Hymns 
 
 AND THEIR ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 'ANCES GAISFORD. 
 
FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 
 Dirtaiott 
 Section N 
 

HYMNS 
 AND THEIR ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
/0^ OF PR/0^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 HYMNS. DhC 22 1932 
 
 ■•\^ 
 
 *' 
 
 AND 
 
 THEIR ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 FRANCES GAISFORD. 
 
 LONDON : 
 ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
HYMNS 
 
 AND THEIR ASSOCIATIONS, 
 
 THE story of the composition of our 
 various devotional hymns may be re- 
 garded as, in some sense, the history 
 of God's Church in the world. The 
 sacred books of our Bible give religious 
 songs that were sung in the earliest 
 times. They record for us the voices 
 of pious souls, uttered in psalm and 
 song ; and rising from amid the sands 
 of Arabian deserts,from theTabernacle 
 courts at Shiloh. from the hills of 
 Palestine, and from the forests of 
 Lebanon. We hear the notes of 
 heroes like Moses and David, and of 
 poets like Asaph and the sons of 
 Korah. Sometimes the song takes 
 form as the majestic antiphones of 
 
 I 
 
2 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 the Temple worship ; sometimes as 
 the murmurs of captives by Baby- 
 lonian streams ; and sometimes as 
 the raptures of the Christian Apostles 
 and Prophets, whose souls were 
 touched by the Divine fire, and quick- 
 ened with the Divine love. Theirs 
 were truly sacred hymns ; and since 
 their days, what gushings and wait- 
 ings of sacred song have come down 
 to our times from those who sealed 
 their testimony for Christ in the 
 martyr's death ; from those who 
 sought, in desert cave and monastic 
 cell, quietness for the due culture of 
 the spiritual life ; and even from those 
 who hid themselves in rock-hewn 
 catacombs from the power of the per- 
 secutor. 
 
 The spiritual hymns of the Early 
 Fathers, often expressed in rich and 
 suggestive language, are amongst the 
 most treasured possessions of the 
 Church. Hymns are, as it were, the 
 lamps of the Church, set to illumine 
 its story in every generation. They 
 are the lights that shine out here and 
 there through the ' dark ages,' and 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 3 
 
 their beams light up the shrines, and 
 the altars, and the chapels of modern 
 times. No study of the history of the 
 Christian Church can be more delight- 
 ful, or more instructive, than that 
 which deals with the great hymns 
 written in different centuries. In all 
 the ages they, more than the creeds 
 of councils, and more than the con- 
 flicts of theological warriors, seem to 
 shape the spandrils from whence leap 
 up the arches of the Church's doctrine. 
 By its hymns, the unity of the faith 
 of the Church has been, in great 
 measure, proclaimed. 
 
 These pious songs often arose out of 
 very simple incidents. That is a very 
 sweet and solemn sentence in our 
 wonderful Burial Service which reads, 
 ' In the midst of life we are in death.' 
 But it appears to be an adaptation of 
 the first line of the rare old Latin 
 hymn, the ' Media Vitae/ composed 
 by a man named Babulus, who was 
 born of a noble family at Zurich. 
 He attained great eminence at St. 
 Gall by his learning, his skill in music 
 and poetry, and his knowledge of the 
 
 1 — 2 
 
4 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 Holy Scriptures. The old stories say 
 of him, that no one ever saw him but 
 he was reading, or writing, or praying. 
 The faint sound of a mill-wheel near 
 his abbey is said to have moved him 
 to compose a beautiful air for some 
 pious verses ; and looking down into 
 a deep gulf, where some labourers 
 were building a bridge over the abyss, 
 suggested the celebrated hymn that is 
 known as the ' Media Vitse.' — Paxton 
 Hood. 
 
 The well-known chant, the ' Te 
 Deum Laudamus/ is referred to in 
 the Latin Breviary as the Canticle of 
 Ambrose and Augustine, because of 
 the old legend that, at the baptism of 
 Augustine by Ambrose, it was sung 
 alternately by the two saints, just as 
 it w r as suggested to them by Divine 
 inspiration. To us, English Protes- 
 tants, it is interesting to know that it 
 was sung for the first time in the 
 vulgar tongue by the martyr Bishop 
 Ridley, at Heme Church, in Kent, 
 where he was at one time the vicar. 
 The ' Benedicite,' or Song of the Three 
 Children, was used in the later Jewish 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 5 
 
 Church, and was commonly sung in 
 the Christian Church in the fourth 
 century. — Procter. 
 
 When George Herbert lived — he 
 was born A.D. 1593 — clergymen were 
 held in very poor social consideration, 
 and were not accounted to be the 
 equals of gentlemen. It was, there- 
 fore, no slight sacrifice for a man of 
 noble family to take the clerical office, 
 and become a lightly esteemed village 
 pastor. George Herbert laid his rank, 
 talents, and learning at the foot of 
 the Cross, and worked diligently in 
 this comparatively obscure position. 
 We may follow him into his peace- 
 ful parsonage, where he wrote those 
 poems that are so full of pious feel- 
 ing ; then going round among his 
 parishioners encouraging, admonish- 
 ing, helping, in the true spirit of a 
 Christian pastor, and with all the deli- 
 cacy of a courteous Christian gentle- 
 man. 
 
 1 Some of the meanest sort of his 
 parish did so love and reverence Mr. 
 Herbert that they would let their 
 plough rest when his saint's bell rang 
 
6 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 to prayer, that they might also offer 
 their devotions to God with him, 
 and then would return back to their 
 plough/ The history of his poems 
 is most touching and beautiful. In 
 his last sickness he presented them to 
 a friend in these words : i Sir, I pray 
 you deliver this little book to my 
 dear brother Ferrar, and tell him he 
 shall find in it a picture of the many 
 spiritual conflicts that have passed 
 between God and my soul before I 
 could subject mine to the will of 
 Jesus my Master, in whose service I 
 have now found perfect freedom. De- 
 sire him to read it, and then, if he 
 can think it may turn to the advan- 
 tage of any poor dejected soul, let it 
 be made public ; if not, let him burn 
 it, for I and it are less than the least 
 of God's mercies/ Music and poetry, 
 both consecrated to the Master he 
 served, were his great delight ; and 
 the Sunday before his death he rose 
 suddenly from his couch, called for 
 one of his instruments, took it into 
 his hand, and said : 
 
 * My God ! my God ! my music 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 7 
 
 shall find Thee, and everything shall 
 have His attribute to sing !' 
 
 And having tuned the lute, he 
 played and sang some of the verses 
 from the following poem : 
 
 ' SUNDAY. 
 
 4 O day most calm, most bright, 
 The fruit of this, the next world's bud, 
 Its indorsement of supreme delight, 
 
 Writ by a friend, and with his blood ; 
 The couch of time ; care's balm and bay ; 
 The week were dark, but for thy light — 
 Thy torch doth show the way. 
 
 ' The other days and thou 
 Make up one man, whose face thou art, 
 Knocking at heaven with thy brow. 
 
 The worky days are the back part ; 
 The burden of the week lies there, 
 Making the whole to stoop and bow 
 Till thy release appear. 
 
 1 Man had straightforward gone 
 To endless death ; but Thou dost pull 
 And turn us round to look on One, 
 Whom, if we were not very dull, 
 We could not choose but look on still, 
 Since there is no place so alone 
 The which He doth not fill. 
 
8 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 1 Sundays the pillars are, 
 On which heav'n's palace arched lies. 
 The other days fill up the spare 
 
 And hollow room with vanities. 
 They are the fruitful beds and borders 
 In God's rich garden : that is bare 
 Which parts their ranks and orders. 
 
 6 The Sundays of man's life, 
 Threaded together on time's string. 
 Make bracelets to adorn the wife 
 
 Of the eternal glorious King. 
 On Sunday heaven's gate stands ope ; 
 Blessings are plentiful and rife, 
 More plentiful than hope. 
 
 1 This day my Saviour rose, 
 And did inclose this light for His : 
 That, as each beast his manger knows, 
 
 Man might not of his fodder miss. 
 Christ hath took in this piece of ground, 
 And made a garden there for those 
 Who want herbs for their wound. 
 
 1 The rest of our creation 
 Our great Redeemer did remove 
 With the same shake, which at His passion 
 Did th' earth and all things with it move. 
 As Samson bore the doors away, 
 
 Christ's hands, though nail'd, wrought our 
 salvation, 
 And did unhinge that day. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. g 
 
 'The brightness of that day 
 We sullied by our foul offence ; 
 Wherefore that robe we cast away, 
 
 Having a new at His expense, 
 Whose drops of blood paid the full price 
 That was required to make us gay, 
 And fit for Paradise. 
 
 ' Thou art a day of mirth : 
 And where the week-days trail on ground, 
 Thy flight is higher, as thy birth : 
 
 Oh, let me take thee at the bound, 
 Leaping with thee from sev'n to sev'n, 
 Till that we both, being toss'd from earth, 
 Fly hand in hand to heaven.' 
 
 George Herbert. 
 
 The father of Dr. Isaac Watts 
 was a Nonconformist, and was im- 
 prisoned in Southampton Gaol for 
 the sake of his convictions. The 
 old prison remains very nearly the 
 same as when the young mother sat 
 with her child looking up to the 
 barred windows of the room where 
 her husband was confined. It stands 
 upon what was then the beach of the 
 fair Southampton Water, which at 
 that time rolled much further in, and 
 almost washed the prison doors. 
 From the tower of this prison a lovely 
 
io Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 scene opens to the view — charming 
 hills on the left, the t sweet fields be- 
 yond the swelling flood ' on the op- 
 posite shore. It was this view across 
 Southampton Water which in after- 
 years suggested the beautiful hymn 
 to the prisoner's son, Dr. Isaac 
 Watts : 
 
 'There is a land of pure delight, 
 Where saints immortal reign ; 
 Infinite day excludes the night, 
 And pleasures banish pain. 
 
 £ Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood 
 Stand drest in living green ; 
 So to the Jews old Canaan stood 
 While Jordan roll'd between. 
 
 ' But tim'rous mortals start and shrink 
 
 To cross the narrow sea, 
 And linger shivering on the brink, 
 And fear to launch away. 
 
 ; Oh, could we make our doubts remove, 
 
 Those gloomy doubts that rise, 
 And see the Canaan that we love 
 With unbeclouded eyes ; 
 
 1 Could we but climb where Moses stood, 
 And view the landscape o'er, 
 Not Jordan's stream nor death's cold flood 
 Could fright us from the shore.' t 
 
Hymns and their Associations. n 
 
 Wilberforce, while walking through 
 one of the busy London streets, was 
 heard by one who passed him to be 
 repeating aloud Cowper's hymn : 
 
 1 Far from the world, O Lord, I flee, 
 From strife and tumult far ; 
 From scenes where Satan wages still 
 His most successful war. 
 
 * The calm retreat, the silent shade, 
 
 With pray'r and praise agree ; 
 And seem, by Thy sweet bounty, made 
 For those who follow Thee. 
 
 1 There, if Thy Spirit touch the soul. 
 And grace her mean abode, 
 Oh ! with what peace, and joy, and love 
 She communes with her God ! 
 
 1 There, like the nightingale, she pours 
 Her solitary lays ; 
 Nor asks a witness of her song, 
 Nor thirsts for human praise. 
 
 1 Author and Guardian of my life, 
 Sweet source of light Divine, 
 And (all harmonious names in one) 
 My Saviour, Thou art mine ! 
 
 * What thanks I owe Thee, and what love! 
 
 A boundless, endless store 
 Shall echo through the realms above 
 When time shall be no more f 
 
12 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 Luther is said to have written the 
 following hymn when on his way to 
 the town of Worms, and conscious 
 that his life was placed in grave 
 peril : 
 
 1 A safe stronghold our God is still, 
 A trusty shield and weapon ; 
 He'll help to clear from all the ill 
 That hath us now o'ertaken. 
 The ancient prince of hell 
 Hath risen with purpose fell ; 
 Strong mail of craft and power 
 He weareth in this hour, 
 On earth is not his fellow. 
 
 ' With force of arms we nothing can, 
 Full soon were we down-ridden ; 
 But for us fights the proper Man, 
 Whom God Himself hath bidden. 
 Ask ye, Who is this same ? 
 Christ Jesus is His name, 
 
 The Lord Sabaoth's Son : 
 He, and no other one, 
 Shall conquer in the battle. 
 
 1 And were this world all devils o'er, 
 
 And watching to devour us, 
 We lay it not to heart so sore ; 
 Not they can overpower us. 
 And let the prince of ill 
 Look grim as e'er he will, 
 He harms us not a whit ; 
 For why ? his doom is writ ; 
 A word shall quickly slay him. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 13 
 
 ' God's word, for all their craft and force, 
 One moment will not linger, 
 But, spite of hell, shall have its course ; 
 'Tis written by His finger. 
 
 And though they take our life, 
 Goods, honour, children, wife, 
 Yet is their profit small ; 
 These things shall vanish all : 
 The city of God remaineth.' 
 
 The last hymn read to Augustus 
 Hare, on his death-bed at Rome, 
 February, 1834, was the following : 
 
 ' Why should I fear the darkest hour, 
 Or tremble at the tempest's power ? 
 Jesus vouchsafes to be my tower. 
 
 4 Though hot the fight, why quit the field ? 
 Why must I either flee or yield, 
 Since Jesus is my mighty shield? 
 
 ' When creature comforts fade and die, 
 Worldlings may weep, but why should I ? 
 Jesus still lives, and still is nigh. 
 
 4 Though all the flocks and herds were dead, 
 My soul a famine need not dread, 
 For Jesus is my living bread. 
 
 1 I know not what may soon betide, 
 Or how my wants shall be supplied ; 
 But Jesus knows, and will provide. 
 
14 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 ' Though sin would fill me with distress, 
 The throne of grace I dare address, 
 For Jesus is my righteousness. 
 
 ' Though faint my prayers, and cold my love, 
 My steadfast faith shall not remove, 
 While Jesus intercedes above. 
 
 ' Against me earth and hell combine ; 
 But on my side is power Divine ; 
 Jesus is all, and He is mine/ 
 
 Newton. 
 
 The following hymn, composed by 
 Dean Alford, was sung in St. 
 Martin's Churchyard, Canterbury, 
 when the Dean, amid the tears of the 
 whole sorrowing city, was laid in his 
 final resting-place. A few minutes 
 before, in the earlier part of the ser- 
 vice, the grand nave of the cathedral 
 had resounded with the strains of his 
 other well-known hymn : * Jesus, when 
 I fainting lie.' 
 
 1 Ten thousand times ten thousand, 
 
 In sparkling raiment bright, 
 The armies of the ransomed saints 
 
 Throng up the steeps of light : 
 'Tis finished ! all is finished, 
 
 Their fight with death and sin ; 
 Fling open wide the golden gates, 
 
 And let the victors in. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 15 
 
 ' What rush of Alleluias 
 
 Fills all the earth and sky ! 
 What ringing of a thousand harps 
 
 Bespeaks the triumph nigh ! 
 O day, for which creation 
 
 And all its tribes were made ! 
 O joy, for all its former woes 
 
 A thousand-fold repaid ! 
 
 ' Oh, then what raptured greetings 
 
 On Canaan's happy shore ! 
 What knitting severed friendships up 
 
 Where partings are no more ! 
 Then eyes with joy shall sparkle 
 
 That brimmed with tears of late ; 
 Orphans no longer fatherless, 
 
 Nor widows desolate. 
 
 ' Bring near Thy great salvation, 
 
 Thou Lamb for sinners slain ; 
 Fill up the roll of Thine elect, 
 
 Then take Thy power and reign : 
 Appear, Desire of nations, 
 
 Thine exiles long for home ; 
 Show in the heavens Thy promised sign, 
 
 Thou Prince and Saviour, come.' 
 
 The hymn sung in the service, to 
 which reference has been made, reads 
 thus : 
 
 4 Jesus, when I fainting lie, 
 And the world is flitting by, 
 Hold Thou up my head : 
 
16 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 When the cry is, " Thou must die," 
 And the awful hour draws nigh, 
 Stand by my bed ! 
 
 ' Jesus, when the worst is o'er, 
 And they bear me from the door, 
 
 Meet the sorrowing throng ; 
 " Weep not," let the mourners hear, 
 Widow's woe and orphan's tear 
 
 Turn into song. 
 
 1 Jesus, in that last great day 
 Come Thou down and touch my clay 
 
 Speak the word " Arise." 
 Friend to gladsome friend restore, 
 Living, praising evermore 
 Above the skies.' 
 
 The late Emperor Frederick of 
 Germany often found comfort in 
 hymns, and especially in one which 
 was written by a youth, named Ernest 
 von Willich, at the age of twelve, 
 when the boy lay on a sick-bed from 
 which he never rose again. The 
 hymn was frequently sung by the 
 Crown Prince, and when he became 
 Emperor he had it published, and it is 
 known all over Germany as his 
 favourite hymn. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 17 
 
 ' When the Lord me sorrow sends, 
 
 Let me bear it patiently ; 
 Lifting up my heart in prayer, 
 
 Comfort He will not deny. 
 Therefore let there come what will, 
 In the Lord my heart is still. 
 
 1 Though the heart is often weak, 
 
 In despair and all forlorn, 
 When in days of utmost pain, 
 
 Not a day of joy will dawn ; 
 Tell it — let there come what will, 
 In the Lord all pain is still. 
 
 ; So I prav, O Lord my God, 
 
 That my faith and hope may stand ; 
 Then no care I know nor need, 
 
 Guided ever by Thy hand. 
 Therefore let there come what will, 
 In the Lord my heart is still. ' 
 
 A touching incident is recorded in 
 connection with the last hours of Dr. 
 Kay Palmer. During the last three 
 or four days of his life, Dr. Ray 
 Palmer lay for the most part ap- 
 parently unconscious. When told by 
 his son that the end was near, he 
 answered, 'Thank God,' in a louder 
 voice than he had employed for some 
 time. Occasionally he would be 
 heard to repeat to himself a hymn of 
 
 2 
 
1 8 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 faith and praise. The last words he 
 was heard to utter were spoken not 
 many hours before his death. His 
 lips were seen to move, and listening- 
 ears caught a few syllables, inarticu- 
 lately spoken, of the last verse of his 
 hymn, ' Jesu, these eyes have never 
 seen/ 
 
 c Jesu, these eyes have never seen 
 That radiant form of Thine ; 
 The veil of sense hangs dark between 
 Thy blessed face and mine. 
 
 ' I see Thee not, I hear Thee not, 
 Yet art Thou oft with me ; 
 And earth hath ne'er so dear a spot 
 As when I meet with Thee. 
 
 ' Like some bright dream that comes un- 
 sought, 
 When slumbers o'er me roll, 
 Thy image ever fills my thought, 
 And charms my ravished soul. 
 
 ' Yet, though I have not seen, and still 
 Must rest in faith alone, 
 I love Thee, dearest Lord, and will, 
 Unseen, but not unknown. 
 
 ' When death these mortal eyes shall seal, 
 And still this throbbing heart, 
 The rending veil shall Thee reveal, 
 All glorious as Thou art.' 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 19 
 
 President Garfield's favourite hymn, 
 which was also sung at his funeral, 
 was the following : 
 
 c Ho ! reapers of life's harvest, 
 
 Why stand with rusted blade, 
 Until the night draws round ye 
 
 And day begins to fade ? 
 Why stand ye idle, waiting 
 
 For reapers more to come ? 
 The golden morn is passing, 
 
 Why stand ye idle, dumb ? 
 
 * Thrust in your sharpened sickle 
 
 And gather in the grain ; 
 The night is fast approaching, 
 
 And soon will come again. 
 The Master calls for reapers, 
 
 And shall He call in vain? 
 Shall sheaves lie there ungathered, 
 
 And waste upon the plain ? 
 
 ' Mount up the heights of wisdom, 
 
 And crush each error low ; 
 Keep back no w T ords of knowledge 
 
 That human hearts should know. 
 Be faithful to your mission 
 
 In service of your Lord, 
 And then a golden harvest 
 
 Shall be your just reward.' 
 
 Paul Eber, an intimate friend of 
 Melancthon, wrote for his children 
 
 2 — 2 
 
20 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 the hymn ' Lord Jesus Christ, true 
 Man and God ;' it soon became a 
 favourite hymn for the dying. Gro- 
 tius asked that it might be repeated 
 to him in his last moments, and ex- 
 pired at its conclusion. 
 
 ' Lord Jesus Christ, true Man and God, 
 Who borest anguish, scorn, the rod, 
 And diedst at last upon the tree, 
 To bring Thy Father's grace to me, 
 I pray Thee, through that bittter woe, 
 Let me, a sinner, mercy know. 
 
 6 When comes the hour of failing breath, 
 And I must wrestle, Lord, with death, 
 When from my sight all fades away, 
 And when my tongue no more can say, 
 And when mine ears no more can hear, 
 And when my heart is racked with fear ; 
 
 ' When all my mind is darkened o'er, 
 And human help can do no more, 
 Then come, Lord Jesu, come with speed, 
 And help me in my hour of need. 
 Lead me from this dark vale beneath, 
 And shorten Thou the pangs of death. 
 
 ' All evil spirits drive away, 
 But let Thy Spirit with me stay 
 Until my soul the body leave ; 
 Then in Thy hands my soul receive, 
 And let the earth my body keep, 
 Till the Last Day shall break my sleep. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 21 
 
 1 Joyful my resurrection be, 
 Thou in the judgment plead for me, 
 And hide my sins, Lord, from Thy face, 
 And give me life of Thy dear grace. 
 I trust Thee utterly, my Lord, 
 For Thou hast promised in Thy Word : 
 
 * " In truth, I tell you who receives 
 My Word and keeps it, and believes, 
 Shall never fall God's wrath beneath, 
 Shall never taste eternal death ; 
 Though here on earch, in time, he die, 
 He is not therefore lost, for I 
 
 i " Will come, and with a mighty hand 
 Will break away Death's strongest band, 
 And lift him hence that he shall be 
 For ever in My realm with Me, 
 For ever living there in bliss/' 5 
 Ah, let us not that glory miss ! 
 
 ' Dear Lord, forgive us all our guilt, 
 Help us to wait until Thou wilt 
 That we depart, and let our faith 
 Be brave and conquer even in death, 
 Firm resting on Thy sacred Word, 
 Until we sleep in Thee, our Lord.' 
 
 The earthquake in 1750 seems to 
 have done more to arouse the metro- 
 polis to a sense of its corruption than 
 the most fervent oratory of Whitefield 
 and Wesley was capable of doing. 
 Charles Wesley was conducting an 
 
22 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 early morning service at the time 
 that it occurred, and when a great 
 cry of terror arose from the women 
 and children in the assembly, he left 
 the text he had given out, and 
 shouted, ' Therefore will we not fear, 
 though the earth be removed.' Charles 
 Wesley himself found, in this awful 
 visitation, the inspiration of some 
 stirring hymns — among them one in 
 which the words, ' Look up and see 
 your Lord appear/ is the refrain of 
 every verse. The following hymn 
 appeared the year after the great 
 catastrophe at Lisbon : 
 
 6 Stand the omnipotent decree ! 
 
 Jehovah's will be done ! 
 Nature's end we wait to see, 
 
 And hear her final groan. 
 Let this earth dissolve, and blend 
 
 In death the wicked and the just ; 
 Let those ponderous orbs descend, 
 
 And grind us into dust. 
 
 ' Rests secure the righteous man ! 
 At his Redeemer's beck, 
 Sure to emerge and rise again, 
 And mount above the wreck. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 23 
 
 Lo ! the heavenly spirit towers 
 
 Like flame, o'er nature's funeral pyre, 
 
 Triumphs in immortal powers, 
 And claps his wings of fire ! 
 
 ' Nothing hath the just to lose 
 
 By worlds on worlds destroyed ; 
 Far beneath his foot he views, 
 
 With smiles, the flaming void. 
 Sees the universe renewed, 
 
 The grand millennial reign begun ; 
 Shouts, with all the sons of God, 
 
 Around the eternal throne. 
 
 * Resting in this glorious hope 
 
 To be at last restored, 
 Yield we now our bodies up 
 
 To earthquake, plague, or sword ; 
 Listening for the call divine. 
 
 The latest trumpet of the seven, 
 Soon our souls and dust shall join, 
 
 And both fly up to heaven.' 
 
 The following is a free translation 
 of a hymn composed by Thomas 
 Aquinas : 
 
 6 Good and tender Shepherd, hear us ! 
 Bread of Heaven, in love come near us ! 
 Feed us, lead us, and defend us, 
 Make us see whatever Thou send us ; 
 In the land of earthly living 
 Is Thy wise and gracious giving. 
 
24 Hymns and their Associations, 
 
 ' Thou, who feedst us here as mortals, 
 Ordering all things that befall us, 
 Safe within celestial portals, 
 Oh ! at last, in mercy call us ! 
 
 1 Take us to the realms of love, 
 Fold us with Thy flock above ; 
 Let the peerless name be given, 
 " Heirs and denizens of heaven !" ' 
 
 In early Christian Art the symbol 
 of the Good Shepherd and the sheep 
 is frequently given, and richly illus- 
 trated. Tertullian incidentally men- 
 tions it as even being painted on the 
 communion-cups, or chalices of glass, 
 in that early age. — Dr. Macduff. 
 
 Very many, and these among the 
 most glorious, compositions in the 
 hymn-book of Protestant Germany 
 date from the period of the Thirty 
 Years' War. ' Many men/ as a poet 
 of our own has said, 
 
 ' Are cradled into poetry by wrong, 
 And learn in suffering what they teach in 
 song.' 
 
 So was it in his case ; and as this 
 was a time full of suffering and wrath 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 25 
 
 and wrong-doing, so was it also a 
 time when sacred song — which since 
 Luther had shown comparatively 
 little vitality — burst forth with a new 
 luxuriance, and it may be noticed as 
 remarkable, that it is rich, not so 
 much as one might beforehand have 
 expected, in lamentations, in Misereres, 
 and in cries of De profundis (though 
 these also are not wanting), as in Te 
 Deitms and Magnificats, hymns of 
 high hope and holy joy, rising up 
 from the darkness and distress of this 
 world to the throne of Him 'who 
 giveth songs in the night,' and enables 
 His servants to praise Him even in 
 the fires. Some among the chief 
 sufferers by these prolonged and ter- 
 rible wars — Paul Gerhard, for in- 
 stance, and Schirmer (the German 
 4 Job/ as he called himself, with al- 
 lusion to all that he had gone 
 through) — were also the chief lyrists. 
 — Trench, in the 'Thirty Years' War.' 
 The following hymn was composed 
 by Paul Gerhard at a time of peculiar 
 distress and perplexity, when no help 
 seemed likely to come to him : 
 
26 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 ' Commit thy way to God — 
 
 The weight which makes thee faint ; 
 Worlds are to Him no load, 
 
 To Him breathe thy complaint. 
 He who for winds and clouds 
 
 Maketh a pathway free, 
 Through wastes, or hostile crowds, 
 
 Can make a way for thee. 
 
 \ Thou must in Him be blest, 
 
 Ere bliss can be secure ; 
 On His work must thou rest, 
 
 If thy work shall endure. 
 To anxious, prying thought, 
 
 And weary, fretting care. 
 The Highest yieldeth nought — 
 
 He giveth all to prayer. 
 
 1 Father ! Thy faithful love, 
 
 Thy mercy, wise and mild, 
 Sees what will blessing prove, 
 
 Or what will hurt Thy child. 
 And what Thy wise foreseeing 
 
 Doth for Thy children choose, 
 Thou bnngest into being, 
 
 Nor sufferest them to lose. 
 
 ' All means always possessing, 
 
 Invincible in might, 
 Thy doings are all blessing, 
 
 Thy goings are all light. 
 Nothing Thy work suspending, 
 
 No foe can make Thee pause, 
 When Thou, Thine own defending, 
 
 Dost undertake their cause. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 27 
 
 ' Hope, then, though" woes be doubled, 
 
 Hope and be undismayed ; 
 Let not thine heart be troubled, 
 
 Nor let it be afraid. 
 This prison where thou art, 
 
 Thy God will break it soon, , 
 And flood with light Thy heart 
 
 In His own blessed noon. 
 
 ' Up ! up ! the day is breaking ; 
 
 Say to thy cares, " Good-night !" 
 Thy troubles from thee shaking, 
 
 Like dreams in day's fresh light. 
 Thou wearest not the crown, 
 
 Nor the best course can tell ; 
 God sitteth on the throne, 
 
 And guideth all things well. 
 
 ' Trust Him to govern, then ! 
 
 No king can rule like Him ; 
 How wilt thou wonder, when 
 
 Thine eyes no more are dim, 
 To see those paths which vex thee, 
 
 How wise they were and meet ; 
 The works which now perplex thee, 
 
 How beautiful, complete ! 
 
 ' Faithful the love thou sharest : 
 
 All, all is well with thee ! 
 The crown from hence thou bearest 
 
 With shouts of victory. 
 In thy right hand to-morrow 
 
 Thy God shall place the palms ; 
 To Him who chased thy sorrow, 
 
 How glad will be thy psalms !' 
 
28 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 Dr. Isaac Watts' term of study being 
 closed at Stoke Newington, he being 
 still little more than a youth, returned 
 for some time to his father's house at 
 Southampton, and worshipped there 
 with the congregation that gathered 
 under the ministry of the Rev. 
 Nathaniel Robinson. While there he 
 felt, and expressed his feeling, that the 
 psalmody was far beneath the beauty 
 and dignity of a Christian service. 
 He was requested to produce some- 
 thing better, and the next Sabbath- 
 day the service was concluded with 
 the following hymn which he had 
 written : 
 
 ' Behold the glories of the Lamb 
 Amidst His Father's throne ; 
 Prepare new honours for His Name, 
 And songs before unknown 
 
 ' Let elders worship at His feet, 
 The church adore around, 
 With vials full of odours sweet, 
 And harps of sweeter sound. 
 
 ' These are the prayers of the saints, 
 And these the hymns they raise ; 
 Jesus is kind to our complaints ; 
 He loves to hear our praise. 
 
Hymns and their A ssociations. 29 
 
 ' Eternal Father, who shall look 
 Into Thy secret will? 
 Who but the Son shall take that book 
 And open every seal ? 
 
 ' He shall fulfil Thy great decrees, 
 The Son deserves it well ; 
 Lo, in His hands the sovereign keys 
 Of heaven, and death, and hell ! 
 
 ' Now to the Lamb that once was slain 
 Be endless blessings paid ; 
 Salvation, glory, joy, remain 
 For ever on Thy head. 
 
 1 Thou hast redeem'd our souls with blood, 
 Hast set the pris'ners free ; 
 Hast made us kings and priests to God, 
 And we shall reign with Thee. 
 
 ' The worlds of nature and of grace 
 
 Are put beneath Thy power ; 
 
 Then, shorten these delaying days, 
 
 And bring the promis'd hour.' 
 
 This is the tradition of the origin of 
 the first hymn of Dr. Watts' that was 
 sung at a Christian service. It was 
 received with great acceptance and 
 delight. It was indeed 'a new song.' 
 The young poet was entreated to pro- 
 duce another and another. The series 
 extended from Sabbath to Sabbath, 
 
30 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 until almost a volume was formed, 
 but their publication for general use 
 was delayed for some years. 
 
 The commentator Thomas Scott 
 says of himself, in his little book, 
 ' The Force of Truth/ that when his 
 mind awoke to the sense of the need 
 of true religion, c a hymn from Watts' 
 " Divine Songs for Children," begin- 
 ning 
 
 4 "Almighty God, Thy piercing eye 
 
 Strikes through the shades of night, 
 And our most secret actions lie 
 All open to Thy sight. 
 
 1 " There's not a sin that we commit, 
 Or wicked word we say, 
 But in Thy dreadful Book 'tis writ, 
 Against the Judgment Day," 
 
 fell in my way. I was much affected 
 by it, and, having committed it to 
 memory, was frequently repeating it, 
 and thus I was continually led to 
 reflect on my guilt and danger.' 
 
 Netheravon, near Salisbury Plain, is 
 just two miles from the humble village 
 where Addison spent the first fifteen 
 years of his life. He went daily to 
 Amesbury School, and it is said that 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 31 
 
 in his walks to and fro he observed 
 the things which suggested the touch- 
 ing imagery used in his translation of 
 the twenty-third Psalm. 
 
 4 The Lord my pasture shall prepare, 
 And feed me with a shepherd's care ; 
 His presence shall my wants supply, 
 And guard me with a watchful eye : 
 My noonday walks He shall attend, 
 And all my midnight hours defend. 
 
 1 When in the sultry glebe I faint, 
 Or on the thirsty mountain pant, 
 To fertile vales and dewy meads 
 My weary, wandering steps He leads ; 
 Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow, 
 Amid the verdant landscape flow. 
 
 ; Though in the paths of death I tread, 
 With gloomy horrors overspread, 
 My steadfast heart shall fear no ill, 
 For Thou. O Lord, art with me still : 
 Thy friendly crook shall give me aid, 
 And guide me through the dreadful shade. 
 
 * Though on a bare and rugged way. 
 Through devious, lonely wilds I stray. 
 Thy bounty shall my pains beguile : 
 The barren wilderness shall smile, 
 With sudden greens and herbage crown'd, 
 And streams shall murmur all around.' 
 
32 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 In Bishop Heber's 'Life' it is briefly 
 stated, that in the year 1819 a royal 
 letter having been issued authorizing 
 collections in churches, in furtherance 
 of the Eastern operations of the 
 Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel, Heber, who was then Rector 
 of Hodnet, went to Wrexham to hear 
 the Dean of St. Asaph preach on the 
 day appointed. He had written his 
 well-known missionary hymn, and it 
 was first sung in the beautiful church 
 at Wrexham. But further particulars 
 have been recently given, together 
 with the facsimile of the original. 
 The original belonged to the late 
 Rev. Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool, and 
 was exhibited at the Great Exhibi- 
 tion in London in 185 1. The parti- 
 culars given are as follow : On 
 Whit-Sunday, 18 19, the late Dr. 
 Shipley, Dean of St. Asaph, and 
 Vicar of Wrexham Church, preached 
 a sermon in Wrexham Church in aid 
 of the Society for the Propagation of 
 the Gospel in Foreign Parts. That 
 day was also fixed upon for the com- 
 mencement of the Sunday evening 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 33 
 
 lectures which it was intended to 
 establish there ; the late Bishop of 
 Calcutta, who was the Dean's son- 
 in-law, and at the time Rector of 
 Hodnet, undertook to deliver the first 
 lecture. During the preceding Satur- 
 day, the Dean requested Heber to 
 write something for them to sing at 
 the morning service, and for that pur- 
 pose he retired from the table where 
 the Dean and a few friends were 
 sitting, to a distant part of the room. 
 In a short time the Dean inquired : 
 
 ' What have you written ?' 
 
 Heber, having then composed the 
 three first verses, read them aloud. 
 
 'There, there; that will do very 
 well/ said the Dean. 
 
 'No, no/ replied Heber; 'the 
 sense is not complete.' 
 
 Accordingly, he added the fourth 
 verse ; and the Dean, inexorably re- 
 fusing his repeated request, ' Let me 
 add another ; oh, let me add another f 
 the hymn, which has since been so 
 celebrated, was completed. It was 
 sung, for the first time, the next morn- 
 ing, at Wrexham Church. An examin - 
 
 3 
 
34 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 ation of the handwriting of the 
 original has brought out the interest- 
 ing fact that at the last stanza it 
 changes and becomes trembling, as if 
 the writer was much moved. 
 
 'MISSIONARY HYMN. 
 
 ' From Greenland's icy mountains, 
 
 From India's coral strand, 
 Where Afric's sunny fountains 
 
 Roll down their golden sand, 
 From many an ancient river, 
 
 From many a palmy plain, 
 They call us to deliver 
 
 Their land from error's chain ! 
 
 ' What though the spicy breezes 
 
 Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle, 
 Though every prospect pleases, 
 
 And only man is vile, 
 In vain with lavish kindness 
 
 The gifts of God are strown, 
 The heathen in his blindness 
 
 Bows down to wood and stone ! 
 
 1 Can we, whose souls are lighted 
 
 With wisdom from on high, 
 Can we to men benighted 
 
 The lamp of life deny ? 
 Salvation ! oh, salvation ! 
 
 The joyful sound proclaim, 
 Till each remotest nation 
 
 Has learned Messiah's name ! 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 35 
 
 6 Waft, waft, ye winds, His story, 
 
 And you, ye waters, roll, 
 Till, like a sea of glory, 
 
 It spreads from pole to pole ; 
 Till o'er our ransomed nature 
 
 The Lamb for sinners slain, 
 Redeemer, King, Creator, 
 
 In bliss returns to reign V 
 
 Richard Baxter, the author of 
 1 The Saint's Rest,' and other spiri- 
 tual works, which have comforted 
 and strengthened the faith of many 
 a believer, maintained for himself, 
 during seasons of persecution, im- 
 prisonment, and afflictions of all kinds, 
 an unwavering confidence in his 
 covenant God. 
 
 He added to his beautiful hymn, 
 ' The ' Covenant and Confidence of 
 Faith/ this interesting postscript : 
 ' This covenant my dear wife in her 
 former sickness subscribed with a 
 cheerful will : John xii. 26 : " If any 
 man serve Me, let him follow Me, 
 and where I am, there shall also My 
 servant be ; if any man serve Me, 
 him will My Father honour."' 
 
 3—2 
 
36 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 'THE COVENANT AND CONFIDENCE 
 OF FAITH. 
 
 ' My whole, though broken heart, O Lord, 
 
 From henceforth shall be Thine, 
 And here I do my vow record : 
 
 This hand, these words, are mine ; 
 All that I have without reserve 
 
 I offer here to Thee ; 
 Thy will and honour, all shall serve 
 
 That Thou bestow'dst on me. 
 
 ' All that exceptions save, I lose ; 
 
 All that I love, I save ; 
 The treasure of Thy love I choose, 
 
 And Thou art all I crave. 
 My God, Thou hast my heart and hand, 
 
 I all to Thee resign ; 
 I'll ever to this covenant stand, 
 
 Though flesh hereat repine. 
 
 ' I know that Thou wast willing first, 
 
 And Thou mad'st me consent ; 
 Having thus loved me at the worst, 
 
 Thou wilt not now repent. 
 Now I have quit all self-pretence, 
 
 Take charge of what's Thine own ; 
 My life, my health, and my defence, 
 
 Now lie on Thee alone. 
 
 1 Now it belongs not to my care 
 Whether I die or live ; 
 To love and serve Thee is my share, 
 And this Thy grace must give. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 37 
 
 If life be long, I will be glad 
 
 That I may long obey ; 
 If short, yet why should I be sad ? 
 
 That shall have the same pay. 
 
 1 If Death should bruise this springing seed- 
 Before it comes to fruit, 
 
 The will with Thee goes for the deed ; 
 Thy life was in the root. 
 
 Long life is a long grief and toil, 
 And multiplieth faults ; 
 
 In long wars he may have the foil 
 That 'scapes in short assaults. 
 
 ' Would I long bear my heavy load, 
 
 And keep my sorrows long? 
 Would I long sin against my God, 
 
 And His dear mercy wrong? 
 How much is sinful flesh my foe, 
 
 That doth my soul pervert — 
 To linger here in sin and woe, 
 
 And steal from God my heart ! 
 
 ' Christ leads me through no darker rooms 
 
 Than He went through before ; 
 He that into God's kingdom comes 
 
 Must enter by this Door. 
 Come, Lord, when grace has made me meet 
 
 Thy blessed face to see ; 
 For if Thy work on earth be sweet, 
 
 What will Thy glory be ? 
 
 ' Then I shall end my sad complaints 
 And weary, sinful days ; 
 Shall join with the triumphant saints 
 That sing Jehovah's praise. 
 
38 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 My knowledge of that life is small, 
 
 The eye ol Faith is dim ; 
 But it's enough that Christ knows all, 
 
 And I shall be with Him.' 
 
 Bishop Thomas Ken spent the 
 evening of his troubled life in peace- 
 ful retirement at the mansion of his 
 early college friend, Lord Weymouth, 
 at Longleat, near Frome, where, sur- 
 rounded by his much-prized books, 
 and charmed by the beautiful scenery 
 of the park and the neighbouring 
 country, he wrote many poems and 
 lyrical pieces, which were gathered 
 into four volumes in 1721. 
 
 It has been said that the Evening 
 Hymn owes part of its inspiration to 
 the very delightful view which the 
 poet must often have greatly enjoyed 
 on his way to and from Horningsham 
 Church ; especially that which is taken 
 from a high position in the park 
 known as ' Heaven's Gate/ That 
 hymn was written in 1697. But 
 quite recently, Mr. G. W. Napier, 
 who has given much attention to the 
 literary history of the three hymns 
 which are given below, discovered, in 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 39 
 
 the Bodleian Library, Oxford, a copy 
 of the ' Manual of Prayers for the Use 
 of the Scholars of Winchester Col- 
 lege,' 1695, which contained these 
 hymns. That ' Manual ' was first 
 published in 1674, and there is good 
 reason to believe that these hymns 
 were written to be used with it, 
 though they were not actually printed 
 in it till later than 1692 ; they are 
 not found in the edition of that 
 earlier year. 
 
 This is, indeed, rendered almost cer- 
 tain by the following passage, which is 
 taken from the edition of the * Manual ' 
 of 1675. Ken says, page 4 : ' As soon 
 as ever you wake in the morning, 
 good Philotheus, strive as much as 
 you can to keep all worldly thoughts 
 out of your mind, till you have pre- 
 sented the first-fruits of the day to 
 God ; which will be an excellent 
 preparation to make you spend the 
 rest of it better ; and, therefore, be 
 sure to sing the Morning and Even- 
 ing Hymns in your chamber, devoutly 
 remembering that the Psalmist, from 
 happy experience, assures you that 
 
4-0 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 it is a very good thing to tell of 
 the loving - kindness (of God) in 
 the morning, and of His truth in 
 the night season/ There can be 
 no doubt that the hymns referred to 
 are his own Morning and Evening 
 Hymns, because some editions of the 
 ' Manual ' appeared during his life- 
 time containing these. 
 
 First version of the three hymns 
 by the author of the ' Manual of 
 Prayers for the Use of the Scholars 
 of Winchester College': 
 
 ' A MORNING HYMN. 
 
 ' Awake, my soul, and with the sun 
 Thy daily stage of duty run ; 
 Shake off dull sloth, and early rise 
 To pay thy morning sacrifice. 
 
 ' Redeem thy mis-spent time that's past, 
 Live this day, as if 'twere thy last ; 
 To improve thy talent take due care, 
 'Gainst the Great Day thyself prepare. 
 
 ' Let all thy converse be sincere, 
 Thy conscience as the noon-day clear ; 
 Think how all-seeing God thy ways 
 And all thy secret thoughts surveys. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 41 
 
 ' Influenced by the Light Divine, 
 Let thy own light in good works shine ; 
 Reflect all Heaven's propitious ways 
 In ardent love and cheerful praise. 
 
 ' Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart, 
 And with the angels bear thy part. 
 Who all night long unwearied sing 
 Glory to the Eternal King. 
 
 ' I wake, I wake, ye heavenly choir ; 
 May your devotion me inspire, 
 That I like you my age may spend ; 
 Like you, may on my God attend. 
 
 4 May I, like you, in God delight, 
 Have all day long my God in sight, 
 Perform, like you, my Master's will ; 
 Oh, may I never more do ill. 
 
 1 Had I your wings, to heaven I'd fly ; 
 But Gpd shall that defect supply, 
 And my soul, wing'd with warm desire, 
 Shall all day long to heaven aspire. 
 
 1 Glory to Thee, who safe hast kept, 
 And hast refresh'd me while I slept ; 
 Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake, 
 I may of endless light partake. 
 
 ' I would not wake, nor rise again, 
 Even heaven itself I would disdain, 
 Wert not Thou there to be enjoyed, 
 And I in hymns to be employed. 
 
 1 Heaven is, dear Lord, where'er Thou art, 
 Oh, never, then, from me depart ; 
 For to my soul 'tis hell to be 
 But for one moment without Thee 
 
42 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 4 Lord, I my vows to Thee renew ; 
 Scatter my sins as morning dew ; 
 Guard my first springs of thought and will, 
 And with Thyself my spirit fill. 
 
 1 Direct, control, suggest this day 
 All I design, or do, or say ; 
 That all my powers, with all their might, 
 In Thy sole glory may unite. 
 
 ' Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, 
 Praise Him, all creatures here below, 
 Praise Him above, ye angelic host, 
 Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.' 
 
 ' 'AN EVENING HYMN. 
 
 1 Glory to Thee, my God, this night, 
 For all the blessings of the light ; 
 Keep me, O keep me, King of kings, 
 Under Thy own Almighty wings. 
 
 ' Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son, 
 The ill that I this day have done, 
 That with the world, myself, and Thee, 
 I, ere I sleep, at peace may be. 
 
 1 Teach me to live, that I may dread 
 The grave as little as my bed ; 
 Teach me to die, that so I may 
 Triumphing rise at the last day. 
 
 ' O may my soul on Thee repose. 
 And with sweet sleep mine eyelids close, 
 Sleep that may me more vigorous make 
 To serve my God when I awake. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 43 
 
 ' When in the night I sleepless lie, 
 My soul with heavenly thoughts supply ; 
 Let no ill dreams disturb my rest, 
 No powers of darkness me molest. 
 
 1 Dull sleep, of sense me to deprive, 
 I am but half my days alive ; 
 Thy faithful lovers, Lord, are grieved 
 To lie so long of Thee bereaved. 
 
 1 But though sleep o'er my frailty reigns, 
 Let it not hold me long in chains, 
 And now and then let loose my heart, 
 Till it an Hallelujah dart. 
 
 c The faster sleep the sense does bind, 
 The more unfettered is the mind ; 
 O may my soul, from matter free, 
 Thy unveil'd goodness waking see ! 
 
 ' O when shall I in endless day 
 For ever chase dark sleep away, 
 And endless praise with the heavenly choir 
 Incessant sing, and never tire? 
 
 ' You, my blest Guardian, whilst I sleep, 
 Close to my bed your vigils keep ; 
 Divine love into me instil ; 
 Stop all the avenues of ill. 
 
 ' Thought to thought with my soul converse, 
 Celestial joys to me rehearse ; 
 And in my stead, all the night long, 
 Sing to my God a grateful song. 
 
 * Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, 
 Praise Him, all creatures here below, 
 Praise Him above, ye angelic host, 
 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.' 
 
44 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 'A MIDNIGHT HYMN. 
 
 1 Lord, now my sleep does me forsake, 
 The sole possession of me take ; 
 Let no vain fancy me illude, 
 No one impure desire intrude. 
 
 1 Blest angels ! while we silent lie, 
 Your Hallelujahs sing on high ; 
 You, ever watchful near the Throne, 
 Prostrate, adore the Three in One. 
 
 ' I now awake, do with you join, 
 To praise our God in hymns divine ; 
 With you in heaven I hope to dwell, 
 And bid the night and world farewell. 
 
 ' My soul, when I shake off this dust, 
 Lord, in Thy arms I will entrust ; 
 O make me Thy peculiar care, 
 Some heavenly mansion me prepare. 
 
 ' Give me a place at Thy saints' feet, 
 Or some fall'n angel's vacant seat ; 
 I'll strive to sing as loud as they 
 Who sit above in brighter day. 
 
 ' O may I always ready stand, 
 With my lamp burning in my hand ; 
 May I in sight of heaven rejoice, 
 Whene'er I hear the Bridegroom's voice ! 
 
 ' Glory to Thee, in light array'd, 
 Who light Thy dwelling-place hast made ; 
 An immense ocean of bright beams 
 From Thy all-glorious Godhead streams. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 45 
 
 1 The sun in its meridian height 
 Is very darkness in Thy sight. 
 My soul O lighten and inflame 
 With thought and love of Thy great Name. 
 
 1 Blest Jesu, Thou on heaven intent, 
 Whole nights hast in devotion spent ; 
 But I, frail creature, soon am tired, 
 And all my zeal is soon expired. 
 
 1 My soul, how canst thou weary grow 
 Of antedating heaven below, 
 In sacred hymns and Divine love, 
 Which will eternal be above ? 
 
 * Shine on me, Lord ; new life impart ; 
 Fresh ardours kindle in my heart ; 
 One ray of Thy all-quickening light 
 Dispels the sloth and clouds of night. 
 
 * Lord, lest the tempter me surprise, 
 W T atch over Thine own sacrifice ; 
 All loose, all idle thoughts cast out, 
 And make my very dreams devout.' 
 
 Ken lost his parents in his child- 
 hood. This loss was to a large ex- 
 tent made up to him by the faithful 
 care of his sister Anne and her hus- 
 band, Izaak Walton. They placed 
 him in Winchester College, and when 
 in after-years he became fellow of 
 that college, and held other offices in 
 that ancient city, he showed his re- 
 
46 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 membrance of the past by taking a 
 deep interest in the spiritual welfare 
 of the scholars. The ' Manual ' he pre- 
 pared for them gives them particular 
 directions in relation to prayer, self- 
 examination, the reading of the 
 Scriptures, the keeping of the Sab- 
 bath, etc., and is written in a most 
 devout, fatherly, loving spirit. It is 
 probable that the hymns were printed 
 as early as the * Manual,' but in broad- 
 sheets, for convenience of circulation, 
 and that they might be affixed to the 
 walls of the scholars' sleeping rooms. 
 The work in which they were incor- 
 porated proved a blessing to the 
 great revivalist, George Whitefield, in 
 his early life. When he was about 
 ten years old his mother made a 
 second marriage, which proved to be 
 an unhappy one. During the troubles 
 to which this led his brother used to 
 read Bishop Ken's ' Manual for Win- 
 chester Scholars.' This book affected 
 George Whitefield greatly ; and when 
 the corporation, at their annual visita- 
 tion of the school where he was 
 educated, gave him, according to 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 47 
 
 custom, money for the speeches which 
 he was chosen to deliver, he purchased 
 the ' Manual/ and found it, he says, of 
 great benefit to his soul. 
 
 Of the three hymns, the Morning 
 Hymn seems to have been specially 
 dear to the poet. Mr. Hawkins says 
 he was accustomed to sing it, with 
 the accompaniment of his lute, every 
 morning before rising. 
 
 A pleasing tradition remains of 
 Bishop Ken's residence at Brightstone, 
 Isle of Wight. It is said that under 
 a yew hedge, at the bottom of the 
 garden of the rectory, he composed 
 the Morning and Evening Hymns. 
 There is still in his own handwriting, 
 about the time of his residence at the 
 Hague, the Latin version of Jer. xiv. 5 : 
 f Seekest thou great things for thyself ? 
 Seek them not/ 
 
 From interesting manuscripts which 
 have been carefully preserved, we 
 know that Doddridge wrote several of 
 his hymns as closing hymns after 
 sermons he composed on particular 
 texts. The hymn headed 'God's Name 
 
48 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 is profaned when His table is treated 
 with contempt ' (Mai. i. 12) has a 
 peculiar interest, because, in addi- 
 tion to gaining a place in many col- 
 lections, it is one of the few that have 
 been introduced without authority 
 into the Book of Common Prayer. 
 The hymns for Christmas in that 
 book are also from his pen, and from 
 that of his contemporary, Charles 
 Wesley. It is said that a University 
 printer ventured to insert these hymns, 
 because he was convinced that they 
 would prove acceptable, and that the 
 innovation was winked at by the 
 authorities. Without knowing the 
 name of the singer, Churchmen gladly 
 received his welcome words into their 
 Prayer-Book. 
 
 There has been, in the singing of 
 this hymn at the Table of the Lord, 
 a foretaste on earth, by millions of 
 worshippers, of the unity of heaven. 
 
 At the time when this hymn was 
 written for use at the Holy Sacrament, 
 Eucharistic hymns were but few in 
 number. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 49 
 
 ' My God, and is Thy table spread. 
 
 And doth Thy cup with love o'erflow ? 
 Thither be all Thy children led, 
 And let them all Thy sweetness know. 
 
 ' Hail, sacred feast, which Jesus makes, 
 Rich banquet of His flesh and blood ! 
 Thrice happy he who here partakes 
 That sacred stream, that heav'nly food. 
 
 ' Why are its dainties ail in vain 
 
 Before unwilling hearts displayed ? 
 Was not for you the Victim slain ? 
 Are you forbid the children's bread ? 
 
 1 O ! let Thy table honoured be, 
 
 And furnished well with joyful guests ; 
 And may each soul salvation see, 
 That here its sacred pledges tastes. 
 
 1 Let crowds approach, with hearts prepar'd, 
 With hearts inflam'd let all attend, 
 Nor, when we leave our Father's board, 
 The pleasure or the profit end. 
 
 • Revive Thy dying Churches, Lord, 
 And bid our drooping graces live, 
 And more that energy afford 
 
 A Saviour's blood alone can give.' 
 
 < ABIDE WITH ME/ 
 
 This hymn, written by the Rev. H. 
 F. Lyte, was the closing, crowning- 
 fruitage of a life consecrated to Christ. 
 The poet's daughter gives an interest- 
 
 4 
 
50 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 ing account of the circumstances under 
 which this hymn was composed. The 
 summer was passing away, and the 
 month of September (that month in 
 which he was once more to quit his 
 native land) arrived, and each day 
 seemed to have special value, because 
 it was one day nearer to his departure, 
 when his family were surprised, and 
 almost alarmed, at his announcing his 
 intention of preaching once more to 
 his people before he left. He did 
 preach ; he had the breathless atten- 
 tion of his hearers, and he gave them 
 a sermon on the Holy Communion. 
 He afterwards assisted at the adminis- 
 tration of the Holy Eucharist. The 
 devout Christian will see new charms 
 in this hymn when he learns to regard 
 it as the utterance of a dying believer 
 as well as a Christian pastor, and to 
 see in it a Communion, as well as an 
 evening, hymn. In the evening of 
 the same day he placed in the hands 
 of a near and dear relative this hymn, 
 together with a tune, of his own com- 
 posing, adapted to the words. 
 
 The sermon was preached at Lower 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 51 
 
 Brixham, Devon, where he had been 
 zealously labouring for twenty-four 
 years, in a parish inhabited by a sea- 
 faring population. It is dated Septem- 
 ber 4, 1847. This probably fixes the 
 date of the composition of the hymn. 
 Lyte died about two months after. 
 The hymn has a solemn interest as 
 an almost dying utterance. It speaks 
 of the true solace in the hour of dis- 
 solution and departure ; and it is 
 worthy of remark that, although the 
 poet had all through life shrunk with 
 nervous apprehension from the act of 
 dying, yet, when the last conflict came, 
 this terror did not harass him, and he 
 fell asleep in Jesus with smiles of 
 joyful hope on his countenance, and 
 words of peace on his lips. 
 
 1 Abide with me ; fast falls the eventide ; 
 The darkness deepens ; Lord, with me 
 
 abide ; 
 When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, 
 Help of the helpless, O abide with me. 
 
 1 Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day ; 
 Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass 
 
 away ; 
 Change and decay in all around I see ; 
 O Thou who changest not, abide with me. 
 
 4—2 
 
 
52 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 1 Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word, 
 But as Thou dwelt with Thy disciples. 
 
 Lord, 
 Familiar, condescending, patient, free, 
 Come not to sojourn, but abide with me. 
 
 ' Come not in terrors, as the King of kings, 
 But kind and good, with healing in Thy 
 
 wings ; 
 Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea, 
 Come, Friend of sinners, and thus 'bide uith 
 me. 
 
 1 Thou on my head in early youth didst 
 smile, 
 
 And, though rebellious and perverse mean- 
 while, 
 
 Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee ; 
 
 On to the close, O Lord, abide with me. 
 
 i I need Thy presence every passing hour ; 
 What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's 
 
 power ? 
 Who like Thyself my guide and stay can 
 
 be? 
 Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide 
 
 with me. 
 
 * I fear no foe with Thee at hand to bless ; 
 Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness ; 
 Where is death's sting ? where, grave, thy 
 
 victory ? 
 I triumph still, if Thou abide with me. 
 
 ' Hold Thou Thy Cross before my closing 
 
 eyes ; 
 Shine through the gloom, and point me to 
 the skies ; 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 53 
 
 Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain 
 
 shadows flee ; 
 In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. 
 
 Keble's ' friend/ alluded to in the 
 'Christian Year' (21st Sunday after 
 Trinity), was the Vicar of Kenwyn 
 Church, near Truro. In the pic- 
 turesque churchyard, from which a 
 charming view of the neighbourhood 
 can be gained, lie the mortal remains 
 of this good man ; and a Latin inscrip- 
 tion on his tombstone bears testimony 
 to his worth and piety, and to the 
 love and reverence with which he was 
 regarded. As one passes this ' grave 
 beloved/ near the church porch, where 
 4 the watchman true ' so often entered 
 while alive, the robin redbreast, in 
 'the stillness of the autumn day,' can 
 still be heard pouring forth its notes 
 among the trees and shrubs, undis- 
 turbed by the outer world. 
 
 'TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER 
 TRINITY. 
 
 • The morning mist is clear'd away, 
 Yet still the face of heaven is gray, 
 Nor yet the autumnal breeze has stirred the 
 grove ; 
 
54 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 Faded yet full, a paler green 
 Skirts soberly the tranquil scene ; 
 The redbreast warbles round this leafy cove. 
 
 ' Sweet messenger of " calm decay,"* 
 Saluting sorrow as you may, 
 
 As one still bent to find or make the best, 
 In thee and in this quiet mead 
 The lesson of sweet peace I read, 
 
 Rather in all to be resigned than blest. 
 
 ' 'Tis a low chant, according well 
 With the soft solitary knell, 
 As homeward from some grave belov'd we 
 turn, 
 Or by some holy death-bed dear, 
 Most welcome to the chasten'd ear 
 Of her whom heaven is teaching how to 
 
 ' O cheerful, tender strain ! the heart 
 That duly bears with you its part, 
 
 Singing so thankful to the dreary blast, 
 Though gone and spent its joyous prime, 
 And on the world's autumnal time, 
 
 'Mid withered hues and sere, its lot be cast : 
 
 ' That is the heart for thoughtful seer, 
 Watching in trance nor dark nor clear, 
 The appalling future as it nearer draws ; 
 
 * The expression ' calm decay ' is borrowed 
 from a friend by whose kind permission the 
 lines ' To the Redbreast ' are inserted. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 55 
 
 His spirit calin'd the storm to meet, 
 Feeling the rock beneath his feet, 
 And tracing through the cloud th' eternal 
 Cause. 
 
 4 That is the heart for watchman true, 
 Waiting to see what God will do, 
 As o'er the church the gathering twilight 
 falls ; 
 No more he strains his wistful eye, 
 If chance the golden hours be nigh, 
 By youthful Hope seen beaming round her 
 walls. 
 
 1 Forc'd from his shadowy paradise, 
 His thoughts to heaven the steadier rise ; 
 There seek his answer when the world 
 reproves ; 
 Contented in his darkling round, 
 If only he be faith iui found, 
 Wneri from the east th' eternal morning 
 
 moves. 
 
 Keble. 
 
 4 TO THE REDBREAST. 
 
 1 Unheard in summer's flaring ray, 
 Pour forth thy notes, sweet singer ; 
 Wooing the stillness of the autumn day, 
 Bid it a moment linger ; 
 
 Nor fly 
 Too soon from Winter's scowling eye. 
 
56 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 6 The blackbird's song at eventide, 
 And hers, who gay ascends, 
 Filling the heavens far and wide, 
 Are sweet. But none so blends 
 As thine 
 With calm decay and peace divine.' 
 
 Cornish. 
 
 From the ' Sunday at Home] August \ 
 
 Martin Rinckart, the author of the 
 hymn 'Nun danket alle Gott/ was 
 born on April 23rd, 1 586, at Eilenburg, 
 in Saxony. From 1617 till his death 
 in 1649, he laboured as archdeacon 
 in St. Nicholas Church, with much 
 blessing. It was a period of heavy 
 trouble, for Rinckart's ministry em- 
 braced the whole period of the Thirty 
 Years' War. The poet's house suffere4 
 from the fearful calamities caused by 
 it. Eilenburg was frequently visited 
 by either the Swedish or by the 
 Imperial armies. Its unoffending in- 
 habitants were robbed and plundered, 
 and the plunderers ended by setting 
 fire to the town. 
 
 On the brave clergyman of the 
 sorely-tried town devolved the hard 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 57 
 
 task of alleviating the public distress ; 
 and even when he had himself been 
 robbed of everything, he had to ad- 
 minister consolation and inspire hope 
 m his people. Early in November, in 
 the year 1648, Master Rinckart was 
 sitting at his study window, and look- 
 ing thoughtfully on the desolate space 
 before the house. Winter had already 
 notified its approach by a light cover- 
 ing of snow which lay in the streets 
 and on the roofs of the houses, and 
 the old man thought sorrowfully of 
 the severity of the coming season, 
 which would increase to overflowing 
 the misery of his flock. Suddenly the 
 sound of a trumpet struck his ear. 
 
 'Just God,' sighed the clergyman, 
 1 more foreign soldiers ! what will be- 
 come of us ?' 
 
 Again the trumpet sounded, and 
 now much nearer than before. At 
 the same moment Rinckart's faithful 
 consort entered the room, and in spite 
 of her advanced age came up to him 
 with unwonted speed. 
 
 1 You are sitting here, Martin, 
 meditating, while out in the street all 
 
58 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 the people are hurrying and crowding 
 round the horseman. Go and see 
 what news the man brings. It must 
 be something extraordinary, for the 
 people are all rejoicing.' 
 
 The old man rose, and placed his 
 little mobcap on his head. 
 
 ' What will it be ?' he replied, with 
 a mournful shake of the head — ( the 
 news of some victory, of some fresh 
 bloodshed ? When will the scourge 
 be ended V 
 
 ' You are wrong, Martin. It is a 
 Saxon soldier, probably sent by our 
 gracious Elector, from his palace at 
 Torgau.' 
 
 Rinckart hastened to the door. 
 He found the street all in a state of 
 joyful excitement; the people fell 
 weeping into his arms, for the trum- 
 peter had brought the news that 
 peace had been concluded at Mun- 
 ster, in Westphalia. While the trum- 
 peter, followed by the people, moved 
 on, Rinckart returned to his study, 
 and offered up a silent prayer of 
 thanksgiving to Heaven. Then he 
 opened his Bible, and his eye fell on 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 59 
 
 the 22nd verse of the 30th chapter of 
 the Apocryphal Book of Ecclesias- 
 ticus : * Now, therefore, bless ye the 
 God of all, which only doeth won- 
 drous things everywhere !' And then 
 he sat down at his writing-table, and, 
 verse by verse, the hymn of thanks- 
 giving rose from the very depth of his 
 heart : 
 
 1 Now thank we all our God, 
 With heart, and hands, and voices, 
 Who wondrous things hath done, 
 In whom His world rejoices ; 
 Who from our mother's arms 
 
 Hath blessed us on our way 
 With countless gifts of love, 
 And still is ours to-day. 
 
 1 O may this bounteous God 
 Through all our life be near us, 
 
 With ever joyful hearts 
 And blessed peace to cheer us ; 
 And keep us in His grace, 
 
 And guide us when perplexed, 
 And free us from all ills 
 In this world and the next. 
 
 ' All praise and thanks to God 
 The Father now be given, 
 
 The Son, and Him who reigns 
 With Them in highest heaven, 
 
60 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 The One Eternal God, 
 Whom earth and heaven adore, 
 
 For thus it was, is now, 
 And shall be evermore.' 
 
 As he wrote the last line, a soft 
 melody seemed to strike his ear. 
 Again he took up his pen, and in a 
 few minutes he had committed to 
 paper the air, so simple and so 
 wonderfully inspiriting, to suit the 
 words. 
 
 The horseman had meanwhile dis- 
 mounted ; but the inhabitants of the 
 town, full of joyful emotion, gathered 
 in front of the Pfarrhaus, and waited 
 for their minister. He came out to 
 them in his clerical robes, and in 
 earnest words the venerable man 
 praised the Divine providence for 
 their deliverance ; then, with all his 
 flock, he knelt down, and drawing 
 from his pocket the hymn he had 
 just composed, he began to sing it. 
 For the first time the new-born tune 
 sounded from the lips of the old man, 
 and when he ended, those present, 
 deeply moved and grateful, sur- 
 rounded their faithful minister, and 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 61 
 
 grasped his hand. But the long years 
 of suffering, sorrow, and anxiety, had 
 prematurely broken his strength, and 
 a year later, on December 8, 1649, he 
 fell asleep, in the sixty-seventh year 
 of his age. All Eilenburg followed 
 him to the grave, and when the 
 mortal remains of the faithful and 
 devoted pastor were lowered into the 
 tomb no eye was dry. His hymn 
 has become the common property of 
 the whole Evangelical Church, and is 
 found in almost every hymn-book. 
 
 The town of Eilenburg, on the three 
 hundredth anniversary of Martin 
 Rinckart's birth, in grateful remem- 
 brance, caused a memorial tablet, 
 with suitable inscription, to be fixed 
 on the house in which he lived ; and 
 this tablet was solemnly uncovered on 
 Easter Monday, April 26, 1886. 
 
 Louisa Henrietta. Electress of 
 Brandenburg, daughter of Frederick 
 Henry, Prince of Orange, and married 
 to Frederic William, Elector of 
 Brandenburg, after the death of her 
 first-born son, in 1649, wrote the 
 
62 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 hymn ' Jesus, my Redeemer, lives,' 
 and also another, commencing thus : 
 
 1 Christ, the rock on which I build, 
 And my Saviour, ever liveth ; 
 Should not he with joy be filled 
 
 Who the blessed truth believeth, 
 Though the night of death may bring 
 Some dark thoughts upon his wing?' 
 
 In 1654 God gave her another son. 
 In gratitude she founded an orphan 
 house at Oranienburg, where she was 
 staying. The memory of this inci- 
 dent remains to the present day. 
 The late King of Prussia, brother of 
 the late Emperor of Germany, had 
 the first two lines of the hymn in- 
 scribed on a bell he gave to the town 
 of Oranienburg, in 1850. Few noble 
 women have more deserved fame 
 than this Electress of Brandenburg. 
 She was ever at the side of the 
 Elector, in war and peace, and helped 
 him by her wise counsel, as well as 
 cheered him by her devoted love. To 
 the people she was a constant bene- 
 factor, founding schools and charities, 
 and in every way seeking the welfare 
 of her adopted country. In time of 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 63 
 
 war she had every soldier supplied 
 with the Scriptures, and she prepared 
 a hymn-book, which contained several 
 of her own compositions. The one 
 quoted is still popular, and is often 
 used in Germany at funerals and in 
 seasons of affliction. 
 
 1 Jesus, my Redeemer, lives ; 
 
 Christ, my trust, is dead no more ; 
 In the strength this knowledge gives 
 
 Shall not all my fears be o'er ; 
 Calm, though death's long night be fraught 
 Still with many an anxious thought ? 
 
 1 Jesus, my Redeemer, lives, 
 
 And His life I, too, shall see ; 
 Bright the hope this promise gives : 
 
 Where He is, I there shall be. 
 Shall I fear, then ? Can the Head 
 Rise and leave the members dead ? 
 
 ' I shall see Him with these eyes, 
 
 Him whom I so truly know ; 
 Surely, I myself shall rise, 
 
 With His love my heart shall glow ! 
 Only then shall disappear 
 Weakness which besets me here.' 
 
 A favourite hymn of Niebuhr's was 
 the hymn to ' Eternity,' the greater 
 part of which is of very ancient but 
 
64 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 uncertain date. It received its present 
 form about the middle of the seven- 
 teenth century. 
 
 ' Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou, Eternity ! 
 And yet to thee time hastes away, 
 Like as the war-horse to the fray, 
 Or swift as coursers homeward go, 
 Or ship to port, or shaft from bow. 
 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
 ' Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou, Eternity ! 
 For even as on a perfect sphere 
 End nor beginning can appear, 
 Even so, Eternity, in thee 
 Entrance nor exit can there be. 
 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
 ' Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou, Eternity ! 
 A circle infinite art thou, 
 Thy centre an eternal Now ; 
 Never we name thy outer bound, 
 For never end therein is found. 
 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
 1 Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou, Eternity ! 
 A little bird with fretting beak 
 Might wear to naught the loftiest peak ; 
 Though but each thousand years it came, 
 Yet thou wert then, as now, the same. 
 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 65 
 
 * Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou, Eternity ! 
 As long as God, so long 
 
 Endure the pains of sin and wrong, 
 So long the joys of heaven remain ; 
 O lasting joy ! O lasting pain ! 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
 1 Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou, Eternity? 
 O man full oft thy thoughts should dwell 
 Upon the pains of death and hell, 
 And on the glories of the pure. 
 That both beyond all time endure. 
 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
 i Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou, Eternity ? 
 How terrible art thou in woe, 
 How fair, where joys for ever flow ! 
 God's goodness sheddeth gladness here, 
 His justice there wakes bitter fear. 
 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
 * Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou. Eternity? 
 They who lived poor and naked rest 
 With God, for ever rich and blest, 
 And love and praise the Highest Good, 
 In perfect bliss and gladsome mood. 
 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
 1 Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou, Eternity? 
 A moment lasts all joy below, 
 Whereby man sinks to endless woe ; 
 
 5 
 
66 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 A moment lasts all earthly pain, 
 Whereby an endless joy we gain. 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
 * Eternity! Eternity! 
 How long art thou, Eternity? 
 Who ponders oft on thee is wise, 
 All fleshly lusts he will despise ; 
 The world finds place with him no more, 
 The loss of vain delights is o'er. 
 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
 ' Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou, Eternity ? 
 Who marks thee well would say to God : 
 Here, Judge, burn, smite me with Thy rod; 
 Here, let me all Thy justice bear, 
 When time of grace is past, then spare. 
 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity ! 
 
 ' Eternity ! Eternity ! 
 How long art thou, Eternity ? 
 So I, Eternity, warn thee, 
 O man, that oft thou think of me, 
 The sinner's punishment and pain, 
 To those who love their God, rich gain ? 
 
 Ponder, O man, Eternity !' 
 
 [Written, 1648 : 4 Lyra Germanica? 
 Translated by C. Winkworth.~] 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 67 
 
 TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER 
 TRINITY. 
 
 ' The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it 
 be found in the way of righteousness? — 
 Prov. xvi. 31. 
 
 1 The bright-hair'd morn is glowing 
 
 O'er emerald meadows gay, 
 With many a clear gem strowing 
 
 The early shepherd's way. 
 Ye gentle elves, by fancy seen, 
 
 Stealing away with night, 
 To slumber in your leafy screen, 
 
 Tread more than airy light. 
 
 ' And see what joyous greeting 
 
 The sun through heaven has shed, 
 Though fast yon shower be fleeting, 
 
 His beams have faster sped. 
 For lo ! above the western haze 
 
 High towers the rainbow arch 
 In solid span of purest rays : 
 
 How stately is its march ! 
 
 ' Pride of the dewy morning ! 
 
 The swain's experienc'd eye 
 From thee takes timely warning, 
 
 Nor trusts the gorgeous sky. 
 For well he knows, such dawnings gay 
 
 Bring noons of storm and shower, 
 And travellers linger on the way 
 
 Beside the sheltering bower. 
 
 5—2 
 
68 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 i Even so, in hope and trembling 
 
 Should watchful shepherd view 
 His little lambs assembling, 
 
 With glance both kind and true ; 
 'Tis not the eye of keenest blaze, 
 
 Nor the quick swelling breast, 
 That soonest thrills at touch of praise — 
 
 These do not please him best ; 
 
 ' But voices low and gentle, 
 
 And timid glances shy, 
 That seem for aid parental 
 
 To sue all wistfully ; 
 Still pressing, longing to be right, 
 
 Yet fearing to be wrong — 
 In these the Pastor dares delight, 
 
 A lamb-like, Christ-like throng. 
 
 ' These in life's distant Eden 
 
 Shall shine serenely bright, 
 As in the autumnal heaven, 
 
 Mild rainbow hues at night ; 
 When the last shower is stealing down, 
 
 And ere they sink to rest, 
 The sunbeams weave a parting crown 
 
 For some sweet woodland nest. 
 
 * The promise of the morrow 
 
 Is glorious on that eve, 
 Dear as the holy sorrow 
 
 When good men cease to live. 
 When brightening ere it die away 
 
 Mounts up their altar flame, 
 Still tending with intenser ray 
 
 To heaven from whence it came. 
 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 69 
 
 ' Say not it dies, that glory, 
 
 'Tis caught unquenched on high, 
 Those saint-like brows so hoary 
 
 Shall wear it in the sky. 
 No smile is like the smile of death, 
 
 When all good musings past, 
 Rise wafted with the parting breath 
 The sweetest thought the last.' 
 
 Keble. 
 
 In a long unfinished letter to a 
 dear sister, Bishop Mackenzie tells 
 how the ' Christian Year ' was a friend 
 to him even to the last ; and how he 
 read some verses aloud to his com- 
 panion in the course of the trying 
 journey in which they met their death. 
 The verses of which he speaks with 
 special pleasure are these : ' The 
 promise of the morrow/ etc., and the 
 last verse beginning, ' Say not it dies, 
 that glory/ 
 
 In after -days Miss Mackenzie 
 showed the little brown book, out of 
 which her brother had read the verses, 
 to the holy, humble old poet, who 
 had written them years before. The 
 book was all warped and stained with 
 the river water, and Mr. Keble asked 
 leave to keep it with him quietly for 
 
70 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 a little time. When he gave it back 
 the following words were written in 
 it : ' Except a corn of wheat fall into 
 the ground and die, it abideth alone ; 
 but if it die it bringeth forth much 
 fruit.' 
 
 As Dr. J, H. Newman was re- 
 turning from Sicily in an orange boat 
 bound for Marseilles, he was becalmed 
 for a whole week in the Straits of 
 Bonifacio, and there, within sight of 
 Caprera (since known as the home of 
 the hero Garibaldi) 5 he wrote the 
 hymn which is now sung in so many 
 churches and has become so great a 
 favourite : 
 
 * Lead, kindly Light, amid the encirciing 
 gloom, 
 
 Lead Thou me on ; 
 The night is dark, and I am far from home, 
 
 Lead Thou me on. 
 Keep Thou my feet ; I do not ask to see 
 The distant scene ; one step enough for me. 
 
 ' I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou 
 
 Shouldst lead me on : 
 I loved to choose and see my path ; but now 
 
 Lead Thou me on. 
 I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, 
 Pride ruled my will : remember not past years. 
 
Hymns and their Associations, 71 
 
 1 So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still 
 
 Will lead me on 
 O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till 
 
 The night is gone. 
 And with the morn those angel faces smile, 
 Which I have loved long since, and lost 
 awhile.' 
 
 A lady was once at an evening 
 party, where she met Dr. Caesar Malan, 
 who, in his usual manner, inquired of 
 her whether she was a Christian. She 
 was startled, and surprised, and vexed, 
 at such a question being addressed to 
 her, and made a short reply to the 
 effect that it was not a question 
 she cared to discuss ; thereupon Mr. 
 Malan replied, with great sweetness, 
 that he would not persist in pressing 
 the question, but he would pray that 
 she might be led to give her heart to 
 Christ, and become a useful worker 
 for Him. Within a fortnight she met 
 the minister again, and asked him 
 how she should come to Jesus. Dr. 
 Malan's reply to her was, ' Come to 
 Him, just as you are/ This lady gave 
 herself up to Jesus. It was Charlotte 
 Elliott, to whom we owe that hymn 
 
72 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 which begins, ' Just as I am, without 
 one plea/ — Sermon by C. H. Spnrgeon. 
 ' In all my preaching/ said the 
 Rev. H. V. Elliott, * I have not done so 
 much good as my sister has been per- 
 mitted to accomplish by her writing 
 her one hymn, " Just as I am." ' 
 
 w Just as I am — without one plea, 
 Save that Thy blood was shed for me, 
 And that Thou bidst me come to Thee — 
 O Lamb of God, I come. 
 
 ' Just as I am — and waiting not 
 To rid my soul of one dark blot ; 
 To Thee whose blood can cleanse each 
 spot — 
 
 O Lamb of God, I come. 
 
 4 Just as I am — though tossed about 
 With many a conflict, many a doubt, 
 Fightings within, and fears without — 
 O Lamb of God, I come. 
 
 'Just as I am — poor, wretched, blind ; 
 Sight, riches, healing of the mind, 
 Yea, all I need in Thee to find — 
 O Lamb of God, I come. 
 
 ' Just as I am — Thou wilt receive, 
 Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve ; 
 Because the promise I believe — 
 O Lamb of God, I come. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 73 
 
 'Just as I am — Thy love unknown 
 Has broken every barrier down ; 
 Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone — 
 O Lamb of God, I come.' 
 
 C. Elliott 
 
 Sir Henry Baker's paraphrase of the 
 twenty-third Psalm may vie with any 
 that have been given by other writers 
 — Keble or Addison : 
 
 ' The King of Love my Shepherd is, 
 Whose goodness faileth never ; 
 I nothing lack if I am His 
 And He is mine for ever. 
 
 ; Where streams of living water flow 
 
 My ransom'd soul He leadeth, 
 And where the verdant pastures grow 
 With food celestial feedeth. 
 
 4 Perverse and foolish oft I stray'd, 
 But yet in love He sought me, 
 And on His shoulder gently laid, 
 And home rejoicing Drought me. 
 
 ' In death's dark vale I fear no ill, 
 
 With Thee, dear Lord, beside me ; 
 Thy rod and staff my comfort still, 
 Thy cross before to guide me. 
 
 w Thou spreadst a table in my sight, 
 Thy unction grace bestoweth ; 
 And oh, what transport of delight 
 From Thy pure chalice floweth ! 
 
74 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 4 And so through all the length of days 
 Thy goodness faileth never ; 
 Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise 
 Within Thy house for ever.' 
 
 It is said that the author's last 
 words were a quotation from his own 
 Psalm — the dying man gently mur- 
 muring : 
 
 ' And on His shoulder gently laid, 
 And home rejoicing brought me.' 
 
 FROM THE LIFE OF REV. A. 
 RALEIGH, D.D. 
 
 * We got to Jerusalem with yet an 
 hour or two of daylight left, by which 
 to look round us on the wondrous 
 scene. I think I was the first of the 
 company to arrive. Our tents went 
 on before us, and there they are out- 
 side the walls, not far from Jaffa gate. 
 In a short time all our party came up, 
 and we had our evening meal. Some- 
 one suggested that before we rose 
 from our tent-table we should sing 
 two or three verses of a hymn appro- 
 priate to the place where we were — 
 close to the walls of Jerusalem, and 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 75 
 
 looking on the sacred city from our 
 tent-door. The suggestion was at 
 once adopted, and we stood up and 
 sang: 
 
 * " Jerusalem, my happy home ! 
 Name ever dear to me ! 
 When shall my labours have an end 
 
 In joy, and peace, and thee ? 
 When shall these eyes thy heaven-buiit 
 walls, 
 And pearly gates behold ? 
 Thy bulwarks with salvation strong. 
 And streets of shining gold ? 
 
 1 " There happier bowers than Eden bloom, 
 Nor sin nor sorrow know ; 
 Blest seats, through rude and stormy 
 scenes, 
 I onward press to you. 
 Why should I shrink at pain and woe ? 
 
 Or feel at death dismay ? 
 I've Canaan's goodly land in view, 
 And realms of endless day. 
 
 4 " Apostles, martyrs, prophets, there 
 
 Around my Saviour stand ; 
 And soon my friends in Christ below 
 
 Will join the glorious band. 
 Jerusalem, my happy home ! 
 
 My soul still pants for thee ; 
 Then shall my labours have an end. 
 
 When I thy joys shall see." 
 
76 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 1 It might be difficult to distinguish 
 and analyze the sources and the 
 quality of our emotion ; but about 
 the feeling itself there can be no 
 doubt There we were — of different 
 nationalities, of various religious per- 
 suasions ; the young, the old, the 
 lively, the severe — all moved very 
 deeply by these simple words. 
 
 1 We came to Siloam. Standing by 
 the fountain, I thought of the beau- 
 tiful lines written by one of the saint- 
 liest of the men whose feet have ever 
 trodden these sacred places : 
 
 * " Beneath Moriah's rocky side 
 A gentle fountain springs ; 
 Silent and soft its waters glide, 
 Like the peace the Spirit brings. 
 
 111 The thirsty Arab stoops to drink 
 Of the cool and quiet wave ; 
 And the thirsty spirit stops to think 
 Of Him who came to save. 
 
 ' " Siloam is the fountain's name ; 
 It means " One sent from God," 
 And thus the holy Saviour's fame 
 It gently spreads abroad. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 77 
 
 ' " O grant that I, like this sweet well, 
 May Jesu's image bear ! 
 And spend my life, my all, to tell 
 How full His mercies are !" ' 
 
 The above hymn, composed by 
 R. M. McCheyne, was a special 
 favourite with Dr. Raleigh, and he 
 repeated it so often to his children, 
 that it must always be to them asso- 
 ciated with his memory. 
 
 1 Reclining on the shingly beach of 
 the Sea of Galilee, and, remembering 
 some verses descriptive of the scene, 
 written by the same saintly soul, R. 
 M. McCheyne, I repeated : 
 
 '"How pleasant to me thy deep blue wave, 
 O Sea of Galilee ! 
 For the glorious One who came to save 
 Hath often stood by thee. 
 
 4 " Fair are the lakes in the land I love, 
 Where the pine and heather grow ; 
 But thou hast loveliness far above 
 What nature can bestow/" 
 
 That simple song, which has given 
 thoughts of rest, comfort, and hope to 
 thousands, • Safe in the arms of Jesus/ 
 
78 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 is the sweet soul's utterance of a blind 
 lady, who composed this hymn in 
 twenty minutes. 
 
 ' Safe in the arms of Jesus, 
 Safe on His gentle breast ; 
 There by His love o'ershadowed 
 
 Sweetly my soul shall rest. 
 Hark ! 'tis the voice of angels, 
 
 Borne in a song to me, 
 Over the fields of glory, 
 Over the jasper sea. 
 
 Safe in the arms of Jesus, etc. 
 
 ' Safe in the arms of Jesus, 
 Safe from corroding care, 
 Safe from the world's temptations, 
 
 Sin cannot harm me there. 
 Free from the blight of sorrow, 
 
 Free from my doubts and fears. 
 Only a few more trials, 
 Only a few more tears. 
 
 Safe in the arms of Jesus, etc. 
 
 ' Jesus, my heart's sure refuge, 
 Jesus has died for me ; 
 Firm on the Rock of Ages 
 
 Ever my trust shall be. 
 Here let me wait with patience, 
 
 Wait till the night is o'er, 
 Wait till I see the morning 
 Break on the golden shore. 
 
 Safe in the arms of Jesus,' etc. 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 79 
 
 C. F. C. Schwartz, missionary at 
 Tanjore for fifty years, was accus- 
 tomed to hear the English school- 
 children, after evening prayer, sing 
 some of Dr. Watts' hymns. During 
 his last illness he seemed particularly 
 pleased with the following hymn : 
 
 ' Far from my thoughts, vain world, begone, 
 Let my religious hours alone ; 
 Fain would my eyes my Saviour see ; 
 I wait a visit, Lord, from Thee. 
 
 ' My heart grows warm with holy fire, 
 And kindles with a pure desire : 
 Come, my dear Jesus, from above, 
 And feed my soul with heavenly love. 
 
 ' The trees of life immortal stand 
 In flourishing rows at Thy right hand, 
 And in sweet murmurs by their side 
 Rivers of bliss perpetual glide. 
 
 ' Blest Jesus, what delicious fare ! 
 How sweet Thy entertainments are ! 
 Never did angels taste above 
 Redeeming grace and dying love. 
 
 ' Hail, great Immanuel, all divine, 
 In Thee Thy Father's glories shine ; 
 Thou brightest, sweetest, fairest one 
 That eyes have seen, or angels known. 1 
 ' Life of Schwartz. 1 
 
80 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 David Williams, of Llandilo, in the 
 county of Glamorgan, the obscure, 
 but not forgotten, Watts of Wales, 
 whose hymns have been sung over 
 the face of the whole earth, long 
 before missionary societies had been 
 dreamed of, wrote, in his remote 
 Welsh village, the following well- 
 known hymn : 
 
 ' O'er the gloomy hills of darkness 
 Look, my soul, be still and gaze ; 
 All the promises do travail 
 With a glorious day of grace ; 
 Blessed jubilee, 
 Let thy glorious morning dawn ! 
 
 * Let the Indian, let the negro, 
 Let the rude barbarian see 
 That divine and glorious conquest 
 Once obtain'd on Calvary ! 
 
 Let the Gospel 
 Loud resound from pole to pole. 
 
 i Kingdoms wide that sit in darkness, 
 Grant them, Lord, the glorious light ; 
 And from eastern coast to western 
 May the morning chase the night 
 And redemption, 
 Freely purchased, win the day ! 
 
 i Fly abroad thou mighty Gospel, 
 Win and conquer, never cease ! 
 
 i 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 81 
 
 May thy lasting wide dominions 
 Multiply and still increase ! 
 
 Sway the sceptre, 
 Saviour, all the world around !' 
 
 He has also cheered and comforted 
 many a Zion's pilgrim by his sweet 
 song, ' Guide me, O Thou great 
 Jehovah !' Williams was born in 17 17, 
 and died in 1791. His direction to 
 other composers was never to at- 
 tempt to compose a hymn until they 
 felt their souls to be near heaven. 
 His precept and his practice in this 
 respect have been compared to those 
 of Fra Angelico. 
 
 His wife had a violent temper, and 
 she kept the poet's sensitive spirit in 
 great torment. It is the popular 
 tradition that, one stormy night, on 
 reaching home after having been 
 away preaching, his wife received him 
 in one of her bitterest moods. It was 
 more than he could bear. He pre- 
 ferred the company of the storm 
 without to that which was raging in 
 the house ; so he went and stood on 
 the bank of the river. The rush of 
 the raging torrent, and the noise of 
 
 6 
 
82 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 the wild-night wind, brought to his 
 mind another river and another night, 
 when his soul would be overwhelmed 
 by the desolating presence of death. 
 What hope would remain to him 
 then ? what help would be at hand 
 then ? 
 
 ' In the waves and mighty waters, 
 No one will support my head ; 
 But my Saviour, my Beloved, 
 Who was stricken in my stead. 
 
 ' In the cold and mortal river 
 
 He would hold my head above ; 
 I shall through the waves go singing 
 For one look of Him I love !' 
 
 A touching incident has given to 
 these verses the title of the ' Miners' 
 Hymn/ 
 
 In the month of April, 1877, a 
 colliery in the Rhondda Valley was 
 flooded, and fourteen miners found 
 themselves in a prison of darkness 
 and terror, waiting helplessly for their 
 death. The whole nation seemed to 
 turn its thought toward that coal pit, 
 and every day made the suspense 
 more painful. The rescue party 
 toiled manfully day and night ; and 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 83 
 
 when seven days had passed without 
 any reward, the last hope was almost 
 gone. But on the eighth day, nine 
 of those imprisoned were found, and 
 they were alive though exhausted to 
 the very verge of death. Without 
 air, without food, despair would have 
 driven them mad, had it not been for 
 this hymn, which they sang over and 
 over again with a terrible intensity of 
 feeling. * The waves and mighty 
 waters ' were there ; so was their 
 Saviour, their beloved, and they sang 
 for one look of Him. 
 
 How interesting and affecting is the 
 sight of people preparing for embarka- 
 tion on a long voyage ! What hopes 
 or fears, what aspirations and regrets 
 are stirring in all hearts ! These are 
 all known to One who ' understandeth 
 all their works,' and as ' He remembers 
 that we are dust,' despises none. In 
 the midst of such a crowd, on July 
 29th, 1805, stood a young man, whose 
 thoughtful countenance revealed a 
 man of no ordinary character. Henry 
 Martyn — for it was he, the devoted 
 
 6—2 
 
84 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 missionary — was going to sail from 
 Falmouth for distant India. He, 
 like Xavier, and Brainerd, and 
 Schwartz, and the i noble army ' of 
 true missionaries, had counted the 
 cost of the sacrifice, and had forsaken 
 all to follow Christ and rescue sinners, 
 and impart to them the treasures of 
 the knowledge of a Love which was 
 to himself so precious. After a 
 successful career at Cambridge, and 
 after serving for awhile as a curate 
 under Mr. Simeon, he resolved to go 
 to India as a missionary. So greatly 
 was he beloved in his own land that 
 when, the Sunday before his depar- 
 ture, he preached his last sermon, as 
 he left the pulpit the congregation, 
 with one accord, stood up to give 
 him a mute farewell. The struggle 
 he endured in parting from the lady 
 to whom he was engaged to be 
 married, but who could not disobey 
 her mother and leave England against 
 her will, is described partially in his 
 diary. On the voyage he learned by 
 heart the following hymn : 
 
Hymns and their Associations, 85 
 
 k The God of Abraham praise. 
 Who reigns enthron'd above ; 
 Ancient of everlasting days, 
 
 And God of love. 
 Jehovah, great I AM ! 
 
 By earth and heaven confest ; 
 I bow and bless the sacred name. 
 For ever blest. 
 
 1 The God of Abraham praise, 
 At whose supreme command, 
 From earth I'd rise, and seek the joys 
 
 At Thy right hand. 
 I'd all on earth forsake, 
 
 Its wisdom, fame, and power ; 
 And Him my only portion make, 
 My shield and tower. 
 
 * The God of Abraham praise, 
 Whose all-sufficient grace 
 Shall guide me all my happy days 
 
 In all His ways. 
 He calls a worm His friend ! 
 He calls Himself my God, 
 And He shall save me to the end, 
 Through Jesu's blood. 
 
 ' He by Himself has sworn, 
 I on His oath depend, 
 I shall on eagles' wings upborne 
 
 To heaven ascend. 
 I shall behold His face, 
 
 I shall His power adore, 
 And sing the wonders of His grace 
 For evermore. 7 
 
 Gambol d. 
 
86 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 The hymn, ' In the midst of life,' is 
 one of those which are founded on a 
 more ancient hymn, the ' Media in 
 Vita ' of Babulus, a learned Benedic- 
 tine monk of St. Gall, who died in 
 912, to whom reference has previously 
 been made. 
 
 He is said to have composed it 
 while watching some workmen who 
 were building the bridge of Martins- 
 bruck at the peril of their lives. It 
 was soon set to music, and became 
 universally known ; indeed, it was 
 used as a battle-song until the custom 
 was forbidden on account of its being 
 supposed to exercise magical influ- 
 ences. In a German version is found 
 part of the service for the burial of 
 the dead as early as the thirteenth 
 century, and it is still preserved in an 
 unmetrical form in the c Burial Service' 
 of the Church of England. 
 
 ' In the midst of life, behold 
 
 Death has girt us round. 
 Whom for help then shall we pray. 
 
 Where shall grace be found ? 
 In Thee, O Lord alone ! 
 We see the evil we have done, 
 And Thy wrath on us hath drawn. 
 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 87 
 
 Holy Lord and God ! 
 Strong a,nd holy God ! 
 Merciful and holy Saviour ! 
 Eternal God ! 
 Leave me not to sink beneath 
 These dark pains of bitter death. 
 Kyrie eleison ! 
 
 i In the midst of death the jaws 
 Of hell against us gape. 
 Who from peril dire as this 
 
 Openeth us escape ? 
 'Tis Thou, O Lord alone ! 
 Our bitter suffering and our sin 
 Pity from Thy mercy win, 
 Holy Lord and God ! 
 Strong and holy God ! 
 Merciful and holy Saviour ! 
 Eternal God ! 
 Let not dread our souls o'erwhelm 
 Of the dark and burning realm. 
 Kyrie eleison ! 
 
 * In the midst of hell would sin 
 Drive us to despair : 
 Whither shall we flee away ? 
 
 Where is refuge, where ? 
 With Thee, Lord Christ, alone ! 
 For Thou hast shed Thy precious b!ood 
 All our sins Thou makest good, 
 Holy Lord and God ! 
 Strong and holy God ! 
 Merciful and holy Saviour ! 
 Eternal God. 
 Leave us not to fall in death 
 From the hope of Thy true faith. 
 Kyrie eleison !' 
 
88 Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 Thanks to the introduction of the 
 steam-engine, the picturesque county 
 of Cornwall— with its rugged coast, 
 where the rocks take fantastic shapes 
 and the precipitous shores tell their 
 story of danger and shipwreck — is no 
 longer the * terra incognita' that it 
 was not so many years ago. 
 
 Few English people are now un- 
 acquainted with the Lizard, Penzance, 
 Land's End, and other places of 
 interest. A hundred years ago, the 
 inhabitants of Cornwall were wild 
 and savage as their native rocks ; 
 most of the clergy of the Estab- 
 lished Church were careless and in- 
 different men, and their parishioners 
 were almost heathens. Then came 
 that ' mighty rushing wind ' of revival 
 which followed, caused by the preach- 
 ing of Whitefield and the Wesleys ; 
 these holy men carried the banner of 
 the Cross into wild, neglected Corn- 
 wall, enduring hardness like good 
 soldiers of Jesus Christ. They pene- 
 trated into the remotest spots, and 
 lighted up the darkness everywhere 
 with the torch of Gospel truth. At 
 
Hymns and their Associations. 8g 
 
 the Land's End there is a little pro- 
 montory stretching out into the tur- 
 bulent sea, whose waves often break 
 furiously over this little strip of land. 
 It was here that Charles Wesley 
 composed the following hymn : 
 
 ' Thou God of glorious majesty, 
 To Thee, against myself, to Thee, 
 
 A worm of earth, I cry ; 
 A half-awakened child of man ; 
 An heir of endless bliss or pain ; 
 
 A sinner born to die ! 
 
 ' Lo ! on a narrow neck of land, 
 'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand. 
 
 Secure, insensible ; 
 A point of time, a moment's space, 
 Removes me to that heavenly place, 
 
 Or shuts me up in hell. 
 
 ' O God, mine inmost soul convert ! 
 And deeply on my thoughtful heart 
 
 Eternal things impress ; 
 Give me to feel their solemn weight, 
 And tremble on the brink of fate, 
 
 And wake to righteousness. 
 
 ' Before me place in dread array 
 The pomp of that tremendous day, 
 
 When Thou with clouds shalt come 
 To judge the nations at Thy bar ; 
 And tell me, Lord, shall I be there 
 To meet a joyful doom ? 
 
go Hymns and their Associations. 
 
 i Be this my one great business here, 
 With serious industry and fear, 
 
 Eternal bliss to ensure ; 
 Thine utmost counsel to fulfil, 
 And suffer all Thy righteous will, 
 
 And to the end endure ! 
 
 1 Then, Saviour, then my soul receive, 
 Transported from this vale to live 
 
 And reign with Thee above ; 
 Where faith is sweetly lost in light, 
 And hope in full supreme delight, 
 
 And everlasting love ! v 
 
 We know from many sources that 
 song had a large part in the worship 
 of the early Church. Indeed, when- 
 ever a great quickening of religious 
 life comes, a great burst of Christian 
 song comes with it. The inward 
 march of the Church has ever been 
 attended by music of praise : " As 
 w r ell the singers as the players on 
 instruments have been there.' The 
 mediaeval Latin hymns cluster round 
 the early pure days of the monastic 
 orders ; Luther's rough/strong hymns 
 were as powerful as his treatises ; the 
 mystic raptures of Charles Wesley 
 have become the possession of the 
 whole Church ; and we hear from 
 
Hymns and their Associations, 91 
 
 outside observers that one of the 
 practices of the early Christians which 
 attracted heathen notice was that they 
 assembled daily before it was light, 
 and * sang Tiymns of praise to the 
 Christus as to a god/ The best 
 praise, however, is a heart-song, so 
 the Apostle adds, * singing in your 
 hearts unto God' (Col. iii. 17). And 
 it is to be in * grace,' that is to say in 
 it as the atmosphere and element in 
 which the song moves, which is nearly 
 equivalent to ' by means of the Divine 
 grace which works in the heart, and 
 impels to that perpetual music of 
 silent praise/ — Alexander Maclare?i : 
 'Expositor; 1886. 
 
 Elliot Stock, Paternoster Ro<iv, London.