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Lutherförbundets Sångbok
Publication Date: 1913 Publisher: Augustana Book Concern Publication Place: Rock Island Editors: Augustana Book Concern
Lutherförbundets Sångbok
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Author: Martin Luther Meter: 8.7.8.7.6.5.6.6.7 Appears in 27 hymnals Lyrics: 1 A mighty Fortress is our God,
A trusty Shield and Weapon;
He helps us in our ev'ry need
That hath us now o'ertaken.
The old malignant foe
Means us deadly woe:
Deep guile and cruel might
Are his dread arms in fight,
On earth is not his equal.
2 With might of ours can naught be done,
Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One
Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye who this may be?
Jesus Christ, 'tis He,
As Lord of Hosts adored,
Our only King and Lord,
He holds the field forever.
3 Tho' devils all the world should fill,
All watching to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill,
They shall not overpow'r us.
For this world's prince may still
Scowl fiercely as he will,
We need not be alarmed,
For he is now disarmed:
One little word o'erthrows him.
4 The Word they still shall let remain,
Nor any thanks have for it;
He's by our side upon the plain,
With His good gifts and Spirit.
Take they, then, what they will,
Life, goods, all; and still,
E'en when their worst is done,
They yet have nothing won;--
The kingdom ours remaineth.
Topics: Church Used With Tune: EIN FESTE BURG IST UNSER GOTT
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Abide With Me! Fast Falls the Eventide
Author: Henry Francis Lyte Appears in 1,686 hymnals Lyrics: 1 Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens: Lord, with me abide!
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
2 Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim, it's glories pass away:
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou Who changest not, abide with me!
3 Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell'st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free,
Come, not to sojourn, but abide with me!
4 Come not in terrors as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;
Tears for all woes, a heart for ev'ry plea;
O Friend of sinners, thus abide with me!
5 Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee:
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me!
6 I need Thy presence every passing hour:
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me!
7 I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me!
8 Hold Thou Thy Cross before my closing eyes:
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies:
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me! Topics: Evening Used With Tune: EVENTIDE
Abide With Me! Fast Falls the Eventide
Just as I Am, Without One Plea
Author: Charlotte Elliott Meter: 8.8.8.8 Appears in 2,144 hymnals Lyrics: 1 Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
2 Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
3 Just as I am, tho' tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
4 Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
5 Just as I am; Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
Because Thy promise I believe;
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
6 Just as I am; Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Topics: Atonement-Justification; Repentance Used With Tune: WOODWORTH
Just as I Am, Without One Plea
COME, YE DISCONSOLATE
Meter: 11.10.11.10 Appears in 461 hymnals Composer and/or Arranger: Samuel Webbe Tune Key: D Major Incipit: 53165 54567 15533 Used With Text: Come, ye Disconsolate
COME, YE DISCONSOLATE
[Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light]
Meter: 11.13.11.13.12.11 with chorus Appears in 277 hymnals Composer and/or Arranger: Samuel Arnold Tune Key: B Flat Major Incipit: 53135 13213 45553 Used With Text: The Star-Spangled Banner
[Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light]
SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
Meter: 8.8.8.8 D Appears in 561 hymnals Composer and/or Arranger: William B. Bradbury Tune Key: D Major Incipit: 13455 67165 33212 Used With Text: Sweet Hour of Prayer
SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
A Great and Mighty Wonder
Author: John M. Neale; Anatolius Hymnal: LSAS1913 #E52 (1913) Meter: 7.6.7.6 Lyrics: 1 A great and mighty wonder
Our Christmas Festal brings
On earth, a lowly Infant,
Behold the King of kings!
2 The Word is made incarnate,
Descending from on high;
And cherubim sing anthems
To shepherds, from the sky.
3 And we with them triumphant,
Repeat the hymn again:
"To God on high be glory,
And peace on earth to men!"
4 Since all He comes to ransom,
By all be He adored,
The Infant born in Bethleh'm,
The Saviour and the Lord! Topics: Advent and Christmas Languages: English Tune Title: VI MÅSTE BYTA HJÄRTAN
A Great and Mighty Wonder
A Hymn of Glory let us Sing
Author: E. R. Charles; Bede Hymnal: LSAS1913 #E6 (1913) Meter: 8.8.8.8 Lyrics: 1 A hymn of glory let us sing;
New hymns throughout the world shall ring;
By a new way none ever trod,
Christ mounteth to the throne of God.
2 May our affections thither tend,
And thither constantly ascend,
Where, seated on the Father's throne,
Thee reigning in the heav'ns we own!
3 Be Thou our present Joy, O Lord,
Who wilt be ever our Reward:
And as the countless ages flee,
May all our glory be in Thee! Topics: Ascension Languages: English Tune Title: ASCENSION
A Hymn of Glory let us Sing
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Author: Martin Luther Hymnal: LSAS1913 #E142 (1913) Meter: 8.7.8.7.6.5.6.6.7 Lyrics: 1 A mighty Fortress is our God,
A trusty Shield and Weapon;
He helps us in our ev'ry need
That hath us now o'ertaken.
The old malignant foe
Means us deadly woe:
Deep guile and cruel might
Are his dread arms in fight,
On earth is not his equal.
2 With might of ours can naught be done,
Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One
Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye who this may be?
Jesus Christ, 'tis He,
As Lord of Hosts adored,
Our only King and Lord,
He holds the field forever.
3 Tho' devils all the world should fill,
All watching to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill,
They shall not overpow'r us.
For this world's prince may still
Scowl fiercely as he will,
We need not be alarmed,
For he is now disarmed:
One little word o'erthrows him.
4 The Word they still shall let remain,
Nor any thanks have for it;
He's by our side upon the plain,
With His good gifts and Spirit.
Take they, then, what they will,
Life, goods, all; and still,
E'en when their worst is done,
They yet have nothing won;--
The kingdom ours remaineth.
Topics: Church Languages: English Tune Title: EIN FESTE BURG IST UNSER GOTT
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Samuel Francis Smith
1808 - 1895 Hymnal Number: E114 Author of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" in Lutherförbundets Sångbok Smith, Samuel Francis, D.D., was born in Boston, U.S.A., Oct. 21, 1808, and graduated in arts at Harvard, and in theology at Andover. He entered the Baptist ministry in 1832, and became the same year editor of the Baptist Missionary Magazine. He also contributed to the Encyclopaedia Americana. From 1834 to 1842 he was pastor at Waterville, Maine, and Professor of Modern Languages in Waterville College. In 1842 he removed to Newton, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1854, when he became the editor of the publications of the Baptist Missionary Union. With Baron Stow he prepared the Baptist collection known as The Psalmist, published in 1843, to which he contributed several hymns. The Psalmist is the most creditable and influential of the American Baptist collections to the present day. Dr. Smith also published Lyric Gems, 1854, Rock of Ages, 1870, &c. A large number of his hymns are in use in America, and several have passed into some of the English collections. Taking his hymns in common use in alphabetical order, we have the following:—
1. And now the solemn deed is done. Ordination. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 954. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, it is altered to "The solemn service now is done."
2. As flows the rapid river. Life Passing Away. In Christian Psalmody, 1833, No. 33; the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, Boston, 1841; and The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1059. Found in a few English hymn-books, and in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868.
3. Auspicious morning, hail. American National Anniversary. Written for July 4th, 1841, and published in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1007.
4. Beyond where Cedron's waters flow. Gethsemane. In L. Bacon's Appendix, 1833; the Psalmist, 1843, No. 220, and later collections.
5. Blest is the hour when cares depart. Divine Worship. In The Psalmist, 1843, No. 947, and others.
6. Constrained by love we follow where. Holy Baptism. Appeared in the Baptist edition of the Plymouth Hymn Book, 1857.
7. Down to the sacred wave. Holy Baptism. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns added to his Collection of 1817, in 1832, No. 510; repeated in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 818, and in several collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868.
8. Hail! ye days of solemn meeting. Public Worship. An altered form of No. 26 below, in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866, as an "American Hymn, 1840."
9. How blest the hour when first we gave. Holy Baptism. Appeared in the Baptist edition of thePlymouth Hymn Book, 1857, No. 1468.
10. How calmly wakes the hallowed morn. Holy Baptism. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 810, in later collections, and in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868.
11. Jesus, Thou hast freely saved us. Salvation. In Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 503, and others.
12. Meekly in Jordan's Holy Stream. Holy Baptism. Contributed to The Psalmist, 1843, No. 808.
13. My country, 'tis of thee. National Hymn. "Written in 1832, and first sung at a children's Fourth of July celebration in Park Street church, Boston." Included in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1000, and found in a large number of American hymn-books, but not in use in Great Britain. It is one of the most popular of Dr. Smith's compositions. Text, with note in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868.
14. 0 not my own these verdant hills. Bought with a Price. Appeared in Nason's Congregational Hymn Book, 1857, and given inLaudes Domini, 1884.
15. Onward speed thy conquering flight. Missions. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 892, and is found in several modern collections in Great Britain and America. Also in Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868.
16. Planted in Christ, the living Vine. Christian Fellowship; or, For Unity. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 929, inLyra Sacra Americana, 1868, and several hymn-books. Of the hymns contributed by Dr. Smith to The Psalmist this is the best, and one of the most popular.
17. Remember thy Creator. Youthful Piety Enforced. In Christian Psalmody, 1832, No. 32; the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, 1841; The Psalmist, 1843, No. 778; Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868, and other collections.
18. Sister, thou wast mild and lovely. Death and Burial. Written on the death of Miss J. M. C. of Mount Vernon School, Boston, July 13,1833, and published in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1096.
19. Softly fades the twilight ray. Sunday Evening. Written in 1832, and included in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 56. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, and several hymn-books.
20. Spirit of holiness, descend. Whitsuntide. Appeared in the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, 1841, No. 295, and again in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 384. In the Unitarian Hymns for the Church of Christ, Boston, 1853. St. ii., iii., iv. were given as "Spirit of God, Thy churches wait." This form of the text and the original are both in modern hymn-books.
21. Spirit of peace and holiness. Institution of a Minister. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 953, and Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872.
22. The morning light is breaking. Missions. Written in 1832, and included in Hastings's Spiritual Songs, 1832-33, No. 253; and The Psalmist, 1843, No. 912. This hymn is very popular and has been translated into several languages. Dr. Smith says of it that “it has been a great favourite at missionary gatherings, and I have myself heard it sung in five or six different languages in Europe and Asia. It is a favourite with the Burmans, Karens, and Telegus in Asia, from whose lips I have heard it repeatedly.”
23. The Prince of Salvation in triumph is riding. Missions. Given in Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1832-33, No. 274; The Psalmist, 1843, and later collections.
24. Tis done, the [important] solemn act is done. Ordination. Appeared in The Psalmist 1843, No. 951, and later hymn-books.
25. Today the Saviour calls. Invitation. First sketch by Dr. Smith, the revised text, as in Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, No. 176, and The Psalmist, No. 453, by Dr. T. Hastings (p. 495, i. 19).
26. Welcome, days of solemn meeting. Special Devotional Services. Written in 1834, and given in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872. See No. 8.
27. When shall we meet again ? Parting. This is a cento. The first stanza is from Alaric A. Watts's Poetical Sketches, &c, 1822, p. 158 ; and st. ii.-iv. are by Dr. Smith. In this form it was published in L. Bacon's Supplement to Dwight, 1833, No. 489. It is in several American hymn-books; and also the English Baptist Psalms & Hymns, 1858, &c.
28. When the harvest is past and the summer is gone. Close of Worship. Contributed to Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1831, No. 244; and repeated in the Fuller and Jeter Supplement to The Psalmist, 1847, No. 22, and later collections.
29. When thy mortal life is fled. The Judgment. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 379, and repeated in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 455, and later hymn-books. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868.
30. While in this sacred rite of Thine. Holy Baptism. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 803: Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868, &c.
31. With willing hearts we tread. Holy Baptism. In The Psalmist, 1843, No. 798; and again in the Baptist Praise Book, 1871.
32. Yes, my native land, I love thee. A Missionary's Farewell. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 445, and found in later collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Samuel Francis Smith
Bernard, of Cluny
1100 - 1199 Person Name: Bernard de Morlaix Hymnal Number: E63 Author of "Jerusalem the Golden" in Lutherförbundets Sångbok Bernard of Morlaix, or of Cluny, for he is equally well known by both titles, was an Englishman by extraction, both his parents being natives of this country. He was b., however, in France very early in the 12th cent, at Morlaix, Bretagne. Little or nothing is known of his life, beyond the fact that he entered the Abbey of Cluny, of which at that time Peter the Venerable, who filled the post from 1122 to 1156, was the head. There, so far as we know, he spent his whole after-life, and there he probably died, though the exact date of his death, as well as of his birth is unrecorded. The Abbey of Cluny was at that period at the zenith of its wealth and fame. Its buildings, especially its church (which was unequalled by any in France); the services therein, renowned for the elaborate order of their ritual; and its community, the most numerous of any like institution, gave it a position and an influence, such as no other monastery, perhaps, ever reached. Everything about it was splendid, almost luxurious. It was amid such surroundings that Bernard of Cluny spent his leisure hours in composing that wondrous satire against the vices and follies of his age, which has supplied—and it is the only satire that ever did so—some of the most widely known and admired hymns to the Church of today. His poem De Contemptu Mundi remains as an imperishable monument of an author of whom we know little besides except his name, and that a name overshadowed in his own day and in ours by his more illustrious contemporary and namesake, the saintly Abbot of Clairvaux.
The poem itself consists of about 3000 lines in a meter which is technically known as Leonini Cristati Trilices Dactylici, or more familiarly—to use Dr. Neale's description in his Mediaeval Hymns, p. 69—" it is a dactylic hexameter, divided into three parts, between which a caesura is inadmissible. The hexameter has a tailed rhyme, and feminine leonine rhyme between the two first clauses, thus :—
" Tune nova gloria, pectora sobria, clarificabit: Solvit enigmata, veraque sabbata, continuabit, Patria luminis, inscia turbinis, inscia litis, Cive replebitur, amplificabitur Israelitis."
The difficulty of writing at all, much more of writing a poem of such length in a metre of this description, will be as apparent to all readers of it, as it was to the writer himself, who attributes his successful accomplishment of his task entirely to the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God. "Non ego arroganter," he says in his preface, "sed omnino humiliter, et ob id audenter affirmaverim, quia nisi spiritus sapicntiae et intellectus mihi affuisset et afftuxisset, tarn difficili metro tarn longum opus con-texere non sustinuissem."
As to the character of the metre, on the other hand, opinions have widely differed, for while Dr. Neale, in his Mediaeval Hymns, speaks of its "majestic sweetness," and in his preface to the Rhythm of Bernard de Morlaix on the Celestial Country, says that it seems to him "one of the loveliest of mediaeval measures;" Archbishop Trench in his Sac. Lat. Poetry, 1873. p. 311, says "it must be confessed that" these dactylic hexameters "present as unattractive a garb for poetry to wear as can well be imagined;" and, a few lines further on, notes "the awkwardness and repulsiveness of the metre." The truth perhaps lies between these two very opposite criticisms. Without seeking to claim for the metre all that Dr. Neale is willing to attribute to it, it may be fairly said to be admirably adapted for the purpose to which it has been applied by Bernard, whose awe-stricken self-abasement as he contemplates in the spirit of the publican, “who would not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven," the joys and the glory of the celestial country, or sorrowfully reviews the vices of his age, or solemnly denounces God's judgments on the reprobate, it eloquently pourtrays. So much is this the case, that the prevailing sentiment of the poem, that, viz., of an awful apprehension of the joys of heaven, the enormity of sin, and the terrors of hell, seems almost wholly lost in such translations as that of Dr. Neale. Beautiful as they are as hymns, "Brief life is here our portion," "Jerusalem the Golden," and their companion extracts from this great work, are far too jubilant to give any idea of the prevailing tone of the original. (See Hora Novissima.)
In the original poem of Bernard it should be noted that the same fault has been remarked by Archbishop Trench, Dean Stanley, and Dr. Neale, which may be given in the Archbishop's words as excusing at the same time both the want, which still exists, of a very close translation of any part, and of a complete and continuous rendering of the whole poem. "The poet," observes Archbishop Trench, "instead of advancing, eddies round and round his object, recurring again and again to that which he seemed thoroughly to have discussed and dismissed." Sac. Lat. Poetry, 1873, p. 311. On other grounds also, more especially the character of the vices which the author lashes, it is alike impossible to expect, and undesirable to obtain, a literal translation of the whole. We may well be content with what we already owe to it as additions to our stores of church-hymns.
-John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
==================
Bernard of Cluny, p. 137, i., is best described thus: his place of origin is quite uncertain. See the Catalogue of the Additional MSS. of the B. M. under No. 35091, where it is said that he was perhaps of Morlas in the Basses-Pyrenees, or of Morval in the Jura, but that there is nothing to connect him with Morlaix in Brittany. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
Bernard, of Cluny
César Malan
1787 - 1864 Person Name: Henri A. C. Malan Hymnal Number: E74 Composer of "HENDON" in Lutherförbundets Sångbok Rv Henri Abraham Cesar Malan, 1787-1864. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, into a bourgeois family that moved to Switzerland to escape religious persecution during the French Revolution, he attended the university in Marseilles, France, intending to become a businessman. Although having some grounding in religious faith by his mother, he decided to attend the Academy at Geneva (founded by Calvin) in preparation for ministry. He was ordained in 1810, after being appointed a college master (teaching Latin) in 1809. Malan was in accord with the National Church of Geneva as a Unitarian, but the Reveil Movement caused him to become a dissident (evangelical) instead of a proponent of the Reformed Church (believing works, not faith, was what mattered). In 1811 he married (wife’s name not found). They had at least two children (one son was Solomon, referenced below). From 1813 on Malan slowly became an evangelical, after being given an understanding of true salvation through grace (not works) in 1816 by two German Lutherans from Geneva. He became saved upon this realization and was so changed that he burned his prized collection of classical authors and manuscripts. In 1817 he preached around Geneva, and one sermon in particular, “Man only justified by faith alone” created a firestorm and brought him into conflict with religious authorities of the region. From then on he wished to help reform the national church from within, but the forces of the Venerable Company were too strong for him and excluded him from the pulpits and caused his dismissal from his regentsship at the college in 1818. Others in agreement with Malan were Charles Spurgeon, Robert Wilcox, Robert Haldane, and Henry Drummond. In 1820 he built a chapel in his garden and obtained the license of the State for it as a separatist place of worship. He preached in that chapel 43 years. In 1823 he was formally deprived of his status as a minister of the national Church. Various events caused his congregation to diminish over the next few years, and he began long tours of evangelization subsidized by religious friends in his land, Belgium, France, England and Scotland. He often preached to large congregations. Malan also authorized a hymn book, “Chants de Sion” (1841). A strong Calvinist, Malan lost no opportunity to evangelize. On one occasion an old man he visited pulled Malan’s hymnal out and told him he had prayed to see the author of it before he died. On a visit to England Malan also inspired author, Charlotte Elliott, to write the hymn lyrics for “Just as I am”, when seeking an answer to her conversion she asked and he advised her to come to Christ ‘just as she was’. Malan published a score of books and also produced many religious tracts and pamphlets largely on questions in dispute between the National and evangelical churches of Rome. He also wrote articles in the “Record” and in American reviews. His hymns were set to his own melodies. He was an artist, a mechanic, a carpenter, a metal forger, and a printer. He had his own workshop, forge and printing press. One of his greatest joys was the meeting of the evangelical alliance at Geneva in 1861 which helped change church views. He retired to his home, Vandoeuvres, in the countryside near Geneva in 1857, dying there seven years later.. He was honored by a visit from the Queen of Holland two years before his death. He is mainly remembered as a hymn writer, having written 1000+ hymn lyrics and tunes. One son, Solomon, a gifted linguist and theologian, became Vicar of Broadwindsor. About a dozen of his hymns appeared translated in the publication “Friendly visitor” (1826). He was an author, creator, composer, editor, correspondent, contributor, translator, owner, and performer.
John Perry
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Malan, Henri Abraham César. The family of Malan traces its origin to the valleys of Piedmont. A branch of it settled at Mérindol, in Dauphiné, but was driven from France by the persecutions that followed the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Pierre Malan [Cesar's father], after seeing his sister fall a victim to persecution, left Mérindol (1714), and arrived at Geneva (1722). Henri Abraham César Malan was born at Geneva in 1787. After an education at the College, he went to Marseilles, with the intention of learning business: but, soon after, entered the Academy at Geneva, as a preparation for the ministry, to which he was ordained in 1810. He had been appointed one of the masters at the College in the previous year. The National Church of Geneva was at that time almost Unitarian, and Malan's convictions were in accord with it. But the great movement known as the Réveil, of which the first products were the dissident church of Bourg de Four and at a later date that founded by Malan himself, and which finally imbued the whole Swiss Church with its spirit, was silently preparing itself. The germ of the movement may be traced in the Société des Amis (1810), of which Empeytaz and A. Bost were leaders; and in Malan's independent attainment to the doctrines of the Divinity of the Saviour and the free gifts of salvation through Him (1816). But the human agency, which gave it force, and determined its Calvinistic direction, was the visit of Robert Haldane (in the autumn of 1816), to whom not only these pioneers of the movement, but F. Monod, E. Rieu, Guers, Gonthier, Merle d'Aubigné, and others, always pointed as their spiritual father. Empeytaz and others sought to attain enfranchisement by the establishment of the "petite Eglise of Bourg de Four." Malan wished to reform the national Church from within: and a sermon at Geneva, which brought on him the obloquy of the professors and theologians that composed his audience, and which Haldane characterized as a republication of the Gospel, was his first overt act (Jan. 19, 1817). But the opposing forces were far too strong for him. The Venerable Company excluded him from the pulpits, and achieved his dismissal from his regentship at the College (1818). In 1820 he built a chapel (Chapelle du Temoignage) in his garden, and obtained the licence of the State for it, as a separatist place of worship. In 1823 he was formally deprived of his status as a minister of the national Church. The seven years that succeeded were the palmy days of the little chapel. Strangers, especially from England, mingled with the overflowing Swiss congregation. But (in 1830) a secession to Bourg de Four, and then the foundation of the Oratoire and the Société Evangelique, which in 1849 absorbed the congregation of Bourg de Four under the title of the Église Evangélique, thinned more and more the number of his adherents. His burning zeal for the conversion of souls found a larger outlet in long tours of evangelization, subsidized by religious friends, in his own land and Belgium and France, and also in Scotland and England, where he had friends among many religious bodies, and where he preached to large congregations. The distinguishing characteristic of these tours was his dealing with individuals. On the steamboat or the diligence, in the mountain walk, at the hotel, no opportunity was lost. On one occasion an old,man whom he visited drew from under his pillow a copy of his great hymnbook, Chants de Sion, 1841, and told him how he had prayed to see the author of it before he died.
It is as the originator of the modern hymn movement in the French Reformed Church that Malan's fame cannot perish. The spirit of his hymns is perpetuated in the analysis of Christian experience, the never-wearied delineation of the hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows of the believer's soul, which are still the staple of French Protestant hymns. To this was added, in Malan himself, a marked didactic tone, necessitated by the great struggle of the Réveil for Evangelical doctrine; and an emphatic Calvinism, expressing itself with all the despondency of Newton and Cowper, but, in contrast with them, in bright assurance, peace and gladness. French criticism has pronounced his hymns unequal, and full of literary defects; but their unaffected freshness and fervent sincerity are universally allowed. In the Chants de Sion, hymns 20, ”Hosanna! Béni soit"; 165, “Mon coeur joyeux, plein d'espérance"; 199, "Du Rocher de Jacob"; 200, "Agneau de Dieu"; 239, "Trois fois Jehovah," are in every Protestant French hymnbook; and several others are very widely used.
Besides his hymns Malan produced numberless tracts and pamphlets on the questions in dispute between the National and Evangelical Churches and the Church of Rome, as well as articles in the Record and in American reviews. He was a man of varied acquirements. His hymns were set to his own melodies. He was an artist, a mechanic: his little workshop had its forge, its carpenter's bench, its printing press. To the end of his life his strong Calvinism, and his dread of mere external union in church government, kept him distinct from all movements of church comprehension, though freely joining in communion with all the sections of Evangelical thought in Geneva and Scotland. At one time there seemed a prospect of his even rejoining the national Church, which had driven him from her. One of his greatest joys was the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance at Geneva (1861). He left no sect; one of his latest orders was the demolition of his decayed chapel, in which he had preached for 43 years. He died at Vandoeuvres, near Geneva, in 1864, leaving a numerous family, one of whom, the Rev. S. C. Malan, D.D., sometime Vicar of Broadwindsor, is well known as a linguist and a theologian of the English Church. To English readers Malan is chiefly known as a hymn-writer through translations of his "Non, ce n'est pas mourir" (q.v.): "It is not death to die", &c. About a dozen of his hymns appear in a translated form in the Friendly Visitor for 1826. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/César_Malan
César Malan
