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STUDIES
FAMILIAR
HYMNS
LOUIS F.BENSONJD;
FIRST SERIES
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TITLE-PAGK OF TIIK FIRST EDITION <,)K WATTS'S " HYMNS*
STUDIES
OF
FAMILIAR HYMNS
FIRST SERIES
BY
LOUIS R BENSON, D.D.
EDITOR OF " Tune HYMCNAI. PmiLisxum BY AUTHORITY oif THB.
GKNHEAI. ASSEMBLY OF TKK PUFSUYTKKXA.N CHURCH: XN TUB
XT. S. A./' ** TUB HYMNAI. FOR UHK INT CoNCititGATiONAL
CllURCHKS/* ** THIS ClIAl'EL HYMNAJL/*
ANI> " TKK SCHOOL HYMNAJU '""
NEW EDITION
PHILADELPHIA
THE WESTMINSTER PRESS
1:92,6
COPYRIGHT, 1903
BY LOUIS F. BENSON
Published March, 1903
New Edition, March, xgi?
Reprinted, May, I®!?
Reprinted, January, 1934
Reprinted, October, X0s6
PREFACE
WHEN Dr. Ray Palmer, late in life, came to narrate
the origin of his youthful hymn, " My Faith Looks Up
to Thee/* he explained that he would feel no little delicacy
in so doing, " were it not that in one way and another it
has happened that very inaccurate, and in some instances
wholly apocryphal, things have been reported concerning
it It has furnished quite a striking illustration of the
difficulty of transmitting verbally, with entire accuracy,
a few simple facts, from one person to another." " Slight
inaccuracies, rhetorical statements, and the imaginations
of writers or speakers," he goes on to say, " have some-
times combined to form quite an unauthcntic history of
its origin/*
Dr. Palmer's chagrin over the literature setting forth
the history of his own hymn appears to have been shared,
measurably, by many readers of the popular literature
setting forth the history of the hymns in which they
themselves happen to be interested. The frankness also
of Dr. Palmer's criticis.m has been emulated by them —
a frankness which has fulfilled itself (one would hope) in
vii
viii PREFACE
expressing the opinion that the desire to tell a good
story, the ambition to furnish a racy anecdote for homi-
letical purposes, is coupled, at times, with a weakening
hold upon the realities,
'Twere pity if 'twere true : and the present writer is
not solicitous to defend all that he has read upon the
history of our hymns. Yet he would venture the remark
(though it be no more than a pica of confession and
avoidance) that the telling of the true story of a hymn is
not so simple a task as some readers may have assumed
it to be, but is, on the contrary, an undertaking requiring
patient investigation at first hand,
One does not know the history of a hymn till he has
traced it to its source and studied its original text and
surroundings ; till he has worked over its bearings, bio-
graphical and hymnological, and has tracked its subse-
quent career, textual and liturgical, by actual handling
of the hymnals and other books in which it appears ;
till he has sought out and scanned such landmarks as
remain to testify to its spiritual history, its use and influ-
ence over men.
Such investigations involve the pains of gathering, or
of finding access to, extensive collections of hymn books,
books of poetry, biographies, fugitive publications, and
material of many sorts. A tedious task, no doubt, unless
lightened by love ! That some who have felt the call to
narrate the story of our hymns have sought the goal
by a shorter road affords, it may be, an explanation of
PREFACE ix
the "apocrypha" and the "anecdotage" of popular
hymnology.
Contemplating the simplicity of the results of his studies
of familiar hymns as set forth in this book, the writer is
almost ashamed thus to hint at the care of his prepara-
tion. It had been better, possibly, simply to say that
while he has tried to be interesting, he has tried yet more
to be trustworthy.
The general character and purpose of these Studies is
explained by their origin. This book grew out of a
series of six papers (expanding, under encouragement, to
twenty-five) written for Forward and The Wdlspring, the
admirable periodicals of the Presbyterian and Congrega-
tional publishing houses, designed for young people and
the family. For the book these Studies have been re-
written to a somewhat larger scale, but with an effort
not to sacrifice too much of their original simplicity. The
fact of their origin explains also the appending to each
Study of " Some Points for Discussion " : the hope
having been (it still abides) that groups or societies of
young people might be led to think over and discuss the
message of the hymns they so often sing, sometimes, it
may be, too thoughtlessly.
Between the hymns here studied there is no intended
connection ; each hymn being chosen for its own sake —
for some distinction it had, but with an eye at the sai je
time upon the veracious material for illustrating it at the
writer's command. For that reason a chronological
X PREFACE
arrangement of the Studies has been avoided, and none
other has been sought, except in so far as giving prece-
dence to some Study precludes repetition in one coming
after. It pleased the writer's fancy that the book should
begin in the Light that dawned on Bethlehem and should
end at Sunset and Evening Star.
The text of the hymns, in every case, is that of The
Hymnal now widely used in Presbyterian and Congrega-
tional churches. To that book reference is also made
in the case of hymns merely cited ; a course sufficiently
justified (if for no other reason) by the convenience of
having a common standard.
PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION, 1917
IN this new edition a few corrections of typographical
errors have been made in the plates, and notes embody-
ing later information have been inserted at pages 61, 190,
and 258.
When referring to numerous hymns and tunes through-
out the book, mention was made of the number borne by
each of them in The Hymnal of 1895. The Hymnal has
been followed by the The Hymnal revised of 1911, in
which these numbers are changed But since several
hundred thousand of The Hymnal are still in use, it has
not seemed practicable to change these numbers here.
Moreover, the hymn " I Would Not Live Alway M (No.
xxi) is omitted from The Hymnal revised*
CONTENTS
I. O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM (Phillips
FA.GK
II, STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS
Dufficld} ........... 13
III. SUN OF MY SOUL, THOU SAVIOUR DEAR
KeWt) ............ 25
IV. How FIRM A FOUNDATION, YE SAINTS OF THE
LORD (A'- - ) . . . . ..... 37
V. LORD, WITH GLOWING HEART I'D PRAISE
THEE (Francis Scott Key) ...... 51
VI. FROM GREENLAND'S ICY MOUNTAINS {Reginald
ffebtr) .......... . . 63
VII. MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THKE (Ray Palmer) 75
VIII. LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT, AMID THE ENCIRCLING
GLOOM {John Henry Newman) .... 85
IX. MY COUNTRY, 'TIS OF THEE (Samuel Frauds
Smitfi) ...... ..... , 97
X. ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS (SaMne Baring-
Gould} ............ 107
XI. NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE (Sarah Flower
Adams) .......... ..117
Xli CONTENTS
PAGE
XII. WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS (Isaac
Watts) ............ 127
XIII. O STILL IN ACCENTS SWEET AND STRONG
(Samuel Longfellow} ....... 137
XIV. JESUS CHRIST is RISEN TO-DAY {Campsite) . 147
XV. A MIGHTY FORTRESS is OUR Goo (Martin
Luther. Translated by JFrederic Henry Hedge) 155
XVI. ABIDE WITH ME : FAST FALLS THE EVENTIDE
(Ifenry Francis Lyti) ....... 169
XVII. GOD BLESS OUR NATIVE LAND (attributed to
Charles T, Brooks and John S* JDwight) . 1 79
XVIII. FATHER OF MERCIES, IN THY WORD (Anne
Stcele) ............ 191
XIX. 0 DAY OF REST AND GLADNESS {Christopher
WordswortJi) .......... 201
XX. TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE (Frances Ridley
...... . , , , 211
XXI. I WOULD NOT LIVE ALWAY; I ASK NOT TO
STAY (William Augustus Muhknberg) . - 221
XXII. O HELP us, LORD; EACH HOUR OF NEED
(Ilenry Hart Mtlmari) ....... 233
XXIII. SHEPHERD OF TENDER YOUTH ( Ckment* Trans-
lated by Henry Marty n DexUr) .... 243
XXIV. THINE FOR EVER! GOD OF LOVE (Mary
Fawkr Maude) ......... 253
XXV. SUNSET AND EVENING STAR (Lord Tennyson) . 263
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PACK
FACSIMILE OF THE TITLE-PAGE OF THE FIRST EDITION
OF WATTS' s " HYMNS"
AUTOGRAPH VERSES OF " O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM " 3, n
From the original manuscript in the possession of George C,
Thomas, £>$$*
LEWIS H. REDNER ................. 5
.From a photograph fy Mulnier^ Paris.
AUTOGRAPH STAFF OF THE TUNE "Si. Louis" .... 7
PHILLIPS BROOKS .................. 9
Prom a photograph, loaned by Mr, Redncr*
DUDLEY A. TYNG ......... . ........ 15
Front an cn<graving) loaned by Mr. John P. AVioaafs.
GEORGE DUFFIKLD ..... * ........... 19
from Mitchell* $ li JfRstory of Temple Presbyterian Church"
AUTOGRAPH VERSE OF " STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS " 23
AUTOGRAPH VERSES OF "Sun OF MY SOUL" ..... 27
Prom ** A .Facsimile Reproduction of the First form of
Christian Year"
JOHN KEBLE . , .................. 31
From an engraving by JF. Ifa/fiin, after G. Richmond.
FACSIMILE OF THE FRONTISPIECE TO "RirpoN's SELEC-
TION " ..................... 39
FACSIMILE OF THE PAGE PROM "RippoN's SELECTION"
CONTAINING " HOW FlRM A FOUNDATION" ..... 41
xiii
XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PACK
AUTOGRAPH VESRSE OF "LORD, WITH GLOWING HEART
FD PRAISE THEE" ............... 51
FRANCIS S, KEY .................. 57
AUTOGRAPH VERSES OF "FROM GREENLAND'S ICY MOUN-
TAINS" ..................... 65
REGINALD HEBER ........... - ...... 69
From an engraving by T. Woolnoth, after a, painting by
r. Phillips.
AUTOGRAPH VERSE OF "MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE" 79
RAY PALMER .................... 83
From an engraving by M, W« Smith^ after & photograph by
Sarony.
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN ................ 87
From an English engraving.
AUTOGRAPH LINES OF "LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT" .... 91
CARDINAL NEWMAN ................. 95
From a photograph,
AUTOGRAPH OF "MY COUNTRY, 'TIS OF THEE" . „ . . 100
SAMUEL F. SMITH' ...... „ . . , ....... 103
From a photograph by Soule Photograph Co.
AUTOGRAPH VERSES OF * < ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS " n i
SABINE BARING-GOULD ........... , ... 113
From a photograph by Ulliott and Fry.
SARAH F. ADAMS .................. 121
From the Strand Maganne*
AUTOGRAPH VERSE OF "NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE" , 123
AUTOGRAPH MEMORANDA OF DR. WATTS ....... 131
From Paxton f food's '* Isaac
ISAAC WATTS .................... 133
From an old me&^otint^ after an original portrait,
THE LONGFELLOW HOUSE, PORTLAND . „ * ..... * 139
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XV
PACK
SAMUEL LONGFELLOW ................ 141
AUTOGRAPH VERSES OF " 0 STILL IN ACCENTS SWEET AND
STRONG" .................... 145
A PAGE FROM "LYRA DAVIDICA" .......... 150
MARTIN LUTHER . , ................ 157
From an engraving, after a portrait by Cranach.
AUTOGRAPH VERSE OF "A MIGHTY FORTRESS is OUR
GOD" ..................... 162
FREDERIC H, HEDGE ............. * . . 165
From a photograph furnished by Mr. F, II, Hedge,
AUTOGRAPH VERSE OF "ABIDE WITH ME" ...... 171
HENRY F. LYTE .................. 175
After a painting.
AUTOGRAPH POEM OP CHARLKS T. BROOKS ,.*„.* 182
AUTOGRAPH VERSE OF JOHN .$• DWIGHT ........ 184
CHARLES T. BROOKS ............ * ... 187
From a photograph.
JOHN S. DWIGHT .................. 189
AUTOGRAPH VERSES OF * * FATHER OF MERCIES, IN THY
WORD" ..................... 193
Miss STEKLK'S BIRTHPLACE ............. 197
Miss STKELK'S BIBLE ................ 199
These arm reproduced from Rev. W. Garrett Horder* s
"Ann* Stcelc and ffer Ifymns."
CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH ...... ,,„„*.* 203
From an J&ng/isJk engraving*
AUTOGRAPH VEESE OF "Q DAY OF REST AND GLADNESS" 207
AUTOGRAPH LINES OF "TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE" 213
FRANCES R. HAVRUGAL
From a photograph by Mllwtt a
XVI LIST OF
PAGE
AUTOGRAPH VERSES OF " I WOULD NOT LIVE ALWAY" . 225
TITLE-PAGE OF KINGSLEY'S TUNE " FREDERICK " . . . 227
WILLIAM A. MUHLENBERG 229
Prom an engraving.
AUTOGRAPH VERSE OF "Q HELP us, LORD; EACH HOUR
OF NEED" 237
HENRY H. MILMAN 239
AUTOGRAPH VERSE OF "SHEPHERD OF TENDER YOUTH** 247
HENRY M. DEXTER , 249
AUTOGRAPH VERSES OF "THINE FOR EVER! GOD OF
LOVE** : . . 255
MARY F. MAUDE 259
From a photograph by C, Hawkins.
AUTOGRAPH OF "SUNSET AND EVENING STAR" , . „ „ 265
LORD TENNYSON 269
From an engraving by G. J", Stodart, after a photograph by
J, MayalL
STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
I
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
i O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie ;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by :
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting L,ight ;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee to -night.
a For Christ is born of Mary;
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the &ngel& keep
Their watch of wondering1 love.
O motning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth;
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth*
3 How silently, how silently.
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
I 3TUDIJES OJP JPAMIL/AR HYMNS
4 O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel.
Rev, Phillips Brook®, 1868
NOTE. — Four verses of the five as originally written (see under "Some
Points for Discussion"). This text agrees with the author's
manuscript, That issued by Bishop Brooks's publishers in
" illuminated " style was inaccurate.
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
It was the sight of Bethlehem itself, one feels very
sure, that gave Phillips Brooks the impulse to write this
hymn. He was then rector of the Church of the Holy
Trinity, in Philadelphia, and had spent a year's vacation
traveling in Europe and the East "After an early
dinner, we took our horses and rode to Bethlehem/'
so he wrote home in Christmas week of 1865, "It
was only about two hours when we came to the
town, situated on an eastern ridge of a range of hills,
surrounded by its terraced gardens. It is a good-look-
ing town, better built than any other we have seen in
Palestine. * . , Before dark, we rode out of town to
the field where they say the shepherds saw the star-
It is a fenced piece of ground with a cave in it (all
the Holy Places are caves here), in which, strangely
enough, they put the shepherds. The story is absurd,
but somewhere in those fields we rode through the
shepherds must have been. ... As we passed, the
shepherds were still ' keeping watch over their flocks**
0 LITTLE, TOWN OP BETHLEHEM 3
" or leading them home to fold." Mr. Brooks returned
in September, 1866, and it must have been while medi-
tating at home over what he had seen that the carol
took shape in his mind. The late Dr. Arthur Brooks
assured the writer that it was not written until 1868.
At™
AN AUTOGRAPH VERSE OF THE HYMN
In the programme of the Christmas service of the
Sunday-school of the Church of the Holy Trinity
in that year the carol was first printed, and it was
sung to the music written for it by Mr. Lewis H.
Redner,
4 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
Its history as a hymn begins then, and a considerable
share of the credit for its popularity must be given to
Mr. Redner, at that time organist of the church, su-
perintendent of its mission, and teacher in the church
school. The place of the carol in the books is now estab-
lished, and new tunes have been and will be written for it.
But it is safe to say that Mr. Redner's music was what
carried the carol into notice and popularity. If the
tune to which it was sung at that service had been un-
successful, it is unlikely that the carol would have been
reprinted or heard again, at least during Bishop Brooks's
life.
With this view of the case it seemed to the present
writer well worth while that an account, as circum-
stantial as possible, of the genesis of hymn and tune
should be secured from the one man living who knows
it And standing over Mr, Redner in his Walnut Street
office in Philadelphia one winter afternoon, waving aside
the modest protests and gently prodding the reluctance
of that genial composer, he was happy in obtaining the
following written statement of the circumstances : *' As
Christmas of 1 868 approached, Mr. Brooks told me that
he had written a simple little carol for the Christmas
Sunday-school service, and he asked me to write the
tune to it. The simple music was written in great haste
and under great pressure. We were to practice it on
the following Sunday. Mr. Brooks came to me on
Friday, and said, * Redner, have you ground out that
music yet to " O Little Town of Bethlehem " ?' I re-
plied, c No/ but that he should have it by Sunday. On
the Saturday night previous my brain was all confused
about the tune, I thought more about my Sunday*
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM
S
" school lesson than I did about the music. But I was
roused from sleep late in the night hearing an angel-
strain whispering in my ear, and seizing a piece of music
.paper I jotted down the treble of the tune as we now
have it, and on Sunday morning before going to church
I filled in the harmony. Neither Mr. Brooks nor 1 ever
I.KWIK II. UKDNKR (l8f>8)
thought the carol or the music to it would live beyond
that Christmas of 1868.
" My recollection is that Richard McCauley, who then
had a bookstore on Chestnut Street west of Thirteenth
Street, printed it on leaflets for sale. Rev. Dr. Hunting-
ton, rector of All Saints' Church, Worcester, Mass.,
0 STUDIES OF FAMlLrAR HYMNS
" asked permission to print it in his Sunday-school hymn
and tune book, called 77/6' Clinrcli Porch, and it was he
who christened the music * Saint Louis.' "
The date of Dr. Hunting-ton's book, 1874, does not
imply a very prompt recognition of the merits of the
carol even as available for use in the Sunday-school.
Nor does its appearance in that book imply that the
carol passed at that date into general use in Sunday-
schools. But gradually it became familiar in those con-
nected with the Protestant Episcopal Church. By the
year 1890 it had begun to make its appearance in
hymnals intended for use in church worship. In 1892
(some twenty-four years after its first appearance) .Bishop
Brooks's carol was given a place as a church hymn in
the official hymnal of his own denomination. This
occasioned the composition of new tunes to its words
for rival musical editions of that book, and also drew
attention afresh to the earlier tune of Mr. Redner. It
seems, too, to have settled the status of the hymn, recent
editors being as reluctant to omit the hymn as their
predecessors had been to recognize it.
There is, however, nothing" unusual or surprising" in
this delay in admitting the carol into the church hymnals.
Almost all hymns undergo such a period of probation
before they attain recognition ; and it is for the best
interests of hymnody that they should. In this particu-
lar case there was an especial reason for delay. There
had to be a certain change in the standards by which,
hymns are judged before a carol such as this could be
esteemed suitable for church use. In 1868, it is likely,
not even its author would have seriously considered it in
such a connection.
0 UTTJLE TOWN Of BETHLEHEM 7
AN AUTOGRAPH STAFF OF THE MUSIC
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Phillips Brooks was born in Boston, December 13th,
1835. He came qf a long line of Puritan ancestors,
many of whom had been Congregational clergymen,
His parents became connected with the Episcopal
Church, and he was reared in the strict ways of the
Evangelical wing of that Church. He had the typical
Boston education, the Latio School and then Harvard,
from which he was graduated in 1855. He was then
for a few months a teacher in the Latin School, but
there he had the humiliating experience of complete
failure. He soon decided to enter the ministry, and
studied at Alexandria Seminary, in Virginia, In 1859
he became rector of a small church in Philadelphia,
Here his sermons attracted much attention, and in 1861
he was called to be rector of the Church of the Holy
Trinity, in the same city,
In that position he remained until 1869, when his own
leanings toward his native town and the urgency of re-
8 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
peated calls from there led him to accept the rectorship
of Trinity Church, Boston. The congregation built for
him the great church in the Back Bay, and there he
exercised that wonderful ministry with which we all are
familiar. In 1891 he was elected bishop of his Church
in Massachusetts, and after some controversy, occasioned
by his broad views in church matters, his election was
confirmed and he was consecrated. But this position he
was not to fill for long. The strain of the great work he
had been doing had undermined even his giant strength,
and after a short sickness he passed away on January
23rd, 1893.
Bishop Brooks was the most famous preacher and the
most widely-loved clergyman of his time. The shock
of his death was felt in every branch of the Church
throughout the land, for while many disagreed with his
opinions, none who knew him in his work could with-
hold their admiration. The word that seems best to
describe him is " great" He was great in his physical
proportions, great in the endowments of genius, great in
the power to work, extraordinarily great in his personal
influence over men, greatest of all in the moral elevation
of his character and his ever-deepening spirit of conse-
cration to Christ's service.
The connection of one so great with hymnody as the
writer of a few simple carols intended for children seems
at first a little incongruous. But after reading his biog-
raphy, and understanding the man's nature, one feels
rather that nothing he ever did was more characteristic
of him. It now appears that verse- writing was even a
regular habit with him, probably as a relief to feelings
his intensely reserved nature could express in no other
0 LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM g
way. And he not only loved children dearly, but liked
to be their comrade and to get down on the nursery
floor and romp with them. His own heart was like a
child's, and he wrote Christmas and Easter carols be-
cause he entered into those festivals with a child's
enthusiasm and joy.
FHTLLIPS HROOKS (ABOUT 1868)
But there is another point of connection between
Bishop Brooks and hymnody which must not be passed
over. Its disclosure was to many one of the surprises
of that wonderful biography of his friend by Dr.
Allen. And that connection is in the fact that his own
mind and heart were stored with hymns, to such an
extent and in such a way that they were one of the real
influences of his life.
In one of the letters " the father regrets that Phillips
10 STUfltfiS OF PA MIMA K HYMNS
" could not have been with the family on the last Sunday
evening" when the boys recited hymns. This was a
beautiful custom, which called from each one of the
children the learning of a new hymn every Sunday, and
its recital before the assembled family, in a little book,
carefully kept by the father, there was a record of the
hymns each child had learned, beginning with William,
who had the advantage of age, and had learned the
greatest number, followed by Phillips, who came next,
and the record tapering1 clown until John is reached, with
a comparatively small number at his disposal. Most of
them were from the old edition of the Prayer Book,
then bound up with a metrical selection of Psalms and
a collection of two hundred and twelve hymns." u But
there were others. When Phillips went to college there
were some two hundred that he could repeat They
constituted part of his religious furniture, or the soil
whence grew much that cannot now be traced. lie never
forgot them," Again his biographer remarks : " These
hymns Phillips carried in his mind as so much mental
and spiritual furniture, or as germs of thought; they
often reappeared in his sermons, as he became aware of
some deeper meaning in the old familiar lines." Once
more the biographer recurs to the subject ; this time
to speak of "the language of sacred hymns learned in
childhood and forever ringing in his oars," as one? of
the channels through which " he had felt the touch of
Christ."
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(i) Bishop Brooks's biographer says of this carol ;
"It is an exquisitely simple thing, and yet one feels
0 LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM n
"behind the words the existence of a great soul, medi-
fating on the mystery of the divine revelation " I, this
a true characterization? He suggests further that "It
has also a theological significance-tie adjustment be-
tween the natural order and the divine revelation."
*/
a i*'
THE OMITTED VERSE
(2) In the original manuscript of the carol there was
a fourth verse not used in the hymn books. Its form
as first written appears in the facsimile. Mr. Redner
12 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
writes : " The fourth line led to some amusing criticism
lest it should smack of the doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception, Brooks then changed that line to ' Son of
the Mother mild/ [and so it appears in the Christina's*
programme of 1868], but he afterwards decided to omit
the fourth verse altogether from the carol." Is it worth
while to restore the omitted verse?
(3) The form of the carol is somewhat unusual for a
hymn. It is not (until the last verse) an offering of
direct praise or prayer to God, but is rather a medita-
tion in which the singer addresses the little town itself.
Some hymnologists on that account question the pro-
priety of giving it a place among the hymns of the
Church. Is the carol really wanting in the form proper
for a hymn ? and if so, how far is its defect overcome
by deeper qualities that mark it as a hymn rather than
a ballad?
(4) The irregularities of the metre offer an interesting
study. The general scheme is that called "common
metre/' a line of four accents alternating with one of
three. This was the usual metre of the old English
ballads; and it looks as tliofigh Mr, Brooks had been
studying the balladists, who liad a way of dropping out
an accented syllable here and there, and of breaking an
occasional line into two by putting an additional rhyme
into the middle of it Do not these irregularities add to
the charm ?
(5) What is the meaning of the lines ; —
" The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thae to-night " ?
II
STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
1 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the cross ;
Lift high His royal banner,
It must not suffer loss :
From victory unto victory
His army He shall lead,
Till every foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed,
2 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
The trumpet call obey j
Forth to the mighty conflict
In this His glorious day:
Ye that are men now serve Him
Against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger,
And strength to strength oppose*
3 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you,
Ye dare not trust your own:
Put on the gospel armor,
Each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls, or danger,
Be never wanting there.
13
14 STU£>I£S OF PAMILXAR
4 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
The strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle,
The next the victor's song:
To him that overcometh
A crown of life shall be;
He with the King of Glory
Shall reign eternally.
Rev, George Dufficld, 1858
NOTE. — Four verses of the original six. The text is taken from a leaflet
printed by the author in 1883.
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
Very few hymns have had so pathetic an origin as
this. Its author, the Rev. George Duffield, was a
pastor in Philadelphia during the great revival of the
winter of 1857 and the spring of 1858, which centred
about the Noonday Prayer Meetings in Jayne's Hall,
under the charge of the Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation.
The real leader of the movement was a young Episco-
palian clergyman, Dudley A. Tyng. Though not yet
thirty years old, he was well known for his stand for
interdenominational fellowship and for the fervor of his
evangelical zeal. In Philadelphia, at the time, he was
especially before the public eye, having but lately, after
a contest with his vestry, precipitated by a sermon in
opposition to slave-holding, been compelled to retire
from the rectorship of the Church of the Epiphany. He
had gone forth with those sympathizing with him, and
preached in a public hall, establishing there the Church
of the Covenant. The band of clergymen of various
denominations gathered about him was united not only
REV. DUDLEY A, TYNG
l6 STUDIES OF FAMILIAL J/YMNS
by zeal in carrying on " The Work of (loci in Phila-
delphia/' but also in admiration and affection for Mr.
Tyng; and not the less so for their general feeling that
" he had been persecuted." Among these helpers was
Mr. Duffielcl, a deeply attached friend, who thought Mr.
Tyng " one of the noblest, bravest, manliest men I ever
met"
Athwart this fellowship and common work came the
tragic interruption of Mr, Tyng's death. On Tuesday,
April 1 3th, 1858, he went from the study of his country
home to the barn floor where a mult* was at work tread-
ing a machine for shelling corn. As he patted the
animal on the neck the sleeve of his study-gown be-
came caught in the cogs of the wheel, wrenching and
lacerating his arm, from the neck down, in a dreadful
manner. It seems that mortification set in. In any
event amputation, performed on the Saturday following,
did no more than postpone the end. Mr, Tyng died on
Monday, April igth, 1858,
Ea|rly that morning, it being perceived that he was
sinking, he was asked if he had any messages to send,
among others, to the band of clergymen so devoted to
him and the work. When able to rouse himself suffi-
ciently, he responded with a short message, beginning
with the words: "Tell them, * Let us all stand up for
Jesus.' " It is evident that these words especially touched
the already aroused feelings of his fellow-workers,
Bishop Macllvaine and the Rev. John Chambers quoted
them at the funeral as their friend's dying message, At
one of the Jayne's Hall meetings a poem was read
from the platform by the Rev. Thomas 1L Stockton,
beginning :
STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS If
*' STAND in* FOR. JESUS ! Strengthen' d by His hand,
Even I, though young, have ventured thus to stand ;
But, soon cut down, as maim'd and faint I lie,
Hear, O my friends, the charge with which I die —
Stand up for Jesus !"
And the Rev. Kingston Goddard, preaching to a great
throng on the day after Mr. Tyng's death, remarked :
" I conceive that the whole of my brother's teaching is
contained in that grand and noble expression of heroism
and devotion that fell from his lips in his dying hour —
i Stand up for Jesus f "
Mr. Duffield had been present at these services, but,
with his own feelings deeply stirred by his friend's tragic
death, perhaps hardly needed such incentives to quicken
the appeal of that dying message to his heart On the
Sunday following he preached to his own people from
Ephesians vi. 14, and read as the concluding exhorta-
tion of the sermon the verses of his now famous hymn,
into which he had wrought the message of his friend.
The superintendent of his Sunday-school, Mr. Benedict
D, Stewart, had them printed on a fly leaf; they were
copied by religious papers ; they appeared in The Sabbath
Hymn Book (Congregational) that same year, and in the
Supplement to T/te Church Psalmist (Presbyterian) in the
next year. The hymn became a favorite of the soldiers
during the Civil War, and is now sung in churches and
Sunday-schools all over the land and int many foreign
countries*
Long afterwards (in 1883) Dr, Duffield printed a leaflet
containing his preferred text of the hymn, and also
his recollections of its origin. This has been often
quoted from, and forms the familiar history of the hymn*
1 8 STV&fjBS OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
Dr. Duffield's memory had retained its hold upon so
much of the events as directly concerned himself, but it
is plain that other dates and circumstances had become
somewhat dimmed with the lapse of years, And the
present writer has not hesitated to supplement and cor-
rect these recollections in the light of facts disclosed in
the Memorial Volume published in the year of Mr.
Tyng's death, and especially in the touching Memorial
Sermon of Mr. Tyng's father (Stephen H. Tyng, D.D.),
who was present during the closing days of his son's
life.
" A cob of corn from that * threshing-floor/ " we are
told by Dr. Duffield's son, in 1885, "has ever since
hung on the study-wall of the author of the hymn/*
The hymn itself seems to echo the voice of his friend :
" Tell them, ' Let us all stand up for Jesus/ " with his
other words to those about him soon following, " Sing !
Sing ! Can you not sing ?"
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
In the ministry of the American Presbyterian Church
there have been three distinguished men named George
Duffield. The first (1732-1790) was a patriot and
chaplain in the Revolutionary army. His grandson, the
second George Duffield (1796-1868), was a successful
pastor at Carlisle, Philadelphia, and other places, and
an able theologian, whose work on Regeneration met
with the disapproval of his Presbytery, It was his son,
the third George Duffield, who was the author of this
hymn. "The author is not his father, Rev. George
Duffield, D.D., the Patriarch of Michigan/1 he found
STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS ig
occasion to say after his hymn had become famous while
his personality seemed obscured. " Neither is he his son,
Rev. Samuel W. Duffield, . . . now pastor of the West-
minster Church, Bloomfield, N. J. [He] has not yet lost
his identity, and claims to be his own individual self."
[At about the time of writing the hymn]
He was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1818, was
graduated from Yale College in 1837, and from Union
Theological Seminary in 1840, In the same year he
married, was ordained, and installed pastor of the Fifth
Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, where he remained
2O STUDIES OF FAMILIAL HYMNS
seven years. It was as pastor and preacher, rather than
as scholar or man of letters, that Dr. Duffield spent his
life. After leaving Brooklyn he was pastor of the First
Church of Bloomfteld, New Jersey, for four years. In
1851 he broke off a happy pastorate there to accept the
call of the Central Presbyterian Church of the Northern
Liberties, Philadelphia, with the expectation of finding in
the great city an enlarged opportunity for usefulness. It
seems quite certain that if he had not gone to Phila-
delphia we should never have had the hymn so closely
connected with his experiences there. But to him, at
the time, it must have seemed as though his going had
been the mistake of his professional life. I le found a
mortgaged church building unfortunately located in a
neighborhood from which the population was moving
westward, a congregation reduced in numbers, dis-
heartened, and unable to meet its financial obligations.
Dr. Duffield's Philadelphia pastorate was not wanting in
spiritual results, but with the conditions threatening the
continued life of his church he was not able to cope.
Year by year the congregation grew less in numbers
and resources. Dr. Duffield, however, held on until
1, 86 1, when he resigned his pastorate. I Ks subsequent
pastorates were of a less conspicuous character,— at
Adrian, Michigan, for four years, at Galesburg, Illinois,
for an equal period, and then at Saginaw City, Michigan,
His active service covered more than forty years.
Dr. Duffield's last years were lived in Bloomfield, with
his son. The son, himself a poet, always recalled with
pride that his hand had made the first; " fair copy "
of his father's hymn for the press, and those who saw
father and son together at Bloonrfield, still speak of the
STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS 21
reverence and love with which that same hand sup-
ported the father's failing steps. But the son was first
called, and it was more than a year before the father fol-
lowed him. Dr. Duffield died at Bloomfield on July 6th,
1888, and his remains were buried at Detroit
Dr. Duffield himself was a good soldier of Jesus
Christ He served so well and so long that at first
thought it seems strange, even unjust, that he should
now be remembered principally as the author of a hymn.
But, after all, such a hymn is the flower of a man's life,
and holds the best he was and had. It is quite possible,
too, that Dr. Duffield's hymn is the crown of his labors
for Christ He helped hundreds while he lived, but
how many thousands have been encouraged and in-
spired by his brave song !
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Why are military hymns so popular? and is it
right that they should be ? Was a recent critic justified
in the remark that it seemed to him foolish for a com-
pany of primary school boys and girls to march singing
of soldiering and battles ?
(2) The original second and fifth verses were omitted
from TJu Hymnal Would either or both of them be
any addition to the hymn as here printed ?
2, " Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
The solemn watchword hear ;
If while ye sleep He suffers,
Away with shame and fear ;
Where'er ye meet with evil,
Within you or without.
Charge for the God of Battles,
And put the foe to rout.
22 STUDIES OF FAMILIAL ffYMNS
5. " Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Each soldier to his post ;
Close up the broken column,
And shout through all the host :
Make good the loss so heavy,
In those that still remain,
And prove to all around you
That death itself is gain."
(3) The four verses in The Hymnal (and here) are
exactly as the author wrote them. In many books the
sixth line of verse one (" His army He shall lead ") reads,
" His army shall be led.1' This was originally a mis-
print, and was a great annoyance to the author. The
change spoils both rhyme and sense, and needs no dis-
cussion.
In The Sabbath Hymn Book of 1858, and in most
books since, the sixth line of verse three (" Each piece
put on with prayer ") is altered to, " And, watching unto
prayer." Was the change justifiable, and is it an
improvement ? (Note Dr. Duffield's words : *' It is the
author's earnest wish that " the hymn " shall continue
unaltered until the Soldiers of the Cross shall replace
it by something better.")
(4) The second verse of the hymn contains a para-
phrase of the text of a sermon preached by Mr. Tyng
at one of the Jayne's Hall meetings. According to Dr.
Duffield's leaflet it was preached the Sunday before
Mr. Tyng's death (but he was then in a dying condition) ;
according to the Memorial it was preached on March
3Oth. A great throng of young men was present, and
Dr. Duffield says, " at least one thousand, it was believed,
were * the slain of the Lord.' " What was the text of
the sermon ?
l
#
*
24 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
(5) Which of the familiar tunes to these words best
expresses the spirit and sentiments of the hymn — Webb,
Lancashire, or Greenland (see The Hymnal, Nos. 304,
347, 348) ? This is an instance of a hymn making- its
way without the aid of a tune — the tune to which it was
set in The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book having been
forgotten long ago, and none of those mentioned hav-
ing been written for this hymn.
Ill
SUN OF MY SOUL, THOU SAVIOUR DEAR
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
x Sun of my soul, Thou Saviour dear,
It is not night if Thou be near;
O may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes.
a When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My -wearied eyelids gently steep,
Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
For ever on my Saviour's breast.
3 Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live ;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die.
4 If some poor wandering child of Thine
Have spurned to-day the voice Divine,
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;
Let him no more lie down in sin.
5 Watch by the sick ; enrich the poor
With blessings from Thy boundless store;
Be every mourner's sleep to-night,
Like infants' slumbers, pure and light.
35
26 SraPf^S OF FAMILIAR
6 Come near and bless us when we wake,
Ere through the world our way we take,
Till in the ocean of Thy love
We lose ourselves in heaven above.
Rev. John Kcblc, i8ao
NOTE. — Six verses out of the fourteen of the original poem. The text is
that of the second edition of The Christian Year, with (per-
haps) a variation in the form of one word (see under " 4 Some
Points for Discussion").
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
In June, 1827, a book of verse in two thin i6mo vol-
umes was published at Oxford, England. It had the
following title : " The Christian Year : Thoughts in Verse
for the Sundays and Holydays throughout the Year."
Beneath the title was the motto, " In quietness and in
confidence shall be your strength." The author was a
young clergyman, John Keble, but his name did not
appear in the book. The secret of authorship was
shared by a number of friends to whom he had sub-
mitted the manuscript, and gradually leaked out. For
years he had been writing and revising his poems, and
he wished to hold them back for still further polishing ;
perhaps not letting the book appear till after his death.
But his aged father's urgent wish to see it in print impelled
him to publish it without further delay.
The success of the book was immediate and extra-
ordinary. Edition after edition was called for, In
twenty-six years after publication forty-three editions, one
hundred and eight thousand copies in all, were printed.
Indeed, the sale of the book has gone on continuously
up to the present time. The man who seemed most
indifferent to its success, most unconscious of its merits,
SUM OF MY SOUL, THOU SAVIOUR DEAR 27
was the author himself. He never willingly talked about
it or cared to hear it praised. That may be explained
partly by his modesty and dissatisfaction with his work,
but yet more from the fact that the book laid bare his
inmost thoughts and feelings.
The Christian Year is not a continuous poem. It
consists of a series of poems, one for each of the days
**~
f&£ &~S 6*&&f^
AUTOGRAPH VKRSKS OK THE HYMN
and occasions for which services are provided in the
Book of Common Prayer. These poems were not
intended for singing, but for devotional reading as a
poetical companion to the Prayer Book. And yet a good
28 STOD/ttS Off FAMILIAR HYMNS
many hymns have been taken from them by compilers
of hymn books.
The first service in the Prayer Book is the Order for
Morning Prayer. And the first poem in Tlie Christian
Year is called " Morning." Certain of its verses make
one of our most familiar morning hymns, " New Every
Morning is the Love" (The Ilyinnal, No. 6). The
second service in the Prayer Book is the Order for
Evening Prayer, and in The Christian Year the second
poem is " Evening.'' It has fourteen verses, with the
motto prefixed, " Abide with us, for it is towards even-
ing, and the clay is far spent." The third, seventh,
eighth, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth verses make
up the familiar hymn, " Sun of My Soul," as printed in
The llyinual (No. 16) and here.
It would be interesting to know who it was with the
wit to discover that so lovely and complete a hymn lay
imbedded among the verses of a poem which, as a whole,
is not a hymn at all. The great thing was to discern
the precise point at which the hymn should begin. In a
copy of the first edition of The Christian Year belonging
to the present writer some one has mapped out a pro-
posed hymn, beginning with the first verse of the poem,
as follows :—
** 'Tis gone, that bright and orbed blaze,
Fust fading front our wistful guxo ;
Yon mantling rloud has bid from sij,»ht
The last faint pulse of quivering light."
Such a hymn could not have won its way. As early as
1836 the accomplished Unitarian, John Hamilton Thorn,
made up for his Selection a hymn whose first verse was
OP MY SOUL, THOU SAPlOtfJt DEAR 2$
the ninth of the poem, beginning, " Thou Framer of the
light and dark," followed by the last three verses as at
present sung, A year earlier than that the Rev. Henry
Venn Elliott (brother of the author of " Just as I Am ")
put into his Psalms and Hymns a selection of four
verses, beginning with the "Sun of my soul" verse.
His example was followed by other editors, some of
them using additional verses. And, unless an earlier
instance shall turn up, to him must be given the honor
of discovering the hymn that lay imbedded in the poem.
It is a curious fact that when Keble himself came to
select the verses to be used in the Salisbury Hymn
Book, 1857, he left out the "Sun of my soul" verse
altogether, and began the hymn with " When the soft
dews of kindly sleep." In this he has had few followers.
In Kngland, as has been said, the success of The
Christian Year was immediate. But England was more
remote from the United States then than now, and the
channels of fellowship between the Episcopal churches in
the two countries were less open. Bishop Doane, of Bur-
lington, New Jersey, had his attention called to the book
in 1828, accidentally, by coming across a quotation from
it* He edited and published in 1834, through Lea &
Blanchard, Philadelphia, the first American edition of
The Christian Year. His attempt, by means of notes, to
make it serve also as a primer of "the order, institu-
tions, and services of the Church/' together with his
curious method of printing in italics all such lines
throughout the book as especially pleased him, cause a
smile of amusement to flit across the expression of one's
appreciation of the Bishop's venture. It was not, how-
ever, until 1865 that "Sun of My Soul" was admitted
3O STUDIES OF FAMILIAL HYMNS
among the hymns appointed to be sung in Protestant
Episcopal churches. The New England Unitarians (least
in sympathy with Keble and yet most alert in seeing good
in new things) were, as so often, the first to introduce
the hymn into this country. In 1835 F. W. P. Green-
wood, pastor of King's Chapel, Boston, included it in
his Collection of Psalms and Hymns, beginning the hymn
with the first verse of the poem (" Tis gone, that bright
and orbed blaze "), and following that with the " Sun of
my soul " verse and two more of those now so familiar.
Several other Unitarian compilers followed Mr, Green-
wood's lead. Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Collec-
tion of 1855 seems to have introduced the hymn into
more orthodox circles ; and in The Sabbath Hymn Book
of the Andover professors, 1858, it appears, at length
relieved of the incubus of a first verse that is not
hymnic, as our familiar " Sun of My Soul, Thou Saviour
Dear."
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
John Keble was born at Fairford on April 25th, 1792.
He was prepared for college by his father, a country
clergyman (for whom the poet was named), and went
up to Oxford "as a mere lad, home-bred and home-
loving.0 Keble's home-training in a secluded parson-
age, with the peaceful English landscape outside, and,
within, the unquestioned reign of the old High Church
prejudices, opinions, and piety, had a great part in mak-
ing him what he was* It furnished the very atmosphere
of the poetry of his after years.
While only eighteen he was graduated B. A., with
double first-class honors, then counted a rare distinction*
SUN OF MY SOUL, THOU SAVIOUR DEAR 3}'l
In those days, when scholarship outranked athletics, it
made the shy, gentle lad " first man in Oxford." Cardi-
nal Newman recalls that when he came there Keble's
was the first name he heard, spoken of " with reverence
rather than admiration " and confesses how abashed he
JOHN KK15LE
felt in Keble's presence. This " reverence rather than
admiration " seems to have been the common feeling
toward Keble through all his life.
Keblc was elected a Fellow of Oriel College, and
remained in Oxford as a tutor and as examiner. He
32 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
was ordained to the full ministry In 1816, and took a
country curacy in addition to college duties. I lis
mother's death, in 1823, brought him home to Pairford,
and there, with the exception of a year as curate of
llursley, he stayed as his father's helper as long as the
latter lived. It was while at Pairford that he published
The C/iristiati Year. Other than that, perhaps the most
momentous thing' he did in these years was preaching1 at
Oxford in 1833 the famous Assize Sermon that, accord-
ing to Newman, gave the start to the High Church or
Oxford Movement, which transformed the Church of
England. And of this movement Keble and Newman
and Doctor Pusey were the leading spirits.
In 1835 Keble's father died. In that year he married
and became Vicar of llursley, a lovely village across the
downs from Winchester. There he remained with entire
contentment for the rest of his days, a famous man, but
leading the life of a retired scholar and faithful country
pastor. lie rebuilt the village church, largely out of the
profits of The Christian Year ; and in his daily services
and parish ministries carried out the church principles
for which he stood.
Tender-hearted, kindly, gentle, and even playful in
manner, Keble was none the less firm and decided in
holding and advocating extreme High Church views.
lie gave himself very earnestly to forwarding "the
movement," and had but scant regard for what he
called "The Protestant party." But, unlike his friend
Newman, he saw his way clear to remain in the Church
of England. It is indeed impossible to think of him as
making such a breach with, his traditions and familiar
surroundings, or as surviving it if made.
SUN OF MY SOUL, THOU SAVIOUR DEAR 33
Keble's mind was that of a poet and not that of a
logician. Intuition and feeling were more to him than
reasoning, and he instinctively craved a comfortable sup-
port of authority as the sanction for his opinions and
acts. His character, in its childlikeness and purity, its
entire unworldliness, its devotional fervor and spirit of
consecration, was lovely indeed. Taken together with
his power of substituting lofty poetry for polemics, it has
given him extraordinary influence within the Church of
England. Beyond its bounds that influence was neces-
sarily limited by a theory of the church that withdrew
him from any real sympathy and communion with his
fellow Christians in other folds. His position in hym-
nody does not by any means correspond with the impor-
tant place he occupies as a religious poet The two
lovely hymns extracted from the opening poems of
The Christian Year come near to exhausting the materials
that are available without an effort of piecing together
unrelated passages. It is a book of meditative poetry
and not of hymns. Keble's other poetical works include
Lyra Innocentium, in which childhood is contemplated
with the light from stained-glass windows falling upon
it ; and also a complete metrical version of the Psalms.
The latter was never used as a hymn book, but is far
superior to the average attempt to do a thing which, as
Keble himself knew and acknowledged, is inherently
impossible. The hymn beginning " God, the Lord, a
King remaineth " (The Hymnal, No. 89) is an example of
Keble's renderings. From time to time he contributed
a few other hymns to various books compiled by personal
friends. He also assisted Earl Nelson in editing The
Salisbury Hymn Book of 1857. In this he printed his
34 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
familiar wedding hymn, " The Voice that Breathed o'er
Eden" (The Hymnal, No. 687).
Keble died on March 2gth, 1866, at Bournemouth,
where he had gone for the health of his wife, who sur-
vived him but six weeks. The last book he had in his
hand was a hymn book — Roundell Palmer's Book of
Praise. He had sent for it, because unable to recall all
the verses of Bishop Ken's Evening Hymn, which he
was accustomed to say in the night-watches by his wife.
The graves of the poet and his wife are in Hursley
church-yard.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Can even a hymn so tender and lovely as this be
sung thoughtlessly ? There is in the diary of the late
Archbishop Benson a good instance of the thoughtful
hearing of the hymn. He was preaching in the chapel
of Eton College, and notes : " In Evening Service I could
not see one single boy who was not singing the Evening
Hymn after Service, 'Sun of My Soul/ — and the last
verse was most touching, and most touchingly sung, as
one thought of school as the waking place of so many
souls and minds : —
<* < Come near and bless us when we wake,
Ere through the world our way we take} "
(2) The many alterations made in the text of the hymn
by various editors may well be passed by. The revisions
of Keble himself are more interesting. Two autograph
manuscripts of The Christian Year, or parts of it, are in
existence, and of that dated 1822 a facsimile has been
SUN OF MY SOUL, THOU SAVIOUR DEAR 35
printed. Its differences from the Hymnal text are
these :—
Verse 2, line 2 : drooping eyelids.
a « « 4 : our Saviour1 s.
" 3 " i : /<? eve.
" 4 " I : wandering soul.
" " " 2 : has spurned.
" " "3: Thy gracious work.
" " " 4 : Let him not $lee$ to-night va sin.
The Hymnal text here given is that of the second edition
(1827) of The Christian Year. It differs from that of the
first edition in only two places. In the opening line of
the fourth verse the first edition followed the manuscript
form, " If some poor wandering soul of thine " ; and the
last line of that verse began (oddly enough), " Let her no
more." Can there be any question that in this second
edition Keble improved the text of these lines 1
There is, however, one small particular in which the
Hymnal text differs from that of all the early printed
editions. In them the last line of the fifth verse is
printed to read " Like infant's slumbers," instead of " Like
infants' slumbers." In Keble's manuscript the position
of the apostrophe is problematical. In later editions of
The Christian Year the word is printed " infants'," whether
or no by Keble's authority does not appear. It is hard
to believe that he would have defended "like infant's
slumbers " as good English, if his attention was called to
it. It seems more likely that it was an overlooked mis-
print.
(3) What passage of Scripture suggested the lines : —
" O may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes " ?
36 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
(4) The familiar tune, Hursley, was arranged for this
hymn from an old German melody: Abends ( The Hymnal^
No, 1 8), Keble (No. 61), Sun of My Soul (No. 118),
and Clolata (No. 444), were all specially written for it.
Of the five tunes, which best expresses the spirit of the
hymn?
IV
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION, YE SAINTS OF
THE LORD
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
How firm a foundation, 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 fled?
'* Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed ;
I, I ana thy God, and will still give thee aid ;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
" When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow ;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
(i Virhen through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee ; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
" E'en down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love ;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne*
37
38 STUDIES OF FAMILIAL
"6 "The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
111 never, no, never, no, never forsake."
"K " in Rippon's "Selection of Hymns," 1787
NOTE. — Six verses out of seven: the text being taken from Dr. Rippon's
book.
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Outside of the great hymn writers, few names are
more familiar to a student of hymns than that of Dr.
John Rippon. He was pastor, from 1773 to 1836, of a
Particular Baptist church in London. He had great
reputation and influence both as man and as pastor; but
of all the things he accomplished, the one best remem-
bered is the hymn book he edited. He and his people
were alike devoted to singing the psalms and hymns of
Dr. Watts. Neither had any wish to supersede them,
but Dr. Rippon had come to feel that hymns were
needed on some subjects and occasions omitted by Dr.
Watts. And hence he was led to publish, in the year
1787, a hymn book with this title: "A Selection of
Hymns from the Best Authors, Intended to be an Ap-
pendix to Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns. By John
Rippon, A. M."
It was a book of great merit, and was used widely
and for long, many editions being printed in England
and this country ; and Dr. Rippon is reputed to have
accumulated a comfortable estate from his profits on the
publication. The copy of the first edition in the posses-
sion of the present writer is graced by Dr. Rippon's
portrait. But as this copy is in special binding, he ven-
tures to hope that it is one of a few prepared for per-
JSryravni fyJamufiWw
^^^^^
ff & / ', J
FRONTISPIECE TO " RIPPON'S SELECTION"
4O STUDJJKS OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
sonal friends, and that copies intended for use in worship
were not so embellished. In any event Dr. Rippon
must be credited with the very great services he ren-
dered to hymnody. The remarkable feature of the
book, which has given it permanent fame, is the great
number of original hymns secured by him and there
first printed. Many of those have been in use ever
since.
From this copy of Dr. Rippon's book the photogra-
pher has reproduced for us, even to the light color of
the ink, the page containing the most famous of these
hymns. Looking upon the facsimile, we have before us
the priginal text of " How Firm a Foundation," from
the motto at the top to the editor's note at the bottom,
with all the quaint capitalization, just as their eyes saw
it who first found inspiration in singing it so long ago.
The facsimile gives us not only the text, but all that
is actually known of the authorship of the hymn. T)r,
Rippon's habit was to print the author's name above a,
hymn. This hymn is one of three to which the only
signature is the letter " K " followed by a clash. The
other two, beginning, " In songs of sublime adoration
and praise," and " The Bible is justly esteemed," do not
arouse much interest. But the authorship of this one
seems to have been discussed from the first, and ever
since has excited much curiosity and speculation. Such
a problem has its own fascination. One cannot but think
of the unknown writer, all unconscious that by signing
his name to the hymn he would have won immortality,
and of the other people who knew the secret, but are not
here to answer our questions.
Naturally we turn to Dr. Rippon's preface, first of all,
$r
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FACSIMILE OF THK FIRST PRINTING OF THE HYMN
42 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
to see if it throws any light upon the matter. After
speaking of distinguished men who have contributed
hymns, he adds : " In most Places, where the Names of
the Authors were known, they arc put at full Length,
but the Hymns which are not so distinguished, or which
have only a single Letter prefixed to them, were, many
of them, composed by a Person unknown, or else have
undergone some Considerable Alterations." What Dr.
Rippon has in mind to say here is that many of the
unsigned hymns were composed or recast by himself
(the "Person unknown"), and that generally (but not
always) he has given the author's name in full when he
knew it. That is all, and it throws no light here.
As long as Dr. Rippon lived to reprint his book, the
signature to this hymn remained unchanged. After his
death, and when the book had passed from the control
of his representatives, an enlarged edition appeared, in
which "K" is changed to "KIRKHAM." Who made
the change, and for what reason, cannot now be known.
Very likely it was based merely on hearsay. Certainly
the new editor did not know who wrote the two other
hymns originally ascribed to " K," for they are left
anonymous, even that letter being dropped. The ascrip-
tions of authorship in this edition are so careless and
full of errors as to carry little weight In 1788 Thomas
Kirkham published a collection of hymns, but those
who have examined it say that this hymn is not among
them. And there is no evidence that it was written by
any one of the name of Kirkham.
Another solution of the puzzle was offered by Daniel
Sedgwick. He was a second-hand bookseller of London,
who collected hymn books and studied English hymns
HO W FIRM A FO UNDA TION 43
until he knew more of their history than any one else of
his time. He suggested that " K " was probably put for
Keith, meaning George Keith, a London bookseller,
son-in-law of the famous Dr. Gill, and who was said to
compose hymns based on his father-in-law's sermons.
Dr. Julian, who examined Mr. Sedgwick's papers after
his death, reports that his guess was based on nothing
more substantial than a statement of an old woman
whom Sedgwick met in an almshouse. But his name
carried a certain authority, and his guess grew into a tra-
dition. Many hymn books, even to the present time,
ascribe the hymn to George Keith, sometimes with, and
sometimes without, a mark of interrogation.
So the matter rested until taken up by a well-known
editor of Boston, Mr. H. L. Hastings, who successfully
solved the problem of the authorship of another hymn,
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus/' Mr. Hastings
published the account of his investigations in his paper,
The Christian, for May, 1887, and it will be best to have
the story in his own words :
" In preparing hymns and music for Songs of Pilgrim-
age, we were led to go over not only Dr. Rippon's hymn
book but also his Tune Book, edited by Thomas Walker,
who for a time led the singing in Dr. Rippon's church.
We noticed that over the hymn in question was placed
the name of a tune to which it was to be sung, which
was Geard On looking up that tune in the book, we
found it was composed by R. Keene. There being but
two tunes of that metre in the entire book, the thought
arose, was the ' K' of the hymn the same person as the
* R. Kccne/ to whose tune it was to be sung ? Examin-
ing both hymn and tune, they seemed to be made for
44 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMN'S
"each other, and the evidence seemed to point to R.
Keene as the author of the hymn ; and we accordingly
inserted it in Songs of Pilgrimage, with the original
tune, and placed under it the name of R. Keene, with a
query (?) to indicate uncertainty as to its origin.
"Visiting London, near the close of 1886, we called
upon the venerable Charles Gordelier, and asked him,
Who wrote * How Firm a Foundation ' ? He gave the
names Kirkham, Keith, and Keene, but could give no
definite reason for preferring one to another, until we
laid the facts before him. Turning to Keene's tune,
Geard, which he had copied into a book, he at once
recognized it as the tune to which, fifty years before,
they were accustomed to sing that hymn, and he also
remembered that its author, R. Keene, was once a leader
of the singing in Dr. Rippon's church, and that the
hymn in question was said to have been written by a
precentor in Dr. Rippon's church. After considerable
thought, he recalled that half a century before, when he
himself led the singing in the Baptist church, and used
to meet with the different precentors from other meet-
ings, he had heard the authorship of that hymn attrib-
uted to Keene, and he finally remembered that an
aged woman named Edgehill, a member of Dr. Rippon's
church, and the wife of a bookseller in Brick Lane, had
told him that Keene was the author of that hymn.
" There might be various reasons why a musician and
choir master might put his name to a tune which he
composed, while modesty, or other considerations, might
cause him to append only his initial to a new hymn ;
and, in view of all the facts, we think we may consider
the question settled, and definitely assign the authorship
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION 45
" of the hymn to R. Keene, a precentor in Dr. Rippon's
church, and the author of the tune Geard, to which it
was sung.'1
Such was Mr. Hastings's conclusion, which for some
reason has not attracted much attention ; but it has had
a striking confirmation at the hands of another investi-
gator. In preparing a notice of this hymn for his Dic-
tionary of Hymnology, Dr. John Julian found that in
Dr. Fletcher's Baptist Collection of 1822 the "K— " of
Rippon was extended to " Kn," and in his edition of
1835, still further, to "Keen," while in the preface Dr.
Fletcher stated that he was greatly assisted by Thomas
Walker, and acknowledged his extensive acquaintance
with sacred poety. Now, this Thomas Walker was Dn
Rippon's precentor and the editor of his Tune Book, in
which Geard appears. Taking this association into
account, Dr. Julian argues that Dr. Walker based his
ascription of authorship upon actual knowledge of the
facts, and that " we are justified in concluding that the
ascription to this hymn must be that of an unknown
person of the name of Keen,"
We have, then, a result practically the same from two
independent investigations carried on in each case with-
out knowledge of the other, and the reasonableness of
such conclusion seems greatly strengthened by the coin-
cidence. Mr. Hastings goes a step beyond Dr. Julian in
fixing the identity of Keene. The present writer would
add further particulars if he could. In the letters of the
Rev. George Whitefield are many references to a Robert
Keene, woolen draper in the Minories, London, who was
Whitefield's faithful friend, a trustee of his Tabernacle,
and who lived until 1793. But there seems to be nothing
46 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
that would associate him with Dr. Rippon's Baptist
hymn book.
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
The hymn seems to have come into immediate use
upon its appearance in Dr. Rippon's book. Copies of
the book were brought over to this country, and in 1790
this hymn was put into the hymn book of the Philadel-
phia Baptist Association. In 1792, only five years after
its original publication, the whole book was reprinted in
New York, so that the hymn began its career here almost
as soon as in England, and for some reason it has won
a more lasting popularity here than there. So familiar
is the hymn to us, we imagine it to be a standard wher-
ever English hymns are sung. But such is not the fact
It never gained a foothold within the Church of England.
It is not sung by the Wesleyans or Presbyterians of
Great Britain, and but little by the Congregationalists.
Dr. Horder, the best known hymnologist among the
latter, speaks of it in his Hymn Lover as a hymn of no
great merit. Its use, over there, is mostly among
Baptists.
In this country, on the other hand, few hymns have
been sung more generally or more enthusiastically. It
has a part in the history of our common Christianity.
Very likely the stirring tune to which it has for so long
been sung throughout the United States is partly respon-
sible for this popularity. That tune does not rightly
belong to these words, and, as in the case of the hymn,
its origin has never been certainly established. The
statement of so many books that it was composed by
John Reading rests on no real foundation. The familiar
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION 47
name, " Portuguese Hymn," is an error started by one
who heard it in the chapel of the Portuguese Embassy
in London, and hastily assumed it to be a Portuguese
melody. All that is actually known of the tune is that
it was the music to a Latin Christmas hymn (" Adeste
Fideles "), sung in Roman Catholic chapels throughout
England as early as the middle of the eighteenth century.
Our well-known "O Come, All Ye Faithful11 (The
Hymnal, No. 170), is a translation of the hymn to which
the tune rightly belongs.
The position which the hymn " How Firm a Founda-
tion," thus mated to the Christmas tune, has taken among
us was strikingly illustrated in the late Spanish War.
The incident is related in The Sunday-School Times for
December 7th, 1901, by Lieutenant-Colonel Curtis Guild,
Jr., late Inspector-General of the Seventh Army Corps.
The corps was encamped along the hills at Quemados,
near Havana, Cuba, On Christmas eve of 1898 Colonel
Guild sat before 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 was Christmas morning. Scarcely had the cry of
the sentinel died away, when from the bandsmen's tents
of that same regiment there rose the music of an old,
familiar hymn, and one clear baritone voice led the chorus
that quickly ran along those moonlit fields : ' How firm
a foundation, ye saints of the Lord!' Another voice
joined in, and another, and another, and in a moment
the whole regiment was singing, and then the Sixth
Missouri joined in, with the Fourth Virginia, and all the
48 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR ffYMWS
" rest, till there, on the long ridges above the great city
whence Spanish tyranny once went forth to enslave the
New World, a whole American army corps was sing-
ing:—
" ' Fear not, I 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 righteous, omnipotent hand.*
"The Northern soldier knew the hymn as one he
had learned beside his mother's knee. To the Southern
soldier it was that and something more; it was the
favorite hymn of General Robert E. Lee, and was sung
at that great commander's funeral.
" Protestant and Catholic, South and North, singing
together on Christmas day in the morning, — that's an
American army !"
And if any one has felt a sense of impropriety in
divorcing the old Christmas music from its proper words,
surely he may feel that it came to its own again that
morning. Such an incident, and what it implies, inclines
one rather to the hope that " How Firm a Foundation "
may never cease to be sung among us, and that it may
never be set to any other tune.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Was Mr. Hastings justified in saying that the ques-
tion of authorship is now settled in favor of R. Keene ?
(2) The literary method of this hymn is peculiar, and
more like that of a homily than of a song. The singer
addresses his fellow-saints with an assertion that a solid
foundation for their confident faith is laid in Scripture.
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION" 49
This he emphasizes by the rhetorical question, Could
God have promised more ? The balance of the hymn is
simply the citation of his proof-texts. Can you trace in
the Scriptures these " precious promises " that are quoted
in the hymn ?
(3) The last line brings out the impressive repetition
of negatives in Hebrews xiii. 5 (" I will in no wise let
thee go ; no, nor will I forsake thee "). In the minds of
many clergymen who are graduates of Princeton Semi-
nary, this line is inevitably associated with an incident
of the last years of its much-beloved theological pro-
fessor, Dr. Charles Hodge. The tradition still lingers
there that one evening, in conducting prayers in the
Oratory, the venerable man, in reading this hymn, which
he had announced to be sung, was so overcome by his
emotions that on reaching the last line he could only
indicate by gestures, keeping time with the rhythm of the
words, his own appropriation of God's assurance that
He would never, no, never, no, never forsake the soul
that hath leaned on Christ
The foot-note to this last line of the hymn when it
originally appeared in Rippon's Selection — " agreeable to
Dr. Doddridge's Translation of Heb. xii. 5 " (see the
facsimile) — was one that at the time required no explana-
tion. The allusion is to the paraphrase of that verse as
given in The Family Expositor ; or a Paraphrase and
Version of the New Testament, with Critical Notes and
Practical Improvements, by the famous Dr. Philip Dod-
dridge. This book had won enthusiastic praise not only
from nonconformists, but from divines and scholars of
the Church of England, and had already become one of
the familiar household books of the period. The verse
4
5O STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
in question there reads : " / will not, I will not leave tkee,
/ will never, never, never forsake thee" It will be noticed
that the author of the hymn has not only reproduced in
the last line the tripled "never" of Dr. Doddridge's
version, but also, in the line immediately preceding, its
repetition of the " I will not."
V
LORD, WITH GLOWING HEART I'D PRAISE THEE
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
I Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise Thee
For the bliss Thy love bestows,
For the pardoning grace that saves me,
And the peace that from it flows :
Help, O God, my weak endeavor;
This dull soul to rapture raise :
Thou must light the flame, or never
Can my love be warmed to praise.
a Praise, my soul, the God that sought thee,
Wretched wanderer, far astray;
Found thee lost, and kindly brought thee
From the paths of death away ;
Praise, with love's devoutest feeling,
Him who saw thy guilt-born fear,
And, the light of hope revealing,
Bade the blood-stained cross appear.
3 Lord, this bosom's ardent feeling
Vainly would my lips express:
Low before Thy footstool kneeling,
Deign Thy suppliant's prayer to bless:
Let Thy grace, my soul's chief treasure,
Love's pure flame within me raise;
And, since words can never measure,
Let my life show forth Thy praise.
Francis Scott Key, 18x7
NOTE, — The text is taken from Dr. Muhlenberg's Church Poetry, 1823.
52 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
To a patriotic American Christian it is a real satisfac-
tion to find in the hymn book of his Church a hymn by
the author of "The Star Spangled Banner." And the
hymn is not unworthy of its place. A good judge, the
Rev. Frederick M. Bird, in an essay upon the Hym-
nology of the Protestant Episcopal Church, called Mr.
Key's hymn " as memorable a piece of work " as his
"Star Spangled Banner/' "It has," he says, "high
devotional and fair literary merit, and is endeared to
many thousands by long associations." There is, no
doubt, a flavor of an older fashion in the rhetoric of the
hymn, but its expression of Christian gratitude still rings
true ; and, as a matter of fact, the use of the hymn is
more widespread to-day than ever before.
In 1823 the Rev. Dr. William A. Muhlenberg, after-
ward famous as the author of " I Would not Live
Alway," printed a hymn book under the name of Church
Poetry. " Here first (so far as is known) appeared Fran-
cis S. Key's very genuine hymn, * Lord, with Glowing
Heart I'd Praise Thee/ " says Mr. Bird in the essay
already referred to. Such has been the general belief
up to this time, and hence in every hymnal the hymn
bears the date 1823. But in our present study we shall
be able to make use of some facts not hitherto known.
In the autumn of 1900 the writer saw in a New York
auction catalogue the entry of a copy of this hymn in
Mr. Key's autograph, which he secured. It is written
on a half, sheet of foolscap and inscribed in the margin,
"Written by the author, F. Key, for Sylvester Nash,"
Hitherto only three eight-line verses of the hymn had
LORD, WITH GLOWING HEART PD PRAISE THEE 53
been known to hymnologists, as printed in Dr. Muhlen-
berg's book and always since. But the autograph copy
has an additional verse (or two of four lines each) as
reproduced in the accompanying facsimile. This was
/ 7-
' l
<£^^
^ifci (far<L£jL~.< iL^' i**&«>t£) vzA*
THE NEWLY-FOUND VERSE
the original third verse, preceding the last one as here
printed.
And now, as regards the date. In December of 1901,
while having some part in the rearrangement of the
library of the Presbyterian Historical Society in Phila-
delphia, the writer took the opportunity of examining
some old periodicals, on the chance of what he might
find. Among them were three volumes of The Christian
Messenger, an unscctarian religious magazine, edited and
published by Joshua T, Russell, in Baltimore. At page
288 of the first volume, at the end of the number for
Saturday. September 6th, 1817, he found the original
54 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
printing of this hymn. It is printed in eight four-line
verses, and is prefaced by this note : —
"The following Hymn was composed by a gentleman,
formerly a resident of this city, distinguished for his eminent
talents and exemplary piety."
This little discovery changes the accepted elate of the
hymn from 1823 to 1817. The additional eight lines of
the manuscript are included in the hymn in the maga-
zine, and this seems to be the first and last time they
have been printed until now. Dr. Muhlcnbcrg chose to
omit them from his hymn book in 1823. And since
then every one else, even the editor of Mr. Key's poems
(which were gathered up and published in 1857), seems
completely to have lost sight of them.
In 1826 Mr. Key's hymn, in its three-verse form, was
given a place in the Hymns of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, and it has retained that place in the hymnals
from time to time authorized for use in that Church. It
was introduced to a much wider company when, in 1830,
the Rev. Joshua Leavitt included it in his very popular
collection, The Christian Lyre. This was the book the
light and secular character of whose music caused such
grief to the heart of Thomas Hastings. Designed for
revival and social meetings, it found its way into the
more formal services of many Presbyterian churches, as
a welcome substitute for the authorized psalmody. It
cannot be said, however, that by this means, or any
other, Mr. Key's hymn became generally familiar to
Presbyterians until a much later date. The Presbyterian
Hymnal of 1874 was the first authorized book to contain
it. A peculiar feature in the long career of this hymn
is that so little music should have been composed for it
LORD, WITH GLOWING HEART PD PRAISE THEE 55
Even now the words can hardly be said to be associated
with any particular tune.
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Over the grave of Francis Scott Key, at Frederick,
Maryland, there was placed in 1898 an impressive
monument. His figure in bronze stands on a granite
base. He is represented at the moment of discovery
that " our flag was still there/1 his right arm extended
toward it, and the left waving aloft his hat in an exultant
salute. It is a striking representation of the way in
which Mr. Key himself stands before the minds of his
countrymen. They think of him always as in that atti-
tude. To them he is always the man who wrote " The
Star Spangled Banner." The one hour outshines the
life so much in men's eyes that the life has become
obscure.
It is none the less pleasant to know how worthy that
life was before and after its great event; to find the
home life as attractive as the patriotism, to find the grace
of the gentleman and the earnestness of the Christian at
one with the gifts of the poet
No extended life of Mr. Key has been published, but
it seems as if (like that editor who put the note before
his hymn) every one who wrote of him felt called upon
to praise him.
Mr. Key was the son of John Ross Key, a man of
means and high social position, and a self-sacrificing
patriot of the Revolution ; and was born on his father's
estate, Terra Rubra, Frederick, Maryland, on August
1st, 1779. He was educated at St. John's College,
56 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
Annapolis, and in 1802 married the representative of
another distinguished Maryland family, Mary Tayloe
Lloyd, whose ancestral home, with its wainscotted draw-
ing-room, has stood in Annapolis from 1709 until now.
Mr. Key practiced law in Frederick for some years,
afterward moving to Georgetown, D. C. For three terms
he was district attorney of the District of Columbia. As
a lawyer he seems not to have been given to severe
studies, but yet competent, with a ready mind full of
resources and equal to the occasion. He had, too, more
than a little of the gifts of the orator ; was natural and
earnest, and easily kindled into passion. In person he
was slight, and of extraordinary vigor both in mind and
body ; walking, when an elderly man, with the light and
elastic gait of a boy, and highly charged with electricity
through his whole system. He was absolutely fearless,
ardent, impulsive, frank, outspoken ; not without the
defects of his qualities. Not always recognized by pass-
ing acquaintances as being all that he was, and yet al-
ways as being a gentleman. He was cheerful, and liked
social life and hospitalities, and excelled in bright conver-
sation. Of real warmth of heart, he loved his friends
with great loyalty and his family with tender devotion.
Mr. Key was a member of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, of the type known as Evangelical. He loved
his own Church, but one who had been his rector (Rev.
John T. Brooke) has taken pains to record in a Memorial
Discourse that he " had no sympathy whatever with the
later attempts of individuals^ at different periods, to erect
high and exclusive fences upon the original peculiarities
of the church." He was in sympathy with good men
of every name, and ready to worship and cooperate
LORD, WITH GLOWING HEART I'D PJRA1SE THEE 57
with them. Though burdened with the care of a very
large family and heavy professional duties, he was habit-
ually busy in Christian work to a degree that excited the
wonder of his pastor. Ready to officiate as lay-reader
when needed, a fervent participant in social meetings for
prayer, " he found much lime to visit the sick, to comfort
the mourning, to confer with the enquiring, to warn the
careless ; and he stood ever ready, at a moment's warn-
ing, to lift his voice in behalf of any of the great public
charities of the clay."
Mr. Key and his wife were both slave-holders by
58 STUJDJES OJ? FAMILIAR HYMNS
inheritance, but deplored the existence of the institution
of slavery. Mr. Key gave much thought to his own
negroes, and regularly held Sunday-school for them ; in
his neighborhood he was proverbially the colored man's
friend, their unpaid advocate in the courts, their helper
in time of trouble. He was among the first to think out
the scheme of African colonization as the most hopeful
remedy for a complicated situation. In connection with
his friend Bishop Meade, he traveled much and worked
hard to promote the cause, to which he became ardently
devoted. His income was always carefully apportioned
to provide a fund for his charities, and among his last
words were his directions where to find and how to
employ the moneys then on hand for such uses.
" Good men are great blessings to the community " —
it was so that Mr. Key's pastor began the Memorial
Discourse. " But they must die " — so it continued.
And though a commonplace, one can understand how
hard it must have been to apply the phrase to one so
very much alive as he. Mr. Key died in Baltimore,
January nth, 1843. In addition to the monument over
his grave erected by popular subscription, a statue of
him also stands in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco,
provided by the will of James Lick, the California
millionaire.
But his song is his monument. Toward the end of the
War of 1812 he learned that a friend and neighbor had
been taken from his home by the British forces and was
held as a prisoner on board the admiral's ship. He at
once determined to intercede for his friend's release, and
secured from the government such papers as were neces-
sary to his purpose. Visiting the squadron of the British
LORD, WITH GLOWING HEART PD PRAISE THEE 59
on the Potomac under a flag of truce, that summer day
in 1814, he was detained under guard, for an attack on
Baltimore was just about to begin. Anxiously he paced
the deck through the long night of the bombardment
until he caught the dawn's early light on the flag still
waving over Fort McHenry. The attack had failed.
He was released with the song in his heart, and most of
it roughly drafted on the back of a letter before he
reached the shore. The next day it was printed on
handbills, and men were singing it, as they have been
ever since.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) The first would seem to be in regard to the value
of the newly found lines, — as to whether they are a real
addition to the hymn. It will be noticed that in the
second verse (keeping to the eight-line form of each
verse) the poet recites the acts of divine love calculated
to raise the dull soul to a rapture of gratitude. But
that verse stops with the appearing of the cross. The
newly found verse (as the third) celebrates the Saviour's
drawing the sinner to that cross, the call of His gospel,
the gifts of His pardon and His peace. Do not these
things add to the grounds of praise? Can they be
omitted without loss to the hyrnn?
(2) We have now three texts of the hymn where we
had only one, and the opportunity, always interesting, of
comparing them. They are the text in the magazine,
that of the autograph, and the usual text as here printed
The first verse is precisely the same in all three texts.
The second verse is identical in the autograph copy
and in the usual text But we have to choose between
60 STUDIES Of1 FAMILIAJt ffYMNS
their reading of the seventh line, " the light of hope,"
and that of the magazine, " the light of life/*
Of the newly found third verse there are only two
texts. That of the autograph copy is before us ; that
of the magazine reads (the differences are italicized) : —
" Praise thy Saviour Lord, that drew thee
To that cross, new life to give —
Call'd a guilt-stain? d sinner to thee !
Bade thee look to him and live 1
" Praise the grace whose threats alarm1 d thee !
Rous'd thee from thy fatal ease !
Praise the grace whose pardon satfd thee !
Praise the grace that whisper* d peace !"
The last verse in the autograph copy has only one
word different from the usual text here printed ; its fifth
line reading, " Let thy love " instead of " Let thy grace/'
But in the magazine the verse reads : —
" Lord, this bosom's ardent feeling,
Vainly would my tongue express !
Low before thy foot-stool kneeling,
Deign thy suppliant's prayer to bless !
" Let thy love, my heart"* s best treasure,
Ever bind me to thy ways /
Let me ever seek thy pleasure f
Let me ever lisp thy praise 1"
If the writer were to venture a guess as to the history
of the three texts it would be that the magazine has the
hymn as originally written; that Mr. Key afterward
saw that the line, " Call'd a guilt-stain'd sinner to thee !"
in the newly found verse, and the lack of rhyme between
" alarm'd thee " and " sav'd thee," needed correction, and
LORD, WITH GLOWING HEART PD PRAISE THEE 6 1
the close of the hymn needed strengthening ; so that he
changed the hymn to the form seen in the autograph
copy ; and that the omission of the third verse and the
single change that marks the usual text as here printed
were made by Dr. Muhlenberg. If the writer were
editing a hymn book to-day he should print this hymn
precisely as in Mr. Key's autograph copy.
NOTE. — Since making the statement on page 54 concerning the appear-
ance of the hymn in its four- verse form, I have discovered a
second printing in that form in The Washington Theological
Repertory for December, 1819, page 151. The hymn is headed
" For The Repertory," as though making its first appearance.
VI
FROM GREENLAND'S ICY MOUNTAINS
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
i 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.
a 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.
3 Can we, whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high,
Can we to men benighted
The lamp of life deny ?
Salvation! 0 salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim,
Till each remotest nation
Has learned Messiah's Name.
64 STWDIJSS OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
4 Waft, 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,
In bliss returns to reign.
Rev. Reginald Heber, 18x9
NOTE. — The text is that of Bishop Heber's manuscript.
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
In February, 1819, a royal letter was issued authorizing
a special offering for foreign missions in all churches and
chapels of Great Britain. Whitsunday of that year fell
on the 3Oth of May, and Dr. Shipley, dean of St. Asaph,
appointed the morning of that day for making the offer-
ing in the parish church of Wrexham, of which he was
the vicar. It happened that he had also arranged for a
course of Sunday-evening lectures in his church to begin
that same day. His son-in-law, the Rev. Reginald Heber,
had come to Wrexham to deliver the opening lecture.
In those days the singing of hymns was not authorized
in the Church of England, but they had pushed in, none
the less. Heber remarks in one of his letters that
" hardly a collection is made for charitable purposes
without a hymn for the occasion." But missionary
hymns were not then so numerous as now, and the vicar
seems to have been at a loss for one to sing in connection
with the next day's collection. Yet he had a poet for a
son-in-law, and the son-in-law was in the house ; and it
occurred to him that a new hymn might be secured for
the occasion. For our knowledge of just what happened
FROM GREENLAND'S ICY MOUNTAINS 65
we are dependent upon a printed statement of Thomas
Edgworth, a solicitor of Wrexham. " In the course of
the Saturday previous," Mr. Edgworth says, " the dean
and his son-in-law being together in the vicarage, the
former requested Heber to * write something for them to
sing in the morning ' ; and he retired for that purpose^
from the table where the dean and a few friends were
sitting, to a distant part of the room. In a short time
AUTOGRAPH VERSES OF THE HYMN
66 STUDIES OJP FAMILIAR HYMNS
" the dean inquired, ' What have you written ?' Heber,
having then composed the first three verses, read them
over. 'There, there, that will do very well/ said the
dean. ' No, no, the sense is not complete/ replied He-
ber. Accordingly he added the fourth verse, and the
dean being inexorable to his repeated request of ' Let
me add another, O let me add another/ thus completed
the hymn . . . which has since become so .celebrated.
It was sung the next morning in Wrexham Church, the
first time." Tradition says it was sung to the old ballad
tune, " 'Twas when the Seas were Roaring,"
The hymn had been set up and printed that Saturday
evening, to be ready for the use of the congregation.
The original manuscript which served as " copy " was
happily preserved, bearing the scar made by the copy-
hook on which it had been impaled. It was exhibited
in 1851 at the World's Exhibition in London. It passed
into the possession of Dr. Thomas Raffles, of Liverpool,
at one time a hymn writer of some reputation, and also
an enthusiastic collector of autographs. When his col-
lection came to be sold, it excited much competition,
and brought forty-two pounds, — a larger sum than the
amount of that missionary collection at Wrexham
Church.
Heber's hymn made its way quickly. Just after, his
appointment as Bishop of Calcutta brought him into
general notice, a correspondent sent to The Christian
Observer a copy of the hymn with a letter calling atten-
tion to it as written by the new bishop. The hymn and
letter appeared in the number for February, 1823, and as
an edition of the magazine was reprinted in the United
States, it made the hymn known in both countries. On
FROM GREENLAND'S ICY MOUNTAINS 67
that account the letter is worth reproducing here. It is
hardly less interesting on its own account as a perfect
specimen of that still familiar type of appreciation which
is no less self-conscious than it is generous, and also of
a rhetoric as stilted as the patronage.
" To the Editor of the Christian Observer.
"The following missionary hymn is so beautiful, considered
as poetry, and so honourable as the effusion of a Christian
mind, that I should request its insertion in your pages, even
if it were not the production of a writer whose devout and
elevated muse justly obtained your labours [referring to an
earlier review of Heber's Palestine^-, whose name has since
been often mentioned in your pages with high respect ; and
whose appointment, to a most important station in the church
of Christ, you have recently announced with a pleasure which
is shared by all who have at heart the moral and spiritual wel-
fare of our numerous fellow-subjects, native and European, in
the East. The hymn having appeared some time since in
print with the name of Reginald Heber annexed, I can feel
no scruple in annexing that name to it on the present occa-
sion. There is nothing, either in the sentiments or the poetry,
but what does honour to the now Right Reverend prelate,
while it must delight every Christian mind to witness such
devout ardour for the extension of 'Messiah's Name/ in a
station so eminently important for giving effect to that desire
in all those measures which Christian piety, meekness, and
prudence may suggest. J*"
The best service performed by this euphonious patron
lay in the fact that his letter brought the hymn to the
attention of Miss Mary W. Howard, of Savannah,
Georgia. She saw the possibilities of Bishop Heber's
68 STUDIES OP FAMILIAR HYMNS
hymn, but knew of no suitable tune that would carry
the words, written as they were in a metre not then much
used in hymns. Lowell Mason was at the time a bank
clerk in the same town ; but he had already begun the
musical career which was to bring him fame and do so
much for congregational singing. Boston was destined
to be the scene of his more conspicuous labors, but
already in Savannah he was teaching a singing-school
and leading a choir, and the year before he had published
the pioneer of his long line of tune books. To him
Miss Howard brought the words of this hymn, and he
wrote for it his now famous tune, Missionary Hymn, and
printed it as sheet music, with the legend, " Composed
for and Dedicated to Miss Mary W. Howard, of Savannah,
Georgia." The effect of Mason's tune has been to make
" From Greenland's Icy Mountains " the inevitable hymn
for all missionary occasions in this country ; and in Eng-
land, even to this day, the tune is frequently heard in
churches where music of the severer type known as
Anglican has come to prevail.
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
When Thackeray, in his Four Georges, had grown
weary of flinging his darts at the padded figure of the
First Gentleman of Europe, he turned to " tell of better
gentlemen " of the reign of George IV, ; among others
of " the good divine, Reginald Heber, as one of the best
of English gentlemen, — the charming poet, the happy
possessor of all sorts of gifts and accomplishments, birth,
wit, fame, high character, competence,"
Reginald Heber was born April 2ist, 1783, at Malpas,
of which parish his father was rector. He wrote verses
FROM GREENLAND'S ICY MOUNTAINS 69
from childhood, and in 1800, his first year at Oxford,
gained a prize for the best Latin verse. Three years
later, he won the Newdigate prize by his " Palestine,"
one of the few college prize poems that have taken a
place in literature. Sir Walter Scott wrote in his
Journal, March I2th, 1829: "Read Reginald Heber's
journal after dinner. I spent some merry days with
him at Oxford when he was writing his prize poem. He
7° STUD IKS OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
" was then a gay young fellow, a wit and a satirist, and
burning for literary fame. My laurels were beginning to
bloom, and we were both madcaps. Who would have
foretold our future lot?"
In 1804 Hcbcr took his degree, spending two years in
travel on the Continent Ordained in 1807, h° was pre-
sented by his brother with the family living of llodnet
He soon married, and for sixteen years remained the
faithful friend of his people in what he called a halfway
situation between a parson and a squire. Of the beauti-
ful home-life at llodnet rectory, and the pain of break-
ing it up when the call to India came, we catch some
glimpses in the second chapter of Augustus Hare's
Memorials of a Quiet Life. Always faithful to parish
duties, Heber was ardently devoted to literary pursuits.
Besides his poems, he did much editorial work, and was
one of the original staff of writers on the famous Quar-
terly Review. He wrote also a life of Jeremy Taylor,
and edited an edition of Taylor's Complete Works
which is still the best He held, too, a place of his own
in the literary society of the time. But his literary
career came to an end with his call to India when he
was only forty years of age.
While at Hodnct many honors came to him, for all
men admired him. While still a young man he was the
Hampton lecturer at Oxford, and in 1822 was elected
preacher of Lincoln's Inn, London. When forty years
old he was offered the appointment of Bishop of Cal-
cutta. Twice he refused for the sake of wife and child;
but he had much of the missionary spirit and an especial
fondness for India, and he finally accepted the call as
from God. On June i6th, 1823, he sailed for the new
FROM GREENLAND^ ICY MOUNTAINS /I
home, and never again was to see the old. He began
at once the visitation of his vast diocese, which included
all India, Ceylon, the Mauritius, and Australasia, His
abilities and enthusiastic labors made a great mark upon
the diocese, but his administration was very brief.
Returning from a service at Trichinopoly, on April 3rd,
1826, he retired to take a cold bath, and half an hour
afterward was found dead in his room by a servant.
In politics Bishop Heber was a Tory, in theology an
Arminian, in religious views a High Churchman. But
all his opinions were subject to the law of charity. He
entered into no controversy, and was warmly loved for
his beautiful character, his religious enthusiasm, and his
engaging ways.
His attention was turned to hymn writing by the
unsatisfactory state of psalmody in the Church of Eng-
land. Clergy and people had wearied of metrical psalm
versions, and although hymns had never been author-
ized, insisted on using them in church. Heber was
ambitious to write hymns that should win the sanction
of the authorities and make part of an authorized
hymnal. But the authorities counseled delay, and his
hymn book was first published by his widow in 1827, as
" Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church
Service of the Year." It contained fifty-seven of Heber's
hymns. A considerable number of these had been
printed by him in The Christian Observer between the
years 1811 and 1816. Most of the others first saw the
light when his hymn book came to be printed. To this
hymn book there will be occasion to recur in studying
a hymn of Dean Milman. Heber is perhaps the only
extensive hymn writer in the language of whom it may
72 STUDIES OP FAMILIAR HYMNS
be said that every hymn he wrote has come into actual
use.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) What did the author mean when he insisted on
writing a fourth verse because the sense was not com-
plete without it; just what, in other words, does that
verse add to the structure or thought of the hymn ?
(2) In The Hymnal (and here) the hymn is printed as
originally written. Bishop Heber's allusion in the second
verse to the spicy breezes from Ceylon is both explained
and illustrated by a passage in his Journal of a Voyage
to India, where, under the date of September, 1823, he
writes : " Though we were now too far off Ceylon to
catch the odors of the land, yet it is, we are assured, per-
fectly true that such odors are perceptible to a very con-
siderable distance. In the Straits of Malacca a smell
like that of a hawthorn hedge is commonly experienced ;
and from Ceylon, at thirty or forty miles, under certain
circumstances, a yet more agreeable scent is inhaled/'
In spite, however, of Bishop Heber's confirmation of the
appropriateness of his earlier allusion to Ceylon, it
remains true that when his hymns came to be printed in
1827 by his widow, the passage in question was made to
read : —
" What though the spicy breezes
Blow soft o'er Java's isle ;" —
No explanation of the change has ever been made.
In many hymn books the word " each " in the seventh
line of the third verse is changed to " earth's." Is there
any good reason for either change ?
FROM GREENLAND^ ICY MOUNTAINS 73
(3) The non-Christian religions are now regarded with
a more sympathetic feeling than in Bishop Heber's time.
Has the growth of this feeling had any effect upon our
estimate of the appropriateness and usefulness of this
hymn ? Compare it in this respect with Bishop Coxe's
missionary hymn, "Saviour, Sprinkle Many Nations "
(The Hymnal, No. 399).
(4) Bishop Heber lived at a time when English lyrical
poetry had a great development under Walter Scott,
Byron, and others. His aim in writing hymns was to
get something of this new lyrical grace and charm into
the hymns of the Church. Of his original hymns there
are nine in The Hymnal (see its Index of Authors). Do
they show that he succeeded in his purpose ? One of
them Lord Tennyson thought the greatest hymn in the
language. In the opinion of others Heber's style was
somewhat too ornate and flowing for hymn writing.
(5) The hymns of the Church may be called the
flowers of the Church's history. The hymns of any
epoch grow out of the spiritual life of that epoch, and
express its best thought and feeling. Of this Bishop
Heber's hymn is an example. The hymn itself is the
outgrowth of that missionary movement in England
whose influences had surrounded him while growing up.
The movement arose with the beginning of the nine-
teenth century. The Baptist Missionary Society was
founded in 1792, the London Missionary Society in
1795 ; within the Church of England an active Society
for Missions to Africa was started in 1799, and the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel began a new
career with the new century. It was only in 1813 that
the obstacles to missionary work in Heber's beloved India
74 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
were overcome and the way declared open by Parlia-
ment. The aroused conscience and quickened pulse of
England have a witness in this and other hymns of the
time. And is it not somewhat surprising that the increased
missionary enthusiasm of the latter part of the century
did not more freely embody itself in hymns that should
gain the ear and heart of the Church ? The new mis-
sionary literature has attained great proportions, but in
it all hymnody plays a rather inconspicuous part Yet
there would seem to be room in our hymnals for fresh
missionary hymns ; and without increasing the size of
the books, from which, one would think, some few of the
more prosaic hymns on that theme might go without
serious loss.
VII
MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
I My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Saviour Divine:
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day
Be wholly Thine.
a May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire ;
„ As Thou hast died for me,
O may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire.
3 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
From Thee aside.
75
76 STUDIES OJF FAMILIAR HYMNS
4 When ends life's transient dream,
When death's cold, sullen stream
Shall o'er me roll,
Blest Saviour, then, in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
O bear rne safe above,
A ransomed soul.
Ray Palmer, 1830
NOTE.— The text is taken from his Hymns and Sacred Pieces, 1865, As
regards a different reading in the original printing of the hymn,
see under " Some Points for Discussion/' (3).
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
" Look in thy heart, and write," said the muse to Sir
Philip Sidney : and no language could reveal more clearly
the source of this hymn. Its words " were born of my
own soul," the author said long afterward to Dr. Cuyler.
It becomes at once evident, therefore, that we must be
altogether dependent upon such disclosures as the author
chose to make for any real knowledge of the origin of
the hymn. Happily for us the publication of inaccurate
and apocryphal accounts of the matter (already alluded
to in the preface to this book), together with a wish to
escape from "the necessity of replying to letters of
inquiry which have been received m inconvenient num-
bers/1 led Dr. Palmer (in an appendix to his Poetical
Works, 1 876) to narrate the circumstances and experience
out of which the hymn arose :
" Immediately after graduating at Yale College, in
September, 1830, the writer went to the city of New
York, by previous engagement, to spend a year in teach-
ing for two or three hours each day in a select school
for young ladies. This private institution, which was
patronized by the best class of families, was under the
MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE 77
" direction of an excellent Christian lady connected with
St. George's Church, the rector of which was then the
good Dr. James Milnor. It was in Fulton Street, west
of Broadway, and a little below Church Street on the
south side of the way. That whole section of the city,
now covered with immense stores and crowded with
business, was then occupied by genteel residences. The
writer resided in the family of the lady who kept the
school, and it was there that the hymn was "written.
" It had no external occasion whatever. Having been
accustomed almost from childhood, through an inherited
propensity perhaps, to the occasional expression of what
his heart felt in the form of verse, it was in accordance
with this habit, and in an hour when Christ, in the riches
of His grace and love, was so vividly apprehended as to
fill the soul with deep emotion, that the piece was com-
posed. There was not the slightest thought of writing
for another eye, least of all of writing a hymn for Chris-
tian worship. Away from outward excitement, in the
quiet of his chamber, and with a deep consciousness of
his own needs, the writer transferred as faithfully as he
could to paper what at the time was passing within him.
Six stanzas were composed, and imperfectly written, first
on a loose sheet, and then accurately copied into a small
morocco-covered book, which for such purposes the
author was accustomed to carry in his pocket This
first complete copy is still — 1875 — preserved. It is well
remembered that when writing the last line, ' A ransomed
soul/ the thought that the whole work of redemption
and salvation was involved in those words, and suggested
the theme of eternal praises, moved the writer to a degree
of emotion that brought abundant tears.
78 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
" A year or two after the hymn was written, and when
no one, so far as can be recollected, had ever seen it, Dr.
Lowell Mason met the author in the street in Boston,
and requested him to furnish some hymns for a Hymn
and Tune Book which, in connection with Dr. Hastings
of New York, he was about to publish. The little book
containing it was shown him, and he asked a copy. We
stepped into a store together, and a copy was made and
given him, which without much notice he put in his
pocket. On sitting down at home and looking it over,
he became so much interested in it that he wrote for it
the tune ' Olivet/ in which it has almost universally been
sung. Two or three days afterward we met again in the
street, when, scarcely waiting to salute the writer, he
earnestly exclaimed, ' Mr. Palmer, you may live many
years and do many good things, but I think you will be
best known to posterity as the author of " My Faith
Looks Up to Thee/' ' "
The hymn and tune book referred to by Dr. Palmer,
in which the hymn first appeared, came out in twelve
parts in 1831-32, and was called Spiritual Songs for
Social Worship. Numerous editions of the book were
printed; before long the hymn and its tune became
widely sung and began to be copied into other books.
In 1842 it was introduced into England through the
Rev. Andrew Reed's Hymn Book. The hymn is to-day
among those most familiar in evangelical churches of
both countries. The statement often made that it now
appears in every hymn book is, of course, not true.
That is not true of any hymn. But it is as well known
and as well loved as any American hymn. It seems to
many people like a part of their own spiritual life*
AN AUTOGRAPH VERSE
80 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Ray Palmer was the son of the Hon. Thomas Palmer
of Little Compton, Rhode Island, and was born at that
place on November I2th, 1808. In his thirteenth year
he became clerk in a dry-goods store at Boston, and
while there he connected himself with the Park Street
Church. His thoughts turned toward the ministry, and
he spent three years preparing for college at Phillips
Academy, Andover, and in 1830 was graduated from
Yale. Then came the years of teaching and of prepara-
tion for the ministry, first at New York and afterward at
New Haven. He was ordained in 1835, becoming pastor
of the Central Congregational Church of Bath, Maine,
where he remained until 1850. From then until 1866 he
was pastor of the First Congregational Church of Albany,
New York. In 1866 he became the Corresponding
Secretary of the American Congregational Union, re-
moving to New York City, and holding that laborious
post until 1878. He resigned his secretaryship in that
year and had already removed to Newark, New Jersey.
The real occasion of this resignation was the failure
of Dr. Palmer's health. He suffered from a nervous
affection causing an uncertainty, at times even a stagger,
in his walk. But for some years after giving up his
work in New York he continued in active service in
connection with the Belleville Avenue Congregational
Church, of Newark. By a unique arrangement Dr.
Palmer became its " pastor," having especial charge of
visiting the people; while Dr. George H. Hepworth was
its " preacher/' and Dr. William Hayes Ward its " super-
intendent of mission work." At Newark, in 1882, Dr.
MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE 8 1
Palmer gathered about him a distinguished and affec-
tionate company to celebrate the golden anniversary
of his wedding to Miss Ann M. Ward, of New York.
But the warning of his approaching end soon followed.
He died at Newark on March 29th, 1887.
Dr. Palmer was the author of a number of books.
His prose writings were generally of a devotional char-
acter, but included Hints on the Formation of Religious
Opinions (1860), of which several editions were printed.
His hymns and other verse appeared in successive
volumes: Hymns and Sacred Pieces (1865), Hymns of
My Holy Hours (1868), Home, or the Unlost Paradise
(1868), Complete Poetical Works (1876), and Voices of
Hope and Gladness (1881). Dr. Palmer's poetical work
was voluminous enough to fill an 8vo volume of more
than three hundred and fifty pages. It is always pure
and often graceful, and written in easily flowing verse,
but the body of his miscellaneous poetry does not attain
such elevation of thought or distinction of form as would
recommend it to the student of literature.
In estimating his poetry it is only fair to remember
that Dr. Palmer's life " for more than forty years was
unremittingly devoted to the absorbing duties of a Chris-
tian minister, and for more than three-fourths of this
period to the manifold labors of a city Pastor. Poetry,
instead of filling any prominent place in the programme
of his life, has been only the occupation of the few occa-
sional moments that could be redeemed from severer,
and generally very prosaic, forms of work."
When we turn from the miscellaneous poetry to the
hymns, we have a different situation and a happier result.
There was nothing in Dr. Palmer's circumstances to
6
82 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
interfere with the production of hymns. They were
quite in line with his thought and work. And the
hymn-form furnished precisely the medium through
which his purely devotional spirit and gift for graceful
verse could find their most spontaneous expression. It is
among the hymn writers that Dr, Palmer finds his proper
place, and by many he is considered to be the foremost
hymn writer of America. He is distinguished not only
for the excellence of his best hymns, but for the number
of his hymns that are in all ways good. And to them
must he added his translations of Latin hymns, in which
he was especially successful. Several of his hymns are
favorites; and yet what Lowell Mason prophesied has
come to pass, and Dr. Palmer is best known as the
author of " My Faith Looks Up to Thee."
Dr. Palmer's character corresponded to his hymns.
One who knew him well has recently spoken of him to
the present writer as " One of the loveliest of men.
He was exceedingly agreeable in conversation, which
had always a spiritual tone," the same friend went on to
say. " There was a certain saintliness in his manner and
personality. He was gentle in his ways of speech, but
had very deep feelings, which often came to the surface
in conversation. His religious character was never
better illustrated than when he was drawn out to speak
of his famous hymn : the usual egotism of an author
was so overcome by a feeling of simple gratitude for
what the hymn had accomplished.'1
Dr. Palmer's portrait illustrates the description of his
personal appearance given by his friend Dr. Theodore
Cuyler (in Recollections of a Long Life) : " He was short
in stature, but his erect form and habit of brushing
MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE 83
DR. RAY PALMER
" his hair high over his forehead gave him a command-
ing look. He was the impersonation of genuine en-
thusiasm."
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(i) In the story of the hymn the point that appeals
to the imagination is the carrying for so long in the
young man's pocket of that single copy, unknown, un-
read, of the hymn now so familiar. Almost as appealing
is the record of another copy of the hymn that came to
Dr. Palmer's knowledge. It was made in camp the
evening before one of the great battles of the Civil War.
Six or eight young Christian soldiers had met for prayer
in one of the tents. They could not all expect to sur-
vive the battle. One suggested that they draw up a
paper expressive of the spirit in which they faced death,
84 STtWfRS OF FAMHJAR HYMNS
and that all sign it for a testimony to the friends of such
as should fall. Talking over the form of the paper, it was
agreed that the hymn " My Faith Looks Up to Thee"
be written out in full; and to this each one of them
signed his name. What caused this particular hymn to
be chosen for such a purpose? and just what message
did that paper bring to the relatives of those that fell in
battle the next day ?
(2) Dr. Palmier explained the success of his hymn by
saying that it embodied ** in appropriate and simple
language that which is most central in all true Christian
experience — the act of faith in the divine Redeemer— the
intrusting of the individual soul to Him entirely and
for ever." But this explanation would apply just as well
to a prose statement as to a hymn. Must there not be
poetic feeling as well as spiritual truth in a good hymn ?
What arc the special poetic merits of this hymn ?
(3) The hymn has seldom suffered from alterations at
the hands of editors. Dr. Palmer complained of a com-
piler who substituted " distress " for " distrust," in the
last verse. He much preferred u distrust/' as applying
more to the soul, to "distress," as suggesting bodily
sensations. But what he seems to have forgotten is
that the word was originally printed u distress " when
the hymn first appeared in Dr. Mason's hymn book;
being changed to " distrust " only in the later editions.
It would be interesting to examine the small morocco-
covered book to see what word was originally written.
But is there any question that Dr. Palmer was right in
insisting on " distrust " ? Notice his choice of words
throughout. Could the hymn be improved by substi-
tuting others at any point?
VIII
LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT, AMID THE ENCIRCLING
GLOOM
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
x Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me 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.
2 I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on ;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on.
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my 'will : remember not past years*
3 So long Thy power hath blest 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.
Rev. (afterward Cardinal) John Henry Newman, 1833
NOTE.— -The text is taken from Newman's Verses on Various Occasions^
1867; and agrees with that in Lyra, Afostolica.
85
86 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
This much-loved hymn is always spoken of as having
been written by Cardinal Newman, and the fact that
Protestants love to sing it is used to show the real unity
of Christians, whether Roman Catholic or Protestant
But as a matter of fact the hymn was not written by
Cardinal Newman, nor even by a Roman Catholic. It
was written by the Rev. John Henry Newman, a young
clergyman of the Church of England, twelve years
before he went into the Church of Rome ; and at a time
when, as he himself tells us, he had no thought of leav-
ing the Church of England. Indeed, Cardinal Newman
said in 1882 to Lord Ronald Gower (who reports it in
his Old Diaries) that the hymn did not represent his
feeling at that time. " For we Catholics " he said, with
a quiet smile, " believe we have found the light."
The hymn is so much a part of its author's life that
the story of his hymn and of his life must be told to-
gether, The son of John Newman, a London banker,
he was born, on February 2ist, 1801, within sound of
Bow Bells. He was an imaginative boy, and so super-
stitious that he used constantly to cross himself on going
into the dark. He never could explain what started him
in such a practice, for his surroundings were those of
Evangelical Protestantism, and his own beliefs were Cal-
vinistic, including the opinion that the Pope was anti-
Christ At his conversion, when fifteen years old, his
mind became filled with that sense of communion with
God which possessed him all his life, and made outward
things seem as nothing to him. A curious imagination
took hold of him at the same time that it was God's
LEAD, KINDL Y LIGHT 87
will that he should live a single life. This feeling never
left him.
Newman went up to Oxford, and was graduated from
Trinity College in 1820 ; remaining there first as a fellow,
and then as a tutor, of Oriel. In 1824 he was ordained,
and in 1828 was appointed vicar of St. Mary's Church, at
REV. JOHN HENRY NEWMAN
Oxford. Then he began to preach those sermons which
had so extraordinary an influence, and are thought by
many the greatest of the century. Meantime his re-
ligious opinions were gradually changing under those
High Church influences at Oxford which had their be-
ginnings in Keble's Christian Year. Especially marked
88 STUDIES OF PAAffLfAR HYMNS
was the influence of his friend and fellow tutor, Hurrcll
Froude. Froude changed Newman's hostility to the
Church of Rome to deep admiration, and taught him to
look upon the Reformation as a mistake. " He fixed
deep in me," says Newman, " the idea of devotion to the
Blessed Virgin, and he led me gradually to believe in
the Real Presence."
To this period of change and unrest the hymn be-
longs. The anxieties that lay behind it and the circum-
stances out of which it sprang are fully narrated in New-
man's fascinating Apologia pro Vita Suo ; and certainly no
one would care to learn of them from any other source :
" While I was engaged in writing my work upon the
Arians great events were happening at home, which
brought out into form and passionate expression the
various beliefs which had so gradually been winning
their way into my mind. . . . The great Reform agitation
was going on around me as I wrote. The Whigs had
come into power; Lord Grey had told the Bishops to
set their house in order, and some of the Prelates had
been insulted and threatened in the streets of London.
The vital question was, how were we to keep the Church
from being liberalized ? there was such apathy on the
subject in some quarters, such imbecile alarm in others;
the true principles of Churchmanship sceniecl so radically
decayed, and there was such distraction in the councils
of the Clergy. . . . With the Establishment thus divided
and threatened, thus ignorant of its true strength, I
compared that fresh vigorous Power of which I was
reading in the first centuries. ... I said to myself,
' Look on this picture and on that ' ; I felt dismay at
her prospects, anger and scorn at her do-nothing per-
LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT 89
" plexity. I thought that if Liberalism once got a footing
within her, it was sure of the victory in the event. I
saw that Reformation principles were powerless to rescue
her. As to leaving her, the thought never crossed my
imagination ; still I ever kept before me that there was
something greater than the Established Church, and that
was the Church Catholic and Apostolic, set up from the
beginning, of which she was but the local presence and
the organ. She was nothing unless she was this. She
must be dealt with strongly or she would be lost.
There was need of a second reformation.
" At this time I was disengaged from college duties,
and my health had suffered from the labor involved in
the composition of my Volume. ... I was easily per-
suaded to join Hurrell Froude and his Father, who were
going to the south of Europe for the health of the
former.
"We set out in December, 1832. ... I went to vari-
ous coasts of the Mediterranean; parted with my friends
at Rome ; went down for the second time to Sicily with-
out companion, at the end of April ; . . . the strange-
ness of foreign life threw me back into myself. . . .
England was in my thoughts solely, and the news from
England came rarely and imperfectly. The bill for the
Suppression of the Irish Sees was in progress, and filled
my mind. ... It was the success of the Liberal cause
which fretted me inwardly. . . .
" Especially when I was left by myself, the thought came
upon me that deliverance is wrought not by the many
but by the few, not by bodies but by persons. ... I
began to think that I had a mission. . . . When we took
leave of Monsignore Wiseman, he had courteously ex-
9O STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
" pressed a wish that we might make a second visit to
Rome ; I said with great gravity, * We have a work to
do in England.' I went down at once to Sicily, and the
presentiment grew stronger, I struck into the middle
of the island, and fell ill of a fever in Leonforte. 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/ I 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 Castro-Giovanni, and was laid up there for
nearly three weeks. Towards the end of May I left for
Palermo, taking three days for the journey. Before
starting from my inn in the morning of May 26th or 2/th,
I sat down on my bed and began to sob violently. My
servant, who had acted as my nurse, asked what ailed
me. I could only answer him, ' I have a work to do in
England/
" I was aching to get home ; yet for want of a vessel
I was kept at Palermo for three weeks. I began to visit
the Churches, and they calmed my impatience, though I
did not attend any services. ... At last I got off in an
orange boat, bound for Marseilles. Then it was that I
wrote the lines, * Lead, kindly light/ which have since
become well known. We were becalmed a whole week
in the Straits of Bonifacio. I was writing verses the
whole time of my passage. At length I got to Mar-
seilles, and set off for England/*
We can now understand the hymn. We can see into
the shadows that encircled him who wrote it, — the sick-
ness and depression, the loneliness, the dark thoughts of
the Church he still clung to. We know his sense of being
LEA D, KINDL Y LIGHT gi
called by God to do a work at home without seeing what
its end might be. We hear his answer to the call in his
renunciation of all pride of leadership into God's hands,
his cry for only light enough to see one step ahead, his
confidence that God will find his path. "For years/1
Newman said in another connection, " I must have had
something of an habitual notion, though it was latent,
and had never led me to distrust my own convictions,
that my mind had not found its ultimate rest, and that in
some sense or other I was on journey. During the
same passage across the Mediterranean in which I wrote
1 Lead kindly light/ I also wrote the verses which are
14*3
AUTOGRAPH LINES OF THE HYMN
found in the Lyra under the head of 'Providences/
beginning ' When I look back/ This was in 1833 ; and,
since I have begun this narrative, I have found a memo-
randum under the date of September 7th, 1829, in which
I speak of myself as ' now in my rooms in Oriel College,
slowly advancing, &c., and led on by God's hand blindly,
not knowing whither He is taking me/ "
92 STUDIES OJP FAMILIAR HYMNS
The date of the hymn is June i6th, 1833. On the
Sunday following Newman's return from his southern
trip it happened that Mr. Keble preached at Oxford his
famous sermon on " The National Apostasy." " I have
ever considered and kept the day/' Newman says, " as
the start of the religious movement of 1833."
Newman had returned in time to become the centre
of that very powerful movement to undo the work of
the Reformation in England. But he grew so much out
of sympathy with all that Protestantism stands for, that,
in 1845, he asked to be received into the Roman Catholic
Church, His secession was a great blow to many of his
friends, to none more than to Keble, to whom it was a
life-long sorrow. It caused also intense excitement and
bitterness of feeling, the famous Apologia having been
written in answer to charges of insincerity made by
Charles Kingsley.
Newman continued a devout Roman Catholic, and in
1879 was made a cardinal by the Pope, dying in 1890.
It was a strange career of a wonderfully gifted man.
But no one now doubts his sincerity or the depth and
purity of his religion.
Newman's verses were first printed in The British
Magazine for March, 1834, and then in 1836 in the Lyra
Apostolica, a little book in which the contributions to the
Magazine of Newman, Keble, and other kindred spirits,
were gathered up. In 1 846 the verses were included by
Longfellow and Johnson in their Book of Hymns. Un-
fortunately they had found them in a newspaper as
beginning "Send kindly light," and so they printed
them. In 1865 Dr. Charles S. Robinson printed them
with the same opening in his Songs for the Sanctuary.
LEAD, KINDL Y LIGHT 93
He explained (in The Congregationalist, 1890) that the
change was made by a " literary friend " who first brought
the hymn to his notice, and who assumed that the form
" Lead, kindly Light " was a typographical error, arising
from the close resemblance of the words Lead and Send
in careless manuscript. It is surely an instance of loyalty
to friendship that Dr. Robinson persisted in so misprint-
ing the hymn in all editions of that popular book up to
the day. of his death. And so the hymn stands in the
more recent issues by the Century Company, now owning
the plates of the book. The present familiarity and
popularity of the hymn began with its inclusion in 1868
in the Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern. Cardi-
nal Newman's connection with' hymnody by no means
ends with this hymn. From his long poem, " The Dream
of Gerontius," has been taken the fine hymn beginning,
" Praise to the Holiest in the height" (The Hymnal, No.
429). He also published two collections of Latin hymns
taken from the Breviaries, and made numerous and
excellent translations from them.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) What is the meaning of " kindly Light " ? Newman
first printed his verses with the title, " Faith-Heavenly
Leadings"; in 1836 with the title, "Light in the Dark-
ness," and the motto, " Unto the godly there ariseth up
light in the darkness " ; since then with the title, " The
Pillar of the Cloud."
(2) Nothing could have been farther from their author's
thoughts than the use of his verses as a hymn. What
are the qualities in verses so personal, so closely related
to individual experience and circumstances, that make
94 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
them suitable to be sung by a whole congregation ? The
Rev. George Huntington has given us (in his Random
Recollections) the modest explanation of Cardinal New-
man himself: " I had been paying Cardinal Newman a
visit ... I happened to mention his well-known hymn
* Lead, kindly Light/ which he said he wrote when a very
young man. ... I ventured to say, * It must be a great
pleasure to you to know that you have written a Hymn
treasured wherever English-speaking Christians are to
be found ; and where are they not to be found ? • He
was silent for some moments and then said with emotion,
' Yes, deeply thankful, and more than thankful ' ; then,
after another pause, ' But you see it is not the Hymn,
but the Tune, that has gained the popularity! The
Tune is Dykes's, and Dr. Dykes was a great Master/ "
The " Lux Benigna " of Dr. Dykes was composed in
August, 1865, and was the tune chosen for this hymn by
the committee preparing the Appendix to Hymns Ancient
and Modern. Dr. Dykes 's statement that the tune came
into his head while walking through the Strand in
London presents a striking contrast with the solitary
origins of the hymn itself.
(3) " The fourth verse of the hymn " is often inquired
for. It has only three. But Bishop Bickersteth printed
in his Hymnal Companion, 1870, a fourth verse of his
own composition, as follows : —
" Meantime along the narrow, rugged path
Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith,
Home to my God,
To rest for ever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life/'
LEAD, JKINDL Y LIGHT
95
He intended to express his conviction that " the heart of
the belated pilgrim can only find rest in the Light of
Light." The author of the hymn protested against the
addition, and many others joined in the protest. Can
the addition be justified ?
CARDINAL NEWMAN
(4) What is the meaning of the last two lines of the
hymn, " And with the morn," etc. ? No doubt those who
sing the hymn will interpret, these lines as expressing
their hope of being reunited with those they have loved
and lost by death. But it does not follow that such was
g6 STUDIES OF JFAAHLrAR HYMNS
the author's original meaning. Would a theologian have
referred to his glorified friends as angels ? Attention has
been called to Newman's statement that after his awaken-
ing to God in his sixteenth year, he was strongly con-
scious both in his waking and sleeping moments of the
presence of angels. That consciousness he subsequently
lost, greatly to his sorrow ; and the suggestion is made
that these lines expressed his hope of regaining it when
the night had gone. Another suggested meaning is
that in its darkness and perplexity the soul had lost the
angel faces not only of Fancy and Hope and youthful
Confidence, but of those divine forms of Faith and
Assurance which had accompanied the believer in the
early fervor of his belief. When quite an old man
Cardinal Newman was asked by letter to explain the
meaning of these lines, to which letter he returned this
curious answer : —
"Tine ORATORY, January 18, 1879.
" My dear Mr. Greenhill,
" You flatter me by your question ; but I think it was Keble
who, when asked it in his own case, answered that poets were
not bound to be crities, or to give a sense to what they had
written ; and though I am not like him, a poet, at least I may
plead, that I am not bound to remember my own meaning,
whatever it was, at the end of almost fifty years. Anyhow,
there must be a statute of limitation for writers of verse, or it
would be quite tyranny if, in an art which is the expression,
not of truth, but of imagination and sentiment, one were
obliged to be ready for examination on the transient state of
mind which came upon one when home-sick, or sea-sick, or
in any other way sensitive or excited.
" Yours most truly,
"JOHN H. NEWMAN,"
IX
MY COUNTRY, 'TIS OF THEE
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing: ;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring".
2 My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Xhy name I love ;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring- from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song1 :
Let mortal tongues awake ;
Let all that breathe partake ;
Let rocks their silence break,
Xhe sound prolong.
97
98 STUDIES OP FAMILIAR HYMNS
4 Our fathers' God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing :
Long1 may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King,
Rev. Samuel Francis Smith, 1833
This is the text of the hymn as originally written, and which Dr.
Smith expressed himself as feeling unauthorized to alter in any
particular.
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
At a reunion of the famous Class of 1 829, of Harvard
College, one of its members referred to a classmate in
this way : —
"And there's a nice youngster of excellent pith, —
Fate tried to conceal him by naming him Smith ;
But he shouted a song for the brave and the free, —
Just read on his medal, * My country,* *of thee ! ' "
It was Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes who read the
poem, and it was his friend and classmate, Samuel
Francis Smith, who wrote " My Country, 'tis of Thee."
He was a Boston boy, born under the sound of the
Old North Church chimes on October 2ist, 1808. After
being graduated at Harvard he began to study for the
ministry; and it was while at Andover Theological
Seminary, in February, 1832, that he wrote the hymn.
In 1831 or thereabouts Mr. Willam C Woodbridge,
a distinguished educator, had visited Germany for the
purpose of studying the system of German common
schools. Among their peculiarities he noted that much
attention was given to children's music, and he brought
MY COUNTRY, ' 77S OF THEE 99
home with him a large number of music books, especially
such as were used in the German schools. In Boston
just then Mr. Lowell Mason was interesting himself in
the music of the churches, and was engaged in training
the Sunday-school children to sing, with a view of fitting
them to take their places in the choirs. There was quite
a scarcity of songs and tunes suitable for children's use,
and Mr. Woodbridge placed the entire collection which
he had brought from Germany in Mr. Mason's hands.
But in all these books the music was set to German
words, and of that language Mr. Mason had no
knowledge.
And this fact was the occasion which led to the writ-
ing of the hymn " America." Dr. Smith during his life-
time furnished many accounts of the circumstances,
which, of course, he alone knew. While all of these
accounts are in substantial agreement, much the best of
them was that written for The Outlook, and printed in
the number for November 23rd, 1895 :
"At that time/' says Dr. Smith, " I was a student in
the Theological Seminary at Andover. One day [Mr.
Mason] brought me the whole mass of his books, some
bound and some in pamphlet form, and said, in his simple
and childlike way, ' There, Mr. Woodbridge has brought
me these books. I don't know what is in them. I
can't read German, but you can. I wish you would
look over them as you find time, and if you fall in with
anything I can use, any hymns or songs for the children,
I wish you would translate them into English poetry ;
or, if you prefer, compose hymns or songs of your own,
of the same metre and accent with the German, so that
I can use them/
I A
$l*«
^
^3 ^r\ ws
'!lM^
g
i
6
i
w
§
MY COUNTRY, > TIS OF THEE IOI
" I accepted the trust not unwillingly, as an agreeable
recreation from graver studies, and from time to time
gave him the results of my efforts. Thus he was fur-
nished with several hymns for the Spiritual Songs, which
he was issuing in numbers ; also for the Juvenile Lyre,
the first book of children's music ever published in this
country, in which most of the songs were my own
translations from Naegeli and other German composers.
"One dismal day in February, 1832, about half an
hour before sunset, I was turning over the leaves of one
of the music books, when my eye rested on the tune
which is now known as ' America.' I liked the spirited
movement of it, not knowing it, at that time, to be
* God Save the King/ I glanced at the German words
and saw that they were patriotic, and instantly felt the
impulse to write a patriotic hymn of my own, adapted
to the tune. Picking up a scrap of waste paper which
lay near me, I wrote at once, probably within half an
hour, the hymn ' America/ as it is now known every-
where. The whole hymn stands to-day as it stood on
the bit of waste paper, five or six inches long and two
and a half wide."
Mr. Smith had no suspicion that he had in that short
half hour made his name imperishable. He gave the
song soon afterward to Mr. Mason, with some others,
and thought no more about it. On the Fourth of July
of that same year Mr. Mason brought it out at a chil-
dren's celebration in the Park Street Church, Boston.
From there it soon found its way into the public schools
of that city, and then of other places, and into picnics
and patriotic celebrations everywhere; and finally into
the hymn books of the various denominations. The
102 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
whole history of the hymn and its present position are
summed up in a remark once made by the author him-
self: "The people took it into their hearts." To-day it
is called the national hymn, but it is not made so by any
formal decree of adoption. It is the national hymn
simply because the people that compose the nation love
it, and on any occasion when their hearts are fired by
patriotic feelings, use this hymn spontaneously to express
those feelings.
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Samuel R Smith was graduated from Andover Semi-
nary the same year in which he wrote the hymn. For a
year and a half after graduation he was the editor of the
Baptist Missionary Magazine. In February, 1834, he
was ordained, and became pastor of the Baptist Church
in Waterville, Maine. He continued as pastor there for
eight years, serving also as Professor of Modern Lan-
guages in Waterville College, now Colby University:
for among Dr. Smith's other gifts was that of acquiring
languages. During his life he became familiar with no
less than fifteen, and a visitor to him in his eighty-sixth
year found him on the lookout for a suitable text-book
with which he might begin the study of the Russian
language.
In 1842 Dr. Smith became pastor of the First Baptist
Church of Newton, Massachusetts, when he removed to
Newton Centre. There for more than half a century he
lived in a simple way with his family in the wide, brown
frame dwelling of two stories, which has been the goal
of so many sight-seers. He was pastor there for twelve
years and a half, and then Secretary of the Missionary
Copyrighted, By permission of Soule Art Company
REV, SAMUEL F. SMITH
IO4 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
Union for fifteen, spending two of them abroad visiting
missionary stations.
Dr. Smith led a very busy, active life, preaching,
editing, writing, studying. From 1842 to 1848 he was
editor of The Christian Review. He was one of the
editors of The Psalmist (1843), a most successful Baptist
hymn book, and compiled several collections of verse,
of which Rock of Ages is the best known. He was
also the author of The Life of Joseph Graf ton (1848),
Missionary Sketches (1879), The History of Newton y
Massachusetts, (1884), and of Missionary Sketches (\&%$,
which embodied an account of a later tour among for-
eign fields.
His verse writing was a recreation rather than his
occupation, and he made no claim to be counted among
the poets. Certainly the large volume of his verse
gathered at the close of his life under the editorship of
his friend General Carrington would yield no sure support
for such a claim. He wrote, however, many successful
hymns, of which " The Morning Light is Breaking "
(The Hymnal, No. 386), is especially familiar. But, no
matter what he accomplished or where he went, it was
always as the author of" My Country, 'tis of Thee" that
he was recognized and welcomed, and was honored as
such at a public celebration in Music Flail, Boston, dur-
ing the last year of his life. Dr. Smith lived to be
eighty-seven years old, active and busy until the evening
of Saturday, Nov. i6th, 1895. On that evening he took
the train for Readville, near Boston, where he was to
preach the next day. Just as he entered the car, turn-
ing to speak with a friend, he gasped for breath, threw
his hands into the air, and fell backward in death.
MY COUNTRY, 'TIS OF THEE IO$
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Is it to be regretted that these words should be
sung to the National Anthem of Great Britain rather than
to a distinctive American air? Perhaps, in any event,
the connection is now indissoluble, though it hardly
justifies us in re-naming the tune "America." It would
be interesting to know the origin of the National Anthem,
and who composed it. Much time and pains have been
spent in investigating the matter, but these questions still
remain unanswered. All that can be said upon the
subject (by the man most competent to say it) may be
found in a recent book, The Origin and History of the
Music and Words of the National Anthem, by Wm. H.
Cummings, published by Novello & Co., London and
New York. At the annual meeting of the Rhode
Island State Society of the Cincinnati, on July 4th, 1901,
a committee was appointed to ascertain whether a suitable
national tune cannot be found for this hymn.
(2) Once, in referring to criticisms of the hymn from a
literary standpoint, Dr. Holmes called attenton to the
strength of the first line, and said, "He wrote 'My
country/ If he had said ' Our country/ the hymn would
not have been immortal, but that * my ' was a master-
stroke." Just what was the gain of the " my " over
" our " in that place ?
(3) Is this really a national or only a sectional (New
England) hymn ? A correspondent of The Churchman
(1895) argued for the latter, claiming that the line " Land
of the pilgrims' pride " referred to the Pilgrim Fathers of
New England. The same interpretation of this line was
made in an editorial in The Independent (January I4th,
106 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
1896). If Dr. Smith intended to refer to the Pilgrim
Fathers, that of course is the end of the matter. But as
yet no one produces such an interpretation of the line
coming from him. Apart from such an authoritative state-
ment, is it not the natural interpretation that " pilgrims "
are in contrast with those whose fathers died here ; those
coming to our shores and adopting our country? If
Dr. Smith intended to refer to the Pilgrim Fathers, would
he not have used the capital in " pilgrims " ? But he did
not in such autograph copies as the writer has seen ; and
the word is not so printed in his collected Poems, Again,
is " pride " a word with which one would describe the feel-
ings of the Pilgrim Fathers toward their new home? It
does, on the other hand, describe what is plainly the
fundamental feeling of many " pilgrims " toward the
home of their adoption.
(4) Of this hymn there was but one text, in universal
use, until in 1892 the Protestant Episcopal Convention
adopted the new hymnal containing as Hymn No. 196 a
mongrel made up of the fourth verse of " My Country,
'tis of Thee," followed by the two verses of " God Bless
our Native Land " (altered). The editorial in The Inde-
pendent, already referred to, explains this by the unwill-
ingness of the Episcopal Church to sing the praises of
the Pilgrim Fathers. Whatever we may think of the
convention's course in mutilating the hymn, is it not
more likely that they were aiming at a hymn more dis-
tinctly religious than Dr. Smith's verses ?
(5) How can it be explained that while Americans
really love this hymn, so very few know the words well
enough to sing them when called upon? Is this fact
creditable to the people ?
X
ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
z Onward., Christian soldiers,
Marching: as to war/,
With the cross of Jesus
Going- on before :
Christ the Royal Master
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.
22 At the sign of triumph
Satan's host doth flee ;
On then, Christian soldiers,
On to victory :
£C ell's foundations quiver
At the shout of praise ;
Brothers, lift your voices,
Loud your anthems raise.
Onward, etc.
3 Like a mighty army
Moves the Church of God. ;
Brothers, we are treading
Where the saints have trod;
167
108 STUDIES OP FAMILIAR HYMNS
We are not divided,
All one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
One in charity.
Onward, etc.
4 Crowns and thrones may perish,
Kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus
Constant will remain;
Gates of hell can never
'Gainst that Church prevail;
We have Christ's own promise,
And that cannot fail.
Onward, etc.
5 Onward, then, ye people,
Join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices
In the triumph- s ong ;
Glory, laud, and honor
Unto Christ the King;
This through countless ages
Men and angels sing.
Onward, etc.
Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould, 1865
NOTE. — The text is that printed in the Appendix to Hymns Ancient and
Modern, 1868, and ever since the standard. An autograph
copy of the hymn in the writer's possession reads, in the second
line of the second verse, " Satan's legions flee."
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
This marching hymn was written in England just at
the time when in our own country the sad strife of the
Civil War had drawn to a close. And it is not unlikely
that the new soldier-spirit left in the hearts of young
and old Americans by the four years of the Civil War
has had something to do with the marked popularity
ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS 109
gained by this and other military hymns. An influ-
ence of the same sort can be seen plainly in American
hymn books published after the close of the Revolution
of 1776.
The Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould wrote the hymn while
curate of a Yorkshire parish, and in a recent interview
he has given an account of its origin. " It was written,"
he says, " in a very simple fashion, without a thought of
publication. Whitmonday is a great day for school
festivals in Yorkshire, and one Whitmonday it was
arranged that our school should join its forces with
that of a neighboring village. I wanted the children to
sing when marching from one village to the other, but
couldn't think of anything quite suitable, so I sat up at
night resolved to write something myself. 'Onward,
Christian Soldiers' was the result. It was written in
great haste, and I am afraid some of the rhymes are
faulty. Certainly nothing has surprised me more than
its great popularity." The hymn was written to be sung
to a well-known tune by Haydn, which has been much
used in American churches ; so much used, indeed, that
it became worn out.
"Onward, Christian Soldiers" was written in 1865.
That same year it was printed in a periodical, The Church
Times. As early as 1868 it was given a place in the
Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern, thus securing
a sponsor of the most influential kind This was at a
time when the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
United States was restive under its old hymn book, and
feeling its way toward something better. Eager eyes had
already turned toward Hymns Ancient and Modern. Its
very name pleased the growing party who were seeking
1 10 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
" primitive " paths, while the High Church doctrine of its
hymns and the ecclesiastical tone of the new " Anglican
school " of music it represented, won their hearts com-
pletely. A reprint of Hymns Ancient and Modern and
its new Appendix appeared at Philadelphia in 1869, with
the imprint of the Lippincotts. In this " Onward, Chris-
tian Soldiers " appeared for the first time, probably, in
this country. During the year following the Rev.
Charles L. Hutchins included it in his Church Hymnal^
originally planned for use in St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo,
New York. In 1871 it appeared in the draft of the new
hymnal laid before the General Convention of the Prot-
estant Episcopal Church, becoming one of the author-
ized hymns of that Church. Into the church-worship
of other denominations the hymn (like many other
things that would once have seemed alien) gradually
worked its way by first becoming familiar in the freer
atmosphere of the Sunday-schools. The hymn was not
included in the authorized Presbyterian Hymnal of 1874*
although the compilers of that book made large use of
Hymns Ancient and Modern. The rival Hymns and
Songs of Praise \ by Drs. Hitchcock and Schaff, pub-
lished that same year, did, however, include it
What proved a most effective letter of introduction
for the hymn, and has secured its continued general use,
was the appearance in The Musical Times for December,
1871, of the stirring tune written for it by Arthur S.
Sullivan, to which it has been wedded ever since. At
the present time it is unquestionably the most popular
and often-used of all processional hymns. If it should
ever drop out of use, that result would probably come
about through sheer weariness caused by over-repetition.
ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS III
AUTOGRAPH VERSES
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
In this hymn we have for the first time one by a living
author. Mr. Baring-Gould is so many-sided a man, with
such a variety of gifts and accomplishments, and he has
done so much work of so many kinds, that he may be
STUDIES OF FAMILIAL HYMNS
said to combine in himself the material for the make-up
of at least two distinguished men. There is, therefore,
an amusing fitness in his compound name, and in the
fact that sometimes he is indexed among the B's for
Baring, and sometimes among the G's for Gould.
Mr. Baring-Gould is now rector of the parish of Lew
Trenchard, where his family has had its Seat for nearly
three hundred years. He is also squire and lord of
the manor and a justice of the peace. He lives in
Lew Trenchard Manor House, inherited with the family
property at his father's death in 18^2. His study is de-
scribed as a long, low room, with a deep embrasured
window overlooking a lovely view, and paneled in fine
dark oak, with the rich carvings of the old English time.
In this room works the remarkable man, who is not
only squire and rector, but also theologian, historian,
antiquarian, student of comparative religion, novelist,
and poet The amount of literary work done in this
room, much of it requiring wide research, is no less than
amazing. On religious subjects, besides many volumes
of his sermons and devotional and practical writings, he
has written a number of works of a more learned char-
acter. Of these, the best known, perhaps, are, The Lives
of the Saints, in fifteen volumes, and The Origin and
Development of Religious Belief, in two. He has pub-
lished many volumes dealing with manners and customs,
legendary and folk lore, antiquities and out-of-the-way
information, of which he is himself a living encyclopedia.
Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, Legends of the Old
Testament, Iceland, Its Scenes and its Sagas, Curiosities
of the Olden Times, The Songs of the West, are but
a few of the more familiar titles. And for some time
ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS
US'
it has been his custom to write a new novel every
year. In England he Is one of the most popular living
novelists.
In all this work Mr. Baring-Gould has employed no
secretaries or amanuenses. " The secret is simply that I
REV, SABINE BARING-GOULD
stick to a task when I begin it," he once said. " For
some years I have found it necessary to spend the
winters abroad, and while I am in the south of France or
in Rome I think out the work which I am going to do
when I return home. Thus I build up the plot of a
STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
" story, and it all shapes itself in my head, even the dia-
logue. I make a few notes, principally of the division
of the chapters, and then, when I come back, it is simply
a matter of writing it out."
When asked if he did not have to wait for inspiration,
he replied with a quiet smile, " Inspiration is all moon-
shine in the sense in which you mean it. It would never
do to wait from day to day for some moment which
might seem favorable for work " ; adding that he often
did his best work when he felt the least desire to go on
with it. His hymn writing is, of course, small in quantity
beside the great volume of his other achievements, but it
certainly does not lack what is called inspiration, whether
waited for or worked for. He has written many carols
and quite a number of hymns, all of which have fresh
and striking qualities. Next to " Onward, Christian
Soldiers," the lovely evening hymn for children, " Now
the Day is Over" (The Hymnal, No. 692), and his trans-
lation, " Through the Night of Doubt and Sorrow "
(The Hymnal, No. 418), are probably most often sung.
Mr. Baring-Gould was born at Exeter, January 28th,
1834. He was graduated from Clare College, Cambridge,
in 1854. In 1864 he was ordained and became curate
of Horbury, where he wrote our hymn. From 1867 he
was Incumbent of Dalton, until Mr. Gladstone appointed
him Rector of East Mersea, in 1871. The rectorate of
Lew Trenchard is what in England is called a family
living, and when in 1881 the last incumbent died, Mr,
Baring-Gould, who was the patron of the living as well
as lord of the manor, became also rector of the parish
by his own appointment. It cannot be denied that he
chose an able and hard-working man to fill the post.
ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOtDISltS n$
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) This hymn may be examined as an example of a
class of hymns standing somewhat apart from others.
It is what is called a processional . hymn. In church life
a processional hymn corresponds to a marching song in
civil life, one " useful for church parade and similar ser-
vices." What are the qualities proper for such a hymn ?
Is there any other so good for the purpose as this ?
(2) It is interesting to contrast this Anglican " Onward,
Christian Soldiers" with the Presbyterian "Stand Up,
Stand Up for Jesus." Note the different ways in which
the two writers picture the Church. Can you trace in
each hymn the marks of the peculiar type of Christianity
for which the author stands? Which hymn has more
picturesque beauty, and which the greater moral earnest-
ness? But is not the purpose and right use of the
hymns quite different? If so, each must be judged from
its own standpoint.
(3) In what sense are we to take the statements of the
third verse,'-
** We are not divided,
All one body wet
One in hope and doctrine," etc. ?
They may be contrasted with the familiar lines of his
fellow-churchman (the Rev. Samuel J. Stone),—
"Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed."
And what and where found is " Christ's own promise M
referred to in the fourth verse?
1 l6 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
(4) As originally written, the hymn had an additional
(then the fourth) verse, 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."
This is to be read immediately after the present third
verse. Should it be restored to its original place ? (The
faulty rhyme in this verse is doubtless what the author
had in mind in the remark already quoted.)
XI
NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
I Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross
That raiseth me;
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Theel
2 Though like the wanderer,
The sun gone down,
Darkness he over me,
My rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I'd be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
3 There let the way appear,
Steps unto heaven;
All that Thou send'st to me
In mercy given:
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
117
1 1 8 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
4 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!
5 Or if on joyful wing
Cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot,
Upwards I fly,
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee !
Sarah Flo we? Adams, 1841
NOTE, — The text is taken from W. J. Fox's Hymns and Anthems ; with a
single change, referred to under " Some Points for Discussion."
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
In the year 1820 there' came to Dalston, then a rural
suburb of London, a little family composed of Benjamin
Flower, a widower, and his two daughters, the younger
of whom was afterward to write this hymn.
Something of a career lay behind Mr. Flower, then
an elderly man. Unsuccessful in business speculations
as a young man, he had become a travelling salesman on
the continent. There he became an adherent of the
French Republic, and in 1792 published a book on the
French Constitution which was really an attack on that
of England. He was selected to edit The Cambridge
Intelligencer, an influential weekly of radical principles.
Accused of libelling the Bishop of Llandaff, whose
political conduct he had censured, he was sentenced to
six months' imprisonment in Newgate with a fine of
WJSAKER, MY GOD, TO THEE 119
£100. He was visited in prison by Miss Eliza Gould, a
lady who is said to have suffered for her own liberal
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 1810.
These facts of their father's career help us to understand
the atmosphere in which the motherless girls grew up.
Both daughters had inherited their mother's delicate
constitution, but both were talented to an unusual de-
gree, and they attracted to the Dalston home many
friends who afterward became distinguished Among
these were Harriet Martineau and Robert Browning,
"the boy poet," as Eliza Flower calls him in her letters,
who came often to discuss religious difficulties with her
sister Sarah. Eliza, the elder, was a skilful musician
with a remarkable gift for musical composition. Sarah,
the younger of the sisters, was also musical, and pos-
sessed of a rich contralto voice, and was much given to
singing songs in costume, with appropriate dramatic
action. The elder sister always furnished the accompa-
niment, and sometimes the musical settings of these
songs, in their domestic entertainments.
Sarah Flower was born at the Harlow home on
February 22nd, 1805. She had the dramatic instinct,
and from childhood cherished the ambition of adopting
the stage as a profession. She idealized the stage as an
ally of the pulpit, and held that the life of an actress
should be as high and noble as the great thoughts and
actions she was called upon to express. In 1829 her
father died, and in 1 834 Sarah Flower was married to
John Brydges Adams, a civil engineer and an ingenious
inventor in the early days of railroad building. Her
120 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
husband encouraged her dramatic ambition, and in 1837
she made her first public appearance, at the Richmond
Theatre, as " Lady Macbeth." Her success was great
enough to gain for her an engagement at the Bath
Theatre. But her health gave away under the strain of
public performances, and she suffered a seige of illness
at Bath which at once put an end to all hope of a dra-
matic career.
Mrs. Adams determined to devote herself to literary
work, for she had in addition a considerable literary gift.
She wrote much for the Monthly Repository, but her
most ambitious effort was " Vivia Perpetua — a Dramatic
Poem," published in 1841. It tells the story of a young
mother who suffered a martyr's death at Carthage, A. D.
203, for her faith in Christ. There is but little doubt
that her own moral earnestness and intense feelings are
set forth in the character of Vivia. The poem is often
eloquent, but as a drama not well constructed, and it has
taken no permanent place in literature. "The Royal
Progress/' a long poem in ballad metre, has met a like
fate. Mrs. Adams's high ideals and ambitions led her
to undertake tasks beyond her powers. Though am-
bitious to lead in the moral uplifting of the stage, even
the ordinary routine of an actress's life was beyond her
physical powers. And so her attempt to revive the
poetical drama was quite as far beyond her intellectual
powers. She had, however, a real gift for lyrical poetry.
By her lyrics she retains a modest place in literature,
and is chiefly remembered as the author of " Nearer, My
God, to Thee."
Mrs. Adams is described by her friend, Mrs. Bridell
Fox, as "tall and singularly beautiful, with noble and
NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE
121
"regular features ; in manner gay and impulsive, her con-
versation witty and sparkling." The portrait here given
is a facsimile of a slight sketch believed to have been
made by Miss Margaret Gillies in 1834. Mrs, Adams
seems to have made a deep impression upon the minds
of those who knew her. They speak enthusiastically
of her personal charm, and of her purity and high-
mindedness. In his "Blue-Stocking Revels," the poet
Leigh Hunt also pays tribute to her as " Mrs. Adams,
rare mistress of thought and of tears/1
Both of the sisters died while still in early life, and
within less than two years of each other. Eliza died of
consumption in December, 1846, and Sarah on August
I4th, 1848; the death of the younger sister was prob-
122 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMN'S
ably hastened by the cares and anxiety occasioned by
the long illness of the elder. At the funerals of both,
hymns by Mrs. Adams were sung to music composed
for them by her sister. One cannot avoid a feeling of
regret that some foretaste of her usefulness and fame did
not come to brighten the failing days of the author of
" Nearer, My God, to Thee."
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
After the death of Mr. Flower, his daughters removed
to Upper Clapton, a suburb of London, and there con-
nected themselves with the religious society to which
the gifted William Johnson Fox ministered, in South
Place Chapel, Finsbury. Mr. Fox occupied an inde-
pendent ecclesiastical position, though generally classed
as a Unitarian. For the use of the congregation he
prepared a collection of Hymns and Anthems, published
in 1840 and 1841, in two parts. At his request Mrs.
Adams wrote for the book thirteen original hymns and
some translations. One of the hymns was " Nearer, My
God, to Thee/' and it first appeared in the second part
of the book. Like most of Mrs. Adams's hymns it was
set to music by her sister, and was often heard in the
services of South Place Chapel.
" How she composed her hymns," says Mrs. Bridell
Fox, "can hardly be stated. She certainly never had
any idea of composing them. They were the spontan-
eous expression of some strong impulse of feeling of
the moment ; she was essentially a creature of impulse.
Her translations would, of course, be an exception ; also,
perhaps, when she was writing words for music already
in use in the chapel."
WEAKER, MY GOD, TO THEE 123
"Nearer, My God, to Thee" was not long in finding
its way across the ocean. While Mr. Fox was compil-
ing his hymn book for his London congregation, an
American clergyman, somewhat like him in his religious
views, the Rev. James Freeman Clarke, was organizing
a new congregation in Boston as the Church of the
Disciples. (It is the church described as the Church of
the Galileans in Dr. Holmes's Professor at the Breakfast
Tabled) Mr. Clarke printed a new hymn book for it in
1844, including a number of hymns from Mr. Fox's
AN AUTOGRAPH VERSE
book, a copy of which had been given him by his friend
Mr. Bakewell of Pittsburgh. Among these was " Nearer,
My God, to Thee," and in 1846 Mr. Longfellow put the
hymn into his Book of Hymns. It was some time, how-
ever, before it made its way into the orthodox Congre-
gational churches. Henry Ward Beecher, who was
124 STUDIES OF FAMILIAK HYMNS
never afraid of novelty, included it in the Plymouth
Collection in 1855. But what started the hymn on its
free course in America was the tune " Bethany," which
Lowell Mason wrote for it and published in 1856. And
when the hymn, set to this taking tune, appeared in 1859
in the wonderfully successful Sabbath Hymn and Tune
Book of the professors at Andover Seminary, its general
use became assured By 1866 it had found its way into
the authorized hymnal of the Presbyterian Church.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Although so popular with congregations, this
hymn has had rather hard treatment at the hands of
editors of hymn books. In a number of cases the
editor has inserted a new stanza, composed by himself.
Bishop How rewrote the entire hymn for the 1864
edition of his Psalms and Hymns. The object of these
changes was to introduce the name and work of Christ,
" to make the hymn more distinctly Christian." Is there
a real lack in the hymn, needing to be supplied in some
such way ? Or is it likely that the Unitarian origin of
the hymn suggested the need of change?
(2) The text of the hymn has also suffered much
from alteration, and is very rarely printed as Mrs.
Adams wrote it In the Protestant Episcopal Hymnal,
for instance, " the wanderer " of verse two becomes " a
wanderer/' and the following line reads, " Weary and
lone." The " Bethel," of verse four, becomes " altars."
Is not the Bible story on which the hymn is based com-
pletely hidden by these changes ? In The Hymnal only
one word differs from what Mrs. Adams wrote. In the
fifth line she wrote "would be" instead of "shall be."
NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE 12$
The editor thought "would be" better, because less
boastful and self-confident, but he feared to make con-
fusion by changing what everybody sings from memory,
The editor of the new Presbyterian hymnal for Scotland
was braver, and prints Mrs. Adams's text, here, as in
every other particular.
(3) Perhaps no hymn is sung more thoughtlessly than
this. What is the meaning of " E'en though it be a
cross That raiseth me " ? Write out the leading thought
of the hymn in plain prose. Is it not singular that a
hymn expressing desire to draw nearer to God by the
way of suffering should be so often declared their favorite
hymn by persons apparently the most self-indulgent ?
(4) The literary merits of the hymn are much debated
One may admit certain faults. Indeed, he owes it to
himself to recognize that " stony griefs " is a bad meta-
phor, and that, if a verse is to be omitted in singing, the
last verse is not ill-adapted to such a purpose. But
notice, on the other hand, the perfect " singableness " of
the hymn. And singableness is the first merit of a lyric.
Note, also — who has not noted? — the haunting beauty
of the refrain, and the happy introduction of the lonely
figure of Jacob. Is it not fair to say that, even from a
literary point of view, the merits of the hymn outweigh
its defects ?
(5) It is likely that this hymn will always be associated
with the tragic death and the obsequies of President
McKinley. The last words of the President, as reported
by the attendant physician (Dr. M. D. Mann), were:
" ' Nearer, my God, to Thee, E'en though it be a cross,'
has been my constant prayer." It is not unnatural that
the grieved heart of the American people was deeply
126 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
touched by such allusion under such circumstances.
The hymn was sung in hundreds of churches over the
country on the Sunday following, and in memorial gath-
erings of every sort One heard the familiar strains of
the tune from strong-lunged bands of itinerant musicians
in city streets, the street children and their elders often
gathering about the performers, and perhaps joining in the
hymn. On the day of the burial at Canton, Thursday,
September ipth, 1901, all traffic in the cities stopped, by
previous arrangement, at half past three o'clock, and for
five minutes there was silence. People in the trolley
cars rose and those in the streets bared their heads and
stood, often joining in singing the words of the hymn.
In Union and Madison Squares, New York City, immense
throngs had assembled, and after the period of silence,
bands played " Nearer, My God, to Thee," and then " Lead,
Kindly Light/* a favorite hymn of the dead President,
during which every head in the throng remained uncov-
ered. The whole occasion was remarkable as a demon-
stration of popular feeling in which reverence seemed to
have a share. Has any other hymn ever received such
popular recognition ?
XII
WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
i When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
2 Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
3 See, from His head, 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 ?
4 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.
Rev. Isaac Watts, 1707
NOTE. — Four verses of the original five ; for the omitted verse see under
"Some Points for Discussion." The text is taken from the
second edition of Dr. Watts's Hymns and Spiritual Songs % Lon-
don, 1709.
127
128 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
While still a young man the Rev. Isaac Watts pub-
lished in London, in 1707, a volume of Hymns and Spir-
itual Songs. It was intended to be used as a hymn book,
but it was not a collection out of many authors, every
hymn being composed by Watts himself.
In these days of hymn writing and hymn singing it is
hard for us to feel how original and even daring his
venture was. There had, of course, been writers of
English hymns before Watts. But none of them had
established a precedent or model to which he and others
were expected to conform. He had to form his own
ideal of what a hymn for congregational use should be.
It was these hymns of Watts himself that were destined
to become such a precedent to his successors ; and that
is what James Montgomery meant in calling him " the
inventor of hymns in our language."
Watts had also to encounter an apparently impregna-
ble prejudice in the churches against the use in praise of
anything but metrical versions of the Psalms. This had
been a matter of conscience ever since the Reformation,
the idea being that the Psalms of the Bible were inspired
by God to serve as the hymn book of His Church for all
'time, and that hymns were " merely human composures,"
unauthorized and unnecessary. Watts had ever the
courage of his convictions, and he printed with his hymns
an essay, not only denying that the Psalms were intended
as the sole hymn book of the Christian Church, but
arguing that it was the duty of the Church to make new
hymns that should express Christian faith in the same
degree that the Psalms had expressed Jewish faith.
WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS I2Q
Partly by his audacity, partly by the excellence of his
hymns, partly also on account of people's weariness with
the old Psalm versions, Watts won the day. In dissent-
ing churches his hymns were put into use immediately.
Their influence spread so widely and grew so great that
in the end it completely overcame the prejudice against
hymns of " human composure," not only in dissenting
churches but in the Church of England and the Church
of Scotland. In America this prejudice against hymns
was especially strong, but here, too, after much contro-
versy, the influence of Watts prevailed. His Hymns,
together with his later Imitations of The Psalms, became
the familiar and loved hymn book of both the Presby-
terian and Congregational Churches, excluding all besides
for a considerable period. That the hymns of this inno-
vator should thus become a badge and symbol of
orthodoxy and conservatism in the churches that once
disputed his way is an illustration of personal influence
not easy to parallel.
The first edition of Watts's Hymns has become a very
rare book, only two or three copies being known to exist.
One of these sold in London in December, 1901, for one
hundred and forty pounds. This first edition contained
in all two hundred and ten hymns, arranged in three
books, together with several doxologies. In the third
book, containing hymns to be used in the celebration of
the Lord's Supper, "When I Survey the Wondrous
Cross" appeared as number seven. Within two years
Watts wrote one hundred and forty-four more, and added
them in the second edition of 1709; at the same time
making many alterations in the text of those printed at
the earlier date.
130 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
Of the two hundred and ten hymns included in the
first edition it is probable that the larger number were
written by Watts during the years 1695 and 1696, both
of which he spent at his father's house in preparation
for his entrance into the ministry. There is in exist-
ence a letter from his brother Enoch, dated as early
as March, 1700, urging the speedy publication of the
hymns for use in public worship. One of Dr. Watts's
earlier biographers gives the following account of their
origin : " Mr. John Morgan, a minister of very respecta-
ble character now living at Romsey, Hants, has sent me
the following information : ' The occasion of the Doctor's
hymns was this, as I had the account from his worthy
fellow-laborer and colleague, the Rev. Mr. Price, in whose
family I dwelt above fifty years ago. The hymns which
were sung at the Dissenting meeting at Southampton
were so little to the gust of Mr. Watts that he could not
forbear complaining of them to his father. The father
bid him try what he could do to mend the matter. He
did, and had such success in his first essay that a second
hymn was earnestly desired of him, and then a third,
and fourth, etc., till in process of time there was such a
number of them as to make up a volume.' " This may
be accepted as the traditional account of the origin of
the hymns, and doubtless may be trusted so far at least
as to show that they grew out of Watts's early dissatis-
faction with the material available for congregational
praise, and his determination to provide better material.
The hymn we are now studying can hardly be said to
have a special history as apart from the others in Watts's
epoch-making book. But there are several things that
single out this hymn from among the rest. One is its
WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS 131
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. Another is
the wideness of its use. The greater part of Watts's
AUTOGRAPH MEMORANDA
hymns are left behind ; this is sung in every branch of
the English-speaking Church. Judged by the number
of hymnals containing it, only one hymn is used more
widely — Toplady's " Rock of Ages/1 Its greatest glory,
however, is the part it has had in the experience of
132 STUDIES OP FAMILIAR HYMNS
Christians. Only God can know how many living eyes
it has inspired with the ideal of the cross of renunciation,
how many dying eyes it has comforted with the vision of
the cross of hope.
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Isaac Watts was born July i/th, 1674, at the English
town of Southampton, where his father was deacon of a
Congregational church. It was at a time when the laws
against nonconformity to the state religion were still
enforced with bitterness, and he was often carried in his
mother's arms to the town jail, where she visited his
father, imprisoned for conscience* sake. The accounts
of Watts's childhood tell of a pale, undersized child,
asking those about him to " buy a book " before he could
pronounce the words plainly, beginning Latin at four,
and writing poetry at seven. Perhaps there is an element
of exaggeration in such stories. The portraits of Dr.
Watts in his ponderous eighteenth century wig make it
hard enough to think of him as ever young, and these
accounts do not much encourage one in that attempt.
After his school days at Southampton, a few friends,
impressed by his diligence and abilities, offered to send
him to one of the universities. But the universities were
not open to dissenters, and among these the young
scholar had determined to abide. He entered the acad-
emy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe at Stoke Newington,
and in 1693 was admitted to the church of which Mr.
Rowe was pastor. At twenty he had completed the
ordinary course of study, and had returned to his father's
house, spending two years there in study and spiritual
preparation for the ministry. Afterward he lived for
134 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
several years with Sir John Hartopp as the tutor of his
son, carrying forward his own studies at the same time.
On his twenty-fourth birthday Watts preached his
first sermon. He became the assistant, and in 1702 was
ordained the successor, of Dr. Isaac Chauncy, pastor of
the Independent Church meeting in Mark Lane, London.
Already, as Dr. Chauncy's assistant, he had been laid
aside for several months by sickness, and soon after his
ordination he was seized with a dangerous illness which
left him so weak as to require an assistant of his own.
From 1712 to 1716 he was again laid aside by a fever
and its consequences, from which he never fully re-
covered. Happily he had the gift of making people
love him. His church was always patient and sympa-
thetic, and in his weakness and loneliness he was invited
to the palatial home of Sir Thomas Abney, Theobalds,
not far from London. Expecting to stay a week, he
remained in the family for the rest of his life, thirty-six
years, a loved and honored guest. Here he continued
his care of his church, preaching when able and engaging
in literary work. Lady Abney watched over him with
unremitting care, shielding him, so far as she could, from
anxiety and troubles, until he died, after a long illness,
November 25th, 1748.
" Few men," said the great Dr. Johnson, " have left
behind such purity of character or such monuments of
laborious piety." His published works cover many de-
partments— geography, astronomy, philosophy, theology,
practical religion, and poetry. In all of these depart-
ments he was accomplished and useful. But his own
estimate, that in completing his Psalms and Hymns he
had produced his greatest work for the use of the
WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS 135
Church, is undoubtedly true. Providence had a special
mission for him in that department, and through it his
name and influence must always endure.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Our hymns have never had a critic so severe as
the late Matthew Arnold But on the last day of his
life he attended the Sefton Park Presbyterian Church,
Liverpool, of which Dr. Watson (Ian Maclaren) is pastor.
The hymn, " When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,1' was
sung. Coming down, afterward, from his bedroom in his
brother-in-law's house to luncheon, Mr. Arnold was heard
softly repeating to himself the opening lines. At luncheon
he spoke of it as the greatest hymn in the language.
Afterward he went out, and in ten minutes was dead.
Does not such an incident (attested by Dr. Watson) show
the importance of literary merit in hymns ? It recalls
the appeal of John Wesley for hymns " such as would
sooner provoke a critic to turn Christian, than a Chris-
tian to turn critic."
(2) This hymn bore the title : Crucifixion to the World
by the Cross of Christ. Can you give the verse from
St. Paul on which it is based?
(3) In the original hymn there was a fourth verse,
reading as follows: —
" His dying Crimson like a Robe
Spreads o'er his Body on the Tree,
Then am I dead to all the Globe,
And all the Globe is dead to me."
This verse was omitted from The Hymnal, and for
that omission its editor was criticised. Is it better to
1 36 STUDIES OF PAMILIAX HYMNS
omit or retain the verse, and why ? In his second edition
Dr. Watts printed this verse within brackets, signifying
that it might " be left out in singing without disturbing the
sense." That fact does not, however, settle the question.
The frequent omission of this verse by editors is ex-
plained by Canon Twells, in a sermon upon the hymn,
in this way: "The rather awkward use of the word
' globe * for f world/ to meet the exigencies of rhyme,
has, I suppose, vetoed this verse." Are there better
reasons ?
(4) Dr. Watts very carefully revised the text of his
hymns for the second edition. In this hymn the only
change was in the second line, which originally read : —
" Where the young Prince of Glory dy'd.'*
Was there sufficent reason for this change ?
XIII
O STILL IN ACCENTS SWEET AND STRONG
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
i O still in accents sweet and strong
Sounds forth the ancient word,
" More reapers for white harvest fields,
More laborers for the Lord."
2 We hear the call; in dreams no more
In selfish ease we lie,
But, girded for our Father's work,
Go forth beneath His sky.
3 Where prophets* word, and martyrs' blood,
And prayers of saints were sown,
We, to their labors entering" in,
Would reap where they have strown.
4 O Thou whose call our hearts has stirred,
To do Thy "will we come;
Thrust in our sickles at Thy word,
And bear our harvest home.
Rev. Samuel Longfellow, 1864
NOTE. — The text is taken from Hymns of the Spirit, which Mr. Longfellow-
compiled, in conjunction with his friend, the Rev, Samuel John-
son,
137
138 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
In all the editions of the poetical works of Henry W.
Longfellow there is found among the earlier poems one
entitled " Hymn for my Brother's Ordination." It is this
brother, the Rev, Samuel Longfellow, who is the author
of the hymn now to be studied.
The Longfellow family lived in Portland, Maine. The
father was a greatly respected lawyer there, and sur-
rounded his family with comfort and refinement. The
square brick house in which they lived, and in which
Samuel, the younger of the brothers, was born June
l8th, 1819, is still standing, though now in the business
quarter of the town.
Just as the older brother gravitated naturally toward
a literary life, so the younger brother gravitated toward
the ministry. From Harvard, where he was a classmate
and close friend of Edward Everett Hale, he was gradu-
ated in 1839; an(*» after a ^ew Years spent in teaching
and study, entered the divinity school of that university,
being graduated in 1846. It was while a student there
that he and another friend, Samuel Johnson, undertook
to compile a new hymn book for Unitarian churches — a
somewhat audacious venture for two theological students.
The book appeared in 1846, under the name of The Book
of Hymns ; though Theodore Parker, who was one of
the first to use it in his services, was wont to call it
"The Book of Sams."
The book was very remarkable for literary merit It
broke away from the old tradition of dull and heavy
hymns, and brought before the churches many that were
fresh and beautiful. Among these were " Lead, Kindly
0 STILL IN ACCENTS SWEET AND STRONG 139
THE LONGFELLOW HOUSE, PORTLAND
" Light," which the editors had found in a newspaper, and
many of the hymns of Mr. Whittier and of other American
writers. The book had a great influence far beyond the
bounds of those who shared the peculiar religious beliefs
of its young editors.
I4O STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
Mr. Longfellow was ordained as a Unitarian minister
in 1848, and became pastor at Fall River, Massachusetts,
and afterward at Brooklyn. After a long: interval Mr.
Longfellow in 1878 began his last pastorate at the Uni-
tarian Church of German town, a Philadelphia suburb.
The whole period of his settled pastoral life was less than
fifteen years. Together with a lack of physical robust-
ness, there was a craving for the quiet life and a shrinking
from formality and routine. Resigning his charge in
1882, he took up his residence in the famous " Craigie
House " in Cambridge that had been the home of his
brother, the poet ; giving up his closing years to writing
that brother's biography. Mr. Longfellow died October
3rd, 1892, and was buried from the old home at Portland.
No brothers were ever more devoted than these. But
at the same time there are disadvantages in being the
younger brother of a famous poet ; and while Samuel
Longfellow had the poetic temperament, and was not
lacking in the poetic gift, and was a prominent man in
Unitarian circles, it has happened nevertheless that the
light of his fame has burned, and always must burn, with
a paler flame, because nature set it alongside of the far
brighter blaze of his brother's renown. To most readers
Samuel Longfellow is known simply as the poet's brother
and biographer. Yet he was in all respects a man worth
knowing for his own sake : " full of enthusiasm of the
quiet, deep, interior kind ; worshipful, devout, reverent ;
a deep believer in the human heart, in its affections ;
having a perfect trust in the majesty of conscience, a
supreme trust in God and in the laws of the world; a
man thoroughly well informed, used to the best people,
used to the best books and the best music, with the soul
O STILL IN ACCENTS SWEET AND STRONG 14!
" of a poet in him and the heart of a saint ; a man of a
deeply, earnestly consecrated will; simple as a little
child ; perpetually singing little ditties as he went about
in the world, humming his little heart-songs as he went
REV. SAMUEL LONGFELLOW
about in the street, wherever you met him." " A very
perfit gentil knight " was the old phrase applied to him by
Colonel Higginson.
And yet this sympathetic pastor, this sunny-hearted
gentleman, all the motives of whose life were high and
spiritual, who lived and did his work within a perpetual
atmosphere of calm and sweet serenity, came gradually
to assume an attitude toward Christianity that only the
142 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR ffYMNS
gentleness of his heart and his pervading charity saved
from being obstructive. Mr. Longfellow's religious in-
heritance was that of the temper and beliefs of the older
Unitarianism, and with this point of view the hymn book
of his seminary days corresponds. His point of view ap-
pears in his choice of hymns, which freely recognize the
supernatural character of Christ. It appears in the very
grouping of the hymns under such main heads as " Jesus
Christ," " Communion Hymns/' " Christianity and the
Christian Life." How far that point of view was left
behind as Mr. Longfellow's life advanced is revealed
nowhere more plainly than in a second hymn book com-
piled in the early sixties by the same two life-long friends,
and published at Boston in 1864 as Hymns of the Spirit.
From this later book all hymns " which attributed a
peculiar quality and special authority to Christianity, and
recognized a supernatural element in the personality
of Jesus," were excluded. Even the hymn, " Christ to
the Young Man Said," composed for his ordination by
his famous brother was omitted because "he would not
by that one name disturb the simplicity of his faith in the
one Source of the soul's higher life." The Communion
Hymns were left out, as the rite itself had disappeared
from Mr. Longfellow's ministry. " Christianity " appears
only as the heading of a group of seventeen hymns out
of a total of seven hundred and seventeen. The view-
point of the book was that which its editor had declared
his own to be — that of universal religion of which Chris-
tianity was only an illustration, of theism as distinguished
from Christianity.
If we are to take Mr. Longfellow at his word, and
regard him as a theist rather than a Christian, there
O STILL IN ACCENTS SWEET AND STRONG 143
remains at least the satisfaction of recognizing the strik-
ing moral coincidences between his conception of univer-
sal religion and our own of Christianity. There remains
the greater satisfaction of finding in his character and
ways so many illustrations of what Christianity has done
for life. But among those who care for Mr. Longfellow's
hymns there will be very many who prefer to think of
this free spirit as poet rather than as theologian. For the
latter office he was indeed hardly qualified either by his
mental bent or his habits of study. His was a mind of
the sentimental cast, which sincerely loved truth and
sought to find it, but in reality rejoiced more in a sense
of unfettered freedom in the search itself than in any
logical coherence of the beliefs that rewarded the search.
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
Mr. Longfellow wrote many hymns, most of which
were included in Hymns of the Spirit. This hymn, beau-
tiful and heartfelt as it is, has no striking features in its
history. There is no account of its origin anywhere
printed, and those who have written of it have simply
said that it was composed for Hymns of the Spirit in 1864.
The present writer, however, has in his possession an
autograph letter of Mr. Longfellow's in which he states
that " the hymn was originally written to be sung by a
class graduating from the divinity school at Cambridge."
He does not say in what year, and most probably did
not remember, since his niece, who published a volume
of his hymns after his death, was not able to give the
date of this one.
The hymn is becoming very popular in this country ;
abroad it is less used than Mr. Longfellow's beautiful
144 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
evening hymn, "Again, as Evening's Shadow Falls,"
and his " Holy Spirit, Truth Divine" (The Hymnal, Nos.
22, 279). It takes a great many years for a hymn to get
into general use throughout all English-speaking coun-
tries, and very few hymns attain such an honor. Whether
this or any of Mr. Longfellow's hymns shall gain such a
distinction can hardly be foretold.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(i) There is still some difference of opinion in regard
to the propriety of the use by Orthodox churches of
hymns by those writers of " liberal " or " radical " opin-
ions whom we generally group together under the term
"Unitarian." The following opinions are set down here,
not for the purpose of settling that question, but rather
as laying the ground for the discussion of it.
When one comes to think about it, there is nothing
singular in the fact that a Unitarian should write hymns
that prove acceptable to Christians who have no share
whatever in the beliefs peculiar to Unitarianism. As a
matter of fact, it is not the purpose of every hymn to
glorify the nature of our Lord as divine. Some hymns,
for example, celebrate God's fatherhood or providence,
some the work of the Spirit in our hearts, some are of
heaven, some of the moral life, and some of missions.
On these and other subjects there is very much ground
held in common by all people of reverent mind and
religious faith. There are, no doubt, hymns written
by Dr. Holmes, Mr. Longfellow, and other " liberals,"
which contain their peculiar personal beliefs, some that
even sound a note of protest against other peoples'
beliefs ; and those are passed by, as a matter of course,
AUTOGRAPH VERSES
146 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
by churches which profess the Orthodox faith. But
the fact of their writing such sectarian hymns does
not spoil the quality of such of their hymns as are not
sectarian, but are simply religious. Is it not properly a
matter of rejoicing that there are so many hymns that
religious people of all shades of belief can agree to love
and to sing ?
(2) It has been said before now that the best hymns
are those which use most freely the thoughts and even
the language of the Bible. If that is true, the hymn
of Mr. Longfellow would not need to be excluded from
the best hymns, for it is Scriptural to a somewhat un-
usual degree. From what passages in the gospel are
the thoughts and some of the phrases of this hymn
taken?
XIV
JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN TO-DAY
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
1 Jesus Christ is risen to-day,
Our triumphant holy day,
"Who did once, upon the cross.
Suffer to redeem our loss.
Alleluia 1
2 Hymns of praise then let us sing
Unto Christ our heavenly King
Who endured the cross and grave,
Sinners to redeem and save.
Alleluia !
3 But the pains which He endured
Our salvation have procured;
Now above the sky He's King,
Where the angels ever sing.
Alleluia !
4 Sing we to our God above
Praise eternal as His love;
Praise Him, all ye heavenly host.
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia !
[A composite hymn]
NOTE. — The text is that printed in connection with, early nineteenth century
issues of Tate and Brady's Psalms, except that some (possibly
all) of these issues read "hath" instead of "have" in the
second line of the third verse ; treating <c pains *' as a singular —
a usage not without precedents.
147
148 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
There are a few familiar hymns which can best be
described as gradual growths rather than as the crea-
tions of an author's mind. Some lines or verses have
served for the nucleus of a hymn; these have been
reshaped and added to time and again by the hands of
successive editors, and in that way the hymn has attained
the form we know. Poetry of a high order could not
be made by such a process; but of these composite
hymns the few that survive are such, to say the least of
them, as have proved both serviceable and attractive.
One of the best of them is our Easter hymn, apart from
which the services of that day would hardly seem com-
plete. And the history of its making is not without an
interest of its own.
For the earliest form of the hymn we must go back
to the fourteenth century. There is now in Munich a
manuscript of that date containing an Easter carol in
Latin, which reads as follows : —
" Surrexit Christus hodie
humano pro solamine. allel.
Mortem qui passus corpore
miserrimo pro laomine. all.
Mulieres ad tumulum
dona ferunt aromatum. all.
Album videntes angelum
annunciantem gaudium : all.
Discipulis hoc dicite,
quod surrexit rex gloriae. all.
Paschali pleno gaudio
benedicamus domino, all."
JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN TO-DA Y 149
Other manuscripts of the same hymn exist, having ad-
ditional verses. But we are specially concerned only
with the first and second couplets, which are in all the
manuscripts. For these two couplets proved to be the
nucleus round which our hymn was to grow.
The first stage in the growth of the hymn is the turn-
ing of that Latin carol into English, four centuries later.
The illustration here given is the facsimile of one page
from a book printed in London, 1708, by J. Walsh. It
had this title :—
" Lyra Davidica, or a Collection of Divine Songs and
Hymns, partly New Composed, partly Translated from
the High German and Latin Hymns; and set to easy and
pleasant Tunes."
Comparing the words in the facsimile with the first and
second couplets of the Latin, it is readily seen that they
are a translation of them, and not very different from the
first verse of our present hymn. The remainder of the
carol follows on the next page of the book, the whole
reading as follows: —
"Jesus Christ is Risen to day Halle-Halleluiah
Our triumphant Holyday
Who so lately on the Cross
Suffer'd to redeem our loss.
" Hast ye females from your fright
Take to Galilee your flight
To his sad disciples say
Jesus Christ is risen to day.
" In our Paschal joy and feast
Let the Lord of life be blest
Let the Holy Trine be prais'd
And thankful hearts to heaven be rais'd."
i
y v * r i n i
J* J- ^j ji f]^ j
y1*
t ij'i i i
t c
[i '
A PAGE FROM "LYRA DAVIDICA
JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN TO-DAY 151
We recognize also the " easy and pleasant tune, " to which
we still sing our Easter hymn, harmonized in two parts,
the air and bass. The tune seems to make its first ap-
pearance in this book. Most likely it was composed for
these words, but nobody knows. In many hymnals the
statement still continues to be made that Dr. Worgan
composed the tune, the fact that he was not yet born not
seeming to make any difference. Nothing more is known
of the translation than of the tune. Who wrote the
English words, who edited the book, for whose use the
book was intended — on none of these interesting ques-
tions is there any light whatever. But the fact remains
that in 1708 we got a first verse and also a tune for our
Easter hymn, though not as yet in just the form we
know.
In 1749 or early in 1750 John Arnold, a musician
living at Great Warley, in Essex, published the second
edition of a collection of tunes called The Compleat
Psalmodist. In this book the same tune appears again,
but the hymn has been made over. Only the four lines
of the translated carol from Lyra Davidica remain.
These are altered, and there are now added two verses
entirely new. The hymn in the earliest edition of this
book seen by the present writer reads as follows : —
"Jesus Christ is ris'n to-Day. Hallelujah.
Our triumphant Holiday
Who did once upon the Cross
Suffer to redeem our Loss.
" Hymns of praises let us sing
Unto Christ our heavenly King
"Who endur'd the Cross and Grave
Sinners to redeem and save.
152 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
" But the pain that he endur'd
Our Salvation has procured
Now above the Sky he's King
Where the Angels ever sing."
This is substantially the modern form of the hymn. And
here again there is no clue as to the authorship of the
new verses.
Not much now remained to be done to the hymn. It
needed a little polishing, and it needed to have a place
made for it among the hymns sung in church. For
these it waited until the beginning of the nineteenth
century. At that time the Church of England was sing-
ing metrical versions of the Psalms. Tate and Brady's
version was commonly bound in with the Prayer Books.
Toward the close of the eighteenth century a few hymns
had appeared at the end of the Psalms. How they got
there is not known. It is thought likely that some
printer, with the free ways of a dissenter, saw fit to fill
up a few blank leaves left over at the end of a Prayer
Book with hymns, and that he made his own selection.
Certain it is that the hymns appeared there and that they
appeared without authority. It is equally certain that
they kept their place in later editions of the Prayer Book
and were sung in the services. They not only stayed,
but increased in number. Some time early in the nine-
teenth century, at a date not yet fixed, our Easter hymn
was added to the little group. The changes in the text
were not many, and each change was for the better.
This final form of the hymn corresponds to the first three
verses as printed at the head of this Study.
In later years some editor, thinking that the hymn
needed a conclusion, added a doxology by the Rev.
JESUS CHRIST IS JtlSEN TO-DAY 153
Charles Wesley, originally printed in 1740. The dox-
ology (the fourth verse) suits the hymn and may now be
looked upon as part of it And the story of the making
of the hymn, like the hymn itself, ends with this doxology.
It was a long evolution, a somewhat curious history.
Perhaps its most curious feature, amounting to something
almost like an air of mystery, is the veil of anonymity
that is not once lifted through all the five hundred years.
Many hands have wrought to bring the materials into
shape, and of all these hands not one can be associated
with a human name or presence.
The popularity of the hymn is readily explained. It
appeared at a time when suitable Easter hymns were
sadly lacking, already provided with a stirring melody.
And both hymn and tune have kept their place because
they express, somewhat quaintly but none the less fitly,
the gratitude and gladness of the Christian heart in view
of Christ's resurrection.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Are the Easter hymns as a class equal in merit
and attractiveness to the Christmas hymns as a class ?
(2) In the act of singing this hymn the correct render-
ing of the tune makes such demands upon one's attention
that the words deserve a quiet study apart. Does any
hymn set forth more appealingly the mingled triumph
and pathos of the resurrection? Notice the alleluias
which interrupt the very recital of Christ's pains.
(3) Much has been said in favor of keeping up the
association of a particular hymn with " the tune to which
it has always been sung." As a matter of fact, the num-
ber of standard hymns that have always or even generally
154 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
been sung to special tunes of their own is quite small.
In this matter we are likely to think that the association
familiar to ourselves has been a more general usage than
on inquiry proves to be the case. And even though a
hymn has generally been sung to a particular tune, it
may happen that the tune has been outgrown and the
hymn thereby fallen into unfortunate neglect; or that
the hymn has outlived its usefulness while its tune is
worthy of longer use if set to better words. In such a
case a change of the association would seem desirable.
But in a case such as this, where tune and words are
both worthy, have come into the world together, and
have been sung together very generally and with great
satisfaction, is there not a certain profit as well as pro-
priety in keeping that association undisturbed ?
There is indeed need of a certain watchfulness on our
part to make sure that we do not lose the words of this
hymn altogether out of our hymn books. The tune
goes very well to Wesley's Easter hymn in the same
metre. And some recent compilers, pressed as they are
for space, and conscious of a general desire that the
number of hymns be reduced, have sought to relieve the
situation by setting this tune to Wesley's words. Perhaps
they thought we would not notice. But they do us an injus-
tice. No other words have just the Easter flavor of these.
(4) The facts set forth in this Study are put in con-
densed form into the note underneath the hymn in The
Hymnal (No. 244). If any one would take the trouble
to work out the note in the light of the Study he would
be in the way of understanding those Hymnal notes on
the history and text of the hymns. Many people find
difficulty in following such condensed statements.
XV
A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
1 A. mighty Fortress is our God,
A. Bulwark never failing1 ;
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.
2 Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing ;
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God's own choosing :
Dost ask who that may be ?
Christ Jesus, it is He ;
Lord Sabaoth His Name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
3 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.
156 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
4 That word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth ;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth :
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also ;
The body they may kill :
God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is for ever.
Rev. Martin Luther, (about) 1528
Translated by Rev. Frederic Henry Hedge, 1852
NOTE. — The text is taken from Hedge and Huntington's Hymns for the
Church of Christ.
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
The greatest scene of Luther's career was his brave
stand before the Diet of Worms, on -the i/th of April,
1521. It was on the way thither, when warned by
Spalatin against entering the city, that Luthqr wrote
back : " Were there as many devils in Worms as there
are tiles on the roofs of the houses, I would go in."
Perhaps the occurrence of this same sentiment in the
third verse of Luther's hymn, " Ein' Feste Burg ist Unser
Gott," is what has led so many writers to say that the
hymn also was written on that journey to Worms.
Picturesque as it may be thus to connect the great
hymn with the great event, the claim is not supported
by any actual evidence. Three years afterward, in 1524,
Luther printed his earlier hymns, but this is not among
them. One naturally concludes that it had not been
written.
Six other dates and occasions for the origin of the
hymn have been fixed upon, each of them with con-
siderable confidence. No one could seem more sure of
157
158 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
anything than is Merle d'Aubigne, the brilliant historian
of the Reformation, that Luther wrote the hymn while
with the Elector John of Saxony, who was on his way
to the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. That writer pictures
the very scene. " John," he says, " began his journey
on the 3rd April, with one hundred and sixty horse-
men, clad in rich scarlet cloaks, embroidered with gold.
Every man was aware of the dangers that threatened
the Elector, and hence many in his escort marched with
downcast eyes and sinking hearts. But Luther, full of
faith, revived the courage of his friends by composing,
and singing with his fine voice that beautiful hymn, since
become so famous: Eitf Feste Burg ist Unser Gott"
Here again is a picturesque origin found for the hymn,
but one improbable on its face, and contradicted by the
fact that at the time referred to Luther's hymn had
already appeared in print. Various monographs have
been published advocating other dates and occasions.
Undeterred by these, Scherer, the recent historian of
German Literature, states with entire confidence that the
hymn was written in October, 1527, at the approach of
the plague. Luther's biographer, Julius Kostlin, in the
later editions of the Life, accepts that date as probably
correct. And with that probability we must rest. The
actual evidence in the matter is the appearance of the
hymn in print. Some years ago it was found in a muti-
lated copy of a Wittenberg hymn book of 1529; and
more lately report was made of its discovery in an
earlier issue, dating apparently from February, 1528.
It was already set to the glorious tune, believed by many
to be composed by Luther himself, to which it has been
sung ever since. The best opinion of the present time
A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OVR GOD 159
Is that not any of the tunes furnished by Luther were
original compositions, but were rather drawn from sacred
or popular sources. That of " Ein' Feste Burg," it is
claimed, was developed from an old Gregorian melody.
Such a hymn, with such a tune, spread quickly, as
may well be believed ; " quickly, as if the angels had
been the carriers," one enthusiastic writer has said. But
they were men and not angels who spread Luther's
hymn of faith and courage from heart to heart and from
lip to lip. It thrilled them like a trumpet blast, en-
couraging the faint-hearted and nerving the brave to
fight the battle of the Lord. It was, as Heine said, the
Marseillaise of the Reformation. It was sung at Augs-
burg during the Diet, and in all the churches of Saxony,
often against the protest of the priest It was sung in
the streets; and, so heard, comforted the hearts of
Melanchthon, Jonas, and Cruciger, as they entered
Weimar, when banished from Wittenberg in 1 547. It
was sung by poor Protestant emigrants 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 Protestant Germany.
Gustavus Adolphus ordered it sung by his army before
the battle of Leipzig, in 1631, and on the field of that
battle it was repeated, more than two centuries after-
ward, by the throng assembled at the jubilee of the
Gustavus Adolphus Association. Again, 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 commemorating the
men and events of the Reformation ; and its first line is
engraved on the base of Luther's monument at Witten-
l6o STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
berg. And it is dear still to the German people ; one of
the hymns lodged in their memories and hearts, ready for
the occasion. An imperishable hymn ! not polished and
artistically wrought, but rugged and strong like Luther
himself, whose very words seem like deeds.
Among Luther's hymns (some thirty-six in all) this
occupies the supreme place, because it is the fullest
expression of what he was as a man and as a reformer.
" It is a true picture of his simple faith in Christ, and of
his immovable trust in God, his forgetfulness of self and
entire consecration of his life and all that he held dear
to that Saviour who, he doubted not, would speedily,
gloriously, and for ever, triumph over Satan and all his
hosts, by that word which he was the honored instru-
ment once more to proclaim to the world."
THE TRANSLATOR OF THE HYMN
The translating of Luther's hymn began very early.
His hymns seemed to the early Protestants like a part
of their confession of the new faith ; and as Lutheran
ideas spread into other countries, the hymns were trans-
lated, and sung by the people in their own tongues. In
the English Reformation, however, they had no part.
While an exile in Germany, toward the middle of the
sixteenth century, Myles Coverdale came into contact
with them, and made versions of a number, which he
printed in his Goostly Psalmes and Spirituall Songes. He
seems to have been more interested in Luther's tunes
than in the words. The forty-sixth Psalm in his book is
in the metre of " Ein' Feste Burg," but only the first four
lines follow Luther's hymn. The first real translation into
English is probably that contained in Lyra Dawdica,
A MIGHTY FORTRESS fS OUR GOD l6l
published in London in 1708, and, like the book itself,
anonymous.
The next version appeared in Psalmodia Germanica,
a book of translations of German hymns published at
London in 1722, by John Christian Jacobi, who had
charge of the Royal German Chapel at St. James's
Palace. This interests us more, because a reprint of the
book came from the press of Hugh Game in New York
in 1756. It was the first hymnal used in Lutheran
services in English in this country, and introduced " Ein*
Feste Burg" here as an English hymn. This version
was reprinted by Dr. Kunze, of New York, in his Lu-
theran hymn book of 1795. But in after years, both in
England and this country, knowledge of the hymn was
mostly confined to Germans until Carlyle called atten-
tion to it in his now famous essay, " Luther's Psalm,"
printed in Fr user's Magazine for 1831. Since that date
very many writers, both English and American, have
attempted versions of the hymn ; how many, it would be
hard to say. The Rev. Dr. Bernhard Pick has collected
eighty different translations in a little book, but there
are many more. Of these versions, some are poor
enough ; and of them all, only two have proved widely
successful.
To translate a hymn into another language, and yet to
preserve the spirit and the form of the original, is always
a difficult task. But to do it in such a way that a foreign
people shall love to sing the hymn in their own tongue
Is a feat of which any one may be proud. One of the
two successful versions is the translation made by Thomas
Carlyle, and printed in his "Luther's Psalm" in 1831.
Carlyle's understanding of Luther, and his own gift of
1&2 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
downright speech, well fitted him for his undertaking.
In many respects his is the best version of the hymn in
English ; and in Great Britain it is the one most generally
sung, although some changes are made in it, in most
cases, to fit it for such a use. The other successful trans-
lation is American. It was made by a Unitarian clergy-
A VERSE IN THE AUTOGRAPH OF THE TRANSLATOR.
man, the Rev. Frederic Henry Hedge, and first appeared
in 1852, in the second edition of Dr. Furness's Gems of
A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD 163
German Verse. A year later Dr. Hedge included it
(just as it stands in The Hymnal and here) in Hymns for
the Church of Christ.
The translator did his work well. His version is
worthy to stand beside Carlyle's, and for church use as a
hymn is probably the better of the two. It has become
the accepted version of Luther's hymn in this country,
and now finds a place in the great majority of recent
American hymnals of the better kind. Perhaps we
hardly realize that Luther's hymn is gradually becoming
one of the standard hymns of the American Church.
More than once in late years it has happened that classes
in our colleges have adopted it by vote as their class
hymn. To this growing appreciation of the hymn several
things contribute. One is the growth of historical feel-
ing, making more of historical associations. Another is
the clear ring of faith in the hymn itself, never more
appealing than now. Still another is the quality of the
old chorale to which the words are set But Dr. Hedge's
great success in producing such a version as makes us
feel that we are singing Luther's hymn itself, must also
be placed high among the causes which are acclimating
the old German hymn.
Dr. Hedge was decidedly a man of mark in New Eng-
land; a thinker and scholar of influence. His life is
linked with Harvard University by close ties. His
mother was the granddaughter of one of its presidents,
and his father a professor there for over thirty years.
He himself was born at Cambridge, December I2th,
1805, was graduated in arts by Harvard in 1825, and in
divinity three years later. While still pastor of a church
at Brookline, in 1857, he became Professor of Church
164 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
History, and in 1872 Professor of German, in the univer-
sity. This latter chair he held until 1881, and lived until
August 2ist, 1890.
Dr. Hedge reached manhood at a time when there was
great intellectual unrest in New England, and much
excitement on moral and religious questions. It culmi-
nated in what is generally called the Transcendental
Movement for a more spiritual philosophy. Dr. Channing
was probably the leader of this movement, but Dr. Hedge
took a most active part in it He was one of the founders
of the Transcendental Club of Boston, and of its eccen-
tric organ, The Dial. Dr. Hedge's particular share in
this movement seems to have been to make known and
expound the literature, and especially the philosophy,
of Germany. Before going to Harvard he had spent
several years as a student in Germany. These made him
so familiar with the language that it became to him prac-
tically a second mother-tongue, and gave him a sympathy
with German thought, of which he remained a student
all his life. He published, in 1848, a large volume of
The Prose Writers of Germany, which became a standard
work; and by lectures, review articles, and books, did
much to make the philosophers of Germany more wel-
come than they had been in New England.
This translation of Luther's hymn, therefore, was quite
in line with Dr. Hedge's special work. For keeping his
memory green in the world it is, no doubt, the most
effective piece of work he ever did. It was a little piece
of work. And yet nothing less than his own religious
nature and strong religious feeling, his poetic tempera-
ment and gift for making verse, his familiarity with
German and practiced skill in translating it — nothing less
REV. FREDERIC HENRY HEDGE
l66 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
than all these things, combined in the one man, made
success in that little piece of work possible.
Dr. Hedge's connection with the hymnody of the
Church at large does not extend much beyond this con-
tribution of his translation of the great Reformer's hymn.
He holds an honorable place in the succession of Ameri-
can editors. In cooperation with the Rev. Frederick D.
Huntington (then a Unitarian, afterward Bishop in the
Protestant Episcopal Church) he prepared, and published
in 1 85 3 for use in Unitarian churches, the Hymns for
the Church of Christ already referred to. It had, and
deserved, much success, being of a high order both
poetically and spiritually. The book was worth while,
if only because it introduced to the churches that fine
morning hymn, "Now, when the Dusky Shades of
Night, Retreating" (The Hymnal, No. 8). If, indeed,
the editors had been careful to make a note of the
authorship or source of that hymn (now apparently irre-
vocably lost) their service would be still more appreci-
ated by the curious. Dr. Hedge contributed a number
of original hymns to the book. One of the best is that
beginning, " Beneath Thine hammer, Lord, I lie." An-
other, which sets forth the cross as the sign of Christ's
leadership, beginning, " Twas the day when God's
Anointed," has particular merit, judged from its own
point of view. But none of Dr. Hedge's original hymns
has come into more than a limited use, even within
strictly Unitarian circles. For that reason any inquiry
into his theological position and views is less pertinent
It is just as well, since it would be difficult to classify
him as connected with any special school of thought.
He distrusted system and cared little for logical con-
A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD l6/
sistency. His position was altogether independent and
sometimes undefined. Certainly he hewed a path far
beyond the conventions of Christian theology. What
we have to be especially grateful for is the undisturbed
reflection he gave forth of the spirit and words of
Luther's hymn.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Luther seems to have been accustomed to refer to
his hymn as the 46th Psalm. This is interesting as
showing the source of Luther's inspiration ; but can the
hymn be said to be a version of that psalm ?
(2) The following analysis of the hymn has been
made : " In stanza i. we see our stronghold and its be-
siegers ; In stanza ii. our weakness, our Saviour's power
and might ; in stanza iii. the vanity of the Prince of this
World ; in stanza iv, whatever earthly goods we lose we
have our true treasure in heaven." Is the analysis
satisfactory ?
(3) It is interesting to compare Dr. Hedge's translation
with such others as one has access to. Carlyle's, in his
essay, " Luther's Psalm," is to be found in all editions of
his works. A version by Longfellow can be found
imbedded in his " Golden Legend." Many of the later
versions have no individuality, but are merely the old
materials worked over and slightly rearranged. A trans-
lation by Thomas I. Zimmerman, one of the publishers
of the Reading Daily Times and Dispatch, and printed
in that newspaper in 1888, is thought by some to be an
exception. " Nothing is more curious," a writer in The
Athenwum remarked in 1897, "than the way in which
translators go on working in beaten paths," Certainly
168 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
the beaten paths offer least hope of pioneer work, but
each fresh comer, finding no existing translation that
seems perfectly satisfactory, doubtless hopes to straighten
the path a little here and there. And the same qualities
of an original that moved its first translator to try to
express what he found there move others in the same
way. It is interesting to note that even the Quaker
heart of Whittier responded to the trumpet-blast of
Luther's psalm. He entitled one of his poems in war
time, " Ein' Feste Burg ist Unser Gott," writing it also
in the metre of the original.
XVI
ABIDE WITH ME: FAST FALLS THE EVENTIDE
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
I Abide with me : fast falls the eventide ;
The darkness deepens ; Lord, with me abide :
"When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
a 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 ;
0 Thou who changest not, abide with me.
3 I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
4 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 ?
1 triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
5 Hold Thou 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 flee:
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Rev. Henry Francis Lyte, 1847
NOTE. — Five verses of the original eight (see under " Some Points for
Discussion"),
169
I/O STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE STORY OF THE
The darkness that deepens in the hymn is the shadow
of death creeping over the poet himself, whose last song
it was. The Rev. Henry Francis Lyte, who was pastor
as well as poet, had been for nearly twenty-five years in
charge of the district church at Lower Brixham on the
shores of Torbay, England. Originally a little fishing
village, it had grown into a somewhat disorderly and
immoral district, with a rough and uneducated popula-
tion. It seems a strange post for a gentle poet, but Mr.
Lyte exerted a great influence over the sailors and fisher-
men, for whom he wrote songs, as well as hymns for
their children in his schools. Never robust, he became
year by year less fit for the heavy duties of the post,
until the time came when he broke down utterly, and
could live only by spending the winters in the warmer
climate of Southern Europe. He had come home to
spend the summer of 1847 with his church, but had lain
extremely ill. Sunday, the 4th of September, was the
last day of his permitted stay in England, and he shocked
his family by announcing his intention to preach once
more to his own people. " His weakness, and the possi-
ble danger attending the effort, were urged to prevent it ;
but in vain. He felt sure he should be enabled to fulfil
his wish, and feared not for the result." He did preach,
and, although greatly exhausted, assisted at the celebra-
tion of the Holy Communion. In the evening of that
same day he placed in the hands of a member of his
family the manuscript of the hymn "Abide with Me/1
together with a tune he had composed for it. On the
following day he started for the South, but did not live
ABIDE WITH ME: FAST FALLS THE EVENTIDE IJl
to complete the journey, When within a few hours of
Nice he was attacked by influenza, which soon developed
alarming symptoms, and after some days of suffering he
passed away.
It deepens the pathos of these circumstances to be
told by Mr. Lyte's daughter (in her Memoir) that he
was much distressed by difficulties which had arisen
AN AUTOGRAPH VERSE
among his people. A recent visitor to Lower Brixham
records a local tradition that a defection of some of his
church workers is referred to in the words of the first
verse, " When other helpers fail"
But the story of the hymn has a brighter side. It is
pleasant to think of it in connection with another poem
he left behind him, called " Declining Days." In this
the poet asks himself why he should sigh at the thought
of approaching death. He is described by one who
172 STUDIES OF FAMILIAL HYMNS
lovect him as a cheerful and unselfish invalid ; but this
touching poem shows, none the less, that he shared the
regret common to invalids that his life had been frus-
trated by illness, and that he was only a burden to his
friends. Death, he says, would seem even sweet could
he think that in his narrow bed he should not be wholly
mute or useless, but should help or heal some living
heart by his verse : —
" Some simple strain, some spirit-moving lay,
Some sparklet of the Soul, that still might live
When I was passed to clay ! "
The poem closes with the prayer: —
" O Thou ! whose touch can lend
Life to the dead, Thy quick' ning grace supply,
And grant me, swanlike, my last breath to spend
In song that may not die ! "
Not often are the prayers and longings of a disap-
pointed heart so literally fulfilled. It was given to
the poet to sing that swan-song that should not die.
The Rev. Dr. George D. Baker, of Philadelphia, has
told the present writer of meeting a young man at a
church door in Nice one Sunday morning. They could
not get in and walked together to another church, and
after service went to visit Lyte's grave in the English
cemetery. While they stood beside the grave the young
stranger became much affected as he told what the
hymn had been to him. How far, indeed, is the author
of such a hymn from being "mute or useless in his
narrow bed " !
It would seem strange to us if " Abide with Me " were
omitted from the hymn books. But its present position
ABIDE WITH ME: FAST FALLS THE EVENTIDE 173
was not attained immediately, either in England or in
this country. In 1855 Mr. Beecher, in his Plymouth
Collection, put three verses at the service of American
Congregationalists. In 1861 Dr. Henry A. Boardman,
of Philadelphia, in his Selection, introduced the entire
hymn to Presbyterians, especially of his own congrega-
tion. But he preceded it by the notice : " [For reading
only]/' That notice reads curiously now. But he may
have considered, as some still consider, the hymji too
personal and intense for congregational use; or more
likely, he knew of no tune that would carry the long
lines. Indeed, the actual use of the hymn dates from
the publication, that same year, of the now familiar tune
in Hymns Ancient and Modern. After one of the meet-
ings of the committee which compiled that book it was
suddenly remembered that there was no tune for Hymn
27, " Abide with Me " ; whereupon Dr. Monk, the musi-
cal editor (so he told a friend), sat down and composed
in ten minutes the tune that has carried Hymn 27 to the
ends of the earth.
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Mr. Lyte was born June 1st, 1793, near Kelso, Scot-
land, but was the son of a captain in the English army.
Both parents died while he was a child, leaving him to
struggle for a liberal education. Several prizes for poems
gained at Trinity College, Dublin, were a welcome addi-
tion to his slender income, which he also supplemented
by teaching; and he was graduated in 1814. He began
the study of medicine, but in 1815 was ordained to the
ministry in the Church of England.
His first charge was " a dreary Irish curacy/' within
STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
seven miles of the town of Wexford — " Remote from
towns, in almost perfect seclusion, giving myself up to
the duties of my situation, writing my sermons, visiting
my sick, catechizing my children, without other com-
panions than my flute, my pen, and my books,"
While there he had a strange spiritual experience.
He was called in during the last illness of a neighboring
clergyman, whom he attended for some weeks. The
clergyman, Mr. Lyte tells us, bore the highest character
for benevolence, piety, and good sense. But his last days
had brought distress and not peace, and he spent them
in reviewing anxiously his own spiritual condition and
grounds for hope. The sick man insisted upon going
into an examination of the evidences for a future state,
for the trustworthiness of the Scriptures as a revelation
from God, and finally of the means by which a happy
eternity was to be attained " My blood almost curdled/1
Mr. Lyte writes, " to hear the dying man 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 explana-
tory epistles of St. Paul were to be taken in their plain
and literal sense. You can hardly perhaps conceive the
effect of all this, proceeding from such a man, in such a
situation." The dying man found peace, and Mr. Lyte
went forth a changed man, with a new spirit within
him and a new message on his lips.
The strain of these weeks, with subsequent labors,
proved too great for his strength. He became very ill,
and was threatened with consumption — a shadow from
which his after life was never to be free. He traveled
on the continent, and on his return, " after being jostled
ABIDE WITH ME : FAST FALLS THE EVENTIDE 1/5
" from one curacy to another," he settled down to work
in a Cornwall village. Here he married, and soon after
moved into the quiet country near Lymington, where he
wrote many of his poems, and the Tales on the Lord's
Prayer which Christopher North liked so well. In 1823
Mr. Lyte took charge of the district church at Lower
Brixham, where he was to do the great work of his
ministry. This charge he retained until his death, which
occurred near Nice, France, on November 2oth, 1847.
"A simple marble cross in the English cemetery at
Nice fitly marks the last resting-place of one whose
highest honor and desire in active life had been to exalt
[76 STUDIES OF FAMILIAL HYMNS
" the Cross ; who meekly bore the Cross through years
of suffering, and who, trusting in the merits of his
Blessed Saviour's Cross and Passion alone, calmly re-
signed his mortal life, in the sure and certain hope of a
glorious immortality/' With such words Mrs. Hogg
brings to a close the Memoir of her father which she
prefixed to the volume of his literary Remains.
Mr. Lyte's position as a hymn writer is a very high
one. An earlier hymn, " Jesus, I my Cross Have Taken "
(The Hymnal, No. 356), has been in the past even more
used than this. Many other excellent hymns have been
taken from his Spirit of the Psalms, a book originally
printed in 1834 for the use of his own congregation.
His miscellaneous poems are of much less import, and
rarely reveal the creative touch of imagination. One of
them, " On a Naval Officer Buried in the Atlantic," was
set to music by Sir Arthur Sullivan. As recently as
1868 a volume of Lyte's Miscellaneous Poems was re-
printed in London, with a prefatory notice of " a con-
tinual demand for" them. The demand even then was
perhaps less the call for specific poems of his than a
curiosity to see what else the author of such hymns had
written. But in the hymns lay his strength, It is dis-
tinction enough for one man to have written <( Abide
with Me."
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(i) Is this hymn an evening hymn or not? It is
usually so classed in the hymnals. On the other hand,
Mr. Ellerton, himself a distinguished hymn writer, says
that this is done " apparently on the ground of the first
two lines, and their similarity in sound to two lines in
ABIDE WITH ME: FAST FALLS THE EVENTIDE 177
" Keble's ' Sun of My Soul.' This is a curious instance
of the misapprehension of the true meaning of the hymn
by those among whom it is popular; for a very little
consideration will suffice to show that there is not
throughout the hymn the slightest allusion to the close
of the natural day : the words of St. Luke xxiv. 29 are
obviously used in a sense wholly metaphorical."
(2) In Mr. Lyte's manuscript the second line began,
"The darkness thickens." In the hymn as printed
almost at once it was changed (no doubt by Mr. Lyte
himself) to " The darkness deepens." In the first line
of the last verse Mr. Lyte originally wrote, " Hold, then,
Thy cross " ; and so it was first printed and again by
his daughter after his death. But In the later edition
of his Poems it reads, " Hold Thou Thy cross." There
being some uncertainty here of what Mr. Lyte's final
preference was, was it right to use in The Hymnal the
reading that is preferable and also universally accepted ?
(3) The Southern Presbyterian Church has been en-
gaged in the preparation of a new hymnal (published in
1902). A correspondent of the Hymnal Committee
insisted that the line just referred to must not go in
because suggesting " Romish belief and practice." Is
there adequate ground for this proposed exclusion ?
(4) The hymn had eight verses in all. Hymns Ancient
and Modem, which brought the hymn into use, omitted
the third, fourth, and fifth, thus reducing it to five verses.
This course has been generally followed. It is plain
that eight verses of lines so long set to a tune of slow
movement will not be actually sung; and there is
general agreement that the omitted verses do not help
the five that make a hymn already rounded and com-
1/8 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
pletei It is, perhaps, an open question whether the
whole of such a poem should be given in a hymn book
for the sake of completeness. The omitted verses are
as follows: —
" 3 Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word ;
But, as Thou dwell' st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free,
* Come, not to sojourn, but abide, with me.
" 4 Come not in terrors, as the King of kings ;
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings ;
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea;
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.
" 5 Thou on my head in early youth didst smile ;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee :
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me."
XVII
GOD BLESS OUR NATIVE LAND
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
1 God bless our native land;
Firm may she ever stand
Through storm and night ;
When the wild tempests rave,
Ruler of wind and wave,
Do Thou our country save
By Thy great might.
2 For her our prayer shall rise
To God, above the skies ;
On Him we wait ;
Thou who art ever nigh,
Guarding with watchful eye,
To Thee aloud we cry,
God save the State.
[The first five lines are here attributed to the Rev.
Charles Timothy Brooks as author or trans-
lator, (about) 1832-35; the remainder to Dr.
John Sullivan Dwight, (about) 1844]
NOTE. — Of this hymn there can be no authoritative text. That here
printed is taken from Lowell Mason's The Psaltery, 18/15.
Two earlier texts are quoted in the Study.
179
ISO STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
The one thing about this little hymn that seems certain
is its excellence. And its excellence is not lessened by
the fact that the hymn is cosmopolitan. It claims, indeed,
to be translated from the German. Whether or not that
is so, all who speak English, be they American or British,
can sing it side by side. The meaning of the hymn is
plain to all who love their native land. The authorship
of the hymn is much less certain, and has all the interest
of a puzzle.
(i) Mrs. Hcnshaw's Claim. — One day, in 1895, the
writer saw, on a friend's table at Germantown, a little
book of poems by Sarah E. Henshaw. Turning the
leaves, his eye caught this hymn printed among the other
poems of that lady as her own. Greatly surprised, he
inquired of his friend who she was. He learned that she
was a lady of high character, of New England lineage,
who had lately died in California, and was the true
author of this hymn. The writer at once started an
investigation. He secured from Mrs. Henshaw's family
a copy of a letter in which she had made her own state-
ment of her claim as follows: "I wrote the verses just
after the fall of Fort Sumter. I was then living in Illinois.
I learned from the papers that the Rhode Island volun-
teers had gone through to the front, singing 'John
Brown's Body,' and that Governor Buckingham had put
the organization of our Connecticut regiments in charge
of my uncle, General Dan. Tyler. With a heart on fire,
and desirous that the Connecticut soldiers should also
have something to sing, I wrote the verses in question.
That every one might know the music, I wrote them for
GOD J3LESS OUR NATIVE LAND l8l
" the air i God Save the King/ I sent them by post to my
uncle with much hesitation, because he would probably
think it all nonsense. Neither did I attach my name to
the verses : I wrote at the caption, f By a daughter of
Connecticut/ I kept no copy, sent them to no pub-
lisher, heard nothing of them, took it for granted that
my uncle had thrown them aside.
" After the war I moved out here [Oakland], I drove
down the street one Fourth of July to hear the school-
children sing. They sang my verses — those verses! I
looked at the programme ; there were the lines. * Why ! /
wrote that !' I explained to [a friend]. As I wrote them,
the poem contained several verses. Here were only two.
But I was glad to get them. They were the first and the
last In writing them, I felt much dissatisfied with the
last line of the last verse, viz. : ' God save the State ' ;
and had earnestly cast about without avail for a stronger
climax to match my rhyme. But here it was, just the
same. I smiled at the recollection, as I carefully put the
programme into my reticule."
(2) Mr. Brooks 's Claim. — Mrs. Henshaw's letter was
written to the Rev. Charles W. Wendte. Now it hap-
pened that Mr. Wendte had been the friend of the Rev.
Charles T. Brooks, a poet and translator of much ability,
pastor for many years of a Unitarian church at New-
port. While sympathizing with Mrs. Henshaw's wish to
establish her authorship, Mr. Wendte writes her : " My
dear old friend, Mr. Brooks, whose memoir I wrote,
called it his. He wrote so much that it is not at all
unlikely he was wrong/'
Mr. Brooks certainly claimed the hymn. In 1875 his
friend Dr. Putnam printed the following statement, ap-
~^*-L, Cct&tfcT*"^^
AN AUTOGRAPH POEM OF MR. BROOKS
GOD BLESS OUR NATIVE LAND 183
patently by Mr. Brooks's authority : " Compilers and
hymnologists have either marked f God Bless Our Native
Land' anonymous or else have attributed it to John S.
Dwight. Mr. Brooks translated it from the German
while he was a member of the Divinity School at Cam-
bridge [1832-35]. It was shortly afterward altered in
some of its lines by Mr. Dwight, and in its changed
form was first introduced, it is supposed, into one of
Lowell Mason's singing-books. Hence, doubtless, it
came to be credited so widely to Mr. Dwight himself.
We give the original translation of it by Mr. Brooks : —
" * God bless our native land !
Firm may she ever stand
Through storm and night !
When the wild tempests rave,
Ruler of wind and wave,
Father Eternal, save
Us by thy might !
** * Lo ! our hearts' prayers arise
Into the upper skies,
Regions of light !
He who hath heard each sigh
Watches each weeping eye:
He is forever nigh,
Venger of Right !> "
(3) Dr. Dwight' $ Claim. — " I hasten to say that the
hymn, ' God Bless Our Native Land/ has been ac-
credited to me for nearly fifty years, though I really
had forgotten ever writing it." So answered, in 1893,
Dr. John S. Dwight, the famous musical critic of Boston,
when asked what light he could throw upon the matter.
Dr. Dwight goes on to say: "Brooks reminded me
once of our doing it piecemeal together. Certainly, it
184 STUDIES OJP FAMILIAR
" dates far back of Fort Sumter. About the year 1844 I
translated many songs from a German song book for
A VERSE IN DR. DWIGHT'S AUTOGRAPH
Lowell Mason's collection for our public schools —
sometimes translating, sometimes making a stanza or
two at first hand. I presume this was one of them.
Brooks did the same thing for Dr. Mason. I did the
work hastily and cheaply. I never thought of the song
again."
GOD BLESS OUR NATIVE LAND 185
Ten years earlier (1883) Dr. D wight had written an-
other letter, now in possession of the present writer,
accompanying the autograph verse here reproduced. He
explains that he transcribes and signs only this first verse
of the hymn, " which I am pretty confident is mine."
As to the second verse (as given in The Hymnal and
here) he is less confident. " This also I think may have
been made by me, but am not sure."
(4) Mr. Hickson's Claim. — As early as 1869 an Eng-
lish musician, Mr. William E. Hickson, had seen Dr.
D wight's name given as the author of " God Bless Our
Native Land." He wrote to Mr. Sedgwick, the hym-
nologist, stating that he had written the hymn in 1836-
as a new national anthem, and that it first appeared in
his book called The Singing Master, published in the
same year.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Mr. Hickson's claim is easily disposed of. It is a
fact that he published in 1836 a hymn beginning, —
<* God bless our native land,
May heav'n's protecting hand
Still guard our shore !"
The first line, curiously enough, is identical with that
of the American hymn. But the present writer has
examined Mr. Hickson's book, and can state that no
single line of his hymn, except the first, has even a re-
semblance to any line of the American hymn in any one
of its versions.
(2) The claim of Mrs. Henshaw must be disposed of
by asking one question. How could a hymn which had
1 86 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
been printed as early as 1841 have been written by her
in 1 86 1 ? That lady made her claim in perfect good
faith, none the less, and died with the cherished convic-
tion that she was the true author. She was the victim
of one of those tricks of memory to which we are all
subject.
(3) The claims of Mr. Brooks and Dr. Dwight are
more difficult to adjust, and neither is presented in satis-
factory shape. In an ordinary case, Dr. Putnam's ac-
count of the origin of the hymn would be accepted
without question. But in this case of disputed author-
ship, Mr. Brooks should have furnished all particulars,
such as the evidence for the date, the original draft, if
existing, a reference to its first publication, etc. He
offers nothing beyond the bare statement, whatever
proof he may have held. But, on the other hand, Dr.
Dwight offers no more, and plainly he held no proof of
his claim. He speaks too from revived recollections of
an old event to which, at the time, he attached no im-
portance and had long forgotten.
The earliest appearance of the hymn known to the
present writer is in 1841, in Lowell Mason's Carmina
Sacra. There the first five lines agree with Dr. Putnam's
text The remainder is changed and reads : —
" Do thou our country save,
By thy great might.
2 " For her our prayer shall rise,
To God above the skies ;
On him we wait :
Thou who has heard each sigh,
Watching each weeping eye,
Be thou forever nigh :
God save the State."
COD BLESS OUR NATIVE LAND 187
In 1845 the hymn appears again in Mr. Mason's
Psaltery, this time in a revised form, agreeing with the
text as printed here and in most modern books.
By comparing the " original translation " with this
text, it will be seen that Mr. Brooks's claim covers only
REV. CHARLES T. BROOKS
five lines of the hymn as at present sung. Each claim-
ant seems to have a recollection that the other con-
tributed something to the hymn. We may, therefore,
accept their joint authorship of the hymn as it now
stands. And may we not make a reasonable adjustment
of their claims that substantially admits both ? Mr.
Brooks wrote (or translated) in the thirties the hymn as
1 88 STUVfES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
given by Dr. Putnam. By him or Dr. D wight (jointly,
perhaps) it was improved before 1841. Finally, Dr.
Dwight rewrote the hymn for Lowell Mason, not later
than 1844, using the first five lines by Mr. Brooks.
This adjustment seems practically to reconcile both
statements. May it not be accepted as at least more
than probable ? The only bit of evidence refusing to be
linked in this conclusion is the verse signed by Dr.
Dwight, which he was " pretty confident " was his, and
which contains the very lines ascribed to Mr. Brooks.
But, as Mrs. Henshaw's claim reminds us, the memory
cannot be trusted to pick up forgotten lines after so long
an interval of time ; and it looks to the present writer as
though Dr. Dwight himself did not feel so very con-
fident about the details.
THE AUTHORS OF THE HYMN"
We are now in a position to refer with some confidence
to the joint authors of the hymn.
The Rev. Charles T. Brooks was born at Salem, Massa-
chusetts, on June 2Oth, 1813. Fie was graduated by
Harvard College in 1832, and by the Divinity School at
Cambridge in 1835. His principal pastorate, at Newport,
Rhode Island, began in 1837 and continued until 1871,
when he resigned through failure of his sight and health.
He died on June I4th, 1883.
Mr. Brooks was a poet and scholar, and also a diligent
man of letters. The list of his works, original and
translated, is a very long one, and their character is such
as reflects honor upon their author's name. Gentle and
retiring, he was greatly loved in life, though it is not
likely that his work ever took hold of a very wide public.
GOD BLESS OUR NATIVE LAND 189
His translations of Goethe's " Faust" and of Richter's
" Hesperus " and " Titan " are the best remembered of
his productions. Of his hymns none has ever come into
general use.
One of Mr. Brooks's most intimate friends, his class-
mate at Harvard and his co-laborer in several literary
undertakings, was John S. D wight. He was the son of
JOHN S. DWIGHT
Dr. John Dwight, of Boston, where he was born on May
1 3th, 1813. He also was graduated by Harvard in 1832,
and by the Divinity School in 1836. His first and only
pastoral charge was that of a little Unitarian congrega-
tion at Northampton, Massachusetts, and lasted only one
year. At its close he quietly retired from the ministry.
STUDIES OF FAMILIAL HYMNS
Bashful, sensitive, and lacking confidence in himself, he
was hardly at home in the pulpit He shrank too from
any outward expression of religious feeling; in later
years developing great dislike to church organization and
methods, and ceasing to attend religious services. After
the ministry came the years of his connection with the
Brook Farm experiment, in which he was an active
spirit.
But, wherever he was, the real enthusiasm of his nature
was for music. He founded, in 1852, Diviglifs Journal
of Mnszc, which, against great financial difficulties, he
continued until 1881. It gave him a recognized position
as the leader of Boston's musical interests, and through
it and other labors he did great service to music as a
branch of liberal culture.
Dr. Dwight (he became a Doctor of Music) was of
slender build and short stature. He was mild in manner,
of a sweet and cheerful nature, and, however shy, was
"clubbable," being one of the famous Saturday Club.
He was veiy positive in his opinions and uncompromising
in maintaining his intellectual and aesthetic ideals. Dr.
Dwight was singularly unfitted for the task of living.
He met life in a spirit of helplessness that appealed
greatly to his friends, and which, in spite of their efforts,
kept him in a struggle with poverty all his days. He
died at Boston on September 5th, 1893.
NOTE.-— My friend, the Rev. James Mearns, of Buntingford, England,
writes me of his discovery that this hymn is a rather free ver-
sion of the first and third stanzas of a German hymn (" Gott
segne Sachsenland"), by August Mahlmann, that was first
printed in 1815.
XVIII
FATHER OF MERCIES, IN THY WORD
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
X Father of mercies, in Thy word
What endless glory shines;
For ever be Thy Name adored
For these celestial lines.
a Here may the wretched sons of want
Exhaustless riches find ;
Riches above what earth can grant,
And lasting as the mind.
3 Here the Redeemer's welcome voice
Spreads heavenly peace around ;
And life and everlasting* joys
Attend the blissful sound.
4 O may these heavenly pages be
My ever dear delight ;
And still new beauties may I see,
And still increasing light.
5 Divine Instructor, gracious Lord,
Be Thou for ever near;
Teach me to love Thy sacred word,
And view my Saviour there.
Anne Steele, 1760
NOTE. — Five verses of the original twelve. The text is taken from the
Poems of Theodosia, vol. i.
191
ig2 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
If this hymn were to be taken alone, its story might
be summed up very briefly. It is a leaf out of an inva-
lid's spiritual diary, penned in the Baptist parsonage of
an obscure English village. That leaf bears no date of
composition, dates being of but little account in the
monotonous passage of such a life. The hymn first
appeared in print in 1760 among the other poems of
Miss Steele, but may have been written some years
earlier ; and it soon found the place in the hymn books
which it has always kept
The hymn has much more of a story if taken in its
historical connection with the whole body of Miss Steele's
hymns. Of these it is one of the best, and it has its
share in the very conspicuous part they have played in
the history of our hymnody.
Miss Steele's verses had long been familiar to her
friends, but she was modest and reluctant to appear in
print It was by the advice and even persuasion of
others that at length she consented to publish them, and
then without her name. In 1760 they appeared in two
volumes, at London, as " Poems on Subjects Chiefly De-
votional. By Theodosia." If one were now to take up
the little brown calf books for the first time it would not
occur to him that Theodosia was a poet of a high order.
He would perceive, however, that many of the pieces were
written in the simple metres then used in hymns, and
were composed with correctness and much tender feel-
ing. He would probably conclude that they were in-
tended to be sung, and might even point out a number
as likely to succeed if put into the hymnals. This
FATHER OF MERCIES, IN THY WORD
193
would be a judgment from the standpoint of our own
time. To Miss Steele's friends and contemporaries it
/ / f
AUTOGRAPH VERSES
would have seemed faint praise indeed. They hailed
her as a great light risen upon the horizon. She made
an impression upon the Christian feeling of her time
extraordinary both for its depth and for the wideness of
13
194 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
its reach. Her hymns entered upon a career of popu-
larity which we can hardly realize, but of which we
must try to gain some idea.
Nine years after the appearance of her Poems two
English Baptist clergymen, Dr. John Ash and Dr. Caleb
Evans, published at Bristol a successful hymn book,
containing in all four hundred and twelve hymns. Of
these no less than sixty-two are by Miss Steele, and the
preface has a special paragraph in her honor. After
her death Dr. Evans printed in 1780 a new edition
of her Poems, including a third volume she had made
ready for the press. Seven years later Dr. John Rippon
published his Selection, which was destined to have
great vogue among Baptists, and to supersede the Ash
and Evans book. But even this contained forty-seven
of Miss Steele's hymns. Dr. Rippon's book was often
reprinted in the United States, and it extended Miss
Steele's influence here. A simple fact will serve to show
how widely her popularity spread and how long it lasted.
The people of Trinity Church in Boston grew weary of
singing the authorized Psalm-versions, and in 1808 the
vestry ventured to print a hymn book for their private
use. In this book of only one hundred and fifty-two
hymns fifty-nine are Miss Steele's, and the preface ex-
plains that " if we have extracted more copiously from
Mrs. Steele than from any other writer, we have done no
more than what we thought due to her poetical superi-
ority, and to the ardent spirit of devotion which breathes
In her compositions." Such a tribute from within the
most exclusive of denominations, and from another
country than her own, reveals something of the great
influence of Miss Steele's hymns.
FATHER OF MERCIES, IJV THY WORD 195
The three volumes of Theodosia's Poems were re-
printed in Boston in 1808 ; and the hymns were reprinted
once more in London as late as 1863 by Daniel Sedgwick,
the hymnologist. But during the latter half of the nine-
teenth century the enthusiasm for what Dr. Evans called
" those truly sublime composures" has been gradually
cooling. Many of the hymns are still sung ; some few-
are sung quite widely. But the latest American Baptist
hymnal (Sursum Corda, 1898) contains but seven of the
hymns of Theodosia in a total of eight hundred and
fifty-six. Even that diminished number is somewhat
larger than the average in recent hymnals.
Of Miss Steele's hymns still in use the one perhaps
best known, and even loved for its tender grace, is that
generally made to begin, " Father, whate'er of earthly
bliss'* (The Hymnal, No. 511). Another of her hymns,
beginning "Now I resolve with all my heart" (The
Hymnal, No. 314), is by many associated with their first
Communion. And it is quite possible that some who
use the hymnals would welcome a larger number of
Miss Steele's hymns than they find there. If these are
possibly too inward, and even pensive, for congregational
use, it may well be that they have a further mission for
private use, especially in cheering the sick room.
Miss Steele must always remain a figure of unique
interest in hymnody. She is still the representative
Baptist hymn writer. She was, too, the first of her sex
to gain prominence in the hymn books. But her special
preeminence is independent of her being either Baptist or
woman : it lies in the extraordinary extent of the contri-
bution she was permitted to make to the hymnody of the
Church.
196 STUDIES OF FAMILIAX HYMNS
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Anne Steele was the daughter of William Steele, a
successful timber merchant, who was at the same time
pastor, without salary, of a Baptist church in the village
of Broughton, England. Broughton lies about midway
between the two cathedral towns of Salisbury and Win-
chester. Mr. Garrett Horder has described it as " one
long straggling street of cottages, mostly thatched, with
here and there a more pretentious house." In a quaint
stone house in the centre of the village Anne was born
in May, 1717, and lived for half a century. Anne's
father had succeeded his own uncle in the pastorate at
Broughton, and her mother was the daughter of another
Baptist clergyman, so that Anne's religious heritage may
be described as well within the limits of that faith and
communion. When she was but three years old her
mother died, and from her seventh year Anne was
brought up by a stepmother, with much anxiety both for
her spiritual and bodily health. Of physical health there
seemed little prospect in a childhood threatened with
consumption, and even that was lessened by a serious
injury to her hip. This accident happened to her in
1835, within a few weeks after her father had broken his
leg in a fall from his horse. The coincidence gave occa-
sion for a quaint entry in the diary of Anne's stepmother
(reported by Mr. Horder) : " I desired our Heavenly
Father to heal all our family's infirm limbs." The
shadow of a greater grief fell on Miss Steele soon after,
when the young man she was to marry was drowned
while bathing in the river on the day before that appointed
for the wedding.
FA THER OF MERCIES, IN THY WORD
197
Thus feeble in body and chastened in spirit, though
never losing altogether her natural gift of cheerfulness,
Miss Steele led a retired life confined almost exclusively
to her own village. She never married: the title " Mrs./'
MISS STEELE'S BIRTHPLACE
so often given her in the older books being but a courtesy
title, then often applied to single ladies. She had been a
faithful member of her father's church since the age of
fourteen, and as daughter of a village pastor she employed
198 S7WDIZS OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
herself in many quiet ministries of service among the
sick and afflicted about her. Her pleasures were in her
friends and in the exercise of her poetical talents. While
her writings have not unnaturally a tone of pensiveness
and of gentle patience, they show nowhere the least trace
of the bitterness of defeat. No one can read them with-
out a kindly regard for her beautiful spirit In every
experience her faith was supreme. It sustained her in
the end through years when she was confined to her
room in great bodily suffering, and it spoke to those
about her in her last words : " I know that my Redeemer
liveth." Miss Steele died in November, 1778, at the age
of sixty-one, in her brother's house in Broughton, where
she had gone at her father's death a few years before, and
where she had received affectionate care. Her body
was laid in Broughton churchyard, and on her tomb-
stone are the words : —
" Silent the lyre, and dumb the tuneful tongue,
That sung; on earth her great Redeemer's praise ;
But now in heaven she joins the angelic song,
In more harmonious, more exalted lays."
No portrait of Miss Steele is known to the present
writer, and from her sensitive modesty and seclusion it
may perhaps be inferred that none was taken. Other-
wise it would be hard to commend her good friend Dr.
Evans in his choice of a frontispiece for the volume of
her " Remains " which he published after her death.
Only a sepulchral urn represents the poetess, to which a
stilted female figure appeals with outstretched hands and
the legend : —
" Forgive the wish that would have kept thee here.."
OF M&RCIES, -ftf THY WORD 199
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(i) Do the Scriptures form a suitable subject for a
hymn ? Has the subject a poetical as well as spiritual
side, and is it a subject one cares to sing of? As a
matter of fact, there are but few desirable hymns on the
Scriptures. Is not this hymn1 one of the best ? Notice
MISS STEELE'S BIBLE
how it relates the Scriptures to God the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost.
(2) How can the decreased use of Miss Steele's
hymns be explained ? The following may be suggested
for consideration as possibly affecting it : Changes in the
standard of literary merit; changes in religious feeling
and in ways of expressing it; and the enormous in-
200 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
crease in the number of available hymns, but a very
small part of which can be included in our hymn books.
(3) Does it seem likely that any single writer of the
present day could gain such preeminence as was ac-
corded Miss Steele ; or that the Church would be willing
to receive so large a proportion of its hymns from one
hand? Of course the use of Dr. Watts's hymns was
far more extended and exclusive. But then he may be
said to have headed a revolution in psalmody, while
Miss Steele at the best must rank as one of his followers
rather than as an original force. It was undoubtedly
the sentimental touch and her evangelical fervor that
won the day. She has been compared to Miss Haver-
gal, and the latter has been called " Our Theodosia of
the nineteenth century."
(4) This hymn had originally twelve verses, of which
only six came into use. One of the omitted verses is
shown in the facsimile. Does it strengthen the hymn ?
XIX
O DAY OF REST AND GLADNESS
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
i O d.ay of rest and gladness,
O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness,
IVIost beautiful, most bright ;
On thee the high and lowly,
Through ages joined in tune,
Sing Holy, Holy, Holy,
To the great God Triune.
a On thee, at the creation,
The light first had its birth ;
On thee, for our salvation,
Christ rose from depths of earth ;
On thee our Lord, victorious,
The Spirit sent from heaven ;
And thus on thee, most glorious,
A triple light was given.
3 Thou art a port protected
Krorn storms that round us rise ;
A garden intersected
With streams of I?aradise ;
Thou art a cooling fountain
In life's dry, dreary sand ;
From thee, like IPisgah's mountain,
We view our promised land.
5601
202 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
4 To-day on weary nations
The heavenly manna falls:
To holy convocations
The silver trumpet calls,
Where gospel light is glowing
With pure and radiant beams,
And living water flowing
With soul-refreshing streams.
5 New graces ever gaining
From this our day of rest,
We reach the rest remaining
To spirits of the blest.
To Holy Ghost be praises,
To Father, and to Son;
The Church her voice upraises
To Thee, blest Three in One.
Rev. Christopher Wordsworth, 1862
NOTE. — Five verses of the original six : the omitted verse may be found
under " Some Points for Discussion." The text is taken from
the author's Holy Year.
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
The Duke of Wellington said in 1827 of Dr. Words-
worth, the Master of Trinity College, " I consider him
to be the happiest man in the kingdom"; and being
asked why, the Duke answered, " Because each of his
three sons has this year got a university prize !" Of the
three, Christopher, the youngest, born in 1 807, was the
author of this hymn. He was athletic as well as
scholarly, and liked to tell how he " caught-out Man-
ning" (the future Cardinal) at a cricket match. His
career at Winchester and at Cambridge University was
one of extraordinary distinction, and at its close he re-
mained as Fellow of Trinity College and assistant tutor.
Q DA Y OF REST AND GLADNESS 203
Before he was thirty he was head-master of a great
school, Harrow. The fourteen years of his mastership
there may be called also a part of his own education.
He undertook a reformation of the school in manners
and discipline with more earnestness than suavity; and
though at the end of his anxious years there he left the
school smaller than he found it, he took with him to a
larger life new acquirements of tact and forbearance.
In 1844 Sir Robert Peel made him a Canon of West-
minster Abbey. In that position he felt called upon to
BISHOP WORDSWORTH
resist the appointment of Dr. Arthur Stanley as Dean
with one of the "pamphlets" inevitable in English
church controversy. Bitterly opposed as he was to the
latitudinarianism for which Stanley stood, he tempered
his earnestness with the courtesy he had learned at
Harrow, and remained always on the best terms with
204 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
the new Dean. From 1850 for nineteen years Canon
Wordsworth was pastor of a country charge, which had
the striking name of Stanford-in-the-Vale-cum-Goosey.
Here he lived except when on duty at the Abbey, and
here he accomplished an enormous amount of scholarly
work. He had already gained a high position as church-
man and scholar, writer and preacher, when in 1 869 Mr.
Disraeli appointed him Bishop of Lincoln. His ad-
ministration of this large diocese was both strenuous and
successful until his strength failed in old age. He died
on March 2ist, 1885.
Christopher Wordsworth's fame as man of letters and
bishop is greater than as a writer of hymns. The mass
of his published work is very great and its quality very
high. His earlier work was in the lines of classical
study, and his book on Greece itself has obtained some-
thing of the position of a " classic." But his two life-
long enthusiams were for " Church Principles " and
Holy Scripture. And his literary work, covering much
ground in both these departments, and far beyond them,
culminated in his massive and learned Commentary on
the Whole Bible.
He was a man of very decided opinions, which he
liked to establish when he could, and at least to express
when he could do no more. In church matters he was
for strict and unbending adherence to the Church of
England pattern. He could be cordial with his Methodist
neighbors, but he could not agree that their ministers
should wear the title " Rev." He bore his part in many
a controversy, never looking to see which side was the
popular one, but which was right. And if he struck
stout blows for his somewhat narrow principles, it must
O DAY OF REST AND GLADNESS 2O$
also be said of him that he kept the friendship of his
opponents. And that certainly is a good deal to say of
him.
Bishop Wordsworth's opinions about hymns were just
as decided as in other directions. He profoundly re-
gretted that " Hymnology has been allowed to fall into
the hands of persons who had little reverence for the
Authority and Teaching of the ancient Christian Church,
and little acquaintance with her Literature." " The con-
sequence has been," he said, "that the popular Hym-
nology of this country has been too often disfigured by
many compositions blemished by unsound doctrine, and
even by familiar irreverence and rhapsodical fanaticism ;
or else it too often rambles on in desultory and unmean-
ing generalities, or sparkles with a glitter of tinsel imagery
and verbal prettiness, or endeavors to charm the ear with
a mere musical jingle of sweet sounds, not edifying the
mind or warming the heart, nor ministering to the glory
of Him to whom all Christian worship ought to be
paid."
He thought, too, that our modern hymns were alto-
gether too egotistical. They make too much of ourselves
and our personal feelings, and not enough of God and His
glory. He thought hymns of personal experience might
do for private use. But for public use in church wor-
ship he did not approve of them. Church hymns should
be churchly, expressing the worship of the congregation
as a body and not as individuals. He would drop the
pronouns " I " and " mine " from our hymns. We should
forget ourselves and thank God for His great glory, and
praise Him not for mercies to us as individuals, but to
the whole company of faithful people. And especially
2O6 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
he insisted that the great office and use of hymns was to
set forth plainly and emphatically the teachings of the
Scriptures and the Prayer Book. The hymns should
teach the people the facts and doctrines of Christianity,
and make "these glorious truths . . . the subject of
public praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God." His
idea was that the hymns for each day for which the
Prayer Book provided services should set forth the
meaning and lesson of that which the day commemorated.
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
By way of carrying out his views in hymnody Bishop
Wordsworth (while still Canon of Westminster) prepared
a hymn book called The Holy Year, and published it in
1862. For this book he wrote one hundred and seven-
teen original hymns, and for a later edition ten more.
All of them are good if looked at from the author's
standpoint But some things are best taught in prose,
and when an effort is made to put them into verse the
verse becomes prosy. And some of Bishop Words-
worth's hymns are prosaic and labored He had, never-
theless, a vein of poetry in him (he was the nephew and
biographer of Wordsworth, the great poet), and his best
hymns are excellent, not only from his standpoint, but
from any standpoint
It cannot be said that The Holy Year in its entirety
ever won much favor. Its title and its method of furnish-
ing a hymn for each day and occasion for which the
Prayer Book provided services at once challenged com-
parison with Keble's Christian Year. The inevitable
results of such a comparison were once for all expressed
by saying that The Christian Year was written by a poet
O DAY OF KEST AND GLADNESS
207
with a strong theological bias, and that The Holy Year
was written by a theologian whose nature possessed
many poetical elements and sympathies, but who is at
times deficient in the accomplishment of verse. Mr.
Keble himself, in a letter to Canon Wordsworth acknowl-
edging the receipt of a copy of The Holy Year, remarked
that " to judge of it properly it must take at least a year
to read ; for every hymn, of course, should be read on
its own day — as a flower to be fully prized must be
AUTOGRAPH LINES OF THE HYMN
208 STUDIES OF FAMILIAJR HYMNS
" studied in situ" It may be that the general reading of
the book was more hasty. The general verdict certainly
was that its use in worship would be calculated to correct
some infelicities of praise by killing the spirit of song
itself.
" O Day of Rest and Gladness " was number one in
The Holy Year, appearing under the head of " Sunday,"
and certainly it was a real inspiration. Any one who
loves the Lord's Day is pretty sure to love the hymn.
It began to be copied into other hymn books almost
immediately, and is now in general use in all the
churches. It was introduced into this country in 1865
in Songs for the Sanctuary. Dr. Charles S. Robinson,
the editor of that book, stated that he found the hymn
upon the cover of a religious tract in London. The
words were set by him to Lowell Mason's tune, Men-
debras, and the association of the two has been popular
ever since.
A friend of Bishop Wordsworth has written down a
reminiscence which brings us a little closer to the mak-
ing of the hymn than merely reading a printed copy of
it can do. His friend writes : " I was with him in the
library when he put his arm in mine, saying, ' Come up-
stairs with me; the ladies are going to sing a hymn to
encourage your labors for God's holy day/ We all
then sang from the manuscript this hymn. I was in
raptures with it It was some days before I knew it was
written by himself."
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(i) One verse of the hymn (the original fourth) was
omitted from The Hymnal. It reads as follows : —
O DAY OF jKJSST AND GLADNESS 209
"4 Thou art a holy ladder,
Where Angels go and come ;
Each Sunday finds us gladder,
Nearer to Heaven, our home.
A day of sweet refection
Thou art, a day of love ;
A day of Resurrection
From earth to heaven above."
Is this verse as good as the others ? and if not, why
not?
(2) In our time, when the Lord's Day is threatened
on all sides, we could hardly make too much of a good,
effective Sunday hymn. Is there any other hymn which
embodies so happily the true spirit of the Lord's Day ?
Note the "triple light'1 from heaven falling upon the
day, and the triple response of men's hearts in rest,
gladness, and worship.
(3) What is to be said of Bishop Wordsworth's views
of avoiding personal hymns in public worship ? Is it
true that our favorite hymns are too egotistical? It
would be worth one's while to make a list of his own
favorites to. discover how large a proportion have him-
self for their theme, and also to examine Bishop Words-
worth's hymns (there are eleven in The Hymnal — see
its Index of Authors), all of which are entirely free from
that personal element.
(4) There cannot be any question as to the teaching
power of hymns. (" In all ages popular songs, sacred
and secular, have been the most effective teachers."
And see Colossians iii. 16.) If Christians realized this,
would they not be much more particular as to the
character of the hymns that are sung ? But, after all, is
not the teaching power of hymns only one side of their
14
2IO STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
influence and importance ? And did not Bishop Words-
worth make too much of that side when he claimed
that the first purpose of a hymn was to teach sound
doctrine ?
(5) In The Holy Year are many hymns no one cares
to sing. Here is a specimen verse of one : —
" Man fell from grace by carnal appetite,
And forfeited the Garden of Delight ;
To fast for us our second Adam deigns,
These forty days, and Paradise regains."
Can you contrast this with a verse of " O Day of Rest
and Gladness " to show why one is hymn-like and the
other not ? People often say to their pastor, " Please do
not give out didactic hymns 1" What do they mean by
" didactic hymns " ?
XX
TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
1 Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days ;
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2 Take my hands, and let them move
A.t the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3 Take my voice, and let me singf,
Always, only, for my King-.
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from. Thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold 5
Not a mite would I -withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own ;
It shall be Thy royal throne.
an
212 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
6 Take my love ; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Frances Ridley Havergal, 1874
NOTE. — The text is that of Miss Havergal's Songs of Grace and Glory and
of the authorized edition of her Poetical Works. As a poem
she arranged it in couplets ; as a hymn, in four-line verses.
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
This hymn of Frances Ridley Havergal records a deep
experience in her own spiritual life, of the sort that most
of us prefer to hide among the secrets of the soul. But
Miss Havergal both spoke and wrote freely of the experi-
ence, and gave an account of the hymn's origin. It
was her way to be perfectly outspoken about such
matters, because she thought her frankness would prove
helpful to others. And after her death her family, no
doubt for the same reason, opened to the world the last
reserves of her soul, and printed her most intimate letters
and conversations. We are thus relieved of any sense
of intrusion in our study of the hymn.
Toward the close of the year 1873 a little book that
came into Miss Havergal's hands awakened within her
great longings for unreached depths of spiritual experi-
ence and a fuller entrance into God's peace. It was not
long before she received what she called " the blessing,"
that lifted her whole nature into sunshine, and threw an
uninterrupted gladness over the remaining years of her
life. " It was on Advent Sunday, December 2nd, 1873,"
she wrote her sister, " I first saw clearly the blessedness
of true consecration. I saw it as a flash of electric light,
and what you see, you can never unset. There must
TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE
" be full surrender before there can be full blessedness.
God admits you by the one into the other.'1 It is
this full surrender of herself to which she then attained
that is recorded and expressed in the hymn.
The hymn was written while on a visit to Arely House,
on February 4th, 1874. Miss Havergal afterward gave
the following account of the circumstances: "Perhaps
you will be interested to know the origin of the consecra-
tion hymn, ' Take my life/ I went for a little visit of five
AUTOGRAPH LINES OF THE HYMN
days. There were ten persons in the house, some un-
converted and long prayed for, some converted but not
rejoicing Christians. He gave me the prayer, ' Lord, give
me att in this 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 happy to sleep, and passed most
of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecra-
tion, and these little couplets formed themselves and
chimed in my heart one after another, till they finished
with, < Ever, ONLY, ALL for Thee I9 "
Miss Havergal had her own characteristic way of
214 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
writing hymns ; and here again it will be best to let her
speak for herself: " Writing is praying with me, for I
never seem to write even a verse by myself, and feel like
a little child writing ; you know a child would look up
at every sentence and say, * And what shall I say next ?'
That is just what I do ; I ask that at every line He would
give me not merely thoughts and power, but also every
word, even the very rhymes. Very often I have a most
distinct and happy consciousness of direct answers."
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
It has been said of Miss Havergal that she was born
in an atmosphere of hymns. Her father, the Rev. Wil-
liam Henry Havergal, certainly wrote many, but is now
best remembered for his services to church music and by
his tunes " Evan," " Zoan," " Patmos," and others. She
was baptized by another hymn writer, the Rev. John
Cawood, author of "Hark! What Mean those Holy
Voices?" (The Hymnal, No. 169)," and "Almighty God,
Thy Word is Cast " (The Hymnal, No. 74).
Miss Havergal was born in the rectory of the little
English village of Astley, December I4th, 1836. The
family removed to the city of Worcester in 1845, when
her father became rector of one of its churches. The
story of her child life there, its joys and griefs, and the
beginnings of her work for others in the Sunday-school
and "The Flannel Petticoat Society,1' Miss Havergal
herself has told in The Four Happy Days. She went
away, first to an English school, under whose strong
religious influences she began " to have conscious faith
and hope in Christ/1 and afterward to a school in
Germany.
216 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
With a real love of learning and an ambition to make
the most of herself, she carried on her studies until she
became a very accomplished woman. She was at home
in Hebrew and Greek as well as in modern languages. In
music she cultivated her special gift to such a degree
that she was sought after as a solo singer in public con-
certs ; and she became a brilliant performer on the piano.
How she did it may be gathered from her poem " The
Moonlight Sonata." Her own sense of power in her
music and the delight of public applause enforced the
advice from professional sources that she make music
her career. She knew, too, that she held the pen of a
ready writer and the promise of poetic achievement; and
when there is added the influence upon her of marked
social attentions evoked by the charm of her personality,
and quickening her natural fondness for life and gayety,
it will readily be understood that for a while the precise
turn her life would take seemed somewhat problematical
But it was never really in question. Love and service
were the only ideals that could satisfy her nature, and
to these she yielded herself so completely as to efface
all other ambitions. Her gifts were thenceforward
"Kept for the Master's use." She considered literal
" Singing for Jesus " her most direct mission from Him,
.and after 1873 sang nothing but sacred music, and that
only for spiritual purposes. Her great work was that of
personal spiritual influence upon others, and was carried
forward to the extreme limit of her strength by writing
many leaflets and books of prose and poetry, by per-
sonal interviews, addresses, teaching, society work, and
correspondence.
Many of her hymns were written for a hymn book,
TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE 2I/
Songs of Grace and Glory, of which she was one of the
editors. This was a large and carefully edited book,
ardently evangelical in its point of view, but it took no
permanent place in the Church of England. Many of
Miss HavergaFs poems were originally printed as leaflets.
From time to time she collected them into volumes, of
which Ministry of Song (1869), Under the Surface (1874),
and Loyal Responses (1878), are the more important.
After her death her complete poetical writings were
gathered together and published by her sister. They
made a bulky volume, and included, one would think, a
great deal of verse which its author would not have
considered worthy of appearing there. She also edited
the Psalmody of her father, to whose memory she was
devoted, and whose services to church music she lost no
opportunity of magnifying.
Miss Havergal's ideals and methods in writing were
not those of an artist. And, though her beautiful spirit is
beyond criticism, it is only right to say that the cultiva-
tion of poetic art to the highest excellence (as in the
case of Tennyson) may be pursued as conscientiously,
and be as legitimate a consecration, as was the conscien-
tious suppression of the art instinct in Miss Havergal's
case. And while her hymns have been of great in-
fluence and won a wide use, it remains to be seen
whether that influence shall be permanent, or was rather
the personal influence of the devoted woman herself.
For as the personal influence of a writer fades away, his
or her work comes to be judged by what it is in itself.
And one hardly feels that most of Miss Havergal's
hymns are as good from the literary standpoint as she
was capable of making them. Her " Golden Harps are
21 8 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
" Sounding M (The Hymnal, No. 702) is perhaps the best
poetically, and seems too to have the promise of longest
life. But many of her hymns have proved helpful to the
spiritual life of others, and with that she would have been
abundantly content.
Miss Havergal's later years were spent at Leaming-
ton, her last days at Caswell Bay, Swansea, Wales,
where she had gone for rest. She had borne a full share
of illnesses and suffering, and, though exceptionally sen-
sitive to pain, had learned not only to carry forward her
work under difficulties but also to find gladness in her
infirmities. When informed of the dangerous turn of
her last illness, she answered, " If I am going, it is too
good to be true/' Miss Havergal died on June 3rd,
1879, *n ^e forty-third year of her age, and was buried
in the Astley churchyard beside her father and close to
the church and home of her childhood On her tomb-
stone is carved, by her own desire, her favorite text:
"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from
all sin."
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(l) The proper use to make of a hymn such as this
deserves more thought than it gets. Miss Havergal
herself meant just what she said in these verses, and
often made personal use of them to see how far her
actual living measured up to their standard: —
" I had a great time early this morning renewing the never
regretted consecration. I seemed led to run over the ( Take
my life,' and could bless Him verse by verse for having led
me on to much more definite consecration than even when I
wrote it, voice, gold, intellect, etc. But the eleventh couplet,
TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE 21$
" ' love/ — that has been unconsciously not filled up. .Some-
how, I felt mystified and out of my depth here : it was a simple
and definite thing to be done, to settle the voice, or silver
and gold ! but ' love ' ? I have to love others, and I do ; and
I've not a small treasure of it, and even loving in Him does
not quite meet the inner difficulty. ... I don't see much
clearer or feel much different ; but I have said intensely this
morning, 'Take my love/ and He knows I have." (From
her letter of December 2nd, 1878.}
Miss Havergal also made much use of the hymn in
her consecration meetings : —
"At the close of the meeting, my sister gave to each one a
card with her Consecration hymn, specially prepared and
printed for this evening. Her own name was omitted, and a
blank space left for signature. As she gave the cards, she
asked them to make that hymn a test before God, and if they
could really do so, to sign it on their knees at home. Then
the hymn was sung." (From a memorandum of Miss
AT. V. G. Havergal, April ijth,
No one will question the fitness of the words for such
uses. But to encourage a promiscuous assembly or
Sunday-school to sing them, without special spiritual
preparation or without any common purpose or feeling
corresponding to them, is open to more question. The
two sides of the question may be presented in this way.
It may be urged, on the one hand, that it is no better to
make to God promises we do not intend to keep, or to
express feelings we do not have, in song than it is in
speech, and that such singing breeds insincerity. It may
be argued, on the other hand, that it is proper to sing
hymns expressing purposes more definite than our actual
22O STUDIES OF FAMILIAK HYMNS
resolutions and feelings deeper than those actually mov-
ing us, because the hymn expresses the ideal we should
aim at, and singing the hymn keeps the ideal before us,
and encourages us to attempt to attain it.
(2) Miss Havergal wrote to the editor of a hymn
book : " I particularly wish that hymn kept to my dear
father's sweet little tune, * Patmos/ which suits it per-
fectly. So please substitute that, and your book will be
the gainer." She was grieved whenever she found that
any other tune had taken its place in a hymn book. Is
" Patmos " a satisfactory setting of the words ; and how
far should we allow ourselves to be influenced by Miss
HavergaTs wish in the matter?
XXI
I WOULD NOT LIVE ALWAY; I ASK NOT TO
STAY
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
1 I would not live alway; I ask not to stay
Where storm after storm rises dark o'er the way ;
The few lurid mornings that dawn on us here
Are enough for life's woes, full enough for its cheer.
2 I would not live alway, thus fettered by sin;
Temptation without, and corruption within;
E'en the rapture of pardon is mingled with fears,
And the cup of thanksgiving with penitent tears.
3 I would not live alway ; no, welcome the tomb :
Since Jesus hath lain there, I dread not its gloom ;
There sweet be my rest, till He bid me arise
To hail Him in triumph descending the skies.
4 Who, who would live alway, away from his God,
Away from yon heaven, that blissful abode,
Where the rivers of pleasure flow o'er the bright plains,
And the noontide of glory eternally reigns ;
5 Where the saints of all ages in harmony meet,
Their Saviour and brethren, transported, to greet;
While the anthems of rapture unceasingly roll,
And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul?
Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, (about) 1824
NOTE. — This text is taken from Hymns of the Protestant Episcopal Church*
1 827. Other texts are^referred to in " The Story of the Hymn.1 '
222 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
A hymn so deeply tinged with melancholy as this illus-
trates two curious facts. One is that the saddest poetry
is likely to be written by the youngest poets ; the other,
that the young appreciate such poetry more than the
old. The brightness of youth has a vein of melancholy
running through it, and the active imagination of youth
forecasts the sorrows of life ; while age, which has actu-
ally experienced them, likes to be as cheerful as it can.
It need occasion no surprise, therefore, to learn that
this hymn was written by the Rev. William Augustus
Muhlenberg, somewhere in his twenties, and that, as he
grew older, he grew to dislike it.
He came to dislike the hymn itself, thinking it did not
truly represent either the joys or the opportunities of
the earthly life, and that it was unduly impatient for the
joys of heaven. To the end of his life Dr. Muhlenberg
kept on writing new versions of the hymn in the hope
(quite vain) that some one of them would replace the
earlier text in popular favor. Dr. Philip SchafFs bi-
ographer describes a luncheon given by Dr. William
Adams to Dr. Muhlenberg, at which Dr. Schaff re-
marked to him : " Your hymn, ' I Would Not Live
Alway/ makes you immortal." Dr, Muhlenberg pro-
tested, saying that he hoped to make changes in it to
bring it nearer the spirit of the gospel. Dr. Adams in-
terrupted the conversation with the remark, " Well, you
may not be able to evangelize the hymn, but you can-
not kill it."
Dr. Muhlenberg 'came also to dislike the popularity of
the hymn, which from the very first was amazing. People
I WOULD NOT LIVE ALWAY; I ASK NOT TO STAY 223
would seek him out when busy with other things, "just
to shake hands/' as they said, " with the author of ' I
Would Not Live Alway.' " He would be pointed out
and introduced as " the author of the immortal hymn,"
etc. " One would think that hymn the one work of my
life," he used to say.
The exact date of the hymn is uncertain. In his
Story of the Hymn it is given as 1 824. Several of the
dates there are wrong ; but this one is perhaps correct.
In regard to the circumstances, or experience, out of
which the hymn grew, there has been and continues to
be a conflict of opinion. The tradition has always been
that it was occasioned by a great personal disappoint-
ment suffered by its author. Dr. Muhlenberg was well
aware of this tradition, and in his Story of the Hymn
took occasion to contradict it in the following terms:
" The legend that it was written on an occasion of
private grief is a fancy." However conclusive this may
seem, it has not concluded the matter. The Rev.
Frederick M. Bird, in his essay on the Hymnology of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, goes so far as to say that
Dr. Muhlenberg's assertion "hardly agrees with the
clear and minute recollections of persons of the highest
character still living, and who knew the circumstances
thoroughly." Two remarks seem to be suggested J>y
this statement. One is that the persons referred to may
have " known thoroughly " Dr. Muhlenburg's situation
at the time and the reality of his private grief, and yet
would not seem to have been in a position so good as
his for knowing the exact connection, or lack of it, be-
tween the grief and the hymn. The other remark is
that while we too, if we had enjoyed the privilege of
224 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
knowing who the unnamed witnesses were, and of hear-
ing or reading the exact words of their testimony, might
have come to feel it more trustworthy than Dr. Muhlen-
berg's recollections after so many years; yet, in the
absence of such opportunity, we feel ourselves bound
by the explicit denial of the author himself. There
will always, however, be many among the lovers of the
hymn who believe the legend and not the assertion.
The demand for a specifically romantic origin for every
individual piece of verse for which one cares is unfailing.
And in this case there is unhappily an apparent reality
in the private grief in question, finding, as alleged, cor-
roboration in the fact that Dr. Muhlenberg never mar-
ried ; there is even perhaps a coincidence in date between
the sorrow and the hymn. Who but the author (and
perhaps not he) could know how far his private grief
had clouded the outlook of his muse upon time and
the eternal ?
For the next step in the history of the hymn, as related
by Mr. Bird, the authority is more satisfying : —
" It was written at Lancaster, in a lady's album, and
began,—
* I would not live alway. No, no, holy man.
Not a day, not an hour, should lengthen my span.'
In this shape it seems to have had six eight- line stanzas.
The album was still extant in 1876, at Pottstown, Pa.,
and professed to contain the original manuscript. Said
the owner's sister, ' It was an impromptu. He had no
copy, and wanting it for some occasion, he sent for
the album/ In 1826 he entrusted his copy to a friend,
who called on him on the way from Harrisburg to Phila-
/ WOULD NOT LIVE ALWAY ; I ASK NOT TO STAY 22$
" delphia, to carry to the ' Episcopal Recorder/ and in
that paper it appeared June 3rd, 1826 (not 1824). For
AUTOGRAPH VERSES
these facts we have the detailed statement of Dr. John
B. Clemson, of Claymont, Del., the ambassador men-
tioned, who also chances to have preserved that volume
of the paper." And the present writer, in his turn, must
rest upon the authority of Mr. Bird (which, indeed, is
15
226 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
happily high) ; not having seen the album nor even
chanced upon that number of The Episcopal Recorder.
Dr. Muhlenberg himself has told us how his poem
first gained place as a hymn. From the paper, in which
it was printed anonymously, it was adopted by a sub-
committee among the hymns to be passed upon by the
whole committee which then (1826) was engaged in
preparing a hymn book for the Protestant Episcopal
Church. When this hymn was proposed, " one of the
members remarked that it was very sweet and pretty,
but rather sentimental ; upon which it was unanimously
thrown out. Not suspected as the author, I voted
against myself. That, I supposed, was the end it The
committee, which sat until late at night at the house of
Bishop White, agreed upon their report to the Conven-
tion, and adjourned. But the next morning Dr. Onder-
donk (who was not one of their number, but who, on
invitation, had acted with the sub-committee, which, in
fact, consisted of him and myself) called on me to inquire
what had been done. Upon my telling him that among
the rejected hymns was this one of mine, he said, * That
will never do/ and went about among the members of
the committee, soliciting them to restore the hymn in
their report, which accordingly they did ; so that to him
is due the credit of giving it to the Church." It was
copied almost at once into other books, and soon became
one of the most popular of American hymns.
Ever since 1833 & has been associated with the melo-
dious tune " Frederick/1 composed for it by Mr. George
Kingsley, and printed as sheet music in that year. Kings-
ley belonged to the period of American psalmody when
the performances of soloists and quartettes drowned the
IKY. T9
TITLE-PAGE OF MR. KINGSLEY'S MUSIC
228 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
voice of congregations. The standard of church music
did not differ materially from that of parlor music. Like
the hymn itself his tune (even to the vignette on the
title) reflects the religious fashion of the time. The two
belong together. Several editors have attempted to put
a newer tune in the place of Mr. Kingsley's. It was in
vain, simply because words and melody both appeal to
the same taste. They are not likely to be divorced, but
to live or die together.
The history of the text is somewhat peculiar. The
original, written in the album, seems to have been in six
verses of eight lines each ; as was also the first printed
text in the Recorder. It was Dr. Ondcrdonk who
selected and arranged the lines into four-line verses for
the Episcopalian hymn book, Dr. Muhlenberg slightly
revising them. So far as the public is concerned, this is
the only text of the hymn. But in 1 860, in a little collec-
tion of his poems, Dr. Muhlenberg printed a new version,
and in a second edition, in the same year, added a post-
script to that. In 1871, and again in 1876, he rewrote
the hymn. It was not vanity but conscientiousness that
inspired so much thought and labor; although these
were quite in vain. The public loved the earlier version,
and took no interest at all in the revisions. The auto-
graph verses reproduced in this Study are from the
version of 1871.
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Dr. Muhlenberg was born in Philadelphia, September
i6th, 1796, and came of distinguished stock. His great-
grandfather was Dr. Henry M. Muhlenberg, founder of
the Lutheran Church in America ; his grandfather (Fred-
230 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
erick A.) was Speaker of the House of Representatives
in the First and Second Congresses during Washington's
first administration. In his boyhood the Lutheran ser-
vices were conducted in German, of which he was igno-
rant; and he drifted into the Episcopal Church, into
whose ministry he entered in 1817. He was ordained
by Bishop White, and for a while served as chaplain to
that famous prelate.
In 1820 he became rector of St. James's Church, Lan-
caster. Pennsylvania. It was there he began his labors
for a better church hymnody, publishing his Church
Poetry, and doing much for that cause. While there he
also conceived the idea of a school under church auspices,
where education should be distinctly religious. Such a
school he established at Flushing, Long Island, and gave
to it fifteen years of enthusiastic toil. When circumstances
compelled him to abandon it, he became in 1846 rector
of a church in New York City founded by his sister, which
he developed as a "free" church. Here he organized
the first Protestant sisterhood, and established St. Luke's
Hospital, in which, as pastor, he spent the last twenty
years of his life, ministering to the suffering. In these
later years he established the religious industrial com-
munity of St. Johnland on Long Island.
The great purposes of Dr. Muhlenberg's efforts may
be summed up as the Christianizing of education, the
reunion of all Christians in one Evangelical Catholic
Church, and the bettering of the lot of the poor. To
these he consecrated his life, with his great gifts for
originating and administering. For these he spent his
private fortune, of which he left behind less than enough
to bury him. He was a prophet, and saw visions of a
/ WOULD NOT LIVE ALWAY; I ASK NOT TO STAY
holier Church than any on the earth, more catholic of
heart and more helpful of hand. He thought his own
denomination called to lead the way, and committed to
it his visions as a trust. Dr. Muhlenberg's ideals and
influence constitute one of the great forces now at work
in the development of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Of his spiritual greatness, his lovely personality, his
saintliness, his utter abnegation of self-interest, it seems
hardly possible to speak too warmly. "His long life
was one stream of blessed charity." Dr. Muhlenberg
died at St. Luke's Hospital, April 8th, 1877, and was
buried at St. Johnland.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) The omission of this hymn from the latest hymnal
of Dr. Muhlenberg's own denomination raises the ques-
tion of its fitness to serve as a hymn according to our
present standards of judgment. Is its true place in a
hymn book for congregational use or in a book of
religious poetry for private use ?
(2) There is a more important question : Is the view
of life expressed in the hymn wholesome and inspiring,
or is it morbid and enervating ? The hymn embodies
what seems to have been the average sentiment at that
day among evangelical Christians. But a great change
has come over evangelical thought about this life and the
next. If, however, the " other-worldliness " of that gen-
eration seems morbid to us, it may be that to them,
looking down upon us now from that other world, the
" this-worldliness " of the present generation seems short-
sighted, to say the least
(3) Dr. Muhlenberg's desire to evangelize his hymn
232 STUDIES OF FAMILIAJt HYMNS
strikes one at first as peculiar. His version of 1871 was
headed, "'I Would Not Live Alway' Evangelized."
What he had in mind is doubtless explained by the fre-
quent saying of his later years : " Paul's desire to * depart
and be with Christ * is better than Job's ' I would not live
alway/ "
XXII
o HELP us, LORD; EACH HOUR OF NEED
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
i O help us, Lord; each hour of need
Thy heavenly succor give:
Help us in thought, and -word, and deed,
Bach hour on earth we live.
a O help us when our spirits bleed,
With contrite anguish sore ;
And when our hearts are cold and dead,
O help us, Lord, the more.
3 O help us, through the prayer of faith
More firmly to believe ;
For still, the more the servant hath,
The more shall he receive.
4 If, strangers to Thy fold, we call,
Imploring at Thy feet
The crumbs that from Thy table fall,
'Tis all we dare entreat.
5 But be it, Lord of mercy, all,
So Thou wilt grant but this:
The crumbs that from Thy table fall
Are light, and life, and bliss.
233
234 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
6 O help us, Jesus, from on high ;
We know no help but Thee:
O help us so to live and die
As Thine in heaven to he.
Rev. Henry Hart Milman, 1827
NOTE. — The text is that published in Bishop Heber's Hymns, 1827.
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
It may be recalled that in our study of the hymn
" From Greenland's Icy Mountains " reference was made
to Bishop Heber's favorite project of a literary hymn
book for the Church of England, a hymn book to
contain only good poetry as well as good devotion.
And now our study of this hymn, written by the Rev.
Henry Hart Milman, brings us back to that project of
his friend.
Heber had made a beginning on his book, at least as
early as 1811, by writing some original hymns for it.
But he never intended to follow the example of Dr.
Watts and make the entire book consist of his own
hymns. And we find him, in 1820, casting his eyes
about the literary horizon to see what poets could be
enlisted in his scheme.
There was no dearth of poets in those days. And it
is likely that Heber knew most of them, for he had be-
gun to write for the new Quarterly Review of Mr.
Murray, the great London publisher, whose hospitable
drawing-room was the common meeting ground of the
poets of the time. Keats, Shelley, and Byron were all
alive in 1820, but no one then or now would be likely to
think of them in connection with a hymn book. Crabbe
was an old man, whose poetry lay behind him. Coleridge
0 HELP US, LORD; EACH HOUR OF NEED 2$$
was capable of writing great hymns, but it was in vain
to ask him to do any given thing at a given time. Keble
at that time was actually writing The Christian Year, but
the fact was known to very few. Montgomery, distinct-
ively a hymn writer, would probably be passed over as
out of sympathy with the Church of England. Words-
worth, Scott, Campbell, Moore, Southey, and Milman
were the six who remained, conspicuous and possibly
available.
To at least three of these we know that Heber ap-
pealed to furnish hymns for his book. Scott and
Southey both promised their aid. But both failed him,
although some unnamed poet did send in contributions
that were rejected as beneath the level of the book. To
Milman, whom he greatly admired, Heber sent in 1820
an earnest request for hymns : " I know with what
facility you write poetry, and all the world knows with
what success you write religious poetry."
And Milman did not fail him. In May of the year
following Heber alludes to three hymns already re-
ceived from him, one of them the now familiar " Ride on,
Ride on in Majesty " (The Hymnal, No. 2 14) ; saying, " I
rejoice to hear so good an account of the progress which
your Saint [The Martyr of Antioch] is making towards
her crown, and feel really grateful for the kindness which
enables you, while so occupied, to recollect my hymn
book. I have in the last month received some assistance
from , which would once have pleased me well ;
but alas ! your advent, Good Friday, and Palm Sunday
hymns have spoilt me for all other attempts of the sort.
There are several Sundays yet vacant, and a good many of
the Saints* days. But I need not tell you that any of the
236 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
" other days will either carry double, or, if you prefer it,
the compositions which now occupy them will ' contract
their arms for you, and recede from as much of heaven *
as you may require."
The hymn " O Help Us, Lord ; Each Hour of Need "
does not appear to have been in that first group, but
very likely it was one of a second group acknowledged
by Heber at the close of the same year, tie writes to
Milman: "You have indeed sent me a most powerful
reinforcement to my projected hymn book. A few more
such hymns and I shall neither need nor wait for the
aid of Scott and Southey. Most sincerely, I have not
seen any lines of the kind which more completely corre-
spond to my ideas of what such compositions ought to
be, or to the plan, the outline of which it has been my
wish to fill up." At all events, we read of no more
hymns from Milman In Heber's letters.
Milman contributed twelve hymns in all to the first
edition of the book, which Bishop Heber was not to live
to publish : and in that book, as put forth by the Bishop's
widow in 1827, they first appeared in print. The book
was immediately reprinted in New York, just too late
for its hymns to be used in the new Episcopalian hymn
book published that year. But perhaps it did not
matter, and certainly not so far as this particular hymn
was concerned, since American Episcopalians were con-
tent to wait until 1892 before including it among their
authorized hymns. The hymn was included in The
[Baptist] Psalmist of 1843 and ^e Sabbath Hymn Book
[Congregational] of 1858, but, in the case of this, as of
so many other hymns, the Boston Unitarians were the
first to see its merits, and the only ones to make prompt
O HELP US, LORD,- EACH HOUR OF NEED
use of it, which they did in 1830. It is to be remembered
that the Orthodox churches at that date were satisfied to
sing " Watts/' or, if they were to admit new hymns
(enough to make " Watts and Select "), they preferred
such new hymns as approached most closely to the old
model.
Some years ago Mr. Francis Arthur Jones attempted
to trace the whereabouts of the original manuscript
drafts of some of our popular hymns with a view to an
article upon the subject in the Strand Magazine* He
found that comparatively few such manuscripts have
been preserved. In regard to those of Milman, his son,
Mr. Arthur Milman, wrote : " I have never even seen a
/^L> ^Co^rtV-^ &JLC*>rz+-r* t/"^-t
* j r *-.^ y *-.-+) £nf^.
AK AUTOGRAPH VERSE
238 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
" MS. of my father, Dean Milman's hymns, and I greatly
doubt whether any can have survived." It happened
that Mr. Jones had secured an autograph of this hymn
only two days prior to the receipt of Mr. Milman's letter,
and from that the facsimile here reproduced was made.
Concerning this he remarks : " Whether the MS. is the
original, or merely the ' fair ' copy, I am unable to say.
It came into my hands through a dealer, and I value it
very highly."
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Henry Hart Milman, born February loth, 1791, was
the youngest child of Francis Milman, physician to
George III., and created a baronet by that king. He
was prepared for Oxford at Eton, and after a brilliant
career took his degree at Brasenose College in 1813.
Among the prizes he carried off was that for English
poetry, an event chronicled in one of the Ingoldsby
Legends : —
u His lines on Apollo
Beat all the rest hollow,
And gained him the Newdigate prize.*1
While still at Oxford he wrote his first drama, " Fazio :
a Tragedy/' published soon after his graduation. It was
put upon the stage without his knowledge or consent,
and acted with much success in England and America.
Ordained to the ministry in 1816, he became Vicar of
St. Mary's Church, Reading. " He reads and preaches
enchantingly," the famous Miss Mitford wrote soon after
his coming; but he found in his parish some prejudice
against him as the author of a play. He was full of
240 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
industry and literary ambition, and followed his drama
with an epic poem in twelve books, " Samor, Lord of the
Bright City." Then came the three religious dramas
which crowned his poetic career, the " Fall of Jerusalem/'
in 1820; the "Martyr of Antioch" and " Belshazzar," in
1822. For the copyright of each of these he received
the large sum of five hundred guineas.
But with the last of the three the enthusiasm of critics
and applause of the public, originally very great, had
waned, and his later poems were not successful. All
alike are now buried and forgotten. It seems strange,
indeed, that a poet greeted with so much enthusiasm by
his contemporaries should be remembered only by a few
hymns. His poetical works, gathered into three comely
volumes in 1839, and long out of print, contain much
that is striking and beautiful ; and not the least pleasing
feature is their dedication "To her who has made the
poetry of life reality, by her affectionate husband,"
Milman was to win more permanent fame in another
branch of literature. While still at Reading he published
his History of the Jeivs, in which he attempted, for the
first time in England, to read the sacred annals in the
light of the principles of historical criticism. This effort
brought down upon him a storm of indignation and
abuse, for which, however, he was not unprepared, and
which he weathered in silence. His later works, The
History of Christianity and The History of Latin Chris-
tianity, placed him at once among the great historical
writers of the language ; and in that high place he still
remains. Promotion in the Church also came to him.
In 1835 he was appointed rector of St. Margaret's, the
church that stands in the shadow of Westminster Abbey;
O HELP US, LORD ; EACH HOUR OF NEED 241
and in 1849 he became Dean of St. Paul's, the cathedral
church of London.
Dean Milman's London life was one of incessant toil,
and had its sorrows also, three of his children lying in
one grave in the north aisle of the Abbey. He became
a great figure in London, sought after for his social
charm, admired for his learning and genius, and reverenced
for his lofty and peculiarly straightforward Christian
character. He was a liberal in theology, and stood
resolutely apart from the High Church movement He
survived in the full vigor of his mental powers until
September 24th, 1 868, and was buried in the crypt of his
vast cathedral
In 1900 appeared a biography of Dean Milman, by
the son who has already been referred to. It had been
delayed, strangely enough, until the generation of those
who were his personal friends had passed away and the
lustre of his poetic reputation had been dimmed by the
lapse of time,
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) In the Book of Common Prayer each Sunday has
a passage of the gospels appropriated to it, to be used as
the Gospel for the day. Bishop Heber's hymn book was
to have a hymn for each Sunday based on its special
Gospel. What is the particular passage on which this
hymn is based, and which it illustrates ?
(2) When Dean Milman came to make a hymn book
of his own, he omitted the fourth and fifth verses of this
hymn ; but, in reprinting it in his Poetical Works of 1 839,
he included all six verses, with no change from his earliest
text, except that in the first line of the last verse he sub-
16
242 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
stituted " Saviour " for " Jesus." In the omission of the
two verses he has been followed by most later editors.
As to the beauty of those omitted verses there can hardly
be any question. But is there any such lack of clearness
in them that the poem is better as a hymn without
them?
(3) The three hymns of Milman in The Hymnal^' Ride
on, Ride on in Majesty," " When our Heads are Bowed
with Woe/* and this) are probably the best out of his
twelve in Bishop Heber's book. And, if placed side by
side, it will be seen that each is in a different style. One
is after the manner of a metrical litany, one so dramatic
that it might serve as a chorus for one of his sacred
dramas, and one " a piece of pure, deep devotion " in the
best manner of unpretentious hymn writing.
XXIII
SHEPHERD OF TENDER YOUTH
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
jc Shepherd of tender youth,
Guiding in love and truth
Through devious -ways :
Christ, our triumphant King,
We come Thy Name to sing" ;
Hither our children bring,
To shout Thy praise.
& Thou art our Holy Lord,
The all-suhduing Word,
Healer of strife ;
Thou didst Thyself abase.
That from sin's deep disgrace
Thou mightest save our race,
And give us life.
3 Thou art the Great High Priest,
Thou hast prepared the feast
Of heavenly love :
While in our mortal pain,
None calls on Thee in vain :
Help Thou dost not disdain,
Help from above.
244 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
4 Ever be Thou our Guide,
Our Shepherd and our Pride,
Our Staff and Song :
Jesus, Thou Christ of God,
By Thy perennial word,
Lead us where Thou hast trod ;
Make our faith strong1.
5 So now and till we die,
Sound we Thy praises high,
And joyful sing:
Infants, and the glad throng
Who to Thy Church belong,
Unite to swell the song
To Christ our King.
Clement of Alexandria, who died about A. D. aao
Translated by Rev. Henry Martyn Dexter, 1846
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
This hymn is the translation of a Greek poem, and
this relation to an antique world gives it a special inter-
est of its own. It forms a connecting link between the
second century and the twentieth, showing that, while
many things have been changed, the Christian heart
then as now feels the same impulse to praise Christ, and
can express that praise in like words. The Greek poem
is often spoken of as the oldest Christian hymn, but
that is saying too much. It is rather the oldest surviv-
ing Christian poem (after the Song of Mary and the
other New Testament hymns) which can be traced to a
particular author. And that is distinction enough.
Among the great figures of the Church at the end of
the second century was Clement of Alexandria. Of
Clement himself, apart from his reputation and writings,
we know little. He was a Greek, but when or where
SHEPHERD OF TENDER YOUTH 245
born is uncertain. He seems to have been of good
birth and social position, and certainly was highly edu-
cated. He had been a heathen philosopher and when
he became a Christian was a philosopher still, travel-
ing about seeking for light from various teachers. He
mentions six, under whom he studied " the true tradition
of the blessed doctrine of the holy apostles." Alex-
andria was then the great centre of Christian scholar-
ship. It was there that Clement found in the Word of
God the solution of the riddles of his soul And there
his wanderings ended in rest in a living Christ When
his teacher, Pantaenus, head of the Catechetical School
there, left it to go forth as a missionary, Clement be-
came the head of the school, and so remained until
driven away by persecution in A. D. 202. Whither he
went and how he spent his closing years we do not
know. We hear of him at Jerusalem and once again
at Antioch, and he is believed to have died a little be-
fore A, D. 220.
Clement was a reformer, and wrote several books ex-
posing the dreadful moral corruption of paganism and
tutoring new converts in the life becoming the gospel of
Christ One of his books was called The Instructor (or
Tutor), and is a treatise on Christian morals and manners.
It sets forth Christ the Son of God as the true Instructor
of men, and expounds His teachings with eloquence and
the warmth of a real affection for Him, At the end of
the book is appended the " Hymn to Christ the Saviour."
It is a doxology, a burst of praise, an expression of
thankfulness "to the Instructor who has not only en-
lightened us but called us into His Church and united us
to Himself,"
246 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
Clement's poem has always been an object of interest
to scholars as a relic of early Christianity, and has been
frequently translated. From a poetic standpoint it par-
takes too much of the nature of an inventory of figures
applied to Christ in the Scriptures, and too little of the
spontaneity of a lyric of praise. There is at the same
time a charm in its cumulative adorations and its loyalty
to Christ But it never at any period found a place in
the hymn books of the Church. For that honor it waited
sixteen centuries.
In 1846 an American Congregational clergyman, the
Rev. Henry Martyn Dexter, was preparing for his church
at Manchester, New Hampshire, a sermon on "Some
prominent characteristics of the early Christians/1 from
the text, " Remember the days of old." — Deut. xxxii. 7.
It occurred to him to make a hymn out of the old poem
and to have it sung at the service. He says : " I first
translated it literally into prose, and then transfused as
much of its language and spirit as I could into the hymn."
Dr. Dexter's hymn was first printed in The Congregation-
alist for December 2ist, 1849. Jn *$$3 Drs. Hedge and
Huntington put it into their Hymns for the Church of
Christ simply because, in their judgment, it was a good
hymn, as they apparently knew nothing of its history or
authorship. In 1866 it was included in the Hymnal of
the Presbyterian Church, and is now widely used in this
country and to some extent in England. Dr. Dexter's
version has certainly won its way without any pushing
on his part. As lately as 1869 Dr. Schaff (with all his
wide acquaintance with religious verse) was obliged to
include it in his delightful Christ in Song as " a trans-
fusion by an unknown author."
SHEPHERD OF TMNJD&K. YOUTH 247
I Vs
U/uj2^ej r&titA<L, \ifaytj\jnb *
A VERSE IN THE AUTOGRAPH OF THE TRANSLATOR
THE TRANSLATOR OF THE HYMN
Henry Martyn Dexter, a son of the Rev. Elijah
Dexter, was born at Plympton, Massachusetts, August
I3th, 1821. He was graduated from Yale College in
1840 and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1844.
That same year he was ordained, and became pastor of
248 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
a Congregational Church at Manchester, New Hamp-
shire. Five years later he became pastor of a church in
Boston. While there he also became the editor of The
Congregationalist and of The Congregational Quarterly.
In 1867 he resigned his pastorate to be the editor of The
Congregationalist and Recorder.
Dr. Dexter's natural inclinations made his career that
of a man of letters and a scholar. He was especially
interested in historical studies. Born within ten miles
of Plymouth Rock, and often visiting the old town so
full of Pilgrim memories, and with the blood both of
Pilgrim and Puritan blended in his own veins, he early
acquired a peculiar interest in the first settlers of New
England. He came to believe in their system of Con-
gregationalism as the best and most Scriptural form of
church government. What Dr. Dexter believed he be-
lieved with all his heart, and he spent much time and
money in tracing the beginnings of the Pilgrim Church
in England and Holland, and especially in searching for
the rare books and tracts that illustrate the early history
of Congregationalism. He published many books and
articles on these and kindred subjects, upon which he
is now recognized as a high authority. His principal
work was published in 1880 as The Congregationalism
of the Last Three Hundred Years, as Seen in its Litera-
ture. While some of the conclusions of this book have
been questioned, no one has failed to admire the learn-
ing and patient research that have gone into it Dr.
Dexter's published works extend over more than forty
years. His interests and studies were by no means con-
fined to Congregationalism, and his works deal with
many problems in national, religious, and social life.
SHEPHEMD OF TENDER YOUTH
249
Dr. Dexter's hymn entitles him to a niche among
American hymn writers, but he seems to have published
no other verse. His son, the Rev. Morton Dexter,
writes : " As a young man he used to write verse some-
times, and in middle life composed a number of hymns
REV. HENRY M. DEXTER
for special occasions. But he never regarded himself as
a poet and never gave much attention to versifying.
Most of his earlier poetry was in the ballad form and
amusing in character."
Dr. Dexter died of heart failure on November I3th,
1 890, passing away in his sleep, To look at the like-
ness of his pleasant face and to read his books, so full
of learning and vitality, is to feel something of the irre-
tricvableness of death. It is to be regretted that no bi-
ography of him has been published. He holds a secure
place among the investigators into the origins of Ameri-
250 STUDIES OF 2?AMILIAR HYMNS
can church history, but it is not impossible that his
hymn may prove to be his most enduring memorial.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(i) In our hymn books many hymns are marked
" Tr.," which means that they arc translations, whether
from the Greek or Latin or some other language. But
while, for convenience, all alike are called translations, it
should be understood that such hymns differ very widely
in the degree in which the English version corresponds
to the original text As a rule, translations from the
Latin can and do follow the original more closely than
those from the Greek. It must be said frankly that few
translations have less of the original in them than this.
Dr. Dexter attempted little more than to reproduce the
spirit of the original with occasional use of its language.
This will appear in comparing the following literal trans-
lation with Dr. Dexter's hymn : —
" Bridle of untamed colts, Shepherd, Husbandman,
Wing of unwandering birds, Helm, Bridle,
Sure Helm of babes, Heavenly Wing
Shepherd of royal lambs! Of the all-while flock,
Assemble thy simple children Fisher of men
To praise holily, Who are saved,
To hymn guilelessly Catching the chaste fishes
With innocent months, With sweet life
Christ the Guide of children. From the hateful wave
Of a sea of vices,—
"O Kins? of Saints, Lead, O Shepherd
All-subduing Word Of reasoning sheep;
Of the most -high Father, "Lead hnnnlcss children,
Prince of wisdom, O holy King,
Support of sorrows, O footsteps of Christ,
That rejoiccst in the ages, () heavenly Way,
Jesus, Saviour Perennial Word,
Of the human race, Endless Age,
SHEPHERD OF TENDER YOUTH 251
" Perpetual Light, Let us sing together
Fountain of mercy, Artless praises,
Worker of virtue : True hymns
Noble [is the] sustenance of those To Christ the King,
Who praise God, Sacred rewards
O Christ Jesus, For the doctrine of life ;
Heavenly xnilk Let us sing together,
Of the sweet breasts Sing in simplicity
Of the graces of the Bride, The mighty Child.
Pressed out of Thy wisdom. O choir of peace,
The Christ-begotten,
" Babes, nourished O chaste people,
With tender lips, Let us praise together
Filled with the dewy spirit The God of peace."
Of the spiritual breast,
Any one who values the historical association of the
hymn feels a certain dissatisfaction with so loose a ren-
dering of the original as Dr. Dexter's. That the poem
can be reproduced much more closely appears from a
version by a Scotch Presbyterian, Dr. Hamilton M. Mac-
gill, of which the opening lines are as follows : —
" Thyself, Lord, be the bridle !
These wayward wills to stay :
Be thine the wing unwandering !
To speed their upward way ;
" The belm for youth embarking
On the all-treacherous sea !
Shepherd of lambs ! Thou only,
Their King and Leader be 1
« 0 bring your tender young ones,
To chant their hymns of praise,
And holy hallelujahs,
With hallowed lips to raise.
"Let them with songs adoring,
Their artless homage bring
To Christ the Lord, and crown Him
The children's Guide and King,"
252 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
Dr. MacgilPs verse is just as good as Dr. Dexter's and
as a translation far better. Yet, after all, it is a question
if Dr. Dexter's version does not better represent the
original for the purpose of singing. The spirit of the
Greek poem appeals to us, but when it comes to address-
ing Christ as the bridle and the helm we are not quite so
sure.
(2) The autograph verse here reproduced (it was
written in 1883) shows that Dr. Dexter had recast the
form of the fourth verse. Is the earlier or the later
version preferable ? Careless as he was of the fate of the
hymn, it is difficult to say which one of the somewhat
differing texts represents his preference. That here
printed is one that apparently had his approval as late as
1883.
XXIV
THINE FOR EVER! GOD OF LOVE
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
1 Thine for ever ! God of love,
Hear us from Thy throne above ;
Thine for ever may we be
Here and in eternity.
2 Thine for ever ! Lord of life,
Shield us through our earthly strife;
Thou, the Life, the Truth, the Way,
Guide us to the realms of day.
3 Thine for ever! O how blest
They who find in Thee their rest !
Saviour, Guardian, heavenly Friend,
O defend us to the end.
4 Thine for ever ! Saviour, keep
These Thy frail and trembling sheep;
Safe alone beneath Thy care,
Let us all Thy goodness share.
5 Thine for ever ! Thou our Guide,
All our wants by Thee supplied,
All our sins by Thee forgiven,
Lead us, Lord, from earth to heaven.
Mary Fawlcr (Hooper) Maude, 1847
NOTE. — Five verses of the original seven. Some features of the text are
referred to under " Some Points for Discussion."
253
254 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
A sensational or sentimental hymn may catch the ear
of the public and at once gain a short-lived popularity.
But a hymn of solid merit makes its way more slowly.
It is not often that the writer of such a hymn lives to
see it take its place in the permanent hymnody of the
Church. Such, however, is the happy experience of
Mrs. Maude, who wrote "Thine for Ever! God of
Love." And it is certainly an additional happy circum-
stance that we now have the story of the hymn in her
own words. Mrs. Maude has lately written it for the
Rev. John Brownlie, as follows : —
" In 1847 my husband was minister of the Parish
Church of St. Thomas, Newport, Isle of Wight. We
had very large Sunday-schools, in which I taught the
first class of elder girls, then preparing for their con-
firmation by the Bishop of Winchester. Health obliged
me to go for some weeks to the seaside, and while there
I wrote twelve letters to my class, which were afterward
printed by the Church of England Sunday-School In-
stitute. In one of the letters I wrote off, almost im-
promptu, the hymn Thine for ever"
It should be explained, perhaps, that in the confirma-
tion service in the Church of England the prayer spoken
by the bishop in the act of laying on his hands begins,
"Defend, O Lord, this thy Child with thy heavenly
grace, that he may continue thine for ever/1 These
words furnished the theme for the hymn. In the hymn
they are taken up by catechumens and congregation,
and made the words of their own prayer,
Mrs, Maude goes on to say: "The hymn must have
THINE FOR EVER! GOD OF LOVE 255
" been in some way seen by the committee of the Chris-
tian Knowledge Society, for early in the fifties I opened
their newly-published hymnal, much to my surprise,
upon my own hymn. After that, application for its use
*^4^^
/fasie. * Jt*«L*£ *»
AUTOGRAPH VERSES
came in from all quarters. Little did I imagine that it
would be chosen by our beloved Queen to be sung at
the confirmation of a Royal Princess.
"It was our custom in Chirk Vicarage to sing a
hymn, chosen in turn, at our evening family prayer on
the Lord's Day, On Sunday, February 8th, 1887, it was
my husband's turn to choose, and he gave out Thine
for ever, looking round at me. On the nth he was
singing with saints in Paradise. . . .
256 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
" Now, in my eightieth year, whenever I meet my
hymn, there seems written across it, to my mental vision,
non nobis Domine?
Mrs. Maude's hyrnn is so admirably suited to a con-
firmation service that its early adoption in the Church of
England can readily be understood. In this country
the hymn does not seem to have been used in the Epis-
copal Church until 1872. By that time it was already
getting to be familiar in such Presbyterian and Congre-
gational churches as were using Dr. Robinson's Songs for
the Sanctuary, published in 1865.
In accounting for the wide use into which this hymn
has come, one finds a reminder of the actual distinction
between a collection of lyrical or even devotional poetry
on the one hand and a hymn book on the other. If he
were considering this hymn as a candidate for inclusion
in a book of lyrics he would feel that it was lyrical in the
sense of being eminently singable, but he would look in
vain through its verses for any special structural beauty,
for a thought or even a turn of expression that had
anything of the charm of the unexpected. Nothing in
it is far removed from the commonplace in a poetic
sense. He might feel toward it in much the same way,
considered for a place even in a book of devotional
poetry. He would recognize a real tenderness of feel-
ing and a perfect refinement of expression. Why, even
then, should it gain favor as against a vast body of
verse as true in religious feeling and equally poetic, to
say the least ? But who, on the other hand, has ever
heard Mrs. Maude's hyrnn sung heartily in connection
with the act of admitting catechumens to the Table of
their Lord without feeling something of the satisfaction
THINE FOR EVER! GOD OF LOVE
that comes with the right word, to the occasion true
because exactly expressive of the feeling which the
occasion evokes ? Mrs. Maude's verses, it would seem,
find their proper place not in a book of poems, but in a
service book. They are poetry in the sense of being
liturgical verse, whose art consists in entering into the
feelings of those participating in a certain service, and
giving to them expression in perfect truth and in perfect
taste. To bring out the poetry in them they must be
sung, and sung in connection with the service to which
they belong, and sung by those whose hearts respond
to what the service means and stands for. There is
abundant room for lyrics of high art in the hymn book,
but there is also an inevitable demand for proper liturgical
poetry.
In estimating the readiness of welcome which Mrs.
Maude's hymn has found, one has also to remember
that it did not have to make its way through a very
formidable body of competitors. Even now it stands
somewhat isolated on a bare spot of the domain of our
hymnody. We have Bishop Wordsworth's conscien-
tious and careful "Arm These Thy Soldiers, Mighty
Lord" (The Hymnal, No. 315). But the hymn itself
belongs to the Heavy Artillery, and rarely gets into
active service. We have also President Davies's " Lord,
I am Thine, Entirely Thine" (The Hymnal, No. 320),
but many who have heard it sung by a great congrega-
tion must have felt that it should have remained rather
as a secret between an individual soul and its Master.
There are no other hymns for this occasion with the
liturgical excellence of Mrs. Maude's. And that fact
greatly strengthens its title to the place it now holds.
17
258 STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Mary Fawler Hooper was born in 1819, and is the
daughter of George H. Hooper, of Stanmore, Middlesex.
In 1841 she was married to the Rev. Joseph Maude, who
became Vicar of Chirk, in North Wales, and an Honorary
Canon of St. Asaph's Cathedral, and whose death, in
1887, has been referred to already. In 1848 her Twelve
Letters on Confirmation were published, and in 1852 she
printed privately her Memorials of Past Years. She has
written other hymns, mostly for use in her husband's
parish, but none of these has come into general use.
Mrs. Maude's life has been in no sense that of a
woman of letters, or one lived in the public eye. It has
been that of the faithful wife of a village pastor, the
sharer of his labors and his hopes. Of such a life, how-
ever successful, the rewards are not with men. Her
hymn represents her one point of contact with the larger
public. And even the hymn was written with no more
ambitious aim than that of being helpful to a class of
village girls. " The praise of any usefulness," Mrs. Maude
modestly says in a recent letter, " must be all given to
Him whose glory it is to work by such simple means."
Mrs. Maude is now in the evening of her life, but it
seems likely that for long her name will be pleasantly
remembered in connection with the hymn of her younger
days. (Mrs. Maude died in 1913.)
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(i) " For ever" is so long a time that only God Him*
self could be justified in covering it with a pledge or
promise. Is the beautiful ideal of our being God's for
THINE FOR EVER! GOD OF LOVE 259
ever set before us by the hymn in such a way that we
can sing it in sincerity and in truth ?
(2) The text of the hymn in The Hymnal (and here)
differs in one word, apparently, from the original. The
editor was unable to secure a copy of the little book in
which the hymn first appeared, and he had to determine
the text from such evidence as he could obtain. He has
now in his possession an autograph of the hymn in which
verse four begins : —
" Thine for ever ! Shepherd, keep
Us, Thy frail and trembling sheep" ;
and also a letter in which Mrs. Maude states that she
originally wrote " Shepherd/1 and does not know who
26O STUDIES OF FAMILIAL HYMNS
changed it to " Saviour." " Shepherd " seems, therefore,
to be the correct word. Is it not also the better word,
and why ?
The second of the two lines just quoted from the
autograph of the hymn also differs from the text printed
in The Hymnal. In spite of that fact the present writer
believed the Hymnal text to be correct ; and when this
Study was originally printed he remarked at this point :
" In regard to the second line there is reason to think
that Mrs. Maude has on other occasions given * These '
and not ' Us ' as the correct wording. Certainly the
' Us ' is awkward in beginning the line." And now,
while the proofs of this second printing of the Study are
being corrected, there arrives opportunely from England
a copy of Mr. F. A. Jones's Famous Hymns and Their
Aittliors. Mr. Jones, who has been already referred to
as a seeker for the original manuscripts of well-known
hymns, has had correspondence with Mrs. Maude con-
cerning this hymn. She calls his attention, in a letter
which he quotes, to alterations made in the fourth verse
of her hymn " without any reference to " her. One of
the unauthorized changes she objects to is that of
"These" into "Us." She says: "'Us' is a most un-
musical word to begin a line with, and, moreover, the
thought of the verse is lost, for the first two lines are a
prayer for the catechumens from the congregation : —
* Thine for ever! Shepherd, keep
These Thy frail and trembling sheep J ;
then the supplication reverts and embraces all present : —
* Safe alone beneath Thy care,
Let us all Thy goodness share.' "
THINE FOR EVER! GOD OF LOVE 26 1
Mrs. Maude's position is doubtless correct. She is con-
fronted, nevertheless, by her autograph copy of the
hymn containing the very word against which she pro-
tests as objectionable and unauthorized. This particular
Instance of confusion is referred to here not merely for
its interest as bearing upon the text of a familiar hymn,
but also as an illustration of the great difficulty of attain-
ing accuracy in these matters. Ordinarily in the case
of a disputed text or interpretation an appeal to the
author is regarded as bringing the matter before a court
of last resort, whose decision is final. In the case of
hymns, however, it has repeatedly been demonstrated
that even the statements of their authors must be treated
as subject to correction.
(3) There were originally a sixth and a seventh verse
which have not been used in the hymnals, as follows : —
"6 Thine for ever! In that day
When the world shall pass away :
When the trumpet's note shall sound,
And the nations under ground
" 7 Shall the awful summons hear.
Which proclaims the Judgment near :
Thine for ever 1 'Neath Thy wings
Hide and save us, King of kings !"
Do these lines strengthen or weaken the hymn ?
Mrs. Maude states that the fifth verse originally ended
with the line : —
<* Led by Thee from earth to heaven."
The line was changed to its present form to make a
proper conclusion to the hymn as abridged, and the
change has her approval
262
STUDIES OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
(4) This hymn is associated with the death of the late
Dr. Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury, while visiting
Mr. Gladstone at Hawarden. It was sung at the close
of an early service he attended at the neighboring church
on October nth, 1896. Returning to the church three
hours later for the Morning Prayer he passed away
while kneeling for the Confession. The hymn is said to
have been sung when his funeral left Hawarden, and
again over the grave at Canterbury Cathedral. It sug-
gests once more the difficulty of attaining accuracy in
these matters that Mrs. Maude states that the hymn
was sung to the Archbishop's " favorite old Spanish air,
Thine for ever " ; while his son and biographer describes
it as a beautiful Welsh tune which the Archbishop " had
not heard before."
The Rev. Mr. Brownlie obtained a copy of the tune,
and thinks it only requires to be known to become a
general favorite, and it is here printed : —
J.JLJ- J J.J.,*. .J-.J
XXV
SUNSET AND EVENING STAR
THE TEXT OF THE HYMN
I Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me !
And may there be no moaning of the bar
When I put out to sea,
a But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
3 Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell
When I embark;
4 For, though from out our bourne of time and place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1889
NOTE. — The text is taken from Dtmtttr and Other Poems , 1889.
264 STUDIES OP FAMILIAR HYMNS
THE STORY OF THE HYMN
"'Crossing the Bar* was written in my father's eighty-
first year/' writes the present Lord Tennyson in the
Memoir; "on a day in October when we came from
Aldworth to Farringford. Before reaching Farringford
he had the Moaning of the Bar in his mind, and after
dinner he showed me this poem written out. I said,
* That is the crown of your life's work/ He answered,
* It came in a moment/ He explained the * Pilot ' as
* that Divine and Unseen who is always guiding us.' A
few days before my father's death he said to me : * Mind
you put " Crossing the Bar" at the end of all editions
of my poems/ "
The lyric was published in the volume of 1889, Deme-
ter and Other Poems, and won instant acceptance. The
student of poetry was glad that the old tree should bear
so perfect a flower, and the religious public was touched
by the venerable poet's avowal of his personal faith.
The first public use of the poem was as an anthem at
Lord Tennyson's funeral in Westminster Abbey on Octo-
ber 1 2th, 1892. The daughter of the Dean of West-
minster has pictured the scene : —
"As the procession slowly passed up the nave and
paused beneath the lantern, where the coffin was placed
during the first part of the burial service, the sun lit up
the dark scene, and touched the red and blue Union
Jack upon the coffin with brilliant light, filtering through
the painted panes of Chaucer's window on to the cleared
purple space by the open grave, and lighting up the beau-
tiful bust of Dryden, the massive head of Longfellow,
the gray tomb of Chaucer and the innumerable wreaths
U-
«i
fr+y 1* fie
fa
1* to
FACSIMILE OF THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
266 STUDIES OP FAMILIAR HYMNS
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 Bar ' — those beautiful words in which
the poet, as it were, prophetically foretold his calm and
peaceful deathbed. In the second line the clear, thrilling
notes of a boy's voice sounded like a silver trumpet call
amongst the arches, and it was only at intervals that one
distinguished Dr. Bridge's beautiful organ accompani-
ment, which swelled gradually from a subdued murmur
• as of the morning tide into a triumphant burst from the
voices, so blended together were words and music."
The credit of introducing Tennyson's lyric as a hymn
belongs to Presbyterians. A committee of the Free
Church of Scotland engaged Sir Joseph Barnby to set it
to music, and printcdj'it in their Home and School Hymnal
of 1893. In this country also the Presbyterians were the
first to include it among their hymns, it appearing in The
Hymnal of 1895. It has since appeared in The Church
Hymnary of the Scottish Churches and in several inde-
pendent collections.
THE AUTHOR OF THE HYMN
Alfred Tennyson was born August 6th, 1809, at
Somcrsby, a Lincolnshire village of which his father was
the rect6r. Even as a child he made verses, and as early
as 1827 he and his brother Charles published a volume
of Poems by Two brothers. The next year he went to
Trinity College, Cambridge. " The Lover's Tale " was
written at that time, and in the summer following he
gained the chancellor's prize for a poem on Timbuctoo.
When only twenty-one Tennyson published his Poems
SUNSET AND EVENING STAR 267
Chiefly Lyrical. They had a wonderful freshness, and in
them were the very witchery of music and all the shapes
and colors of word painting. Dreamy young people
were fascinated by these lyrics. Older people, whose
tastes had been formed on more conventional models,
looked at them more doubtfully, and some, like Christo-
pher North, laughed at them. They were the ex-
periments of a young artist, and many of the poems
Tennyson withdrew afterward, with the deepening of his
thoughts and purposes. But the book marks the worthy
beginning of a great poetic career of more than sixty
years, that in its circumstances and its influence is almost
ideal. Tennyson no doubt will always stand as the
representative poet of Queen Victoria's reign.
To trace that career and to record his poetical achieve-
ments belongs to English literature and not to hymnology.
Except the little children's " hymn in " The Promise of
May/' and possibly this poem, Tennyson wrote nothing
designed for a hymn, although some verses from the
prologue of " In Memoriam " are often included in hymn
books. It was a favorite project with his friend Dr.
Jowett, Master of Balliol College, that the poet should
" write a few hymns in a high strain, to be a treasure to
the world and to the Church." " I want him to think
of millions of persons repeating his words with the liv-
ing voice, during many centuries. Is this a crown to
be despised?" — Jowett wrote to the poet's son. But
Tennyson had a feeling that hymns were expected to
be commonplace, and for that reason, perhaps, he felt
little impulse to attempt them.
Tennyson had a deeply religious nature and regarded
himself as intrusted with a divine message. He was a
268 STU&IMS OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
humble believer in Christ "What the sun is to that
flower, that," he once said, " Jesus Christ is to my soul."
He spoke often of the actuality of Christ's presence to
him in the Holy Communion. Indeed, he lived and
wrought always as in the divine presence, saying once to
his niece in the most natural way : " God is with us now,
on this down, as we two are walking together, just as
truly as Christ was with the two disciples on the walk to
Emmaus. We cannot see Him, but He — the Father
and the Saviour and the Spirit — is nearer, perhaps, now
than then to those who are not afraid to believe the
words of the apostle about the actual and real presence
of God and His Christ with all who yearn for it"
As this glorious career drew toward its close, his
queen, who had twice before sought to crown it with
civic honors, offered the poet a peerage. While the
offer appealed to him but little, he accepted it as repre-
senting the nation's tribute to literature, and in 1883
became Baron Tennyson of Aldworth in Sussex and of
Freshwater in the Isle of Wight. On October 6th, 1892,
God gave him, after a brief sickness, just such a quiet
death as he had craved in this poem, his hand clasp-
ing a volume of Shakespeare, which he had asked for
just before the end.
SOME POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
(i) It seems strange that the personality of the " Pilot "
should have been a matter of discussion. But a per-
verse effort was made by certain critics to deny that the
poem was really an avowal of Christian faith. As to
this the present Lord Tennyson writes : " My father was
much pained to learn that any one could misinterpret
SUNSET AND EVENING STAR 269
" the ' Pilot ' in ' Crossing the Bar,' and imagine that it
referred to Arthur Hallam or to my brother Lionel.
He had thought there could be only one possible inter-
pretation. Repeatedly and emphatically, at his dictation,
LORD TENNYSON
I have had to say this. Moreover, I have had to ex-
plain, also at his dictation, that in the line, ' And after
that the dark/ the ' dark ' merely means ' The Valley of
the Shadow of Death.' "
(2) And one clear call for me ! What is this' call?
The passage from " Enoch Arden " will be remem-
bered :—
" Then the third night after this,
While Enoch slumber' d motionless and pale,
And Miriam watch' d and dozed at intervals,
270 SrUDIJSS OF FAMILIAR HYMNS
"There came so loud a calling of the sea,
That all the houses in the haven rang.
He woke, he rose, he spread his arms abroad,
Crying with a loud voice, * A sail ! a sail !
I am saved ' ; and so fell back and spoke no more."
In an edition of Tennyson's poems Mr. W. Trcgo Webb
gives the following definition " on the authority, if not in
the words, of Lord Tennyson himself: —
" A calling of the sea. A term used in some parts of
England for a ground-swell. When this occurs on a
windless night, the sound not only echoes through the
houses standing near the beach, but is often heard many
miles inland."
(3) A recent writer thinks that Tennyson mixed his
metaphors in the last line, where " we are abruptly con-
fronted with a new contradictory image of facing the
pilot when we have crossed the bar, as though he were
then receiving us into his care, instead of dismissing us
from it." Father Tabb, the poet, answers this by saying
that before a ship sails out of port the pilot is in charge,
nor does the law allow her to cross the bar without
him; and that in the poem it is a question not of hav-
ing a pilot, but of seeing him face to face, which in our
voyage we cannot hope to do till we have crossed the
bar. Is there any confusion of metaphor here ?
(4) The meaning of another line has also been dis-
cussed. In the Memoir of Bishop Walsham How the
following passage occurs in a letter dated October 24th,
1890:—
"A few months ago the Master of Trinity (Dr. Butler) sent
me a Latin version of Tennyson's 'Crossing the Bar.' I
ventured to criticise one word. In rendering the lines :—
SUNSET AND EVENING STAR 2/1
* When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home,*
he introduced the word * vita. ' I said I thought it was wrong,
as I always understood those lines of the tide and not of the
life. He replied, referring me to Tennyson's ' Out of the
deep, my child, out of the deep,' and to various other pas-
sages of Tennyson, proving that the thought of the life being
drawn out of the depths of infinity to return thither again
was a very familiar one to him. He also showed me several
places in Wordsworth where the same thought occurs. This
entirely convinced me that I was wrong, and I then observed
that in each of the other stanzas the third and fourth lines
refer to the thing typified, and the first and second to the
type, so that symmetry of arrangement was against me. After
some time the Master wrote to me from the Isle of Wight,
where he had seen Tennyson, and told me he had told him
of our correspondence, and the poet had said I was right and
Butler wrong. I still think the author had better adopt
Butler's view and make it his own, the arguments for it being
so strong. "
But does not the imagery seem to require that the
words refer to the tide on which the ship floats ?
(5) Does it seem likely that this lyric is to take its
place among the accepted hymns of the Church? In
its favor are its exquisite beauty and its appeal to every
Christian heart. Against it are its irregularity of metre,
requiring more extended music than an ordinary hymn,
so that it must in any event be reserved for somewhat
occasional use ; and also its lack of hymnic form, which,
however, is no more marked here than in the case of
" Lead, Kindly Light." It is significant, perhaps, that
the omission of the hymn from a recent hymnal caused
272 STUDIES OF FAMILTAR HYMNS
so much remark that in revising the plates of the book
the opportunity was taken to insert it. Yet, on the
other hand, a distinguished literary woman, Mrs. Oli-
phant, appears to question the propriety of using this
lyric as a funeral hymn. In a letter, published since her
death, she wrote : " Is it true that Hallam Tennyson has
wished it to be set to music and sung at the funeral ? I
can't think it very suitable for that. I suggested to Dr.
Bridge those verses from * In Memoriam ' : —
* Peace ; come away : the song of woe
Is, after all, an earthly song.' "
GENERAL INDEX
[Titles of books, etc., in Italics^
Abends (Tune), 36
Abney, Sir Thomas and Lady,
134
Adams, John Brydges, 119
Adams, Sarah Flower: — her hymn,
"Nearer, My God, to Thee," 117-
126; sketch, of, 118-122; portrait
of, 121 ; autographs of, 121, 123
Adams, Rev. Dr. William, 222
Adeste Fideles (Tune), 47
African colonization, Mr. Key and,
58
Alexandria, 2245
Allen, Rev. Dr. A. V. G., his Life of
Phillips Brooks, 9, 10
Alterations of hymns, 22, 34, 93, 106,
' 124* 259
" America," as the name of a hymn,
99, 101; as the name of a tune,
101, 105, 181
Andover Seminary, Samuel F. Smith
at, 99 ; hymn book edited by its
professors, 30, 124
"Angel faces," meaning of, 95
Anglican school of hymn tunes, 68,
no
Annapolis, 56
Apologia pro Vita Suo> 88, 92
Arnold, John, 151
Arnold, Matthew, 135
Art and consecration, 217
Ash, Rev. Dr. John, 194
Assize Sermon (Keble's), 32, 92
Association of hymns with particular
tunes, 46-48, 153-154
18
Astley, 214, 218
Athenezum> 167
Augsburg, 158, 159
Baker, Rev. Dr. George D., 172
Ballad metre, 12
Baltimore, Mr. Key in, 54, 58 ; attack
on, 59
Baptist hymnody, 38,44,46, 104, 194,
195
Baptist Missionary Magazine, 102
Baring-Gould, Rev. Sabine : — his
hymn, "Onward, Christian Sol-
diers," 107-116 ; sketch of, in-
114; portrait of, 113; autograph
of, in
Barnby, Sir Joseph, 266
Beecher, Henry Ward, 30, 123, 173
Belleville Avenue Congregational
Church/ Newark, 80
Behhazsar, 240
Benson,. Archbishop Edward White,
34, 262
Bethany (Tune), 124
Bethlehem, Phillips Brooks at, 2
Biblical language in hymns, 48-49,
146, 246 ; the Bible as a theme of
hymns, 199
Bickersteth, Bishop Edward H., 94
Bird, Rev. Frederick M., 52, 223,
224, 225
Bloomfield, N. J., the Duffields at,
19, 20, 21
Blue-Stocking- Revels, quoted, 121
JBoardman's Selection, 173
373
274
GENERAL INDEX
Book of Common Prayer, 10, 27, 28,
152, 206, 241, 254
Book of Hymns, 92, 123, 138, 142
Book of Praise, 34
Boston, Phillips Brooks in, 7-8 ;
Lowell Mason in, 68, 99; Ray
Palmer in, 80 ; S. F, Smith in, 98,
104: John S. Dwightin, 190
Bridge, Dr. Frederick, 266, 272
British Magazine, 92
Brixham, Lower, 170
Brook Farm, 190
Brooke, Rev. John T., 56, 58
Brooks, Rev. Dr. Arthur, 3
Brooks, Rev. Charles T., 179-189;
portrait of, 187 ; autograph of, 182
Brooks, Bishop Phillips : — his hymn,
41 O Little Town of Bethlehem,"
1-12 ; sketch of, 7-10 ; portrait of,
9 ; autographs of, 3, n
Broughton, 196-198
Browning, Robert, 119
Brownlie, Rev. John, 254, 262
Buckingham, Governor, 180
Butler, Rev. Dr. Henry M., 270.
Byron, 234
Calling of the sea, 270
Cambridge Divinity School, Long-
fellow and Johnson at, 138
Cambridge Intelligencer, 118
Cambridge, University of, Bishop
Wordsworth at, 202
Campbell, Thomas, 235
Carlyle, Thomas, 161, 167
Carmina Sacra, 179, 186
Carols, Christmas and Easter, 9, 153
Carrington, General Henry B., 104
Cawood, Rev. John, 214
Central Presbyterian Church (N. L.),
Philadelphia, 20
"Ceylon's isle," 72
Chambers, Rev. John, 16
Channing, Dr., 164
Chauncy, Dr. Isaac, 134
Children's hymns, 8-9, 109
Chirk, 255
Christ in Song, 246
Christian Lyre, 54
Christian Messenger, 53
Christian Observer, 66-67, 7*
Christian Review, 104
Christian, The, 43
Christian Year, 26-29, 87, ao6, 235
Christmas at Bethlehem, 2 ; at Que-
mados, Cuba, 47; Christmas carols,
9, 153 ; " Adeste Fideles," 47-48
Church, The, in hymnody, 115
Church Hymnal (Hutchins), no
Church Jfymnary (Scottish), 125, 266
Church of England hymnody, 46,64,
71, 73, 129, 152, 234-236
Church of the Covenant, Philadel-
phia, 14
Church of the Disciples, 123
Church of the Epiphany, Philadel-
phia, 14
Church of the Holy Trinity, Phila-
delphia, 2, 3, 7
Church Poetry, 51-53, 61, 230
Church Porch, 6
Church Psalmist, 17
Church Times, 109
Churchman, 105
Civil War (1861), 17, 83, 108, 180
Clarke, Rev. J. Freeman, 123
Clement of Alexandria, 244-246
Clemson, Rev. John B,, 225
Clolata (Tune), 36
Coleridge, 234
Commentary on the Whole Bible, 204
Common metre, 12
Compleat Psalmodist, 151
Composite hymns, 148
'onfirmation service, 254
Congregational Quarterly, 248
Congregationalism of the Last , Three
Hundred Years, 248
Congregationalist, 93, 246, 248
Congregationatist and Recorder, 248
Congregationalist hymnody. 46, 129,
130, 356
GENERAL INDEX
275
Consecration, 2x2 ; and art, 217
Consecration hymns, proper use of,
218
Coverdale, Myles, 160
Coxe, Bishop Arthur C., 73
Crabbe, 234
Craigie House, 140
Cross, The, in hymnody, 59, 125, 132,
177 ; (processional), 107
" Crossing the Bar," 263-272 ;
(Tune), 266
Cruciger, Kaspar, 159
Cummings, William H., 105
Curious Myths of the Middle Ages,
112
Curiosities of the Olden Time, 112
Cuyler, Rev. Dr. Theodore L., 76, 82
Dalston, 118, 119
Davies, President Samuel, 257
41 Declining Days," 171
Demeter and Other Poems, 263, 264
Dexter, Rev. Elijah, 247
Dexter, Rev. Dr. Henry M. :— his
translation, " Shepherd of Tender
Youth," 243-252; sketch of, 247-
250; portrait of, 249; autograph
of, 247
Dexter, Rev. Morton, 249
Dial, The, 1:64
Dictionary of Mymnology, 45
Didactic hymns, 210
Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield), 204
Doane, Bishop George W., 29
Doddridge, Rev. Dr. Philip, 49
" Dream of Gerontius," 93
Duffield, Rev. George (ist), 18 ;
(2nd), 18; (3rd), 18 : — his hymn,
"Stand Up for Jesus," 13-24;
sketch of, 18-21 ; portrait of, 19 ;
autographs of, 19, 23
Duffield, Rev. Samuel W., 18, 19, 20
Dwight, John S., 179-190; portrait
of, 189; autograph of, 184
Dwight '$ Journal of Music, 190
Dykes, Rev. John B., 94
Easter carols, 9, 148-153
Easter Hymn (Tune), 150
Edgworth, Thomas ,65
Ein' Feste Burg (Tune), 159
Ellerton, Rev. John, 176
Elliott, Rev. Henry Venn, 29
Enoch Arden, 269
Episcopal Recorder, 225-226, 229
Episcopal. See Protestant Episcopal.
Eton College, singing at, 34
Evan (Tune), 214
" Evangelical Catholic Church," 230
Evangelical Party, 7, 56, 86
Evans, Rev. Caleb, 194, 195, 198
Evening hymns, 176
Eventide (Tune), 173
Fairford, 32
Pall of Jerusalem, 240
Family Expositor, 49
Famous Hymns and their Authors •, 260
Faust, 189
Fazio : a Tragedy, 238
Fletcher, A., 45
Flower, Benjamin, 118
Flower, Eliza, 118, 119
Flower, Sarah. See Adams.
Flushing, L. I., 230
Fort McHenry, 59
Fort Sumter, 180, 184
Four Georges, 68
Four Happy Days, 214
Fox, Mrs. Bridell, 120, 122
Fox, Rev. William J., 118, 222, 123
Fraser's Magazine, 161
Frederick, Md., 55, 56
Frederick (Tune), 226, 229
Froude, Hurrell, 88-89
Fur ness, Dr. William Henry, i6a
Gaine, Hugh, 161
Geard (Tune), 44-45
Gems of German Verse^ 163
Georgetown, D. C., Mr. Key in, 56
German hymnody, 98-99, 160, 161,
180
2/6
GENERAL INDEX
Germany \ Prose Writers of, 164
Gill, Dr. John, 43
Gillies, Margaret, 121
Gladstone, 114, 262
God Save the King (Tune), 101, 105,
181
Goddard, Rev. Kingston, 17
Goethe, 189
Golden. Legend, 167
Goostfy Psalmes and Spiritua.ll
Songes, 160
Gordelier, Charles, 44
" Gospel " for the day, 241
Gould. See Baring-Gould
Gould, Eliza, 119
Gower, Lord Ronald, 86
Graf ton, Life of Joseph, 104
Gratitude, Christian, in hymns, 52, 59
Greek hymns, 244, 250
Greenland (Tune), 24
Greenwood, Rev. F. W. P., 30
Grey, Lord, 88
Guild, Lieutenant-Colonel Curtis, Jr.,
47
Gustavus Adolphus, 159
Hale, Rev. Edward E., 138
Hallam, Arthur, 269
Hare, Augustus, 70
Harrow, Bishop Wordsworth at, 203
Hartopp, Sir John, 133
Harvard University, Dr. Hedge's
connection with, 163 ; class of 1829,
98
Hastings, H. L., 43-44, 4&
Hastings, Thomas, 54, 78
Havergal, Frances R., 200: — her
hymn, " Take My Life, and Let it
Be," 211-220 ; sketch of, 214-218 ;
portrait of, 215 ; autograph of, 213
Havergal, Miss M. V. G., 217, 219
Havergal, Rev. William H., 214, 217
Hawarden, 262
Haydn's tune, St. Alban, 109
Heber, Bishop Reginald : — his hymn,
" From Greenland's Icy Moun-
tains," 63-74; sketch of, 68-72;
portrait of, 69 ; autographs of, 65,
69; his Hymns, 71, 234-236, 242
Hedge, Rev. Fred. H. : — his transla-
tion, " A Mighty Fortress is Our
God," 155-168 ; sketch of, 162-
167 ; portrait of, 165 ; autograph
of, 162 ; reference to, 246
Heine, 159
Hcnshaw, Sarah E., 180, 185-186
Hepworth, Rev. George IL, 80
Hesperus, 189
Hickson, William E., 185
Higginson, Thomas W., 141
High Church Party, 30, 32, 56, 71, 87,
no, 204, 241
Hints on the Formation of JReligious
Opinions, 81
History of Christianity, 240
History of the Jews, 240
History of Latin Christianity, 240
Hitchcock, Rev. Dr, Roswell D,, no
Hodge, Rev, Dr. Charles, 49
Hodnet, 70
Hogg, Mrs. A. M., 171, 176
Holmes, Dr. Oliver Wendell, 98, 105,
123, 144
Holy Year, 202, 206-208, 210
Home and School Hymnal, 266
Home, or the Unlost Paradise, 81
Hooper, George H., 258
Horder, Rev. W. Garrett, 46, 196
How, Bishop W. Walsham, 124, 270
Howard, Mary W., 67-68
Hunt, Leigh, 121
Huntington, Rev. Frederick D,, 156,
%66, 246
Huntington, Rev. George, 94
Huntington, Rev, Dr. William R.,
5.6
Hursley, 32; (Tune), 36
Hutchins, Rev. Dr. Charles L., no
" Hymn for My Brother's Ordina-
tion," 138, 142
Hymn Lover, The, 46
Hymnal Companion^ 94
GENERAL INDEX
277
Hymnal, Presbyterian (1874), 54, no
Hymnal, The (1895). See Preface
(to this book reference is made
throughout as the textual standard) ;
its notes to the hymns, 154
Hymnal of the Presbyterian Church
(1866), 124, 246
Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal
Church (1872), no, 256; (1892),
6, 106, 124, 231, 236
Hymnology, Julian's Dictionary of, 45
Hymns : —
alterations of, 22, 34, 93, 106, 124,
259
Biblical language in, 48-49, 146,
246
churchly, 205
composite, 148
didactic, 210
egotistical, 205, 209
form proper to, 12, 271
literary merit of, 125, 135, 234,
256, 267
as liturgical verse, 206, 257
and lyrical poetry, 256
memorizing of, 9-10
military, 21, 108
of personal experience, 77, 205,
209
poetic merit of, 73, 84, 125, 234,
256
prejudice against, 128 ; introduc-
tion into Church of England,
64, 71, 129, 152, 234-236; in-
troduction into American Con-
gregational and Presbyterian
Churches, 129, 237
private use of, 195, 205, 231
processional, 115
vs. Psalms, 128
teaching-power of, 206, 209
translated, 161, 250
of Watts as models for his suc-
cessors, 128
Bishop Wordsworth on the char-
acter of, 205
Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861),
109, no, 173, 177," Appendix to
(1868), 93, 94, 108, 109, no
Hymns and Anthems, 118, 122-123
Hymns and Sacred Pieces, 76, 81
Hymns and Songs of Praise, no
Hymns and Spiritual Songs (Watts) ,
127-129, 200, 237 ; see frontispiece.
'Hymns for the Church of Christ, 156,
163, 166, 246
Hymns of My Holy Hours, 81
Hymns of the' Protestant Episcopal
Church (1827), 54, 221, 226, 229,
236
Hymns of the Spirit, 137, 142, 143
Hymns Written, and Adapted to the
Weekly Church Service, 71, 234-
236, 242
Iceland : Its Scenes and its Sagas, 112
Imitations of the Psalms^ by Watts,
129
In Memoriam, 267, 272
Independent, 105, 106
India, 70, 73
Ingoldsby Legends, 238
Instructor, The, 245
Jacobi, J. C., 161
Jayne's Hall Meetings, Philadelphia,
14, 22
John, Elector of Saxony, 158
"John Brown's Body," 180
Johnson, Dr., 134
Johnson, Rev. Samuel, 92, 137, 138
Jonas, Dr. Justus, 159 *
Jones, Francis Arthur, 237, 260
Journal of a Voyage to India, 72
Jowett, Rev. Dr. Benjamin, 267
Julian, Rev. Dr. John, 43, 45
Juvenile Lyre, loi
« K. " in Rippon's " Selection,"
38, 40-46
Keats, 234
Keble (Tune), 36
278
GENERAL INDEX
Keble, Rev. John : — his hymn, "Sun
of My Soul, Thou Saviour Dear,"
25~3^ J sketch of, 30-34 ; portrait
of, 31 ; autograph of, 27 ; references
to, 87, 92, 96, 177, 206-207, 235
Keene, R., 43, 44, 45, 48
Keith, George, 43
Ken, Bishop, 34
Key, Francis S. : — his hymn, " Lord,
with Glowing Heart I'd Praise
Thee," 51-61 ; sketch of, 55-59 ;
portrait of, 57 ; autographs of, 53,
57
Key, John Ross, 55
Kingsley, Rev. Charles, 92
Kingsley, George, 226, 229
" Kirkham," 42
Kostlin, Julius, 158
Kunze, Rev. Dr. John C., 161
Lancashire (Tune), 24
Lancaster, Pa., Dr. Muhlenberg at,
224, 230
Latin hymns, 47, 93, 148, 149, 250
Leavitt, Rev. Joshua, 54
Lee, General Robert EM 48
Legends of the Old Testament, 112
Leipzig, Battle of, 159
Lew Trenchard, 112, 114
Liberal hymns, 144; Singers and
Songs of the Liberal Faith, 181,
186, 188
Lick, James, 58
Literary merit in hymns, 125, 135,
234, 256, 267
Liturgical poetry, 206, 257
Lives of the Saints ; 112
Lloyd, Mary Tayloe, 56
London, Milman in, 241
Longfellow, Henry W., 138, 140, 142,
167
Longfellow, Rev. Samuel, 92, 123 : —
his hymn, " O Still in Accents Sweet
and Strong," 137-146; sketch of,
138-143 ; portrait of, 141 ; auto-
graph of, 145
Lord's Day hymns, 208, 209
Lover 's Tale, 266
Loyal Responses, 217
Luther, Dr. Martin : — his hymn,
" Ein' Feste Burg ist Unser Gott,"
155-168 ; portrait and autograph
of, 157
Lutheran hymnocly, 160, 161
Liitzen, Battle of, 159
Lux Benigna (Time), 94
Lyra Apostolica, 85, 91, 92
Lyra Davidica, 149-151, 160
Lyra, Irtnocentium^ 33
Lyre, The. Christian, 54
Lyrical poetry and hymns, 256
Lyte, Rev. Henry F. : — his hymn,
" Abide with Me," 169-178 ; sketch
of, 173-176; portrait of, 175 ; auto-
graphs of, 171, 175
McCauley, Richard, 5
Macgill, Rev. H. M., 251
Macllvaine, Bishop, 16
McKinley, President, 125
Maclaren, Ian, 135
Magnificat, 244
Manchester, N. H., Dr. Dexter at,
246
Mann, Dr. M. D., 125
Manning, Cardinal, 202
Marseillaise, The, 159
Martineau, Harriet, 119
Martyr of Antioch, 235, 240
Mary, the Song of, 244
Mason, Lowell ;— beginning of his
career, 68 ; in Boston, 78, 99, 101,
124, 184; references to, 82, 84, 179,
183, 186, 187, 188, 208
Maude, Mary F. :— her hymn,
"Thine For Everl" 353-262;
sketch of, 258 ; portrait of, 259 \
autographs of, 255, 259
Maude, Rev, Joseph, s»$8
Meade, Bishop, 58
Melancholy poetry, 222
Melanchthon, 159
GENERAL INDEX
279
Memorials of a Quiet Life, 70 I
Memorials of Past Years, 258
Mendebras (Tune), 208
Merle d'Aubigne\ 158
Military hymns, their popularity, ax,
108
Milman, Arthur, 238, 241
Milman, Sir Francis, 238
Milman, Dean Henry HM 71 :—his
hymn, " O Help Us, Lord," 233-
242 ; sketch of, 238-241 ; portrait
of, 239 ; autographs of, 237, 239
Milnor, Rev. Dr. James, 77
Ministry of Song, 217
Missionary Hymn (Tune), 68
Missionary hymns, 64, 68, 73-74
Missionary movement in nineteenth
century, 73
Missionary Sketches, 104
Mitford, Miss., 238
Monk, William Henry, 173
Montgomery, James, 128, 235
Monthly Repository, 120
" Moonlight Sonata," 216
Moore, Thomas, 235
Morbid views of life in hymns, 222,
231
Morgan, Rev. John, 130
Muhlenberg, Frederick A., 229-230
Muhlenberg, Rev. Dr. Henry M., 229
Muhlenberg, Rev. Dr. William A.,
51-54, 61 : — his hymn, " I Would
Not Live Alway," 221-232; sketch
of, 229-231 ; portrait of, 229 ; auto-
graphs of, 225, 229
Murray, John, 234
Musical Times, no
Nash, Sylvester, 52
National Anthem, the, 105 ; national
hymn, 102, 105, 179
Nelson, Horatio, Earl, 33
New York, Ray Palmer in, 76-77;
Dr. Muhlenberg in, 230
Newark, Ray Palmer in, 80
Newdigate prize, 69, 238
Newman, John, 86
Newman, Cardinal John H,, 31,
32 : — his hymn, " Lead, Kindly
Light," 85-96 ; sketch of, 86-93;
portraits of, 87, 95; autograph of,
91
Newton Centre, Dr. Smith at, 102
Newton, Mass., History of, 104
Nice, Lyte's grave at, 172, 175
Noonday prayer-meetings in Phila-
delphia, 14
North, Christopher, 175, 267
Old Diaries, 86
Oliphant,,Mrs. M. O. W., 272
Olivet (Tune), 78
Onderdonk, Bishop Henry U., 226
Origin and Development of Religious
Belief, 112
Other-wordliness, 231
Outlook, 99
Oxford movement, 32, 92
Oxford University, Keble and New-
man at, 30-32, 87, 91-92; Heber
at, 69 ; Milman at, 238
Palermo, 90
Palestine, 67, 69
Palmer, Rev. Dr. Ray : — his hymn,
" My Faith Looks Up to Thee,"
75-84 ; sketch of, 80-83 \ portrait
of, 83 ; autograph of, 79
Palmer, Roundell (Lord Selborne),
34
Palmer, Thomas, 80
Pantaenus, 245
Park Street Church, Boston, 80, 101
Parker, Theodore, 138
Parlor music era of psalmody, 226
Patmos (Tune), 214 220
Peel, Sir Robert, 203
Philadelphia, "The Work of God"
in, 14-17 ; Phillips Brooks in, 2-5,
7; Dr. Duffield in, 20
Pick, Rev. Dr. Bernhard, 161
Pilgrim Fathers, 105-106, 348
280
GENERAL INDEX
Plymouth, 248
Plymouth Collection, 30, 124, 173
Poems by Two Brothers, 266
Poems Chiefly Lyrical, 267
Poetic merit in hymns, 73, 84, 125,
234. aS6
Portland, the Longfellows in, 138
Portuguese Hymn (Tune), 47
Prayer Book, 10, 27,28, 152, 206, 241,
254
Prayer JBook Collection, 10, 109
Presbyterian Historical Society, 55
Presbyterian Hymnal (1866), 124,
246; (1874). 54, no; (1895), M
Preface (to this book all textual
references are made) ; its notes to
the hymns, 154
Presbyterian hymnody, 46, 54, 106,
no, 125, 129, 173, 177, 256, 266
Price, Rev. Mr,, 130
Processionals, 115
Professor at the Breakfast Table, 123
Promise of May, 267
Proper tunes, 46-48, 153
Protestant Episcopal Church, Hymns
of, (1827), 54, 221, 226, 229, 236
Protestant Episcopal Hymnal (1872),
110,256; (1892), 6, 106, 124, 231,
236
Protestant Episcopal hymnody, 6, 52,
54, 106, 109-110, 194, 223, 226, 230,
236
Psalm XLVI., 160, 167
Psalmist, 104, 236
Psalmodia Germanica, 161
Psalmody, Havergal's, 217
Psalms as the only subject matter of
praise, 128
Psalms imitated by Watts, 129
Psalms, metrical, 71, 128, 152, 194;
Keble's version, 33 ; Tate and
Brady's, 147, 152
Psalms and Hymns (Prayer Book
Collection), 10, 109
Psaltery, 187
Pusey, Dr., 32"
Putnam's Singers and Songs of the
Liberal Faith, 181, 186, 188
Quarterly Review, 70, 234
Quemados, Cuba, Christmas at, 47
Radical hymns, 142, 144
Raffles, Rev. Dr. Thomas, 66
Random jRecoZleetiotis, 94
Reading, John, 46
R 'ead 'ing Daily Times, 167
Rebellion (1861), 17. 83, 108, 180
Recollections of a Long Life, 82
Redner, Lewis II., 3-6, n; portrait
of, 5 ; autograph of, 7
Reed, Rev. Andrew, 78
Reformation, the, 158-160; Merle
d'Aubignd's History of, 158
Resurrection of Christ, 147
Revival of 1857-58, 14.
Revolutionary War, 18, 109
Richter, 189
Rippon, Rev. John, 38, 44 ; portrait
of. 39
Rippon's Selection, 38-42, 46, 194
Rippoijs Tune Book, 43
Robinson, Rev. Dr. Charles S., 92-
93, 208, 256
Rock of Ages, 104
Roman Catholic hymnody, 47, 86
Rowe, Rev. Thomas, 132
Royal Progress, The, xso
Russell, Joshua T., 53
Saobath Hymn Book, 17, 22, 30, 236
Sa&oatfa ffymn and Tune Book, 24,
124
San Francisco, 58
St. Alban (Tune), 109
St. Gertrude (Tune), no
St. Johnland, 230, 231
St. Louis (Tune), 4, 5
St. Luke's Hospital, N. Y., 230-231
St. Mary's, Oxford, 87
St. Paul's, London, 241
Salisbury Hymn Book, 29, 33
GENERAL INDEX
28l
Samor, 240
Saturday Club, 190
Savannah, Ga., Lowell Mason in,
• 67-68
Schaff, Rev. Dr. Philip, no, 222, 246
Scherer, W., 158
Scott, Sir Walter, 69, 235, 236
Scottish Church Hymnary, 125, 266
Scripture, Holy, in hymnody, 199
Sedgwick, Daniel, 42-43, 185, 195
Selborne, Lord(Roundell Palmer), 34
Shelley, 234
Shipley, Dean, 64
Sicily, Newman in, 89
Sidney, Sir Philip, 76
Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith,
181, 186, 188
Singing Master, 185
Slavery, Mr. Key and, 157-158
Smith, Rev. Dr. Samuel F.:— his
hymn, "America," 97-106; sketch
of, 102-104 ; portrait of, 103 ; auto-
graph of, 100
Songs for the Sanctuary, 92, 208, 256
Songs of Grace and Glory, 212, 217
Songs of Pilgrimage, 43-44
Songs of the West, 112
Southey, Robert, 235, 236
Spalatin, 156
Spanish War, 47
Spirit of the Psalms, 176
Spiritual Songs for Social Worship,
78, 84, 101
Stanley, Dean, 20
Star Spangled Banner, 52, 55, 58
Steele, Anne : — her hymn, ° Father
of Mercies, in Thy Word," 191-
200 ; sketch of, 196-198 ; autograph
of, 193
Steele, William, 196
Stewart, Benedict D., 17
Stockton, Rev. Thomas H., 16
Stone, Rev. Samuel J., 115
Strand Magazine, 237
Sullivan, Sir Arthur, no, 176
Sun of My Soul (Tune), 36
Sunday hymns, 208, 209
Sunday-school hymnody, 3, 6, 99,
109, no
Sunday School Times, 47
Sursum Corda, 195
Tabb, John B., 270
Tales on the Lord's Prayer, 175
Tate and Brady's Version of the
Psalms, 147, 152
Taylor, Jeremy, 70
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 73, 217 : —
his hymn, " Sunset and Evening
Star," 263-272 ; sketch of, 266-
268 ; portrait of, 269 ; autograph
of, 265
Tennyson, Charles, 266
Tennyson, Hallam (2nd Lord), 272;
his Memoir of his father, 264, 268
Tennyson, Lionel, 269
Thackeray, 68
Theobalds, 134
Theodosia, 191, 192, 195, 200
Thine For Ever (Tune), 262
Thorn, John H., 28
Thoughtless hymn singing, 34, 125
Titan, 189
Toplady, Rev. Augustus M., 131
Transcendental movement, 164
Translated hymns, 161, 250
Trinity Church, Boston, 8 ; its parish
hymn book, 194
Tunes : —
Abends, 36
Adeste Fideles, 47
America, 101, 105, 181
Bethany, 124
Clolata, 36
Crossing the Bar, 266
Easter Hymn, 150
Ein" Feste Burg, 159
Evan, 214
Eventide, 173
Frederick, 226, 229
Geard, 44-45
God Save the King, 101, 105, 181
282
GENERAL INDEX
Tunes : —
Greenland, 24
Hursley, 36
Keble, 36
Lancashire, 24
Lux Benigna, 94
Mendebras, 208
Missionary Hymn, 68
Olivet, 78
Patmos, 214, 220
Portuguese Hymn, 47
St. Alban, 109
St. Gertrude, no
St. Louis, 4, 5
Sun of My Soul, 36
Thine For Ever, 262
'Twas When the Seas Were
Roaring, 66
Webb, 24
Zoan, 214
Tunes : — of Anglican school, 68, no;
of parlor music era, 226; "proper,"
46-48, IS3-I54
'Twas When the Seas Were Roaring
(Tune), 66
Twells, Canon Henry, 136
Twelve Letters on Confirmation^ 258
Tyler, General Daniel, 180
Tyng( Rev. Dudley A., 14-18, 22;
portrait of, 15
Tyng, Rev. Dr. Stephen H., 18
Under the Surface, 217
Unitarian hymnody, 30, 138, 142, 144,
166, 236
Verses on Various Occasions, 85
Vivia Perpetua, 120
Voices of Hope and Gladness t 81
Walker, Thomas, 43-45
Walsh, J.f 149
War of Revolution, 18,109; of 1812,
58 ; of Rebellion, 17, 83, 108, 180 ;
Spanish, 47
Ward, Ann M., 81
Ward, Rev. Dr. William Hayes, 80
Watson, Rev. Dr. John, 135
Watts, Enoch, 130
Watts, Dr. Isaac, 38, X28-I29, 200,
234, 237 ; — his hymn, " When I
Survey the Wondrous Cross," 127-
136 ; sketch of, 132-134 ; portrait off
133 ; autographs of, 131, 133 ; title-
page of his Hymns, frontispiece.
Watts and Select, 237
Webb (Tune), 24
Webb, W. Trego, 270
Weimar, 159
Wellington, Duke of, 202
Wendte, Rev. C. W., 181
Wesley, Rev. Charles, 153, 154
Wesley, Rev. John, 135
Wesley an hymnody, 46
Westminster Abbey, Bishop Words-
worth at, 203 ; Tennyson's funeral
in, 264, 272
Westminster Church, Bloomfield, N.
J-,19
White, Bishop William, 226, 230
Whitefield, Rev. George, 45
Whittier, 139, 168
Wiseman, Monsignor, 89
Wittenberg, 158-159
Woodbridge, William C., 98
Wordsworth, Rev. Dr. Christopher,
202
Wordsworth, Bishop Christopher: —
his hymn, " O Day of Rest and
Gladness," 201-210; sketch of,
202-206 ; portrait of, 203 ; auto-
graph of, 207 ; reference to, 257
Wordsworth, William, 206, 235, 271
Worgan, Dr., 151
"Work of God in Philadelphia/'
14-17
Worms, Luther at, 156
Wrexham, 64-66
Young Men's Christian Association,
14
Zimmerman, Thomas I,» 167
Zoan (Tune), 214
INDEX OF FIRST LINES OF HYMNS
[ Those which are the subjects of the Studies are printed in Italics^
PAGE
A mighty Fortress is our God 155-168
Abide with me : fast falls the eventide 169-178
Adeste fideles « 47
Again, as evening's shadow falls 144
All praise to Thee, my God, this night 34
Almighty God, Thy word is cast 214
Arm these, Thy soldiers, mighty Lord 257
Beneath Thine hammer, Lord, I lie 166
Bridle of untamed colts 250
Christ to the young man said 138, 142
Eiri J?este Burg ist Unser Gott 155-168
JFather of mercies, in Thy word 191-200
Father, whate'er of earthly bliss 195
JProm Greenland" s icy mountains 63—74, 234
Glory to Thee, my God, this night 34
God bless our native land 106, 1 79-190
God save our gracious king 101, 105, 181
God, the Lord, a King remaineth 33
Golden harps are sounding 217
Hark ! what mean those holy voices 214
Holy Spirit, Truth Divine 144
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord 37"~S°
/ would not live alway ; I ask not to stay 22 1-232
In songs of sublime adoration and praise 40
283
284 INDEX OF FIRST LINES OF HYMNS
PAGE
Jesus, I nay cross have taken 1 76
Jesus Christ is risen to-day 147-154
Just as I am, without one plea 29
Lead) kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom
85-96, 126, 138, 271
Lord, I am Thine, entirely Thine 257
Lord, with glowing heart Fd praise Thee 5 1-61
My country ) 'tis of thee 97—106
My faith looks up to Thee 75-84
Nearer, my God, to Thee , 117-126
New every morning is the love * 28
Now I resolve with all my heart 195
Now the day is over , . , . 114
Now, when the dusky shades of night, retreating .... 1 66
O come, all ye faithful 47
O day of rest and gladness 20 1-210
O help us, Lord ; each hour of need , . . 233—242
O little town of Bethlehem 1-12
O still in accents sweet and strong , 13 7—146
Onward, Christian soldiers 107-116
Praise to the Holiest in the height 93
Ride on, ride on in majesty , 235, 242
Rock of Ages, cleft for me 131
Saviour, sprinkle many nations 73
Shepherd of tender youth » 243— 25 2
Stand up for Jesus ! Strengthen' d by His hand 17
Stand up, stand up for fesus *3"~23> "5
Sun of my soul, Thou Saviour dear 2S~36j *77
Sunset and evening star 263—272
Surrexit Christus hodie 148
Take my life, and let it be 21 1-220
The Bible is justly esteemed 40
The Church's one Foundation 115
The morning light is breaking , . 104
INDEX OF FIRST LINES OF ffYMNS 285
PAGE
The voice that breathed o'er Eden 33
Thine for ever / God of love 253-262
Thou Framer of the light and dark , . 29
Through the night of doubt and sorrow ,114
Thyself, Lord, be the Bridle 251
'Tis gone, that bright and orbed blaze 28, 30
'Twas the day when God's Anointed 166
What a Friend we have in Jesus 43
When I survey the wondrous cross 127-136
When our heads are bowed with woe 242
116616