My Thirst Was Quenched

 In many churches during Lent, the hymns are a bit quieter and gentler.  Some places go so far as to restrict the use of the organ during the season.  

Today's quieter and gentler hymn by Horatius Bonar, loved by many, depicts the words of Jesus bringing comfort in various circumstances.  Each stanza is based on a specific passage of scripture: the first, from Matthew 11:28; the second, from John 6:35; and the third, from John 8:12.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, 

"Come unto me and rest.

Lay down, O weary one, lay down

Your head upon my breast."

I came to Jesus as I was,

Weary and worn and sad;

I found in him a resting place,

And he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

Behold, I freely give

The living water, thirsty one,

Stoop down, and drink, and live."

I came to Jesus, and I drank

Of that life-giving stream;

My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,

And now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

"I am the living Light.

Look unto me, your morn shall rise,

And all your day be bright."

I looked to Jesus, and I found

In him my Star, my Sun;

And in that light of life I’ll walk,

Till traveling days are done.

Horatius Bonar, 1846; alt.

Tune: THIRD MODE MELODY (C.M.D.)

Thomas Tallis, 1567

This text has been matched with several different tunes over the years, but I like this one best for its contemplative mood (it should perhaps be played a bit slower than on the sound file here).  Two tunes often used in the nineteenth century which were written specifically for this text are VOX DILECTI by John Bacchus Dykes and AUDITE AUDIENTES ME by Arthur Sullivan.  Both of them change key from major to minor for the second half of each stanza which tells the result of hearing the voice of Jesus.  It's the kind of compositional trick that was once admired but is less popular today.

Ash Wadnesday

This Lent, as taught by holy lore,
We keep in solemn course once more;
The fast to all is known, and bound
In forty days of yearly round.

The ancient seers that were of old
In diverse ways this Lent foretold
Which Christ, all seasons’ guard and guide,
In after ages sanctified.

Remember thou, though frail we be,
That yet thine handiwork are we;
Nor let the honor of thy name
Be by another put to shame.

Forgive the sin that we have wrought;
Increase the good that we have sought;
That we at length, our wanderings o’er,
May please thee here and evermore.

Latin, 11th cent,;
tr. John Mason Neale, 1854; alt.
Tune: FORD (L.M.)
Thomas Ford, 1614

Five Years Ago: Lord, who throughout these forty days

Four Years Ago:  Awhile in spirit, Christ, to thee

Two Years Ago:  O Christ, whose tender mercy hears

One Year Ago: All who seek a comfort sure

William Howard Doane

William Howard Doane, who was born on this date in 1832, has often been described in hymn histories as an enthusiastic amateur, but the hundreds of gospel song melodies he composed have been sung by many thousands of people over the last 150 years.  He worked for more than forty years in the manufacturing field, but continued composing and editing collections of gospel and Sunday school songs in his spare time.

He composed his first music at age sixteen, and by the age of twenty he was the conductor of the Norwich Harmonic Society in Connecticut.  The first collection he compiled, Sabbath School Gems, was published in 1862, but by that time he had already been employed for more than a decade by the J. A. Fay Company, and had been the managing partner of the firm for two years.

A later collection, Pure Gold for the Sunday School (1871), which he edited with Robert Lowry, contained this popular song, which is probably still remembered by many.

Take the name of Jesus with you,
Through your sorrow and your woe,
It will joy and comfort give you;
Take it then, where’er you go.

Refrain

Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heav’n.
Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heav’n.

Take the name of Jesus ever,
As a shield from every care;
If temptations round you gather,
Breathe that holy name in prayer.

Refrain

O the precious name of Jesus!
How it thrills our souls with joy,
When his loving arms receive us,
Blissful songs our tongues employ!

Refrain

Lydia Baxter, 1870; alt.

Tune: PRECIOUS NAME (8.7.8.7. with refrain)

William H. Doane, 1871

Many of Doane's most well-known songs were written to texts by Fanny Crosby, but he composed tunes for many other writers, and even wrote a number of texts himself.  He also wrote a series of Christmas cantatas which were widely sung, and some of these were secular, including one called Santa Claus (1879).

Some of Doane's papers, including correspondence with other gospel song writers and composers, are preserved at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, IL

Four Years Ago: William Howard Doane

Three Years Ago:  William Howard Doane

The Feast of the Presentation

In the temple now behold him,

See the long-expected Lord;

Ancient prophets had foretold him,

Now fulfilled God's promised word.

Simeon and Anna hail him

Ere in faith and hope they die.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Lo, th’incarnate God most high.

Jesus, by thy presentation,

Thou, who didst for us endure,

Help us know thy great salvation,

Seal us with thy promise sure.

Henry J. Pye, 1851; alt.

Tune: HALTON HOLGATE (8.7.8.7.)

William Boyce, 1765

For more on this feast day (also known as Candlemas) which is not particularly well-known, but which has a number of nice hymns, see the links below.  The fifteenth-century painting above is The Presentation of Christ in the Temple by Fra Angelico.



Five Years Ago: O Zion, open wide thy gates

Four Years Ago: Hail to the Lord who comes

Three Years Ago:  O Jerusalem belovèd

Two Years Ago: In peace and joy I now depart

Bernard Barton

Today is the birthday of Bernard Barton, known as England's 'Quaker Poet' in the early nineteenth century. He was the author of several volumes of hymns and poems mostly written during his long employment as a bank clerk.  

He was educated at a Society of Friends boarding school in Ipswich, but left school at fourteen to serve an apprenticeship in a shop.  He eventually married the shop owner's niece Lucy in 1807, but a year later she died giving birth to their first child, also named Lucy.  In 1809 Barton took a post in the Dykes and Samuel Alexander’s Bank, where he remained for the next forty years.  The Guide to the Pilgrim Hymnal (1966) quotes one source as saying "So punctual and methodical was he that, as he returned from the office each midday, the housewives knew it was the correct time to put their potatoes into the water as he passed their doors..."

His first book of poetry, Metrical Effusions, was published in 1812, and eventually he became friends and correspondents with several of the well-known poets of his day.

Fear not, Zion's sons and daughters,
Perfect love shall cast out fear;
When you pass through deepest waters,
I, your God, will still be near.

In the furnace of affliction,
I will save you from despair;
Love divine shall bring conviction
That my peace is 'round you there.

Never shall you be forsaken,
Nothing shall have pow'r to harm;
While your faith remains unshaken,
In my mighty outstretched arm.

Heights nor depths shall from me sever
Those whom Christ has brought to me;
I will keep you safe forever
And your God and Savior be.

Bernard Barton, 1826; alt.
Tune: WYCHBOLD (8.7.8.7.)

Walter G. Whinfield, 1902



Two Years Ago: Bernard Barton

John Mason Neale

John Mason Neale (January 24, 1818 - August 6, 1866), often mentioned here, is remembered for his hymns both translated and original.

In translating texts from Latin, Greek, and other languages he was restoring those older hymns to the Church of England, whose hymnody up until then had grown largely out of the tradition of the psalm paraphrases of the seventeenth century and the subsequent work of Isaac Watts, John Newton, and others who wrote new texts for English-speaking congregations. 

His Latin translations in particular were looked on with suspicion by many Anglicans, who could not get beyond the Roman Catholic origins of the texts at a time when the Oxford Movement was luring many Anglicans into Catholicism.  Neale, however, remained faithful to the Church of England, which led the Roman Catholics to disparage his translations because he often changed or deleted lines that did not conform to Anglican doctrine.

Today's hymn is derived from the Latin office hymn Caeli Deus sanctissime. Its precise authorship is apparently unknown; it has been ascibed to Pope Gregory the Great and Ambrose of Milan, among others.

O God, whose hand hath spread the sky,
And all its shining hosts on high,
And painting it with fiery light,
Made it so beauteous and so bright:

Thou, when creation was begun,
Didst frame the circle of the sun,
And set the moon for ordered change,
And planets for their wider range:

To night and day, by certain line,
Their varying bounds thou didst assign;
And gav'st a signal, known and meet,
For months begun and months complete.

Enlighten thou our hearts, O God,
To walk the paths that Jesus trod;
To find the way that leads to thee,
Our Life and Light eternally.

Grant this, Creator, ever One,
With Christ, thy sole-begotten Son,
Whom, with the Spirit we adore,
One God, both now and evermore.

Latin, 8th cent.
John Mason Neale, 19th cent.
Tune: CONSTANCE (L.M.)
Henry J, Gauntlett, 1861

One slightly amusing fact about Neale: there appears to have been only one photograph of him, but if you search online you can find several other images which have all been flipped, cropped, or Photoshopped from that one photo in some way to look different -- the face is the same in all of them.

I now celebrate the birthday of the blog (which is technically one day earlier) on Neale's birthday each year, the man who first wrote the phrase conjubilant with song.  Five years and counting...



Three Years Ago: John Mason Neale

Two Years Ago: John Mason Neale

The Light of Light Unfold

Psalm 148 is one of the appointed psalms for worship today in some lectionary cycles.  Today's hymn is a loose paraphrase by the English Congregationalist George Rawson, which makes a good showing of including the whole universe in the act of praising God.

 

Sing praise to God, immortal choir,

In heavenly heights above,

With harp and voice and souls of fire,

That burn with perfect love.

Shine to God’s glory, worlds of light!

Ye million suns of space,

Fair moons and glittering stars of night,

That run your mystic race!

Ye gorgeous clouds, that deck the sky

With crystal, crimson, gold,

And rainbow arches raised on high,

The Light of light unfold!

Do homage, roiling ocean floor,

With many-surging sign;

Majestic calms, be hushed before

The Holiness Divine.

Storm, lightning, thunder, hail and snow,

Wild winds that keep God’s word,

With steadfast mountains far below,

Unite to bless the Lord.

God’s name, ye forests, wave along;

And whisper, every flower;

Birds, beasts, and insects, swell the song

That tells such love and power.

Around the wide world let it roll,

Whilst we shall lead it on;

Join every joyful human soul,

In glorious unison.

Thou all creating Deity,

The God of earth and heav’n!

The great redeeming Majesty,

To whom all praise be giv’n!

George Rawson, 1853; alt.

Tune: PLUMER (C.M.D.)

Joseph Maclean, 1899

More familiar tunes that would also work well include FOREST GREEN and ELLACOMBE, though both are somewhat overused. 

It appears that George Rawson liked to include the rainbow in his hymns; both of his texts that have already appeared on the blog (here and here) also use it.

John Knowles Paine

Composer John Knowles Paine (January 9, 1839 - April 25, 1906) was the most prominent American composer of his day, and was also the first professor of music at any American university (Harvard). 

While many of his compositions were for orchestra, organ, or chamber ensembles, he also wrote choral music.  His large-scale Mass in D minor (1866) was first performed in Berlin, and later in the United States.  The first recording was finally released in 1978, and a new critical edition of the score is reportedly in preparation.  At least two performances of the Mass took place in 2012, and I was lucky enough to attend one of them.  This YouTube video, of the final movement (Dona nobis pacem), is from the other one, at West Chester Universioty in Pennsylvania.

Paine also wrote a handful of hymn tunes.  He served as one of the musical editors for Hymns and Songs of Praise for Public and Social Worship (1874) where most (if not all) of them appeared.  Unfortunately no one has documented these tunes on any of the usual hymn websites, so no sound files are yet available.

Three Years Ago: John Knowles Paine

The Feast of the Epiphany

This year, January 6 falls on a Sunday, so the Feast of the Epiphany can be celebrated on its own day, instead of being transferred, as many churches usually do.  Today's hymn is by our old friend John Mason Neale, first published in his Hymns for Children (1842).

O thou who by a star didst guide
The sages on their way,
Until it came and stood beside
The place where Jesus lay.

Although by stars thou dost not lead
Thy people now below,
The Holy Spirit, when we need,
Will show us how to go.

As yet we know thee but in part;
But still we trust thy Word,
That blessèd are the pure in heart,
For they shall find the Lord.

Creator give us then thy grace
To make us pure in heart,
That we may see thee face to face
Hereafter, as thou art.

John Mason Neale, 1842; alt.

Tune: CREDITON (C.M.)

Thomas Clark, c. 1807

Four Years Ago: Saw you never, in the twilight 

Three Years Ago: Earth has many a noble city 

Two Years Ago: What star is this, with beams so bright 

One Year Ago: As with gladness those of old

Elizabeth Rundle Charles

English author Elizabeth Rundle Charles was born today in 1828, in the Devonshire village of Tavistock.  Though she wrote several popular books and collections of poetry in her day, her hymns are probably her longest surviving work, and a graph at hymnary.org indicates that her hymns are appearing in a growing number of hymnals today.

In addition to original texts, she also translated older texts from traditions outside her own Anglican background.  Today's seasonal hymn dates from the fifteenth century, Heu! quid jaces stabulo, written by Abbé Jean Mauburn as part of a longer work, Rosetum Ex­er­ci­ti­or­um Spir­it­u­al­i­um et Sa­cra­rum Me­di­ta­ti­on­um (1494).  The hymn is a dialogue between the worshipper and Jesus, discussing the paradox of the future Ruler coming to earth as a helpless child.

It's still the ninth day of Christmas...

Dost thou in a manger lie,
Who hast all created,
Stretching infant hands on high,
Savior, long awaited?
If a monarch, where thy state?
Where thy court on thee to wait?
Royal purple, where?
Here no regal pomp we see;
Naught but need and penury:
Why thus cradled here?

"For the world a love supreme
Brought me to this stable;
All creation to redeem,
I alone am able.
By this lowly birth of mine,
Pilgrim, riches shall be thine,
Matchless gifts and free;
Willingly this yoke I take,
And this sacrifice I make,
Heaping joys for thee."

Fervent praise would I to thee
Evermore be raising;
For thy wondrous love to me
Thee be ever praising.
Glory, glory be for ever
Unto that most bounteous Giver,
And that loving Lord!
Better witness to thy worth,
Purer praise than ours on earth,
Angels' songs afford.

Jean Mauburn, 1494

tr. Elizabeth Rundle Charles, 1868; alt.

Tune: MAUBURN (P.M.)

T. Tertius Noble, 1918

English composer and organist T. Tertius Noble emigrated to the United States in 1913. and was soon involved with the committee that selected the music for the Episcopal Hymnal of 1916, where this tune, written for this text, was first published. The hymn remains in the current Episcopal hymnal, but with a different tune.

Four Years Ago: Elizabeth Rundle Charles

Three Years Ago: The Ninth Day of Christmas

Two Years Ago: Elizabeth Rundle Charles

New Songs In the Night

New mercies, new blessings, new light on our way;

New courage, new hope, and new strength for each day;

New notes of thanksgiving, new chords of delight;

New praise in the morning, new songs in the night;

New wine in our chalice, new altars to raise;

New fruits for the harvest, new garments of praise;

New gifts from his treasures, new smiles from his face;

New streams from the fountain of infinite grace;

New stars for our crowns and new tokens of love;

New gleams of the glory that waits us above;

New light of his countenance full and unpriced --

All this be the joy of our new life in Christ.

Frances Ridley Havergal, 1879; alt.

Tune: FOUNDATION (11.11.11.11.)

A Compilation of Genuine Church Music, 1832

This text was originally titled "A Happy New Year to You." For many years, its author, Frances Ridley Havergal  (whose birthday I missed earlier this month) sent out a New Years' poem such as this to her correspondents. We have seen two others on the blog in previous years:

Another year is dawning

Standing at the portal

The composer of the familiar tune FOUNDATION has never been identified since its first appearance in A Compilation of Genuine Church Music (1832), edited by Joseph Funk (where the tune was named PROTECTION) and published in Virginia.

Onward to another year at CWS, and our upcoming fifth anniversary.

Four Years Ago: Bessie Porter Head

Three Years Ago: O God, by whom all change is wrought

One Year Ago: O God, whom neither time nor space

Not With Costly Treasure

On the sixth day of Christmas...

Many churches are still celebrating the Nativity in one way or another, probably with the many familiar carols and hymns of the season.  But, as I have mentioned before, there are hundreds of hymnals from the last century or so with Christmas music that no one sings any more, and, honestly, may never have sung very often.

Like the sound of many waters
Rolling on through ages long;
In a tide of rapture breaking—
Hark! the mighty choral song!

Refrain
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Let the heav’nly portals ring!
Christ is born, the Word of glory, 
Born a child and yet a king

Lo! the Morning Star appeareth,
O’er the world bright beams are cast;
Christ, the Alpha and Omega,
Christ is born, the First, the Last.
Refrain

Clap your hands with exultation!
Sing aloud, rejoice with mirth,
Peace her silver wing hath folded:
Lo! she comes to dwell on earth!
Refrain

Savior, not with costly treasure
Do we gather at thy throne,
All we have, our hearts we give thee,
Consecrate them thine alone.
Refrain

Fanny Crosby, 1902; alt.

Tune: WEBSTER GROVES (8.7.8.7. with refrain)

Hubert P. Main, 1902

You can see more Christmas songs by Fanny Crosby at this entry from a few years ago.

Saint John the Evangelist

Today is the feast day of Saint John the Evangelist, one of the twelve disciples (perhaps the "beloved disciple")  and author of three Epistles and one Gospel.  Throughout much of Christian history he was also believed to be the author of the Book of Revelation during his exile to the Greek island of Patmos.. Though this is now believed by some scholars to be unlikely, it is the subject of  today's hymn by the seventeenth-century French priest Nicolas le Tourneaux.

An exile for the faith, 
Of his incarnate Lord,

With eagle gaze beyond the stars

The loved disciple soared.

There the new City, bathed

In clear celestial light,

The home of bliss his sprit saw,

The land that hath no night.

There heard through highest heav'n

The Alleluia sound,

The great Amen that ever rolls

Th'eternal throne around.

O grant us, Christ, with John

Into these courts to gaze,

To see the rainbow 'round thy throne

And hear those songs of praise.

Nicolas le Tourneaux, 1686

tr. Edward Caswall, 1849; alt.

Tune: ADVENT (S.M.)

John Goss, 1872 

Today is also the birthday of composer John Goss (December 27, 1800 - May 10, 1880), an eminent English church musician of the Victorian age who trained several other composers of the following generations.   


Four Years Ago: Saint John the Evangelist

Four Years Ago: Sir John Goss

Three Years Ago: Saint John the Evangelist

 

Hail the Sun of Righteousness

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Refrain
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest heav’n adored;
Christ the ever-living Word;
Late in time, behold him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Lo! you come with us to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Refrain

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Ris’n with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that we no more may die.
Born to raise us from the earth,
Born to give us second birth.
Refrain

Charles Wesley, 1739; alt.
Tune: MENDELSSOHN (7.7.7.7.D. with refrain)
Felix Mendelssohn, 1840;
adapt. William H. Cummings, 1855

Charles Wesley's text, originally titled Hymn for Christmas Day, has been altered by many hands since shortly after it was first published, long before it became familiar around the world.  Indeed, his original first line was Hark! how all the welkin rings, "welkin" being a word for the vault of heaven.

When we were working on our hymnal project for the Metropolitan Community Churches, we received an angry letter from someone accusing us of changing this Christian hymn into a pagan one because we had supposedly exchanged "Sun" for "Son" in the third stanza.  However, "Sun" was actually Wesley's word, coming from Malachi 4:2: But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. This is part of a longer passage where the prophet Malachi is telling of the promised Savior to come.  I still wonder how many people who sing this hymn by heart assume that the word really is "Son." And of course, I couldn't resist using the line as the title of this post.

Wesley's final two stanzas are rarely, if ever, sung any more (though I would love to hear if anyone did sing them this year).  They would sound a bit odd to many.

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conq’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to thine.
Refrain

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy love.
Let us thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.
Refrain

Before the text became joined to Mendelssohn's tune, it was sung to several others, and often to the tune we now know as EASTER HYMN, divided into four-line stanzas with no refrain, but with an Alleluia at the end of each line.

Mendelssohn's tune is derived from the first twenty measures of the second movement of his Festgesang, composed in 1840.  The composer thought that this melody might go well with another song of some sort, but he wrote to a friend that "it will never do to sacred words. (...) The words must express something gay and popular, as the music tries to do."  After Mendelssohn's death. William H. Cummings, organist at Waltham Abbey in England, adapted the tune to Wesley's text, probably not knowing anything of  Mendelssohn's letter.

Four Years Ago: Once in royal David's city

Three Years Ago: Where is this stupendous stranger?

The Dawn of Redeeming Grace

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and Child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night,
Child of God, Love’s pure light;
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

Josef Mohr, 1818; alt.

Tune: STILLE NACHT (Irregular)

Franz Gruber, 1818

Many people all over the world know the now-famous story of this popular Christmas hymn, written for the church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria.  The church organ was broken that Christmas, and Fr. Mohr, the assistant priest, and Franz Gruber, the organist, collaborated on a new song that could be sung as a duet, with guitar accompaniment and a girls' chorus.

The first translation into English appears to have been by Emily Elizabeth Steele Elliott (Stilly night, holy night) for the choir of her church in Brighton in 1856 (though it was not published until years later), and was followed by several others, including these: 

Holy night! peaceful night! (1863) by Miss J.M. Campbell
Silent night! hallowed night (1865) Christian Hymnbook
Holy night! calmly bright (1867) by Mary D. Moultrie
Peaceful night, all things sleep (1872) Carols for St. Stephen's Church
Silent night, holiest night (1875) by Dr. A. Edersheim
Still the night, holy the night! (1881) by Stopford A. Brooke 

The current familiar translation, by an unknown writer, first appeared in an Episcopal Sunday School Hymnal (1871) edited by Charles Hutchins, the rector of Grace Church in Medford, Massachusetts.

I know that people continue to write new Christmas hymns for their churches' worship, but it 's unlikely that any of them will become as widely known as this one.

Four Years Ago: It came upon the midnight clear

Three Years Ago: While shepherds watched their flocks by night

Two Years Ago: Jesus our Brother, strong and good

The Favored of the Lord

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is sometimes at the center of worship on the last Sunday in Advent.  The story of the Annunciation, told in Luke 1:26-38 (subject of a separate feast day on March 25), describes the coming of the angel Gabriel to Mary to announce the birth of Christ.  Mary's agreement to bear this child sets events in motion to bring about the promised reign of God.

Today's anonymous hymn text was first published in a small collection called Hymns for the Festivals and Saints' Days of the Church of England in 1846.  Unlike many hymns of its day, the number of hymnals that include it has actually increased up to the present day.

Praise we the Lord this day,

This day so long foretold,

Whose promise shone with cheering ray

On waiting saints of old.

The prophet gave the sign
For faithful souls to read;
A virgin born of David’s line
Shall bear the promised seed.

Ask not how this should be,
But worship and adore,
Like her whom heaven’s majesty

Came down to shadow o’er.

Then Mary bowed her head
To hear the gracious word,

The maiden destined to become
The favored of the Lord.

Blessèd shall be her name
In all the Church on earth,
Through whom that wondrous mercy came,
Th'incarnate Savior’s birth.

O Jesus, Mary's son,
We praise thee and adore,
Who art with our Creator One
And Spirit evermore.

author unknown, 1846; alt.
Tune: WALMISLEY (S.M.)
Thomas Attwood Walmisley, 1853

Horatius Bonar

Scottish hymnwriter Horatius Bonar (December 19, 1808 - July 31, 1889) wrote hymns which are loved by many, even though the churches he served as minister were not allowed to sing them.  Indeed, the Free Church of Scotland, of which he was a founding member, only voted to allow hymns to be sung in their worship in 2010.

Bonar was enthusiastically evangelistic; his impulse to leave the established Church of Scotland was rooted in a belief that the state clergy were really civil servants who were not effectively leading people to faith in God.  He later helped the American evangelist Dwight Moody to arrange to tour his revival meetings in Scotland.

O love of God, how strong and true!
Eternal, and yet ever new;

Uncomprehended and unbought,
Beyond all knowledge and all thought.

O wide embracing, wondrous love!
We read thee in the sky above,
We read thee in the earth below,
In seas that swell, and streams that flow.

O heavenly love, how precious still,
In days of weariness and ill,
In nights of pain and helplessness,
To heal, to comfort, and to bless!

We read thy power to bless and save,
E’en in the coldness of the grave;
Still more in resurrection light,
We read the fullness of thy might.

O love of God, our shield and stay
Through all the perils of our way!
Eternal Love, in thee we rest
Forever safe, forever blest.

Horatius Bonar, 1861; alt.
Tune: BOURBON (L.M.)
attrib. Freeman Lewis, 19th c.

For those who like modern hymn tunes, DE TAR by Calvin Hampton also works quite well with this text.

When Bonar was near death, he requested that no biography be written about his life, and no complete account of his life was published for many years afterward, which was unusual for such a popular and well known author and hymnwriter in his day.

Three Years Ago: Horatius Bonar

Two Years Ago: Horatius Bonar

Charles Wesley

Charles Wesley, born today in 1707, has been called the "sweet singer of Methodism," and the "bard of Wesleyanism" by various writers.  His more than 6500 hymns could be said to have formed the foundation of the Methodist Church for many of its early members.  Charles and his brother John believed in the power of congregational singing to reinforce their teaching and preaching to their followers. 

In those days, the Methodist meetings were held on Friday nights, assuming that most people went to their local Church of England parish on Sunday mornings.  Charles himself always insisted that he remained a faithful member of the Anglican clergy throughout his life, though the Church did not necessarily agree.  Anglican bishops and many of the clergy still maintained at this time that psalm paraphrases were the only acceptable form of congregational singing.  Hymns were sung by the Nonconformist churches, like the Congregationalists, the Baptists, and the Methodists, which made them suspect to the Anglicans, who feared that incorrect doctrine might be transmitted.

Today's hymn by Charles Wesley remains one of his most well-known, though originally his brother thought it overly sentimental.  There are several stories as to its origin, one being that it was written after an angry mob who objected to the Mothodists chased Charles away from a prayer meeting, leading him to compose this hymn on the theme of Jesus' protecting love.

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none,
Hangs my helpless soul on thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed,
All my help from thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of thy wing.

Plenteous grace with thee is found,
Grace to free from all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound;
Make and keep me whole within.
Thou of life the fountain art,
Freely let me take of thee;
Spring thou up within my heart;
Rise to all eternity.

Charles Wesley, 1740; alt.
Tune: ABERYSTWTYTH (7.7.7.7.D.)
Joseph Parry, 1875

Like many of Wesley's hymns, this one has traveled far beyond its Methodist roots. The website hymnary.org finds this hymn in 2,524 hymnals (which only includes hymnals published in North America, so the total number must be much larger).  In 1899, hymnologist Louis Benson listed it at #3 in The Best Church Hymns, finding it in 104 of the 107 hymnals he researched.  I'm sure it still appears on the favorite list of many people today.



Four Years Ago: Phoebe Worrall Palmer

Two Years Ago: Charles Wesley

In Mercy Save Thine Israel

For the third Sunday in Advent we take a look back to last week's familiar hymn and find a much lesser known text based on the same material.  The O Antiphons of the eighth century have been set to music in varying ways over the years, but the one we know best, of course,  is O come, O come Emmanuel.

Today's text is also based on the O Antiphons, adapted from the prose version that had appeared in John Mason Neale's Hymnal Noted (1854).  Primary translator Horatio Bolton (Earl Nelson), grand-nephew of the renowned British admiral Lord Nelson, included this hymn in the Sarum Hymnal (1868) which was largely compiled by him.

O Wisdom, spreading mightily,

From out the mouth of God most high,

All nature sweetly ordering,

Within thy paths thy people bring:

Refrain

Draw near, O Christ, with us to dwell,

In mercy save thine Israel.

Ruler of Israel, God of might!

Who gav'st the law from Sinai's height;

Once in the burning bush revealed.

With outstretched arm thy people shield:

Refrain

O Root of Jesse! Ensign thou!

To whom the nations' kings shall bow,

From ev'ry foe thy people save,

And give them victory o'er the grave:

Refrain

O Israel's Sceptre! David's Key!

Come thou and set all people free;

Unlock the gate that bars the road

And lead them to the house of God:

Refrain

O Dayspring and Eternal Light!

Pierce through the gloom of sorrow's might;

The promised Sun of Righteousness,

Haste with thy rising beams to bless:

Refrain

O dear Desire of nations! come,

Lead us from earth to heav'n's high home;

Thou chief and precious Cornerstone,

Binding the scattered into one:

Refrain

O Comforter! Emmanuel! King!

Thy praises we would ever sing;

The nations' hope, the Savior blest,

Take us to thine eternal rest:

Refrain

Latin; tr. Horatio Bolton and others, 1868; alt.

Tune: MELITA (8.8.8.8.8.8.)

John Bacchus Dykes, 1861

This hymn was included in the 1871 hymnal of the Episcopal Church (which is where I found it), on the page opposite O come, O come Emmanuel, with similar instructions for singing one stanza each day between December 17 and 23.  It has not appeared in any later Episcopal hymnals, presumably because it was considered redundant.  No, it will never supplant the hymn we all know, but I thought it worth a look.

Four Years Ago: John Ellerton

Three Years Ago: John Ellerton