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When Bending O'er The Brink Of Life
Author: William B. Collyer Meter: 8.6.8.6 Appears in 95 hymnals First Line: When bending o’er the brink of life Lyrics: 1 When bending o’er the brink of life,
My trembling soul shall stand;
I wait to pass death’s awful flood,
Great God, at Thy command!
2 When weeping friends surround my bed,
And close my sightless eyes,
When shattered by the weight of years
This broken body lies—
3 When every long loved scene of life
Stands ready to depart,
When that last sigh which shakes the frame
Shall rend this bursting heart—
4 O, Thou great source of joy supreme,
Whose arm alone can save,
Dispel the darkness that surrounds
The entrance to the grave!
5 Lay Thy supporting gentle hand
Beneath my sinking head;
And with a ray of love divine,
Illume my dying bed!
6 I lean on Thy dear faithful breast
As I resign my breath!
And in Thy fond embraces, lose
The bitterness of death! Used With Tune: ABRIDGE Text Sources: Hymns Partly Collected and Partly Original (London: 1812)
When Bending O'er The Brink Of Life
When Bending O'er The Brink Of Life
Author: William B. Collyer Hymnal: The Cyber Hymnal #12552 Meter: 8.6.8.6 First Line: When bending o’er the brink of life Lyrics: 1 When bending o’er the brink of life,
My trembling soul shall stand;
I wait to pass death’s awful flood,
Great God, at Thy command!
2 When weeping friends surround my bed,
And close my sightless eyes,
When shattered by the weight of years
This broken body lies—
3 When every long loved scene of life
Stands ready to depart,
When that last sigh which shakes the frame
Shall rend this bursting heart—
4 O, Thou great source of joy supreme,
Whose arm alone can save,
Dispel the darkness that surrounds
The entrance to the grave!
5 Lay Thy supporting gentle hand
Beneath my sinking head;
And with a ray of love divine,
Illume my dying bed!
6 I lean on Thy dear faithful breast
As I resign my breath!
And in Thy fond embraces, lose
The bitterness of death! Languages: English Tune Title: ABRIDGE
When Bending O'er The Brink Of Life
When, bending o'er the brink of life
Hymnal: A Collection of Hymns and Prayers, for Public and Private Worship #363 (1845) Meter: 8.6.8.6 Lyrics: 1 When, bending o'er the brink of life,
My trembling soul shall stand,
Waiting to pass death's awful flood,
Great God, at thy command!
2 When weeping friends surround my bed,
And close my sightless eyes;
When shatter'd by the weight of years
This broken body lies:
3 When ev'ry long-lov'd scene of life
Stands ready to depart;
When the last sigh that shakes the frame
Shall rend this bursting heart:
4 O, thou great Source of joy supreme,
Whose arm alone can save,
Dispel the darkness that surrounds
The entrance to the grave!
5 Lay thy supporting gentle hand
Beneath my sinking head;
And, with a ray of love divine,
Illume my dying bed!
Topics: Consummation of Things Death Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:32 Languages: English
When, bending o'er the brink of life
When, bending o'er the brink of life
Hymnal: Hymns, Selected and Original #696 (1828) Meter: 8.6.8.6 Lyrics: 1 When, bending o'er the brink of life,
My trembling soul shall stand,
Waiting to pass death's awful flood,
Great God, at thy command!
2 When weeping friends surround my bed,
And close my sightless eyes;
When shatter'd by the weight of years
This broken body lies:
3 When ev'ry long-lov'd scene of life
Stands ready to depart;
When the last sigh that shakes the frame
Shall rend this bursting heart:
4 O, thou great Source of joy supreme,
Whose arm alone can save,
Dispel the darkness that surrounds
The entrance to the grave!
5 Lay thy supporting gentle hand
Beneath my sinking head;
And, with a ray of love divine,
Illume my dying bed!
6 Leaning on thy dear faithful breast,
May I resign my breath!
And, in thy fond embraces, lose
"The bitterness of death!"
Topics: Death Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:32
When, bending o'er the brink of life
William Bengo Collyer
1782 - 1854 Person Name: William B. Collyer Author of "When Bending O'er The Brink Of Life" in The Cyber Hymnal William Bengo Collyer was born at Blackheath Hill, in 1782, and studied at Homerton College. Before completing his twentieth year he became pastor of a Congregational society at Peckham, continuing in that position through his life. He died in 1854. He received the degree of D.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 1808. For many years he was one of the most popular Dissenting ministers in London. He published many hymns and some works on theology.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.
===================
Collyer, William Bengo, D.D., born at Blackheath, April 14, 1782, educated at Homerton College, where, when 16 years old, he was enrolled as a student for the ministry. At 20 he began his ministry at Peckham on Dec. 17, 1801 ordained pastor of a small church consisting of ten communicants. From 1814 to 1826 he was also pastor of a Church meeting in Salters' Hall. On June 17, 1817, a new chapel was opened for him at Peckham. There, from the time of his settlement in 1801, he laboured with great success and honour until Dec. 11, 1853, on which clay he preached for the last time. He died Jan. 8, 1854.
Dr. Collyer was eminent in his day as an eloquent Evangelical preacher, when formalism in worship, and Arianism in doctrine, prevailed. He was a man of amiable disposition, polished manners, and Christian courtesy; popular with rich and poor alike. He was the author of a series of lectures on Divine Revelation, in seven volumes: Scripture Facts, Prophecies, Miracles, Parables, Doctrines, Duties, Comparisons. Dr. Collyer compiled a hymn-book with the title, Hymns partly collected and partly original, designed as a supplement to Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns, 1812. It was intended at first for the use of his own congregation only, and was to include many hymns composed by himself, to be sung after sermons which he had preached to them, but he was led to alter the plan. It comprises 979 hymns, 6 choruses, and 4 doxologics, arranged in groups according to their authors, and not subjects. Of this number 57 were written by Dr. Collyer, and are for the most part short descriptive or didactic poems, religious or moral essays in verse, and not hymns addressed to the Creator and Redeemer. Some of them are devoid of Christian truth, and are poems of nature or of sentiment. Some of them were written during the hard and sorrowful times of the wars of Bonaparte, and relate to famine and national calamity. Several were prepared for the public meetings of missionary and benevolent societies, which had their origin in his time. He also published Services suited to the Solemnization of Matrimony, Baptism, &c, 1837, which contained 89 of his hymns, &c.; Hymns for Israel, a Tribute of Love for God's Ancient People, 1848 (41 hymns). In Dr. Leifchild's Original Hymns, 1843, there are also 39 of his compositions. Many of his pieces appeared in the Evangelical Magazine, and were also appended to his numerous published Sermons. A few of his hymns are still in common use, including. "Another fleeting day is gone"; "Assembled at Thy great command"; "O Jesu, in this solemn hour"; "O Thou, the helpless orphan's hope"; "Return, O wanderer, return," and the fine cento, "Great God, what do I see and hear."
[Rev. F. J. Faulding, D.D.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
======================
Collyer, William Bengo, p. 243, ii. The following hymns by Dr. Collyer are also in common use:—
1. Another fleeting day is gone. Evening. (1812.)
2. 0 Jesus, in this solemn hour. Reception of Church Officers. (1842.)
3. O Thou, the helpless orphan's hope. On Behalf of Orphans. In the Evangelical Magazine, 1808, p. 48.
4. See the clouds upon the mountain. Sunday Morning. (1842.)
5. Soft be the gently breathing notes. Praise to the Redeemer. (1812.)
6. Softly the shade of evening falls. Evening. (1812.) From this, “Soon shall a darker night descend" is taken.
7. Thou Prince of glory slain for me. Good Friday. (1812.)
The date 1812 is that of his Collection, and 1842 of Leifchild's Original Hymns.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
William Bengo Collyer
Augustus Toplady
1740 - 1778 Person Name: Toplady Author of "When bending o'er the brink of life" in The Springfield Collection of Hymns for Sacred Worship Toplady, Augustus Montague, the author of "Rock of Ages," was born at Farnham, Surrey, November 4, 1740. His father was an officer in the British army. His mother was a woman of remarkable piety. He prepared for the university at Westminster School, and subsequently was graduated at Trinity College, Dublin. While on a visit in Ireland in his sixteenth year he was awakened and converted at a service held in a barn in Codymain. The text was Ephesians ii. 13: "But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." The preacher was an illiterate but warm-hearted layman named Morris. Concerning this experience Toplady wrote: "Strange that I, who had so long sat under the means of grace in England, should be brought nigh unto God in an obscure part of Ireland, amidst a handful of God's people met together in a barn, and under the ministry of one who could hardly spell his name. Surely this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous." In 1758, through the influence of sermons preached by Dr. Manton on the seventeenth chapter of John, he became an extreme Calvinist in his theology, which brought him later into conflict with Mr. Wesley and the Methodists. He was ordained to the ministry in the Church of England in 1762, and in 1768 he became vicar of Broadhembury, a small living in Devonshire, which he held until his death. The last two or three years of his life he passed in London, where he preached in a chapel on Orange Street. His last sickness was of such a character that he was able to make a repeated and emphatic dying testimony. A short time before his death he asked his physician what he thought. The reply was that his pulse showed that his heart was beating weaker every day. Toplady replied with a smile: "Why, that is a good sign that my death is fast approaching; and, blessed be God, I can add that my heart beats stronger and stronger every day for glory." To another friend he said: "O, my dear sir, I cannot tell you the comforts I feel in my soul; they are past expression. . . . My prayers are all converted into praise." He died of consumption August 11, 1778. His volume of Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Worship was published in 1776. Of the four hundred and nineteen hymns which it contained, several were his own productions.
If on a quiet sea 446
Rock of ages, cleft for me 279
Hymn Writers of the Church, 1915 by Charles S. Nutter
===============================================
Toplady, Augustus Montague, M.A. The life of Toplady has been repeatedly and fully written, the last, a somewhat discursive and slackly put together book, yet matterful, by W. Winters (1872). Summarily, these data may be here given: he was born at Farnham, in Surrey, on November 4, 1740. His father, Richard Toplady, was a Major in the British array, and was killed at the siege of Carthagena (1741) soon after the birth of his son. His widowed mother placed him at the renowned Westminster school, London. By-and-by circumstances led her to Ireland, and young Augustus was entered at Trinity College, Dublin, where he completed his academical training, ultimately graduating M.A. He also received his "new birth" in Ireland under remarkable conditions, as he himself tells us with oddly mixed humility and lofty self-estimate, as "a favourite of heaven," common to his school:—
"Strange that I who had so long sat under the means of grace in England should be brought right unto God in an obscure part of Ireland, midst 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 marvellous. The excellency of such power must be of God and cannot be of man. The regenerating spirit breathes not only on whom but likewise, when and where and as He listeth."
Toplady received orders in the Church of England on June 6, 1762, and after some time was appointed to Broadhembury. His Psalms and Hymns of 1776 bears that he was then “B.A." and Vicar of Broadhembury. Shortly thereafter be is found in London as minister of the Chapel of the French Calvinists in Leicester Fields. He was a strong and partizan Calvinist, and not well-informed theologically outside of Calvinism. We willingly and with sense of relief leave unstirred the small thick dust of oblivion that has gathered on his controversial writings, especially his scurrilous language to John Wesley because of his Arminianism, as we do John Wesley's deplorable misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Calvinism.
Throughout Toplady lacked the breadth of the divine Master's watchword "Forbid him not, for he that is not against us is for us" (St. Luke ix. 50). He was impulsive, rash-spoken, reckless in misjudgment; but a flame of genuine devoutness burned in the fragile lamp of his overtasked and wasted body. He died on August 11, 1778. The last edition of his works is in 6 vols., 8 vo., 1825. An accurate reproduction of most of his genuine hymns was one of the reprints of Daniel Sedgwick, 1860. His name occurs and recurs in contemporary memoirs and ecclesiastical histories, e.g., in Tyerman's Life of John Wesley. The reader will find in their places annotations on the several hymns of Toplady, and specially on his "Rock of Ages,” a song of grace that has given him a deeper and more inward place in millions of human hearts from generation to generation than almost any other hymnologist of our country, not excepting Charles Wesley. Besides the "Rock of Ages" must be named, for power, intensity, and higher afflatus and nicer workmanship, "Object of my first desire,” and "Deathless principle arise." It is to be regretted that the latter has not been more widely accepted. It is strong, firm, stirring, and masterful. Regarded critically, it must be stated that the affectionateness with which Toplady is named, and the glow and passion of his faith and life, and yearning after holiness, have led to an over-exaltation of him as a hymnwriter. Many of his hymns have been widely used, and especially in America, and in the Evangelical hymnbooks of the Church of England. Year by year, however, the number in use is becoming less. The reason is soon found. He is no poet or inspired singer. He climbs no heights. He sounds no depths. He has mere vanishing gleams of imaginative light. His greatness is the greatness of goodness. He is a fervent preacher, not a bard. [Rev. A. B. Grosart, D.D., LL.D.]
Toplady's hymns and poetical pieces were published in his:—
(1) Poems on Sacred Subjects wherein The Fundamental Doctrines of Christianity, with many other interesting Points, are occasionally introduced. . . Dublin: Printed by S. Powell, in Crane-lane, MDCCLIX.; (2) his Psalms & Hymns for Public and Private Worship, 1776; (3) in The Gospel Magazine, 1771-1776; and (4) in Hymns and Sacred Poems on a variety of Divine Subjects, &c. D. Sedgwick's reprint, 1860. His Works, with a Memoir by W. Row, were published in 6 volumes, in 1794. Walter How was also the editor of the 2nd and some later editions of the Psalms & Hymns. He was a most careless editor, and attributed several hymns by C. Wesley and others to Toplady.
The following additional hymns in common use together with centos indicated in the sub-lines, are from:—
i. His Poems on Sacred Subjects, 1759.
1. Can my heaven-born soul submit? All for Christ.
2. Come from on high, my King and God. Holiness desired.
(1.) 0 might this worthless heart of mine.
3. Earnest of future bliss. The Witness of the Spirit.
4. From Thy supreme tribunal, Lord. Christ's Righteousness a Refuge.
(1.) The spotless Saviour lived for me.
5. Great God, Whom heaven, and earth, and sea. For Peace.
6. I saw, and lo! a countless throng. Saints' Days. Revised form in the Gospel Magazine, 1774, p. 449.
7. Immovable our hope remains. Divine Faithfulness.
8. Jesus, God of love, attend. Divine Worship. Pt. ii. is "Prayer can mercy's door unlock."
9. Jesus, Thy power I fain would feel. Lent.
10. Lord, I feel a carnal mind. Mind of Christ desired.
11. My yielding heart dissolves as wax. On behalf of Arians, &c.
(1.) 0 Jesus, manifest Thy grace.
12. Not to myself I owe. Praise for Conversion,
(1.) Not to ourselves we owe.
(2.) The Father's grace and love.
13. 0 that my heart was right with Thee. Dedication to God desired.
14. 0 Thou that hearest the prayer of faith. Christ the Propitiation.
15. 0 Thou Who didst Thy glory leave. Thanksgiving for Redemption.
16. 0 when wilt Thou my Saviour be. Trust in Jesus.
(1.) Jesus, the sinner's Rest Thou art.
17. Redeemer, whither should I flee? Safety in the Cross.
18. Remember, Lord, that Jesus bled. Pardon.
19. Surely Christ thy griefs hath borne. Redemption. Revised text in Gospel Magazine, 1774, p. 548.
(1.) Weary sinner, keep thine eyes.
(2.) Weeping soul, no longer mourn.
ii. From the Gospel Magazine.
20. Compared with Christ, in all besides. Christ All in All. Feb. 1772.
21. Eternal Hallelujahs Be to the Father given. Holy Trinity, Dec. 1774.
22. From whence this fear and unbelief. Reviving Faith, Feb. 1772.
23. How vast the benefits divine. Redemption. Dec. 1774. From this "Not for the works which we have done" is taken.
24. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? Christ All and in All, Feb. 1772. From this "If my Lord Himself reveal" is taken.
25. Jesus, immutably the same. Jesus, the True Vine. June, 1771.
All these hymns, together with "O precious blood, 0 glorious death" (Death of Christ), are in D. Sedgwick's reprint of Toplady's Hymns, &c, 1860. We have met with several other hymns to which Toplady's name is appended, but for this we can find no authority whatever.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Augustus Toplady
