
of  the  Tamar,  Cornwall,  and  he  is  described 
as  'legislator,  divine,  privy  councilman,  one  of 
CroniwelTs  triers  of  clerical  candidates,  Pro- 
vost of  Eton,  member  of  Cromwell's  TTp])er 
House  and  author  of  the  "Metrical  Version 
of  the  Psalms''  authorized  to  be  used  by  the 
Scotch  Presbyterians.'  To  one  ac(iuainted 
with  the  lovely  varieties  of  scenery  around 
his  Cornish  home,  it  would  seem  as  though 
the  river-side  verdure,  the  meadows,  gardens, 
all  heli»ed  to  insi)ire  his  muse  as  expressed 
in  the  first  verse"  (Stevenson). 

For  many  generations  this  touching  and 
beautiful  lyric  has  been  <lenr  to  Scotia's 
virile  sons,  wherever  their  lot  has  fallen  or 
whatever  their  circumstances  may  have  been. 
It  has  ever  "accom]tanied  them  from  child- 
hood to  age.  from  their  homes  to  all  the  seas 
and  lands  where  they  have  wandered,  and  has 
been  to  a  multitude  no  man  can  nund)er  the 
rod  and  stalf  of  which  it  sjieaks,  to  guide  and 
iiuard  tliem  in  dark  v;ille\s,  and  at  last 
through  th(^  d;irlc(^st.'' 

202 


THE   STTEPHEKT)   PSALM 

In  his  early  mauhood  the  writer  was  em- 
ployed by  a  devout  old  Scotcliman  who,  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  this  time,  was  slowly 
wasting  away  from  a  lingering  and  painful 
disease.  Although  devout,  as  we  have  said, 
and  an  honored  member  of  the  '"kirk"'  from 
early  years,  yet  the  old  gentleman  was  much 
troubled  in  those  trying  days  over  the  fact 
that  he  had  never  had  any  assurance  of  his 
acce])tance  with  God.  as  also  in  remembering 
that  he  had  been  far  too  worldly — or,  as  he 
forcibly  expressed  it,  even  when  on  his  knees 
in  prayer  had  too  oft  allowed  his  heart  to  be 
awa'  after  its  covetousness. 

For  some  weeks  it  was  his  custom  to  re- 
quest us  to  spend  an  hour  each  day  after  din- 
ner conversing  on  spiritual  things,  reading 
the  Scrijjtures,  and  singing  from  the  metrical 
version  of  tlie  Psalms.  Ills  favorite  was  the 
vShejtherd  Psalm, — 

"The   Lord's   uiy    Rheplierd.   m   not  want. 
IIo  luakes  me  down  to  lie 
In  pastiu'es  .gi'een  ;  He  leadeth  me 
The  qniot  waters  by." 

He  was  always  melted  to  tears  during  the 
singing  of  the  I*salm,  and  would  express  the 
comfort  he  derived  from  the  exercise  in 
strong  and  pathetic  terms.  At  last  the  light 
of  (Jod  came  to  his  heart  with  "full   assur- 

203 


HYMXS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

ance,"  and  he  was  able  to  sing,  with  an  ap- 
preciation he  never  realized  before, 

"Yea,  though  I  walk  in  death's  dark  vale, 
Yet  will  I  fear  no  ill : 
For  Thou  ai-t  with  me;  and  Thy  rod 
And  staff  me  comfort  still." 

Cheered  by  this  sweet  assurance  he  finally 
passed  through  the  valley  of  shadows  without 
a  fear,  in  holy  peace,  and  with  the  further  as- 
surance expressed  in  Ihe  last  couplet  of  the 
hymn, 

"And  in  God's  house  forevermore 
My  dwelling  place  shall  he." 

The  Rev.  John  Watson  (Tan  ^Nlaclaren)  re- 
lates a  story  which  also  beautifully  illus- 
trates the  attachment  of  the  Scottish  people 
to  this  particular  hymn.  It  is  of  an  old  Scot 
who,  in  his  illness,  had  demanded  of  his  ])hy- 
sician  the  truth  concerning  his  condition,  and 
was  informed  that  recovery  was  impossible. 
On  pressing  the  matter  further  and  demand- 
ing to  know  when  the  end  would  come,  the 
doctor  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  would 
be  early  the  next  morning. 

"Aboot  daybreak,"  said  the  pious  Scot,  in 
a  tone  expressing  willingness  to  die  and  par- 
ticular satisfaction  at  the  ]»rospect  of  j»assing 
to  the  better  land  with  the  rising  of  the  sun. 

204 


THE  v^HEPHERL)  PSALM 

Dnrino;  tlio  afternoon  n  godlj  English  wo- 
man, having  learned  ot  the  old  man's  illness 
and  loneliness,  called  on  liim  in  the  hos]>ital, 
offered  her  sympathy,  and  suggested  that  pos- 
sibly the  singing  of  a  few  verses  from  some 
hymn  like  "Kock  of  Ages"  might  atford  him 
comfort.  But  the  dear  old  man,  true  to  the 
tradition  of  his  fathers,  had  stoutly  opposed 
the  singing  in  worship  of  anything  but  the 
I'salms  of  David  all  his  life,  and.  though, 
politely  thanking  the  good  woman  for  her 
kindness,  said : 

"A'  ma  days  hev  I  been  protestin'  against 
the  use  o'  human  hymns  in  the  ])raise  o'  God; 
a've  left  three  kirks  on  that  account  and 
raised  me  testimony  in  public  places,  and 
noo  wud  ye  send  me  into  eternity  wi'  the 
scmgh  o'  a  hymn  in  ma  ears?" 

Then  he  declared  his  willingness,  so  long  as 
strength  remained,  to  argue  with  the  good 
woman  concerning  the  lawfulness  of  singing 
human  hymns.  Too  Avise  to  enter  disputation 
with  a  dying  man,  she  suggested  that  they 
talk  not  about  things  wlierein  they  differed, 
told  him  she  was  ignorant  of  how  the  Scots 
regarded  the  singing  of  nninsi)ired  h\mns, 
and  tlien  mentioned  to  him  a  visit  she  had 
made  to  the  Highlands  where  she  heard  the 
singing  of  the  Psalms  and  was  moved  to  tears 

205 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

by  the  grave,  sweet  melody  which  poured 
from  the  hearts  of  a  strong  and  pious  people. 
"I  can  understand,"  she  said,  "how  you  love 
the  Psalms  and  how  dear  to  you  is  your  met- 
rical version." 

"As  she  s])oke  the  old  hard  Scot's  face  be- 
gan to  soften,  and  one  hand  which  was  lying 
outside  the  bed-clothes  repeated  the  time  of  a 
Scot's  psalm  tune.  He  was  again  in  the  coun- 
try church  of  his  boyhood  and  saw  his  father 
and  mother  going  into  the  table  seats  and 
heard  them  singing: 

'O  thou  my  soul,   bless  God  the   Lord, 
And  all  that  in  me  is 
Be  stirred  up  his  holy  name 
To  magnify  and  bless.' 

"More  than  that,  I  know  «ome  of  vour 
l)snlm  tunes  and  I  have  the  words  in  my 
hymn-book ;  perhaps  T  have  one  of  the  Psalms 
which  you  would  like  to  hear.' 

"  'Did  ve  think  ye  cud  sing  the  twentv- 
lliird  Psalm, 

"The  Lord's  my   Shepherd,  I'll  not  want"? 

for  I  wud  count  it  verra  comfortin.' 

"''Yes,'  she  said,  'I  can,  and  it  will  ])lease 
me  very  much  to  sing  it,  for  1  think  I  love 
that  Psalm  more  than  any  hymn.' 

206 


THE   SITEPITERD   rSAL:\r 

"  'It  never  runs  <lry,'  ninrmured  the  Scot. 

''So  she  sang  it  from  beginning  to  end  in  a 
hnv,  sweet  voice,  slowly  and  reverently,  as 
she  heard  it  sung  in  Scotland.  He  joined  in 
no  word,  bnt  ever  he  kei)t  time  with  his  hand 
and  with  his  heart,  while  his  eyes  looked  into 
the  things  that  were  far  away. 

"After  she  ceased,  he  rei)eated  to  himself 
the  last  two  lines: 

'And    in    God's    house    forevermoro 
My  dwoiling-place  shall  be.' 

"  Thank  ye,  thank  ye,'  he  said,  after  a  lit- 
tle pause,  and  then  both  were  silent  for  a  few 
minutes,  because  she  saw  that  he  was  in  his 
own  country,  and  did  not  wish  to  bring  him 
back  again  by  her  foreign  accent. 

"  *Mem,  ye've  dune  me  the  greatest  kind- 
ness ony  Christian  cud  do  for  anither  as  he 
stands  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan.' 

'Tor  a  minute  he  was  silent  again,  and 
then  he  said : 

''  'A'm  gaein'  to  tell  ye  somethin',  and  a' 
think  ye'll  understand.  ^la  wife  and  me  was 
married  thirty-five  years,  and  ilka  nicht  of 
oor  married  life  we  sang  a  Psalm  afore  we 
gaed  to  rest.  She  took  the  air  and  a'  took 
tlie  bass,  and  we  sang  the  Psalms  through 
frae  beginning  to  end   twa  times.     She  was 

207 


HYMNS   THAT   AHE    [MMUKT:\L 

lakuii  irae  uio  teu  veai-s  ago,  aud  the  uicbt 
afore  she  dee'd  we  sang  the  twenty-third 
l*salin.  A've  never  sung  tlie  Psalm  since,  and 
1  didna  join  wi'  ye  when  ye  sang  it.  for  a'm 
wait  in'  to  sing  it  wi"  her  new  in  cor  Father's 
hoose  the  mornin's  niorniu'  whar  there'll  be 
nae  nieht  nor  partin'  evermore." 

"And  this  is  how  one  English  Moman  fonnd 
out  that  the  Scot  is  at  once  the  dourest  and 
the  tenderest  of  men." 

^Ir.  Stead  regards  the  most  impressive  in- 
stance of  tliis  hymn's  hel]ifulness  in  times  of 
crisis  as  tliat  contained  in  the  story  of  ^lar- 
ian  Harvey,  a  servant  lass  of  twenty,  who. 
with  Isabel  Alison,  was  executed  at  Edin- 
Imi'gh  for  having  attended  the  preaching  of 
Donald  Cai-gill.  an<l  for  aiding  in  his  escape. 
"As  the  brave  lassies  were  being  led  to  the 
scJiffold,  a  curate  pestered  them  with  his 
]»i'ayers.  'f'ome.  Isabel,'  said  ilarian.  Met  us 
sing  the  twenty-third  I'salm.'  And  sing  it 
they  (lid.  a  thrilling  (iiict  on  their  jtilgrimage 
Id  I  lie  gallows  tree.  It  was  rough  on  the 
< 'ovcnanters  in  those  days,  and  their  i)aths 
did  not  exactly,  to  outward  .seeming.  lea<l 
them  by  the  green  ])astures  and  still  waters, 
liut  they  got  there  somehow,  the  twenty-third 
Psalm    liclpiiig    them    no    little." 


20S 


IKUST 


209 


XXVII 

THE   FIRM   FOUNDATION 

Among  modern  hymns  of  highest  rank  and 
widest  popnlarity  few  hold  a  more  exalted 
place  than 

"How  firm  a  foundatiou,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord, 
Is  laid  for  your  faith  in  His  excellent  word." 

It  is  "one  of  the  noblest  lyrics  and  richest 
possessions  of  the  Christian  Church"  in  this 
country. 

The  origin  of  the  hymn  is  involved  in  much 
obscurity.  It  has  been  variously  ascribed  to 
Kirkham,  Keith  and  Keene.  As  originally 
published,   in   Rippon's   Collection,  1787.  the 

only  signature  appended  to  it  was  ^'K ." 

Thomas  Kirkham  published  a  collection  of 
hvmns  in  1788,  but  that  work  is  said  not  to 
contain  this  hymn;  nor  has  any  reliable  evi- 
dence ever  been  furnished,  so  far  as  we  can 
find,  in  support  of  Kirkham's  authorship. 
Keith's  authorship  was  originally  suggested 
bv  Daniel  Sedgwick,  a  second-hand  book-sell- 
er  of  London,  and  a  hymnologist  of  high  re- 

211 


nY:\rNS  that  are  immortal 

pute  in  his  time;  but,  although  his  opinion 
carried  sufficient  authority  to  become  an  es- 
tablished tradition,  it  appears  to  have  been 
a  mere  guess,  based  on  the  fact  that  Keith 
was  a  London  book-seller,  K  was  the  initial 
of  his  name,  and  an  old  woman  in  an  alms- 
house had  made  a  statement  to  Mr.  Sedgwick 
affirming  Keith's  authorship. 

To  the  late  H.  L.  Hastings,  of  Boston,  a 
well  known  editor  and  publisher  of  anti- 
infidel  literature,  and  com])iler  of  a  large 
liymnal  known  as  ''Sours  of  Pilgrimage,"  be- 
longs the  credit  of  having  wrought  out  the 
most  rational  solution  of  this  problem.  The 
slory  of  his  effort  is  too  long  to  be  re])eated 
here.  The  sum  of  it  all  is  as  follows:  While 
preparing  "Songs  of  Pilgrimage"  he  exam- 
ined not  only  Rippon's  hymn-book,  but  his 
tune-book  as  well.  He  noticed  that  in  the 
hymn-book  the  tune  "Geard"  was  given  as 
that  to  which  the  hymn  in  question  should  be 
sung,  and  that  in  the  tune-book  the  tune 
"Geard"  was  credited  to  R.  Keene.  This  sug- 
gested  the  thought  that  ])0ssibly  Keene  was 
also  author  of  the  hymn.  Gomparing  the 
hymn  and  tune  they  seemed  as  if  made  for 
each  other,  and  the  evidence  seemed  to  ])oint 
so  conclusively  to  Keene's  authorship  that  he 
inserted  the  hymn  in  "Songs  of  Pilgrimage" 

212 


THE  FIKM   ForXDATlOX 

witli  the  oi'iginal  tune.  j)lacing  under  It  the 
signature,  "R.  Keeuei?)." 

Visiting  London  in  188G,  Mr.  Hastings,  in 
an  interview  Mith  the  venerable  Charles  (lor- 
delier.  gathered  from  his  recollections  that 
Keene  was  once  Dr.  Kippon's  precentor,  and 
also  other  facts  which  seemed  to  l>e  sufficient 
confirmation  of  the  conclusion  reached  from 
his  own  previous  research.  ''In  view  of  all 
the  facts,"  said  Mr.  Hastings,  "we  think  we 
may  consider  the  question  settled,  and  defi- 
nitely assign  the  authorship  of  the  hymn  to 
R.  Keene,  a  precentor  in  Dr.  Rippon's  church, 
the  author  of  the  tune  'Geard,'  to  which  it 
was  sung."' 

Dr.  Julian,  in  preparing  his  ''Dictionary 
of  Hymnology."  came  upon  other  evidence 
which  a]»penrs  to  be  confirmatory  of  Mr.  Has- 
tings's  solution.      In    Dr.    Fletcher's   Baptist 

Collection  of  1882  he  found  the  "K "  of 

Ri])I)on's  Collection  having  the  form  of  "Kn," 
and,  in  the  edition  of  1885.  still  further  ex- 
tended to  ''Keen ;"'  "while  in  the  preface  Dr. 
Fletcher  stated  that  he  was  greatly  assisted 
by  Thomas  Walker,  and  acknowledged  his  ex- 
tensive acquaintance  with  sacred  poetry." 
^Valker  is  said  to  have  been  Dr.  Rippon's  ])re- 
centor.  and  also  editor  of  his  tune-book  con- 
taining the  tune  "Geard."  In  view  of  all  these 

213 


TIYMXS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

thinjTs  Dr.  Julian  considers  that  Dr.  Walker 
based  his  ascription  of  Keen's  authorship 
iijion  actual  knowledge  of  the  facts,  and  gives 
it  as  his  verdict  that  "we  are  justified  in  con- 
cluding that  the  ascription  of  this  hymn 
must  be  that  of  an  unknown  person  of  the 
name  of  Keen." 

The  following  is  the  text  of  the  hymn, 
which  was  originally  entitled,  "Precious 
Promises :" 

How  firm  a  foxindation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord, 
Is  laid  for  your  faith  in  His  excellent  word! 
What  more  can  He  say  than  to  you  He  hath  said, 
You  who  unto  Jesus  for  refuge  have  tied? 

In  every  condition — in  sickness,  in  health, 
In  poverty's  vale,  or  aliomuling  in  wealth; 
At  home  or  abroad :  on  tlio  land,  on  the  sea — 
"As  thy  days  may  demand,  shall  thy  strength  ever 
be. 

"Fear  not:  T  am  with  thee:  O  be  not  dismayed! 

I,  I  am  thy  God,  and  will  still  give  thee  aid: 

I'll   strengthen   thee,   help   thee,    and   cause  thee  to 

stand, 
Upheld  by  my  iMghteous,  omnipotent  hand. 

"When  through  the  deep  waters  I  call  thee  to  go. 
The  rivers  of  woe  sliall  not  thee  overflow  ; 
For  I  will  be  with  thee.  Thy  troubles  to  bless, 
And  sanctify  to  thee  thy  deepest  distress. 

"When  through  fiery  trials  thy  pathw.-iy  shall  lie, 
My  gr.ue,   all  sullicient.  sliiill   be  thy  supply; 

214 


THE  FIRM  FOUNDATION 

The  tlamo  shnll  hurt  thee — I  only  desi^i 
Thy  dross  to  consume,  and  thy  gold  to  refine. 

"E'en  down  to  old  age.  all  my  people  shall  prove 
My  sovereign,  eternal,  nnchangeable  love ; 
And  when  hoary  hairs  shall  their  temples  adorn. 
Like  lambs  they  shall  still  in  my  bosom  be  borne. 

"The  soul  that  on  Jesus  hath  leaned  for  repose, 
I  will  not.  I  will  not,  desert  to  his  foes; 
That  soul,  though  all  hell  shall  endeavor  to  shake, 
I'll  never — no  never— no  never  forsake." 

Tune — "Portuguese  Hymn." 

The  hymn  is  based  upon  several  passages 
of  scripture.  The  first  is  2  Peter  1:4: 
"Whereby  are  given  unto  us  exceeding  great 
and  precious  promises,"  etc.  The  next  is 
Ts.iiah  41:  10:  ''Fear  thou  not;  for  I  am  with 
thee:  be  not  dismayed;  for  I  am  tliy  God:  I 
will  strengthen  thee;  yea,  I  will  uphold  thee 
with  the  right  hand  of  my  righteousness." 
Another  is  Isaiah  13:2:  "When  thou  passest 
through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee;  and 
through  the  rivers,  they  sliall  not  oAcrllow 
thee:  when  thou  Avalkest  through  the  fire, 
thou  shalt  not  be  burned;  neither  shall  the 
flame  kindle  upon  thee;  for  I  am  the  Lord 
tliy  God,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  thy  Sa- 
vior." The  last  is  Isaiah  40 : 4 :  "And  even 
to  your  old  age  T  am  He;  and  even  to  hoary 
hairs  will  I  carry  you :  I  have  made,  and  I 
will  bear;  even  1  will  carrv  and  deliver  vou.'' 

215 


HYMN.S  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

The  thorough  .scriptiiralnesH  of  the  prodiu- 
tioii.  and  also  its  })i'eemiuent  ada])tation  to 
iiiinisterinj-'  inspiration  and  comfort  to  tried 
and  tempted  souls  in  all  the  successive  stages 
and  amid  all  the  changeful  vicissitudes  of  the 
Christian  i>ilgrimage,  are  undoubtedly  the 
chief  elements  of  its  extensive  popularity. 

From  the  "Western  Sketch-book,''  by  James 
(Jallagiier,  Avho  mentions  therein  a  visit  to 
iJeneral  Jackson  in  the  Hermitage  in  Sep- 
tember 1843,  Dr.  Duffield  quotes  the  follow- 
ing in  his  "English  Hymns:" 

"The  old  hero,"  says  Dr.  Oal higher,  "was 
then  very  frail,  and  had  the  appearance  of 
e'xtreme  old  age;  but  he  was  reposing-  with 
calmness  and  confidence  on  the  promise  and 
covenant  of  God.  He  had  now  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church  for  several  years.  During 
the  conversation  which  took  ])lace  General 
Jackson  turned  to  Mr.  Gallagher  and  remark- 
ed:  'TJiere  is  a  beautiful  hymn  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  exceeding  great  and  precious 
])romises  of  God  to  His  }»eople.  It  was  a 
favorite  hymn  with  my  dear  wife,  till  the  day 
of  her  death.     It  commences  thus : 

"How  finu  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord." 

T  wish  you  could  sing  it  now.'  So  the  little 
conipanv  sang  the  entire  hvmn  in  its  seven 
stanzas.'' 

2i6 


THE  FIRM   FOUNDATION 

Thus  was  llie  inagniticent  Ivvic  we  have 
been  considoiing-  made  to  miuister  comfort 
and  ho})o  to  the  di.stiuguished  soldier  and 
statesman   "in   age   and  feebleness  extreme." 

The  following  incident  Avas  related  in  the 
A^innhitj-scJiool  Times  of  December  7,  1891,  by 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Curtis  Guild,  Jr..  late  In- 
S|)ector-general  of  the  Seventh  Army  Corps, 
and  is  reproduced  in  "!?>tudies  of  Familiar 
Hymns :" 

"The  cori)S  Avas  encanii)ed  along  the  hills  of 
(^uemados,  near  New  Havana,  Cuba.  On 
<^hristmas  eve  of  180S  Colonel  Guild  sat  be- 
fore his  tent  in  the  balmy  tropical  night, 
chatting  with  a  fellow  officer  of  Christmas 
and  home.  Suddenly  from  the  camp  of  the 
Forty-ninth  Iowa  rang  a  sentinel's  call, 
'Number  ten;  twelve  o'clock,  and  all's  well!' 

''  'It  Avas  Christmas  morning.  Scarcely 
had  the  cry  of  the  sentinel  died  away,  when 
from  the  bandsmen's  tent  of  that  same  regi- 
ment rose  the  music  of  an  old,  familiar  hymn, 
and  one  clear  baritone  voice  led  the  chorus 
that  (piickly  ran  along  those  moonlit  tields : 

•How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord!' 

Another  voice  joined  in,  and  another,  and  an- 
other, and  in  a  moment  the  whole  regiment 
joined  in   with  tlie  Fourth  Virginia,   and  all 

217 


HYMNS  TirAT  ARE  IM:\I0RTAL 

the  rest,  till  there,  on  the  long  ridge  above  the 
great  city  wbcuce  Spanish  tyranny  once  went 
forth  to  enslave  the  New  World,  a  whole 
American  cori)s  was  singing: 

'Fonr  not:  I  aiu  widi  thoo,  O  be  not  dismayed; 
I,  I  am  thy  God,  and  will  still  give  tbee  aid; 
ril   si  ren;:;ttieu  tliee,   help  tbee,   and  cause  thee  to 

stand, 
I'pbeld  by  my  rigbteous,  omnipotent  band.' 

"  'The  northern  soldier  knew  the  hymn  as 
one  he  had  learned  beside  his  mother's  knee. 
To  the  southern  soldier  it  was  that  and  some- 
thing more;  it  Avas  the  favorite  hymn  of  Gen- 
eral Robert  E.  Lee,  and  was  sung  at  that 
P'eat  commander's  funeral. 

"  'Protestant  and  Catholic,  South  and 
North,  singing  together  on  Christmas  day  in 
the   morning, — that's   an   American   army!'" 

After  rehearsing  the  foregoing  incident  Dr. 
Tienson  apjtropriately  adds;  "If  any  one  has 
felt  a  sense  of  im])roi)riety  in  divorcing  the 
old  Christmas  music  from  its  ])roiier  words, 
feurely  he  may  feel  that  it  came  to  its  own 
again  Ihat  morning.  Such  an  incident,  and 
what  it  im{)]ies,  inclines  rather  to  the  hope 
1h;i(  'How  film  a  foundation'  may  never  cease 
to  be  sung  among  us.  and  that  it  may  never 
be  set  to  anv  other  tunc." 


218 


XXVIII 

REMARKABLE    IIYMX    OX    DIVINE    PROVIDENCE 

Had  William  Cowper  never  aeliieved  any- 
thing else  of  distinction  his  production  of  the 
hymn  beginning, 

"God  moves  iu  a   mysterious   way, 
His  wouders  to  perform," 

would  have  rendered  his  name  familiar  in  ev- 
ery Christian  household  of  the  English  speak- 
ing world  to  latest  generations.  It  holds  the 
highest  rank  of  all  the  hymns  of  its  illus- 
trious author,  although  "There  is  a  fountain 
filled  with  blood"  is  more  generally  known 
and  more  popularly  used  in  i)ublic  worshi]). 
The  Innm  is  not  onlv  elevated,  finished,  and 
charming  in  itself,  but.  as  Montgomerv  has 
said,  is  "rendered  awfully  interesting  by  tJie 
circumstances  under  which  it  was  written — 
the  twilight  of  de])arting  reason," 

The  author  of  the  hymn  was  born  at  Berk- 
hamstead,  Hertfordshire,  I-]ngland.  in  1731. 
llis  father  was  the  Rev.  John  Cowper,  at  one 
time  chaplain  to  King  George  II.    His  moth- 

219 


HYMNS  THAT  AKE  IMMORTAL 

ei%  wlio  ti-aced  her  pedigree  back  to  King 
Henry -HI.,  died  when  lie  was  but  six  years 
ohl.  I>eino  naturally  very  delicate  and  sen- 
sitive, his  bereavement  weighed  n])on  him  to 
such  an  extent  that,  as  a  mei-e  boy,  he  became 
deeply  melanclioly.  This  condition  was  so  ag- 
gravated that  his  after  life  was  deejily  shad- 
(»wed  in  consequence  and  through  unpleasant 
ex])eriences  endured  for  some  years  in  school 
at  ^Vestm luster.  The  sorrow  occasioned  by 
his  mother's  death  never  ceased  to  weigh 
upon  liiiii.  and  years  after  the  sad  occurrence, 
in  viewing  one  of  her  pictures,  he  recalled  the 
anguish  his  young  heart  experienced  when 
that  sore  bereavement  fell  upon  him  and 
beautifully  cxjtressed  the  same  in  verse: 

"My  niotlior  I  when  T  lonvnod  tliat  tliou  wa.st  tlead, 
Siiy.  wast  thou  oonsoio\is  of  the  toars  I  slied? 
Iloveivd  thy  spirit  o'or  tliy  sorrowiiiir  son— - 
Wretch  even  then,  life's  journey  just  be^unV 
I'erhaps  thou  gavest  me,  though  unseen,  a  kiss, 
Perhaps  a  tear,  if  souls  ("in  wccii  in  liliss. 
T   heard  the  liell  toUM  on   tliy  burial  day. 
I  saw  the  hearse  that  hore  tiiee  slow  away  I 
And,    Inrning  from   my    nursery  window.  dr<'W 
A    long,    long  sigli.    .-ind   wept    a    last    adieu." 

While  in  Westminster  he  acquired  consid- 
erable classical  educalion.  and  in  addition  to 
his  school  requirements,  trauslateil  the  whole 

220 


HYMN  ON   DIVINE  PROVIDENCE 

of  ITomer's  ''Iliad  and  Odyssey."  On  leav- 
ing Westminster  he  was  apprenticed  to  an  at- 
torney for  three  years.  This  was  not  his  own 
bnt  his  father's  choice,  and  the  profession  of 
the  law  not  being  to  his  liking  he  was  not  as 
attentive  to  it  as  he  might  hslve  been  to  some- 
thing more  congenial  to  his  tastes  and  incli- 
nations. 

Some  years  after  the  conclusion  of  his  law 
course  he  was  eligible  to  the  position  of  clerk 
to  the  House  of  Lords,  which  had  been  se- 
cured for  hini  through  family  influence.  He 
was  expected  to  qualify  for  the  position  by 
taking  an  examination,  but  the  shrinking  of 
his  timid  and  sensitive  nature  from  the  or- 
deal of  a  formal  examination  so  agitated  and 
depressed  him  that  he  fell  into  a  state  of 
mental  disorder  and  failed  to  appear.  His  de- 
pression was  so  great  that  he  even  attempted 
suicide,  in  which  act  of  desperation  he  failed 
for  lack  of  courage.  From  this  time  on  to 
the  close  of  his  life  Cowper  was  subject  to 
seasons  of  terrible  despondency  and  despair, 
at  times  regarding  himself  as  having  commit- 
ted the  unpardonable  sin  and  believing  him- 
self as  hopelessly  lost  as  though  in  hell  ai- 
I'eady. 

After  his  first  attack  he  was  i)laced  in  a  re- 
treat conducted  by   Dr.  Cotton,  a  i)oet  and 

221 


HYMNS  THAT  AEE  IMMORTAL 

pliilantliropist,  under  whose  judicious  treat- 
ment and  advice  he  was  not  only  delivered 
from  his  mental  disorder,  but  was  also  led 
to  find  peace  with  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 
He  was  ever  afterward  a  devout  and  earnest 
Christian,  and,  except  during  his  intervals 
of  mental  aberration,  was  bright,  cheerful 
and  companionable,  and  withal  an  eager  stu- 
dent and  an  earnest  and  fruitful  worker  in 
the  cause  of  Christ.  In  devoutness  he  was 
not  surpassed  by  A^'esley,  although  the  hit- 
ter's naturally  cheerful  temperament  and  his 
own  constitutional  tendency  to  melancholy 
places  Cowper  at  a  disadvantage  in  such  a 
comi)arison. 

Cowper  was  not  merely  a  religious  hymn- 
writer  but  a  poet  of  the  highest  rank  in  his 
day,  and  an  able  prose  writer  as  well.  He  in 
England  and  Burns  in  Scotland  are  credited 
with  having  inaugurated  that  epoch  in  Eng- 
lish literature  in  which  poetry  was  recalled 
from  Artificial  ism  to  Naturalism.  Cowper's 
poetry  is  always  ^'eminently  healthy,  natural 
and  unaffected."  Besides  being  eminent  as 
a  })oet  he  has  also  been  characterized  as  "the 
most  delightful  letter-writer  in  the  English 
language,  the  charm  of  whose  epistles  noth- 
ing can  suri>ass — full  of  humor,  gentle  sar- 
casm, anecdote,  acute  remark,  and  a  tender 

222 


HYMN  OX    DH'INE  PROVIDENCE 

shadow  of  melancholy  thrown  over  and  ton- 
ing- down  the  whole." 

In  1767  Cow'per  took  up  his  residence  in 
Olnej-,  where  a  most  intimate  friendship 
sprang  up  between  him  and  the  Rev.  John 
Newton,  the  cnrate  of  that  place.  Cowper 
was  a  constant  attendant  at  the  services  in 
Mr,  Newton's  church,  and  was  especially 
faithful  in  attending  the  cottage  prayer-meet- 
ings, for  which  most  of  his  hymns  are  said  to 
have  been  written.  The  collection  commonly 
known  as  the  "Olney  Hymns"  was  their  joint 
production,  seventy-eight  of  them  coming 
from  Cowper's  pen.  "He  also  translated 
manv  of  the  hvmns  of  Madame  Guion." 

Cowper's  last  contributions  to  the  '"Olney 
nj'mns"  was  "God  moves  in  a  mysterious 
way.-'  It  is  said  that  in  one  of  his  melan- 
choly moods  he  determined 'to  end  his  life  by 
drowning,  and  hired  a  post-chaise  to  take  him 
to  a  certain  place  on  the  river  Ouse  where 
the  desperate  deed  was  to  be  accomplished. 
B}'  some  unaccountable  providence  the  driver 
missed  his  way,  and  so  the  poor  man  returned 
to  his  home  without  having  carried  out  his 
purpose,  Avhereupon  he  wrote  this  remark- 
able hymn.  Probably  this  account  is  more  or 
less  legendarv,  altliourh  the  hvnin  doubtless 
celebrates  some   remarkable  interposition  of 

223 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

j)rovideuce  ou  behalf  of  its  aullioi-.      Follow- 
ing is  the  full  text  of  the  hymn : 

Goii  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 

His  wonders  to   perform  : 
He  jtlants  His  i'ootsteps  in  the  sea. 

And  rides  urK)n  the  stonn. 

Deep  in  unfalliomahle  mines 

Of  never-iailinj;  slvill. 
He  treasures  up  His  liri.^lit  desi^'ns. 

And  worlvs  His  soveroijiii  will. 

Ye  fearful  saints,   fresli  courage  take: 

The  clouds  ye  so  much  dread 
Are  big  with  mercy,  and  shall  break 

In  blessings  on   your  bead. 

Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense, 

But  trust  Ilini  for  His  grace: 
P>(>lHnd  a   frowning  pro\idence 

He  hides  a  smiling  face. 

His  purposes  will  ripen  fast, 

T'^nfolding  every   hour: 
The  bud  may   b.iNc  a    bitter  taste, 

P.ut  sweet  will   be  the  tiower. 

P.lind  unl)elief   is  s\u'e  to  err. 

.Vnd  scan   Ilis  work   In   vain  : 
(lod  is  His  own  interpreter. 

And    llr  will   mal;r   it    plain. 

TlT.Nt; "Dl'.NDEE." 

Literary    critics   generally    regard    this   as 

224 


HYMX  ON  i>!\'i:nI':  pk()V[I)i:\(M': 

tlu'  !<ubliiiK'st  li\ mil  cM'T  writU'ii  in  ((-Ichi-i- 
tion  of  (liviiK"  ]ii-<)vi(l(Mic'('.  The  late  Tloiiias 
•lames  Field,  an  ciniiiciil  aiil  Iioril  v  on  lOni;"- 
lisli  litcnilin'O.  sai(]  of  il  :  '"To  he  tlie  antlior 
'-)f  sncli  a  hvnin  as  '(Jod  moves  in  a  myslerions 
way"  is  an  aeliievemenf  tiiat  anjitds  tliemselves 
nii.iilit  envy."  Mont^onuM-y  cliai'actei'ized  it 
as  "a  lyrie  of  lii<ili  lone  and  eliaracter." 
"Classable  witli  the  hesi  of  saci-ed  son^s"  and 
'"the  sublimest  of  all  hymns  on  Divine  Pi-ovi- 
(h'nce''  are  Colonel  Smith's  eharaetei-izatious 
of  Ihe  produetion. 

Straugely  enoujih.  however,  ihc  hymn  on- 
countered  not  only  a  (ritic  l)i!l  a  liypei-crit  ic 
ill  the  late  J)r.  Kichard  ^^'atson.  the  eminent 
theolojiian,  who,  in  his  "Life  of  Wesley." 
( Iia«;e  277),  inercilessl\  deals  wilh  the  fifth 
stan/.a.  He  says:  "This  is  a  ti<iure.  not  only 
not  found  in  sacred  ins])ired  ])oetry.  hnt 
which  has  loo  much  pre! t incss  to  he  the 
vehicle  of  a  divine  thouuiit,  and  the  veisc  has 
moreover  the  fault  of  an  absurd  antithesis, 
as  well  as  of  false  rhyme."  Sound  as  Dr. 
Watson  .generally  was  in  matters  of  criti- 
cism, he  seems  to  have  (M-red  seriously  here. 
At  least  he  has  not  b(»en  sustained  in  his  ver- 
dict by  those  best  competent  to  jud<>e  in  such 
matters  since  his  day.  "The  rhyme  is  allow- 
al)le/'  says  Dr.  Tillett,  "and  the  figure  of  the 

225 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

bitter-tasting  biul  and  the  sweet-smelling 
flower  is  not  only  trne  to  nature,  but  admir- 
ably adapted  to  expressing,  in  fine  poetic  sen- 
timent, the  thought  in  the  mind  of  the  poet: 
•AVli.it  T  do  thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou 
shalt  know  hereafter.' "  The  hymn  would 
certainly  be  incomplete  without  this  stanza-, 
and  it  has  secured  altogetiier  too  strong  a 
hold  upon  the  Christian  world  to  be  sur- 
rendered because  of  any  hypercritical  attacks 
lliat  may  be  made  upon  it. 

In  1777  this  hvmn  appeared  in  the  Gospel 
Magazine,  erroneously  credited  to  "^liss  Us- 
sington,  late  of  Islington,  who  died  May 
1770,"  and  with  the  following  stanza  added: 

"When  midnight  shades  niv  ;\11  witbdrawu, 
Tlie  opening  day  sliall  rise, 
Whose  e^er  cahn  and  cloudless  morn 
Shall  know  no  low'ring  skies." 

^^'l!<)  was  responsible  for  the  error  will  prob- 
ably ne\er  be  known.  The  hidy  referred  to 
may  have  composed  the  added  stanza,  and 
this  may  liave  led  to  llie  entii-e  hymn  being 
unintentionally  ascribed  to  her.  The  added 
stanza   is  no  im7)rovement  of  the  hymn. 

A'arious  singular  and  suggestive  incidents 
and  associations  cluster  around  this  ])Oj)ular 
Christian  lyric  which  serve  to  illustrate  its 

226 


HYMN  ON   DIVINE   rROVIDENCE 

power  and  value.  "It  was  often  simg  during 
the  cotton  famine"  [in  England,  in  18(55,  fol- 
lowing the  Civil  War  in  the  United  States]. 
says  ^Ir.  Stead,  ''and  there  are  few  persons 
who  can  not  recall  times  and  seasons  when 
its  comforting  assurances  helped  to  give  forti- 
tude and  tranquillity  to  the  soul."  During  the 
cotton  famine  referred  to  one  of  the  Lanca- 
shire mill  owners  called  his  employes  to- 
gether and  informed  them  that  he  must  close 
the  mills.  To  close  them  meant  his  own  fi- 
nancial ruin,  and  much  suffering  from  pover- 
ty to  the  operatives.  The  situation  was  such 
a  painful  one,  when  the  announcement  came, 
that  none  could  speak,  and  for  a  time  silence 
reigned.  At  last,  however,  there  rose  out  of 
the  oi)pressive  stillness  the  clear  voice  of  a 
girl — a  teacher  in  the  Sunday-school — and 
as  she  sang  in  faith  and  hope, 

"Ye  fearful  saiuts,  frosb  courage  take. 

The  clouds  ye  so  much  di-oad 
Are  his  with  niorcy,  and  shall  hreak 
In  blessings  ou  your  head," 

the  oppressive  spell  was  broken,  and  new 
inspiration  and  liope  took  possession  of  all 
hearts. 

The  late  Dr.  Charles  Cullis,  founder  of  the 
Faith  Cure  Consumptives'  Home  in  Boston, 

227 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

was  on  one  occasion  in  great  financial  straits 
in  the  midst  of  liis  extensive  enter])rises.  He 
spread  the  matter  before  the  Lord,  and  his 
praver  was  answered  in  a  remarkable  ^ysiJ. 
One  man  sent  him  a  fonr  and  one-ha^f  per 
cent  United  States  bond  for  |1,000  and  a  four 
per  cent  United  Stares  bond  for  |500,  f  1,500 
in  all,  saying  this  would  cover  his  subscrip- 
tion, which,  hj  the  way,  was  for  |400  only; 
and  in  the  same  mail  came  a  letter  from  an- 
other man,  a  stranger  to  Mr.  Cullis,  enclosing 
?1.00  to  cancel  his  subscription,  and  saying 
that,  although  the  amount  was  small,  the 
Lord  could  multii)ly  it  a  thousand  fold.  This 
letter  proved  to  have  been  written  before  the 
one  enclosing  the  larger  amount.  The  Lord 
did  indeed  multiply  the  smaller  offering  a 
thousand  fold.  In  recording  this  remark- 
able divine  interposition  Ur.  Cullis  concluded 
with  the  words, 

"God   moves    in    a   mysterious    way 
His  wonders  to  perform." 

Dr.  Russell  H.  Conwell.  in  his  Life  of 
Charles  H.  Sjturgeon  relates  the  story  of 
how  Richard  Knill,  a  devout  minister,  on 
visiting  at  the  Spurgeon  home  when  Charles 
was  a  lad.  took  such  an  interest  in  Iheboyas 
left  an  indelible  imju-ess  upon  his  alter  life, 

228 


HYMN  ON    DIVINK    PK()Vll)F>NrE 

and  how  he  also  predicted  the  boy's  iuiui-e 
greatness  as  a  i)reacher,  the  hymn  wearecoii- 
sidering  figuring  conspicuously  in  the  ac- 
count. Mr.  Knill.  it  is  said,  took  the  lad  with 
him  for  (juiet  walks  repeatedly,  talked  with 
him  seriously  but  tenderly  on  the  subject  of 
i-cligion.  knelt  and  ]>rayed  with  him,  and  in 
\arious  ways  exhibited  a  j)assionate  desire 
1(»  win  him  for  Christ.  Taking  the  lad  upon 
his  knee  one  day  he  said :  "I  do  not  know  how 
if  is,  but  I  feel  a  solemn  jtreseutiment  that 
^his  cliiid  will  i)reach  the  gospel  to  thousands, 
and  that  (lod  will  bless  him  to  many  souls. 
So  sure  am  I  of  this  that  when  he  ])reaches 
in  Kowland  Hill's  chapel,  as  he  will  do  (me 
day,  I  should  like  him  to  promise  me  that  he 
Avill  give  out  the  hymn  commencing, 

'(Jod  moves  in  a   mystorious  way 
His  woiulcrs  to  perforin.'" 

Mr.  Knill  desired  young  Spurgeon  to  leain 
the  hymn  by  heart,  regarding  it  as  applicable 
t<»  (he  things  (lod  would  work  out  for  him 
and  through  him  in  his  future  career.  It  is 
said  to  have  been  i)redicted  by  Mr.  Knill  that 
the  lad  in  whom  he  took  so  deep  an  interest 
would  one  day  speak  in  the  largest  church  in 
1lie  world — a  pro])hecv  which  was  litci-ally 
iulfilled. 

229 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMOKTAL 

Is  if  not  strange  indeed  that  a  livmn  which 
lias  clieered  so  many  thousands  of  troubled 
and  despairing-  hearts  should  have  been  the 
iii-odnction  of  one  who  was  bv  natnre  nielan- 
olioly  and  a  goodly  portion  of  whose  life  was 
spent  in  dejection  and  nnder  the  horror  of 
liojteless  despair?  But  so  it  is,  and  this  very 
circnnistance  is  both  a  corroboration  and  an 
illnstratiou  of  the  truth  expressed  in  the  first 
con[)let  of  the  hymn.  Poor  Cowperl  Thou 
didst  teach  us  to  sing, 

"God  is  His  own  interpreter. 
And  He  will  malce  it  plain ;" 

and  we  doubt  not  that  he  has  long  ere  this 
made  f()i-(ner  j)lain  to  thee  the  mvsterv  of  all 
those  years  of  darkness  and  despair  through 
A\hicli  thine  earthly  ])athway  led. 

The  following  stanzas  from  INfrs.  I)roAvn- 
ing's  touching  and  beautiful  elegy  on  ''Cow- 
jter's  Grave''  are  ajtpropriate  in  closing: 

"II    Is  a   j)lace  where  poets   crowned  may  feed   the 
lieart's  decay! iiir. 
It  is  a  place  where  happy  saints  may  weep  amid 

their  praying : 
Yet  let  the  jEcrief  and  humbleness,  as  low  as  silence 

languish  ! 
r'artli  surely  now  may  .u'ive  liei'  calm  to  whom  she 
arave  her  anpuish. 

230 


ni'MN  ON    DniXK    rUOVIDENCE 

'•()  poets:   from   ;i  niaiiiac's   tuiiguu   was  pouri'd   the 

deathless  singing ! 
O    Christians '.    at   your   cross   of   hope,    a    liopel'ess 

hand  was  clinging! 
()  n.en  1  this  man  in  brotherhood  yonr  weary  patlis 

beguiling, 
Groaned  ndy  wiiile  he  taught  you  peace,  and  died 

while  ye  were  smiling! 

"With  quiet  sadness  and  no  gloom  1  learn  to  think 
upon  him, 
With  meekness  that  is  gratefulness  to  Uod  whose 

lieiiven  hath  won  him — 
Who  suffered  once  the   madness-cloud   to   His  own 

love  to  blind  him  : 
r.ut  gently   led  the   blind   along   where   breath   and 
bird  could  liud  him." 


231 


XXTX 

gerhardt's  nobi,e  hymn  of  trust 

Among  the  numerous  hymns  iucitinjj;  to 
steadfast  trust  in  Divine  I'rovidence  probably 
none  has  been  more  extensively  blessed  to 
the  encouraj;ement  and  inspiration  of  tried 
and  tempted  souls  than  I'aul  Oerhardt's 
liymn,  beginning,  as  rendered  into  English 
by  John  Wesley, 

"Coivnnit  thou  all  thy  griofs 
And   wiiys  into  His  hands." 

It  is  given  in  two  i)arts  in  the  Hymn  P>ook, 
the   second  ])art   beginning  Avilh   the   lines, 

"(Jivo  to  the   winds  thy   fears. 
IIopo,  and  lie  undismayed." 

The  hymn  is  based  on  Psalm  37 :  5 :  "Com- 
mit thy  way  unto  the  Lord:  trust  alsoiuTTim, 
and  He  shall  bring  if  to  pass."  (lerhardt 
composed  it,  in  (Jerman.  in  1(15!),  and  AVes- 
Icy  translated  it  inio  lOnglisli  in  173!). 

The  full  text  of  Pari  First  is  as  follows: 

232 


OICHllAKDT'S  HYMN  OF  TRUST 

Coniiiiit  thou  al!  thy  griofs 

And  ways  into  His  hands. 
'i"o  His  sni'e  trust  and  tender  care. 

Wlio  earth  and  h(>aven  eonnnands : 
AVho  jioints  the  donds  their  course, 

Wlioni   winds   and   seas  oljey. 
ITc  sliall   direct  tliy  wandcrinir  feet, 

He  sliall   ](rei.ar("   thy   way. 

Thoa  on  the  Lord  rely. 

So  safe  Shalt  thou  go  on. 
Fix  ou  His  work  thy  steadfast  eye. 

So  shall  thy  work  be  done. 
No  protit  canst   thou  .i,Min 

I'.y  self-consuming  care ; 
To  Him  commend  thy  cause.  His  ear 

Attends  the  softest  iirayer. 

Thine  everlasting   truth,  ^ 

Fathei-.  Thy  ceaseless  love, 
Sees  all  Thy  children's  v\-ants,  and  knows 

"What  best  for  each  will  j.rove: 
And   whatso'er  Thou   wilFst. 

Thou  dost.  O  King  of  Kings! 
What's  Thine  unerring  wisdom's  choice, 

Thy   power  to  being  brings! 

Thou  everywhere  hast  sway. 

And  all  things  serve  Thy   might; 
Thine  every  act  i)ure  blessing  is. 

Thy  i)atli   nnsnllied   light. 
When  Thou  arisest,   Lord. 

What  shall  Thy  work  withstand? 
When  all   Thy   children   want.   Thou  giv'st; 

Who,  who  sh.iir  stay  Thy  hand? 

Tune— "Golden  TTii.i." 

233 


HYMN'S  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

''The  origin  of  the  hymn  is  in  itself  such 
a  remarkable  proof  of  the  blessing  of  trusting 
in  Providence,  *  *  *  ^i^^^^  j^  ^an  not  be 
omitted  in  this  place.  Paul  Gerhardt  was  a 
preacher  in  Brandenburg,  1659,  and  he  loved 
to  preach  from  his  heart  what  he  believed. 
The  (ireat  Elector  admonished  him.  and 
threatened  his  banishment  if  he  would  not 
preach  as  the  Elector  desired.  Gerhardt  re- 
turned a  message  to  his  sovereign  that  it 
would  be  hard  to  leave  his  home,  his  people, 
his  countrv  and  his  livelihood;  but  he  would 
only  preach  what  he  found  in  the  word  of 
God.  So  into  banishment  he  was  sent,  with 
his  wife  and  children. 

"At  the  end  of  the  first  day's  journey, 
they  rested  at  a  little  inn  for  the  night.  The 
little  ones  were  crying  and  clinging  to  their 
mother,  and  she  also,  overcome  with  fatigue, 
could  not  restrain  her  tears.  The  sad  sight 
gave  Gerhardt  a  very  heavy  heart,  so  he  went 
alone  into  the  dark  wood  to  commend  the 
whole  to  God.  Whilst  there  his  mind  was 
comforted  with  the  le^t,  'Coniinit  thy  way 
unto  the  Lord:  trust  also  in  Him.  and  He 
shall  bring  it  to  ])ass.'  'Yes,'  he  said,  'though 
banished  from  house  and  home,  and  not  know- 
ing where  to  take  my  wife  and  children  on 
the  morrow,  yet  God   sees   me   in   the   dark 

234 


GERHAKDT'S   H Y:\IX   OF  TKFST 

wood;  now  is  the  time  to  trust  Iliiu.*  He 
Avas  so  happy  that  he  had  remembered  the 
text,  and  so  thankful  to  (tod  that  He  made 
the  text,  in  connection  with  his  saddening 
1<»1.  into  a  hymn,  as  lie  jtaced  to  an<l  fro 
among  the  trees.  Every  verse  begins  with 
a  word  or  two  from  the  text,  so  that  if  you 
would  read  the  first  words  of  each  v(m-s(^  in 
the  German,  you  just  read  the  text. 

**Wheu  he  returned  into  the  house,  he  told 
his  wife  about  the  text,  and  repeated  to  her 
his  hymn.  Slle  soon  dried  up  her  tears  (the 
children  having  gone  to  sleej)),  and  became  as 
liopeful  and  trustful  in  God  as  her  husband. 
They  had  scarcely  retired  to  rest  when  a 
loud  knocking  was  heard  at  the  door.  The 
landloid,  on  opening  iIm^  door,  found  a.  mes- 
senger on  liorseback.  who  said  aloud,  'I  come 
from  Duke  (Christian  of  ^leresburg,  and  am  in 
search  of  Paul  Gerhardt;  has  he  passed  this 
way?'  'Yes,'  said  the  landlord,  "he  is  in  my 
house.'  "Let  me  see  him  instantly.'  said  the 
Duke's  messenger.  A  hn-ge  sealed  letter  was 
at  once  handed  to  the  banished  pastor  from 
the  good  Duke  Christian,  who  said  in  it, 
•Come  into  my  country.  Paul  Gerhardt,  and 
you  shall  have  church,  peojde,  house,  home, 
:iiid  livelihood,  and  liberty  to  preach  the  gos- 
jx'l  as  your  heart  may  prompt  you.'  So  the 
Lord  took  care  of  His  servant." 

235 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

What  a  remarkable  verification  of  the  j)rom- 
ise  contained  in  the  text  so  powerfully  ini- 
])ressed  upon  the  banished  preacher  in  his 
dire  extremity!  What  a  remarkable  illus- 
tration also  of  the  sentiment  expressed  in 
the  entire  hymn  I  '•They  that  trust  in  the 
T.ord  shall  never  be  confounded." 

J*art  Second,  which  we  regard  as  in  some 
respects  superior  to  Part  First,  breathes  the 
same  sweet  spirit  of  submission  and  trust, 
and  leads  on  our  faith  step  by  stej).  and  from 
one  degree  of  strength  to  another,  until  all 
doubt,  and  fear,  and  "self-consuming  care" 
are  banished,  and  over  all  the  trusting  soul 
is  "more  than  conqueror."  The  text  is  as 
follows : 

Give  to  the  winds  tliy  fears ; 

Hope,  and  be  undismayed : 
God  liears  thy  sighs  and  counts  thy  tears: 

(Jod  sJjall  lift  up  Ihy  head. 
Tlu'oush  waves,  tliroujili  clouds  and  storms, 

He  gently  clears  the  way: 
Wait  thou  His  time:  so  shall  the  nighl 

Soon  end  in  joyous  day. 

Still  h(>avy  is  thy  heart? 

Still  sink   thy   sjiirits  down? 
Cast  off  the  weiglit,   let  fear  dt>part. 

And  every  care  be  gone. 
What  though  thou  rnlcst   not  : 

Yet  heaven,  and  earth,  and   hell, 

236 


GERnAEDT'S  HYMN  OF  TRUST 

Proclaim,  God  sitteth  on  the  throne, 
Ami  ruk'tli  nil  things  well. 

Leave  to  His  sovereign  sway 

To  choose  and  to  command ; 
So  shalt  thou,  wondering,  own  His  way, 

How  wise,  how  strong  His  hand! 
Far,  far  above  thy  thought 

His  counsel  shall  appear, 
^Yhen   fully    He   the   \^ork    hath   wrought 

That  caused  thy  needless  fear. 

Thou  seest  our  weakness,  Lord, 

Our  hL"'arts  are  known  to  Thee; 
O  lift  Thou  up  the  sinking  hand, 

Confirm  the  feeble  knee ! 
Let  VIS  in  life,  in  death, 

Thy    steadfast    truth    declare; 
And  iniblish.  with  our  latest  breath, 

Thy  love  and  guardian  care. 

Niimoroiis  are  the  instances  in  which  tliis 
sturdy  yet  tender  hymn  has  allayed  fear, 
banished  anxiety,  alleviated  suffering,  consol- 
ed gTief,  inspired  faith  and  kindled  ho|)e  in 
seasons  of  extremity  and  in  the  hour  of  death. 

Willianj  Dawson,  the  farmer  Methodist 
preacher  of  Barnbow,  Leeds,  England,  after 
a  useful  career  of  nearly  seventy  years,  was 
suddenly  prostrated  with  a  fatal  illness.  His 
last  utterances  were  the  closing  words  of  this 
admirable  hymn, — 

"Let  us  in  life,  in  death. 

Thy  steadfast  truth  declare." 

237 


TIYMXS  THAT  ARP]  IMMORTAL 

He  attempted  to  repeat  the  closing  couplet — 

"And  publish  with  our  latest  breath 
Thy  love  iuul  guardian  care." 

but  the  power  of  utterance  failed  liim.  and, 
witii  his  hands  crossed  upon  his  breast  in 
jieace.  he  closed  his  eyes  on  earth  to  open 
111  em  in  heaven. 

The  Rev.  Isaac  Rradnack.  a  Wesleyan  mis- 
sionary, born  near  Birmingham,  England,  in 
1774,  after  years  of  usefulness  in  a  foreign 
field,  sfient  the  last  few  years  of  life  in  his 
native  land.  During  his  final  illness,  when 
his  strength  failed,  he  saw  his  daughter  at 
his  bedside  weeping.  Suddenly  turning  to 
her  he  said,  with  earnest  look.  "My  dear 
Hetsy.  why  are  you  weeping? 

'(Jive  to  the  winds  tiiy  fears; 

Hoiie.   and   h<.    iindisniayed : 
<;od  licars  tiiy  siLdis.  and  counts  thy  tears; 

<;o(l  sliall  nil  up  thy  head."  "' 

After  this  he  conversed  with  her  on  the 
subject  of  sanctification.  emj)hasizing  ''puri- 
l.'J — piit'ifj/-"  Then,  w  iih  nmcli  energy,  he  re- 
jieated — 

"The   fire  oui-   irraccs   shall    refine." 

and  s«)(»n  afterwai'd  entered  into  the  rest  that 
remainetli   for  the  jieople  of  (lod. 

238 


(iKRHARDT'S  HY.AIX  OF  TIU'ST 

The  following  "legeud  of  the  raveu''  is  also 
related  by  Mr.  8teveus  in  his  ••:Metho(list 
llynin-Book  Illustrated":  "In  a  village  near 
Warsaw  there  lived  a  pious  German  j)easan( 
named  Dobry,  Without  remedy  he  had  fallen 
into  arrears  of  rent,  and  his  landlord  threat- 
ened to  evict  him.  It  was  winter.  Thrice  he 
appealed  for  a  respite,  but  in  vain.  It  was 
evening,  and  the  next  day  his  family  were  lo 
be  turned  out  into  the  snow.  Dobry  kneeled 
down  in  the-  midst  of  his  family.  After  pray- 
er they  sang— 

"romiiiif   Uiou   all   thy   .griefs 
And  ways  into  Ilis  hands."' 

As  they  came  to  the  verse,  in  German. 

"\Yhen  Thou  wouldst   all  our  needs  suppiv, 
Who.  who.   shall  stay  Thy  handV" 

there  was  a  knock  at  the  window  close  by, 
wliere  he  knelt,  and  opening  it  Dobrv  was 
met  by  a  raven,  one  which  his  grandfather 
had  tamed  and  set  at  liberty.  It  its  bill  was 
a  ring,  set  with  precious  stones.  This  he  took 
to  his  minister,  who  said  at  once  that  it  be- 
longed to  the  King,  Stanislaus,  to  whom 
he  took  it,  and  related  the  story.  The  king 
sent    for  Dobry.  ;«nd   rewarded  him.   so  that 

239 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

he  had  no  need,  and  the  next  year  built  him  a 
new  house,  and  gave  him  cattle  from  his  own 
stall.  Over  the  house  door,  on  an  iron  tab- 
let, there  is  carved  a  raven  with  a  ring  in 
its  beak,  and  underneath  this  address  to  Di- 
\ine  Providence: 

'"Tliou  everywhere  hast  sway, 

And  all  things  serve  Thy  might ; 
Thy  every  act  pure  blessing  is, 
Thy  path  unsullied  light." 


240 


Warfare 


241 


MARTIN  LUTHER. 


XXX 

Luther's  battle-hymx 

To  Martin  Liulicr,  the  great  reformer,  bo- 
longs  the  honor  of  having  produced  the  great- 
est battle-hymn  of  the  Christian  Church — 

•"Eiii    festc    Burt;,    ist    uiif^or   Gott," 

the  common  English  rendering  of  which  is, 
"A   luishty    fortjcss   is  our   God." 

Tt  was  called  forth  by  the  troubled  and  ex- 
citing times  through  which  its  author  and  his 
fellow-workers  })assed  in  the  midst  of  the 
great  Keformation  of  (he  sixteenth  century, 
and  has  been  appropriately  characterized  by 
Heinrich  Heine  as  'ihe  Marsellaise  of  the 
Keformation."" 

Numerous  translations  of  this  hymn  into 
English  have  been  attempted,  but  those  best 
competent  to  judge  atlirm  that  but  two  really 
successful  renderings  have  appeared,  the  first 
by  Tlumias  Carlyle,  printed  in  his  "Luther's 
Psalm,""   in  1831,  and   the  other  by  the  Kev. 

243 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

Frederick  Henry  Hedge,  a  Unitarian  clergy- 
man of  tlie  United  States,  in  1852,  which  ap- 
peared in  the  second  edition  of  Dr.  Furness'a 
"Gems  of  German  Verse."  In  1853  Dr.  Hedge 
included  it  in  his  "Hymns  for  the  Church  of 
Christ"  in  the  form  in  which  it  now  appears 
in  various  church  hymnals.  Although  Car- 
lyle's  translation  is  in  several  res])ects  the 
best  English  rendering,  yet  Dr.  Hedge's  is 
the  more  commonly  found  in  English  and 
American  hymn-books,  being  the  better  adapt- 
ed for  use  in  the  song  services  of  the  Church. 
This  translation  is  as  follows: 

A  uiighty  fortress  is  our  God, 

A  bulwark  never  failing; 
Our  helper  He  amid  the  flood 

Of  mortal  ills  prevailing: 
For  still  our  ancient  foe 
Doth  seek  to  work  us  woe ; 
His  craft  and  power  are  great 
And,  armed  with  cruel  hate, 

On  earth  is  not  his  equal. 

Did  we  in  our  own  strength  confide, 

Our  striving  would  be  losing; 
Were  not  the  right  INIan  on  our  side, 

The  Man  of  Cod's  own  choosing : 
Dost  ask  who  that  may  be? 
Christ  .Tesus,  it  is  He; 
Lord  Sabaoth  is  Ilis  name, 
From  ago  to  age  the  same, 

And  lie  must  win  the  battle. 


244 


LTTTHEK's  r»AiTLE-nY:\rx 

And   though   this  world,    with    devils   filled, 

Should  threaten  to  undo  us  : 
We  will  not  fear,  for  God  hath  willed 

His  truth  to  triumph  through  us  : 
The  prince   of  darkness   grim, — 
We  tremble  not  for  him  ; 
His  rage  we  can  endure, 
For  lo !  his  doom  is  sure. 

One  little  word  shall  fell  him. 

That  word  aho-\-e  all  earthly  i)0wers. 

No  thanks  to  them,  al)ideth ; 
The  Spirit  and  the  gifts  are  ours 

Through  Him  who  with  us  aideth : 
Let  goods  and  kindred  go. 
This  mortal'  life  also; 
The  body  they  may  kill : 
God's  truth  abideth  still. 

His  kingdom  is  for  ever. 

Tune— "EiN  Feste  Burg." 

Tlie  traditional  acconni  <»f  tlio  oriiiin  of 
this  liyiiinie  masterpiece  irives  Lntlier's  jour- 
ney to  the  Diet  of  Worms  as  the  occasion  of 
its  composition.  It  was  on  this  journey  that 
Luther,  warned  by  a  messenger  from  S])alatin 
not  to  enter  the  city,  sent  back  by  the  same 
messencer  tlie  reply,  "Were  there  as  many 
devils  in  Worms  as  there  are  tiles  on  Iho 
roofs  of  the  houses,  I  would  <>-o  and  nol  ])o 
afraid.  If  ITuss  was  burnt  to  ashes,  the 
truth  was  not  burnt  with  him."  The  same 
sentiment  occuiTinu  in  the  third  stanza  of 
the  hymn  seems  to  have  given  currency  to  the 

245 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IM MORTAL 

pojiulai'ly  received  account  of  its  oi'igiii. 
Sti'oiij;  as  the  teniittation  is,  however,  to  as- 
sociate tlie  composition  of  the  liynm  with  the 
monieutous  occasion  referred  1o,  it  is  im- 
probable that  it  originated  on  that  occasion, 
since  the  hymn  does  not  ajtpear  among  Lu- 
ther's earlier  liymns  as  published  in  1524, 
three  years  after  the  convocation  of  the  as- 
sembly known  as  the  J)iet  of  Worms. 

In  his  "History  of  the  Reformation"  J. 
Merle  d'Aubigne  with  much  assurance  gives 
the  journey  to  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  in  L")3() 
as  the  occasion  on  which  the  hymn  was  com- 
]»osed.  In  IJook  XIV.  of  the  single  volume 
edition  of  that  remarkable  work.  <m  ])age  474, 
its  brilliant  author  tells  us  that  Luther,  in 
company  with  John  the  Elector  of  Saxony, 
was  on  his  way  to  the  Augsburg  assendjly 
when  he  wrote  the  hymn,  and  describes  the 
scene  in  detail  as  follows:  "John  began  his 
journey  on  the  third  of  April,  with  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty  horsemen,  clad  in  rich  scarlet 
cloaks,  end)roidered  with  gold.  ICvery  man 
was  awaie  of  (he  dangers  that  threatened 
the  lOlector.  and  hence  many  in  his  escort 
m{\rched  with  downcast  eyes  and  sinking 
ftenrts.  Jlut  Luther,  full  of  faith,  revived  the 
coitrage  of  his  friends,  by  iomi>osing  and  sing- 
ing with  his  fine  voice  th;!t  beautiful  hymn, 
since  become  so  famous: 

246 


LUTHEK'S    r.ATTLi:  IIYMX 

Kill   fisir   liiirij   isf    iniscr  (loft. 

Our  (i()(l  is  a  stronji'  lower.  Never  did  soul 
lliat  knew  its  own  weakuess,  but  wliicli.  look- 
in*i  to  God.  despises  every  fear,  tiiid  such 
noble  accents." 

Heeply  interesting-  as  this  account  is.  and 
uiucli  as  Ave  may  dislike  to  think  of  the  re- 
nc)wned  and  usually  accurate  D'Aubigne  as 
in  error  in  the  foregoing  descrii)tion.  il  is 
true  nevertheless  that  the  facts  do  not. 
u])on  close  investigation,  Avan-ant  the  account 
given.  In  the  first  i)lace  the  very  character 
of  the  hymn,  as  also  Luther's  i)aiustaking  ef- 
forts in  all  his  lyrical  compositions,  forbid 
our  belief  that  this  matchless  masterpiece  was 
an  impromi)tu  production.  Another  consid- 
eration fatal  to  the  foregoing  account  is  the 
fact,  established  1»y  the  investigation  of  liym- 
nologists.  that  before  the  dale  of  the  Diet  of 
Augsburg  Luther's  immortal  battle-hymn  had 
already  a])])eared  in  i»rint.  That  Luther  sang 
it  to  revive  the  courage  of  his  friends  on  their 
way  to  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  is  every  way 
probable,  but  that  he  conii)Osed  ii  on  that 
occasion  is  equally  incredible.  From  the  fact 
of  its  having  been  sung  under  the  foregoing 
circumstances,  and  also  in  view  of  its  not 
then  being  in  as  common  use  as  it  was  latei-. 
it    is  not  strange  that   its  composition    cnmo 

247 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

to  be  popularly  ascribed  to  the  same  occasion. 
Another  account  quite  generally  accepted 
by  hyninologists  says  that  "Luther  composed 
it  for  the  Diet  of  Spires,  when,  on  April  20, 
1529,  the  German  princes  made  their  formal 
protest  against  the  revocation  of  their  liber- 
ties, and  so  became  known  as  Protestants." 

"Various  monographs  have  been  publish- 
ed," says  Dr.  Benson  in  his  "Studies  of  Famil- 
iar Hymns,"  "advocating  other  dates  and  oc- 
casions. Undeterred  by  these,  Scherer,  the  re- 
cent historian  of  Herman  Literature,  states 
with  entire  confidence  that  the  hymn  was 
written  in  October,  1527,  at  the  api)roacli  of 
the  plague.  Luther's  biographer,  Julius  Kost- 
lin,  in  the  later  editions  of  the  Life,  accepts 
that  date  as  probably  correct.  And  with  that 
probability  we  must  rest." 

While  this  seems  to  settle  the  matter  sat- 
isfactorily to  Dr.  Benson,  we  must  insist  that 
internal  evidences  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
hymn  was  written  in  antici})ation  or  on  the 
occasion  of  some  great  crisis  conned od  with 
the  ])rogress  of  the  Reformation.  There  are 
many  exjjressions  in  the  hymn  that  lose  in 
significance  when  interpreted  on  any  other 
ground,  and  there  is  liffle  that  can  be  re- 
garded as  applicable  to  the  visitation  of  the 
plague  without  torturing  if  out  of  its  most 

248 


LUTHER'S  r.ATTLE-HYMN 

natural  meaning.  We  are  still  inclined  to 
think  the  second  Diet  of  vSpires  was  the  oc- 
casion which  called  it  forth. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  readers  who.  being 
familiar  with  the  German  tongue,  will  a})- 
predate  the  hymn  much  more  in  the  original 
than  in  any  of  its  translated  forms,  the  Ger- 
man text  will  here  be  presented,  as  found  in 
Julian's  "Dictionary  of  Hymnology'': 

Eiu'  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott, 

ein  gute  webr  und  waffen. 
Er  liilftt  linns  frey  aus  aller  not 
die  iins  ytzt  hat  beti'offeu, 
Der  alt  bcise  feind 
mit  erust  ers  ytzt  meint, 
gros  macbt  und  viol  list 
sein  grausam  riistung  ist, 
auf  erd  ist  nicbt  seins  gl'eicben. 

Mit  unsor  macbt  1st  niclits  getban, 

wir  sind  gar  bald  veloren ; 
Es  strt'it  fur  uns  dor  recbte  man, 
den  Gott  bat  solbs  orkoren. 
Fragstu,  wer  der  ist? 
er  heist  Jhesu  Christ 
der  Ilerr  zobaotb, 
und  ist  kein  ander  Gott, 
das  felt  mis  er  bebalten. 

Und  wen  die  welt  vol  Teuffell  wehr 
und  wolt  uns  gar  verschliugen 

249 


HYMNS  THAT  AUIC   IMMORTAL 

•So  fiircbten  wir  luis  niclit  z.u  sohr 
es  sol  uns  docli  geliiigen. 

Der  Fiirst  diesor  welt. 

wie  sawi-  er  sich  stcllt. 

timt  er  uuus  docli  nicht. 

das  luacht.  ei*  ist  gericht, 
eiu  \v()rtliii  kan  yhn  follon. 

Das   wort  ^sie  .solleu   lasseii  stabn 

uiid  keiu  danck  dazu  liaben. 
Er  ist  bey  nuns  wol  anff  dem  i)laii 
mit  seinem  geist  und  gabon. 
Nemeii   sie   den.    Icili. 
gut,  cbr.   kindt   umid   wcilt 
las  faren  dabiii. 
sie  babons  kein  gewiii. 
das  reicb  imi^  uns  docb  l)leiben. 

The  ReforniaTioii  <»f  llic  sixteenth  century 
marks  an  entirely  new  era  in  Christian  hyni- 
nody — an  era  riolier  and  more  intinential  in 
its  lyrical  productions  than  any  other  in  the 
history  of  Christianity.  Luther  was  the  chief 
inspiration  of  this  new  era,  in  its  earlier 
years,  as  ho  was  tlie  leading  spirit  and  the 
chief  inspiration  of  the  oreat  Reformation  it- 
self, it  is  my  intention,  after  the  example 
of  the  F'athers."  he  said  in  writing-  to  Georj:; 
Si)alatin.  his  friend  and  fellow-laborer,  "to 
make  German  l*salms  for  the  peoj)le;  that  is 
to  say,  si»iritual  songs,  Avhereby  the  word  of 
Ciod  may  he  kejtt  alive  aiiHrni;  them  by  sin^- 

250 


LlTlli:irs    15ATTL1:  HVMX 

inj;.  A\'('  seek.  I  hc'l•efol'(^  ('Ncrvwlicrc  for 
poets.  Xow  MS  yon  are  sucli  a  master  of  the 
(lerniau  language,  and  are  so  niiglity  and 
eloqnenr  therein.  I  entreat  you  to  join  hands 
w  itit  lis  in  this  work,  and  to  tarn  one  of  the 
I'saliiis  into  a  hymn  according  to  the  ]»attern 
I /.  <..  an  altemjtt  of  my  own),  that  I  send 
yon.  Hnt  I  desire  that  all  new-fangled  words 
from  the  conrt  be  left  ont;  that  the  words 
may  be  qnite  jdain  and  common,  snch  as  com- 
mon jteople  may  understand,  yet  pure  and 
skilfully  handled  :  and  next  that  the  meaning 
should  be  given  clearly  and  graciously,  ac- 
cording to  the  sense  of  the  I'salin  itself" 
("Hymns  Historically  Famous"). 

As  Luther  was  the  chief  inspirer  of  tliis 
new  era  in  Christian  hymnody.  so  his  '"Ein 
feste  lUirg  ist  unser  (lott"  was  the  climax  of 
Ills  own  lyrical  contril)utions  to  the  literature 
of  the  Keformation  period.  He  is  generally 
lielieved  to  have  compo.sed  the  nmjestic  tune 
1o  which  the  hymn  lias  ever  since  been  sung, 
and  both  hymn  and  tune  seem  to  have  been 
especially  insj)ired  for  strengthening  the 
faith  and  stimulating  the  courage  of  the  re- 
formers during  the  long,  fierce  conflict  they 
endured  in  defense  and  promulgation  of  those 
e.ssential  truths  which  the  Reformation  re])- 
resented.     J>eing  a  line  singer  and   a  skilful 

2U 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

composer,  and  possessing  a  high  degree  of 
magnetic  entliusiasm  in  urging  congrega- 
tional singing  upon  the  people,  he  gave  re- 
markable zest  to  the  singing  of  the  German 
nation,  and,  in  a  corresponding  degree,  called 
forth  and  enlisted  in  the  cause  he  represent- 
ed the  best  hymn-making  talent  of  the  coun- 
try, ^'A  Mighty  Fortress  is  Our  God"  be- 
came the  battle-song,  however,  of  those  dark 
and  troubled  times,  and  exerted  an  influence 
upon  the  German  people  beyond  all  computa- 
tion. 

"In  the  life  and  death  struggle  that  fol- 
lowed [the  protestation  of  the  German 
])rinces  against  the  revocation  of  their  lib- 
erties at  the  second  Diet  of  Spires],  it  was 
a  clarion  summoning  all  faithful  souls  to  do 
battle,  without  fear,  against  the  insulting 
foe.  Luther  sang  it  to  the  lute  every  day. 
1 1  was  Hie  spiritual  and  national  tonic  of 
Gernmny,  administered  in  those  dolorous 
times  as  doctors  administer  (piinine  to  so- 
journers in  fever-haunted  marshes.  Every 
one  sang  it.  old  and  young,  children  in  the 
street,  soldiers  on  the  battlefield.  The  more 
heavily  hit  they  were,  the  more  tenaciously 
did  they  cherish  the  song  that  assured  them 
of  ultimate  victory.  When  ^Melancthon  and 
his  friends,  after  Luther's  death,  were  sent 

252 


LUTHER'S  BATTLE  HYMN 

into  banishment,  tliey  were  marvelously 
cheered  as  they  entered  Weimar  on  hearing 
a  girl  sing  Luther's  hymn  in  the  street.  'Sing 
on,  dear  daughter  mine,'  said  Melancthon; 
'thou  knowest  not  what  comfort  thou  bring- 
est  to  our  heart'"  (Stead). 

Luther  sang  it  often  as  an  expression  and 
inspiration  of  his  faith  during  the  pro- 
tracted session  of  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  in 
15.j0,  and  it  soon  became  a  favorite  psalm 
with  the  German  people,  the  strains  of  which 
daily  ascended  up  to  heaven  alike  from  the 
palaces  of  princes  and  humbler  dwellings  of 
the  j)Oor.  "It  was  sung  by  i)Oor  Protestant 
tMiiigrants  on  their  way  into  exile,  and  by 
martyrs  at  their  death.  It  is  woven  into  the 
web  of  the  history  of  Reformation  times,  and 
it  became  the  true  national  hymn  of  Protes- 
tant Germany." 

The  associations  of  this  hymn,  during  its 
subsequent  liistory  are  full  of  interest  and 
serve  to  illustrate  its  remarkable  influence 
and  incomparable  value.  In  1031,  more  than 
a  hundred  years  after  its  composition,  Gus- 
tavus  Adolphus,  on  the  eve  of  his  p^reat 
and  decisive  victory  over  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic forces  at  Lei])sic,  requested  his  soldiers 
to  sing  this  hymn  of  the  great  reformer; 
and  after  the  gaining  of  the  victory  he  thank- 

253 


HYMNS  THAT  AKE   IMMORTAL 

ed  (irod  for  having  made  good  the  promise 
expressed  in  the  words,  ''The  field  he  will 
maintain  it."  On  the  field  of  that  same  bat- 
tle the  h.vmn  was  repeated,  more  than  two 
hundred  years  later,  by  the  multitude  as- 
sembled at  the  jubilee  of  the  Gustavus  Adol- 
phus  Association.  '"Again,"  says  Dr.  Ben- 
son, ''it  was  the  battle  hymn  of  his  army  at 
Liitzen,  in  1632.  in  which  the  king  was  slain, 
but  his  army  won  the  victory.  It  has  had  a 
part  in  countless  celebrations  commemora- 
ting the  men  and  events  of  the  Reformation ; 
and  its  first  line  is  engraved  on  the  base  of 
Luther's  monument  at  Wittenburg.  And  it 
is  still  dear  to  the  German  people;  one  of  the 
hymns  lodged  in  their  memories  and  hearts, 
ready  for  the  occasion.  An  imperishable 
hymn  I  not  polished  and  artistically  wrought, 
liut  rugged  and  strong  like  Luther  himself, 
whose  very  words  seem  like  deeds.'' 

l^avid  Nitschmann,a  ^Moravian  bishop,  was 
(me  of  the  passengers  on  board  the  ship  in 
which  John  Wesley  sailed  for  Georgia  in 
1735,  He  was  then  about  sixty  years  of  age. 
"In  1720,"  says  Tyerman,  in  his  "Life  and 
Times  of  Wesley,"  "a  remarkable  revival  of 
religion  took  ])lace  in  the  town  where  David 
lived;  but,  by  the  intervention  of  the  Jesuits, 
the  meetings  of  the  new  converts  were  pro- 

254 


Ll'TIlEKS    BATTLIMiVMX 

liibited,  and  many  wlio  attended  them  were 
imprisoned  in  stables,  eelljirs  and  otlier  of- 
fensive places.  A  i)olice  oflicer  entered  Nitscli- 
maun's  house,  where  one  hundred  and  lifty 
of  these  godly  people  were  assend)ie(l.  and 
seized  all  the  books  within  his  reach.  The 
eongi-egation  at  once  struck  up  a  stanza  of 
one  of  Luther's  hymns  [Kin  feste  Hurg']  : 

'If   tho   wliolo   world    with   devils   swtinncd, 

That  threati'iK'd  us  to  swallow. 
We  will  not  fear,  for  wi'  are  armed. 
Ami   victory   will    follow.' 

Twenty  jiersons,  including  David,  all  heads 
of  respectable  families,  were  arrested  and 
sent  to  jail.  For  three  days  David  was  de- 
prived of  food,  and  was  so  cruelly  ironed  that 
the  blood  spurted  from  his  nose  and  mouth, 
and  oozed  from  his  very  pores.  After  some 
time  he  escaped  from  his  horrid  dungeon,  and 
lied  to  his  friends  at  Hernhutt." 

A  hymn  that  can  brace  and  sustain  faitii 
and  make  it  triumj)hant   in   such    conditions 
must  have  in   it  the  element   of  a   divine   in 
spiral  ion  ilia  I   will  make  it  live  forever. 


255 


XXXI 

PROCESSIONAL    HYMN 

Wherever  the  English  tongue  is  a  medium 
for  the  worship  of  God  there  old  and  young 
alike  and  together  sing,  with  an  enthusiasm 
that  kindles  to  an  ever  iutenser  glow  as  the 
music  moves  toward  its  culmination,  the  Rev. 
S.  r>aring-Gouhrs  grand  Processional  Hymn, 
uf  which  the  following  is  the  text: 

Onward.  Christian  soldiers! 

Marching  as  to  war, 
With  the  cross  of  Jesus, 

Going  on  before. 
Christ,  the  Royal  ]\Iaster, 
Leads  against  the  foe; 
Forward  into  battle 
See  His  banners  go. 

Onward,    Christian    soldiers, 

Marching  as  to  war. 
With  the  cross  of  .Jesus 
Going  on  before. 

At  the  sign  of  triumph 

Satan's  host  doth  flee; 
On  then,  Christian  soldiers, 

On  to  victory : 

256 


PROCESSIONAL  HYMN 

Hell's  foundations   (iiiivor 

At  the  shout  of  praise; 
Brothers,  lift  your  voices, 

Loud  your  anthem   raise. 
Onward,  etc. 

Like  a  mighty  army 

Moves  the  Church  of  God ; 
Brothers,  we  are  treading 

"Where  the  saints  have  trod; 
We  are  not  divided. 

All  one  hody  we. 
One  in  hope  and  doctrine, 

One  in  charity. 
Onward,  etc. 

Crowns  and  thrones  may  perish, 

Kingdoms  rise  and  wane, 
But  the  Chnnli  of  .Tesus 

Constant  will  remain: 
Gates  of  hell  can  never 

'Gainst  the  Church  prevail ; 
We  have  Christ's  own  promise, 

And  that  cannot  fail. 
Uu\\ard,  etc. 

Onward  then,  ye  people, 

Join  our  happy  throng, 
Blond  with  ours  your  voices 

In  the  triumph-song; 
Glory,  laud  and  honor 

Unto  Christ,  the  King; 
This  through  countless  ages 

Men  and  angels  sing. 
Onward,  etc. 

Tl'NE^'St.     (iKRTRUDE. 

257 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

The  Rev.  Sabine  Bariuj:-(Joiild.  aiillior  of 
tlie  liyiim,  is  a  prominent  cleroTman  of  the 
<Mmi-ch  of  Enjihind.  He  was  born  at  Exeter, 
in  IK'A;  oradiiated.  as  Master  of  Arts,  at 
Clare  College.  Oxford,  in  1850;  ordained  as 
Deacon  in  1804  and  as  Priest  in  1805;  made  in- 
cumbent at  Dalton  in  1800,  and  rector  at  East 
^Mersea.  in  1871.  At  the  death  of  his  father, 
lOdward  liaring-rionld,  in  1872,  he  succeeded 
to  the  family  estate  at  Lew-Trenchard, 
Devonshii-e,  which  has  been  the  family  seat 
fo]'  o\er  three  hundred  years.  He  became 
reclor  at  Lew-Trenchard  in  1881.  He  is  a 
prolific  writer,  having  ]>ublished  more  than  a 
score  of  volumes  from  his  own  pen.  He  is  a 
master  in  the  realm  of  "legendary  and  folk 
lore.  anti<piities  and  out-of-the-way  informa- 
lion.  of  which  he  is  himself  a  living  encyclo- 
]iedia.""  His  "Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle 
Ages"  is  one  of  his  most  widely  known  j)ro- 
<lnctions.  It  has  been  his  custom  f(tr  some 
lime  to  produce  a  new  woi-k  of  fiction  every 
\*-,\v.  and  Iiis  works  are  said  1o  have  greater 
pojuilarity  in  England  than  any  others  of 
llieir  class.  He  has  jmblished  several  vol- 
umes of  sermons,  which  are  well  received, 
and  is  also  the  author  of  a  number  of  excel- 
lent hymns,  of  which  ''Onward.  Christian 
Soldiers."  is  the  most  popular. 

258 


PKO<  'I'^^iS I OXA L  n Y^IX 

^Ir.  li;ii'iu^-(TOiild  has  given  llie  following 
account  of  ho\Y  his  popular  Processional 
Hymn  came  into  existence:  "It  was  written 
in  a  very  simple  fashion,  without  a  thought 
of  publication.  T\'hitmonday  is  a  great  day 
for  school  festivities  in  Yorkshire,  and  one 
Whitmonday  it  was  arranged  that  our  school 
should  join  its  forces  with  that  of  a  neigh- 
boring village.  T  wanted  the  children  to  sing 
Avhen  marching  from  one  village  to  another, 
but  couldn't  think  of  anything  quite  suit- 
able, so  T  sat  up  at  night  resolved  to  vn'i\<' 
something  myself.  'Onward.  Christian  Sol- 
diers,' Avas  the  result.  It  was  written  in  great 
haste,  and  T  am  afraid  some  of  the  rhymes  are 
faulty.  Ortainly  nothing  has  surprised  me 
more  than  its  great  poi)ularity." 

A  processional  hymn  is  one  suited  to  a 
marching  movement,  and  Mr.  Baring-Gould's 
vigorous  and  inspiring  stanzas  most  admir- 
ably meet  the  demand  for  such  a  hymn.  Hence 
its  almost  universal  use,  and  its  great  poi)n- 
larity  with  Americans  in  particular.  "It  has 
been  taken  up  all  the  world  over,"  says  Dr. 
Robinson,  ''and  with  either  Haydn's  or  Sulli- 
van's music  set  to  it,  it  constitutes  the  best 
marching  hymn  for  children  or  adults  known 
to  this  generation.  It  meets  the  American 
ideal,   mechanically    speaking,   in   that   it    is 

259 


hy:mxs  that  are  immortal 

simple,  rytlimical,  lyric,  and  has  a  refrain 
at  the  end  of  each  stanza.  That  has  given  to 
it  an  extensive  popularity  and  use." 

The  hyjiin  was  written  in  1SG5,  and,  in  its 
original  form,  contained  six  stanzas^  what 
was  then  the  fourth  being  now  generally 
omitted.    The  omitted  stanza  runs  as  follows : 

"What  the  saints  established 

That  I  hold  for  true. 
What  the  saints  believed 

That  believe  I  too. 
Long  as  earth  endureth 

Men  that  faith  will  hold,— 
Kingdoms,  nations,  empires, 

In  destruction  rolled." 

Its  poetry  scarcely  compares  with  that  of 
the  other  stanzas,  and  this  may  be  what  the 
author  had  in  mind  when  expressing  his  own 
fears  that  some  of  the  rhymes  were  faulty. 
The  hymn  seems  quite  complete  without  it, 
and  ils  omission  therefore  is  not  only  ex- 
cusable but  Avise.  The  hymn  has  obtained  a 
j)0])ularity  which  seems  to  make  for  its  iu)- 
mortality.  "If  it  should  ever  drop  out  of 
use,"  says  Dr.  I'enson,  ''that  result  would 
probably  come  about  through  sheer  weariness 
caused  by  over-repetition." 


260 


Missions 


261 


XXXII 

TIIK   PKINCK   OF   MISSIONAKY    HYMNS 

Of  all  hymns  ever  written  in  the  interest 
of  foreign  missions  the  chief  place  must  l)e 
given  to  Bishoj)  Heber's  princel}^  lyric, 

'■From  Greenland's  wy  mountains." 

Eternity  alone  will  reveal  the  extent  to 
which  the  cause  of  world-wide  evangeliza- 
tion has  been  furthered  by  the  instrumental- 
ity of  this  noble  ])roduction.  Oft  as  the  story 
of  its  origin  has  been  related  it  will  bear  an- 
(►ihei-  i-epetilion  here. 

I'^arly  in  the  year  isiil  a  royal  Icttei*  was 
issued  authorizing  special  collections  to  be 
taken  in  every  cluircli  and  chapel  of  (ii-<»al 
Hritain  fov  (lu>  aid  of  foreign  missions.  N'.'liil- 
sunday  (d'  tliat  year  fell  on  Ihe  :50th  of  May. 
and  on  thai  occasion  \h\  Shipley.  Dean  of  SI. 
Asaiih.  was  to  take  the  otfei-ing  for  missions 
in  liu;  jiarish  church  of  Wrexham,  of  which 
he  was  ihe  \icar.  He  had  also  arranged  for 
a  <ourse  of  Simday  evening  lectures  in  his 
church  to  begin  on  Hie  evening  of  tlial    day, 

26^ 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

and  his  son-in-laAv,  the  Rev,  Reginald  Heber, 
then  rector  at  Hodnet,  and  \aiev  Bishop  of 
Calcutta,  was  present  to  deliver  the  opening 
lecture. 

Sometime  during  the  previous  day  the 
Dean,  his  son-in-law,  and  a  few  others  were 
together  in  the  vicarage,  when  the  Dean  ask- 
ed Heber  to  write  "something  for  them  to 
sing  in  the  morning."  He  retired  at  once 
to  another  part  of  the  room  and  seated  him- 
self to  his  task.  After  a  short  time  the 
Dean  inquired,  "^Vhat  have  you  written?" 
Having  written  the  first  three  stanzas  of  the 
hymn,  Heber  read  them  over.  "There,  that 
will  do,"  said  the  Dean.  *'No,  no,"  replied 
Heber,  "the  sense  is  not  complete,"  and  pro- 
ceeded to  add  the  fourth  stanza.  He  would 
have  written  more  had  not  the  Dean  been 
inexorable  to  his  repeated  request  of  "Let  me 
add  another,  O  let  me  add  another."  So  with 
the  fourth  stanza  he  completed  the  hynm 
which  has  since  become  so  widely  and  justly 
celebrated.  It  was  sung  the  next  morning  in 
the  Wrexham  church,  tradition  says  to  an 
old  ballad  tune,  "  'Twas  when  the  seas  were 
roaring,"  and  that  was  the  beginning  of  its 
marvelous  history. 

The  following  is  the  text  of  the  hymn, 
altered  but  sliiihtlv  from  its  original  form: 


264 


PR1N(  E  OF  MISSIONARY  HYMNS 

From  Greenland's  icy  mountains, 
From  India's  coral  strand, 
Where  Afric's   sunny  fountains 
Roll  down  their  golden  sand. 
From  many  an  ancient  river, 

From  many  a  palmy  plain, 
They  call'  us  to  deliver 
Their  land  from  error's  chain. 

What  though  the  spicy  breezes 

Blow  soft  o'er  Ceylon's  isle ; 
Though  every  prospect  pleases. 

And  only  man  is  vile : 
In  vain  with  lavish  kindness 

The  gifts  of  God  are  strown ; 
The  heathen  in  his  blindness 

Bows  down  to  wood  and  stone. 

Can  we.  whose  souls  are  lighted 

With  wisdom  from  on  high. 
Can  we  to  men  benighted 

The  lamp  of  life  deny? 
Salvation!  O  salvation! 

The  joyful  sound  proclaim. 
Till  each  remotest  nation 

Has  learned  Messiah's  Name. 

Waft,  waft,  ye  winds  His  story. 

And  you,  ye  waters,  roll, 
Till  like  a  sea  of  glory 

Tt  spreads  from  pole  to  pole; 
Till  o'er  our  x-ansomed  nature 
The  r.amb  for  sinners  slain. 
Redeemer,  King,  Creator, 
In  bliss  returns  to  reign. 

Tune — "Missionary  Hymn." 

265 


HYMXS  THAT  AKE  IMMORTAL 

The  time  to  which  this  great  hymn  is  now 
generally  sung  has  had  much  to  do  with  the 
usefulness  of  the  hymn,  and  it  has  a  history 
in  interest  equal  to  that  of  the  hymn  itself, 
Jn  February,  1823.  the  hymn  found  its  way 
to  fliis  counti\v  and  appeared  in  the  CJiris- 
Han  Ohscrvcr.  Through  this  circumstance  it 
fell  under  the  eye  of  Miss  Mary  W.  Howard, 
a  lady  living  in  Savannah,  Georgia,  who  saw 
in  it  great  possibilities,  and  eagerly  desired 
1o  have  it  sung  in  worship.  She  could  find 
no  tune  for  it,  however,  that  seemed  a])ijr(> 
ju-iate.  Finally  she  called  to  mind  a  young 
l)ank  clerk  in  the  city  who  had  some  local 
reputation  as  a  comjtoser  of  church  music.  To 
him  she  sent  a  copy  of  the  hymn  with  a  nole 
rcHjuesting  him  to  furnish  for  it  an  approju'i 
ate  tune.  In  response  he  composed  for  it, 
within  half  an  hour,  as  the  story  goes,  the 
now  famous  tune  "Missionary  Hymn."  which 
he  had  printed  as  sheet  music,  bearing  the 
inscription.  "Composed  for  and  Dedicated  to 
Miss  Mary  W.  Howard,  of  Savannah,  (leor- 
gia."  That  young  bank  clerk  was  Lowell 
Mason,  then  a  little  ])ast  thirty  years  of  age. 
who  was  destined  to  become  the  foremost 
composer  of  sacred  music  ever  produced  in 
this  country.  The  hymn  and  tune,  having 
been  most  fortunately  wedded,  have  ever  help- 

266 


PRIN'OE  OF  MISSIONARY  HYMNS 

1  ■       ■  i  . 

ed  lo  poj)iiIarize  each  other.    They  have  smi^ 

Iheiiiselves  aTOuiid  llie  world  repeatedly,  and 
the  ajipropriateness  of  their  union  is  to-day 
more  widely  recognized  than  ever.  I»o1h  ajt- 
pear  to  have  been  l)<>rn  of  a  snddeii  inspira- 
tion, and  eatli  as  I  lie  (•()nnter]>ar1  of  I  he 
olher. 

As  interest  in  foreifiii  missionary  work  in- 
creases thronghoni  Christendom  I'ishoj*  lle- 
ber's  hymn  has  an  ever  widening  sphiM-e  of  in- 
tlneuce,  and  an  ever  growing  ])0]»nlarity.  As 
an  incitement  to  self-sacriticing  endeavor  in 
the  interest  of  world-wide  evangelization  it 
is  without  an  equal.  Tlie  last  stanza  in  par- 
ticular is  ''a  glorious  bugle  blast  which  rings 
like  the  reveille  of  the  millennial  morning;" 
and  the  whole  hymn  has  been  most  aptly 
characterized  by  Dr.  Theodoi-e  L.  Cuyler  as 
"the  mardiing  music  to  which  Christ's  hosts 
keep  stej)  as  they  advance  to  the  conquest  of 
the  world.*' 

It  is  said  that  during  the  great  revival  <>f 
1858-r)9  a  number  of  converted  sailors  on 
board  the  steamship  North  Carolina  were 
conferring  togethei'  i-egarding  tiu^  various 
lands  in  which  they  were  born.  ^Vhen  i(  was 
discovered  that  they  rejiresented  ten  ditVei- 
ent  counti'ies^  and  that  the  last  one  who  had 
spoken  was  born  in  Oreenland.  unable  longer 

267 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

to  restrain  tlieir  emotions,  one  of  them   led 
and  the  rest  simultaneously  joined  in  singing, 

"From  Greenland's  icy  mountains, 

From  India's  coral  strand, 
Where  Afric's  sunny  foinitaina. 

Roll  down  their  golden  sand; 
From  many  an  ancient  river, 

From  many  a  palmy  plain, 
They  call  us  to  deliver 

Their   land   from   error's   chain." 

We  can  easily  ima£r.ine  witli  what  a  joyous 
fervor  those  hardy  seamen,  hailing  from  so 
many  widely  separated  parts  of  the  world, 
so  recently  rescued  from  their  lives  of  sin, 
and  now  filled  with  the  peace  and  joy  of  di- 
vine acceptance,  made  the  strains  of  this 
grand  old  hymn  ring  out  over  the  waters  on 
which  they  sailed. 

In  the  year  1852  Bishop  Andrew,  of  the 
INTethodist  Episcopal  fhurch,  sent  out  from 
the  South  Carolina  conference  two  preachers 
1o  reju'esent  and  establish  the  work  of  his 
denomination  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Not 
alone  the  native  population,  but  also  the  mul- 
titudes then  rtocking  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  to  California,  the  land  of  gold,  were 
in  great  need  of  missionary  efforts;  and  the 
j)olygiottal  gathering  there  of  i)eople  from 
every  land  made  it  a  particularly  opportune 

268 


PRINCE  OF  MISSIONARY  HYMNS 

season  for  the  establishment  and  spread  of 
^Methodism  in  that  region.  A  mission  to  Cal- 
ifornia in  those  days  involved  about  as  ninth 
of  self-denial,  sacrifice,  hardship  and  peril  as 
an  a])pointnient  to  a  foreign  field  would  mean 
to-day.  In  the  midst  of  their  loneliness  one 
of  the  missionaries  wrote  home  regarding  the 
progress  of  the  work.  His  letter  contained 
an -account  of  the  joy  it  gave  him  one  Sunday 
afternoon  in  18o3,  while  traveling  in  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  to  hear  a  man  and  his 
wife  from  South  Carolina  singing  in  front  of 
their  tent, — 

^Yaft,  waft,  ye  winds  His  story, 

And  you,  ye  waters,  roll. 
Till  like  a  sea  of  glory, 

It  spreads  from  pole  to  pole : 
Till  o'er  our  ransomed  nature, 

The  Lamb  for  sinners  slain, 
Redeemer,  King,  Creator, 

Shall  come  in  bliss  to  reign." 

There  was  a  melody  in  the  hymn  on  that  oc- 
casion to  be  appreciated  fully  only  by  such 
as  may  have  heard  it  sung  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances. Not  all  the  natural  beauty  of 
the  country,  with  its  sunny  skies,  its  enamor- 
ing  landscapes,  and  its  luxuriance  of  fiowers, 
foliage  and  fruit,  on  which  their  senses  had 
feasted  for   months,   had   ever  once  regaled 

269 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

them  as  did  the  echoing  strains  of  that  sweet 
song  under  those  conditions.  It  was  to  them 
the  breath  of  a  new  life  with  which  to  prose- 
cute their  self-denying  labors  for  the  salva- 
tion  of  their  fellow  men. 


270 


XXXIII 

Messiah's  universal  reigx 

Next  to  Ilohov's  roval  missionary  hvinn  Dr. 
Isaac  Watts's  lyrical  rehearsal  of  the  bles.s- 
inu;s  which  are  to  attend  ^Messiah's  universal 
reigu  upon  earth  has  probably  done  more 
than  any  other  in  aid  of  foreign  missionary 
work.  It  is  snno-  in  missionary  meetin<;s  the 
wide  world  over,  and  always  with  ins})irinc; 
effect.     The  following  is   the  text: 

.Testis  sliall   reign  where'er  tlie  sun 
Doth  His  siucessive  journeys  run: 
riis  kingdom  stretch  from  shore  to  shore 
U'ln  moons  shall  wax  and  wane  no  more. 

T-'i-oni  norrh  to  south  the  princes  meet 
To  pay  their   homage  at   His   feet: 
While  western  emi)iri's  own   their   I.onl. 
And  savage  ti'ihi'S   attend   His  word. 

For  Him  shall  endless  jjrayi-r  he  made. 
And  endless  praises  crown  His  head  : 
His  name,  like  sweet  perfume,  shall   rise 
With   every   morning   sacrifice. 

People  and   realms  of  every  tongue. 
Dwell  on   His  love  with  sweetest  song: 

271 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

And  infant  voices  sball  proclaim 
Their  early  blessings  on  Ilis  name. 

Blessings  abound  where'er  He  reigns ; 
The  pris'ner  leaps  to  lose  his  chains ; 
The  weary  find  eternal  rest, 
And  all  the  sons  of  want  are  blest. 

Where  lie  displays  His  healing  power, 
Death  and  the  curse  are  known  no  more: 
Tn  Ilim  the  tribes  of  Adam  boast 
More  blessings  than   their  father  lost. 

The  hymn  is  based  on  and  breathes  the 
^•l»il•it  of  tlie  Seventy-second  Psalm.  It  was 
the  author's  custom  to  transhite  the  more 
cvanselieal  of  the  Old  Testament  Psalms  into 
jiietricnl  hymns  suited  to  the  spirit  and  needs 
of  the  New-  Testament  dispensation  and  of 
the  varied  departments  of  the  Church's  work. 
He  Avas  no  better  |)leased  with  Francis 
Rous's  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms  for  use 
in  worship  than  with  those  hymns  of  his  time 
which  Avere  finally  sui)planted  by  his  own. 
lie  rejiarded  them  as  rude  in  constructicm 
iind  altogether  Judaic  in  their  colorin.i;.  He 
believed  he  could  give  them,  a  metrical  ren- 
dering which  would  conserve  their  original 
fervor  and  fire  and  at  the  same  time  adai)t 
lliem  to  the  sunnier  v.'orsiiip  and  service  of 
the  New  Testament  age  and  render  them 
nio!-(^  singable  than  they  had  yet  been  i-ender- 

272 


MESSIAH'S  UNIVERSAL  KEKJX 

ed.  He  said:  "I  heave  expressed  as  1  sui)])ose 
David  would  have  done,  had  he  lived  in  the 
days  of  Christianity.  T  have  entirely 
omitted  some  Avhole  Psalms  and  larjie  i)iet'es 
of  many  others,  and  have  chosen  out  of  tiiein 
such  parts  only  as  might  easily  and  naturally 
be  accommodated  to  the  various  occasions  of 
the  Christian  life,  or  at  least  might  atl'ord  us 
some  beautiful  allusion  to  Christian  affairs. 
Tliese  I  have  copied  and  explained  in  the  gen- 
eral style  of  the  gos])el.  I  have,  chosen  rather 
to  imitate  than  to  translate,  and  thus  to  com- 
pose a  psalm-book  for  Christians  after  the 
manner  of  the  Jevrish  Psalter." 

The  hymn  was  first  published  in  illK,  and 
contained  eight  stanzas.  The  second  stan/>a 
as  now  sung  is  made  up  of  portions  of 
stanzas  two  and  tliree  as  originally  written. 
Watts's  eighth  stanza,  now  generally  un- 
known, read  as  follows: 

"Let  every  nation  rise  and  bring 
Peculiar  lienors  to  our  Klnir: 
An.gels  descend  with  songs  again. 
And  earth  repeat  the  loud  Amen." 

The  fulness  and  completeness  of  Christ's 
redemptive  v>'ork  is  beautifully  set  forlli  in 
this  hymn,  particularly  in  the  stanza, 

"Whore   He    displays   His   healing  power. 
Death  and  the  curse  are  lu'own  no  nitn-e : 

2/3 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

111  Him  the  tribes  of  Adam  boast 
More  blessings  than  their  father  lost." 

This  stauza,  however,  is  one  of  those 
omitted  by  some  compilers,  possibly  because 
it  is  thought  to  be  too  strong.  Nevertheless 
i1  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  forceful,  and, 
as  we  think,  scriptural  portions  of  the  hymn, 
and  so  necessary  to  its  conijdeteness  that  its 
omission  is  an  injustice  alike  to  the  work  of 
Dr.  Watts  and  to  the  Christian  public. 

"Perliaps  one  of  the  most  interesting  oc- 
casions on  which  this  hymn  was  used,"  says 
-Mr.  Stevenson,  "was  that  on  which  King 
(ieorge,  the  sable,  of  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
but  of  blessed  memory,  gave  a  new  Constitu- 
tion to  his  people,  exchanging  a  heathen  for 
a  Christian  form  of  government.  Under  the 
si)readin^  branches  of  the  banyan-trees  sat 
son*e  five  thousand  natives  from  Tonga,  Fiji, 
and  >>ianioa.  on  Whitsunday.  1802,  assembled 
for  divine  worship.  Foremost  among  them 
:ill  sat  Kin^v  Ceorge  himself.  Around  him 
were  seated  old  chiefs  and  warriors  who  had 
shared  with  him  the  dangers  and  fortunes 
uf  many  a  battle, — men  whose  eyes  were 
dim.  and  whose  powerful  frames  were  bowed 
down  with  the  weight  of  years.  But  old  and 
\oung  alike  rejoiced  together  in  the  joys  of 
that   day.   their  faces   most  of  them  radiant 

274 


MESSTAU'b^  UXIVEKSAL  REIGN 

with  Christian  joy,  love  and  liope.  It  v/ould 
be  impossible  to  describe  the  dee->  feeling 
manifested  when  the  solemn  service  began, 
by  the  entire  audience  singing — 

'Jesus  shall  reigu  where'er  the  sun 
Doth  His  successive  journeys  run : 
His  kinfrdoni  sti'etch  from  shore  to  shore. 
Till  suns  shall  rise  and  set  no  more.' 

Who,  so  much  as  tliey,  could  understand  the 
full  meaning  of  the  poet's  words?  for  they 
had  been  rescued  from  the  darkness  of  hea- 
thenism and  cannibalism ;  and  they  were  that 
dav  met  for  the  first  time  under  a  Christian 
Constitution,  under  a  Christian  king,  and 
.with  Christ  Himself  reigning  in  the  hearts  of 
most  of  those  ])resent  I" 

The  more  recent  establishment  of  Chris- 
'tian  government  in  Madagascar,  and  the 
marvelous  triumphs  of  Christianity  in  the 
New  Hebrides,  Hawaii,  iMicronesia,  Oceanica, 
and  the  IMiilippine  Islands,  as  also  its  on- 
ward march  in  India,  Africa.  China  and  Ja- 
pan, are  so  many  tokens  that  the  day  is 
drawing  near  for  the  complete  realization 
of  the  prophetic  vision  expressed  in  this  glo- 
rious hymn.     Then  shall 

"Ansels  desoencl   with   sonjys   apain 
Anil  earth  repeat  the  loud  Ameu." 

275 


XXXIV 

HAIL  TO   THE   LORD's    ANOINTED 

One  of  the  finest  metrical  renderings  of 
Hebrew  psalmody  into  the  English  tongue 
with  which  the  Church  has  ever  been  favored 
is  James  Montgomery's  ode,  beginning, 

"ITail    to    the    Lord's   anointed. 
Great  David's  greater  Son !" 

Tt  is  a  free  paraphrase  of  those  portions 
of  the  Seventy-second  Psalm  which  foretell 
the  glory  of  Messiah's  final  advent  and  uni- 
versal reign  upon  the  earth.  Its  author  ap- 
pears to  have  been  accustomed  to  repeating, 
Avhen  lecturing  on  literature  or  poetry,  choice 
selections  for  the  purpose  of  illustration. 
On  a  certain  occasion  in  1822  he  was  i)resent 
and  spoke  at  a  Wesleyan  missionary  asso- 
ciation in  Liverpool  over  which  the  venerable 
Dr.  Adam  Clarke  was  moderator.  When  the 
climax  of  the  poet's  address  was  reached  he 
concluded  with  the  recitation  of  his  own 
fresh  rendering  of  Psalm  LXXII.  into  English 
meter.    Dr.  Clarke  was  so  captivated  by  the 

276 


JAMES   MONTGOMERY. 


HAIL  TO  THE  LORD'S  ANOINTED 

poem  that  lie  al  once  requested  the  iiiaiin- 
Keri}>t  with  j)ei-iiii8.sioii  to  insert  the  ])ai'a- 
])hrase  complete  in  the  Comjmentai-v  on  the 
Bible  he  was  tlien  j>reparing.  His  recpiest 
was  granted,  and  the  original  eight  stanzas, 
unaltered,  ap])ear  at  the  close  of  Dr.  Clarke's 
comments  on  the  Psalm  referred  to,  occii];y- 
iug  the  larger  portion  of  a  quarto  ])age.  and 
preceded  bv  the  following  remai'ks : 

"The  following  poetical  version  of  soiiu^  of 
the  principal  passages  of  the  foregoing  Psalm 
was  made  and  kindly  given  me  by  my  much 
respected  friend,  James  Montgomery,  Esq.. 
of  Sheftield.  I  need  not  tell  the  intelligent 
reader  that  he  has  seized  the  spirit,  and  ex- 
hibited some  of  the  princi])al  beauties  of  the 
Hebrew  bard;  thongh.  to  use  his  own  words 
iu  his  letter  to  me,  his  'hand  trembled  to 
touch  the  harp  of  Zion.'  I  take  the  liberty 
here  to  register  a  wish,  which  I  have  strongly 
expressed  to  myself,  that  he  would  favor  the 
Church  of  God  with  a  metrical  version  of  the 
whole  book." 

Then  follows  the  hymn,  originally  entitled, 
^^The  Keign  of  ('hrist,"  which  we  here  repro- 
duce without  abridgment : 

Hail  to  the  Lord's  anointed. 
Groat  David's  greater  Son ! 

Hail !  iu  the  time  appointed. 
His  reign  on  earth  hegun  I 

277 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

He  comes  to  break  oppression, 

To  let  tbe  captive  free. 
To  talvc  away  transgression, 

And  reign  in  equity. 

He  comes  with  succor  speedy 

To  those  wbo  suffer  wrong; 
To  help  the  poor  and  needy. 

And  bid  the  weak  be  strong: 
To  give  them  songs  for  sighing, 

Their  darkness  turn  to  light. 
Whose  souls,   in  misery  dying. 

Were  precious  in  His  sight. 

By  such  He  shall  be  feared 

While  sun  and  moon   endure, 
Beloved,  adored,  revered. 

For  He  shall  .iudge  the  poor, 
I'hrough  changing  generations. 

With  justice,  mercy,  truth. 
While  stars  maintain  their  stations, 

And  moons  renew  their  youth. 

He  shall  come  down  like  showers 

Upon  the  fruitful  earth. 
And  joy  and  hope,  like  flowers. 

Spring  in  His  path  to  birth  : 
Before  Him.  on  tbe  mountains, 

Shall  Peace,  the  herald,  go. 
And  righteousness,   in  fountains, 

From  hill  to  valley  flow. 

Arabia's  desert-ranger 
To  Him  shall  bow  the  knee; 

The   Ftliio])ian  stranger 
Ills  glory  come  to  see: 

278 


HATL  TO  THE  LORD'S  ANOINTED 

With  offerings  of  devotion. 

Ships  from  the  isles  shall   meet 
To  pour  the  wealth  of  ocean 

In  tribute  at  His  feet. 

Kings  shall   fall  clown  before  Him, 

And  gold   and   incense  bring ; 
All  nations  shall  adore  Ilim, 

His  praise  all  people  sing: 
For  He  shall  have  dominion 

O'er  river,  sea,  and  shore. 
Far  as  the  eagle's  pinion. 

Or  dove's  light  wing  can  soar. 

J-or  Him  shall  prayer  miceasing. 

And  daily  vows  ascend; 
His  kingdom  still  increasing. — 

A  kingdom  without  end ; 
The  mountain-dews  shall  nourish 

A  seed  in  weakness  sown. 
Whose  fruit  shall  spread  and  flourish 

And  shake  like  Lebanon. 

O'er  every  foe  victorious, 

He  on  His  throne  shall  rest, 
From  age  to  age  more  glorious,— 

All-blessing  and  all-blest: 
The  tide  of  time  shall  never 

His   covenant  remove : 
His  name  shall  stand  for  ever. 

His  name — what  is  it?  Lovk. 

Tune — "Webb." 

It  is  an  interesting:  eoineidenoe  that  both 

this  hymn  and  Dr.  Watts's 

"Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Doth  His  successive  journeys  run." 

279 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

are  paraphrases  of  the  same  portion  of  He- 
brew psalmody.  We  have  seen  the  suggestion 
somewliere  in  onr  reading  that  Montgomery's 
production  is  probably  an  unconseions  imita- 
tion of  Dr.  Watts's  hymn.  Such  a  sugges- 
tion appears  to  us  without  warrant,  and  a 
gross  injustice  to  ]\Ir.  Slontgomery.  The  in- 
spiration for  the  writing  of  both  hymns  was 
borrowed  from  the  same  source,  and  both 
are  occupied  with  paraphrasing  the  same 
piece  of  Hebrew  literature  into  English 
meter;  but  there  is  enough  of  distinct  individ- 
uality displayed  in  each  to  indicate  the  fullest 
originality  in  the  later  as  well  as  in  the 
earlier  hymn  produced.  The  coincidence  in 
the  production  of  these  two  hymns,  so  similar 
and  yet  so  dissimilar,  from  the  same  original 
source  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  won- 
derful fountain  of  inspiration  for  their  muses 
Christian  poets  have  ever  found  in  the  Holy 
Scrii)tures. 

As  now  generally  published  in  the  church 
hymnals  ]Montgomery's  hymn  appears  with 
but  four  stanzas — the  first,  second,  fourth 
and  seventh  of  the  original.  In  this  abridged 
form  it  makes  an  admirable  hymn  for  devo- 
tional use,  and  is  peculiarly  adapted  to 
awakening  missionary  enthusiasm,  and  also 
1o  ex[>ressing  the  Church's  hope  for  hoi- 
Lord's  return. 

280 


Our  Country 


28l 


XXXV 

NATIONAL    riYMX 

• 

Tlie  people  of  the  United  States  liave  and 
yet  liave  not  a  national  hymn.  Tlie  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Francis  Smith's  "Aly  eonntry. 'tis  of  thee'' 
has  so  lonj:^  been  re<;ai'ded  as  such  by  common 
consent  that  few  ever  sto])  to  consider  that 
neither  this  nor  any  other  production  has 
ever  been  authoritatively  designated  as  tlic 
national  hymn.  It  holds  the  same  ])lace  in 
the  hearts  of  the  American  people,  howevei'. 
as  does  "God  save  t]i(>  king''  in  the  hearts  of 
the  English,  or  the  "Marsellaise"  in  liie 
hearts  of  the  French  ])eople;  and  it  has  been 
so  long  hallowed  by  universal  use  that  an- 
thoritative  enactment  to  make  it  the  national 
hymn  would  be  superHuous.  Following  is 
the  text: 

My  country !  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  laiicl  of  liberty. 

Of  tliee  I  sing : 
Laud  wbere  my  fatlicrs  died! 
Land  of  the  I'iliirinis'  pride  I 
From  every  nunintain-side 

Let  Freedom  ring! 

283 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE    IMMORTAL 

My  native  counti'y,  thee — 
Land  of  the  noble  free — 

Thy  name  I  love ; 
I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills. 
Thy  woods  and  templed  hills ; 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills 

Like  those  above. 

Let  music  swell  the  breeze, 
And  ring  from  all  the  trees 

Sweet  freedom's  song: 
Let  mortal  tongues  awake ; 
Let  all  that  breathe  partake ; 
liCt  rocks  their  silence  break — 

The  sound  prolong. 

Our  fathers'  God  I  to  Thee. 
Author  of  liberty, 

To  Thee  we  sing : 
Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom's  holy  light ; 
Defend  us  by  Thy  might. 

Great  God,  our  King. 

Tune — "Aherica." 

Tlio  author  of  this  inspiring-  and  widely 
known  hj'nin  was  a  Baptist  minister  of  New 
ICngland.  He  was  born  in  lioston  in  1808, 
and  was  edncated  at  Harvard  and  Andovor. 
He  filled  various  important  pastorates  and 
oo<'uj)ied  other  responsible  ])ositions  in  the  de- 
nomination to  which  he  belonjied,  during'  his 
lonjjr  and  hijililv  useful  ministrv.  the  later 
years  of  which  were  spent  at  Newton.  Massa- 
chusetts.     He    also    wrote    several    valuable 

284 


NATIONAL   HYMN 

books  ami  numerous  bymus  and  poems.  His 
stirring  missionary  hymn,  "The  morning 
light  is  breaking,"  is  one  of  his  best  known 
and  most  nseful  lyrical  productions.  He  was 
one  of  the  editors  of  "The  Psalmist,"  a  Bap- 
tist hymn-book  j)ublished  in  Boston  in  1843. 
"My  country,  'tis  of  thee"  and  also  several 
other  liynms  of  his  own  comi)osiug,  were  con- 
tributed to  tliat  valuable  collection.  His  na- 
tional hymn  has  come  down  to  us  without  al- 
teration. Dr.  Smith  died  November  IGth, 
1895,  full  of  years  and  ripe  for  the  kingdom. 

The  storv  of  the  hvmn  has  been  told  bri?flv 
by  its  author,  who  says  it  "was  written  in 
1832.  I  found  the  tune  in  a  German  mnsic- 
book  brought  to  this  countrv  bv  the  late  ^yil- 
liam  C.  Woodbridge,  and  put  into  my  hands 
by  Lowell  Mason,  because  (so  he  said)  I 
could  read  German  books  and  he  could  not. 
It  is,  however,  not  a  translation,  but  the  ex- 
pression of  my  thonght  at  the  moment  of 
glancing  at  the  tune." 

The  origin  of  the  tune  to  which  this  hymn 
is  generally  sung  in  this  country  ["America"] 
is  involved  in  uncertainty.  It  is  used  in 
Great  Britain  as  ''God  Save  the  King,"  which 
is  considered  the  national  song.  "The  name 
'America'  was  added  by  Lowell  Mason,"  says 
Dr.  Kobinson,   "who  arranged  it  for  use  in 

285 


flYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

this  countrv."  Some  consider  it  as  an  amend- 
ment  made  by  Henrv  Cary,  near  the  end  of 
Ihe  seventeenth  or  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  from  Dr.  John  Bull,  who 
died  in  1022.  The  tune  was  first  published  in 
England  in  honor  of  George  II.  But  French 
critics  claim  that  the  original  m,usic  was  com- 
posed by  Lull!,  and  that  it  was  sung  by  300 
young  ladies  before  Louis  XIV.  at  St.  Cyr, 
where  Handel  found  it  in  1721.  They  even 
go  so  far  as  to  insist  that  the  words  ["God 
save  the  king"']  wei'e  composed  by  Madame 
de  Brinon,  the  Mother  Superior,  beginning", 
'Grand  Dicu,  sauvez-  Ic  RoU '" 

The  following  anonymous  verses,  though 
not  submitted  for  their  poetic  merit,  pay  high 
and  deserved  tribute  to  Dr.  Sniith's  hymn : 

PASSING  THE  PRIMARY    SCHOOL 

"Again  each  morning  as  we  pass 
Tbe  city's  streets  along, 
We  hear  the  voices  of  the  chass 
King  out  the  nation's  song. 

"Tlie  small  boy's  treble  piping  dear. 
The  bigger  boys'  low  growl. 
And  from  the  boy  who  has  no  oar 
A  wierd,  discordant  howl. 

"With  swelling  hearts  we  hear  them  sing 
'My  country !  'tis  of  thee — ' 
From  childish  throats  the  accents  ring, 
•Sweet  land  of  liberty.' 

286 


NATIONAL  HYMN 

"Their  little  hearts  aglow  with  pride. 
Each  with  exultant  tongue 
Proclaims :  'From  every  mountain-side 
Let  freedom's  song  be  sung.' 

"Let  him  who'd  criticise  the  time. 
Or  sc-out  the  harmony. 
Betake  him  to  some  other  clime — 
No  patriot  is  he ! 

"From  scenes  like  these  our  grandeur  springs. 
And  we  shall  e'er  be  strong. 
While  o'er  the  land  the  schoollious*'  rings 
Each  day  with  freedom's  song." 

The  hjiiin  is  usually  suug  on  all  national 
and  patriotic  occasions.  Americans  would 
feel  sadly  at  a  loss  in  an  Independence  I>a.v 
or  a  Thanksgiving:  Day  exeix-ise  without  the 
inspiration  of  its  stirring  strains.  It  is  also 
the  hymn  that  voices  the  feelings  of  Ameri- 
cans on  first  sighting  their  own  shores  after 
a  period  of  foreign  travel.  It  has  always  had 
a  warmer  place  in  the  writer's  heart  since  the 
20th  of  June,  189.5,  when,  returning  from  a 
three  months'  tour  abroad,  as  the  steamsliiji 
St.  Louis  brought  us  within  sight  of  the 
home-land  the  voices  of  all  Americans  on 
board  joined,  almost  sinuiltaneously,  and 
with  genuine  fervor,  in  singing. 

"My  country !   'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty. 
Of  thee  I  sing." 

287 


XXXVI 

BATTLE  HYMN  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 

[t  is  strancre  indeed,  but  no  less  strange 
than  true,  that  the  greatest  Battle-Hymn  ever 
Avritten  gushed  from  the  gentle  and  sympa- 
thetic heart  of  a  woman.  Agitated  intensely 
and  Avrought  uj)  to  the  highest  pitch  of  sym- 
pathy and  patriotic  emotion  over  the  scenes 
she  had  witnessed  in  a  visit  to  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the 
(Mvil  War,  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe,  whose 
name  will  ever  be  a  synonym  for  all  that  goes 
10  make  uj)  the  noblest  ty])e  of  womanhood, 
poured  out  the  pent-uj)  inspiration  of  her  soul 
in  the  composition  of  the  following  inspiring 
and  popular  hymn : 

Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the 

Lord ; 
Tie  is  trampling  out  the  vintage  where  the  grapes 

of  wrath  are  stored, 
lie  hath  loosed  the  fateful  lightning  of  His  terrible 
swift  swoi'd ; 

His  truth  is  marching  on. 

I    iiave  seen   Him  in  the  watch-fires  of  a   hundred 
circling    camps; 

288 


BATTLE  HYMN  OF  THE    KIOPCI'.LIC 

They  have  liuilded  Him  an  altar  in  tlic  evening,'  dews 

tiiid  damps  : 
I   liave  read  His  righteous  senten((>  by  the  dim   and 

flaring  lamps : 

His  day  is  niardiin.s  on. 

1    have  reail   a   tiery  jrospel   writ   in   hnrning  rows  of 

steel — 
"As  ye  deal   with   My  contemners,   so   with   yon    My 

gi'aee  shall  deal':"* 
Let  the  fJcro  born  of  woman  crush  the  seriu'ni  wiih 

His  heel. 

Since  God  is  mardiin.i,'  on. 

He  has  sounded  forth  the  trumpet  thai    sliall   never 

call  retreat : 
He  is  sifting  out  the  hearts  of  men  hefoi-e  Ills  Jud;,'- 

ment-seat ; 
Oh  I  he  swift,  my  soul,  to  answer  Ilim  :   he  Juhjlant 
my  feet, — 

Our  Gotl    is  marchin.i,'  on. 

Tn  the  beauty  of  the  lilies  Christ   was  lioni   across 
the  sea, 
^\'ith  a  glory  in  His  bosom  that  ttaiisligures  you  and 

use : 
As   He  died   to   make   men    holy,    let    ns   die   to   nial;(> 
men  free. 

While  (iod   is  marchini;   on. 

Tune — "John  Brown's  I'odv." 

Probably  no  other  patriotic  livum  is  bctlei- 
known  or  oftener  sung"  throuj^liout  the  leug,th 
and  breadth  of  onr  country  tlian  this;  and 
snrely    none    is    better    adaj)ted    t<>    inspiring 

289 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

optimistic  enthusiasm  for  the  country's  weal, 
or  serene  confidence  regarding  the  issue  of 
every  great  crisis  through  which  the  nation 
1  masses.  Tn  its  production  our  modern  Miri- 
am has  exquisitely  expressed,  and  also  mar- 
velously  intensified,  the  spirit  of  our  nation, 
on  the  lips  of  whose  sons  and  daughters  the 
words  of  her  nuitchless  song  will  live 

'"I'ill    the  Hero   born  of   woman   f-rush   the   serpent 
with  His  heel." 

The  Independent  i)ul)lished  at  some  length 
the  storv  of  this  remarkable  hvmn  a  few  vears 
ago,  of  which  the  following  is  a  part,  as 
quoted  by  Col.  Nicholas  Smith  in  "Hymns 
Historically  Famous:" 

"It  was  in  December,  1861.  that  Mrs. 
Howe,  in  company  with  her  husband.  Gov- 
ernor and  Mrs.  Andrew,  and  other  friends, 
visited  \A'ashington,  itself  almost  in  the  con- 
dition of  an  armed  camp.  On  the  journey 
tliither,  the  watchfires  of  a  hundred  circling 
camps  gleamed  in  the  darkness,  the  railroad 
lieing  patrolled  by  pickets.  Mrs.  Howe  has 
told  of  the  martial  sights  and  sounds  in  the 
national  capitol.  and  of  her  drive  to  a  dis- 
tance of  several  miles  from  the  city  to  see  a 
leview  of  our  troops.  An  attack  from  the 
enemy  interrupted  the  pron;ram,  and  the  re- 

290 


I5ATTLE  HYMN  OF  THE  KEPUBLIO 

turn  drive  was  nuide  tlirou<:h  files  of  soldiers 
Avho  occupied  almost  the  entire  road.  To  be- 
guile the  tedium  of  their  slow  progress.  Mrs. 
Howe  Jind  her  friends  sang  armv  soucs, 
among  others,  'John  lirown's  Bodv.'  This 
seemed  to  jdease  the  soldiers,  who  surround- 
ed them  like  a  river,  and  who  themselves  took 
r:j)  the  strain,  in  the  interval  crying.  'Good 
for  you.'  Our  poet  had  often  wished  to  write 
words  to  be  sung  to  this  tune,  and  now.  in- 
deed, had  she 

'Read  a  fiery  gospel   writ  in  burnished  rows  of 

steel.'  " 

Her  visit  to  the  army  of  the  Potomac  gave 
Mrs.  Howe  such  a  concei)tion  of  war  as  she 
could  have  obtained  in  no  other  way — of  the 
wild  commotion,  the  wholesale  and  horrible 
slaughter,  the  widespread  and  terrible  deso- 
lation, tlie  awful  strain  upon  the  nation's 
life,  and  the  almost  universal  gloom  and  hor- 
ror with  which  it  fills  the  land.  Her  heart 
was  stirred  with  emotions  deep  and  strong, 
and  made  to  beat  in  sympathetic  response  to 
her  country's  agony  and  peril.  In  the  midst 
of  all  these  depressing  and  deplorable  condi- 
tions, however,  the  ins])iration  of  the  i)rophet 
and  the  vision  of  the  seer  were  hers,  and.  dur- 
ing the  night  following  her  visit  to  the  seat 

291 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

of  T\-ar,  she  stole  from  her  bed  and  gave  vent 
to  her  pent-up  spirit  of  prophetic  song  in 
the  immortal  lines  of  the  foregoing  hymn. 

Some  time  after  its  composition  the  poem 
was  shown  to  ]\fr.  James  T.  Fields,  then  edi- 
tor of  The  Atlantic  Monthly,  who  to  some 
extent  recognized  its  merit,  suggested  as  a 
fitting  title  for  it,  "Battle-Hymn  of  the  Re- 
public," and  published  it  in  his  magazine  in 
February,  18G2,  with  no  signature  attached. 
Mrs.  Howe  is  said  to  have  received  the  trifling 
sum  of  five  dollars  for  this  immortal  pro- 
duction. But  the  imperishable  honor  it  has 
brought  her,  and  the  invaluable  service  it 
has  rendered  to  the  countrv  she  so  ardentlv 
loves,  are  rewards  with  which  no  amount  of 
monied  renumeration  is  to  be  compared. 

"When  James  Russell  Lowell  was  editor  of 
The  Atlantic,'^  writes  Colonel  Smith,  "he 
declined  to  j)ublish  a  poem  written  by  Julia 
"Ward  Howe,  and  gave  as  his  reason  therefor 
that  no  woman  could  Avrite  a  poem,  and  said 
that  'Mrs.  Browning's  efforts  were  a  cons[)ic- 
uous  illustration  of  this  fact.'  But  Mrs. 
Howe  did  write  a  ])oem  which  The  Atlantic 
did  accept,  and,  athough  ]Mr.  Lowell  wrote 
many  verses  which  will  live  long  in  our  liter- 
ature, he  has  written  nothing  that  will  touch 
the  popular  heart  as  deeply  as  the  glorious 
anthem- — 

292 


JULIA  WAKD   HOWE. 


BATTLE  DYMX  OF  THE  KEPUBLIC 

'Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the 
Lord.'" 

As  an  illustration  of  the  i)Opulai-ity  and 
power  of  the  air  to  this  noble  and  stirrinii; 
hymn  the  following,  from  the  pen  of  John 
Habberton.  who  served  in  the  Civil  War  and 
afterward  did  editorial  work  on  several  im- 
portant jieriodicals  and  wrote  books  on  vari- 
ous topics,  and  who  wrote  it  long-  after  the 
struggle  was  all  over,  will  be  in  place: 

"The  old  air  has  a  wonderful  inflnence  over 
me.  I  heard  it  in  Western  camp-meetings 
and  negro  cabins  when  I  was  a  boy.  I  saw 
the  22nd  Massachusetts  march  down  Broad- 
way singing  the  same  air  during  a  rush  to  the 
front  in  the  earlv  davs  of  the  war;  I  have 
heard  it  sung  by  warrior  tongues  in  nearly 
every  Southern  State;  my  old  brigade  sang 
it  softly,  but  with  a  swing  that  was  terrible 
in  its  earnestness,  as  they  lay  behind  their 
slacks  of  arms  just  before  going  into  action; 
I  have  heard  it  ])Iayed  over  the  grave  of  many 

a   dead   comrade;   the   semi-mutinous  th 

cavalry  became  peaceful  and  patriotic  again 
as  their  bandmaster  played  the  old  air,  after 
having  asked  permission  to  try  his  hand  on 
them;  it  is  the  tune  that  burst  forth  spon- 
taneously in  our  barracks  on  that  glorious 
morning  when   he  learned   that   llie  war  was 

293 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

over,  and  if  was  sung  with  words  adapted 
to  the  o(  casiou  by  some  good  rebel  friends  of 
mine  on  onr  first  social  meeting  after  the 
war." 

Jnlia  ^^■ard  Howe  still  lives.  Her  years 
are  many,  she  having  recently  passed  her 
eighty-fourth  birthday.  She  is  not  old,  how- 
ever, since  those  who  live  under  the  spell  of 
such  inspiring  and  enchanting  visions  as 
heaven  vouchsafed  to  her  never  grow  old.  "At 
iiie  end  of  a  beautiful  life,  she  now  looks,  to- 
ward the  great  lights  of  eternity  that  beckon 
1lie  faithful  workers  and  believers  to  an  hon- 
o]-able  rest,  and  to  the  hope  of  renewed  work 
in  the  universe  after  rest."  She  is  a  great 
woman  in  all  that  makes  for  great  and  noble 
womanhood.  She  has  expressed  the  great- 
ness of  her  heart  and  character  in  the  produc- 
tion of  a  great  hymn.  Regarding  that  pro- 
duction the  writer  would  say,  in  the  language 
of  another:  ''Read  it;  teach  it  to  your  chil- 
dren ;  and.  above  all,  understand  it.  See 
Avhat  she  saw — Justice  that  will  not  be  denied 
in  the  end.  Progress  that  cannot  be  stopped, 
and  Truth  that  must  triumph." 


294 


Death 


295 


XXXVII 

ABIDE   WITH    ME 

Of  all  liyinn.s  written  under  tlie  shadow  of 
that  ineffable  nivsterv  called  Death  none  is 
more  deservedly  popular  than  the  tender, 
hopeful  and  beautiful  swan-song  of  Henry 
Francis  Lyte,  beginning, 

"Abide  with  me!  fast  falls  the  eventide; 
The  dai'lviiess  deepens ;  Lord,   with  me  abide." 

The  hymn  has  quite  commonly  and  yet  as 
mistakenly  been  classified  as  an  Evening 
Hymn.  In  the  popular  conception  the  deep- 
ening darkness  mentioned  in  the  second  line 
means  the  gathering  gloom  of  night;  whereas 
the  author  had  no  reference  to  evening  shades 
whatever,  but  to  the  gathering  shades  of 
death's  long  sleep.  The  ])athos  of  the  hymn 
becomes  much  more  imj)ressive  when  this  fact 
is  understood,  and  also  when  wc  remember 
that  the  poet  was  already  enveloped  in  the 
fringe  of  those  darkening  shadows  when  his 
soul  poured  forth  this  sweet  and  hallowed 
lyric.     To  api>reciate  the  value  of  the  hymn 

297 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

we  should  regard  it  as  a  voice  wafted  back  to 
us  from  one  just  entering  within  the  vail  that 
separates  between  time  and  eternity,  and  who 
cheered  his  own  passage  through  the  deepen- 
ing shades  with  this  song  of  marvelous 
beauty,  love  and  trust. 

For  a  sketch  of  Mr.  Lyte's  earlier  history 
the  reader  is  referred  to  Chapter  XXI.  of 
this  volume. 

After  various  shiftings  of  fortune  in  his 
case,  he  "entered  [in  1823]  upon  the  perpet- 
ual curacy  of  the  Lower  Brixham,  Devon- 
shire, England,  which  he  held  until  his  death, 
twenty-five  years  later.  It  was  a  strange  and 
uncongenial  field  for  a  man  of  Mr.  Lyte's 
culture,  refinement  and  literarv  tastes,  the 
place  being  described  as  a  fishing  town,  com- 
posed of  "a  poor,  rough,  sea-faring  popula- 
tion." Here  he  labored  in  the  spirit  of  his 
divine  Master,  however,  with  affectionate  ten- 
derness and  self-consuming  zeal,  and  remark- 
able success  crowned  his  efforts.  Here  also 
he  wrote  his  sadly  tender'  yet  remarkably 
beautiful  Christian  lyrics  found  in  nearly  all 
modern  hymnals. 

Always  delicate  in  health.  Mr.  Lyte's  la- 
bors on  the  rude  English  coast  were  too  much 
for  his  strength,  and  year  by  year  he  steadily 
declined   until   he  was  compelled  at  last  to 

298 


ABIDE   WITH    ME 

seek  I'ecujtei-atiou  in  lijivel  and  iu  i-esl  fi-om 
public  duties.  He  saw  that  the  lamp  of  his 
life  was  surely  bui'nin<»-  out,  aud,  although 
prepared  to  die.  ho  longed  to  live  until  he 
should  acoom])lish  more  of  enduring  value 
lliau  seemed  to  have  resulted  from  his  labors. 
This  yearning  found  exju'ession  in  the  follow- 
ing lines: 

"Misliv  verse  of  niiiu'  inspire 
One  virtuous  aim,  ouo  liif^li  resolve  impart : 
Light  in  one  drooping  soul  a  lial'lowed  Are. 
Or  bind  one  broken  heart, 

"Death  would  be  sweeter  then. 
More  calm  uiy  slumber  'neath  the  silent  sod; 
Might  I  thus  live  to  bless  my  fellow  men. 
Or  glorify  my  God." 

Mr.  Lyte  had  returned  home  to  spend  the 
summer  of  1847  with  his  ])eople  in  Lower 
P.rixham.  His  health  so  rapdly  declined, 
however,  that  his  only  hoi)e  of  life  was  in 
getting  off  as  early  as  ])ossil)l(»  for  the  warm- 
er climate  of  Southern  l-^urope.  The  fourth 
of  September  was  to  be  his  last  Sabbath  with 
the  people  of  his  parish.  To  the  surprise  of 
his  friends,  who  saw  that  he  was  on  the  very 
!»rink  of  the  grave,  he  announced  his  deter- 
mination to  preach  (Uice  more  to  the  people  he 
so  ardently  loved.     He  carried  out  his  pur- 

299 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

pose,  and,  feeble  as  he  was,  delivered  a  most 
affecting  farewell  sermon,  after  which  he  ad- 
ministered the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
])er.  Much  exhausted,  but  full  of  strong  emo- 
tion, he  went  to  his  home,  and,  in  accordance 
with  his  own  poetic  prayer — 

"And  graut  me,  swan-like,  uiy  last  breath  to  spend 
In  song  that  may  not  die," — 

composed  both  words  and  music  of  his  last 
and  sweetest  hymn,  "Abide  With  Me,"  of 
which  the  following  is  the  original  form : 

Abide  with  me!  Fast  falls  the  eventide: 
'["be  darkness  tbiokens,  Lord,  with  me  abide. 
When  other  helpers  fail,  and  comforts  flee, 
Help  of  the  helpless,  O  abide  with  me ! 

Swift  to  its  close  ebbs  out  life's  little  day ; 
Earth's  joys  grow  dim,  its  glories  pass  away ; 
Change  and  decay  in  all  around  I  see ; 
O  Thou  who  changest  not,  abide  with  me. 

Not  a  brief  glance  I  beg,  a  passing  word. 

But  as  Thou  dwell'st  with  Thy  dis(*ii)les,  Lord — 

r'amiliar.  fondescending.  i>atient,  free, — 

("ome  not  to  sojourn,  but  abide  with  me. 

f'ome  not  in  terrors,  as  the  King  of  kings. 
But  kind  and  good,  witli  healing  in  Tliy  wings; 
Tears  for  all  woes,  a  lieart  for  ev(My  i)lea  ; 
Come.  Friend  of  sinners,  thus  abide  with  me. 

300 


ABIDE  WITH   :ME 

Thou  uii  my  lieail  in  early  youth  didst  smilo; 
And,  tliou!?h  rebellious  and  perverse  meanwhile, 
Thou  hast  not  left  mo,  oft  as  I  left  Thee; 
O'.i  to  the  close,  O  Lord,  abide  with  me. 

I  need  Thy  presence  every  passing  hour: 
AVIiat  Itnt  Tliy  grace  can  foil'  the  tempter's  power? 
Who  like  Thyself  my  guide  and  stay  caH  be? 
Through  cloud  and  darkness,  O  abide  with  me. 

I  fear  no  foe,  with  Thee  at  hand  to  bless: 
Ills  have  no  weight,  and  tears  no  bitterness. 
Where  is  Death's  sting?  where.  Grave,  thy  victory? 
I  triumph  still,  if  Thou  abide  with  me. 

Hold  then  Thy  cross  before  my  closing  eyes. 
Shine  through  the  gloom,  and  point  me  to  the  skies: 
Heaven's  morning  breaks,  and  earth's  vain  shadows 

tiee; 
In  life,  in  death,  O  Lord,  abide  with  me. 

Tune — ■"Eventide." 

The  Uyinn  now  nsnally  appears  with  stan- 
zas 3,  4  and  5  omitted.  It  may  be  wise  that 
this  abridgment  is  made,  tlie  hymn  being 
quite  complete  without  tlie  omitted  stanzas, 
and  the  lengtli  of  tlie  lines,  the  number  of 
stanzas  and  the  slowness  of  the  movement 
rend<Mino-  the  full  hymn  too  long  for  use  in 
public  worshi]).  "The  darkness  thickens,"  in 
line  2  of  stanza  1.  was  early  changed  to  "tlio 
darkness  deepens,"  ''no  doubt  by  Mr.  Lyte 
himself."  Later,  ''Hold  then  Thy  cross"  was 
wisely    changed  to  ''Hold  Thou  Thy   cross/' 

301 


HYMXH  THAT  ARE   IMMORTAL 

this  form  appearing  in  tlie  author's  later 
jjoems. 

.Mr.  Lvte  on  leaving  England  intended  to 
go  to  Rome.  His  rapid  decline,  however,  com- 
pelled him  to  halt  at  Nice,  in  France,  where, 
November  20,  1S47,  ''the  silver  cord  was 
loosed,  the  golden  l)owl  broken,"  and  the  good 
man's  spirit  pasced  to  be  ''forever  with  the 
Lord."  In  passing  a  smile  transfignred  his 
face,  and,  in  subdued  but  triumphant  tones 
he  uttered  the  words — ''Joy  I  Peace !" 

Two  instances  illustrative  of  the  inspiring 
and  consoling  power  of  the  hymn  will  be  ad- 
duced in  closing  this  sketch. 

The  first  of  these  was  connected  with  the 
closing  of  Jennie  O'Neill  Potter's  life,  and  is 
reproduced  from  Col.  Nicholas  Smith's 
"Hymns  Historically  Famous.'' 

"When  that  gifted  elocutionist  and  reader 
lay  dying  in  St.  Luke's  Hospital.  New  York, 
in  190(1.  the  closing  of  her  young  and  bril- 
liant life  l»y  an  incurable  disease  did  not  dis- 
turb her  soul.  The  ])hysicians  told  her  that 
lier  remaining  days  were  about  ninety;  and 
she  began  a  ]>atient  waiting  for  the  inevitable 
hour.  The  nurses  wondered  how  the  frail 
little  woman  could  be  so  happy.  She  would 
sing  to  herself  all  day  long,  and  as  the  even- 
ing fell   over  the  big  building  upon  the  hill 

302 


ABIDH   WITH    MI-: 

not  far  from  (loneral  Grant's  tomb,  a  (loli«!,iit- 
ful  melody,  with  some  pathetic  words,  would 
come  from  Jliss  Potter's  room.  Physicians 
and  nnrses  conld  not  restrain  tlieir  tears  of 
sympathy  while  they  listened  with  breathless 
attention  as  she  softly  crooned  the  tender 
lines, 

'Abide  with  nie  I  Fast  falls  the  ovfiititle ; 
The  darkness  deepens;  Lord,  with  me  abide! 
When  other  helpers  fail,  and  comforts  flee. 
Help  of  the  helpless,  oh.  nhide  with  me.' 

Tn  the  mortal  strnggle  with  disease  when 
'other  helpers  failed/  when  all  aronnd  was 
dark,  this  hymn  was  Miss  Potter's  comfort 
to  the  very  honr  when  she  realized  the  fnll 
nieanin**'  of  the  trinmjdiant  line. 

'Heaven's  inoniiiiir  Itreaks.  and  eartli's  vain  shadows 
tiee.'  ■■ 

The  other  instance  is  that  of  Louise  Butler, 
who,  in  aliiihting  from  a  railway  train  in 
Chicago,  fell  nndei-  the  wheels  of  the  moving- 
train  and  was  ''horribly  mangled."  Report- 
ing the  accident  the  Chicago  Rcconl-Hcrahl, 
as  quoted  by  the  ('oinnioHcr.  stated  that  after 
the  accident  Miss  Hutler  was  placed  on  the 
train  from  which  she  had  fallen  to  be  convey- 
ed to  a  hospital  live  miles  away.  Reviving  in 
spite  of  her  terrible  injuries,  she  began  sing- 
ing softly : 

303 


HYMXP5  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

"Ahiilp  with  iiie.     Fast  falls  the  eventide; 
The  darkness  deepens,  Lord,  with  me  abide. 
When  others  helpers  fail  and  comforts  flee, 
Help  of  the  helpless,  oli,  abide  with  me." 

She  sang  the  h.viini  through,  the  report  con- 
tinues, even  as  lier  hands  clenched  in  lier 
agony,  and  tlie  last  line  was  reached  as  the 
train  stopped  and  she  was  lifted  from  it. 

Again  when  she  was  placed  on  the  opera- 
ting table  the  girl  sang  the  prayer,  only 
ceasing  when  her  mother  and  father  reached 
liei'.  to  beg  them  not  to  grieve. 

Turning  from  them  to  her  pastor,  Miss 
lUitler  asked  him  to  comfort  her  parents, 
and  requested  him  to  i>ray.  As  the  prayer 
was  finished  she  to(jk  up  another  hymn: 

"My   laitli   looks   u|)   to  TIh'c, 
Thou  liamb  of  Calvary. 

Savior  divine. 
Now  hear  me  while  T  i>ray ; 
Take  all  my  finilt  away  : 
Oh.  let  me  from   tliis  day 

r.e  wholly  Thine." 

Tier  voice  faltering  on  the  hist  line,  she 
^^•hisy)ered  :  "Do  not  grieve.  Tell  them  I  am 
not  afraid  to  die.''  and  became  unconscious. 
She  di(Ml  tliirtv  minutes  afterward. 


304 


XXXVIII 

ASLEEP  IN   JESUS 

Sooner  or  later  Death  forces  his  war  into 
every  home,  and.  with  inexorable  snuinions. 
calls  for  one  after  another  of  the  family  cir- 
cle to  leave  it  and  follow  him  to  those  dee]) 
shades  from  which  none  evermore  retnrn. 
Ifow  dark  the  i)all  of  gloom  that  settles 
npon  those  from  whom  loved  ones  are  thus 
i-uthlessly  severed  none  can  ever  know  iinlil 
called  themselves  to  follow  the  lifeless  forms 
of  those  they  have  tenderly  loved  to  Ihcir 
final  resting  ]»lace.  (Miristian  hymnody  is  rc- 
])lete  with  lyrics  ])ecnliarly  adai)ted  to  min- 
istering consolation  to  those  who  are  thus 
called  to  bury  their  dojid  ont  of  their  sight. 
bnt  none  among  them  all  is  characterized  by 
greater  sweetness,  beanty  and  consolatory 
power  than  ^frs.  Margaret  ^Mackay's  hynin 
entitled,  '*Slee])ing  in  Jesns,"  of  which  the 
folloAving  is  a  reprodnction : 

Asleep  in  Jesiis  I  blessed  sleep, 
From  which  none  over  wakes  to  weep  I 
A  ealin  and  undisturbed  repose, 
I'nbroken  by  the  last  of  foes. 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

Asleeji  iu  Jesus !  Ob,  how  sweet 

To  be  for  such  a  shuiiber  meet ! 

With   holy  conficlence  to  shig, 

Thiit  Death  hath  lost  its  veuomed  sting. 

Asleep  in  Jesus !  peaceful  rest. 
Whose   waking  is   supremely   blest ! 
No  fear,  no  woe,  shall  dim  that  hour 
That  manifests  the  Savior's  power. 

Asleep   in   Jesus  I   Oh,   for  me 
May  such  a  blissful  refuge  be! 
Securely  shall  my  ashes  lie, 
\\'aiting  the  summons  from  on  high. 

Asleep  in  .Tesus !  time  nor  space 
Debars  this  precious  "hiding  place;" 
On  Indian  plains  or  Lapland  snows 
Believers  find  the  same  i'ei)Ose. 

Asleep  in  Jesus  I  far  from  Thee 
Thy  kindred  and  their  graves  may  be ; 
Biit  thine  is  still  a  blessed  sleep. 
From  which  none  ever  wakes  to  woep. 

Tune— "Rest." 

^Irs.  Maekay,  author  of  the  liviiiii,  was  born 
near  Inverness,  Scotland,  in  1S02.  Her  fa- 
tliei-  was  ('a])tain  Robert  Maekay,  of  tlie 
British  army,  and  lier  liiisband  Colonel  Wil- 
liam Maekay,  of  Ihe  Sixty-Eighth  Light  In- 
fantry, tc  whom  she  was  married  in  1S20. 
In  addition  to  several  ])rose  works  she  wrote 
between  seventy  and  (Mghty  hymns,  tho  best 

306 


ASLEEP  IN  JESUS 

kuowD  among  them  being  ''Asleep  in  Jesus." 
On  January  5,  l(S,s7,  after  a  long  life  of  devo- 
tion to  llie  blaster's  service,  she  entered  that 
•'calm  and  undisturbed  re})ose"  of  which  she 
wrote  so  beautifully  in  the  foregoing  hymn. 

Tlie  hymn  first  a])i)eared  in  The  Amethi/st. 
or  CJiri,sfi(()i  Annnal,  for  the  year  1832,  and 
Avas  introduced  as  follows:  "Slee])iug  in 
Jesus.  I>v  I\Irs.  Mackav,  of  Hedgefield.  This 
simple  but  ex})ressive  sentence  is  inscribed  on 
a  tombstone  in  a  rural  burying-ground  in 
Devonshire,  and  gave  rise  to  the  following 
verses." 

Mrs.  ]\rackay  rei)rinted  it  in  her  "Thoughts 
Redeemed."  1S.")4,  and  in  connection  thcre- 
'wWa  said  :  ''Tlie  burying-ground  meant  is  that 
of  Tcnnycross  (Mia])el.  ])istant  only  a  few 
miles  from  a  bnslling  and  crowded  seaport 
town,  reached  through  a  succession  of  those 
lovely  green  lanes  for  which  Devonshire  is  so 
remarkable,  the  quiet  aspect  of  Pennycross 
comes  soothingly  over  the  mind.  ^Sleeping 
in  Jesus'  seems  in  kecj)iiig  with  all  around." 

The  hymn  has  won  much  favor  ariiong  all 
English-sjjeaking  peojiles,  and  will  doubtless 
(ontinue  its  ministrv  of  consolation  to  the 
bereaved  and  sorrowing  until  the  coming  of 
that  day  when  it  will  be  said,  "Death  is 
swallowed  w\)  in  victory." 


307 


XXXIX 

CROSSIiVG   THE    BAR 

"Xotliing  that  Tennyson  has  ever  written," 
dechires  Dr.  Henry  van  Dyke,  as  quoted  by 
Mr.  Sntlierland  in  The  Del  i  neat  or,  for  Decern- 
ber^  11*05,  ''is  more  beantifnl  in  body  and  sonl 
than  'Crossing-  the  Bar.'  It  is  perfect  poetry 
— simple  even  to  tlie  verge  of  austerity,  yet 
rich  with  all  the  suggestions  of  Avide  ocean 
and  Avaning'  light  and  ves})er  bells;  easy  to 
understand  and  full  of  music,  yet  opening 
inward  (o  a  truth  which  has  no  Avords,  and 
I)()inting  onward  to  a  vision  Aviiich  transcends 
all  for)ns;  it  is  a  delight  and  a  consolation,  a 
song  for  mortal  ears,  and  a  j)r('lude  to  the 
larger  music  of  immortality." 

The  text  of  this  beautiful  lyric  is  as  fol- 
loAvs : 

Sunsot  nnd  ('vening  star. 

And  one  cloar  call   for  nie ! 
And  may  tlioro  ho  no  moaning  of  the  bar 

Wl)<>n   T   put  to  soa. 

But  snfli  ii  tido  as  moving  sooms  asleop, 
Too  full'  for  soinid  and  foam, 

308 


ALFRED,    LORD    TENNYSON. 


CROSi^IXG  THE  BAR 

When  that  which  drew  frou)  out  tlie  bouud- 
less  deep 
Turns  again  home. 

Twilight  and  evening  bell. 

And  after  that  the  dark ! 
And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell 

When  I  embark ; 

For,  though  from  out  our  borne  of  time  and 
place 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  IMlot  face  to  face 

When  I  have  crossed  the  bar. 

Alfred,  Lord  Tennyson,  wrote  these  lines 
in  ISSl),  and  they  at  once  struck  such  a  chord 
of  ])opular  sympathy  as  soon  ^yon  for  them 
a  i)lace  in  church  hymnody.  In  ])roducing 
them  their  author  had  no  thought  of  \vritino' 
a  hymn,  ll0^vever,  and  possibly  a  strict  ad- 
herence to  his  own  ideal  of  what  a  good 
hymn  should  be  would  exclude  them  from 
the  realm  of  church  hymnody  altogether. 

"A  good  hymn,"  he  tells  us.  "is  the  most 
diflicult  thing  in  the  world  to  ^vrite.  In  a 
good  hymn  you  have  to  be  commonplace  and 
jtoetical.  The  moment  you  cease  to  be  com- 
monplace, and  ]>ut  in  any  ex])ressiou  at  all 
out  of  the  common,  it  c(Nises  to  be  a  hymn." 

'Trossing  tlie  r>ar"  will  always  appeal  suc- 
cessfully   to    popular    favor    because    of    the 

309 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

genuine  poetry  which  breathes  in  its  utter- 
ances, but  is  there  uot  too  much  "out  of  the 
common"  in  it,  and  also  too  much  irregularity 
in  its  meter,  to  admit  of  its  ever  becoming 
popular  as  a  hymn?  However  this  may  be, 
tlie  ]>oem  has  found  its  way  into  some  prom- 
inent church  hymnals  on  both  sides  of  the  At- 
lantic, and,  as  a  lyric  for  devotional  use  on 
occasions  important  but  somewhat  rare,  it  is 
likely  to  hold  its  place  and  enlarge  its  sphere 
of  indueuce. 

The  story  of  its  origin  is  related  in  Hallam 
Tennyson's  "^lemoir"  of  his  father  (Volume 
IT.,  ]»j).  oCG.  'M'>7)  as  follows:  "'Crossing  the 
liar'  \v;is  written  in  my  father's  eighty-first 
year,  on  a  day  in  October  when  we  came  from 
Aldworth  to  Farringford.  liefore  reaching 
Farringford  he  had  the  IMoaning  of  the  Bar 
in  his  mind,  and  after  dinner  he  showed  me 
this  [)oem  written  out. 

"T  said.  'That  is  the  crown  of  your  life's 
woi'k.'  Tie  answered,  'It  came  in  a  moment.' 
He  explained  the  'TMlot'  as  'that  Divine  Un- 
seen who  is  always  guiding  us.'  " 

Mr.  Hallam  Tennyson  also  says,  in  the 
same  connection,  "A  few  days  before  my 
father's  death  he  said  to  me:  'Mind  you  jmt 
''Crossing  the  Bar"  a.t  the  end  of  all  editions 
of  my  poenis.' " 

310 


CROSISIXG  THE  BAR 

Space  is  lacking  for  oveu  a  brief  sketch  of 
the  illustrious  poet's  life  who  wrote  this  ex- 
quisite swan-song,  the  breathings  of  which 
were  remarkably  fulfilled  in  the  closing  of  his 
mortal  career.  One  of  his  physicians,  Sir 
Andrew  Clark,  declared  Lord  Tennyson's  the 
most  glorious  death  he  had  ever  witnessed. 
''The  tide  of  his  life  ebbed  peacefully  out  into 
the  great  ocean  of  eternitv,  and  so  calmly  did 
he  respond  to  the  beckoning  hand  of  the  death 
angel  that  those  who  stood  about  his  bed 
scarcely  knew  when  the  end  came.  *  *  * 
There  could  not  have  been  a  gentler  passing 
of  a  soul  to  its  Creator." 

"Crossing  the  liar'' was  published  the  same 
year  it  was  written,  in  "Demeter  and  other 
Poems,"  and  at  once  became  popular.  The 
first  use  of  it  as  a  hymn  was  at  Lord  Tenny- 
son's funeral  in  Westminster  Abbey,  October 
12,  1802.  The  occasion  itself  was  one  of  ex- 
traordinary impressiveness  and  of  world-wide 
interest,  and  the  scene  at  the  interment  of 
the  body  in  Westminster  Abbey  has  been  pre- 
served in  a  grai)hic  pen  picture  drawn  by  the 
daughter  of  the  Dean  as  follows:  "As  the 
procession  slowly  passed  u\)  the  nave  and 
paused  beneath  the  lantern,  where  the  coffin 
Avas  placed  during  the  first  part  of  the  burial 
service,  the  sun  lit  uji  the  dark  scene,   and 

311 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE    IMMORTAL 

iouched  tlie  red-and-blue  nuiou  jack  upon  the 
coflin  with  brilliant  lij^ht,  tiltered  through 
tlie  jiainted  i)anes  of  ('haucer's  window  on 
the  cleared  i)iir})le  space  by  the  open  grave, 
and  ligliting  up  the  beautiful  bust  of  Dryden, 
the  massive  head  of  Longfellow,  the  gray 
tomb  of  Chaucer,  and  the  innumerable 
wreaths  heaped  upon  it.  In  the  intense  and 
solemn  silence  which  followed  the  reading  of 
the  lesson  were  heard  the  voices  of  the  choir 
singing  in  subdued  and  tender  tones  Tenny- 
son's 'Crossing  the  Rar' — those  beautiful 
words  in  which  the  poet,  as  it  were,  foretold 
his  calm  and  peaceful  deathbed.  In  the  sec- 
ond line  the  clear,  thrilling  notes  of  a  boy's 
voice  sounded  like  a  silver  trumpet  call 
among  the  arches,  and  it  was  only  at  inter- 
vals that  one  distinguished  Dr.  Rridge's  beau- 
tiful organ  accompaniment,  which  swelled 
gradually  from  a  subdued  murmur,  as  of  the 
moaning  tide,  into  a  trium])hant  burst  from 
the  voices,  so  blended  together  Avere  words 
and  music." 

The  Tresbyterians  were  the  first  to  give 
''Crossing  the  Rar"  a  place  among  the  hymns 
of  the  Church.  *'A  committee  of  the  Free 
ClnuM  h  of  Scotland  engaged  Sir  Joseph  Rarn- 
by  to  set  it  to  music,  and  j)rinted  it  in  their 
'Home  and  School  Hymnal'  of  ISl).'].    In  this 

^T2 


CROSSING  THE  P.AR 

country  i^lso  the  Presbyterians  were  the  first 
to  include  it  among  their  hymns,  it  ajtpearing 
in  'The  Hymnar  of  1895.  It  has  since  ap- 
])eared  in  'Tlie  Chnrch  Hymnary'  of  the  Scot- 
tish churches  in  several  independent  collec- 
tions." 

yiv.  Edward  Lushington  made  a  transla- 
tion of  "Crossing  the  Bar'-  into  Greek  which 
Lord  Teunvson  regarded  as  the  finest  trans- 
hition  he  had  ever  read,  and  which  Hallam 
Tennyson  re])roduces  in  a  foot-note  connected 
with  his  account  of  the  jioeni  as  given  above. 

"Sunset  and  Evening  Star"  was  a  favorite 
of  Dr.  George  Yardley  Taylor,  the  brilliant 
young  physician  who  gave  up  his  life  so  hero- 
ically at  Paotingfu.  China,  in  the  massacre 
of  June,  1900.  During  the  days  preceding 
the  tragedy,  the  little  circle  of  men,  women 
and  children,  who  Avere  so  soon  to  seal  tiieir 
faith  with  their  blood,  frequently  gathered 
about  the  organ  in  the  compound  and  sang 
the  songs  of  the  home-land,  now  doubly  dear 
and  consoling  to  them  because  of  their  help- 
lessness and  need;  and  with  pathetic  pre- 
science Tennyson's  beautiful  sunset  hymn 
was  always  included.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  imagine  a  greater  contrast  than  tliat 
which  existed  between  the  peaceful  surround- 
ings of  the  gifted  author  when  he  "crossed 

313 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

tlic  l>:u-*'  in  llie  early  aiitiiiim  niorninp,-  and 
tlie  wild  tumult  tlirouji'li  which  tliosc  l»i-ave 
yonno-  missionaries  "went  to  their  martyrdom  ; 
hut  we  donbt  not  that  the  same  gentle  Pilot, 
who  stood  in  the  (piiet  moonlit  chamber, 
while  *'the  casement  slowly  <.'rew  a  lilimiiici-- 
in,<>  s((naTe/'  was  also  "keei»in<i-  watch  above 
11  is  own"  at  the  awful  carnaoe,  and  that 
after  the  *'twilij;.ht  and  eveninf»-  bell"  lie  ten- 
derly "uided  them  all — poet  and  martyrs — 
to  their  desired  haven,  to  be  Avith  Him  forever 
in  "a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in 
the  heavens." 


314 


FUTUKK    LiFK 


XIv 

JOYOUS   Pf?OSPECT  OF  IMMORTALITY 

No  prodnction  within  the  whole  compass 
of  chni'ch  hyninodv  more  vigorously  and 
beantifully  sets  forth  the  joyous  prospect  of 
immortality  to  which  believers  are  begotten 
through  the  gospel  than  the  following  from 
the  pen  of  Charles  Wesley: 

And  let  this  feeblo  body  fail 

And  let  it  faint  or  die; 
My  soul  shall  quit  the  mournful  vale 

And  soar  to  worlds  on  high ; 
Shall  join  the  disembodied  saints, 

And  find  its  long-sought  rest. 
That  only  bliss  for  which  it  pants 

lu  the  Redeemer's  breast 

In  hope  of  that  immortal  crown 

I  r:Ow  the  cross  sustain. 
And  gladly  wander  up  and  down, 

And  smile  at  toil  and  pain : 
1  suffer  on  my  threescore  years, 

T:ll  my  Deliverer  come. 
And  wipe  away  ITis  servant's  tears, 

And  take  His  exile  home. 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

0  wliat  bath  Jesus  bought  for  me! 
Before  my  ravished  eyes 

Elvers  of  life  divine  I  see 
And  trees  of  Paradise: 

1  see  a  world  of  spirits  l)rigbt. 
Who  taste  the  pleasni-es  there ; 

They  all  are  robed  in  spotless  white, 
And  conqnering  palms  they  bear. 

O  what  are  all  my  sufferings  hei-e. 

If.  Loi'd,  Thou  count  me  meet 
AYith  that  enraptured  host  to  appear, 

And  worship  at  Thy   feet ! 
Give  joy  or  grief,  give  ease  or  ])ain, 

Take  life  or  friends  away, 
Rut  let  me  find  them  all  again 

In  that  eternal  day. 

Tune — "Roberts." 

This  is  one  of  Wesley's  ''Funeral  Hymns," 
published  in  1759.  The  orioinal  contained 
nine  stanzas.  The  foregoing  abridgment 
comprises  stanzas  one  and  t^vo,  the  first  half 
of  stanzas  five  and  six.  and  stanza  nine  of  the 
original,  -with  a  few  slight  but  important 
alterations  which  first  appeared,  according 
to  Dr.  Nutter,  in  the  "York  Pocket  Hymn- 
Book"  in  ITSG. 

This  noble  lyric  has  been  greatly  blessed 
to  thousands  of  God's  dear  saints  in  life  and 
in  the  hour  of  death.  It  was  a  great  favorite 
with  the  writer's  father,  and  often  did  the 
good  man  cheer  his  own  heart  and  brighten 

318 


PROSPECT  OF  IMMORTALITY 

his  own  hope  iu  seasons  of  tiial  by  the 
singing  of  its  exalted  and  inspiring  strains. 
All  who  were  intimately  acqnainted  with  the 
late  Rev.  B.  T.  Rol)erts  v.ill  also  remember  it 
as  a  hymn  that  was  often  on  his  lips,  and 
that  to  Mie  inspiration  ixud  con^fort  of  both 
himself  and  those  abont  him. 

The  singing  of  the  staii/a  bcuiiininir. 

"O    wh.it   liatli   Jesns  bought  for  uie:" 

by  a  pious  young  lady  wlio  was  ill.  about  half 
a  century  ago,  resulted  in  the  conversion  of 
her  brother,  sitting  by  her  side  as  she  sang. 
He  was  led  to  ask  himself,  '"Has  Jesus 
bought  nothing  for  me?"  FolloAving  this 
awakening  he  sought  and  found  pardon,  and, 
not  long  after,  both  the  brother  and  sister, 
acconi|3anied  by  another  brother,  left  their 
native  country  to  labor  as  missionaries  in 
the  island  of  Ceylon. 

"Thousands  of  ])ious  souls  have  been  cheer- 
ed by  the  words  of  tliis  hymn,"  says  Mr. 
Stevenson,  "while  })assing  through  tlie  dark 
valley.  There  is  not  a  verse  of  it  but  has 
been  made  a  blessing  to  some  pilgrim.."  It 
is  a  hymn,  too.  that  will  live  to  be  made  a 
V)lessing  to  thousands  n:ore  as  the  successive 
generations  of  niankind  a j (pear  and  pass 
awav. 

319 


XLT 

THE  LAND   OF   PURE   DKUGHT 

There  is  a  land  of  pure  tlelijiht, 

Where  saints  ininiortul  reign ; 
Infinite  clay  excludes  the  niirlit. 

And  pleasures  banish  pain. 
There  everlasting  spring  abides. 

And  never-withering  flowers ; 
Death,  like  a  narrow  sea.  divides 

'J'his  heavenly  land  from  ours. 

Sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood 

Stand  dressed  in  living  green : 
So  to  the  Jews  old  Canaan  stood, 

While  Jordan  rolled  between. 
But  timorous  mortals  start  and  shrink 

To  cross  this  narrow  sea. 
And  linger,  shivering  on  the  brndi. 

And  fear  to  launch  away. 

Oh,  could  we  make  our  doubts  remove, 

These  gloomy  doubts  that  rise. 
And  see  the  Canaan  that  we  love 

With  unbeclouded  eyes; 
Could  we  but  climb  where  Moses  stood, 

And  view  the  landscape  o'er, 
Not  Jordan's  stream,  nor  death's  cold  flood, 

Should  fright  us  from  that  shore. 

Tune— "Varina." 

320 


THE  LAND  OF  PUKE  DELIGHT 

Dr.  Isaac  "Watts  composed  this  beautiful 
liyiim  of  faith  and  liope  while  ret  a  yoiin<^ 
man,  and  published  it  nndei*  the  j^eculiar 
title.  ''A  Prosper-t  of  Heaven  Makes  Death 
Easy.*'  It  is  a  ''familiar  sonjj  of  the  ages 
now.  one  of  the  'folk-songs'  of  the  American 
]>eo]»le  at  least."  During  upwards  of  thirty 
years-  of  ministerial  life,  in  which  he  has 
traveled  quite  extensively,  the  writer  has 
found  no  i»lace  where  the  hymn  is  not  famil- 
iar. 

Dr.  Watts  wrote  this  liymn  "at  his  native 
home  in  Southampton,  while  sitting  at  the 
window  of  a  parlor  which  overlooks  the  river 
Itcheu,  and  in  full  view  of  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
The  ]andsca]»e  there  is  very  beautiful,  and 
forms  an  enchanting  model  for  a  ])oet  when 
describing  the-  I'aradise  above." 

The  hymn  is  sweet,  beautiful,  and  inspir- 
ius:,  breathing  tlie  atnios]>here  of  hope  and 
aspiration  with  regard  to  life  beyond  the 
tomb,  and  yet  is  ex]»ressive  of  a  hope  that 
trembles  and  shrinks  because  of  the  unclear- 
ness  of  its  vision.  In  this  respect  it  is  less 
exultant  than  the  hymns  of  Dr.  Stennett  and 
Charles  Wesley  written  on  similar  themes. 
Dr.  Stennett  wrote  the  hymn  beginning,  "On 
Jordan's  stormv  banks  I  stand,"  in  which  he 
exultiugly  exclaims, — 

321 


HYiArXS  THAT  AEE    IMMORTAL 

"Filled  with  delii;ht,   my   iMj'tured  soul 

Would  liere  no  longer  stay  : 
Though  Jordan's  waves  around  me  roll. 
Fearless  I'd   launch  away ;"' 

and  Charles  Wesley,  iu  his  hyniu  on  '*The 
Spirit  and  the  Bride  say,  Come,"  sings  iu 
loftiest  strains  of  holy  triumph. — ■ 

"The  promised  land  from  Pisgah's  to)) 
I  now  exult  to  see ; 
My  hope  is  full   (O  glorious  hope!) 
Of  immortality." 

This  hymn  has  ever  had  peeuliar  attrac- 
tions for  the  suffering  and  the  dying,  and  also 
for  the  bereaved  and  sorroAving.  Its  charm 
for  these  classes  is  due  chiefly  to  the  sweet 
and  full  assurance  Avith  which  its  first  stanza 
speaks  of  the  celestial  Canaan  and  the  en- 
chanting imagery  in  which  it  describes  the 
virtues  of  that  heavenly  country.  Pages 
could  be  filled  Avith  instances  in  Avhich  the 
hymn  has  been  a  solace  and  an  inspiration 
to  AA-eary  pilgrims  at  the  fording  of  Jordan, 
and  to  tliose  AA'ho,  at  the  brink  of  the  riA-er, 
haA'e  watched  as  their  loved  ones  embarked, 
and  then  liaAe  turned  away  to  linger  ye\  a 
little  in  loneliness  and  sorrow  before  being 
[)ermitted  to  join  them  in  their  (-elestial 
home,  but  our  space  is  too  limited  for  the  in- 

322 


THE  LAND  <  )F  PURE  DELIGHT 

troduction  of  these  interesting  narratives 
here.  May  the  vision  which  is  the  burden  of 
this  charming  lyric  and  the  hope  which  it  in- 
spires afford  both  the  writer  and  his  readers 
support  and  cheer  in  the  hour  of  their  fare- 
well to  earthly  scenes  and  relationships. 


%2' 


XLII 

FOREVER   WITH  THE   LORD 

"Foi'ever  with  the  Lord  !" 
Amen,  so  let  it  be ! 
Life  from  the  dead  is  in  that  word, 
'Tis  immortalitj'. 

Here  in  the  body  pent, 
Absent  from  Him  I  roam. 

Yet  nii?htly  i)itcli  my  moving  tent 
A  day's  march  nearer  home. 

"Forever  with  the  Lord  I" 

Father,  if  'tis  Thy  will, 
The  promise  of  that  fnithfnl  word, 

E'en  here  to  me  fulfil. 

So  when  my  latest  breath 
Shall  rend  the  vail  in  twain, 

By  death  I  shall  escape  from  death. 
And  life  eternal  gain. 

Knowing  as  I  am  known, 
IIow  shall  I  love  that  word. 

And  oft  repeat  before  the  throne, 
"Forever  with  the  Lord!" 

324 


FOREVER  WITH  THE  LORD 

"Forever  with  the  Lord!" 

Amen,  so  let  it  be, 
Life  from  tbe  dead  is  iu  tliat  word, 

Tis  immortality. 

TuxE— "Neaber  Home." 

This  is  another  of  James  Montgom- 
ery's invaluable  contributions  to  Christian 
hymnody.  He  first  published  it  in  1827,  in 
two  parts,  the  first  containing'  nine  stanzas 
and  the  second  thirteen.  The  hymn  as  here 
given  comprises  stanzas  one,  two,  fourteen, 
sixteen,  seventeen  and  twenty-two,  of  the 
original,  unaltered.  Referring  to  the  favor 
the  production  received  in  his  time  from  the 
Cliristian  public  the  author  once  said,  "^I  re- 
ceived directly  and  indirectly  more  testimo- 
nials of  approbation  in  reference  to  these 
verses,  than  jierhaps  any  others  I  have  writ- 
ten of  the  same  class,  with  the  exception  of 
those  on  prayer." 

]\rr.  Stevenson  in  commenting  on  the  hymn 
aptly  says,  "This  is  one  of  those  strains  of 
sacred  thought,  which,  having  once  taken 
hold  of  the  public  mind,  will  live  in  the  serv- 
ice of  song  to  the  end  of  time.  *  *  *  The 
hymn  remained  unsung  and  unnoticed  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  when  it  was  introduced 
to  the  public  with  a  tune  which  was  so  well 
fitted  to  exhibit  the  force  and  beauty  of  the 

325 


HYMNS  THAT  ARE  IMMORTAL 

words  Ihat  the  tune  lias  i-eeoiiiineuded  the 
hyinii.  *  *  *  Tn  Yorkshire,  iu  Avhich  eomi- 
trv  it  was  written,  the  liynin  is  a  great  favof- 
it(^  and  it  has  fre(|nentl.v  been  used  by  djnug 
(Niristians  wlio  lia<l  before  them  the  bright 
realily  of  being — 

'l-'orcvcr  ^^■ilh  lliu  Lord.' 

"At  one  of  tlie  conferences  of  the  ]Metliodist 
I'^ree  Church  held  in  Leeds,  soon  after  the 
hymn  was  first  introduced  to  Methodist  read- 
ers, ii  was  sung,  and  siicli  a  depth  of  spirit- 
ual ]>ower  fell  upon  the  assembly,  that  the 
Rev.  James  Everett,  then  an  octogenarian, 
<»verwhelmed  with  emotion,  fell  prostrate  in 
devout  adoration  as  the  singing  progressed. 
This  was  witnessed  by  the  conference,  and 
the  members  knew  the  intense  affection 
which  existed  between  IMontgomery  and  Ev- 
erett." It  is  no  wonder  that  all  were  power- 
fully moved  at  beholding  this  spectacle. 


326 


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