MUSIC. ST. MARGARET was written one summer day as the composer was sitting by the sea on the island of Arran and reading over Matheson’s verses. The tune came to him suddenly and he hastened to the house where he was staying where (in his own words): “I wrote the music straight off, and I may say that the ink of the first note was hardly dry when I finished the tune.”
The composer, Albert Lister Peace, 1844-1912, was organist at Glasgow Cathedral and at the time he wrote this tune, he was music editor of the revised Scottish Hymnal of 1885.
A hymn of gratitude for the common gifts too often taken for granted—the physical senses, the air, sun, darkness and sleep, the courtesies of friendship, etc. The last stanza is a prayer for unforgetful gratitude.
Information regarding the author, Charlotte M. Packard, has not been traced. The hymn was taken from Hymns of the Spirit, 1937, Boston.
MUSIC. ILLSLEY appeared in A Sett of New Psalm Tunes in Four Parts by John Bishop, c. 1700, where it is set to Psalm 100.
John Bishop, the composer, 1665-1737, was an English musician who became organist of Winchester College in 1695 and in 1729 was appointed organist of Winchester Chapel. He is buried in the Cloisters of the College with the following epitaph:
Vir singulari probitate, integerrima vita, moribus innocuis, musicaeque scientiae bene peritus, qui, postquam huic Collegio per XLII, annos sedulo inserviisset, ad Caelestam Choram placide migravit, decimo nono die Decembris, anno Dom. 1737, Aetat. 72. (A man of unexampled honesty, purest life, blameless morals, and of excellent skill in music, who, after serving this College diligently for 42 years, passed tranquilly to the Celestial Choir on the 19th of December A.D. 1737, aged 72.)
A hymn of pure gratitude, expressing thankfulness even for the trials of life. It is equally useful for the sick and the well.
Adelaide Anne Proctor was born in London, the daughter of Bryan W. Proctor, known in literary circles as “Barry Cornwall.” She possessed extraordinary intellectual power and was specially gifted in music and language. Miss Proctor contributed lyrics to Household Verses, edited by Chas. Dickens, who wrote with admiration of her verse making, her mental resources, humor, and works of beneficence. At 38 years of age her physical strength weakened and then followed 15 weary months of helplessness during which, however, she maintained her old cheerfulness with never a trace of depression or regret. She was brought up in the Church of England, but at the age of 26 united with the Roman Catholics. Her broad sympathies and deep religious convictions placed her above the dogmas of any one communion and enabled her to express the aspirations of all God’s children. Besides her hymns, Miss Proctor is best known as the author of the popular song, “The Lost Chord,” set to music by Arthur Sullivan.
MUSIC. WENTWORTH was composed for this hymn in The Bristol Tune Book, 2d series; 1876. The middle section of the tune, lines 3 and 4, passes from the Key of C to A minor, D major and G major, making an effective contrast to the opening and closing lines, in the key of C.
For comments on the composer, Frederick C. Maker, see Hymn 112.
The hymn appeared in the curiously named collection, Hymns for those that seek and those that have Redemption in the Blood of Christ, 1747, and was entitled “Jesu, show us Thy salvation.” It dwells upon the thought of God as love, an idea not too common in the early hymns. The thought of the hymn is complete without stanza 2 and many hymnals omit it. Some have objected to this stanza because of the line, “Take away our power of sinning.” Literally interpreted this would be a prayer to have taken away the power of free moral choice, which is hardly what Wesley intended. To obviate this difficulty, the line has been changed to “Take away the love of sinning.”
For comments on Wesley see Hymn 6.
MUSIC. BEECHER was composed by John Zundel, 1815-82, German-American organist and composer who rendered distinguished service as minister of music in the Plymouth Congregation Church, Brooklyn, of which Henry Ward Beecher was pastor. He assisted Beecher in the production of the famous Plymouth Collection of hymns published in 1855. The tune, now known throughout the world, was named after the great pulpiteer.
SONATA (179) is an adaptation of the theme-melody in Mozart’s piano Sonata No. 16, where it is marked, Andantino grazioso. Dudley Buck writes:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756-91, composed 972 pieces of which we know. He is considered the greatest composer the world has ever seen, judged by the versatility and power of his genius. In every sort and kind of composition he was equally excellent. Beside being a great composer he was also a great performer, being the most accomplished pianist of his day. He was also an excellent player on the violin.
A hymn setting forth the idea of prayer in a very simple way.
Jane Cross Simpson was the daughter of James Bell, a Glasgow attorney. In 1837, she married her cousin J. B. Simpson, of Glasgow. At the age of 20, she had written a poem, “Go when the morning shineth,” which, after some revision, had become popular. When Songs of Praise, an important English hymnbook, was in the making, this poem was again revised to make the present hymn. The “others” referred to are responsible for the revision and according to Songs of Praise Discussed consisted of Percy Dearmer, Stephen Gwynn, Mabel Dearmer, and Jan Struther.
MUSIC. MEIRIONYDD is a vigorous tune of easy rhythm, on the pattern of many Welsh tunes except that the last two lines, instead of being simple repeats of the first two lines, as in the majority of such melodies, are varied imitations of them.
The composer, William Lloyd, 1786-1852, a Welshman, was a self-educated man. Though a cattle-dealing farmer, he possessed an excellent voice and had a considerable knowledge of music. He held singing meetings and conducted music classes in Wales.
A song of quietude and peace, reflecting the inner life of the “Quaker Poet.”
The verses are from a poem called, “The Brewing of Soma,” in which Whittier tells of a certain sect of devotees in India who drank intoxicating liquor brewed from the Soma plant. The drinking of it brought them to a state of intoxicated excitement in which they imagined they were god-possessed. The poet then points out how among Christians emotional excitement is often mistaken for spiritual power.
“In sensual transports, wild as vain,
We brew in many a Christian fane,
The heathen Soma still.”
Then follow the beautiful verses of our hymn in praise of the higher life of restfulness in God. The poem was written in 1832, after a particularly noisy and distasteful revival in Whittier’s neighborhood.
For comments on John Greenleaf Whittier see Hymn 173.
MUSIC. WHITTIER, also called “Rest” and “Elton,” was written for this hymn.
For comments on the composer, Frederick C. Maker, see Hymn 112.
One of the most popular of all modern prayer meeting hymns, sometimes erroneously ascribed to Fanny Crosby. It was composed in 1842 by Rev. William W. Walford, a blind minister of England, of whom little is known except that he recited the words of this hymn to Rev. Thos. Salmon, Congregational minister at Coleshill, England, who wrote them down and later sent them to the New York Observer, in which publication they were printed September 13, 1845. The original has four stanzas, the last two being omitted here.
MUSIC. CONSOLATION, a tune well suited to the words, was composed by Wm. B. Bradbury in 1859. It is also known as “Sweet Hour” and “Walford.”
For comments on the composer, Wm. B. Bradbury, see Hymn 103.
A hymn of the peace and power available through the practice of prayer. It is an arrangement of Trench’s sonnet on “Prayer.”
Richard Chenevix Trench was born in Dublin, educated at Twyford School, Harrow, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was preacher, poet, professor of divinity and later the Archbishop of Dublin. Trench, a scholar of distinction, is the author of valuable books, including Notes on the Parables, Notes on the Miracles, and Study of Words.
The poem came into the hymn books through the arrangement made of it by Dr. W. P. Merrill who first became acquainted with the sonnet through hearing it read about 1907 by President Charles Cuthbert Hall, of Union Theological Seminary in the course of a lecture at the University of Chicago. As sonnets each have fourteen lines, changes were necessary to make the poem suitable for singing. Dr. Merrill omitted two lines and arranged the rest to make three symmetrical four-line stanzas.
William Pearson Merrill was born in Orange, N. J., January 10, 1867. After graduating from Rutgers College, he trained for the Presbyterian ministry at Union Theological Seminary, New York. He served churches in Philadelphia and Chicago and then went, in 1911, to the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City to begin a long and distinguished pastorate which ended with his retirement in 1938. He was president of the Church Peace Union, was long active in The American Hymn Society, and is the author of several books. His influence as preacher and religious leader extends beyond his own denomination.
MUSIC. FFIGYSBREN, known in Wales as “Clod” (Praise), is a tune of simple construction, but when sung rather slowly it is remarkably powerful and effective. It appeared in America in The Harvard University Hymn Book, edited by Archibald T. Davidson in 1926. It is one of an increasing number of Welsh tunes which are becoming available to enrich our hymnody with the element of unique beauty and fervor that is so characteristic of the singing of the Welsh people.
A classic poem on prayer, written in 1818 at the request of the Rev. E. Bickersteth for his Treatise on Prayer. In 1825 it was published in The Christian Psalmist, headed, “What is Prayer?” The original has eight stanzas of which our hymn is a selection of 1, 2, 4, 5. Prayer is more, to be sure, than “the soul’s sincere desire,” for we sincerely desire many things that are in conflict with God’s will. But taken as a whole, the poem is an elaborate description of the nature of prayer and teaches its principles and practice with truth and power. The last stanza, unfortunately omitted in the Hymnary, is itself a beautiful, direct petition:
O Thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way,
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod,—
Lord, teach us how to pray.
For comments on James Montgomery see Hymn 62.
MUSIC. ST. AGNES. For comments on this tune see Hymn 155. In some books the hymn is set to the tune “Es Ist Ein Born” (241).
Based on John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
The hymn was written by one of the most able and influential men in the Episcopal Church in America. It takes high rank among all the hymns America has produced, and is one of the few hymns of American origin included in the famous English book, Hymns Ancient and Modern. It is written in simple style, employing only twelve words of more than one syllable.
For further comments on Bishop Doane see Hymn 36.
MUSIC. LAMBETH was composed in 1871 by Wilhelm A. F. Schulthes. No information is at hand concerning the composer. The tune was taken from The Hymnal (Protestant Episcopal, 1916).
A spiritual song of comfort and hope and the most popular Canadian contribution to the hymnody of the church.
The authorship of this hymn long remained a secret. In one publication it was erroneously attributed to Horatius Bonar. Scriven composed it for his mother to comfort her in time of special sorrow, not intending that anyone else should see it. This information was revealed to a friend who sat up with the author in his last illness.
Joseph Scriven, born in Dublin, came to Canada at the age of 25 and settled first at Rice Lake and later at Port Hope, Ontario. He was unmarried and lived with several families in succession. An eccentric person, he was always assisting others, and was known as “the man who sawed wood for widows and sick people who are unable to pay.” He was found drowned in a stream near Rice Lake. A monument to his memory was erected by the people who had been helped by him, and by others in the district.
MUSIC. ERIE was composed for this hymn by Charles Crozat Converse, 1832-1918, an American, trained in Germany for the musical profession. On returning to America, he studied law, graduating from Albany Law School in 1861, and from 1875 practicing the legal profession at Erie, Pa. He maintained his interest in music and published several compositions during his career as lawyer.
A song expressing the Christian believer’s ever-present sense of divine help and guidance. It first appeared in a small collection of gospel songs prepared for the National Baptist Sunday School Association which met in Cincinnati, Ohio, November, 1872, and was sung there.
Mrs. Annie Sherwood Hawks was an active member of the Baptist Church in Brooklyn of which Rev. Robert Lowry, who wrote the music to the words and added the refrain, was the pastor. Concerning the hymn, Mrs. Hawks wrote:
Whenever my attention is called to it I am conscious of great satisfaction in the thought that I was permitted to write the hymn, “I need Thee every hour,” and that it was wafted out to the world on the wings of love and joy, rather than under stress of a great personal sorrow, with which it has so often been associated in the minds of those who sing it.
I remember well the morning ... when in the midst of the daily cares of my home ... I was so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him either in joy or pain, these words, “I need Thee every hour,” were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me....
For myself the hymn was prophetic rather than expressive of my own experience at the time it was written, and I do not understand why it so touched the great throbbing heart of humanity. It was not until long years after, when the shadow fell over my way—the shadow of a great loss—that I understood something of the comforting in the words I had been permitted to write and give out to others in my hours of sweet security and peace.
MUSIC. NEED. The tune was written for this hymn. The composer, Rev. Robert Lowry, 1826-99, was born in Philadelphia and educated at Bucknell University. After a few years in the Baptist ministry he became Professor of Rhetoric at his alma mater. The University gave him his doctorate in 1875. He resigned his chair in 1875 and the following year resumed the work of the ministry at Plainfield, N. J., continuing until his death. Though he had no serious training in music, Lowry wrote many tunes and edited several popular collections of hymns. He did much to encourage the gospel song movement in America.
A beautiful hymn of contrition, and prayer for the “Presence.”
Samuel Johnson was born in Salem, Mass. After graduating from Harvard University and Harvard Divinity School, he became minister of the Independent Church at Lynn, Mass., where he served from 1853 to 1870. He was a fellow-student and close friend of Samuel Longfellow, the two “Sams” collaborating in the editing of A Book of Hymns which passed through twelve editions and became the source of excellent hymnic material not published before. He was a Unitarian by faith. A competent scholar, he published Oriental Religions, the first adequate study of comparative religions by an American.
MUSIC. HENLEY is one of Mason’s most appreciated tunes. It appeared in The Hallelujah, 1854, by the composer, set to the hymn “Come unto me, when shadows darkly gather.”
For comments on Lowell Mason see Hymn 12.
An old hymn that has been a “fount of blessing” itself to multitudes, written only three years after the author’s conversion. It sounds a note of anxiety lest the paths of sin lure the soul away from God. The Scripture reference in the second stanza is to I Sam. 7:12: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped me.”
For comments on the author, Robert Robinson, see Hymn 46.
MUSIC. NETTLETON appeared in John Wyeth’s Repository, 1813, arranged with the melody in the treble. The authorship of the tune is unknown. It has been attributed to Wyeth and to Asahel Nettleton, 1783-1844, a New England evangelist and compiler of Village Hymns. It has been suggested that a friend of Nettleton composed the tune and named it in his honor.
John Wyeth was born in Cambridge, Mass., 1770, and followed the printing and publishing business all his life. He was postmaster at Harrisburg, Pa., under President Washington but was removed by President Adams because of “incompatibility of the office of post master and editor of a newspaper.” He died in Philadelphia, June 23, 1858.
An impressive call to Christian service. The hymn is based on the incident in the life of David in I Chron. 12:18: “Then the spirit came upon Amasai who was the chief of the captains, and he said, ‘Thine are we, David, and on thy side’.... Then David received them and made them captains of the band.”
For comments on Frances Havergal see Hymn 126.
MUSIC. ARMAGEDDON. This stirring tune was first used to “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” and later with the above hymn. It is an arrangement by John Goss of a tune by Louise Reichardt which appeared in Kern des Deutschen Kirchengesangs, 1853.
Louise Reichardt, 1788-1826, was a teacher of vocal music in Berlin.
For comments on John Goss see Hymn 121.
A triumphant song setting forth the ultimate victory of truth, and encouraging young people to stand loyally for the truth, even “though men deride.”
For comments on the author, Frederick L. Hosmer, see Hymn 72.
MUSIC. WINCHESTER OLD. For comments on this tune see Hymn 588.
Entitled by the author “Ashamed of Me.” The hymn is based on Mark 8:38: “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
The original poem, composed when the author was only ten years of age, has been altered somewhat by Benjamin Francis, an English Baptist preacher who was born in Wales in 1734. Francis was an earnest and popular minister and received flattering calls to London and elsewhere but chose to remain with his flock at the Baptist Church at Shortwood where he ministered from 1757 until his death in 1799.
For comments on Joseph B. Grigg see Hymn 141.
MUSIC. FEDERAL STREET is the name of a street in Salem, Mass., where the composer lived and where his wife was born, lived, and died. The tune was written in 1832 to a child’s funeral hymn by Anne Steele, which began, “So fades the lovely, blooming flower.”
Henry Kemble Oliver, 1800-85, was a great lover of music even though his father disapproved of music and forbade the son having anything to do with it. After graduating from Dartmouth, he had a varied career as teacher, manager of cotton mills, adjutant-general of his state, treasurer of the State of Massachusetts, and mayor of Salem. He had acquired some musical education and found time to compose and publish a considerable amount of sacred music.
A hymn of the Christian warfare, widely known, and found in nearly all English hymn books. The origin of it is best given in the author’s own words in a leaflet printed in Detroit, 1883, and quoted by his son, Samuel Duffield, in English Hymns, 1886:
“Stand up for Jesus” was the dying message of the Rev. Dudley A. Tyng, to the Young Men’s Christian Association, and the ministers associated with them in the Noon-Day Prayer Meeting, during the great revival of 1858, usually known as “The Work of God in Philadelphia.”
A very dear personal friend, I knew young Tyng as one of the noblest, bravest, manliest men I ever met; not inferior in eloquence to his honored father, and the acknowledged leader of a campaign for Christ that has become historical. The Sabbath before his death he preached in the immense edifice known as Jaynes’ Hall, one of the most successful sermons of modern times. Of the five thousand men there assembled, at least one thousand, it was believed, were “the slain of the Lord.” His text was Exodus 10:11, and hence the allusion in the third verse of the hymn.
The following Wednesday, leaving his study for a moment, he went to the barn floor, where a mule was at work on a horse-power, shelling corn. Patting him on the neck, the sleeve of his silk study gown caught in the cogs of the wheel, and his arm was torn out by the roots! His death occurred in a few hours. Never was there greater lamentation over a young man than over him, and when Gen. 50:26 was announced as the text for his funeral sermon, the place at once became a Bochim, and continued so for many minutes.
The following Sunday the author of the hymn preached from Eph. 6:14, and the above verses were written simply as the concluding exhortation. The superintendent of the Sabbath-school had a fly-leaf printed for the children—a stray copy found its way into a Baptist newspaper—and from that paper it has gone in English, and in German and Latin translations all over the world. The first time the author heard it sung outside of his own denomination, was in 1864, as the favorite song of the Christian soldiers in the Army of the James.
... George Duffield
Detroit, May 29, 1883.
George Duffield, Jr., 1818-88, son of Rev. George Duffield, was educated at Yale and Union Theological Seminary for the Presbyterian ministry and held pastorates in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Galesburg, Ill., Adrian and Lansing, Michigan. His son, Samuel W. Duffield, was the author of English Hymns.
MUSIC. WEBB. For comments on this tune see Hymn 65.
A stirring call to a loyal stand for truth and witness against wrong. The hymn first appeared in Hymns of the Spirit, 1864.
For comments on Samuel Longfellow see Hymn 28.
MUSIC. ALL SAINTS NEW was written for Bishop Heber’s hymn, “The Son of God goes forth to war.”
The composer, Henry Stephen Cutler, 1824-1902, received his education at Boston, his birthplace, and in Europe. He became a well-known organist and choir master, serving churches in Boston, New York, and other cities, and attracted attention by robing his choir members and seating them in the chancel, innovations in his day.
The hymn is based on Luke 22:32: “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” It was written October 13, 1834, with the title, “In trial and temptation,” and published in 1853 in Montgomery’s Original Hymns under the title “Prayers on Pilgrimage.” The third and fourth stanzas have been altered considerably, not entirely for the better. Montgomery began the second stanza:
With its witching pleasures.
In the first stanza he had
Jesus pray for me;
to which there was much objection on scriptural grounds, in spite of the words of Christ, “I pray for them” (John 17:9).
For comments on James Montgomery see Hymn 62.
MUSIC. PENITENCE was composed by Spencer Lane, 1843-1903, who received musical training in the Boston Conservatory of Music and became a teacher of vocal and instrumental music. He was in charge of music in various churches in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Maryland. While choirmaster at St. James Church, Woonsocket, R. I., he wrote this tune one Sunday while his wife was preparing dinner. It was used at a parish choir festival on “Easter Tuesday, 1899, at 7:30 p.m.” and at the suggestion of the rector of the church, it was sent to Dr. Chas. L. Hutchins, who included it in the Episcopal Hymnal of 1879. Of the various tunes composed by Lane, this is the only one in general use today.
A subjective and meditative hymn of trust, coming to us from the ancient Eastern Church.
Synesius, a native of Cyrene, came from an illustrious family. He studied at Alexandria and became a Christian in 401. Against his own wishes, but in response to the will of the people, he was elected bishop of Ptolemais. He is described in Chas. Kingsley’s Hypatia as a distinguished churchman, philosopher, statesman, and patriot.
The translator, Rev. A. W. Chatfield, was an Anglican clergyman who had a distinguished career at Cambridge. He translated many of the hymns of the early Greek poets into English.
The original poem, of which this is a paraphrase rather than an exact translation, is as follows:
Μνώεο, Χριστέ,
υἱὲ Θεοῖο
ὑψιμέδοντος,
οἰκέτω Σοῦ,
Κῆρ’ ἀλιτροῖο
Τάδε γράψαντος;
Καί μοι ὄρασσον
λύσιν παθέων
κηριτρεφέων
τά μοι ἐμφυῆ
ψυχᾷ ῥυπαρᾷ;
δὸς δὲ ἰδέσθαι,
Σῶτερ Ἰησοῦ,
ζαθέαν αἴγλαν
Σάν, ἔνθα φανεὶς
μέλψω ἀοιδὰν
παίονι ψυχᾶν,
παίονι γυίων,
Πατρὶ σὺν μεγάλῳ
Πνεύματί Θ’ Ἁγνῷ.
MUSIC. SOUTHWELL, a characteristic psalm tune, was set to Psalm 45 in Damon’s Psalms of David, 1579, and was named “Southwell” in Ravencroft’s Psalm Book of 1621. It was originally written in the Dorian mode (the first “authentic” Gregorian mode, D as keynote). A fuller explanation may be found in the History of Music in the Western Church, by Dickinson, pp. 113 ff.
For comments on Damon’s Psalter see Hymn 589.
A tender, beautiful hymn, in use wherever English is spoken.
It was published in the Olney Hymns (See 60) under the title “Walking with God.” It is based on Genesis 5:24: “Enoch walked with God.” The hymn was written December 9, 1769, during the serious illness of the poet’s dear friend, the wife of Rev. Morley Unwin, in whose home he stayed and found the tenderest of care during his own illness. Concerning her, Cowper wrote in a letter the day following the composition of this hymn:
She is the chief of blessings I have met with in my journey since the Lord was pleased to call me.... Her illness has been a sharp trial to me. Oh, that it may have a sanctified effect, that I may rejoice to surrender up to the Lord my dearest comforts, the moment He may require them.... I began to compose the verses yesterday morning before daybreak but fell asleep at the end of the first two lines: when I awaked again, the third and fourth were whispered to my heart in a way which I have so often experienced.
For comments on William Cowper see Hymn 60.
MUSIC. BELMONT is an adaptation from a melody in Sacred Melodies ... adapted to the best English poets, Vol. I; 1812, by William Gardiner. The Sacred Melodies appeared in six volumes containing tunes by the best masters, adapted to English words.
The composer, William Gardiner, 1770-1853, was an English stocking manufacturer who travelled extensively at home and abroad, principally in the interests of his business, but also making acquaintance with musicians of all ranks and with their music. He published songs and duets of his own composition in his youth, over the nom de plume of “W. G. Leicester.” His Sacred Melodies, referred to above, did valuable service in drawing attention to many fine compositions otherwise unknown.
For comments on Charles Wesley see Hymn 6.
“The Whole Armor of God” is the title of this hymn in Wesley’s Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1749. It is based on Ephesians 6:10-18: “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil,” etc. The entire poem contains 16 double stanzas, of which our hymn is a selection of the first, second, and sixteenth.
MUSIC. DIADEMATA. For comments on this tune see Hymn 118.
A hymn of faith and trust in God.
Helen Maria Williams, an English Unitarian, lived for some years with her sister who had married a French Protestant. It was during the period of the Revolution and the reign of terror. Being an outspoken republican, she was imprisoned by Robespierre, and was released only after his death in 1794. She was a woman of extraordinary intellectual strength and published many volumes on politics, religion, and literary questions, and finally her collected poems, entitled, Poems on Various Occasions. She lived in England and in France, and the closing years of her life were spent in Holland in the home of a nephew who was pastor of a Reformed Church in Amsterdam.
MUSIC. BRATTLE STREET. For comments on the composer of this tune, Ignace Pleyel, see Hymn 238.
This hymn, entitled “The Pilgrim’s Song,” first appeared in Hymns for Christian Worship, by Robert Seagrave, London, 1742.
Robert Seagrave, son of Rev. Robert Seagrave, was educated at Cambridge and was ordained a clergyman in the Church of England. He became interested in the Wesleys and Whitefield and published pamphlets and sermons designed to reform the clergy and Church of England. He wrote 50 original hymns, of which this one is still in use. The exact year of Seagrave’s death is not certain.
MUSIC. AMSTERDAM is attributed to James Nares, 1715-1783, but most authorities believe the tune to be much older. It appears in what is known as the Foundery Collection, the first Methodist hymnal, by John Wesley, 1742, and is said to be one of the German chorale tunes which John Wesley acquired from the Moravian Brethren.
Based on John 12:20-23: “There were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.... And Jesus answered them saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.”
The hymn first appeared in six stanzas in Hymns of the Church Militant, compiled by Anna Warner, New York, 1858, and published in 1861. It is another example of a fine hymn contributed by a woman.
The third and fourth stanzas, omitted here, are of the same excellent quality as the others:
We would see Jesus: other lights are paling,
Which for long years we have rejoiced to see;
The blessings of our pilgrimage are failing;
We would not mourn them for we go to Thee.
We would see Jesus: yet the spirit lingers
Round the dear objects it has loved so long,
And earth from earth can scarce unclose its fingers;
Our love to Thee makes not this love less strong.
Anna Bartlett Warner, lived on Constitution Island in the Hudson River, near West Point, where she and her more famous sister, Susan Warner, conducted a Bible class for nearly two generations for the cadets of the United States Military Academy. Because of this service, she was buried with military honors upon her death in 1915. Miss Warner wrote novels under the pseudonym of “Amy Lothrop,” but she is best known for this hymn and the song beloved of all little children, “Jesus loves me: this I know.”
MUSIC. HENLEY. For comments on this tune see Hymn 188.
A hymn of high poetic quality which has preserved its popularity from generation to generation. It is based on the story of Jacob at Bethel in Gen. 28:10-22:
And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.... And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel.
Sarah Flower Adams was the daughter of Benjamin Flower, an editor; she married William B. Adams, an engineer and inventor, in 1834. She was a member of a Unitarian congregation in London. A woman of fine intellect, she wrote much prose and verse, and was a friend of Robert Browning. She died of tuberculosis, contracting the disease while caring for her sister, Eliza, who had fallen victim to the same disease two years earlier.
MUSIC. BETHANY was written by Lowell Mason for this hymn. Its resemblance to the tune of the well-known “Oft in the stilly night” has been noted. The tune to this hymn was played by the ship’s band on board the “Titanic” as the vessel sank on its maiden voyage, Sunday, April 14, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg in the Atlantic. 1635 passengers were lost, ending life’s voyage with the strains of the familiar and appropriate prayer resounding across the waters—“Nearer, my God, to Thee.”
For comments on Lowell Mason see Hymn 12.