A solemn dirge of the Passion, written in 1875 in the seclusion of a quiet rural parish and regarded as the author’s best composition. It appeared in Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1875.

For comments on John Ellerton see Hymn 43.

MUSIC. REDHEAD NO. 76, also called “Petra,” and “Gethsemane,” was composed by Richard Redhead, 1820-1901, English chorister and organist, and proponent of the Oxford Movement (not to be confused with the modern Oxford movement headed by Buchman). The tune, without name, appeared in his Church Hymns and Tunes, Ancient and Modern, 1853, as No. 76. In England it has long been sung to the hymn “Rock of Ages, cleft for me.”

110. In the Cross of Christ I glory

The most popular of John Bowring’s Hymns, published in 1825, and a classic among the hymns of the cross. It is based on Gal. 6:14: “But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Bowring died on November 23, 1872, and the words, “In the cross of Christ I glory,” were placed on his tombstone.

It is remarkable that so great a hymn on the cross should be written by a Unitarian, a communion which denies the deity of Jesus and the evangelical doctrine of the atonement. Yet the hymn can be sung whole-heartedly by every evangelical Christian for it magnifies the cross and makes it the center of the Christian faith. Bowring, in spite of his Unitarian connection, was a devout, evangelical believer.

For further comments on John Bowring see Hymn 55.

MUSIC. RATHBUN was composed by Ithamar Conkey, 1815-67, an organist and prominent bass soloist who took part in many oratorio performances in New York City. The tune was composed one Sunday afternoon after the minister, Dr. Hiscox, of the Central Baptist Church, Norwich, Conn., had preached one of a series of sermons on the “Words of the Cross.” Conkey named the tune after the leading soprano in his choir, Mrs. Beriah S. Rathbun.

111. Cross of Jesus, Cross of sorrow

From Stainer’s oratorio, The Crucifixion, where it appears as No. 4 under the title, “The Mystery of Divine Humiliation.” The original has 10 stanzas.

The libretto of The Crucifixion was written by Wm. J. Sparrow Simpson, Church of England clergyman. He was educated at Cambridge, ordained in 1882, and became chaplain of St. Mary’s Hospital, Great Alford. His theological works include the Catholic Conception of the Church and the History of the Anglo-Catholic Movement.

MUSIC. CROSS OF JESUS in Stainer’s Crucifixion is intended among other numbers in the oratorio, “to be sung by the congregation.” Its depth of feeling is best realized if sung in rather slow tempo.

John Stainer, 1840-1901, began his career as a choir boy at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, at the age of seven, continuing there for nine years. He early became acquainted with Arthur Sullivan and the two remained fast friends throughout life. Stainer became one of England’s greatest organists and succeeded Sir John Goss, at St. Paul’s Cathedral. He was one of the most prolific and best-loved of the Victorian composers. A bronze tablet, installed in his honor in St. Paul’s, was dedicated by a service in which parts of his cantatas were sung, and closed with his “sevenfold Amen” (623).

112. Beneath the Cross of Jesus

A hymn of Scottish origin, especially appropriate for use in Good Friday services, but it can also be used on more general occasions.

Elizabeth Cecilia Douglas Clephane, daughter of the Sheriff of Fife and Kinross, was born in Edinburgh. She was a member of the Free Church of Scotland. Her hymn, “There were ninety and nine,” became widely known through its use by Moody and Sankey in their famous evangelistic meetings.

The hymn, “Beneath the Cross of Jesus,” appeared in Scotland, three years after the death of Miss Clephane, in The Family Treasure, a home magazine, with this explanatory note by the editor:

These lines express the experiences, the hopes, and the longings of a young Christian lately released. Written on the very edge of this life, with the better land fully in view of faith, they seem to us footsteps printed on the sands of Time, where those sands touch the ocean of Eternity. These footprints of one whom the Good Shepherd led through the wilderness into rest, may, with God’s blessing, contribute to comfort and direct succeeding pilgrims.

MUSIC. ST. CHRISTOPHER was composed for this hymn by Frederick C. Maker, 1844-1927, an English organist and composer of numerous hymn tunes. Maker spent all his life in Bristol, England, thirty years of which were devoted to the position of organist at the Redland Park Congregational Church.

HIS RESURRECTION

113. Come ye faithful, raise the strain

A Greek hymn based on the Song of Moses, Exodus 15.

It was written by John of Damascus about the middle of the 8th century.

John of Damascus, Greek theologian and distinguished hymnist, as well as the greatest scholar and poet of his time, was born in Damascus of a prominent family, about A.D. 700. He was educated by an Italian monk named Cosmas, and retired to the monastery of St. Sabas in the Holy Land. He died between 754 and 787. He wrote a number of canons. A canon in Greek hymnology was a series of odes, usually eight or nine, threaded on an acrostic. This hymn is from his canon for the Sunday after Easter.

For comments on the translator, John M. Neale, see Hymn 67.

MUSIC. ST. KEVIN. The composer, Arthur Sullivan, 1842-1900, was born in London, the son of an Irish band-master. He received a thorough musical education in London and on the continent and became a famous choir leader, hymn book editor, conductor, and composer. In collaboration with W. S. Gilbert, he composed light operas for which he is best known.

114. Jesus Christ is ris’n today

This hymn, which Percy Dearmer called “the Easter hymn par excellence,” is based upon some Latin verses of an Easter carol of the 14th century, except verse 4, which is attributed to Charles Wesley. It is of unknown authorship, appearing with the tune “Easter Hymn” in a now rare book, Lyra Davidica.

“Allelujah” is “Hallelujah” with the “H” omitted to soften it.

For comments on Wesley see Hymn 6.

MUSIC. EASTER HYMN, one of the most famous of all hymn tunes, is from Lyra Davidica, or a Collection of Divine Songs and Hymns, partly New Composed, partly Translated from the High German and Latin Hymns; and set to easy and pleasant Tunes, published in London, 1708. The composer is unknown. The hymn and tune were headed, “The Resurrection.”

115. The day of Resurrection

Another resurrection hymn from the Eastern Church by John of Damascus. (See 113.) It is sung after midnight on Easter morning to set forth the fact of the resurrection. Julian describes the service in his Dictionary of Hymnology (p. 62). The people assemble in the church with unlighted tapers in their hands. While the priest chants in a half whisper, they await the signal that Easter Day has begun. A cannon is fired when the moment comes, the Cross is raised, and the people cry, “Christos anesti” (Christ is risen.) The tapers are lighted and the church is set ablaze with light. Outside there is the sound of drums and trumpets, the people embrace and congratulate each other, and salute one another with “Christos anesti.”

The reference in stanza 2 is to Matt. 28:9: “Jesus met them, saying, ‘All Hail!’”

For comments on the translator, John M. Neale, see Hymn 67.

MUSIC. LANCASHIRE, a thrilling tune of steady swing, was composed for “From Greenland’s icy mountains,” to be used at a missionary meeting at Blackburn, England. It is also, in some hymn books, used with “Lead on, O King Eternal” (399).

For comments on the composer, Henry Smart, 1813-79, see Hymn 46.

116. The strife is o’er, the battle done

One of the most celebrated of Easter hymns. It comes from an anonymous medieval Latin poem which appeared in the Jesuit Symphonia Sirenum, Cologne, 1695.

The translation is by Francis Pott, an Englishman. He was educated at Oxford University and after serving a long number of years as curate and rector in various churches, he retired on account of increasing deafness. Pott published several volumes of hymns and wrote a book on the “Te Deum.” He was a member of the original committee which produced Hymns Ancient and Modern.

MUSIC. VICTORY, also called “Palestrina,” is an adaptation from the “Gloria Patri” of a work called, Magnificat Tertii Toni, 1591, by the eminent Italian composer, Giovanni Pierluigi Sante Da Palestrina, 1525-94.

The present arrangement was made by Wm. H. Monk for this hymn.

Palestrina, foremost composer of the Roman Catholic Church and supreme master of polyphonic music, was born at Palestrina, Italy, the son of a wealthy peasant, Pierluigi Sante. He was named “Da Palestrina” after his birthplace, a common custom in his time. He received his musical training at Rome where he came under the powerful influence of Orlando di Lasso, the great master from the Netherlands. Palestrina served as chapelmaster in his home town, master of the boys in the Julian Chapel in Rome, and in 1555 was appointed one of the pontifical singers in the Sistine Chapel but was dismissed a few months later when he became guilty of the “crime” of matrimony. He then became chapelmaster at St. John Lateran and later of the Liberian Chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore, during which time he became known as “the saviour of church music.” Many abuses had crept into the music of the church, particularly in the use of secular airs grafted on stately church themes, and improvizations by the singers who sometimes departed from the solemn words of the service and substituted profane and lewd words in Italian and French. To correct this scandal, the Ecumenical Council of Trent, in 1552, asked Palestrina to prepare a mass free from the admixture of alien words and secular melodies, and suitable for church use. The result was the composition of three 6-part services, one of which, Missa Papae Marcelli, has been regarded as one of the most sublime creations of all music and the model of what church music should be. As a reward for this service, Palestrina was granted a stipend by papal decree which was not large but gave him a sufficient income. In 1571 he was re-elected to his old post as Chapelmaster of St. Peter’s, where he remained for life. His fame as teacher and composer extended throughout Europe, but his happiness was clouded by the loss of two sons and the death of his wife in 1580, while the remaining son, Igino, became a source of grief to him. Palestrina’s compositions were many and of great variety, including 93 masses, 179 motets, hymns, prayers, responses, madrigals, etc.

For comments on Monk see Hymn 40.

HIS ASCENSION

117. Hail the day that sees Him rise

This hymn, originally in ten stanzas, appeared in Wesley’s Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739, under the caption “For Ascension Day.” The Hallelujah was added later in White’s Introits and Hymns, 1852.

For comments on Charles Wesley see Hymn 6.

MUSIC. LLANFAIR, also named “Bethel,” is a Welsh hymn tune by Robert Williams, c. 1781-1821, a basket maker. He was born blind, but became a skilled craftsman and a musician of considerable ability.

118. Crown Him with many crowns

Based on Rev. 19:12: “On his head were many crowns.” The hymn mentions a four-fold crowning of Christ, as: (1) Lamb upon His throne; (2) Son of God; (3) Lord of life; (4) Lord of heaven. Two omitted stanzas mention “Lord of peace,” and “Lord of years.”

Matthew Bridges was brought up in the church of England but became interested in the Oxford Movement and entered the Roman Catholic Church in 1848. He was a student of history and wrote The Roman Empire under Constantine the Great. He is also the author of several books of poems. The latter part of his life was spent in the Province of Quebec, Canada.

The hymn was recast by Godfrey Thring to eliminate several obvious Roman tendencies in it.

MUSIC. DIADEMATA, a solid, dignified tune which organists like to play and congregations enjoy singing, was written for this hymn and named after the Latin title given the hymn.

The composer, George Job Elvey, 1816-93, was a gifted organist and composer and a devout Christian. He received the Bachelor of Music and Doctorate in Music from Oxford University and was organist of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, for 47 years.

119. Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious

A majestic coronation hymn ranking with the best hymns of Watts and Wesley. It is based on Rev. 11:15: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. And he shall reign forever and ever.”

Thomas Kelly was born in Dublin, the son of an Irish judge. He at first intended to follow his father into the legal profession, but his profound religious convictions led him to train for the ministry. As a young clergyman, he was summoned, with others, to appear before the Archbishop of Dublin to answer for his evangelistic zeal. He was rebuked and prohibited from preaching in Dublin pulpits. He then withdrew from the Church of England and started a number of independent churches. He was much interested in the hymnody of the church and wrote 736 hymns in all. They are characterized by loyalty to Jesus Christ and a deep evangelical glow.

MUSIC. CORONAE is a virile tune, written in 1871, and well adapted by its voice range for congregational singing.

For comments on the composer, Wm. H. Monk, see Hymn 40.

120. Majestic sweetness sits enthroned

This hymn was published in John Rippon’s Selection, 1787, with the title, “Chief among Ten Thousand: or the Excellencies of Christ.” It is based on Song of Solomon 5:10-16. The original has 9 stanzas.

The author, Samuel Stennett, prominent non-conformist and champion of religious freedom, was a Baptist clergyman who in 1741 became his father’s assistant in Little Wild Street Church, London, and then succeeded his father in 1758, continuing in the pastorate of the church until his death in 1795.

MUSIC. ORTONVILLE has been a favorite hymn tune for over a century. It is associated with these words now, but at first it was set to “O for a closer walk with God.” Among Hastings’ tunes, this is second in popularity to “Toplady” (148), the tune he made for “Rock of Ages.”

Thos. Hastings, 1784-1872, was born in Connecticut, moved to New York state to farm but left the farm at the age of 33 to devote himself to music. In 1831 he moved to New York City to serve the musical interests of a group of churches. He wrote 600 hymns and about 1,000 hymn tunes. He published 50 books of music and collaborated with Lowell Mason in Spiritual Songs for Social Worship. The University of the City of New York gave him the degree of Doctor of Music in 1858.

121. Rejoice, the Lord is King

A jubilant song of Christ’s exaltation and coming in power, based on Phil. 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice.”

The hymn, in seven stanzas, appeared first in John Wesley’s Sacred and Moral Poems, 1744, and later in Wesley’s Hymns for our Lord’s Resurrection, 1746. Though the resurrection note is in the hymn, it is appropriate also for general occasions.

Charles Wesley wrote four great festival hymns: (1) “Hark! the herald angels sing” for Christmas; (2) “Christ the Lord is risen today” for Easter; (3) “Hail the day that sees Him rise” for Ascension; and (4) “Rejoice, the Lord is king” for Whitsuntide.

For comments on Charles Wesley see Hymn 6.

MUSIC. ARTHUR’S SEAT appeared in Hymns and Songs of Praise 1874, by John K. Paine and Uzziah C. Burnap. The tune is believed to be an arrangement by Burnap from a melody composed by Sir John Goss, 1800-80, English organist and composer of church choir music. Handel composed a tune, “Gopsal,” especially for this hymn, but it is not well known and has not found its way into many of the hymn books.

For comments on Paine and Burnap see Hymn 134.

122. Hail, Thou once despisèd Jesus!

A worshipful and strongly doctrinal hymn, bringing out plainly the doctrine of the atonement as well as the Saviour’s enthronement and glorification.

The authorship is traditionally assigned to John Bakewell, one of John Wesley’s lay preachers. But it is not clear that he wrote all of it. It appeared in 1760 in a collection by M. Madan, and later, in 1776, it was included in Psalms and Hymns by Augustus M. Toplady. Both editors apparently made some changes and omissions in the hymn, resulting in our present version.

MUSIC. IN BABILONE is a Dutch traditional melody, its present arrangement having been made by Professor Julius Röntgen, 1855-1933, of Amsterdam. It appeared in The English Hymnal in 1906 and has since won its way into many American hymn books. It is a joyous, robust melody well suited to carry this hymn.

123. Hark, ten thousand harps and voices

Based on Heb. 1:6: “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

The original poem has 7 stanzas. Lowell Mason added the “Hallelujahs” and the “Amen” when he set the hymn to music. Some hymn books have softened the “Hallelujah” to “Allelujah.” The last stanza is a prayer for the hastening of the day when heaven and earth shall pass away, which some may not be able to sing heartily and sincerely.

For comments on Thomas Kelly see Hymn 119.

MUSIC. HARWELL was written for this hymn in 1840. The original version had the men’s voices introduce lines 5 and 6 with a dotted eighth and a sixteenth note, in unison, while the soprano and altos observed a quarter rest. Later editing changed the tune so all the parts observed the quarter rest.

For comments on the composer, Lowell Mason, see Hymn 12.

124. Alleluia! sing to Jesus!

Based on Rev. 5:9: “Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every nation.”

The original poem of five stanzas appeared in Dix’s Altar Songs, 1867, and was entitled “Redemption by the Precious Blood.” The hymn was linked to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. The third and fourth stanzas, omitted here, are as follows:

For comments on William C. Dix see Hymn 78.

MUSIC. The tune was taken from St. Basil’s Hymnal, Chicago, 1918, where it appears unnamed. It is a traditional Dutch melody. The present arrangement of it is anonymous.

HIS COMING AGAIN

125. The King shall come when morning dawns

This hymn, setting forth the hope of Christ’s Second Coming in triumph, comes from the Greek, but no information is at hand concerning the original poem. It is not included in Julian’s Dictionary.

The translation is by John Brownlie, a Scottish minister, born in Glasgow. He published several books of original hymns and translations from the Greek.

MUSIC. JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM is wrongly attributed here to Thomas Hastings though it is possible that the arrangement is his. The same tune, named “St. Michel’s,” appears at No. 93, which see for comments.

For comments on Thomas Hastings see Hymn 120.

126. Thou art coming, O my Savior

The first hymn Miss Havergal wrote after Advent Sunday, December 2, 1873, when she “first saw clearly the blessedness of true consecration.”

Frances Ridley Havergal was the daughter of Rev. Wm. H. Havergal, an Anglican clergyman who was greatly interested in the hymns and music of the church and composed a number of tunes still in use. His tune, “Evan,” is used in the Hymnary (153 and 253). Frances thus grew up in a cultured religious environment in which hymns and church music held a prominent place. She was handicapped by a frail body and died at the early age of forty-three. But throughout her short life, from the time of her confirmation at seventeen until the end, she had an unbounded joy in Christian service. No suffering could diminish her faith in the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Despite her poor health, she was a devoted student of the Bible and was able to repeat from memory the four Gospels, the Epistles, Revelations, all the Psalms, Isaiah, and the Minor Prophets. Besides writing many letters counselling those who sought her advice, she wrote devotional books and composed sacred hymns and poems, always emphasizing consecration and service. She made a considerable contribution to the hymnody of the church. Six of her compositions are to be found in the Hymnary (126, 190, 215, 219, 296, 380).

MUSIC. BEVERLEY was composed for this hymn for use in Hymns Ancient and Modern, Rev. ed., 1875.

For comments on W. H. Monk see Hymn 40.

127. Christ is coming, let creation

A Scottish hymn setting forth the glowing hope and expectation of the coming of Christ in glory. It is based on Rev. 22:20: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely, I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

John R. Macduff was minister of the Sandyford Parish, Glasgow. He is the author of several books of devotions and wrote numerous hymns. His ministry at Sandyford was singularly fruitful. George Mattheson, blind Scottish preacher, then a boy in Macduff’s congregation, afterwards said of him: “Dr. Macduff gave me my first real conviction of the beauty of Christianity.” Macduff held strongly to the premillennial view of the coming of Christ.

MUSIC. NEANDER. This famous tune has been associated with various words. The composer first published it in 1680 set to the hymn, “Unser Herrscher, unser König.” It is also used with Schmolk’s “Open now the gates of beauty” (505), and in England it is almost invariably associated with “Come, ye saints, and raise an anthem,” by J. Hupton and others.

Joachim Neander, 1650-80, whose real name was Neumann, was born at Bremen, where he spent most of his life. As a youth he was somewhat wild but in time became converted and associated himself with the Pietists of Germany. He was a friend of Spener, the leader of the Pietists. His unconventional zeal brought him into conflict with the authorities of the Reformed Church of which he was a member, and he was dismissed for a time from his office as teacher in the Düsseldorf schools. Being obliged to leave town, he lived for some months in a cave in the region of the Rhine, where he composed many of his hymns. He is the foremost hymn writer of the German Reformed Church and is called “the Paul Gerhardt of the Calvinists.” Neander, like Luther, was a man of scholarship and accomplishment in poetry and music, as well as theology. He wrote more than 60 hymns and composed tunes for them.

128. Ye servants of the Lord

“The Active Christian” is the author’s title of this hymn. It appeared first in Job Orton’s posthumous edition of Hymns founded on Various Texts, 1755. It is founded on Luke 12:35-37:

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

Doddridge, known for his sound learning and genuine Christian character, was a first-rate hymn writer. He taught Hebrew, Greek, algebra, trigonometry, logic, philosophy, and theology to classes of candidates for the Congregational ministry.

For further comments on Doddridge see Hymn 56.

MUSIC. OLD 134TH (ST. MICHAEL) is one of the greatest of short-meter tunes, derived from the tune composed by L. Bourgeois for Psalm 101 in the Genevan Psalter of 1551.

For comments on L. Bourgeois see Hymn 34.

129. Come, Lord, and tarry not

A plaintive, sad hymn bordering almost on pessimism, by an able, pious author who held the doctrine of the premillenarian coming of Christ. All his life, Bonar’s mind was occupied with the subject of the second advent, an interest which inspired much of his writing.

Horatius Bonar, born in Edinburgh, was the prince of Scottish hymn writers. Educated at the University of Edinburgh, he was ordained in 1837 and became a minister in the Established Church of Scotland at Kelso. At the Disruption in 1843, Bonar “came out” and was one of the founders of the Free Church of Scotland (Presbyterian). Leaving Kelso, he became the minister of Chalmer’s Memorial Church in Edinburgh, where he served, a greatly beloved man, until his death. He was known as a man of wide scholarship and culture. His mind was saturated with Scripture and his heart possessed by a broad and generous faith.

His son, Rev. H. N. Bonar, wrote his father’s Life which gives some interesting information concerning his hymn writing. Bonar carried notebooks with him in which he jotted thoughts, verses, and hymns as they came to his mind.

“These notebooks,” writes the son, “contain most of the better-known hymns, hastily written down in pencil in his spare moments. They are full of contractions, with an occasional word or phrase in shorthand; sometimes a line is struck out and another substituted, yet in nearly every case the complete hymn, almost as it was afterwards published, can be gleaned from this rough draft.”

MUSIC. SHIRLAND was composed by Samuel Stanley, 1767-1822, English composer and precentor of Carr’s Lane Congregational Chapel, in Birmingham. Through his skilled leadership the music of this church became famous. The hymn singing attracted attention and resulted in a great growth in the congregation.

For further comments on Stanley see Hymn 20.

130. Lo, He comes, with clouds descending

A hymn on the Second Advent, based on Rev. 1:7: “Behold He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”

The author, John Cennick, came from a Quaker family though he grew up in the Church of England. For some years his religious convictions were unsettled. Then while engaged in land surveying, he came under the influence of Wesley and became one of his lay preachers. Later he became a follower of George Whitefield, and finally he joined the Moravians. While limited in culture and outlook, he possessed genuine lyric fire; and his name is of note among the hymnists, even though only a few of his many hymns survive.

This hymn has been much revised. It owes not a little to Charles Wesley who changed Cennick’s first line, “Lo! he cometh; countless trumpets,” to the familiar “Lo, He comes with clouds descending.” Martin Madan, who issued the hymn in his Collection of Psalms and Hymns, also gave it certain finishing touches. The hymn possesses a scriptural vividness and impressive treatment of theme which have carried it throughout the English speaking world, despite the apocalyptic form of the description it sets forth.

MUSIC. HOLYWOOD is attributed to Samuel Webbe, probably the elder, 1740-1816, a London organist and composer and a member of the Roman Catholic Church. His son, Samuel Webbe, Jr., 1770-1843, following his father in the musical profession, likewise became an organist and composer.

Its solidity and triumphant note give this tune a worthy place in the music of the church.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

131. Come, Holy Ghost, in love

This truly great Latin hymn, addressed to the Holy Spirit, comes from the 12th or 13th century. Its authorship is uncertain. Archbishop Trench characterized it as “the loveliest of all the hymns in the whole cycle of Sacred Latin Poetry.” Many translations have been made of it, this one by Ray Palmer.

Ray Palmer, who held pastorates at Bath, Me., and Albany, N. Y., was for a time corresponding secretary for the American Congregational Union. His name remains the greatest among hymnists and translators in the American Congregational church. His hymn, “My faith looks up to Thee” (150), is known all over the world.

MUSIC. MALVERN is from The Hallelujah, a series of compilations of tunes, edited by J. J. Waite and H. J. Gauntlett, first published in 1842. The work was intended to encourage the congregation to sing in parts, an altogether novel principle in the English churches of that time. To make the music easy to read, the notes were numbered, the tonic sol-fa system having, as yet, not been developed. The present arrangement is by John Roberts, 1822-77, Welsh Methodist pastor and musician of extraordinary ability. He did much to improve congregational singing in the church and was an eminent conductor of school music festivals. Roberts wrote a number of tunes that are high in favor throughout Wales and was incomparable as an arranger of congregational hymn tunes.

132. Lord God, the Holy Ghost

One of the few hymns which deals distinctively with the Day of Pentecost. For this reason, as well as for its inherent quality, it is especially valuable.

For comments on James Montgomery see Hymn 62.

MUSIC. OLD 134TH. For comments on this tune see Hymn 128.

133. Spirit of God, descend upon my heart