At God's right hand in countless numbers. [Anticipation of Heaven.] This hymn, which is No. 1247 of the Moravian Hymn Book of 1849, and No. 403 of the Irish Church Hymnal, 1873, is thus composed: stanza i. is a single verse written by Ignatius Montgomery as the opening of an "Ode" compiled for the funeral of the Rev. Christian Gottfried Clemens, who died at Bristol 14th Aug. 1815; stanza ii. is a translation of Wenn schlägt die angenehme Stunde; and stanza iii. a translation of O angenehme Augenblicke (1766). These translations are by Bishop Molther (cir. 1774), from the German of Christian Gregor. They appeared as single verses in the (Moravian) Brethren’s Hymn Book, 1789, and were subsequently, in the edition of 1826, united by its editor, Bishop Foster, to the above stanza, "At God's right hand," &c, thus constituting the complete cento of 3 stanzas as in the Irish Church Hymnal. For these details we are indebted to Major Crawford's Biog. Index of that Hymnal.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files
