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Alexander Pope

1688 - 1744 Person Name: Pope Hymnal Number: A.XI Author of "Father of all! in every age" in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) Alexander Pope was born in London, in 1688. His parents were Roman Catholics. He had a feeble constitution, was deformed in person, and attained the age of only fifty-six. He early acquired the means of independence by his literary gifts, and purchased his celebrated villa at Twickenham, whither he went to reside at the age of thirty. Of his many published works, his translation of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" of Homer has given him the greatest reputation. As an English satirist, also, he stands very high. Nearly all his works, however, are imitations. He died at Tickenham, in 1744. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872 ======== Pope, Alexander, the poet, son of a wholesale linen merchant in Lombard Street, London, was born in Plough Court, Lombard Street, May 21, 1688. His father being a Roman Catholic, he was first placed under the charge of Father Taverner, who taught him the rudiments of Greek and Latin. Later he attended a school at Winchester, and then at Hyde Park Corner. When about twelve he retired with his parents to Binfield, in Windsor Forest, and from thenceforth his education was mainly in his own hands. His subsequent success as a writer and poet is a matter of history, and has been dealt with in detail by Dr. Johnson in his Lives of the Poets, and by others. He died May 30, 1744, and was buried in a vault in Twickenham Church. For distinct public use, so far as we are aware, Pope wrote no hymns. His "Messiah"; his "Universal Prayer"; and his "Vital Spark" (q.v.), have been made use of for congregational purposes, but as a Roman Catholic he had no object in writing a hymn in a language which, at that time, his Church would refuse to use. In modern hymn-books his name is identified with the following pieces:-- 1. Father of all, in every age. Universal Prayer. The Lord's Prayer. This Prayer was published in 1738, as a conclusion to his Essay on Man, in 13 st. of 4 1. Warburton in his Advertisement of the 1748 ed. of the Essay, says:— "Concerning the Universal Prayer which concludes the Essay, it may be proper to observe that some pas¬sages in the Essay having been unjustly suspected of a tendency towards Fate and Naturalism, the author composed that Prayer as the sum of all, to show that hi a system was founded in Freewill, and terminated in Piety: that the First Cause was as well the Lord and Governor as the Creator of the Universe; and that by submission to His will (the great principle enforced throughout the Essay) was not meant the suffering ourselves to be carried along with a blind determination; but a religious acquiescence, and confidence full of hope and immortality. To give all this the greater weight and reality, the Poet chose for his model The Lord's Prayer, which of all others best deserves the title prefixed to his Paraphrase." The title here referred to is "The Universal Prayer, Deo Opt. Max." The hymn is found in common use in the following forms:— (1.) Father of all in every age. This is an abbreviated form, and has been in use, especially in Unitarian hymnbooks, from an early date. (2.) Father of all, [and] Thou God of love. This cento was given in 6 st. of 4 1. in the 1815 edition of Cotterill's Selections, No. 2; again in the 1819 ed., 141; in Stowell's Psalms & Hymns, 1831, No. 179; and again in later collections. (3.) Not to this earth's contracted span. In Collyer's Collection 1812, No. 629, in 4 st. of 4 1., and others. (4.) Teach me to feel another's woe. Also in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 630, in 4 st. of 4 1., and others. (5.) Thou Great First Cause, least understood. Also in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 628, in 4 st. of 4 1., and later hymnals. (6.) When I am right Thy grace impart. Given in Kennedy, 1863, No. 1166. 2. Ye nymphs of Solyma! begin the song. The Messiah. In No. 378 of the Spectator for Wednesday, May 14, 1712, Addison gave this poem with the introduction :— "I will make no apology for entertaining the reader with the following poem, which is written by a great genius, a friend of mine, in the country, who is not ashamed to employ his wit in the praise of his Maker." Then follows the poem with the heading, “Messiah. A Sacred Eclogue, composed of several passages of Isaiah the Prophet. Written in imitation of Virgil's Pollio." It consists of 107 lines. When republished by Pope this heading was expanded into a paragraph as an "Advertisement." As a poem it is unknown to the hymn-book; but from it the following centos have passed into common use:-- (1.) As the Good Shepherd tends his fleecy care. This was given in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 626, in 6 st. of 4 1., and has been repeated in later hymnals, but usually in an abridged form. (2.) From Jesse's root, behold a branch arise No. 624 in Collyer's Collection, 1812, in 5 st. of 4 1.; and again in later hymnals. (3.) Hark! a glad voice the lonely desert cheers. No. 625 in Collyer's Collection, 1812, in 4 st. of 4 1.; in Bishop Heber's posthumous Hymns, &c, 1827, p. 106; and again in later collections. (4.) Rise crowned with light, imperial Salem rise. In the Leeds Hymn Book, 1853, No. 687, in 3 st. of 8 1., and several later collections. (5.) The Saviour comes! by ancient seers foretold. In Mercer's Church Psalm & Hymn Book, 1864, and others. It may be noted that 1. 46 of The Messiah reads in the original "He wipes the tears for ever from our eyes." This was altered by Pope at the suggestion of Steele, made to Pope in a letter dated June 1, 1712, to "From every face He wipes off every tear." This latter is the poet's authorized reading, is given in his Works, and is found also in the book form reprints of the Spectator. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

George Sandys

1577 - 1643 Person Name: Sandys Hymnal Number: 85 Author of "Thou who dwell'st enthroned above!" in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) Sandys, George, son of Dr. Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York, was born at Bishopthorpe Palace, York, in 1577, and educated at St. Mary Hall and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. For some years he devoted himself to travelling in Europe and Asia, and published in 1615 a curious account of his experiences. After visiting America, where he was for a time the Treasurer of the British Colony of Virginia, he became, on his return, a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber of Charles I. He died at Bexley Abbey, Kent, March 1643. His publications included his Traveller's Thanksgiving; the prose work on his travels, A Relation of a journey begun in 1610, &c, 1615; a translation of the Metamorphoses of Ovid; and Grotius's tragedy of Christ's Passion. His productions which most nearly concern hymnology were:— (1) A Paraphrase upon the Psalmes of David, and upon the Hymns dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments. London: at the Bell in St. Paul's Churchyard. MDCXXXVI. (2) A Paraphrase upon the Divine Poems by George Sandys. London: at the Bell in St. Paul's Churchyard. M.DCXXXVIII. This volume contained the Paraphrase of the Psalms, paraphrases upon Job, Ecclesiastes, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and the Songs collected out of the Old and New Testaments. (3) His paraphrase of The Song of Solomon was published in 1642. The most available form of these works is the Rev. R. Hooper's reprint of Sandys's Poems, in Smith's Library of Old Authors. A few only of Sandys's versions of the Psalms are found in modern hymnbooks, although they were set to music by Henry Lawes. His influence, however, upon later paraphrasers was considerable. The following, together with a few others annotated under their respective first lines, are in common use:— 1. How are the Gentiles all on fire. Ps. ii. 2. Lord, for Thee I daily cry. Ps. lxxxiv. 3. My God, Thy suppliant hear. Ps. lxxxvi. 4. Praise the Lord enthroned on high. Ps. cl. 5. Sing the Great Jehovah's praise. Ps. lxvi. 6. Thou, Lord, my witness art. Ps. cxxxi. 7. Thou who art [dwellest] enthroned above. Ps. xcii. 8. You, who dwell above the skies. Ps. cxlviii. These paraphrases as in common use are in the form of centos. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ==================== Sandys, G.., p. 994, i. Another cento from his Paraphrase upon the Psalmes of David, &c, 1638, as "Let God, the God of battles, rise" (Ps. lxviii.), is in the Hymn Book for Use in Wellington College, 1902. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

George Horne

1730 - 1792 Person Name: Bp. Horne Hymnal Number: 548 Author of "See the leaves around us falling" in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) Home, George, D.D., born at Otham, near Maidstone, Kent, Nov. 1, 1730, and educated at Maidstone, and University College, Oxford (B.A. 1749). He subsequently became a Fellow, and in 1768 Master of Magdalen College. He was also Vice-Chancellor of his University, 1776; Dean of Canterbury, 1781, and Bishop of Norwich, 1791. He died Jan. 17, 1792. Bp. Home is widely known through his Commentary on the Book of Psalms. His hymns were included in his Memoirs by the Rev. W. Jones, 1795: again, in his Essays and Thoughts on Various Subjects with Hymns and Poems, 1808: and again, in his Works, 1809. Of his Hymns the best known is:— See the leaves around us falling [Autumn], which appeared in his Memoirs, 1795, pp. 223-4, in 10 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled "The Leaf. 'We all do fade as a leaf.' Isa. lxiv. 6." It is also found in his Essays, 1808, and Works, 1809. Collyer included it in an abbreviated form in his Collection, 1812, from whence it passed into modern Nonconformist hymnals. It was brought into use in the Church of England by Cotterill through his Selection, 8th ed., 1819. Bishop Home's translation of the Latin Grace, “Te Deum patrem colimus" (q.v.):— "Thee, Mighty Father, we adore," has been strangely overlooked by hymnal compilers. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology

Joseph Stennett

1663 - 1713 Person Name: Stennett Hymnal Number: 21 Author of "Another six days work is done" in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) The author was a Baptist preacher in London, from 1690, to his death in 1713. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872. ============================= Stennett, Joseph, the earliest English Baptist hymnwriter whose hymns are now in common use, was born at Abingdon, Berks, in 1663. He received a superior education at the Grammar School of Wallingford, and at the age of 22 removed to London, where for several years he engaged in tuition. In 1688 he married a daughter of George Guill, a French Protestant refugee, another of whose daughters was the wife of the celebrated Presbyterian minister, Dr. Daniel Williams, who became a generous friend to Stennett. In the following year he was called to preach by the Baptist Sabbatarian congregation then meeting in Devonshire Square, London, afterwards in Pinners' Hall; and in 1690 became its pastor, a position he retained to his death, July 4, 1713. Since the meetings of this congregation for worship were on the seventh day of the week, he was free to preach to other congregations on the Sunday, which he did very frequently, especially to the General Baptist Church in the Barbican. Such was Stennett's repute for piety, learning and practical wisdom that his advice was very much sought by his Christian friends, and by the "great Whig Lords” of that day he was occasionally consulted as to the feeling of the Dissenters concerning national affairs. His published works include:— (1) Hymns in commemoration of the Sufferings of our Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, compos'd for the Celebration of his Holy Supper, 1697; 2nd ed. 1703 (This is entitled in Stennett's Works, 1732, Hymns for the Lord's Supper). These were 37 in number, increased to 50 in the 3rd edition, 1709. (2) In 1700 he published a poetical Version of Solomon's Song of Songs, together with the XLVth Psalm. A second edition, corrected, appeared in 1709. (3) In 1712 he published twelve Hymns composed for the Celebration of the Holy Ordinance of Baptism; 2nd ed. 1722. Stennett also translated Dacier's Plato and other works from the French, and published several sermons preached on days of National Thanksgiving and other public occasions. His Works were collected after his death and published in 1732, in 4 vols. They contain a Memoir, Sermons and Letters, the Hymns and Poems mentioned above, and a few other poetical pieces. A controversial work, An Answer to Mr. Russen's Book on Baptism, 1702, may be reckoned as a 5th vol. Of his hymns, that which, in the form of varying centos, is most widely known is, "Another six days' work is done". Others in common use include:— 1. Gracious Redeemer, how divine. Holy Communion. Appeared in his Hymns for the Lord's Supper, first edition, 1697. (Works, 1732, ii. p. 98.) Usually abbreviated. 2. Immortal praise be given. Holy Communion. Published in his Hymns for The Lord's Supper, first ed., 1697. (Works, 1732, ii. p. 97.) From this "We'll praise our risen Lord," is taken. 3. Jesus, O word divinely sweet. Redemption through Jesus. Published in Hymns for the Lord's Supper, 3rd ed. 1709, No. 47. 4. Lord, at Thy Table I behold. Holy Communion. This hymn is not in Stennett's Works. From it "With humble faith and trembling heart," is taken. 5. My blessed Saviour, is Thy love? Self-Consecration to God. Appeared in his Hymns for the Lord's Supper, 1697, No. 22. Usually abbreviated. 6. The great Redeemer we adore. Published in his Hymns for Baptism, 1712. 7. Whene'er one sinner turns to God. Holy Baptism. Published in his Hymns for Baptism, 1712, No. 12. From this "See how the willing converts trace" is taken. It begins with st. iii. Several of his hymns additional to these are given in the older collections, but have passed out of use. We may add that the Joseph Stennett, the subject of this article, had a son, Joseph Stennett, D.D., who also became an eminent Baptist minister, and was the father of Samuel Stennett. [Rev.W. R. Stevenson, M.A.] --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Edmund Butcher

1757 - 1822 Person Name: Butcher Hymnal Number: 269 Author of "From north and south, from east and west" in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) Butcher, Edmund, born at Colchester, Essex, in 1757, and brought up as a linen-draper. After undergoing a preliminary training for the Unitarian Ministry, he was appointed to the charge of Leather Lane Chapel, Holborn, in 1789. From thence he removed to Sidbury Vale, Sidmouth, in 1798. Died April 14, 1822. Memoir in the Christian Moderator, 1827. His works include Picture of Sidmouth; Tour through various parts of England; Sermons, to which are added suitable Hymns, 1798; and the Substance of the Holy Scriptures Methodized, 1801. His hymns were given in the two latter works, in the Protestant Dissenters’ Magazine (of which he was some time editor); in Kippis's Collection, 1795; the Christian Guardian, 1802-1808; Aspland's Selection, 1810; and from his manuscript in Howse's Selection of Hymns and Psalms, 1837. They number 116 in all; but few, however, have attained to any position in modern hymnals. These include the following: 1. Blest is the man that [who] fears the Lord. Ps. cxii. Published in the Exeter Unitarian Collection, 1812, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. It is in common use in Great Britain and America. 2. Father of all, where shall we find? Divine Worship. In Dr. Martineau's Hymns, 1840, &c. 3. Great God, as seasons disappear. Harvest. This is the most popular of his hymns. It is annotated under its first line. 4. Hosanna! let us join to sing. Resurrection. Contributed to Aspland's Selection, 1810, No. 290; and repeated in Dr. Martineau's Hymns, 1840, &c. 5. With deepest reverence at Thy throne. God's Unsearchableness. This is in American common use as in Laudes Domini, 1884, No. 248. It was contributed to Aspland's Selection, 1810, No. 146. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

James Montgomery

1771 - 1854 Person Name: Montgomery Hymnal Number: 28 Author of "On the first Christian sabbath eve" in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) James Montgomery (b. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1771; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1854), the son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school, Montgomery inherited a strong religious bent, a passion for missions, and an independent mind. He was editor of the Sheffield Iris (1796-1827), a newspaper that sometimes espoused radical causes. Montgomery was imprisoned briefly when he printed a song that celebrated the fall of the Bastille and again when he described a riot in Sheffield that reflected unfavorably on a military commander. He also protested against slavery, the lot of boy chimney sweeps, and lotteries. Associated with Christians of various persuasions, Montgomery supported missions and the British Bible Society. He published eleven volumes of poetry, mainly his own, and at least four hundred hymns. Some critics judge his hymn texts to be equal in quality to those of Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley . Many were published in Thomas Cotterill's Selection of Psalms and Hymns (1819 edition) and in Montgomery's own Songs of Zion (1822), Christian Psalmist (1825), and Original Hymns (1853). Bert Polman ======================== Montgomery, James, son of John Montgomery, a Moravian minister, was born at Irvine, Ayrshire, Nov. 4, 1771. In 1776 he removed with his parents to the Moravian Settlement at Gracehill, near Ballymena, county of Antrim. Two years after he was sent to the Fulneck Seminary, Yorkshire. He left Fulneck in 1787, and entered a retail shop at Mirfield, near Wakefield. Soon tiring of that he entered upon a similar situation at Wath, near Rotherham, only to find it quite as unsuitable to his taste as the former. A journey to London, with the hope of finding a publisher for his youthful poems ended in failure; and in 1792 he was glad to leave Wath for Shefield to join Mr. Gales, an auctioneer, bookseller, and printer of the Sheffield Register newspaper, as his assistant. In 1794 Mr. Gales left England to avoid a political prosecution. Montgomery took the Sheffield Register in hand, changed its name to The Sheffield Iris, and continued to edit it for thirty-one years. During the next two years he was imprisoned twice, first for reprinting therein a song in commemoration of "The Fall of the Bastille," and the second for giving an account of a riot in Sheffield. The editing of his paper, the composition and publication of his poems and hynms, the delivery of lectures on poetry in Sheffield and at the Royal Institution, London, and the earnest advocacy of Foreign Missions and the Bible Society in many parts of the country, gave great variety but very little of stirring incident to his life. In 1833 he received a Royal pension of £200 a year. He died in his sleep, at the Mount, Sheffield, April 30, 1854, and was honoured with a public funeral. A statue was erected to his memory in the Sheffield General Cemetery, and a stained glass window in the Parish Church. A Wesleyan chapel and a public hall are also named in his honour. Montgomery's principal poetical works, including those which he edited, were:— (1) Prison Amusements, 1797; (2) The Wanderer of Switzerland, 1806; (3) The West Indies, 1807; (4) The World before the Flood, 1813; (5) Greenland and Other Poems, 1819; (6) Songs of Zion, 1822; (7) The Christian Psalmist, 1825; (8) The Christian Poet, 1825; (9) The Pelican Island, 1828; (10) The Poet’s Portfolio, 1835; (11) Original Hymns for Public, Private, and Social Devotion, 1853. He also published minor pieces at various times, and four editions of his Poetical Works, the first in 1828, the second in 1836, the third in 1841, and the fourth in 1854. Most of these works contained original hymns. He also contributed largely to Collyer's Collection, 1812, and other hymnbooks published during the next 40 years, amongst which the most noticeable was Cotterill's Selections of 1819, in which more than 50 of his compositions appeared. In his Christian Psalmist, 1825, there are 100 of his hymns, and in his Original Hymns, 1853, 355 and 5 doxologies. His Songs of Zion, 1822, number 56. Deducting those which are repeated in the Original Hymns, there remain about 400 original compositions. Of Montgomery's 400 hymns (including his versions of the Psalms) more than 100 are still in common use. With the aid of Montgomery's MSS. we have given a detailed account of a large number. The rest are as follows:— i. Appeared in Collyer's Collection, 1812. 1. Jesus, our best beloved Friend. Personal Dedication to Christ. 2. When on Sinai's top I see. Sinai, Tabor, and Calvary. ii. Appeared in Cotterill's Selection, 1819. 3. Come to Calvary's holy mountain. The Open Fountain. 4. God in the high and holy place. God in Nature. The cento in Com. Praise, 1879, and others, "If God hath made this world so fair," is from this hymn. 5. Hear me, O Lord, in my distress. Ps. cxliii. 6. Heaven is a place of rest from sin. Preparation for Heaven. 7. I cried unto the Lord most just. Ps. cxlii. 8. Lord, let my prayer like incense rise. Ps. cxxxix. 9. O bless the Lord, my soul! His grace to thee proclaim. Ps. ciii. 10. Out of the depths of woe. Ps. cxxx. Sometimes "When from the depths of woe." 11. The world in condemnation lay. Redemption. 12. Where are the dead? In heaven or hell? The Living and the Dead. iii. Appeared in his Songs of Zion, 1822. 13. Give glory to God in the highest. Ps. xxix. 14. Glad was my heart to hear. Ps. cxxii. 15. God be merciful to me. Ps. lxix. 16. God is my strong salvation. Ps. xxvii. 17. Hasten, Lord, to my release. Ps. lxx. 18. Have mercy on me, O my God. Ps. li. 19. Hearken, Lord, to my complaints. Ps. xlii. 20. Heralds of creation cry. Ps. cxlviii. 21. How beautiful the sight. Ps. cxxxiii. 22. How precious are Thy thoughts of peace. Ps. cxxxix. 23. I love the Lord, He lent an ear. Ps. cxvi. 24. In time of tribulation. Ps. lxxvii. 25. Jehovah is great, and great be His praise. Ps. xlviii. Sometimes, "0 great is Jehovah, and great is His Name." 26. Judge me, O Lord, in righteousness. Ps. xliii. 27. Lift up your heads, ye gates, and wide. Ps.xxiv. 28. Lord, let me know mine [my] end. Ps. xxxi. 29. Of old, 0 God, Thine own right hand. Ps. lxxx. 30. O God, Thou art [my] the God alone. Ps. lxiii. 31. 0 Lord, our King, how excellent. Ps. viii. Sometimes, "0 Lord, how excellent is Thy name." 32. O my soul, with all thy powers. Ps. ciii. 33. One thing with all my soul's desire. Ps. xxvii. From this, "Grant me within Thy courts a place." 34. Searcher of hearts, to Thee are known. Ps. cxxxix. 35. Thank and praise Jehovah's name. Ps. cvii. 36. Thee will I praise, O Lord in light. Ps. cxxxviii. 37. The Lord is King; upon His throne. Ps. xciii. 38. The Lord is my Shepherd, no want shall I know. Ps. xxiii. 39. The tempter to my soul hath said. Ps. iii. 40. Thrice happy he who shuns the way. Ps. i. 41. Thy glory, Lord, the heavens declare. Ps. xix. 42. Thy law is perfect, Lord of light. Ps. xix. 43. Who make the Lord of hosts their tower. Ps. cxxv. 44. Yea, I will extol Thee. Ps. xxx. iv. Appeared in his Christian Psalmist. 1825. 45. Fall down, ye nations, and adore. Universal adoration of God desired. 46. Food, raiment, dwelling, health, and friends. The Family Altar. 47. Go where a foot hath never trod. Moses in the desert. Previously in the Leeds Congregational Collection, 1822. 48. Green pastures and clear streams. The Good Shepherd and His Flock. 49. Less than the least of all. Mercies acknowledged. 50. Not to the mount that burned with fire [flame]. Communion of Saints. 51. On the first Christian Sabbath eve. Easter Sunday Evening. 52. One prayer I have: all prayers in one. Resignation. 53. Our heavenly Father hear. The Lord's Prayer. 54. Return, my soul, unto thy rest. Rest in God. 55. Spirit of power and might, behold. The Spirit's renewing desired. 56. The Christian warrior, see him stand. The Christian Soldier. Sometimes, "Behold the Christian warrior stand." 57. The days and years of time are fled. Day of Judgment. 58. The glorious universe around. Unity. 59. The pure and peaceful mind. A Children's Prayer. 60. This is the day the Lord hath made (q. v.). Sunday. 61. Thy word, Almighty Lord. Close of Service. 62. What secret hand at morning light ? Morning. 63. While through this changing world we roam. Heaven. 64. Within these walls be peace. For Sunday Schools. v. Appeared in his Original Hymns, 1853. 65. Behold yon bright array. Opening a Place of Worship. 66. Behold the book whose leaves display. Holy Scriptures. 67. Come ye that fear the Lord. Confirmation. 68. Home, kindred, friends, and country, these. Farewell to a Missionary. 69. Let me go, the day is breaking. Jacob wrestling. 70. Not in Jerusalem alone. Consecration of a Church. 71. Praise the high and holy One. God the Creator. In common with most poets and hymnwriters, Montgomery strongly objected to any correction or rearrangement of his compositions. At the same time he did not hesitate to alter, rearrange, and amend the productions of others. The altered texts which appeared in Cotterill's Selections, 1819, and which in numerous instances are still retained in some of the best hymnbooks, as the "Rock of Ages," in its well-known form of three stanzas, and others of equal importance, were made principally by him for Cotterill's use. We have this confession under his own hand. As a poet, Montgomery stands well to the front; and as a writer of hymns he ranks in popularity with Wesley, Watts, Doddridge, Newton, and Cowper. His best hymns were written in his earlier years. In his old age he wrote much that was unworthy of his reputation. His finest lyrics are "Angels from the realms of glory," "Go to dark Gethsemane," "Hail to the Lord's Anointed," and "Songs of praise the angels sang." His "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire," is an expanded definition of prayer of great beauty; and his "Forever with the Lord" is full of lyric fire and deep feeling. The secrets of his power as a writer of hymns were manifold. His poetic genius was of a high order, higher than most who stand with him in the front rank of Christian poets. His ear for rhythm was exceedingly accurate and refined. His knowledge of Holy Scripture was most extensive. His religious views were broad and charitable. His devotional spirit was of the holiest type. With the faith of a strong man he united the beauty and simplicity of a child. Richly poetic without exuberance, dogmatic without uncharitableness, tender without sentimentality, elaborate without diffusiveness, richly musical without apparent effort, he has bequeathed to the Church of Christ wealth which could onlv have come from a true genius and a sanctified! heart. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Gerard T. Noel

1782 - 1851 Person Name: Noel Hymnal Number: 423 Author of "When musing sorrow weeps the past" in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) Gerard Thomas Noel was born in 1782. His studies were pursued at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge. He graduated M.A. from Trinity College, Cambridge. He was successively Curate of Radwell, Vicar of Rainham, and Curate of Richmond. In 1834, he was Canon of Winchester, and in 1840, Vicar of Romsey, were he died in 1851. He published some Sketches of Travel, and a Selection of Psalms and Hymns. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872. =================== Noel, Hon. Gerard Thomas, M.A., elder brother of the Hon. Baptist W. Noel, was born Dec. 2, 1782, and educated at Edinburgh and Cambridge. Taking Holy Orders, he held successively the curacy of Bad well, Hertfordshire, the Vicarages of Rainham and Romsey, and a Canonry in Winchester Cathedral. He died at Romsey, Feb. 24, 1851. His published works include Fifty Sermons for the Use of Families, 1830; Sermons preached in Romsey, 1853; and Arvendel, or Sketches in Italy and Switzerland, 1813. In this last work some of his earlier hymns appeared. He also compiled:— A Selection of Psalms and Hymns from the New Version of the Church of England and others; corrected and revised for Public Worship, London, J. Hatchard, 1810. In this Selection he gave a few hymns of his own, but anonymously. The 3rd edition, 1820, is enlarged, and has an Appendix of 17 hymns. Three of his hymns are in common use:— 1. If human kindness meets return. Jesus the Friend. This appeared in his Arvendel, &c, and his Selection of Psalms & Hymns, 1810, No. 45. It is in extensive use. 2. Stamped as the purpose of the skies. Missions. This is found in the February number of the Christian Observer, 1810, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, and is signed "N." In his Selection of Psalms & Hymns, 1810, No. 48, and in the 3rd edition, 1820, No. 174, it begins "Mark'd as the purpose of the skies." In this form it is known to the modern collections. 3. When musing sorrow weeps [mourns] the past. Desiring Heaven. Given in the second edition of his Selection 1813, No. 48. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Thomas Sternhold

1449 - 1549 Person Name: Sternhold Hymnal Number: 94 Author of "The Lord descended from above" in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) Thomas Sternhold was Groom of the Robes to Henry VIII and Edward VI. With Hopkins, he produced the first English version of the Psalms before alluded to. He completed fifty-one; Hopkins and others composed the remainder. He died in 1549. Thirty-seven of his psalms were edited and published after his death, by his friend Hopkins. The work is entitled "All such Psalms of David as Thomas Sternhold, late Groome of the King's Majestye's Robes, did in his Lyfetime drawe into Englyshe Metre." Of the version annexed to the Prayer Book, Montgomery says: "The merit of faithful adherence to the original has been claimed for this version, and need not to be denied, but it is the resemblance which the dead bear to the living." Wood, in his "Athenae Oxonlenses" (1691, vol. I, p. 62), has the following account of the origin of Sternhold's psalms: "Being a most zealous reformer, and a very strict liver, he became so scandalized at the amorous and obscene songs used in the Court, that he, forsooth, turned into English metre fifty-one of David's psalms, and caused musical notes to be set to them, thinking thereby that the courtiers would sing them instead of their sonnets; but they did not, some few excepted. However, the poetry and music being admirable, and the best that was made and composed in these times, they were thought fit to be sung in all parochial churches." Of Sternhold and Hopkins, old Fuller says: "They were men whose piety was better than their poetry, and they had drunk more of Jordan than of Helicon." Sternhold and Hopkins may be taken as the representatives of the strong tendency to versify Scripture that came with the Reformation into England--a work men eagerly entered on without the talent requisite for its successful accomplishment. The tendency went so far, that even the "Acts of the Apostles" was put into rhyme, and set to music by Dr. Christopher Tye. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.

William Drennan

1754 - 1820 Person Name: Drennan Hymnal Number: 15 Author of "The heaven of heavens cannot contain" in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) Drennan, William, M.D., b. at Belfast, May 23, 1754, and educated at Glasgow, where he graduated M.A. in 1771, and M.D. 1778. He subsequently practised at Belfast. He died Feb. 5, 1820. In 1815 he published Fugitive Pieces in Prose and Verse, Belfast, 1815; and his Poems were collected and published with a Memoir by his sons in 1859. Of his poems six are grouped under the heading of "Religious Poems." Seven hymns, including five of these "Religious Poems," were contributed to Aspland's Unitarian Selection, 1810; but in the 1859 Poems and Memoir most of them are in a longer form. As most of these are still in common use amongst the Unitarians in Great Britain and America, we subjoin the list of first lines:— 1. All nature feels attractive power. Law of Love. 2. Bless’d who with generous pity glows. Charity. 3. Humanity! thou sent of God. Faith, Hope, Charity. 4. In this fair globe, with ocean bound. Love of God. 5. O sweeter than the fragrant flower. Being Good. 6. The heaven of heavens cannot contain. Divine Worship. 7. The husbandman goes forth afield. Fruits of Benevolence. [William T. Brooke] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Andrews Norton

1786 - 1853 Person Name: Norton Hymnal Number: 329 Author of "My God, I thank thee! may no thought" in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) Norton, Andrews, D.D., son of Samuel Norton, was born at Higham, Massachusetts, Dec. 31, 1786, and was educated at Higham, and at Harvard College. After being engaged there for a short time as a tutor, he was appointed Librarian, and subsequently Lecturer on Biblical Criticism, as successor to Dr. Channing. When the Theological School was opened in 1819 he became Dexter Professor of Literature. This position he held until 1830. He died at Newport, Rhode Island, Sept. 18, 1853. He was for some time editor of the General Repository and Review, and published several prose works, one of the most extensive being The Genuineness of the Gospels, in 4 volumes. His hymns are few in number, and are mainly meditations in verse. They were contributed to various periodicals, and after his death were collected and published in a small volume. Of these hymns the following are in common use:-- 1. Another year, another year, The unceasing rush, &c. Close of the Year. Appeared in the Christian Examiner in Nov. and Dec. 1827, in 11 stanzas of 4 lines. It is used in an abbreviated form. In the American Boston Unitarian Hymns [&Tune] Book, 1868, it begins with st. vi., "O what concerns it him whose way." 2. Faint not, poor traveller, though thy way. Fortitude. Printed in the Christian Disciple, July and Aug., 1822, in 7 st. of 4 1., and again in the West Boston Collection, 1823. 3. He has gone to his God, he has gone to his home. Burial. Printed in the Christian Examiner, Jan. and Feb., 1824. 4. My God, I thank Thee! may no thought. Trust and Submission. Appeared in the Monthly Anthology and Boston Review, Sept., 1809. This is his earliest and best known hymn. 5. 0 stay thy tears:for they are blest. Burial of the Young. Printed in the General Repository and Review, April, 1812, in 5 st. of 4 1. In 1855, st. iii.-v. were given in Beecher's Plymouth Collection, No. 1094, as "How blest are they whose transient years." 6. Where ancient forests round us spread. Dedication of a Church. This "Hymn for the Dedication of a Church," is dated 1833. These hymns are in some of the American hymnals. Nos. 1, 4, 5 are in Martineau's Hymns, 1873, and the full texts of all are in Putnam's Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith, Boston, U.S.A., 1875. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)