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Bound upon the Accursèd Tree
Author: Henry H. Milman, 1791-1858 Meter: 7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7 Appears in 63 hymnals Lyrics: 1. Bound upon the accursèd tree,
Faint and bleeding, who is He?
By the eyes so pale and dim,
Streaming blood, and writhing limb;
By the flesh with scourges torn;
By the crown of twisted thorn;
By the side so deeply pierced:
By the baffled, burning thirst;
By the drooping death-dewed brow;
Son of Man! ’tis Thou! ’tis Thou!
2. Bound upon the accursèd tree,
Dead and awful, who is He?
By the sun at noonday pale,
Shivering rocks and rending veil;
Earth that trembles at His doom,
Yonder saints who burst their tomb;
Eden promised ere he died
To the felon at His side;
Lord! our suppliant knees we bow,
Son of God! ’tis Thou! ’tis Thou!
3. Bound upon the accursèd tree,
Sad and dying, who is He?
By the last and bitter cry,
By the dying agony;
By the lifeless body laid
In the chamber of the dead;
By the mourners come to weep
Where the bones of Jesus sleep.
Crucified! we know Thee now:
Son of Man! ’tis Thou! ’tis Thou!
4. Bound upon the accursèd tree,
Dread and awful, who is He?
By the prayer for them that slew,
Lord, they know not what they do;
By the spoiled and empty grave;
By the souls He died to save;
By the conquest He hath won;
By the saints before His throne;
By the rainbow round His brow;
Son of God! ’tis Thou! ’tis Thou! Used With Tune: ECCE HOMO
Bound upon the Accursèd Tree
Earth To Earth, And Dust To Dust
Author: George Croly, 178-=1860 Meter: 7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7 Appears in 8 hymnals Lyrics: 1 Earth to earth, and dust to dust
Here the evil and the just,
Here the youthful and the old,
Here the fearful and the bold,
Here the matron and the maid,
In one silent bed are laid;
Here the vassal and the king
Side by side lie withering;
Here the sword and scepter rust—
Earth to earth and dust to dust!
2 Age on age shall roll along
O’er this pale and mighty throng;
Those that wept them, those that weep,
All shall with these sleepers sleep;
Brothers, sisters of the worm,
Summer’s storm, or winter’s storm,
Song of peace, or battle’s roar,
Ne’er shall break their slumbers more;
Death shall keep his solemn trust—
Earth to earth, and dust to dust.
3 But a day is coming fast,
Earth, thy mightiest and thy last;
It shall come and fear and wonder,
Heralded by trump and thunder;
It shall come in strife and toil;
It shall come in blood and spoil;
It shall come in empire’s groans,
Burning temples, trampled thrones.
Then, Ambition, rue thy lust!
Earth to earth and dust to dust!
4 Then shall come the judgment sign,
In the east the King shall shine;
Flashing from Heav’n’s golden gate,
Thousand thousands round His state;
Spirits with the crown and plume,
Tremble then, thou sullen tomb!
Heav’n shall open on our sight,
Earth be turned to living light,
Kingdoms of the ransomed just—
Earth to earth, and dust to dust.
5 Then shall, gorgeous as a gem,
Shine thy mount, Jerusalem;
Then shall in the desert rise
Fruits of more than paradise;
Earth by angel feet be trod,
One great garden of her God;
Till are dried the martyr’s tears
Through a glorious thousand years.
Now in hope of Him we trust—
Earth to earth, and dust to dust! Used With Tune: ECCE HOMO Text Sources: Select Melodies, Comprising the Best of Those Hymns and Spiritual Songs in Common Use Not Found in the Standard Methodist Episcopal Hymnal by William Hunter (Cincinnati: Methodist Book Concern, 1843)
Earth To Earth, And Dust To Dust
Who Believes The Tidings?
Author: Charles Wesley Meter: 7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7 Appears in 1 hymnal First Line: Who believes the tidings? Who Lyrics: 1 Who believes the tidings? Who
Witnesses that God is true?
Sees his sins and follies more
Than the sands upon the shore?
Sees his works with evil fraught,
All his life a constant blot?
Sees his heart of virtue void,
Alien from the life of God?
Tastes in every tainted breath
Pride, and self, and sin and death!
2 Who, ah, who deserves to feel
Never ending pains in hell?
Trembling views his long sought hire,
Vengeance of eternal fire?
Who hath fruitless toil bestowed
To appease the wrath of God?
Vain is all thy toil and care,
Vain all nature’s treasures are:
More to buy one soul it cost,
More to save a spirit lost.
3 What, then, wilt thou, canst thou do?
Canst thou form thyself anew?
Canst thou cleanse a filthy heart,
Life to the dead soul impart?
Canst Thou thy lost powers restore?
Rise, go forth, and sin no more?
Never, never can it be,
God alone can set thee free!
God alone the work hath done,
Fought the fight, the battle won.
4 God alone the price hath paid,
All thy sins on Him were laid;
Happy soul, from guilt set free,
Jesus died for thee, for thee!
Jesus does for thee atone,
Points thee to th’eternal crown,
Speaks to thee the kingdom giv’n,
Kingdom of an inward heaven,
Glorious joy, unuttered peace,
All victorious righteousness.
5 Why then do thy fears return?
Yet again why dost thou mourn?
Why are all thy comforts fled?
"Sin revives, and I am dead."
Dead alas! thou art within,
Still remains the inbred sin;
Dead within thou surely art,
Still unclean remains thy heart;
The untamed rebellious will,
Foe to good, enslaved to ill.
6 Soon the Comforter will come,
Fix in thee His constant home,
With thy heart His witness bear
Strong, and permanent, and clear:
All thy griefs shall then be gone,
Doubt and fear no more be known;
Holy love thy heart possess,
Silent joy, and steadfast peace;
Peace that never can decay,
Joy that none can take away.
7 Wrath, and pride and hatred cease,
All thy heart is gentleness;
Let the waves around thee rise,
Let the tempest cloud the skies;
Calm thou ever art within,
All unruffled, all serene:
Thy sure anchor cannot fail,
Entered now within the veil;
Glad this earth thou canst resign:
The new heavens and earth are thine.
8 Why then heave again thy sighs,
Heir of all in earth and skies?
Still thou feel’st the root within,
Bitter root of inbred sin;
Nature still in thee hath part,
Unrenewed is still thy heart;
Still thy heart is unrenewed,
Alien from the life of God:
Hence with secret earnest moans,
Deep unutterable groans.
9 Come, Thou holy God and true!
Come, and my whole heart renew;
Take me now, possess me whole,
Form the Savior in my soul;
In my heart Thy name reveal,
Stamp me with Thy Spirit’s seal;
Change my nature into Thine,
In me Thy whole image shine:
Bow Thine ear, in mercy bow,
Fill me with Thy fullness now.
10 Happy soul, who now renewed,
God in thee, and thou in God,
Only feel’st within thee move
Tenderness, compassion, love;
Love immense and unconfined,
Love to all of humankind;
Love which willeth all should live,
Love which all to all would give;
Love that over all prevails,
Love that never, ever fails.
11 Stand secure, for thou shalt prove
All th’eternity of love.
Happy soul, from self and sin
Clean, e’en as thy Lord is clean;
God hath made thy footsteps sure,
Purified as He is pure.
God thou dost in all things see,
God is all in all to thee;
Heav’n above, and earth abroad,
All to thee is full of God.
12 Happy soul, whose active love
Emulates the blest above,
In thy every action seen,
Sparkling from the soul within:
Thou to every sufferer nigh,
Hearest, not in vain, the cry
Of the widow in distress,
Of the poor and fatherless!
Raiment give to all that need,
To the hungry deal’st thy bread.
13 To the sick thou give relief,
Soothe the hapless prisoner’s grief;
Weak the hands thou liftest up,
Bid the helpless mourners hope,
Give to those in darkness light,
Guide the weary wanderer right;
Break the roaring lion’s teeth,
Save the sinner’s soul from death;
Happy Thou, for God doth own
Thee, His well belovèd son.
14 Let the sons of Belial rage,
Let all hell its powers engage;
Brand with infamy thy name,
Put thee to an open shame;
Let earth’s comforts be withdrawn,
Parents, kindred, friends be gone;
Happy, O thrice happy thou,
Sealed unto redemption now!
All in earth thou well hast giv’n,
God is thy reward in Heav’n. Used With Tune: ECCE HOMO Text Sources: Hymns and Sacred Poems (Bristol, England: Felix Farley, printer, 1742)
Who Believes The Tidings?
Bound upon the Accursèd Tree
Author: Henry H. Milman, 1791-1858 Hymnal: The Cyber Hymnal #606 Meter: 7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7 Lyrics: 1. Bound upon the accursèd tree,
Faint and bleeding, who is He?
By the eyes so pale and dim,
Streaming blood, and writhing limb;
By the flesh with scourges torn;
By the crown of twisted thorn;
By the side so deeply pierced:
By the baffled, burning thirst;
By the drooping death-dewed brow;
Son of Man! ’tis Thou! ’tis Thou!
2. Bound upon the accursèd tree,
Dead and awful, who is He?
By the sun at noonday pale,
Shivering rocks and rending veil;
Earth that trembles at His doom,
Yonder saints who burst their tomb;
Eden promised ere he died
To the felon at His side;
Lord! our suppliant knees we bow,
Son of God! ’tis Thou! ’tis Thou!
3. Bound upon the accursèd tree,
Sad and dying, who is He?
By the last and bitter cry,
By the dying agony;
By the lifeless body laid
In the chamber of the dead;
By the mourners come to weep
Where the bones of Jesus sleep.
Crucified! we know Thee now:
Son of Man! ’tis Thou! ’tis Thou!
4. Bound upon the accursèd tree,
Dread and awful, who is He?
By the prayer for them that slew,
Lord, they know not what they do;
By the spoiled and empty grave;
By the souls He died to save;
By the conquest He hath won;
By the saints before His throne;
By the rainbow round His brow;
Son of God! ’tis Thou! ’tis Thou! Languages: English Tune Title: ECCE HOMO
Bound upon the Accursèd Tree
Earth To Earth, And Dust To Dust
Author: George Croly, 178-=1860 Hymnal: The Cyber Hymnal #9908 Meter: 7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7 Lyrics: 1 Earth to earth, and dust to dust
Here the evil and the just,
Here the youthful and the old,
Here the fearful and the bold,
Here the matron and the maid,
In one silent bed are laid;
Here the vassal and the king
Side by side lie withering;
Here the sword and scepter rust—
Earth to earth and dust to dust!
2 Age on age shall roll along
O’er this pale and mighty throng;
Those that wept them, those that weep,
All shall with these sleepers sleep;
Brothers, sisters of the worm,
Summer’s storm, or winter’s storm,
Song of peace, or battle’s roar,
Ne’er shall break their slumbers more;
Death shall keep his solemn trust—
Earth to earth, and dust to dust.
3 But a day is coming fast,
Earth, thy mightiest and thy last;
It shall come and fear and wonder,
Heralded by trump and thunder;
It shall come in strife and toil;
It shall come in blood and spoil;
It shall come in empire’s groans,
Burning temples, trampled thrones.
Then, Ambition, rue thy lust!
Earth to earth and dust to dust!
4 Then shall come the judgment sign,
In the east the King shall shine;
Flashing from Heav’n’s golden gate,
Thousand thousands round His state;
Spirits with the crown and plume,
Tremble then, thou sullen tomb!
Heav’n shall open on our sight,
Earth be turned to living light,
Kingdoms of the ransomed just—
Earth to earth, and dust to dust.
5 Then shall, gorgeous as a gem,
Shine thy mount, Jerusalem;
Then shall in the desert rise
Fruits of more than paradise;
Earth by angel feet be trod,
One great garden of her God;
Till are dried the martyr’s tears
Through a glorious thousand years.
Now in hope of Him we trust—
Earth to earth, and dust to dust! Languages: English Tune Title: ECCE HOMO
Earth To Earth, And Dust To Dust
Who Believes The Tidings?
Author: Charles Wesley Hymnal: The Cyber Hymnal #11122 Meter: 7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7 First Line: Who believes the tidings? Who Lyrics: 1 Who believes the tidings? Who
Witnesses that God is true?
Sees his sins and follies more
Than the sands upon the shore?
Sees his works with evil fraught,
All his life a constant blot?
Sees his heart of virtue void,
Alien from the life of God?
Tastes in every tainted breath
Pride, and self, and sin and death!
2 Who, ah, who deserves to feel
Never ending pains in hell?
Trembling views his long sought hire,
Vengeance of eternal fire?
Who hath fruitless toil bestowed
To appease the wrath of God?
Vain is all thy toil and care,
Vain all nature’s treasures are:
More to buy one soul it cost,
More to save a spirit lost.
3 What, then, wilt thou, canst thou do?
Canst thou form thyself anew?
Canst thou cleanse a filthy heart,
Life to the dead soul impart?
Canst Thou thy lost powers restore?
Rise, go forth, and sin no more?
Never, never can it be,
God alone can set thee free!
God alone the work hath done,
Fought the fight, the battle won.
4 God alone the price hath paid,
All thy sins on Him were laid;
Happy soul, from guilt set free,
Jesus died for thee, for thee!
Jesus does for thee atone,
Points thee to th’eternal crown,
Speaks to thee the kingdom giv’n,
Kingdom of an inward heaven,
Glorious joy, unuttered peace,
All victorious righteousness.
5 Why then do thy fears return?
Yet again why dost thou mourn?
Why are all thy comforts fled?
"Sin revives, and I am dead."
Dead alas! thou art within,
Still remains the inbred sin;
Dead within thou surely art,
Still unclean remains thy heart;
The untamed rebellious will,
Foe to good, enslaved to ill.
6 Soon the Comforter will come,
Fix in thee His constant home,
With thy heart His witness bear
Strong, and permanent, and clear:
All thy griefs shall then be gone,
Doubt and fear no more be known;
Holy love thy heart possess,
Silent joy, and steadfast peace;
Peace that never can decay,
Joy that none can take away.
7 Wrath, and pride and hatred cease,
All thy heart is gentleness;
Let the waves around thee rise,
Let the tempest cloud the skies;
Calm thou ever art within,
All unruffled, all serene:
Thy sure anchor cannot fail,
Entered now within the veil;
Glad this earth thou canst resign:
The new heavens and earth are thine.
8 Why then heave again thy sighs,
Heir of all in earth and skies?
Still thou feel’st the root within,
Bitter root of inbred sin;
Nature still in thee hath part,
Unrenewed is still thy heart;
Still thy heart is unrenewed,
Alien from the life of God:
Hence with secret earnest moans,
Deep unutterable groans.
9 Come, Thou holy God and true!
Come, and my whole heart renew;
Take me now, possess me whole,
Form the Savior in my soul;
In my heart Thy name reveal,
Stamp me with Thy Spirit’s seal;
Change my nature into Thine,
In me Thy whole image shine:
Bow Thine ear, in mercy bow,
Fill me with Thy fullness now.
10 Happy soul, who now renewed,
God in thee, and thou in God,
Only feel’st within thee move
Tenderness, compassion, love;
Love immense and unconfined,
Love to all of humankind;
Love which willeth all should live,
Love which all to all would give;
Love that over all prevails,
Love that never, ever fails.
11 Stand secure, for thou shalt prove
All th’eternity of love.
Happy soul, from self and sin
Clean, e’en as thy Lord is clean;
God hath made thy footsteps sure,
Purified as He is pure.
God thou dost in all things see,
God is all in all to thee;
Heav’n above, and earth abroad,
All to thee is full of God.
12 Happy soul, whose active love
Emulates the blest above,
In thy every action seen,
Sparkling from the soul within:
Thou to every sufferer nigh,
Hearest, not in vain, the cry
Of the widow in distress,
Of the poor and fatherless!
Raiment give to all that need,
To the hungry deal’st thy bread.
13 To the sick thou give relief,
Soothe the hapless prisoner’s grief;
Weak the hands thou liftest up,
Bid the helpless mourners hope,
Give to those in darkness light,
Guide the weary wanderer right;
Break the roaring lion’s teeth,
Save the sinner’s soul from death;
Happy Thou, for God doth own
Thee, His well belovèd son.
14 Let the sons of Belial rage,
Let all hell its powers engage;
Brand with infamy thy name,
Put thee to an open shame;
Let earth’s comforts be withdrawn,
Parents, kindred, friends be gone;
Happy, O thrice happy thou,
Sealed unto redemption now!
All in earth thou well hast giv’n,
God is thy reward in Heav’n. Languages: English Tune Title: ECCE HOMO
Who Believes The Tidings?
William Henry Monk
1823 - 1889 Person Name: William Henry Monk, 1823-1889 Composer of "ECCE HOMO" in The Cyber Hymnal William H. Monk (b. Brompton, London, England, 1823; d. London, 1889) is best known for his music editing of Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861, 1868; 1875, and 1889 editions). He also adapted music from plainsong and added accompaniments for Introits for Use Throughout the Year, a book issued with that famous hymnal. Beginning in his teenage years, Monk held a number of musical positions. He became choirmaster at King's College in London in 1847 and was organist and choirmaster at St. Matthias, Stoke Newington, from 1852 to 1889, where he was influenced by the Oxford Movement. At St. Matthias, Monk also began daily choral services with the choir leading the congregation in music chosen according to the church year, including psalms chanted to plainsong. He composed over fifty hymn tunes and edited The Scottish Hymnal (1872 edition) and Wordsworth's Hymns for the Holy Year (1862) as well as the periodical Parish Choir (1840-1851).
Bert Polman
William Henry Monk
Charles Wesley
1707 - 1788 Person Name: Charles Wesley Author of "Who Believes The Tidings?" in The Cyber Hymnal Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepened, and he became one of the first band of "Oxford Methodists."
In 1735 he went with his brother John to Georgia, as secretary to General Oglethorpe, having before he set out received Deacon's and Priest's Orders on two successive Sundays. His stay in Georgia was very short; he returned to England in 1736, and in 1737 came under the influence of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians, especially of that remarkable man who had so large a share in moulding John Wesley's career, Peter Bonier, and also of a Mr. Bray, a brazier in Little Britain. On Whitsunday, 1737, [sic. 1738] he "found rest to his soul," and in 1738 he became curate to his friend, Mr. Stonehouse, Vicar of Islington, but the opposition of the churchwardens was so great that the Vicar consented that he "should preach in his church no more." Henceforth his work was identified with that of his brother John, and he became an indefatigable itinerant and field preacher. On April 8, 1749, he married Miss Sarah Gwynne. His marriage, unlike that of his brother John, was a most happy one; his wife was accustomed to accompany him on his evangelistic journeys, which were as frequent as ever until the year 1756," when he ceased to itinerate, and mainly devoted himself to the care of the Societies in London and Bristol. Bristol was his headquarters until 1771, when he removed with his family to London, and, besides attending to the Societies, devoted himself much, as he had done in his youth, to the spiritual care of prisoners in Newgate. He had long been troubled about the relations of Methodism to the Church of England, and strongly disapproved of his brother John's "ordinations." Wesley-like, he expressed his disapproval in the most outspoken fashion, but, as in the case of Samuel at an earlier period, the differences between the brothers never led to a breach of friendship. He died in London, March 29, 1788, and was buried in Marylebone churchyard. His brother John was deeply grieved because he would not consent to be interred in the burial-ground of the City Road Chapel, where he had prepared a grave for himself, but Charles said, "I have lived, and I die, in the Communion of the Church of England, and I will be buried in the yard of my parish church." Eight clergymen of the Church of England bore his pall. He had a large family, four of whom survived him; three sons, who all became distinguished in the musical world, and one daughter, who inherited some of her father's poetical genius. The widow and orphans were treated with the greatest kindness and generosity by John Wesley.
As a hymn-writer Charles Wesley was unique. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and though, of course, in so vast a number some are of unequal merit, it is perfectly marvellous how many there are which rise to the highest degree of excellence. His feelings on every occasion of importance, whether private or public, found their best expression in a hymn. His own conversion, his own marriage, the earthquake panic, the rumours of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots, every Festival of the Christian Church, every doctrine of the Christian Faith, striking scenes in Scripture history, striking scenes which came within his own view, the deaths of friends as they passed away, one by one, before him, all furnished occasions for the exercise of his divine gift. Nor must we forget his hymns for little children, a branch of sacred poetry in which the mantle of Dr. Watts seems to have fallen upon him. It would be simply impossible within our space to enumerate even those of the hymns which have become really classical. The saying that a really good hymn is as rare an appearance as that of a comet is falsified by the work of Charles Wesley; for hymns, which are really good in every respect, flowed from his pen in quick succession, and death alone stopped the course of the perennial stream.
It has been the common practice, however for a hundred years or more to ascribe all translations from the German to John Wesley, as he only of the two brothers knew that language; and to assign to Charles Wesley all the original hymns except such as are traceable to John Wesley through his Journals and other works.
The list of 482 original hymns by John and Charles Wesley listed in this Dictionary of Hymnology have formed an important part of Methodist hymnody and show the enormous influence of the Wesleys on the English hymnody of the nineteenth century.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
==================
Charles Wesley, the son of Samuel Wesley, was born at Epworth, Dec. 18, 1707. He was educated at Westminster School and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated M.A. In 1735, he took Orders and immediately proceeded with his brother John to Georgia, both being employed as missionaries of the S.P.G. He returned to England in 1736. For many years he engaged with his brother in preaching the Gospel. He died March 29, 1788. To Charles Wesley has been justly assigned the appellation of the "Bard of Methodism." His prominence in hymn writing may be judged from the fact that in the "Wesleyan Hymn Book," 623 of the 770 hymns were written by him; and he published more than thirty poetical works, written either by himself alone, or in conjunction with his brother. The number of his separate hymns is at least five thousand.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.
Charles Wesley
Henry Hart Milman
1791 - 1868 Person Name: Henry H. Milman, 1791-1858 Author of "Bound upon the Accursèd Tree" in The Cyber Hymnal Milman, Henry Hart, D.D., the youngest son of Sir Francis Milman (who received his Baronetage as an eminent Court physician), was born Feb. 10th, 1791, and educated at Dr. Burney's at Greenwich, and subsequently at Eton. His career at B. N. C. Oxford, was brilliant. He took a first class in classics, and carried off the Newdigate, Latin Verse, Latin Essay, and English Essay. His Newdigate on the Apollo Belvedere, 1812, is styled by Dean Stanley "the most perfect of Oxford prize poems." His literary career for several years promised to be poetical. His tragedy Fazio was played at Covent Garden, Miss O'Neill acting Bianca. Samor was written in the year of his appointment to St. Mary's, Reading (1817); The Fall of Jerusalem (1820); Belshazzar and The Martyr of Antioch (1822), and Anne Boleyn, gained a brilliant reception from the reviewers and the public. He was appointed Poetry Professor at Oxford in 1821, and was succeeded ten years after by Keble. It must have been before 1823, the date of Heber's consecration to Calcutta, that the 13 hymns he contributed to Heber's Hymns were composed. But his poetry was only the prelude to his larger work.
The Bampton Lectures (1827) mark his transition to theological study, and the future direction of it was permanently fixed by his History of the Jews (1829). This book raised a storm of obloquy. It was denounced from the University pulpit, and in the British Critic. "It was the first decisive inroad of German theology into England, the first palpable indication that the Bible could be studied like another book, that the characters and events of the sacred history could be treated at once critically and reverently" (Dean Stanley).
In 1835 he was presented by Sir Robert Peel to a Canonry at Westminster and the Rectory of St. Margaret's. In 1839 appeared his valuable edition of Gibbon's Decline and Fall; and in 1840 his History of Christianity to the Abolition of Paganism in the Roman Empire. Among his minor works in a different field were his Life of Keats and his edition and Life of Horace. It was not till 1854 that his greatest work—-for "vast and varied learning, indefatigable industry, calm impartiality, and subtle and acute criticism, among the most memorable in our language" (Quart Rev.)—-Latin Christianity—-appeared. He had been appointed Dean of St. Paul's in 1849. The great services under the dome originated in his tenure of the Deanery. His latest work, published after his death, Sept. 24, 1868, was The Annals of St. Paul’s. Though one of the most illustrious in the school of English liberal theology, he had no sympathy with the extreme speculations of Germany. The "criticism" of Tübingen "will rarely bear criticism." He "should like an Ewald to criticise Ewald." "Christianity will survive the criticism of Dr. Strauss," and the "bright flashing artillery" of Rénan. His historical style has been compared to Gibbon in its use of epigram and antithesis. His narrative is full of rapidity of movement. His long complex paragraphs have often a splendour of imagination as well as wealth of thought. All the varied powers of his mind found vent in his conversation; he was called, after his death, "the last of the great converters." The catalogue of his friends from the days of Heber, "his early friend," to those of Hallam, Macaulay, and Dean Stanley, was long and distinguished.
Milman's 13 hymns were published in Heber's posthumous Hymns in 1827, and subsequently in his own Selection of Psalms & Hymns, 1837. The fine hymn for The Burial of the Dead, in Thring's Collection, "Brother, thou art gone before us," is from The Martyr of Antioch (1822). Like Heber's, they aim at higher literary expression and lyric grace. He makes free use of refrains. The structure is often excellent. His style is less florid and fuller of burning, sometimes lurid force than Heber's. His hymn for the 16th Sunday after Trinity, "When our heads are bowed with woe," has no peer in its presentation of Christ's human sympathy; the hymn for the 2nd Sunday in Lent, “Oh! help us, Lord! each hour of need," is a piece of pure deep devotion. "Ride on, ride on in majesty," the hymn for Palm Sunday, is one of our best hymns. And the stanzas for Good Friday, "Bound upon the accursed tree," form one of the finest meditations on the Passion. All his hymns are still in common use. [Rev.H.Leigh Bennett, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Henry Hart Milman
