PART IVENGLISH HYMNODYKen’s Immortal Evening HymnGlory to Thee, my God, this night,For all the blessings of the light:Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,Beneath Thine own almighty wings.Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son,The ill that I this day have done:That, with the world, myself, and Thee,I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.Teach me to live, that I may dreadThe grave as little as my bed;To die, that this vile body mayRise glorious at the judgment day.O then shall I in endless day,When sleep and death have passed away,With all Thy saints and angels singIn endless praise to Thee, my King.Thomas Ken, 1695.THE DAWN OF HYMNODY IN ENGLANDOwing to the strong prejudice in the Reformed Church to hymns of “human composure,” the development of hymnody in England, as well as other countries where Calvin’s teachings were accepted, was slow. Crude paraphrases of the Psalms, based on the Genevan Psalter, appeared from the hands of various versifiers and were used generally in the churches of England and Scotland. It was not until 1637, more than a century after Luther had published his first hymn-books, that England’s first hymn-writer was born. He was Bishop Thomas Ken.This first sweet singer in the early dawn of English hymnody holds the distinction of having written the most famous doxology of the Christian Church. It is the so-called “long meter” doxology:Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;Praise Him, all creatures here below;Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.His sublime evening hymn, “Glory to Thee, my God, this night,” is ranked as one of the four masterpieces of English praise. His beautiful morning hymn, “Awake, my soul, and with the sun,” is scarcely less deserving of high distinction. As originally written, both hymns closed with the famous doxology given above.Bishop Ken looms as a heroic figure during turbulent times in English history. Left an orphan in early childhood,he was brought up by his brother-in-law, the famous fisherman, Izaak Walton. Ken’s name has been found cut in one of the stone pillars at Winchester, where he went to school as a boy.When, in 1679, the wife of William of Orange, the niece of the English monarch, asked Charles II, king of England, to send an English chaplain to the royal court at The Hague, Ken was selected for the position. However, he was so outspoken in denouncing the corrupt lives of those in authority in the Dutch capitol that he was compelled to leave the following year. Charles thereupon appointed him one of his own chaplains.Ken continued to reveal the same spirit of boldness, however, rebuking the sins of the dissolute English monarch. On one occasion, when Charles asked the courageous pastor to give up his own dwelling temporarily in order that Nell Gwynne, a notorious character, might be housed, Ken answered promptly: “Not for the King’s kingdom.”Instead of punishing the bold and faithful minister, Charles so admired his courage that he appointed him bishop of Bath and Wells.Charles always referred to Ken as “the good little man” and, when it was chapel time, he would usually say: “I must go in and hear Ken tell me of my faults.”When Charles died, and the papist James II came to the throne, Ken, together with six other bishops, was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Although he was acquitted, he was later removed from his bishopric by William III.The last years of his life were spent in a quiet retreat, and he died in 1711 at the age of seventy-four years. He had requested that “six of the poorest men in the parish” should carry him to his grave, and this was done. It wasalso at his request that he was buried under the east window of the chancel of Frome church, the service being held at sunrise. As his body was lowered into its last resting-place, and the first light of dawn came through the chancel window, his friends sang his immortal morning hymn:Awake, my soul, and with the sunThy daily stage of duty run.Shake off dull sloth, and joyful riseTo pay thy morning sacrifice.Wake and lift up thyself, my heart,And with the angels bear thy part,Who all night long unwearied singHigh praise to the eternal King.All praise to Thee, who safe hast kept,And hast refreshed me while I slept:Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,I may of endless life partake.It is said that after Bishop Ken had written this hymn, he sang it to his own accompaniment on the lute every morning as a part of his private devotion. Although he wrote many other hymns, only this one and his evening hymn have survived. The two hymns were published in a devotional book prepared for the students of Winchester College. In this work Bishop Ken urged the students to sing the hymns devoutly in their rooms every morning and evening.The historian Macaulay paid Ken a beautiful tribute when he said that he came as near to the ideal of Christian perfection “as human weakness permits.”It was during the life-time of Bishop Ken that Joseph Addison, the famous essayist, was publishing the “Spectator.” Addison was not only the leading literary light of his time,but a devout Christian as well. From time to time he appended a poem to the charming essays which appeared in the “Spectator,” and it is from this source that we have received five hymns of rare beauty. They are the so-called “Creation” hymn, “The spacious firmament on high,” which Haydn included in his celebrated oratorio; the Traveler’s hymn, beginning with the line, “How are Thy servants blest, O Lord”; and three other hymns, almost equally well-known: “The Lord my pasture shall prepare,” “When rising from the bed of death,” and “When all Thy mercies, O my God.” The latter contains one of the most striking expressions in all the realm of hymnody:Through all eternity to TheeA joyful song I’ll raise:But oh, eternity’s too shortTo utter all Thy praise!In the essay introducing this hymn, Addison writes: “If gratitude is due from man to man, how much more from man to his Maker. The Supreme Being does not only confer upon us those bounties which proceed immediately from His hand, but even those benefits which are conveyed to us by others. Any blessing which we enjoy, by what means soever derived, is the gift of Him who is the great Author of Good and the Father of Mercies.”The Traveler’s hymn, “How are Thy servants blessed, O Lord,” was written after Addison’s return from a perilous voyage on the Mediterranean.In addition to his literary pursuits, Addison also occupied several important positions of state with the English government. He died on June 17, 1719, at the age of forty-seven. When he was breathing his last, he called for theEarl of Warwick and exclaimed: “See in what peace a Christian can die!”The hymns of Addison and Bishop Ken may be regarded as the heralds of a new day in the worship of the Reformed Church. While Addison was still writing his essays and verses for the “Spectator,” Isaac Watts, peer of all English hymnists, was already tuning his lyre of many strings. Psalmody was beginning to yield to hymnody.The Pearl of English HymnodyWhen I survey the wondrous crossOn which the Prince of glory died,My richest gain I count but loss,And pour contempt on all my pride.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.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!Were the whole realm of nature mine,That were a tribute far too small;Love so amazing, so divine,Demands my soul, my life, my all.Isaac Watts, 1707.ISAAC WATTS, FATHER OF ENGLISH HYMNODYBy universal consent the title, “Father of English Hymnody,” is bestowed upon Isaac Watts. English hymns had been written before the time of Watts, notably the beautiful classics of Ken and Addison; but it remained for the genius of Watts to break the iron rule of psalmody in the Reformed Church which had continued uninterrupted since the days of Calvin.Watts was born in Southampton, England, July 17, 1674. His father was a “dissenter,” and twice was imprisoned for his religious views. This was during the time when Isaac was still a baby, and the mother often carried the future poet in her arms when she went to visit her husband in prison.When Isaac grew up, a wealthy man offered to give him a university education if he would consent to become a minister in the Established Church. This he refused to do, but prepared instead for the Independent ministry.Early in life young Watts had revealed signs of poetic genius. As a boy of seven years he had amused his parents with his rhymes. As he grew older he became impatient with the wretched paraphrases of the Psalms then in use in the Reformed churches. These views were shared generally by those who possessed a discriminating taste in poetry. “Scandalous doggerel” was the term applied by Samuel Wesley, father of the famous Wesley brothers, to the versifiedPsalms of Sternhold and Hopkins, who had published the most popular psalm-book of the day.When young Watts ventured to voice his displeasure over the psalm-singing in his father’s church in Southampton, one of the church officers retorted: “Give us something better, young man.” Although he was only eighteen years old at the time, he accepted the challenge and wrote his first hymn, which was sung at the following Sunday evening services. The first stanza seems prophetic of his future career:Behold the glories of the LambAmidst His Father’s throne;Prepare new honors for His Name,And songs before unknown.The hymn met with such favorable reception that the youthful poet was encouraged to write others, and within the next two years he produced nearly all of the 210 hymns that constituted his famous collection, “Hymns and Spiritual Songs,” published in 1707. This was the first real hymn-book in the English language.Twelve years later he published his “Psalms of David,” a metrical version of the Psalter, but, as he himself stated, rendered “in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship.” Indeed, the Psalms were given such a distinctively Christian flavor that their Old Testament origin is often overlooked. Witness, for example, the opening lines of his rendition of the Seventy-second Psalm:Jesus shall reign where’er the sunDoes his successive journeys run.In addition to being a preacher and a poet, Watts was an ardent student of theology and philosophy, and wrote several notable books. Always frail in health from childhood, his intense studies finally resulted in completely shattering his constitution, and he was compelled to give up his parish.During this period of physical distress, the stricken poet was invited to become a guest for a week in the home of Sir Thomas Abney, an intimate friend and admirer. The friendship continued to grow, and inasmuch as Watts did not improve in health, he was urged to remain. He finally so endeared himself to the Abney family that they refused to let him go, and he who had come to spend a week remained for the rest of his life—thirty-six years!The great hymnist died on November 25, 1748, and was buried at Bunhill Fields, London, near the graves of John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe. A monument to his memory was placed in Westminster Abbey, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an Englishman.To Isaac Watts we are indebted for some of our most sublime hymns. “When I survey the wondrous cross” has been named by Matthew Arnold as the finest hymn in the English language, and most critics concur in the judgment. Certainly it is one of the most beautiful. John Julian, the noted hymnologist, declares that it must be classified with the four hymns that stand at the head of all English hymns.Other hymns of Watts continue to hold their grip on the Christian Church after the passing of two centuries. No Christmas service seems complete without singing his beautiful paraphrase of the ninety-eighth Psalm, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” Another hymn, “O God, our help in ages past,” based on the ninetieth Psalm, is indispensableat New Year’s time. Then there is the majestic hymn of worship, “Before Jehovah’s awful throne,” as well as the appealing Lenten hymn, “Alas, and did my Saviour bleed?” And who has not been stirred by the challenge in “Am I a soldier of the cross?” Other hymns by Watts include such favorites as “There is a land of pure delight,” “Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove,” “O that the Lord would guide my ways,” “My dear Redeemer and my Lord,” “How beauteous are their feet,” “Come, sound His praise abroad,” “My soul, repeat His praise,” “O bless the Lord, my soul,” “Lord of the worlds above,” “Lord, we confess our numerous faults,” “In vain we seek for peace with God,” “Not all the blood of beasts,” “So let our lips and lives express,” “The Lord my Shepherd is,” and “When I can read my title clear.”Although Watts never married, he deeply loved little children, and he is the author of some of the most famous nursery rhymes in the English language. The profound genius that produced “O God, our help in ages in past” also understood how to appeal to the childish mind by means of such happy little jingles as, “How doth the little busy bee” and “Let dogs delight to bark and bite,” as well as by the exquisite cradle-song:Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber;Holy angels guard thy bed;Heavenly blessings without numberGently falling on thy head.Sleep, my babe, thy food and raiment,House and home, thy friends provide;All without thy care or payment,All thy wants are well supplied.How much better thou’rt attendedThan the Son of God could be,When from heaven He descended,And became a child like thee.Soft and easy is thy cradle,Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay,When His birthplace was a stable,And His softest bed the hay.Seeking the Heavenly PrizeAwake, my soul, stretch every nerve,And press with vigor on;A heavenly race demands thy zeal,And an immortal crown.A cloud of witnesses aroundHold thee in full survey:Forget the steps already trod,And onward urge thy way.’Tis God’s all-animating voiceThat calls thee from on high;’Tis His own hand presents the prizeTo thine aspiring eye:That prize with peerless glories brightWhich shall new luster boast,When victors’ wreaths and monarchs’ gemsShall blend in common dust.Blest Saviour, introduced by Thee,Have I my race begun;And, crowned with victory, at Thy feetI’ll lay my honors down.Philip Doddridge(1702-1751).DODDRIDGE: PREACHER, TEACHER AND HYMNISTPhilip Doddridge was one of England’s gifted evangelical preachers. Like the Wesley brothers, he came from a large family. While there were nineteen children in the Wesley family, Philip Doddridge was the last of twenty children.The religious background of the Doddridge family was significant. Although his father was an oil merchant in London, his grandfather had been one of the Independent ministers under the Commonwealth who were ejected in 1662. Both of his parents were pious people, and Philip, who was born June 26, 1702, was brought up in a religious atmosphere.He was such a delicate child that his life was despaired of almost from birth. His parents died while he was yet quite young, but kind friends cared for the orphan boy and sent him to school.Because he revealed such unusual gifts as a student, the Duchess of Bedford offered to give him a university training on condition that he would become a minister of the Church of England. This, however, Philip declined to do, and he entered a nonconformist seminary instead.At the age of twenty-one years he was ordained as pastor of the Independent congregation at Kibworth, England. Six years later he began his real life work at Northampton, where he served as the head of a theological training school and preached in the local congregation.To this school came young men from all parts of the British Isles and even from the continent. Most of them prepared to become ministers in the Independent Church. Doddridge himself was practically the whole faculty. Among his subjects were Hebrew, Greek, Algebra, Philosophy, Trigonometry, Logic, and theological branches.As a hymn-writer Doddridge ranks among the foremost in England. He was a friend and admirer of Isaac Watts, whose hymns at this time had set all England singing. In some respects his lyrics resemble those of Watts. Although they do not possess the strength and majesty found in the latter’s hymns, they have more personal warmth and tenderness. Witness, for instance, the children’s hymn:See Israel’s gentle Shepherd standWith all-engaging charms;Hark! how He calls the tender lambs,And folds them in His arms.Note also the spiritual joy that is reflected in the hymn so often used at confirmation:O happy day, that stays my choiceOn Thee, my Saviour and my God!Well may this glowing heart rejoice,And tell its raptures all abroad.Something of Doddridge’s own confiding trust in God is expressed in the beautiful lines:Shine on our souls, eternal God!With rays of beauty shine;O let Thy favor crown our days,And all their round be Thine.Did we not raise our hands to Thee,Our hands might toil in vain;Small joy success itself could give,If Thou Thy love restrain.Other noted hymns by Doddridge include such gems as “Hark, the glad sound, the Saviour comes,” “Great God, we sing that mighty hand,” “O Fount of good, to own Thy love,” and “Father of all, Thy care we bless.”Doddridge wrote about four hundred hymns. Most of them were composed for use in his own congregation in connection with his sermons. None of them was published during his life-time, but manuscript copies were widely circulated among the Independent congregations in England. The fact that about one-third of his hymns are still in common use on both sides of the Atlantic bears witness of their unusual merit.Though Doddridge struggled under the burden of feeble health, his life was filled with arduous duties. When he was only forty-eight years old it became apparent that he had fallen a victim to tubercular infection. He was advised to leave England for Lisbon, Portugal. Lacking funds for the voyage, friends in all parts of England came to his aid. The journey was undertaken, but on October 26, 1751, he died at Lisbon.A Hymn of the AgesJesus, Lover of my soul,Let me to Thy bosom fly,While the nearer waters roll,While the tempest still is high!Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,Till the storm of life is past;Safe into the haven guide:O receive my soul at last!Other refuge have I none;Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;Leave, ah, leave me not alone,Still support and comfort me!All my trust in Thee is stayed,All my help from Thee I bring:Cover my defenseless headWith the shadow of Thy wing.Thou, O Christ, art all I want;More than all in Thee I find.Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,Heal the sick, and lead the blind.Just and holy is Thy name,I am all unrighteousness;False and full of sin I am,Thou art full of truth and grace.Plenteous grace with Thee is found,Grace to cover all my sin;Let the healing streams abound,Make and keep me pure within.Thou of life the Fountain art,Freely let me take of Thee:Spring Thou up within my heart,Rise to all eternity.Charles Wesley, 1740.WESLEY, THE SWEET BARD OF METHODISMEvery great religious movement has witnessed an outburst of song. This was particularly true of the Lutheran Reformation in Germany and other lands and of the Methodist revival in England. John and Charles Wesley, like Martin Luther, understood something of the value of sacred song in impressing religious truths upon the hearts and minds of men. While John Wesley was undoubtedly a preacher of marvelous spiritual power, the real secret of the success of the Wesleyan movement more likely must be sought in the sublime hymns written by his brother Charles.With Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley holds the foremost place in the realm of English hymnody. No less than 6,500 hymns are said to have been written by this “sweet bard of Methodism.” Naturally they are not all of the highest order, but it is surprising how many of them rise to real poetic excellence. Of the 770 hymns in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 623 are from the pen of Charles Wesley!Wesley did not write hymns merely as a duty, nor yet as a pastime. His soul seemed filled with music and poetry, and when his genius became touched by the divine spark of Christ’s Spirit, it burst into full flame. It has been said of Franz Schubert that “he had to write music.” The same was true of Charles Wesley. When his soul was full of song, he had to give expression to it by writing his immortal hymns. The inspiration came to him under all sorts ofconditions. Some of his hymns were written on horseback, others in a stage-coach or on the deck of a vessel. Even as he was lying on his deathbed, at the age of eighty years, he dictated his last hymn to his faithful and devoted wife. It begins with the words, “In age and feebleness extreme.”Charles Wesley was the next to the youngest of nineteen children born to Rev. Samuel Wesley and his remarkable wife Susannah. The father, who was a clergyman in the Church of England, possessed more than ordinary literary gifts. He is the author of at least one hymn that has survived the passing of time, “Behold, the Saviour of mankind.” The mother presided over the rectory at Epworth, where both of the distinguished sons were born, and also looked after the education of the younger children of the large family. Concerning this very unusual mother and the spiritual influence she exerted over her children, volumes have been written.Poverty and other tribulations descended upon the Epworth rectory like the afflictions of Job. The crowning disaster came in 1709, when the Wesley home was completely destroyed by fire. John, who was only six years old at the time, was left behind in the confusion and when the entire house was aflame he was seen to appear at a second-story window. The agonized father fell upon his knees and implored God to save his child. Immediately a neighbor mounted the shoulders of another man and managed to seize the boy just as the roof fell in. Thus was spared the child who was destined to become the leader of one of the greatest spiritual movements in the Christian Church.While John and Charles were students at Oxford University, they became dissatisfied with the spiritual conditions existing among the students. Soon they formed an organizationdevoted to spiritual exercises. Because of their strict rules and precise methods, they were nicknamed “the Methodists,” a name that afterwards became attached to their reform movement.The hymns of Charles Wesley are so numerous that only a few of the more outstanding can be mentioned here. “Hark! the herald angels sing,” “Love divine, all love excelling” and “Jesus, Lover of my soul” form a triumvirate of hymns never surpassed by a single author. Add to these such hymns as “A charge to keep I have,” “Arise, my soul, arise,” “Christ, whose glory fills the sky,” “Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,” “Soldiers of Christ, arise,” “Hail the day that sees Him rise,” and “Suffering Son of Man, be near me,” and it will readily be understood why the name of Charles Wesley is graven in such large letters in the hymnody of the Christian Church.“Jesus, Lover of my soul” is generally recognized as the finest hymn of Wesley. This is all the more remarkable since it was one of the earliest written by him. It was first published in 1740 in a collection of 139 hymns known as “Hymns and Sacred Poems, by John and Charles Wesley.” This was at the beginning of the Wesleyan movement, which soon began to spread like fire all over England.There are several stories extant as to the origin of the hymn. The most trustworthy of these tells how the author was deeply perplexed by spiritual difficulties one day, when he noticed through his open study window a little song bird pursued by a hungry hawk. Presently the bird fluttered exhausted through the window and straight into the arms of Wesley, where it found a safe refuge. Pondering on this unusual incident, the thought came to Wesley that, in likemanner, the soul of man must flee to Christ in doubts and fears. Then he took up his pen and wrote:Jesus, Lover of my soul,Let me to Thy bosom fly.The reference to the “tempest” and the “storm of life” may have been prompted by the memory of an earlier experience, when he and his brother John were on their way to the colony of Georgia on a missionary journey. It was in the year 1735 the brothers formed a friendship with a band of Moravians who were sailing on the same ship for America. During the crossing a terrible tempest was encountered and for a while it was feared the ship would sink. While all of the other passengers were filled with terror, the Wesleys were impressed by the calmness and courage of the Moravians, who sang hymns in the midst of the raging storm.Seeking for a reason for their spiritual fortitude, the brothers found that the Moravians seemed to possess a positive certainty of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The Wesleys also made the sad discovery that they themselves did not really possess this assurance, but had been trying to work out their salvation by methods of their own. John Wesley later made the confession that he and his brother had gone to Georgia to convert the people there, whereas they themselves had need to be converted!Upon their return to London the brothers fell in with other Moravians, and through them they became familiar with Luther’s teachings. Charles came to a saving faith in Christ during a severe illness, and a week later his brother had a similar spiritual experience. It was on May 24, 1738, that John Wesley attended a meeting in AldersgateStreet, where some one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. Then for the first time light dawned on his soul, and he found peace with God through Christ.Soon afterwards John Wesley left for Halle, Germany, the seat of the Pietist movement, in order to become more familiar with the teachings of Luther and the evangelical methods of the Pietists. At Halle he also became deeply imbued with missionary zeal. Upon his return to England he launched, with John Whitefield, the greatest spiritual movement his country had ever known. Revivals flamed everywhere. No buildings were large enough to house the crowds that gathered to hear the evangelists, and, because the English clergy were hostile to the movement, most of the meetings were held in the open air.Charles at first aided in preaching, but eventually devoted his time mainly to hymns. It is estimated that John Wesley held no less than forty thousand preaching services, and traveled nearly a quarter of a million miles. It was he who said, “The world is my parish.” John wrote some original hymns, but his translations of German hymns are more important. We are indebted to him for the English versions of Paul Gerhardt’s “Commit thou all thy griefs,” Tersteegen’s “Thou hidden love of God whose height,” Freylinghausen’s “O Jesus, Source of calm repose,” Zinzendorf’s “Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness,” and Scheffler’s “Thee will I love, My Strength, my Tower.”Charles Wesley died March 29, 1788, after fifty years of service to the Church. The day before he was taken ill, he preached in City Road chapel, London. The hymn before the sermon was Watts’ “I’ll praise my Maker, while I’ve breath.” The following evening, although very sick, he amazed his friends by singing the entire hymn with astrong voice. On the night of his death he tried several times to repeat the hymn, but could only say, “I’ll praise—I’ll praise—,” and with the praise of his Maker on his lips, he went home to God. John Wesley survived his brother three years, entering his eternal rest on March 2, 1791. The text of his last sermon was, “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found.”Whether Charles Wesley or Isaac Watts should be accorded first place among English hymnists has been a subject of much dispute. The fact is that each occupies a unique position, and the one complements the other. While Watts dwells on the awful majesty and glory of God in sublime phrases, Wesley touches the very hem of Christ’s garment in loving adoration and praise. Dr. Breed compares the two in the following striking manner:“Watts is more reverential; Wesley more loving. Watts is stronger; Wesley sweeter. Watts appeals profoundly to the intellect; Wesley takes hold of the heart. Watts will continue to sing for the Pauls and Peters of the Church; Wesley for the Thomases and the Johns. Where both are so great it would be idle to attempt to settle their priority. Let us only be grateful that God in His gracious providence has given both to the Church to voice the praises of various classes.”Henry Ward Beecher uttered one of the most beautiful of all tributes to “Jesus, Lover of my soul” when he said: “I would rather have written that hymn of Wesley’s than to have the fame of all the kings that ever sat on the earth. It is more glorious. It has more power in it. I would rather be the author of that hymn than to hold the wealth of the richest man in New York. He will die. Heisdead, and does not know it.... But that hymn will go singinguntil the last trump brings forth the angel band; and then, I think, it will mount up on some lip to the very presence of God.”George Duffield, author of “Stand up, stand up for Jesus,” called Wesley’s lyric “the hymn of the ages.”No one will ever know how much help and consolation it has brought to souls in affliction. Allan Sutherland tells of the following pathetic incident:“On an intensely warm day, as I stood on the corner of a sun-baked street in Philadelphia, waiting for a car to take me to the cool retreats of Fairmount Park, I heard a low, quavering voice singing, with inexpressible sweetness, ‘Jesus, Lover of my soul.’ Looking up to an open window whence the sound came, I saw on the sill a half-withered plant—a pathetic oasis of green in a desert of brick and mortar—and resting tenderly and caressingly upon it was an emaciated hand. I could not see the person to whom the voice and hand belonged, but that was unnecessary—the story was all too clearly revealed: I knew that within that close, uncomfortable room a human soul was struggling with the great problem of life and death, and was slowly but surely reaching its solution; I knew that in spite of her lowly surroundings her life was going out serenely and triumphantly. I shall never forget the grave, pathetic pleading in the frail young voice as these words were borne to me on the oppressive air:Other refuge have I none;Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;Leave, ah, leave me not alone,Still support and comfort me!”Another Hymn of the AgesRock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in Thee:Let the water and the bloodFrom Thy riven side which flowedBe of sin the perfect cure,Save me, Lord, and make me pure.Not the labors of my handsCan fulfil Thy Law’s demands;Could my zeal no respite know,Could my tears forever flow,All for sin could not atone;Thou must save, and Thou alone.Nothing in my hand I bring,Simply to Thy cross I cling;Naked, come to Thee for dress;Helpless, look to Thee for grace;Foul, I to the Fountain fly:Wash me, Saviour, or I die!When I draw this fleeting breath,When my eyelids close in death,When I soar to worlds unknown,See Thee on Thy judgment throne,Rock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in Thee.August Toplady, 1776.A GREAT HYMN THAT GREW OUT OF A QUARRELAlthough Isaac Watts’ beautiful hymn, “When I survey the wondrous cross,” is regarded by most critics as the finest hymn in the English language, Toplady’s “Rock of Ages” holds the distinction of being the most popular. Perhaps no hymn ever written has so gripped the hearts of Christians of all communions as this noble hymn.A British magazine once invited its readers to submit a list of the hundred English hymns that stood highest in their esteem. A total of 3,500 persons responded, and “Rock of Ages” was named first by 3,215.We have tried the same experiment with a group of Bible students, and “Rock of Ages” easily headed the list.Augustus Montague Toplady, the writer of this hymn, was born on November 4, 1740, at Farnham, England. His father, a major in the English army, was killed the following year at the siege of Carthagena. The widowed mother later removed to Ireland, where her son was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. It was during this period of his life that Augustus, then sixteen years of age, chanced to attend an evangelistic service held in a barn. The preacher was an unlettered layman, but his message so gripped the heart of the lad that he determined then and there to give his heart to God. Of this experience Toplady afterward wrote:“Strange that I who had so long sat under the means of grace in England should be brought right unto God inan obscure part of Ireland, amidst a handful of people met together in a barn, and by the ministry of one who could hardly spell his own name. Surely it was the Lord’s doing and is marvelous.”Toplady was ordained at the age of twenty-two as a minister of the Church of England. He was frail of body, and after some years he was stricken with consumption. It was while fighting the ravages of this disease that he wrote his famous hymn, two years before his death.The hymn first appeared in the March issue of theGospel Magazine, of which Toplady was editor, in the year 1776. It was appended to a curious article in which the author attempted to show by mathematical computation how dreadful is the sum total of sins committed by a man during a lifetime, and how impossible it is for a sinner to redeem himself from this debt of guilt. But Christ, who is the sinner’s refuge, has paid the entire debt. It was this glorious thought that inspired him to sing:Rock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in Thee.For some years John Wesley, the great founder of Methodism, and Toplady had been engaged in a theological dispute. Toplady was a confirmed Calvinist and was intolerant of Wesley’s Arminian views. Both men were intemperate in their language and hurled unseemly and sometimes bitter invectives at each other. Wesley characterized Toplady as a “chimney-sweep” and “a lively coxcomb.” Toplady retorted by calling Wesley “Pope John” and declaring that his forehead was “petrified” and “impervious to a blush.” There are reasons for believing that the article in theGospel Magazineby Toplady to which we have alludedwas for the purpose of refuting Wesley’s teachings, and that “Rock of Ages” was written at the conclusion of the article as an effective way of clinching the argument.In our day, when we find “Rock of Ages” on one page of our hymnals and Charles Wesley’s “Jesus, Lover of my soul,” on the next, it is hard to understand the uncharitable spirit that existed between these servants of Christ. Perhaps, had they really understood each other, they were more in accord than they suspected.Nevertheless, God is able to use the most imperfect of human instruments for His praise, and surely “Rock of Ages” has been the means of bringing multitudes to God through Christ. Its strength lies undoubtedly in the clear and simple manner in which it sets forth the glorious truth that we are saved by grace alone, through the merits of Christ. Even a child can understand the meaning of the words,Nothing in my hand I bring,Simply to Thy cross I cling.Or these,Not the labors of my handsCan fulfil Thy Law’s demands;Could my zeal no respite know,Could my tears forever flow,All for sin could not atone;Thou must save, and Thou alone.In this comforting and triumphant faith Toplady himself passed into glory in his thirty-eighth year. A few hours before his death he exclaimed: “My heart beats every day stronger and stronger for glory. Sickness is no affliction, pain no curse, death itself no dissolution.” His last words were: “My prayers are all converted into praises.”During his illness some friends had expressed the hope that he might soon be restored. Toplady shook his head.“No mortal man can live,” he said, “after the glories which God has manifested to my soul.”At another time he told how he “enjoyed a heaven already in his soul,” and that his spiritual experiences were so exalted that he could ask for nothing except a continuation of them.Before his death Toplady had requested that he be buried beneath the gallery over against the pulpit of Totenham Court Chapel. Strangely enough, this building was intimately associated with the early history of Methodism. It was built by Whitefield, and here also Wesley preached Whitefield’s funeral sermon. Perhaps it was Toplady’s way of expressing the hope that all the bitterness and rancor attending his controversy with Wesley might be buried with him.“Rock of Ages” has been translated into almost every known language, and to all peoples it seems to bring the same wondrous appeal. An old Chinese woman was trying to do something of “merit” in the eyes of her heathen gods by digging a well twenty-five feet deep and fifteen in diameter. She was converted to Christianity, and when she was eighty years old, she held out the crippled hands with which she had labored all her life and sang: “Nothing in my hands I bring.”A missionary to India once sought the aid of a Hindu to translate the hymn into one of the numerous dialects of India. The result was not so happy. The opening words were:Very old stone, split for my benefit,Let me get under one of your fragments.This is a fair example of the difference between poetry and prose. The translator was faithful to the idea, but how common-place and unfortunate are his expressions when compared with the language of the original!The Coronation HymnAll hail the power of Jesus’ Name!Let angels prostrate fall;Bring forth the royal diadem,And crown Him Lord of all.Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,Ye ransomed from the fall,Hail Him, who saves you by His grace,And crown Him Lord of all.Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line,Whom David Lord did call;The Lord incarnate, Man divine,And crown Him Lord of all.Sinners, whose love can ne’er forgetThe wormwood and the gall;Go, spread your trophies at His feet,And crown Him Lord of all.Let every kindred, every tribe,On this terrestrial ballTo Him all majesty ascribe,And crown Him Lord of all.O that with yonder sacred throngWe at His feet may fall!We’ll join the everlasting song,And crown Him Lord of all.Edward Perronet, 1779.THE BIRD OF A SINGLE SONGSome men gain fame through a long life of work and achievement; others through a single notable deed. The latter is true in a very remarkable sense of Edward Perronet, author of the Church’s great coronation hymn, “All hail the power of Jesus’ Name.”“Perronet, bird of a single song, but O how sweet!” is the charming tribute of Bishop Fess in referring to this inspired hymn and its author.Although Perronet was a man of more than ordinary ability, his name probably would have been lost to posterity had he not written the coronation hymn. An associate of the Wesleys for many years, Perronet also wrote three volumes of sacred poems, some of unusual merit. All of them, however, have been practically forgotten except his one immortal hymn. So long as there are Christians on earth, it will continue to be sung, and after that—in heaven!Perronet came from a distinguished line of French Protestants who had found refuge in England during times of religious persecution in their homeland. His father, Rev. Vincent Perronet, was vicar of Shoreham. Both father and son, though ardent supporters of the Established Church, became intensely interested in the great evangelical revival under Whitefield and the Wesleys. At one time young Perronet traveled with John Wesley. Much opposition had been stirred up against the Wesleyan movement, and in some places the preachers were threatened by mobs. Concerningthese experiences, Wesley makes the following notation in his diary:“From Rockdale we went to Bolton, and soon found that the Rockdale lions were lambs in comparison with those of Bolton. Edward Perronet was thrown down and rolled in mud and mire. Stones were hurled and windows broken.”On another occasion it is recorded that Wesley wanted to hear Perronet preach. The author of our hymn, however, seems to have been somewhat reluctant about preaching in the presence of the great reformer. Wesley, nevertheless, without consulting Perronet, announced in church that the young man would occupy the pulpit on the following morning. Perronet said nothing, but on the morrow he mounted the pulpit and explained that he had not consented to preach. “However,” he added, “I shall deliver the best sermon that has ever been preached on earth,” whereupon he read the Sermon on the Mount from beginning to end, adding not a word of comment!“All hail the power of Jesus’ Name” has been translated into almost every language where Christianity is known, and wherever it is sung it seems to grip human hearts. One of the most remarkable stories of the power of this hymn is related by Rev. E. P. Scott, a missionary to India. Having learned of a distant savage tribe in the interior to whom the gospel had not yet been preached, this missionary, despite the warnings of his friends, packed his baggage and, taking his violin, set out on his perilous venture. After traveling several days, he suddenly came upon a large party of the savages who surrounded him and pointed their spears at him.Believing death to be near, the missionary neverthelesstook out his violin and with a prayer to God began to sing “All hail the power of Jesus’ Name!” He closed his eyes as he sang, expecting every moment to be pierced through with the threatening spears. When he reached the stanza, “Let every kindred, every tribe,” he opened his eyes. What was his surprise to see every spear lowered, and many of the savages moved to tears!He remained for two years and a half, preaching the story of redemption and leading many of the natives to Jesus. When he was about to return to America on furlough, they pleaded, “O missionary, come back to us again!” He did so, and finally passed away in the midst of these people who had learned to love the man who had brought them the gospel of Christ.It is interesting to know that, while the people of both England and America prize this hymn very highly, they sing it to different melodies. The tune used in America is called “Coronation” and was composed by a carpenter of Charlestown, Mass., by the name of Oliver Holden. This man was very fond of music and spent his spare time in playing a little organ on which he composed his tunes. The organ may still be seen in Boston.Thus an English minister and an American carpenter have united in giving the world an immortal hymn.Perronet died January 2, 1792. His last words were:“Glory to God in the height of His divinity!Glory to God in the depth of His humanity!Glory to God in His all-sufficiency!Into His hands I commend my spirit.”Two other hymn-writers who, like Perronet, were associated with the Wesleyan movement may be mentionedin this connection. They were John Cennick and William Williams. Like Perronet, too, each was the author of one great hymn, and through that hymn their names have been preserved to posterity.Cennick, who was of Bohemian ancestry, first met John Wesley in 1739. Of that meeting Wesley has the following notation in his diary: “On Friday, March 1739, I came to Reading, where I found a young man who had in some measure known the powers of the world to come. I spent the evening with him and a few of his serious friends, and it pleased God much to strengthen and comfort them.”For a while Cennick assisted Wesley as a lay preacher, but in 1741 he forsook the Methodist movement on account of Wesley’s “free grace” doctrines and organized a society of his own along Calvinistic lines. Later he joined himself to John Whitefield as an evangelist, but finally he went over to the Moravians, in which communion he labored abundantly until his death in 1755 at the early age of thirty-seven years.To Cennick we are indebted for the majestic hymn on the theme of Christ’s second coming, “Lo! He comes, with clouds descending.” James King, in his “Anglican Hymnology,” gives this hymn third place among the hymns of the Anglican Church, it being excelled in his estimation only by Bishop Ken’s “All praise to Thee, my God, this night” and Wesley’s “Hark! the herald angels sing.” Cennick has also bequeathed to the Church the lovely hymn, “Children of the heavenly King.” Though he wrote and published many more hymns, they are mostly of an inferior order.Williams, a Welshman by birth, has also left a hymn that has gone singing down through the centuries. It is therugged and stirring hymn that sets forth in such striking imagery the experiences of the Israelites in the wilderness, “Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah.”Williams, who earned the title of the “Watts of Wales,” wrote the hymn originally in Welsh. Of him it has been said that “He did for Wales what Wesley and Watts did for England, or what Luther did for Germany.” His first hymn-book, “Hallelujah,” was published in 1744, when he was only twenty-seven years old.The Welsh hymnist originally intended to enter the medical profession, but, after passing through a spiritual crisis, he was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England. Because of his free methods of evangelism, he was denied full ordination, and later identified himself with the Wesleyan revival. Like Cennick and Perronet, however, he soon forsook the Wesleys, and now we find him a Calvinistic Methodist, having adopted Wales as his parish. He was a powerful preacher and an unusual singer, and for forty-five years he carried on a blessed work until, on January 11, 1791, he passed through “the swelling current” and was landed “safe on Canaan’s side.”
Ken’s Immortal Evening HymnGlory to Thee, my God, this night,For all the blessings of the light:Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,Beneath Thine own almighty wings.Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son,The ill that I this day have done:That, with the world, myself, and Thee,I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.Teach me to live, that I may dreadThe grave as little as my bed;To die, that this vile body mayRise glorious at the judgment day.O then shall I in endless day,When sleep and death have passed away,With all Thy saints and angels singIn endless praise to Thee, my King.Thomas Ken, 1695.
Glory to Thee, my God, this night,For all the blessings of the light:Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,Beneath Thine own almighty wings.
Glory to Thee, my God, this night,
For all the blessings of the light:
Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,
Beneath Thine own almighty wings.
Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son,The ill that I this day have done:That, with the world, myself, and Thee,I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.
Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son,
The ill that I this day have done:
That, with the world, myself, and Thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.
Teach me to live, that I may dreadThe grave as little as my bed;To die, that this vile body mayRise glorious at the judgment day.
Teach me to live, that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed;
To die, that this vile body may
Rise glorious at the judgment day.
O then shall I in endless day,When sleep and death have passed away,With all Thy saints and angels singIn endless praise to Thee, my King.
O then shall I in endless day,
When sleep and death have passed away,
With all Thy saints and angels sing
In endless praise to Thee, my King.
Thomas Ken, 1695.
THE DAWN OF HYMNODY IN ENGLANDOwing to the strong prejudice in the Reformed Church to hymns of “human composure,” the development of hymnody in England, as well as other countries where Calvin’s teachings were accepted, was slow. Crude paraphrases of the Psalms, based on the Genevan Psalter, appeared from the hands of various versifiers and were used generally in the churches of England and Scotland. It was not until 1637, more than a century after Luther had published his first hymn-books, that England’s first hymn-writer was born. He was Bishop Thomas Ken.This first sweet singer in the early dawn of English hymnody holds the distinction of having written the most famous doxology of the Christian Church. It is the so-called “long meter” doxology:Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;Praise Him, all creatures here below;Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.His sublime evening hymn, “Glory to Thee, my God, this night,” is ranked as one of the four masterpieces of English praise. His beautiful morning hymn, “Awake, my soul, and with the sun,” is scarcely less deserving of high distinction. As originally written, both hymns closed with the famous doxology given above.Bishop Ken looms as a heroic figure during turbulent times in English history. Left an orphan in early childhood,he was brought up by his brother-in-law, the famous fisherman, Izaak Walton. Ken’s name has been found cut in one of the stone pillars at Winchester, where he went to school as a boy.When, in 1679, the wife of William of Orange, the niece of the English monarch, asked Charles II, king of England, to send an English chaplain to the royal court at The Hague, Ken was selected for the position. However, he was so outspoken in denouncing the corrupt lives of those in authority in the Dutch capitol that he was compelled to leave the following year. Charles thereupon appointed him one of his own chaplains.Ken continued to reveal the same spirit of boldness, however, rebuking the sins of the dissolute English monarch. On one occasion, when Charles asked the courageous pastor to give up his own dwelling temporarily in order that Nell Gwynne, a notorious character, might be housed, Ken answered promptly: “Not for the King’s kingdom.”Instead of punishing the bold and faithful minister, Charles so admired his courage that he appointed him bishop of Bath and Wells.Charles always referred to Ken as “the good little man” and, when it was chapel time, he would usually say: “I must go in and hear Ken tell me of my faults.”When Charles died, and the papist James II came to the throne, Ken, together with six other bishops, was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Although he was acquitted, he was later removed from his bishopric by William III.The last years of his life were spent in a quiet retreat, and he died in 1711 at the age of seventy-four years. He had requested that “six of the poorest men in the parish” should carry him to his grave, and this was done. It wasalso at his request that he was buried under the east window of the chancel of Frome church, the service being held at sunrise. As his body was lowered into its last resting-place, and the first light of dawn came through the chancel window, his friends sang his immortal morning hymn:Awake, my soul, and with the sunThy daily stage of duty run.Shake off dull sloth, and joyful riseTo pay thy morning sacrifice.Wake and lift up thyself, my heart,And with the angels bear thy part,Who all night long unwearied singHigh praise to the eternal King.All praise to Thee, who safe hast kept,And hast refreshed me while I slept:Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,I may of endless life partake.It is said that after Bishop Ken had written this hymn, he sang it to his own accompaniment on the lute every morning as a part of his private devotion. Although he wrote many other hymns, only this one and his evening hymn have survived. The two hymns were published in a devotional book prepared for the students of Winchester College. In this work Bishop Ken urged the students to sing the hymns devoutly in their rooms every morning and evening.The historian Macaulay paid Ken a beautiful tribute when he said that he came as near to the ideal of Christian perfection “as human weakness permits.”It was during the life-time of Bishop Ken that Joseph Addison, the famous essayist, was publishing the “Spectator.” Addison was not only the leading literary light of his time,but a devout Christian as well. From time to time he appended a poem to the charming essays which appeared in the “Spectator,” and it is from this source that we have received five hymns of rare beauty. They are the so-called “Creation” hymn, “The spacious firmament on high,” which Haydn included in his celebrated oratorio; the Traveler’s hymn, beginning with the line, “How are Thy servants blest, O Lord”; and three other hymns, almost equally well-known: “The Lord my pasture shall prepare,” “When rising from the bed of death,” and “When all Thy mercies, O my God.” The latter contains one of the most striking expressions in all the realm of hymnody:Through all eternity to TheeA joyful song I’ll raise:But oh, eternity’s too shortTo utter all Thy praise!In the essay introducing this hymn, Addison writes: “If gratitude is due from man to man, how much more from man to his Maker. The Supreme Being does not only confer upon us those bounties which proceed immediately from His hand, but even those benefits which are conveyed to us by others. Any blessing which we enjoy, by what means soever derived, is the gift of Him who is the great Author of Good and the Father of Mercies.”The Traveler’s hymn, “How are Thy servants blessed, O Lord,” was written after Addison’s return from a perilous voyage on the Mediterranean.In addition to his literary pursuits, Addison also occupied several important positions of state with the English government. He died on June 17, 1719, at the age of forty-seven. When he was breathing his last, he called for theEarl of Warwick and exclaimed: “See in what peace a Christian can die!”The hymns of Addison and Bishop Ken may be regarded as the heralds of a new day in the worship of the Reformed Church. While Addison was still writing his essays and verses for the “Spectator,” Isaac Watts, peer of all English hymnists, was already tuning his lyre of many strings. Psalmody was beginning to yield to hymnody.
Owing to the strong prejudice in the Reformed Church to hymns of “human composure,” the development of hymnody in England, as well as other countries where Calvin’s teachings were accepted, was slow. Crude paraphrases of the Psalms, based on the Genevan Psalter, appeared from the hands of various versifiers and were used generally in the churches of England and Scotland. It was not until 1637, more than a century after Luther had published his first hymn-books, that England’s first hymn-writer was born. He was Bishop Thomas Ken.
This first sweet singer in the early dawn of English hymnody holds the distinction of having written the most famous doxology of the Christian Church. It is the so-called “long meter” doxology:
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;Praise Him, all creatures here below;Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;Praise Him, all creatures here below;Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
His sublime evening hymn, “Glory to Thee, my God, this night,” is ranked as one of the four masterpieces of English praise. His beautiful morning hymn, “Awake, my soul, and with the sun,” is scarcely less deserving of high distinction. As originally written, both hymns closed with the famous doxology given above.
Bishop Ken looms as a heroic figure during turbulent times in English history. Left an orphan in early childhood,he was brought up by his brother-in-law, the famous fisherman, Izaak Walton. Ken’s name has been found cut in one of the stone pillars at Winchester, where he went to school as a boy.
When, in 1679, the wife of William of Orange, the niece of the English monarch, asked Charles II, king of England, to send an English chaplain to the royal court at The Hague, Ken was selected for the position. However, he was so outspoken in denouncing the corrupt lives of those in authority in the Dutch capitol that he was compelled to leave the following year. Charles thereupon appointed him one of his own chaplains.
Ken continued to reveal the same spirit of boldness, however, rebuking the sins of the dissolute English monarch. On one occasion, when Charles asked the courageous pastor to give up his own dwelling temporarily in order that Nell Gwynne, a notorious character, might be housed, Ken answered promptly: “Not for the King’s kingdom.”
Instead of punishing the bold and faithful minister, Charles so admired his courage that he appointed him bishop of Bath and Wells.
Charles always referred to Ken as “the good little man” and, when it was chapel time, he would usually say: “I must go in and hear Ken tell me of my faults.”
When Charles died, and the papist James II came to the throne, Ken, together with six other bishops, was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Although he was acquitted, he was later removed from his bishopric by William III.
The last years of his life were spent in a quiet retreat, and he died in 1711 at the age of seventy-four years. He had requested that “six of the poorest men in the parish” should carry him to his grave, and this was done. It wasalso at his request that he was buried under the east window of the chancel of Frome church, the service being held at sunrise. As his body was lowered into its last resting-place, and the first light of dawn came through the chancel window, his friends sang his immortal morning hymn:
Awake, my soul, and with the sunThy daily stage of duty run.Shake off dull sloth, and joyful riseTo pay thy morning sacrifice.Wake and lift up thyself, my heart,And with the angels bear thy part,Who all night long unwearied singHigh praise to the eternal King.All praise to Thee, who safe hast kept,And hast refreshed me while I slept:Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,I may of endless life partake.
Awake, my soul, and with the sunThy daily stage of duty run.Shake off dull sloth, and joyful riseTo pay thy morning sacrifice.
Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run.
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise
To pay thy morning sacrifice.
Wake and lift up thyself, my heart,And with the angels bear thy part,Who all night long unwearied singHigh praise to the eternal King.
Wake and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praise to the eternal King.
All praise to Thee, who safe hast kept,And hast refreshed me while I slept:Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,I may of endless life partake.
All praise to Thee, who safe hast kept,
And hast refreshed me while I slept:
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,
I may of endless life partake.
It is said that after Bishop Ken had written this hymn, he sang it to his own accompaniment on the lute every morning as a part of his private devotion. Although he wrote many other hymns, only this one and his evening hymn have survived. The two hymns were published in a devotional book prepared for the students of Winchester College. In this work Bishop Ken urged the students to sing the hymns devoutly in their rooms every morning and evening.
The historian Macaulay paid Ken a beautiful tribute when he said that he came as near to the ideal of Christian perfection “as human weakness permits.”
It was during the life-time of Bishop Ken that Joseph Addison, the famous essayist, was publishing the “Spectator.” Addison was not only the leading literary light of his time,but a devout Christian as well. From time to time he appended a poem to the charming essays which appeared in the “Spectator,” and it is from this source that we have received five hymns of rare beauty. They are the so-called “Creation” hymn, “The spacious firmament on high,” which Haydn included in his celebrated oratorio; the Traveler’s hymn, beginning with the line, “How are Thy servants blest, O Lord”; and three other hymns, almost equally well-known: “The Lord my pasture shall prepare,” “When rising from the bed of death,” and “When all Thy mercies, O my God.” The latter contains one of the most striking expressions in all the realm of hymnody:
Through all eternity to TheeA joyful song I’ll raise:But oh, eternity’s too shortTo utter all Thy praise!
Through all eternity to TheeA joyful song I’ll raise:But oh, eternity’s too shortTo utter all Thy praise!
Through all eternity to Thee
A joyful song I’ll raise:
But oh, eternity’s too short
To utter all Thy praise!
In the essay introducing this hymn, Addison writes: “If gratitude is due from man to man, how much more from man to his Maker. The Supreme Being does not only confer upon us those bounties which proceed immediately from His hand, but even those benefits which are conveyed to us by others. Any blessing which we enjoy, by what means soever derived, is the gift of Him who is the great Author of Good and the Father of Mercies.”
The Traveler’s hymn, “How are Thy servants blessed, O Lord,” was written after Addison’s return from a perilous voyage on the Mediterranean.
In addition to his literary pursuits, Addison also occupied several important positions of state with the English government. He died on June 17, 1719, at the age of forty-seven. When he was breathing his last, he called for theEarl of Warwick and exclaimed: “See in what peace a Christian can die!”
The hymns of Addison and Bishop Ken may be regarded as the heralds of a new day in the worship of the Reformed Church. While Addison was still writing his essays and verses for the “Spectator,” Isaac Watts, peer of all English hymnists, was already tuning his lyre of many strings. Psalmody was beginning to yield to hymnody.
The Pearl of English HymnodyWhen I survey the wondrous crossOn which the Prince of glory died,My richest gain I count but loss,And pour contempt on all my pride.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.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!Were the whole realm of nature mine,That were a tribute far too small;Love so amazing, so divine,Demands my soul, my life, my all.Isaac Watts, 1707.
When I survey the wondrous crossOn which the Prince of glory died,My richest gain I count but loss,And pour contempt on all my pride.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
Were the whole realm of nature mine,That were a tribute far too small;Love so amazing, so divine,Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a tribute far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Isaac Watts, 1707.
ISAAC WATTS, FATHER OF ENGLISH HYMNODYBy universal consent the title, “Father of English Hymnody,” is bestowed upon Isaac Watts. English hymns had been written before the time of Watts, notably the beautiful classics of Ken and Addison; but it remained for the genius of Watts to break the iron rule of psalmody in the Reformed Church which had continued uninterrupted since the days of Calvin.Watts was born in Southampton, England, July 17, 1674. His father was a “dissenter,” and twice was imprisoned for his religious views. This was during the time when Isaac was still a baby, and the mother often carried the future poet in her arms when she went to visit her husband in prison.When Isaac grew up, a wealthy man offered to give him a university education if he would consent to become a minister in the Established Church. This he refused to do, but prepared instead for the Independent ministry.Early in life young Watts had revealed signs of poetic genius. As a boy of seven years he had amused his parents with his rhymes. As he grew older he became impatient with the wretched paraphrases of the Psalms then in use in the Reformed churches. These views were shared generally by those who possessed a discriminating taste in poetry. “Scandalous doggerel” was the term applied by Samuel Wesley, father of the famous Wesley brothers, to the versifiedPsalms of Sternhold and Hopkins, who had published the most popular psalm-book of the day.When young Watts ventured to voice his displeasure over the psalm-singing in his father’s church in Southampton, one of the church officers retorted: “Give us something better, young man.” Although he was only eighteen years old at the time, he accepted the challenge and wrote his first hymn, which was sung at the following Sunday evening services. The first stanza seems prophetic of his future career:Behold the glories of the LambAmidst His Father’s throne;Prepare new honors for His Name,And songs before unknown.The hymn met with such favorable reception that the youthful poet was encouraged to write others, and within the next two years he produced nearly all of the 210 hymns that constituted his famous collection, “Hymns and Spiritual Songs,” published in 1707. This was the first real hymn-book in the English language.Twelve years later he published his “Psalms of David,” a metrical version of the Psalter, but, as he himself stated, rendered “in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship.” Indeed, the Psalms were given such a distinctively Christian flavor that their Old Testament origin is often overlooked. Witness, for example, the opening lines of his rendition of the Seventy-second Psalm:Jesus shall reign where’er the sunDoes his successive journeys run.In addition to being a preacher and a poet, Watts was an ardent student of theology and philosophy, and wrote several notable books. Always frail in health from childhood, his intense studies finally resulted in completely shattering his constitution, and he was compelled to give up his parish.During this period of physical distress, the stricken poet was invited to become a guest for a week in the home of Sir Thomas Abney, an intimate friend and admirer. The friendship continued to grow, and inasmuch as Watts did not improve in health, he was urged to remain. He finally so endeared himself to the Abney family that they refused to let him go, and he who had come to spend a week remained for the rest of his life—thirty-six years!The great hymnist died on November 25, 1748, and was buried at Bunhill Fields, London, near the graves of John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe. A monument to his memory was placed in Westminster Abbey, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an Englishman.To Isaac Watts we are indebted for some of our most sublime hymns. “When I survey the wondrous cross” has been named by Matthew Arnold as the finest hymn in the English language, and most critics concur in the judgment. Certainly it is one of the most beautiful. John Julian, the noted hymnologist, declares that it must be classified with the four hymns that stand at the head of all English hymns.Other hymns of Watts continue to hold their grip on the Christian Church after the passing of two centuries. No Christmas service seems complete without singing his beautiful paraphrase of the ninety-eighth Psalm, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” Another hymn, “O God, our help in ages past,” based on the ninetieth Psalm, is indispensableat New Year’s time. Then there is the majestic hymn of worship, “Before Jehovah’s awful throne,” as well as the appealing Lenten hymn, “Alas, and did my Saviour bleed?” And who has not been stirred by the challenge in “Am I a soldier of the cross?” Other hymns by Watts include such favorites as “There is a land of pure delight,” “Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove,” “O that the Lord would guide my ways,” “My dear Redeemer and my Lord,” “How beauteous are their feet,” “Come, sound His praise abroad,” “My soul, repeat His praise,” “O bless the Lord, my soul,” “Lord of the worlds above,” “Lord, we confess our numerous faults,” “In vain we seek for peace with God,” “Not all the blood of beasts,” “So let our lips and lives express,” “The Lord my Shepherd is,” and “When I can read my title clear.”Although Watts never married, he deeply loved little children, and he is the author of some of the most famous nursery rhymes in the English language. The profound genius that produced “O God, our help in ages in past” also understood how to appeal to the childish mind by means of such happy little jingles as, “How doth the little busy bee” and “Let dogs delight to bark and bite,” as well as by the exquisite cradle-song:Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber;Holy angels guard thy bed;Heavenly blessings without numberGently falling on thy head.Sleep, my babe, thy food and raiment,House and home, thy friends provide;All without thy care or payment,All thy wants are well supplied.How much better thou’rt attendedThan the Son of God could be,When from heaven He descended,And became a child like thee.Soft and easy is thy cradle,Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay,When His birthplace was a stable,And His softest bed the hay.
By universal consent the title, “Father of English Hymnody,” is bestowed upon Isaac Watts. English hymns had been written before the time of Watts, notably the beautiful classics of Ken and Addison; but it remained for the genius of Watts to break the iron rule of psalmody in the Reformed Church which had continued uninterrupted since the days of Calvin.
Watts was born in Southampton, England, July 17, 1674. His father was a “dissenter,” and twice was imprisoned for his religious views. This was during the time when Isaac was still a baby, and the mother often carried the future poet in her arms when she went to visit her husband in prison.
When Isaac grew up, a wealthy man offered to give him a university education if he would consent to become a minister in the Established Church. This he refused to do, but prepared instead for the Independent ministry.
Early in life young Watts had revealed signs of poetic genius. As a boy of seven years he had amused his parents with his rhymes. As he grew older he became impatient with the wretched paraphrases of the Psalms then in use in the Reformed churches. These views were shared generally by those who possessed a discriminating taste in poetry. “Scandalous doggerel” was the term applied by Samuel Wesley, father of the famous Wesley brothers, to the versifiedPsalms of Sternhold and Hopkins, who had published the most popular psalm-book of the day.
When young Watts ventured to voice his displeasure over the psalm-singing in his father’s church in Southampton, one of the church officers retorted: “Give us something better, young man.” Although he was only eighteen years old at the time, he accepted the challenge and wrote his first hymn, which was sung at the following Sunday evening services. The first stanza seems prophetic of his future career:
Behold the glories of the LambAmidst His Father’s throne;Prepare new honors for His Name,And songs before unknown.
Behold the glories of the LambAmidst His Father’s throne;Prepare new honors for His Name,And songs before unknown.
Behold the glories of the Lamb
Amidst His Father’s throne;
Prepare new honors for His Name,
And songs before unknown.
The hymn met with such favorable reception that the youthful poet was encouraged to write others, and within the next two years he produced nearly all of the 210 hymns that constituted his famous collection, “Hymns and Spiritual Songs,” published in 1707. This was the first real hymn-book in the English language.
Twelve years later he published his “Psalms of David,” a metrical version of the Psalter, but, as he himself stated, rendered “in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship.” Indeed, the Psalms were given such a distinctively Christian flavor that their Old Testament origin is often overlooked. Witness, for example, the opening lines of his rendition of the Seventy-second Psalm:
Jesus shall reign where’er the sunDoes his successive journeys run.
Jesus shall reign where’er the sunDoes his successive journeys run.
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run.
In addition to being a preacher and a poet, Watts was an ardent student of theology and philosophy, and wrote several notable books. Always frail in health from childhood, his intense studies finally resulted in completely shattering his constitution, and he was compelled to give up his parish.
During this period of physical distress, the stricken poet was invited to become a guest for a week in the home of Sir Thomas Abney, an intimate friend and admirer. The friendship continued to grow, and inasmuch as Watts did not improve in health, he was urged to remain. He finally so endeared himself to the Abney family that they refused to let him go, and he who had come to spend a week remained for the rest of his life—thirty-six years!
The great hymnist died on November 25, 1748, and was buried at Bunhill Fields, London, near the graves of John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe. A monument to his memory was placed in Westminster Abbey, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an Englishman.
To Isaac Watts we are indebted for some of our most sublime hymns. “When I survey the wondrous cross” has been named by Matthew Arnold as the finest hymn in the English language, and most critics concur in the judgment. Certainly it is one of the most beautiful. John Julian, the noted hymnologist, declares that it must be classified with the four hymns that stand at the head of all English hymns.
Other hymns of Watts continue to hold their grip on the Christian Church after the passing of two centuries. No Christmas service seems complete without singing his beautiful paraphrase of the ninety-eighth Psalm, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” Another hymn, “O God, our help in ages past,” based on the ninetieth Psalm, is indispensableat New Year’s time. Then there is the majestic hymn of worship, “Before Jehovah’s awful throne,” as well as the appealing Lenten hymn, “Alas, and did my Saviour bleed?” And who has not been stirred by the challenge in “Am I a soldier of the cross?” Other hymns by Watts include such favorites as “There is a land of pure delight,” “Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove,” “O that the Lord would guide my ways,” “My dear Redeemer and my Lord,” “How beauteous are their feet,” “Come, sound His praise abroad,” “My soul, repeat His praise,” “O bless the Lord, my soul,” “Lord of the worlds above,” “Lord, we confess our numerous faults,” “In vain we seek for peace with God,” “Not all the blood of beasts,” “So let our lips and lives express,” “The Lord my Shepherd is,” and “When I can read my title clear.”
Although Watts never married, he deeply loved little children, and he is the author of some of the most famous nursery rhymes in the English language. The profound genius that produced “O God, our help in ages in past” also understood how to appeal to the childish mind by means of such happy little jingles as, “How doth the little busy bee” and “Let dogs delight to bark and bite,” as well as by the exquisite cradle-song:
Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber;Holy angels guard thy bed;Heavenly blessings without numberGently falling on thy head.Sleep, my babe, thy food and raiment,House and home, thy friends provide;All without thy care or payment,All thy wants are well supplied.How much better thou’rt attendedThan the Son of God could be,When from heaven He descended,And became a child like thee.Soft and easy is thy cradle,Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay,When His birthplace was a stable,And His softest bed the hay.
Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber;Holy angels guard thy bed;Heavenly blessings without numberGently falling on thy head.
Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber;
Holy angels guard thy bed;
Heavenly blessings without number
Gently falling on thy head.
Sleep, my babe, thy food and raiment,House and home, thy friends provide;All without thy care or payment,All thy wants are well supplied.
Sleep, my babe, thy food and raiment,
House and home, thy friends provide;
All without thy care or payment,
All thy wants are well supplied.
How much better thou’rt attendedThan the Son of God could be,When from heaven He descended,And became a child like thee.
How much better thou’rt attended
Than the Son of God could be,
When from heaven He descended,
And became a child like thee.
Soft and easy is thy cradle,Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay,When His birthplace was a stable,And His softest bed the hay.
Soft and easy is thy cradle,
Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay,
When His birthplace was a stable,
And His softest bed the hay.
Seeking the Heavenly PrizeAwake, my soul, stretch every nerve,And press with vigor on;A heavenly race demands thy zeal,And an immortal crown.A cloud of witnesses aroundHold thee in full survey:Forget the steps already trod,And onward urge thy way.’Tis God’s all-animating voiceThat calls thee from on high;’Tis His own hand presents the prizeTo thine aspiring eye:That prize with peerless glories brightWhich shall new luster boast,When victors’ wreaths and monarchs’ gemsShall blend in common dust.Blest Saviour, introduced by Thee,Have I my race begun;And, crowned with victory, at Thy feetI’ll lay my honors down.Philip Doddridge(1702-1751).
Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve,And press with vigor on;A heavenly race demands thy zeal,And an immortal crown.
Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve,
And press with vigor on;
A heavenly race demands thy zeal,
And an immortal crown.
A cloud of witnesses aroundHold thee in full survey:Forget the steps already trod,And onward urge thy way.
A cloud of witnesses around
Hold thee in full survey:
Forget the steps already trod,
And onward urge thy way.
’Tis God’s all-animating voiceThat calls thee from on high;’Tis His own hand presents the prizeTo thine aspiring eye:
’Tis God’s all-animating voice
That calls thee from on high;
’Tis His own hand presents the prize
To thine aspiring eye:
That prize with peerless glories brightWhich shall new luster boast,When victors’ wreaths and monarchs’ gemsShall blend in common dust.
That prize with peerless glories bright
Which shall new luster boast,
When victors’ wreaths and monarchs’ gems
Shall blend in common dust.
Blest Saviour, introduced by Thee,Have I my race begun;And, crowned with victory, at Thy feetI’ll lay my honors down.
Blest Saviour, introduced by Thee,
Have I my race begun;
And, crowned with victory, at Thy feet
I’ll lay my honors down.
Philip Doddridge(1702-1751).
DODDRIDGE: PREACHER, TEACHER AND HYMNISTPhilip Doddridge was one of England’s gifted evangelical preachers. Like the Wesley brothers, he came from a large family. While there were nineteen children in the Wesley family, Philip Doddridge was the last of twenty children.The religious background of the Doddridge family was significant. Although his father was an oil merchant in London, his grandfather had been one of the Independent ministers under the Commonwealth who were ejected in 1662. Both of his parents were pious people, and Philip, who was born June 26, 1702, was brought up in a religious atmosphere.He was such a delicate child that his life was despaired of almost from birth. His parents died while he was yet quite young, but kind friends cared for the orphan boy and sent him to school.Because he revealed such unusual gifts as a student, the Duchess of Bedford offered to give him a university training on condition that he would become a minister of the Church of England. This, however, Philip declined to do, and he entered a nonconformist seminary instead.At the age of twenty-one years he was ordained as pastor of the Independent congregation at Kibworth, England. Six years later he began his real life work at Northampton, where he served as the head of a theological training school and preached in the local congregation.To this school came young men from all parts of the British Isles and even from the continent. Most of them prepared to become ministers in the Independent Church. Doddridge himself was practically the whole faculty. Among his subjects were Hebrew, Greek, Algebra, Philosophy, Trigonometry, Logic, and theological branches.As a hymn-writer Doddridge ranks among the foremost in England. He was a friend and admirer of Isaac Watts, whose hymns at this time had set all England singing. In some respects his lyrics resemble those of Watts. Although they do not possess the strength and majesty found in the latter’s hymns, they have more personal warmth and tenderness. Witness, for instance, the children’s hymn:See Israel’s gentle Shepherd standWith all-engaging charms;Hark! how He calls the tender lambs,And folds them in His arms.Note also the spiritual joy that is reflected in the hymn so often used at confirmation:O happy day, that stays my choiceOn Thee, my Saviour and my God!Well may this glowing heart rejoice,And tell its raptures all abroad.Something of Doddridge’s own confiding trust in God is expressed in the beautiful lines:Shine on our souls, eternal God!With rays of beauty shine;O let Thy favor crown our days,And all their round be Thine.Did we not raise our hands to Thee,Our hands might toil in vain;Small joy success itself could give,If Thou Thy love restrain.Other noted hymns by Doddridge include such gems as “Hark, the glad sound, the Saviour comes,” “Great God, we sing that mighty hand,” “O Fount of good, to own Thy love,” and “Father of all, Thy care we bless.”Doddridge wrote about four hundred hymns. Most of them were composed for use in his own congregation in connection with his sermons. None of them was published during his life-time, but manuscript copies were widely circulated among the Independent congregations in England. The fact that about one-third of his hymns are still in common use on both sides of the Atlantic bears witness of their unusual merit.Though Doddridge struggled under the burden of feeble health, his life was filled with arduous duties. When he was only forty-eight years old it became apparent that he had fallen a victim to tubercular infection. He was advised to leave England for Lisbon, Portugal. Lacking funds for the voyage, friends in all parts of England came to his aid. The journey was undertaken, but on October 26, 1751, he died at Lisbon.
Philip Doddridge was one of England’s gifted evangelical preachers. Like the Wesley brothers, he came from a large family. While there were nineteen children in the Wesley family, Philip Doddridge was the last of twenty children.
The religious background of the Doddridge family was significant. Although his father was an oil merchant in London, his grandfather had been one of the Independent ministers under the Commonwealth who were ejected in 1662. Both of his parents were pious people, and Philip, who was born June 26, 1702, was brought up in a religious atmosphere.
He was such a delicate child that his life was despaired of almost from birth. His parents died while he was yet quite young, but kind friends cared for the orphan boy and sent him to school.
Because he revealed such unusual gifts as a student, the Duchess of Bedford offered to give him a university training on condition that he would become a minister of the Church of England. This, however, Philip declined to do, and he entered a nonconformist seminary instead.
At the age of twenty-one years he was ordained as pastor of the Independent congregation at Kibworth, England. Six years later he began his real life work at Northampton, where he served as the head of a theological training school and preached in the local congregation.
To this school came young men from all parts of the British Isles and even from the continent. Most of them prepared to become ministers in the Independent Church. Doddridge himself was practically the whole faculty. Among his subjects were Hebrew, Greek, Algebra, Philosophy, Trigonometry, Logic, and theological branches.
As a hymn-writer Doddridge ranks among the foremost in England. He was a friend and admirer of Isaac Watts, whose hymns at this time had set all England singing. In some respects his lyrics resemble those of Watts. Although they do not possess the strength and majesty found in the latter’s hymns, they have more personal warmth and tenderness. Witness, for instance, the children’s hymn:
See Israel’s gentle Shepherd standWith all-engaging charms;Hark! how He calls the tender lambs,And folds them in His arms.
See Israel’s gentle Shepherd standWith all-engaging charms;Hark! how He calls the tender lambs,And folds them in His arms.
See Israel’s gentle Shepherd stand
With all-engaging charms;
Hark! how He calls the tender lambs,
And folds them in His arms.
Note also the spiritual joy that is reflected in the hymn so often used at confirmation:
O happy day, that stays my choiceOn Thee, my Saviour and my God!Well may this glowing heart rejoice,And tell its raptures all abroad.
O happy day, that stays my choiceOn Thee, my Saviour and my God!Well may this glowing heart rejoice,And tell its raptures all abroad.
O happy day, that stays my choice
On Thee, my Saviour and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad.
Something of Doddridge’s own confiding trust in God is expressed in the beautiful lines:
Shine on our souls, eternal God!With rays of beauty shine;O let Thy favor crown our days,And all their round be Thine.Did we not raise our hands to Thee,Our hands might toil in vain;Small joy success itself could give,If Thou Thy love restrain.
Shine on our souls, eternal God!With rays of beauty shine;O let Thy favor crown our days,And all their round be Thine.
Shine on our souls, eternal God!
With rays of beauty shine;
O let Thy favor crown our days,
And all their round be Thine.
Did we not raise our hands to Thee,Our hands might toil in vain;Small joy success itself could give,If Thou Thy love restrain.
Did we not raise our hands to Thee,
Our hands might toil in vain;
Small joy success itself could give,
If Thou Thy love restrain.
Other noted hymns by Doddridge include such gems as “Hark, the glad sound, the Saviour comes,” “Great God, we sing that mighty hand,” “O Fount of good, to own Thy love,” and “Father of all, Thy care we bless.”
Doddridge wrote about four hundred hymns. Most of them were composed for use in his own congregation in connection with his sermons. None of them was published during his life-time, but manuscript copies were widely circulated among the Independent congregations in England. The fact that about one-third of his hymns are still in common use on both sides of the Atlantic bears witness of their unusual merit.
Though Doddridge struggled under the burden of feeble health, his life was filled with arduous duties. When he was only forty-eight years old it became apparent that he had fallen a victim to tubercular infection. He was advised to leave England for Lisbon, Portugal. Lacking funds for the voyage, friends in all parts of England came to his aid. The journey was undertaken, but on October 26, 1751, he died at Lisbon.
A Hymn of the AgesJesus, Lover of my soul,Let me to Thy bosom fly,While the nearer waters roll,While the tempest still is high!Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,Till the storm of life is past;Safe into the haven guide:O receive my soul at last!Other refuge have I none;Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;Leave, ah, leave me not alone,Still support and comfort me!All my trust in Thee is stayed,All my help from Thee I bring:Cover my defenseless headWith the shadow of Thy wing.Thou, O Christ, art all I want;More than all in Thee I find.Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,Heal the sick, and lead the blind.Just and holy is Thy name,I am all unrighteousness;False and full of sin I am,Thou art full of truth and grace.Plenteous grace with Thee is found,Grace to cover all my sin;Let the healing streams abound,Make and keep me pure within.Thou of life the Fountain art,Freely let me take of Thee:Spring Thou up within my heart,Rise to all eternity.Charles Wesley, 1740.
Jesus, Lover of my soul,Let me to Thy bosom fly,While the nearer waters roll,While the tempest still is high!Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,Till the storm of life is past;Safe into the haven guide:O receive my soul at last!
Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high!
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide:
O receive my soul at last!
Other refuge have I none;Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;Leave, ah, leave me not alone,Still support and comfort me!All my trust in Thee is stayed,All my help from Thee I bring:Cover my defenseless headWith the shadow of Thy wing.
Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah, leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me!
All my trust in Thee is stayed,
All my help from Thee I bring:
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of Thy wing.
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;More than all in Thee I find.Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,Heal the sick, and lead the blind.Just and holy is Thy name,I am all unrighteousness;False and full of sin I am,Thou art full of truth and grace.
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in Thee I find.
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
Heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy name,
I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am,
Thou art full of truth and grace.
Plenteous grace with Thee is found,Grace to cover all my sin;Let the healing streams abound,Make and keep me pure within.Thou of life the Fountain art,Freely let me take of Thee:Spring Thou up within my heart,Rise to all eternity.
Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound,
Make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the Fountain art,
Freely let me take of Thee:
Spring Thou up within my heart,
Rise to all eternity.
Charles Wesley, 1740.
WESLEY, THE SWEET BARD OF METHODISMEvery great religious movement has witnessed an outburst of song. This was particularly true of the Lutheran Reformation in Germany and other lands and of the Methodist revival in England. John and Charles Wesley, like Martin Luther, understood something of the value of sacred song in impressing religious truths upon the hearts and minds of men. While John Wesley was undoubtedly a preacher of marvelous spiritual power, the real secret of the success of the Wesleyan movement more likely must be sought in the sublime hymns written by his brother Charles.With Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley holds the foremost place in the realm of English hymnody. No less than 6,500 hymns are said to have been written by this “sweet bard of Methodism.” Naturally they are not all of the highest order, but it is surprising how many of them rise to real poetic excellence. Of the 770 hymns in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 623 are from the pen of Charles Wesley!Wesley did not write hymns merely as a duty, nor yet as a pastime. His soul seemed filled with music and poetry, and when his genius became touched by the divine spark of Christ’s Spirit, it burst into full flame. It has been said of Franz Schubert that “he had to write music.” The same was true of Charles Wesley. When his soul was full of song, he had to give expression to it by writing his immortal hymns. The inspiration came to him under all sorts ofconditions. Some of his hymns were written on horseback, others in a stage-coach or on the deck of a vessel. Even as he was lying on his deathbed, at the age of eighty years, he dictated his last hymn to his faithful and devoted wife. It begins with the words, “In age and feebleness extreme.”Charles Wesley was the next to the youngest of nineteen children born to Rev. Samuel Wesley and his remarkable wife Susannah. The father, who was a clergyman in the Church of England, possessed more than ordinary literary gifts. He is the author of at least one hymn that has survived the passing of time, “Behold, the Saviour of mankind.” The mother presided over the rectory at Epworth, where both of the distinguished sons were born, and also looked after the education of the younger children of the large family. Concerning this very unusual mother and the spiritual influence she exerted over her children, volumes have been written.Poverty and other tribulations descended upon the Epworth rectory like the afflictions of Job. The crowning disaster came in 1709, when the Wesley home was completely destroyed by fire. John, who was only six years old at the time, was left behind in the confusion and when the entire house was aflame he was seen to appear at a second-story window. The agonized father fell upon his knees and implored God to save his child. Immediately a neighbor mounted the shoulders of another man and managed to seize the boy just as the roof fell in. Thus was spared the child who was destined to become the leader of one of the greatest spiritual movements in the Christian Church.While John and Charles were students at Oxford University, they became dissatisfied with the spiritual conditions existing among the students. Soon they formed an organizationdevoted to spiritual exercises. Because of their strict rules and precise methods, they were nicknamed “the Methodists,” a name that afterwards became attached to their reform movement.The hymns of Charles Wesley are so numerous that only a few of the more outstanding can be mentioned here. “Hark! the herald angels sing,” “Love divine, all love excelling” and “Jesus, Lover of my soul” form a triumvirate of hymns never surpassed by a single author. Add to these such hymns as “A charge to keep I have,” “Arise, my soul, arise,” “Christ, whose glory fills the sky,” “Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,” “Soldiers of Christ, arise,” “Hail the day that sees Him rise,” and “Suffering Son of Man, be near me,” and it will readily be understood why the name of Charles Wesley is graven in such large letters in the hymnody of the Christian Church.“Jesus, Lover of my soul” is generally recognized as the finest hymn of Wesley. This is all the more remarkable since it was one of the earliest written by him. It was first published in 1740 in a collection of 139 hymns known as “Hymns and Sacred Poems, by John and Charles Wesley.” This was at the beginning of the Wesleyan movement, which soon began to spread like fire all over England.There are several stories extant as to the origin of the hymn. The most trustworthy of these tells how the author was deeply perplexed by spiritual difficulties one day, when he noticed through his open study window a little song bird pursued by a hungry hawk. Presently the bird fluttered exhausted through the window and straight into the arms of Wesley, where it found a safe refuge. Pondering on this unusual incident, the thought came to Wesley that, in likemanner, the soul of man must flee to Christ in doubts and fears. Then he took up his pen and wrote:Jesus, Lover of my soul,Let me to Thy bosom fly.The reference to the “tempest” and the “storm of life” may have been prompted by the memory of an earlier experience, when he and his brother John were on their way to the colony of Georgia on a missionary journey. It was in the year 1735 the brothers formed a friendship with a band of Moravians who were sailing on the same ship for America. During the crossing a terrible tempest was encountered and for a while it was feared the ship would sink. While all of the other passengers were filled with terror, the Wesleys were impressed by the calmness and courage of the Moravians, who sang hymns in the midst of the raging storm.Seeking for a reason for their spiritual fortitude, the brothers found that the Moravians seemed to possess a positive certainty of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The Wesleys also made the sad discovery that they themselves did not really possess this assurance, but had been trying to work out their salvation by methods of their own. John Wesley later made the confession that he and his brother had gone to Georgia to convert the people there, whereas they themselves had need to be converted!Upon their return to London the brothers fell in with other Moravians, and through them they became familiar with Luther’s teachings. Charles came to a saving faith in Christ during a severe illness, and a week later his brother had a similar spiritual experience. It was on May 24, 1738, that John Wesley attended a meeting in AldersgateStreet, where some one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. Then for the first time light dawned on his soul, and he found peace with God through Christ.Soon afterwards John Wesley left for Halle, Germany, the seat of the Pietist movement, in order to become more familiar with the teachings of Luther and the evangelical methods of the Pietists. At Halle he also became deeply imbued with missionary zeal. Upon his return to England he launched, with John Whitefield, the greatest spiritual movement his country had ever known. Revivals flamed everywhere. No buildings were large enough to house the crowds that gathered to hear the evangelists, and, because the English clergy were hostile to the movement, most of the meetings were held in the open air.Charles at first aided in preaching, but eventually devoted his time mainly to hymns. It is estimated that John Wesley held no less than forty thousand preaching services, and traveled nearly a quarter of a million miles. It was he who said, “The world is my parish.” John wrote some original hymns, but his translations of German hymns are more important. We are indebted to him for the English versions of Paul Gerhardt’s “Commit thou all thy griefs,” Tersteegen’s “Thou hidden love of God whose height,” Freylinghausen’s “O Jesus, Source of calm repose,” Zinzendorf’s “Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness,” and Scheffler’s “Thee will I love, My Strength, my Tower.”Charles Wesley died March 29, 1788, after fifty years of service to the Church. The day before he was taken ill, he preached in City Road chapel, London. The hymn before the sermon was Watts’ “I’ll praise my Maker, while I’ve breath.” The following evening, although very sick, he amazed his friends by singing the entire hymn with astrong voice. On the night of his death he tried several times to repeat the hymn, but could only say, “I’ll praise—I’ll praise—,” and with the praise of his Maker on his lips, he went home to God. John Wesley survived his brother three years, entering his eternal rest on March 2, 1791. The text of his last sermon was, “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found.”Whether Charles Wesley or Isaac Watts should be accorded first place among English hymnists has been a subject of much dispute. The fact is that each occupies a unique position, and the one complements the other. While Watts dwells on the awful majesty and glory of God in sublime phrases, Wesley touches the very hem of Christ’s garment in loving adoration and praise. Dr. Breed compares the two in the following striking manner:“Watts is more reverential; Wesley more loving. Watts is stronger; Wesley sweeter. Watts appeals profoundly to the intellect; Wesley takes hold of the heart. Watts will continue to sing for the Pauls and Peters of the Church; Wesley for the Thomases and the Johns. Where both are so great it would be idle to attempt to settle their priority. Let us only be grateful that God in His gracious providence has given both to the Church to voice the praises of various classes.”Henry Ward Beecher uttered one of the most beautiful of all tributes to “Jesus, Lover of my soul” when he said: “I would rather have written that hymn of Wesley’s than to have the fame of all the kings that ever sat on the earth. It is more glorious. It has more power in it. I would rather be the author of that hymn than to hold the wealth of the richest man in New York. He will die. Heisdead, and does not know it.... But that hymn will go singinguntil the last trump brings forth the angel band; and then, I think, it will mount up on some lip to the very presence of God.”George Duffield, author of “Stand up, stand up for Jesus,” called Wesley’s lyric “the hymn of the ages.”No one will ever know how much help and consolation it has brought to souls in affliction. Allan Sutherland tells of the following pathetic incident:“On an intensely warm day, as I stood on the corner of a sun-baked street in Philadelphia, waiting for a car to take me to the cool retreats of Fairmount Park, I heard a low, quavering voice singing, with inexpressible sweetness, ‘Jesus, Lover of my soul.’ Looking up to an open window whence the sound came, I saw on the sill a half-withered plant—a pathetic oasis of green in a desert of brick and mortar—and resting tenderly and caressingly upon it was an emaciated hand. I could not see the person to whom the voice and hand belonged, but that was unnecessary—the story was all too clearly revealed: I knew that within that close, uncomfortable room a human soul was struggling with the great problem of life and death, and was slowly but surely reaching its solution; I knew that in spite of her lowly surroundings her life was going out serenely and triumphantly. I shall never forget the grave, pathetic pleading in the frail young voice as these words were borne to me on the oppressive air:Other refuge have I none;Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;Leave, ah, leave me not alone,Still support and comfort me!”
Every great religious movement has witnessed an outburst of song. This was particularly true of the Lutheran Reformation in Germany and other lands and of the Methodist revival in England. John and Charles Wesley, like Martin Luther, understood something of the value of sacred song in impressing religious truths upon the hearts and minds of men. While John Wesley was undoubtedly a preacher of marvelous spiritual power, the real secret of the success of the Wesleyan movement more likely must be sought in the sublime hymns written by his brother Charles.
With Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley holds the foremost place in the realm of English hymnody. No less than 6,500 hymns are said to have been written by this “sweet bard of Methodism.” Naturally they are not all of the highest order, but it is surprising how many of them rise to real poetic excellence. Of the 770 hymns in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 623 are from the pen of Charles Wesley!
Wesley did not write hymns merely as a duty, nor yet as a pastime. His soul seemed filled with music and poetry, and when his genius became touched by the divine spark of Christ’s Spirit, it burst into full flame. It has been said of Franz Schubert that “he had to write music.” The same was true of Charles Wesley. When his soul was full of song, he had to give expression to it by writing his immortal hymns. The inspiration came to him under all sorts ofconditions. Some of his hymns were written on horseback, others in a stage-coach or on the deck of a vessel. Even as he was lying on his deathbed, at the age of eighty years, he dictated his last hymn to his faithful and devoted wife. It begins with the words, “In age and feebleness extreme.”
Charles Wesley was the next to the youngest of nineteen children born to Rev. Samuel Wesley and his remarkable wife Susannah. The father, who was a clergyman in the Church of England, possessed more than ordinary literary gifts. He is the author of at least one hymn that has survived the passing of time, “Behold, the Saviour of mankind.” The mother presided over the rectory at Epworth, where both of the distinguished sons were born, and also looked after the education of the younger children of the large family. Concerning this very unusual mother and the spiritual influence she exerted over her children, volumes have been written.
Poverty and other tribulations descended upon the Epworth rectory like the afflictions of Job. The crowning disaster came in 1709, when the Wesley home was completely destroyed by fire. John, who was only six years old at the time, was left behind in the confusion and when the entire house was aflame he was seen to appear at a second-story window. The agonized father fell upon his knees and implored God to save his child. Immediately a neighbor mounted the shoulders of another man and managed to seize the boy just as the roof fell in. Thus was spared the child who was destined to become the leader of one of the greatest spiritual movements in the Christian Church.
While John and Charles were students at Oxford University, they became dissatisfied with the spiritual conditions existing among the students. Soon they formed an organizationdevoted to spiritual exercises. Because of their strict rules and precise methods, they were nicknamed “the Methodists,” a name that afterwards became attached to their reform movement.
The hymns of Charles Wesley are so numerous that only a few of the more outstanding can be mentioned here. “Hark! the herald angels sing,” “Love divine, all love excelling” and “Jesus, Lover of my soul” form a triumvirate of hymns never surpassed by a single author. Add to these such hymns as “A charge to keep I have,” “Arise, my soul, arise,” “Christ, whose glory fills the sky,” “Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,” “Soldiers of Christ, arise,” “Hail the day that sees Him rise,” and “Suffering Son of Man, be near me,” and it will readily be understood why the name of Charles Wesley is graven in such large letters in the hymnody of the Christian Church.
“Jesus, Lover of my soul” is generally recognized as the finest hymn of Wesley. This is all the more remarkable since it was one of the earliest written by him. It was first published in 1740 in a collection of 139 hymns known as “Hymns and Sacred Poems, by John and Charles Wesley.” This was at the beginning of the Wesleyan movement, which soon began to spread like fire all over England.
There are several stories extant as to the origin of the hymn. The most trustworthy of these tells how the author was deeply perplexed by spiritual difficulties one day, when he noticed through his open study window a little song bird pursued by a hungry hawk. Presently the bird fluttered exhausted through the window and straight into the arms of Wesley, where it found a safe refuge. Pondering on this unusual incident, the thought came to Wesley that, in likemanner, the soul of man must flee to Christ in doubts and fears. Then he took up his pen and wrote:
Jesus, Lover of my soul,Let me to Thy bosom fly.
Jesus, Lover of my soul,Let me to Thy bosom fly.
Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly.
The reference to the “tempest” and the “storm of life” may have been prompted by the memory of an earlier experience, when he and his brother John were on their way to the colony of Georgia on a missionary journey. It was in the year 1735 the brothers formed a friendship with a band of Moravians who were sailing on the same ship for America. During the crossing a terrible tempest was encountered and for a while it was feared the ship would sink. While all of the other passengers were filled with terror, the Wesleys were impressed by the calmness and courage of the Moravians, who sang hymns in the midst of the raging storm.
Seeking for a reason for their spiritual fortitude, the brothers found that the Moravians seemed to possess a positive certainty of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The Wesleys also made the sad discovery that they themselves did not really possess this assurance, but had been trying to work out their salvation by methods of their own. John Wesley later made the confession that he and his brother had gone to Georgia to convert the people there, whereas they themselves had need to be converted!
Upon their return to London the brothers fell in with other Moravians, and through them they became familiar with Luther’s teachings. Charles came to a saving faith in Christ during a severe illness, and a week later his brother had a similar spiritual experience. It was on May 24, 1738, that John Wesley attended a meeting in AldersgateStreet, where some one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. Then for the first time light dawned on his soul, and he found peace with God through Christ.
Soon afterwards John Wesley left for Halle, Germany, the seat of the Pietist movement, in order to become more familiar with the teachings of Luther and the evangelical methods of the Pietists. At Halle he also became deeply imbued with missionary zeal. Upon his return to England he launched, with John Whitefield, the greatest spiritual movement his country had ever known. Revivals flamed everywhere. No buildings were large enough to house the crowds that gathered to hear the evangelists, and, because the English clergy were hostile to the movement, most of the meetings were held in the open air.
Charles at first aided in preaching, but eventually devoted his time mainly to hymns. It is estimated that John Wesley held no less than forty thousand preaching services, and traveled nearly a quarter of a million miles. It was he who said, “The world is my parish.” John wrote some original hymns, but his translations of German hymns are more important. We are indebted to him for the English versions of Paul Gerhardt’s “Commit thou all thy griefs,” Tersteegen’s “Thou hidden love of God whose height,” Freylinghausen’s “O Jesus, Source of calm repose,” Zinzendorf’s “Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness,” and Scheffler’s “Thee will I love, My Strength, my Tower.”
Charles Wesley died March 29, 1788, after fifty years of service to the Church. The day before he was taken ill, he preached in City Road chapel, London. The hymn before the sermon was Watts’ “I’ll praise my Maker, while I’ve breath.” The following evening, although very sick, he amazed his friends by singing the entire hymn with astrong voice. On the night of his death he tried several times to repeat the hymn, but could only say, “I’ll praise—I’ll praise—,” and with the praise of his Maker on his lips, he went home to God. John Wesley survived his brother three years, entering his eternal rest on March 2, 1791. The text of his last sermon was, “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found.”
Whether Charles Wesley or Isaac Watts should be accorded first place among English hymnists has been a subject of much dispute. The fact is that each occupies a unique position, and the one complements the other. While Watts dwells on the awful majesty and glory of God in sublime phrases, Wesley touches the very hem of Christ’s garment in loving adoration and praise. Dr. Breed compares the two in the following striking manner:
“Watts is more reverential; Wesley more loving. Watts is stronger; Wesley sweeter. Watts appeals profoundly to the intellect; Wesley takes hold of the heart. Watts will continue to sing for the Pauls and Peters of the Church; Wesley for the Thomases and the Johns. Where both are so great it would be idle to attempt to settle their priority. Let us only be grateful that God in His gracious providence has given both to the Church to voice the praises of various classes.”
Henry Ward Beecher uttered one of the most beautiful of all tributes to “Jesus, Lover of my soul” when he said: “I would rather have written that hymn of Wesley’s than to have the fame of all the kings that ever sat on the earth. It is more glorious. It has more power in it. I would rather be the author of that hymn than to hold the wealth of the richest man in New York. He will die. Heisdead, and does not know it.... But that hymn will go singinguntil the last trump brings forth the angel band; and then, I think, it will mount up on some lip to the very presence of God.”
George Duffield, author of “Stand up, stand up for Jesus,” called Wesley’s lyric “the hymn of the ages.”
No one will ever know how much help and consolation it has brought to souls in affliction. Allan Sutherland tells of the following pathetic incident:
“On an intensely warm day, as I stood on the corner of a sun-baked street in Philadelphia, waiting for a car to take me to the cool retreats of Fairmount Park, I heard a low, quavering voice singing, with inexpressible sweetness, ‘Jesus, Lover of my soul.’ Looking up to an open window whence the sound came, I saw on the sill a half-withered plant—a pathetic oasis of green in a desert of brick and mortar—and resting tenderly and caressingly upon it was an emaciated hand. I could not see the person to whom the voice and hand belonged, but that was unnecessary—the story was all too clearly revealed: I knew that within that close, uncomfortable room a human soul was struggling with the great problem of life and death, and was slowly but surely reaching its solution; I knew that in spite of her lowly surroundings her life was going out serenely and triumphantly. I shall never forget the grave, pathetic pleading in the frail young voice as these words were borne to me on the oppressive air:
Other refuge have I none;Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;Leave, ah, leave me not alone,Still support and comfort me!”
Other refuge have I none;Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;Leave, ah, leave me not alone,Still support and comfort me!”
Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah, leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me!”
Another Hymn of the AgesRock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in Thee:Let the water and the bloodFrom Thy riven side which flowedBe of sin the perfect cure,Save me, Lord, and make me pure.Not the labors of my handsCan fulfil Thy Law’s demands;Could my zeal no respite know,Could my tears forever flow,All for sin could not atone;Thou must save, and Thou alone.Nothing in my hand I bring,Simply to Thy cross I cling;Naked, come to Thee for dress;Helpless, look to Thee for grace;Foul, I to the Fountain fly:Wash me, Saviour, or I die!When I draw this fleeting breath,When my eyelids close in death,When I soar to worlds unknown,See Thee on Thy judgment throne,Rock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in Thee.August Toplady, 1776.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in Thee:Let the water and the bloodFrom Thy riven side which flowedBe of sin the perfect cure,Save me, Lord, and make me pure.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee:
Let the water and the blood
From Thy riven side which flowed
Be of sin the perfect cure,
Save me, Lord, and make me pure.
Not the labors of my handsCan fulfil Thy Law’s demands;Could my zeal no respite know,Could my tears forever flow,All for sin could not atone;Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfil Thy Law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,Simply to Thy cross I cling;Naked, come to Thee for dress;Helpless, look to Thee for grace;Foul, I to the Fountain fly:Wash me, Saviour, or I die!
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the Fountain fly:
Wash me, Saviour, or I die!
When I draw this fleeting breath,When my eyelids close in death,When I soar to worlds unknown,See Thee on Thy judgment throne,Rock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in Thee.
When I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
August Toplady, 1776.
A GREAT HYMN THAT GREW OUT OF A QUARRELAlthough Isaac Watts’ beautiful hymn, “When I survey the wondrous cross,” is regarded by most critics as the finest hymn in the English language, Toplady’s “Rock of Ages” holds the distinction of being the most popular. Perhaps no hymn ever written has so gripped the hearts of Christians of all communions as this noble hymn.A British magazine once invited its readers to submit a list of the hundred English hymns that stood highest in their esteem. A total of 3,500 persons responded, and “Rock of Ages” was named first by 3,215.We have tried the same experiment with a group of Bible students, and “Rock of Ages” easily headed the list.Augustus Montague Toplady, the writer of this hymn, was born on November 4, 1740, at Farnham, England. His father, a major in the English army, was killed the following year at the siege of Carthagena. The widowed mother later removed to Ireland, where her son was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. It was during this period of his life that Augustus, then sixteen years of age, chanced to attend an evangelistic service held in a barn. The preacher was an unlettered layman, but his message so gripped the heart of the lad that he determined then and there to give his heart to God. Of this experience Toplady afterward wrote:“Strange that I who had so long sat under the means of grace in England should be brought right unto God inan obscure part of Ireland, amidst a handful of people met together in a barn, and by the ministry of one who could hardly spell his own name. Surely it was the Lord’s doing and is marvelous.”Toplady was ordained at the age of twenty-two as a minister of the Church of England. He was frail of body, and after some years he was stricken with consumption. It was while fighting the ravages of this disease that he wrote his famous hymn, two years before his death.The hymn first appeared in the March issue of theGospel Magazine, of which Toplady was editor, in the year 1776. It was appended to a curious article in which the author attempted to show by mathematical computation how dreadful is the sum total of sins committed by a man during a lifetime, and how impossible it is for a sinner to redeem himself from this debt of guilt. But Christ, who is the sinner’s refuge, has paid the entire debt. It was this glorious thought that inspired him to sing:Rock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in Thee.For some years John Wesley, the great founder of Methodism, and Toplady had been engaged in a theological dispute. Toplady was a confirmed Calvinist and was intolerant of Wesley’s Arminian views. Both men were intemperate in their language and hurled unseemly and sometimes bitter invectives at each other. Wesley characterized Toplady as a “chimney-sweep” and “a lively coxcomb.” Toplady retorted by calling Wesley “Pope John” and declaring that his forehead was “petrified” and “impervious to a blush.” There are reasons for believing that the article in theGospel Magazineby Toplady to which we have alludedwas for the purpose of refuting Wesley’s teachings, and that “Rock of Ages” was written at the conclusion of the article as an effective way of clinching the argument.In our day, when we find “Rock of Ages” on one page of our hymnals and Charles Wesley’s “Jesus, Lover of my soul,” on the next, it is hard to understand the uncharitable spirit that existed between these servants of Christ. Perhaps, had they really understood each other, they were more in accord than they suspected.Nevertheless, God is able to use the most imperfect of human instruments for His praise, and surely “Rock of Ages” has been the means of bringing multitudes to God through Christ. Its strength lies undoubtedly in the clear and simple manner in which it sets forth the glorious truth that we are saved by grace alone, through the merits of Christ. Even a child can understand the meaning of the words,Nothing in my hand I bring,Simply to Thy cross I cling.Or these,Not the labors of my handsCan fulfil Thy Law’s demands;Could my zeal no respite know,Could my tears forever flow,All for sin could not atone;Thou must save, and Thou alone.In this comforting and triumphant faith Toplady himself passed into glory in his thirty-eighth year. A few hours before his death he exclaimed: “My heart beats every day stronger and stronger for glory. Sickness is no affliction, pain no curse, death itself no dissolution.” His last words were: “My prayers are all converted into praises.”During his illness some friends had expressed the hope that he might soon be restored. Toplady shook his head.“No mortal man can live,” he said, “after the glories which God has manifested to my soul.”At another time he told how he “enjoyed a heaven already in his soul,” and that his spiritual experiences were so exalted that he could ask for nothing except a continuation of them.Before his death Toplady had requested that he be buried beneath the gallery over against the pulpit of Totenham Court Chapel. Strangely enough, this building was intimately associated with the early history of Methodism. It was built by Whitefield, and here also Wesley preached Whitefield’s funeral sermon. Perhaps it was Toplady’s way of expressing the hope that all the bitterness and rancor attending his controversy with Wesley might be buried with him.“Rock of Ages” has been translated into almost every known language, and to all peoples it seems to bring the same wondrous appeal. An old Chinese woman was trying to do something of “merit” in the eyes of her heathen gods by digging a well twenty-five feet deep and fifteen in diameter. She was converted to Christianity, and when she was eighty years old, she held out the crippled hands with which she had labored all her life and sang: “Nothing in my hands I bring.”A missionary to India once sought the aid of a Hindu to translate the hymn into one of the numerous dialects of India. The result was not so happy. The opening words were:Very old stone, split for my benefit,Let me get under one of your fragments.This is a fair example of the difference between poetry and prose. The translator was faithful to the idea, but how common-place and unfortunate are his expressions when compared with the language of the original!
Although Isaac Watts’ beautiful hymn, “When I survey the wondrous cross,” is regarded by most critics as the finest hymn in the English language, Toplady’s “Rock of Ages” holds the distinction of being the most popular. Perhaps no hymn ever written has so gripped the hearts of Christians of all communions as this noble hymn.
A British magazine once invited its readers to submit a list of the hundred English hymns that stood highest in their esteem. A total of 3,500 persons responded, and “Rock of Ages” was named first by 3,215.
We have tried the same experiment with a group of Bible students, and “Rock of Ages” easily headed the list.
Augustus Montague Toplady, the writer of this hymn, was born on November 4, 1740, at Farnham, England. His father, a major in the English army, was killed the following year at the siege of Carthagena. The widowed mother later removed to Ireland, where her son was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. It was during this period of his life that Augustus, then sixteen years of age, chanced to attend an evangelistic service held in a barn. The preacher was an unlettered layman, but his message so gripped the heart of the lad that he determined then and there to give his heart to God. Of this experience Toplady afterward wrote:
“Strange that I who had so long sat under the means of grace in England should be brought right unto God inan obscure part of Ireland, amidst a handful of people met together in a barn, and by the ministry of one who could hardly spell his own name. Surely it was the Lord’s doing and is marvelous.”
Toplady was ordained at the age of twenty-two as a minister of the Church of England. He was frail of body, and after some years he was stricken with consumption. It was while fighting the ravages of this disease that he wrote his famous hymn, two years before his death.
The hymn first appeared in the March issue of theGospel Magazine, of which Toplady was editor, in the year 1776. It was appended to a curious article in which the author attempted to show by mathematical computation how dreadful is the sum total of sins committed by a man during a lifetime, and how impossible it is for a sinner to redeem himself from this debt of guilt. But Christ, who is the sinner’s refuge, has paid the entire debt. It was this glorious thought that inspired him to sing:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in Thee.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in Thee.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
For some years John Wesley, the great founder of Methodism, and Toplady had been engaged in a theological dispute. Toplady was a confirmed Calvinist and was intolerant of Wesley’s Arminian views. Both men were intemperate in their language and hurled unseemly and sometimes bitter invectives at each other. Wesley characterized Toplady as a “chimney-sweep” and “a lively coxcomb.” Toplady retorted by calling Wesley “Pope John” and declaring that his forehead was “petrified” and “impervious to a blush.” There are reasons for believing that the article in theGospel Magazineby Toplady to which we have alludedwas for the purpose of refuting Wesley’s teachings, and that “Rock of Ages” was written at the conclusion of the article as an effective way of clinching the argument.
In our day, when we find “Rock of Ages” on one page of our hymnals and Charles Wesley’s “Jesus, Lover of my soul,” on the next, it is hard to understand the uncharitable spirit that existed between these servants of Christ. Perhaps, had they really understood each other, they were more in accord than they suspected.
Nevertheless, God is able to use the most imperfect of human instruments for His praise, and surely “Rock of Ages” has been the means of bringing multitudes to God through Christ. Its strength lies undoubtedly in the clear and simple manner in which it sets forth the glorious truth that we are saved by grace alone, through the merits of Christ. Even a child can understand the meaning of the words,
Nothing in my hand I bring,Simply to Thy cross I cling.
Nothing in my hand I bring,Simply to Thy cross I cling.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling.
Or these,
Not the labors of my handsCan fulfil Thy Law’s demands;Could my zeal no respite know,Could my tears forever flow,All for sin could not atone;Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Not the labors of my handsCan fulfil Thy Law’s demands;Could my zeal no respite know,Could my tears forever flow,All for sin could not atone;Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfil Thy Law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
In this comforting and triumphant faith Toplady himself passed into glory in his thirty-eighth year. A few hours before his death he exclaimed: “My heart beats every day stronger and stronger for glory. Sickness is no affliction, pain no curse, death itself no dissolution.” His last words were: “My prayers are all converted into praises.”
During his illness some friends had expressed the hope that he might soon be restored. Toplady shook his head.
“No mortal man can live,” he said, “after the glories which God has manifested to my soul.”
At another time he told how he “enjoyed a heaven already in his soul,” and that his spiritual experiences were so exalted that he could ask for nothing except a continuation of them.
Before his death Toplady had requested that he be buried beneath the gallery over against the pulpit of Totenham Court Chapel. Strangely enough, this building was intimately associated with the early history of Methodism. It was built by Whitefield, and here also Wesley preached Whitefield’s funeral sermon. Perhaps it was Toplady’s way of expressing the hope that all the bitterness and rancor attending his controversy with Wesley might be buried with him.
“Rock of Ages” has been translated into almost every known language, and to all peoples it seems to bring the same wondrous appeal. An old Chinese woman was trying to do something of “merit” in the eyes of her heathen gods by digging a well twenty-five feet deep and fifteen in diameter. She was converted to Christianity, and when she was eighty years old, she held out the crippled hands with which she had labored all her life and sang: “Nothing in my hands I bring.”
A missionary to India once sought the aid of a Hindu to translate the hymn into one of the numerous dialects of India. The result was not so happy. The opening words were:
Very old stone, split for my benefit,Let me get under one of your fragments.
Very old stone, split for my benefit,Let me get under one of your fragments.
Very old stone, split for my benefit,
Let me get under one of your fragments.
This is a fair example of the difference between poetry and prose. The translator was faithful to the idea, but how common-place and unfortunate are his expressions when compared with the language of the original!
The Coronation HymnAll hail the power of Jesus’ Name!Let angels prostrate fall;Bring forth the royal diadem,And crown Him Lord of all.Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,Ye ransomed from the fall,Hail Him, who saves you by His grace,And crown Him Lord of all.Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line,Whom David Lord did call;The Lord incarnate, Man divine,And crown Him Lord of all.Sinners, whose love can ne’er forgetThe wormwood and the gall;Go, spread your trophies at His feet,And crown Him Lord of all.Let every kindred, every tribe,On this terrestrial ballTo Him all majesty ascribe,And crown Him Lord of all.O that with yonder sacred throngWe at His feet may fall!We’ll join the everlasting song,And crown Him Lord of all.Edward Perronet, 1779.
All hail the power of Jesus’ Name!Let angels prostrate fall;Bring forth the royal diadem,And crown Him Lord of all.
All hail the power of Jesus’ Name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,Ye ransomed from the fall,Hail Him, who saves you by His grace,And crown Him Lord of all.
Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him, who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line,Whom David Lord did call;The Lord incarnate, Man divine,And crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call;
The Lord incarnate, Man divine,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Sinners, whose love can ne’er forgetThe wormwood and the gall;Go, spread your trophies at His feet,And crown Him Lord of all.
Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget
The wormwood and the gall;
Go, spread your trophies at His feet,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Let every kindred, every tribe,On this terrestrial ballTo Him all majesty ascribe,And crown Him Lord of all.
Let every kindred, every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all.
O that with yonder sacred throngWe at His feet may fall!We’ll join the everlasting song,And crown Him Lord of all.
O that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall!
We’ll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Edward Perronet, 1779.
THE BIRD OF A SINGLE SONGSome men gain fame through a long life of work and achievement; others through a single notable deed. The latter is true in a very remarkable sense of Edward Perronet, author of the Church’s great coronation hymn, “All hail the power of Jesus’ Name.”“Perronet, bird of a single song, but O how sweet!” is the charming tribute of Bishop Fess in referring to this inspired hymn and its author.Although Perronet was a man of more than ordinary ability, his name probably would have been lost to posterity had he not written the coronation hymn. An associate of the Wesleys for many years, Perronet also wrote three volumes of sacred poems, some of unusual merit. All of them, however, have been practically forgotten except his one immortal hymn. So long as there are Christians on earth, it will continue to be sung, and after that—in heaven!Perronet came from a distinguished line of French Protestants who had found refuge in England during times of religious persecution in their homeland. His father, Rev. Vincent Perronet, was vicar of Shoreham. Both father and son, though ardent supporters of the Established Church, became intensely interested in the great evangelical revival under Whitefield and the Wesleys. At one time young Perronet traveled with John Wesley. Much opposition had been stirred up against the Wesleyan movement, and in some places the preachers were threatened by mobs. Concerningthese experiences, Wesley makes the following notation in his diary:“From Rockdale we went to Bolton, and soon found that the Rockdale lions were lambs in comparison with those of Bolton. Edward Perronet was thrown down and rolled in mud and mire. Stones were hurled and windows broken.”On another occasion it is recorded that Wesley wanted to hear Perronet preach. The author of our hymn, however, seems to have been somewhat reluctant about preaching in the presence of the great reformer. Wesley, nevertheless, without consulting Perronet, announced in church that the young man would occupy the pulpit on the following morning. Perronet said nothing, but on the morrow he mounted the pulpit and explained that he had not consented to preach. “However,” he added, “I shall deliver the best sermon that has ever been preached on earth,” whereupon he read the Sermon on the Mount from beginning to end, adding not a word of comment!“All hail the power of Jesus’ Name” has been translated into almost every language where Christianity is known, and wherever it is sung it seems to grip human hearts. One of the most remarkable stories of the power of this hymn is related by Rev. E. P. Scott, a missionary to India. Having learned of a distant savage tribe in the interior to whom the gospel had not yet been preached, this missionary, despite the warnings of his friends, packed his baggage and, taking his violin, set out on his perilous venture. After traveling several days, he suddenly came upon a large party of the savages who surrounded him and pointed their spears at him.Believing death to be near, the missionary neverthelesstook out his violin and with a prayer to God began to sing “All hail the power of Jesus’ Name!” He closed his eyes as he sang, expecting every moment to be pierced through with the threatening spears. When he reached the stanza, “Let every kindred, every tribe,” he opened his eyes. What was his surprise to see every spear lowered, and many of the savages moved to tears!He remained for two years and a half, preaching the story of redemption and leading many of the natives to Jesus. When he was about to return to America on furlough, they pleaded, “O missionary, come back to us again!” He did so, and finally passed away in the midst of these people who had learned to love the man who had brought them the gospel of Christ.It is interesting to know that, while the people of both England and America prize this hymn very highly, they sing it to different melodies. The tune used in America is called “Coronation” and was composed by a carpenter of Charlestown, Mass., by the name of Oliver Holden. This man was very fond of music and spent his spare time in playing a little organ on which he composed his tunes. The organ may still be seen in Boston.Thus an English minister and an American carpenter have united in giving the world an immortal hymn.Perronet died January 2, 1792. His last words were:“Glory to God in the height of His divinity!Glory to God in the depth of His humanity!Glory to God in His all-sufficiency!Into His hands I commend my spirit.”Two other hymn-writers who, like Perronet, were associated with the Wesleyan movement may be mentionedin this connection. They were John Cennick and William Williams. Like Perronet, too, each was the author of one great hymn, and through that hymn their names have been preserved to posterity.Cennick, who was of Bohemian ancestry, first met John Wesley in 1739. Of that meeting Wesley has the following notation in his diary: “On Friday, March 1739, I came to Reading, where I found a young man who had in some measure known the powers of the world to come. I spent the evening with him and a few of his serious friends, and it pleased God much to strengthen and comfort them.”For a while Cennick assisted Wesley as a lay preacher, but in 1741 he forsook the Methodist movement on account of Wesley’s “free grace” doctrines and organized a society of his own along Calvinistic lines. Later he joined himself to John Whitefield as an evangelist, but finally he went over to the Moravians, in which communion he labored abundantly until his death in 1755 at the early age of thirty-seven years.To Cennick we are indebted for the majestic hymn on the theme of Christ’s second coming, “Lo! He comes, with clouds descending.” James King, in his “Anglican Hymnology,” gives this hymn third place among the hymns of the Anglican Church, it being excelled in his estimation only by Bishop Ken’s “All praise to Thee, my God, this night” and Wesley’s “Hark! the herald angels sing.” Cennick has also bequeathed to the Church the lovely hymn, “Children of the heavenly King.” Though he wrote and published many more hymns, they are mostly of an inferior order.Williams, a Welshman by birth, has also left a hymn that has gone singing down through the centuries. It is therugged and stirring hymn that sets forth in such striking imagery the experiences of the Israelites in the wilderness, “Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah.”Williams, who earned the title of the “Watts of Wales,” wrote the hymn originally in Welsh. Of him it has been said that “He did for Wales what Wesley and Watts did for England, or what Luther did for Germany.” His first hymn-book, “Hallelujah,” was published in 1744, when he was only twenty-seven years old.The Welsh hymnist originally intended to enter the medical profession, but, after passing through a spiritual crisis, he was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England. Because of his free methods of evangelism, he was denied full ordination, and later identified himself with the Wesleyan revival. Like Cennick and Perronet, however, he soon forsook the Wesleys, and now we find him a Calvinistic Methodist, having adopted Wales as his parish. He was a powerful preacher and an unusual singer, and for forty-five years he carried on a blessed work until, on January 11, 1791, he passed through “the swelling current” and was landed “safe on Canaan’s side.”
Some men gain fame through a long life of work and achievement; others through a single notable deed. The latter is true in a very remarkable sense of Edward Perronet, author of the Church’s great coronation hymn, “All hail the power of Jesus’ Name.”
“Perronet, bird of a single song, but O how sweet!” is the charming tribute of Bishop Fess in referring to this inspired hymn and its author.
Although Perronet was a man of more than ordinary ability, his name probably would have been lost to posterity had he not written the coronation hymn. An associate of the Wesleys for many years, Perronet also wrote three volumes of sacred poems, some of unusual merit. All of them, however, have been practically forgotten except his one immortal hymn. So long as there are Christians on earth, it will continue to be sung, and after that—in heaven!
Perronet came from a distinguished line of French Protestants who had found refuge in England during times of religious persecution in their homeland. His father, Rev. Vincent Perronet, was vicar of Shoreham. Both father and son, though ardent supporters of the Established Church, became intensely interested in the great evangelical revival under Whitefield and the Wesleys. At one time young Perronet traveled with John Wesley. Much opposition had been stirred up against the Wesleyan movement, and in some places the preachers were threatened by mobs. Concerningthese experiences, Wesley makes the following notation in his diary:
“From Rockdale we went to Bolton, and soon found that the Rockdale lions were lambs in comparison with those of Bolton. Edward Perronet was thrown down and rolled in mud and mire. Stones were hurled and windows broken.”
On another occasion it is recorded that Wesley wanted to hear Perronet preach. The author of our hymn, however, seems to have been somewhat reluctant about preaching in the presence of the great reformer. Wesley, nevertheless, without consulting Perronet, announced in church that the young man would occupy the pulpit on the following morning. Perronet said nothing, but on the morrow he mounted the pulpit and explained that he had not consented to preach. “However,” he added, “I shall deliver the best sermon that has ever been preached on earth,” whereupon he read the Sermon on the Mount from beginning to end, adding not a word of comment!
“All hail the power of Jesus’ Name” has been translated into almost every language where Christianity is known, and wherever it is sung it seems to grip human hearts. One of the most remarkable stories of the power of this hymn is related by Rev. E. P. Scott, a missionary to India. Having learned of a distant savage tribe in the interior to whom the gospel had not yet been preached, this missionary, despite the warnings of his friends, packed his baggage and, taking his violin, set out on his perilous venture. After traveling several days, he suddenly came upon a large party of the savages who surrounded him and pointed their spears at him.
Believing death to be near, the missionary neverthelesstook out his violin and with a prayer to God began to sing “All hail the power of Jesus’ Name!” He closed his eyes as he sang, expecting every moment to be pierced through with the threatening spears. When he reached the stanza, “Let every kindred, every tribe,” he opened his eyes. What was his surprise to see every spear lowered, and many of the savages moved to tears!
He remained for two years and a half, preaching the story of redemption and leading many of the natives to Jesus. When he was about to return to America on furlough, they pleaded, “O missionary, come back to us again!” He did so, and finally passed away in the midst of these people who had learned to love the man who had brought them the gospel of Christ.
It is interesting to know that, while the people of both England and America prize this hymn very highly, they sing it to different melodies. The tune used in America is called “Coronation” and was composed by a carpenter of Charlestown, Mass., by the name of Oliver Holden. This man was very fond of music and spent his spare time in playing a little organ on which he composed his tunes. The organ may still be seen in Boston.
Thus an English minister and an American carpenter have united in giving the world an immortal hymn.
Perronet died January 2, 1792. His last words were:
“Glory to God in the height of His divinity!Glory to God in the depth of His humanity!Glory to God in His all-sufficiency!Into His hands I commend my spirit.”
“Glory to God in the height of His divinity!Glory to God in the depth of His humanity!Glory to God in His all-sufficiency!Into His hands I commend my spirit.”
“Glory to God in the height of His divinity!
Glory to God in the depth of His humanity!
Glory to God in His all-sufficiency!
Into His hands I commend my spirit.”
Two other hymn-writers who, like Perronet, were associated with the Wesleyan movement may be mentionedin this connection. They were John Cennick and William Williams. Like Perronet, too, each was the author of one great hymn, and through that hymn their names have been preserved to posterity.
Cennick, who was of Bohemian ancestry, first met John Wesley in 1739. Of that meeting Wesley has the following notation in his diary: “On Friday, March 1739, I came to Reading, where I found a young man who had in some measure known the powers of the world to come. I spent the evening with him and a few of his serious friends, and it pleased God much to strengthen and comfort them.”
For a while Cennick assisted Wesley as a lay preacher, but in 1741 he forsook the Methodist movement on account of Wesley’s “free grace” doctrines and organized a society of his own along Calvinistic lines. Later he joined himself to John Whitefield as an evangelist, but finally he went over to the Moravians, in which communion he labored abundantly until his death in 1755 at the early age of thirty-seven years.
To Cennick we are indebted for the majestic hymn on the theme of Christ’s second coming, “Lo! He comes, with clouds descending.” James King, in his “Anglican Hymnology,” gives this hymn third place among the hymns of the Anglican Church, it being excelled in his estimation only by Bishop Ken’s “All praise to Thee, my God, this night” and Wesley’s “Hark! the herald angels sing.” Cennick has also bequeathed to the Church the lovely hymn, “Children of the heavenly King.” Though he wrote and published many more hymns, they are mostly of an inferior order.
Williams, a Welshman by birth, has also left a hymn that has gone singing down through the centuries. It is therugged and stirring hymn that sets forth in such striking imagery the experiences of the Israelites in the wilderness, “Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah.”
Williams, who earned the title of the “Watts of Wales,” wrote the hymn originally in Welsh. Of him it has been said that “He did for Wales what Wesley and Watts did for England, or what Luther did for Germany.” His first hymn-book, “Hallelujah,” was published in 1744, when he was only twenty-seven years old.
The Welsh hymnist originally intended to enter the medical profession, but, after passing through a spiritual crisis, he was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England. Because of his free methods of evangelism, he was denied full ordination, and later identified himself with the Wesleyan revival. Like Cennick and Perronet, however, he soon forsook the Wesleys, and now we find him a Calvinistic Methodist, having adopted Wales as his parish. He was a powerful preacher and an unusual singer, and for forty-five years he carried on a blessed work until, on January 11, 1791, he passed through “the swelling current” and was landed “safe on Canaan’s side.”