Bless'd morning! whose young, dawning rays. I. Watts. [Sunday—Easter.] Appeared in his Hymns, &c, 1707 (1709, Book ii., No. 72), in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, "The Lord's Day: or, The Resurrection of Christ." The arrangements of this hymn in common use are:—
(1.) The original. Very limited.
(2.) "Blessed morning” &c, as in Dr. Hatfield's American Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, with the change in stanza i., line 4, of "last abode," to "dark abode."
(3.) "Blest morning," &c. This opening, sometimes followed by two or three slight alterations and the omission of stanza v., is the most popular form of the text both in Great Britain and America.
(4.) "Blest morning," &c, in the Hymnary, 1872, No. 13. This is very considerably altered.
In addition to these, in 1781, this hymn was added with alterations, as "Hymn IV.," to the Scottish Translations & Paraphrases. It opens "Blest morning ! Whose first dawning rays." The author of this recast is unknown.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary… Go to person page >
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