£ 
 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 Section V^/3 
 
*l*i> 
 
THE 
 
 3Best (Eburcb !3\>mns 
 
 EDITED 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 
 
 
 THE REV. LOUIS F. BENSON, D.D. 
 
 Editor of The Hymnal Published by Authority of the General 
 
 Assembly of The Presbyterian Church in the 
 
 U. S. A., and of The Chapel Hymnal 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 Gbe WHe6tmffi0tet press 
 
 1S9S 
 
 . 
 
Copyright, 1898, 
 
 By the Trustees of The Presbyterian Board of Publication 
 
 and Sabbath-School Work. 
 
preface 
 
 This little book had its origin in two papers 
 prepared at the request of the editor of The 
 Sunday School Times, and printed in that jour- 
 nal in the autumn of 1S97. They are now, 
 by his courteous permission, substantially repro- 
 duced here. As there recorded, the collation 
 covered ninety-eight hymn-books, and is now 
 brought down to cover nine more not then at 
 hand or since published. It is interesting to 
 note that this enlargement of the material 
 effected no change in the list of the best 
 hymns, except in some cases a change in their 
 relative order, and the addition of one more 
 hymn to their fellowship. 
 
 But the better part of the book is the hymns 
 themselves. As far as practicable they are 
 printed as their authors wrote them ; such 
 accepted alterations as it seemed necessary to 
 adopt being referred to in the notes. The 
 text of the hymns reproduces in all respects 
 
lpreface* 
 
 that prepared by the editor for "The Hymnal" 
 of the Presbyterian Church, published in 1895. 
 Each hymn is preceded by the title given to 
 it by the author, which often helps us to read 
 the hymn from his point of view ; and the 
 hymn is followed by a very brief sketch setting 
 forth something of its history, and by notes 
 intended to explain any words which are not 
 at once clear, as well as to call attention to 
 the Scriptural allusions of the hymn. 
 
 A word of apology, perhaps, should be 
 spoken for the simplicity of these annota- 
 tions. They must be understood as intended 
 to appeal to the minds of the children, who, it 
 is hoped, may be encouraged to lay up these 
 hymns in their memories ; it being the inten- 
 tion of the publishers to issue the pages con- 
 taining the hymns and annotations apart from 
 the preliminary discussions, for use as a text- 
 book, with that desirable end in view. 
 
Contents 
 
 Preface, 
 
 Introduction 
 
 I. \Vhat are the Best Church Hymns? . . ix 
 II. What is To-day the Standard of the Best 
 
 Church Hymns ? xxi 
 
 1. Rock of Ages, cleft for me 3 
 
 2. When I survey the wondrous cross 4 
 
 3. Jesus, Lever of my soul 6 
 
 4. All praise to Thee, my God, this night .... 8 
 
 5. Jesus, I my cross have taken 10 
 
 6. Sun of my soul, Thou Saviour dear 12 
 
 7. Awake, my soul, and with the sun 13 
 
 8. Hark! the herald angels sing 15 
 
 9. Abide with me : fast falls the eventide .... 17 
 
 10. Jerusalem, my happy home 1 9 
 
 11. How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds .... 20 
 
 12. Nearer, my God, to Thee 22 
 
 13. From Greenland's icy mountains 24 
 
 14. Our God, our Help in ages past 26 
 
 v 
 
Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 15. Jerusalem the golden 28 
 
 16. Lo ! He comes, with clouds descending ... 30 
 
 17. Jesus shall reign where'er the sun 32 
 
 18. Glorious things of thee are spoken 34 
 
 19. Hark, the glad sound ! the Saviour comes ... 36 
 
 20. Come, let us join our cheerful songs 37 
 
 21. All hail the power of Jesus' Name 39 
 
 22. Hail to the Lord's Anointed 41 
 
 23. O worship the King all glorious above .... 43 
 
 24. Christ the Lord is risen to-day 45 
 
 25. Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah 46 
 
 26. Just as I am, without one plea 47 
 
 27. God moves in a mysterious way 49 
 
 28. Jesus, the very thought of Thee 50 
 
 29. Children of the heavenly King 52 
 
 30. There is a land of pure delight 53 
 
 31. Thou, whose almighty word 55 
 
 32. Brief life is here our portion 57 
 
Ilntrofcuctfon 
 
I. 
 
 Wlbat are tbe "Best Cburcb 
 Ib^mns? 
 
 Much of what is written upon the character 
 and quality of our hymns fails either to enlighten 
 or convince ; and this is because the writer, or, 
 it may be, the reader, does not clearly distin- 
 guish the two points of view from which hymns 
 may be regarded : for hymnody is at once a 
 branch of literature and a branch of liturgies, 
 and the characteristics of a hymn are not the 
 same in the two departments. In literature, 
 for example, both Coleridge and Shelley are 
 looked upon as skilled in the right use of 
 English words, and the one published a < ' Hymn 
 before Sunrise in the Vale of Chamouni," and 
 the other, a " Hymn to Intellectual Beauty " ; 
 yet, from the liturgical point of view, these 
 pieces are not in any sense to be recognized as 
 hymns. Again, a piece of verse, properly 
 
Cbe ffieet Cburcb ID^mus* 
 
 spoken of, from a liturgical point of view, as 
 "a good hymn," may seem to a mere literary 
 critic quite unworthy of any such distinction. 
 The methods and ends of poetic literature are 
 one thing, and the uses of God's house are 
 another, and, while they do not necessarily 
 conflict, they do establish differing scales of 
 excellence, and they do demand differing cri- 
 teria of judgment. Unless we are to have con- 
 fusion, one or the other point of view should 
 be distinctly chosen, and then persistently 
 maintained. 
 
 The title of this book suggests that we are 
 dealing now with hymns for Church use, and 
 that among such hymns we are seeking the 
 best. But the mere announcement of that 
 point of view is not enough. It must be ad- 
 hered to. And just here it is that confusion 
 so often creeps in. Some one starts out to test 
 the quality of Church hymns, and then at once 
 proceeds to test them, not by a study of the 
 actual experience of the Church in their use, 
 but by applying to them his personal opinions 
 and judgment of what a good hymn ought to 
 be. He is followed by other critics, each with 
 the same aim and method, but with differing 
 judgments, and each one discovers the hymns 
 
flntrofcuctforu 
 
 that are best — in his opinion. Out of it all 
 comes confusion, and no standard is estab- 
 lished but the fluctuating one of personal 
 preference. 
 
 And now, when an interest in hymns is so 
 widely felt, is a good time to insist that the 
 quality of a Church hymn cannot be deter- 
 mined in that way. The hymn is the people's 
 share in God's praise, and is intended for con- 
 gregational use. It can be tested only by the 
 results of actual use in the worship of the 
 Church j and to propose any other test (such as 
 the opinions of critics) is, again, to confound 
 literature with liturgies. In the case of an 
 untried hymn, no man can say that it will 
 prove to be " a good hymn." In the case of 
 hymns that have been fully offered to the 
 Church, and set before her to sing, and yet 
 have failed to attain any real position in her 
 hymnody, that result may be said to mark the 
 end of their career as hymns. Such hymns, 
 having been actually tried by the only com- 
 petent tribunal, have, for some reason or other, 
 possibly for none that is quite apparent, been 
 found wanting. Here and there a hymn-book 
 editor, with a happy knack, may light upon 
 one of them which he thinks has not had a 
 
Ube IBcet Cburcb t>vmns. 
 
 fair trial, and he may even start it upon a new 
 career, mated to some tune that shall help it 
 at last to win its way to the hearts of God's 
 worshippers. But this is not to change the tri- 
 bunal which decides the ultimate fate of all 
 hymns. It is only to gain a new hearing before 
 that same tribunal in the specific case. And 
 from the decision of that tribunal there is no 
 appeal in the matter of hymns. 
 
 A good hymn is one that commends itself 
 to the Church, voices the religious feeling of 
 the worshippers, and stands the test of congre- 
 gational use. And just because God's people 
 in all the different branches of the Church 
 make but one larger congregation, with com- 
 mon needs and feelings, therefore the only 
 hymns we are entitled to call " the best Church 
 hymns ' ' are those which commend themselves 
 to this larger congregation, and have come into 
 actual use over the widest area, and by consent 
 of the largest number of Christians in the dif- 
 ferent Churches. A so-called gospel hymn, 
 which has temporary vogue in certain quarters, 
 but which the great bodies of Christians reject 
 from their worship, is not one of the best 
 hymns. A wooden translation from the Latin, 
 dear to the advanced section of the Anglican 
 
flntro&uctforu 
 
 Church, is not one of the best hymns. Neither 
 are our own personal favorites necessarily en- 
 titled to that distinction, which only the Church 
 at large can confer. 
 
 If, then, the Church alone decides which 
 hymns are the best, and her decision is neces- 
 sarily final, what remains to us is the simple 
 finding of the individual hymns which, as a 
 matter of fact, have won widest approval and 
 largest use. It would be interesting in several 
 ways if we could pick them out of the mass, 
 if we could get before us a group of hymns 
 which, according to our definition, are beyond 
 a doubt " the best Church hymns." 
 
 The only practicable way of doing this is by 
 the study of the hymn-books in present use in 
 the Churches. These books, in the case of 
 each denomination, are the last of a series 
 which have been successively used there. They 
 have grown up by a slow process of dealing with 
 hymns, by way of selection and addition. 
 They contain all the hymns now actually sung 
 in their worship. By taking the w r hole number 
 of these hymn-books, then, we have the entire 
 body of hymns in actual use in the Church 
 worship of English-speaking Christians. And, 
 by collating their contents, we could determine 
 
Cbe :©est Cburcb f)£mns* 
 
 what hymns are common to a smaller or greater 
 number of books. Giving to each book one 
 vote, the number of books in which a given 
 hymn is found would determine the status of 
 that hymn in the whole English-speaking 
 Church, and we should finally arrive at a group 
 of hymns which, being found in the widest 
 actual use. are properly called " the best Church 
 hymns." 
 
 This collation, however fascinating, is a 
 painful task. Fortunately it has been largely 
 done for us already. 
 
 i. Dr. Robert Ellis Thompson* has made 
 such a collation of thirty representative hymn- 
 books of the different bodies of Christians in 
 the United States, " certifying which hymns 
 have received the votes of the seven chief 
 Churches of American Protestantism. ' ' These 
 hymns, one hundred and fifty-four in number, 
 are our American candidates for the distinction 
 of being the best hymns. 
 
 * The National Hymn-book of the American Churches : com- 
 prising the hymns which are common to the hymnaries of the 
 Baptists, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Meth- 
 odists, Presbyterians, and Reformed, with the most usual tunes. 
 Edited by Robert Ellis Thompson, S.T.D. Philadelphia : John 
 D. Wattles, 1893. 
 
 xiv 
 
Introduction* 
 
 2. Mr. King* has done a like work for the 
 Anglican Church,, collating fifty-two collections 
 chosen as representative of the hymn-books 
 used in that Church, and its branches in Scot- 
 land, Ireland, and the Colonies, j His list of 
 hymns, as representing at once the English and 
 the liturgical points of view, may be set against 
 Dr. Thompson's. It will then appear that out 
 of Dr. Thompson's one hundred and fifty-four 
 hymns, forty-eight are not found in Mr. King's 
 list, reducing the number of our candidates to 
 one hundred and six. 
 
 3. These two collations I have supplemented 
 by a third, covering one recent Church of 
 England collection, twelve representative books 
 used in the Church of Scotland and in the 
 Nonconformist Churches of England. Scotland, 
 and Canada, and twelve important American 
 
 * Anglican Hymnology. Being an account of the 325 standard 
 hymns of the highest merit according to the verdict of the 
 whole Anglican Church. By James King, M.A. London: 
 Hatchards, Picadilly, 1885. 
 
 fFor some unexplained reason. Mr. King has included 
 among his fifty-two books several which are Nonconformist in 
 origin and use. In some other respects his choice of books is 
 not altogether satisfactory ; but owing to the proposed revision 
 of several of the most important collections, the time has not 
 yet come to make a fresh collation of Anglican hymnals. 
 
Zbc Meet Gburcb ID^mus* 
 
 books published, most of them, since the date 
 of Dr. Thompson's list.* 
 
 The whole number of books collated is thus 
 brought up to one hundred and seven. As we 
 are seeking the hymns in widest use only, we 
 may take eighty per cent, as the proportion of 
 books in which a given hymn must occur to 
 attain the first rank ; and we then find no less 
 
 *The titles of the collections collated by Mr. King and Dr. 
 Thompson may be found in their respective books. It is 
 proper, however, that the names of those included in this 
 newer collation should here be given. 
 
 Anglican— Bell and Fox's " Church of England Hymnal " ; 
 
 Scottish— "The Scottish Hymnal," "The Free Church 
 Hymnal," " The Presbyterian Hymnal " ; 
 
 English Baptist — "The Baptist Hymnal," Spurgeon's, 
 " Psalms and Hymns " ; 
 
 English Congregational— Allon's, Horder's, "The Congre- 
 gational Church Hymnal " ; 
 
 English Presbyterian — " Church Praise " ; 
 
 Canadian Presbyterian— 11 The Book of Praise" ; 
 
 English Methodist— ■" The Methodist Hymn-book " ; 
 
 American Presbyterian — "The Hymnal" of 1895, "The 
 Chapel Hymnal," " Hymns of the Ages " ; 
 
 American Baptist — " Sursum Corda " ; 
 
 American Congregational — "The Hymnal for use in Con- 
 gregational Churches " ; 
 
 American Methodist — " Hymn-book of M. E. Church " 
 (South) ; 
 
 American Episcopalian — " The Hymnal " of 1892 ; 
 
 American Independent Collections — "The New Laudes 
 Domini," "The Plymouth Hymnal," "The Coronation 
 Hymnal," "In Excelsis," "Church Hymns and Gospel 
 
 Songs." 
 
 xvi 
 
Untrofcuctiom 
 
 than thirty-two of our one hundred and six 
 hymns fulfilling that requirement. In view of 
 the diversities of creed, ritual, and taste repre- 
 sented in these hymn-books, this is a remark- 
 able result. It seems not unreasonable or 
 unsafe to say that at the present time we 
 may call these thirty-two "the best Church 
 hymns." 
 
 The following list gives their first lines and 
 the number of votes for each : 
 
 1. Rock of Ages, cleft for me (106). 
 
 2. When I survey the wondrous cross (104). 
 
 3. Jesus, Lover of my soul (104). 
 
 4. All praise to Thee, my God, this night (103). 
 
 5. Jesus, I my cross have taken (103). 
 
 6. Sun of my soul, Thou Saviour dear (103). 
 
 7. Awake, my soul, and with the sun (101). 
 
 8. Hark ! the herald angels sing (101). 
 
 9. Abide with me : fast falls the eventide (ioi). 
 
 10. Jerusalem, my happy home (ioi). 
 
 11. How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds (ioi). 
 
 12. Nearer, my God, to Thee (100). 
 
 13. From Greenland's icy mountains (100). 
 
 14. Our God, our Help in ages past (100). 
 
 15. Jerusalem the golden (99). 
 
 16. Lo ! He comes with clouds descending (94). 
 
 17. Jesus shall reign where'er the sun (94). 
 
 18. Glorious things of thee are spoken (93). 
 
 19. Hark the glad sound! the Saviour comes (92). 
 2 xvii 
 
Gbe JSest Cburcb Ib^mne. 
 
 20. Come, let us join our cheerful songs (92). 
 
 21. All hail the power of Jesus' Name (92). 
 
 22. Hail to the Lord's Anointed (91). 
 
 23. O worship the King (91). 
 
 24. Christ the Lord is risen to-day (90). 
 
 25. Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah (90). 
 
 26. Just as I am, without one plea (90). 
 
 27. God moves in a mysterious way (90). 
 
 28. Jesus, the very thought of Thee (89). 
 
 29. Children of the heavenly King (87). 
 
 30. There is a land of pure delight (87). 
 
 31. Thou whose almighty word (86). 
 
 32. Brief life is here our portion (86). 
 
 We may read this list with much satisfaction, 
 with a new confidence also in the tribunal 
 which gave such a decision. Time will work 
 changes in this list, but it seems likely that 
 they will be by way of addition rather than of 
 subtraction. Heber's "Holy, Holy, Holy, 
 Lord God Almighty ! " and Newman's " Lead, 
 kindly Light," for instance, will, apparently 
 very soon, range with these others. But of 
 the thirty-two, few, indeed, seem likely to be 
 superseded in our time. None could now be 
 spared. A competent editor of a hymn-book 
 for Church use at the present time would hesi- 
 tate before omitting any one of them. They 
 are indeed the best Church hymns. 
 
Introduction 
 
 And now that we have them clearly before 
 us, two uses of this list suggest themselves. 
 
 i. A duty is suggested to those who are con- 
 cerned in the conduct of public worship. — The 
 leader of public worship has few responsibilities 
 greater than the choice of hymns to be sung. 
 The influence of familiar hymns is very great, 
 and these certainly would seem to be the hymns 
 that should become familiar by a reasonably 
 frequent use. 
 
 2. An opportunity is suggested to those who 
 are interested in the religious training of child- 
 hood. — How could more be done for the spirit- 
 ual enrichment of a child than by storing its 
 memory with the best hymns? If the good 
 old custom of memorizing hymns has fallen 
 into abeyance, it may have been from the 
 embarrassment of riches, the discouraging 
 length of the list of available hymns. But 
 here is a short list of the best only, presenting 
 a task not too great for the average scholar, 
 making frequent review possible, and offering 
 a treasure which will grow only the greater as 
 life lengthens out, and until its close. 
 
 "It is not surely a thought to be lightly 
 passed over/' as Mr. Ellerton has said; "it is 
 not without a lesson of deep significance for 
 
Cbe JBest Cburcb tosmns. 
 
 us all, that our Divine Master sustained His 
 spirit upon His awful deathbed, not with any- 
 new utterance of devotion, not with aspirations 
 coming fresh from the lips of Him who spake 
 as never man spake, but with the familiar words 
 of His Church's Psalmody, the broken frag- 
 ments of the Hymnal of His Childhood.' ' 
 
 It will be of interest also to examine the 
 hymns included in our list, so as to gain an 
 impression of what the qualities are which 
 make up the standard of a hymn that the 
 Church approves and loves to use. 
 
II. 
 
 mibat is to*oa$ tbe Stanoaro of 
 tbe 36est Cburcb lb\>mns? 
 
 We have now reached an understanding as 
 to what may rightly be called "The best 
 Church hymns." We have seen that, while 
 every one is at liberty to choose the hymns 
 that are best to him,, only the Church decides 
 which are the best Church hymns. The Church 
 hymn is intended for Church use, and the best 
 hymns are those which do, as a matter of fact, 
 fulfil that use ; those, in other words, which 
 have won the widest approval and use by the 
 Church. 
 
 We have before us a list of the thirty-two 
 best hymns. What remains is to examine the 
 characteristics of these hymns, so as to gain an 
 answer to the question, What is to : day the 
 standard of the best Church hymns? 
 
 Of these thirty-two hymns, only two are 
 
Zbc JBest Cburcb t>£mns. 
 
 of the seventeenth century, — Bishop Ken's 
 "Awake, my soul, and with the sun," and his 
 "All praise to Thee, my God, this night." 
 
 Of the eighteenth century, Dr. Watts leads 
 with five, — "When I survey the wondrous 
 cross," "Our God, our Help in ages past," 
 " Come, let us join our cheerful songs," 
 "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun," and 
 "There is a land of pure delight." Charles 
 Wesley follows with four, — "Jesus, Lover of 
 my soul," "Hark! the herald angels sing," 
 " Christ the Lord is risen to-day," and " Lo ! 
 He comes with clouds descending." John 
 Newton, with two, — "How sweet the Name 
 of Jesus sounds," and "Glorious things of 
 thee are spoken." And these others with one 
 each: Toplady, "Rock of Ages" ; Doddridge, 
 " Hark the glad sound ! the Saviour comes " ; 
 Perronet, "All hail the power of Jesus' 
 Name" ; Cowper, "God moves in a myste- 
 rious way"; Williams, "Guide me, O Thou 
 Great Jehovah " ; and Cennick, " Children of 
 the heavenly King." 
 
 Of the nineteenth century, Lyte leads with 
 two: "Abide with me," and "Jesus, I my 
 cross have taken ' ' ; and these writers have one 
 each : Keble, ' l Sun of my soul ' ' ; Adams, 
 
Introduction. 
 
 " Nearer, my God, to Thee " ; Heber, " From 
 Greenland's icy mountains"; Montgomery, 
 11 Hail to the Lord's Anointed " ; Grant, " O 
 worship the King"; Marriott, " Thou whose 
 almighty word"; Elliott, " Just as I am"; 
 and the anonymous recast of an older hymn, 
 " Jerusalem, my happy home. ' ' 
 
 Of the nineteenth century also are three ver- 
 sions of Latin hymns : Neale's " Jerusalem the 
 golden," and " Brief life is here our portion"; 
 and Caswall's u Jesus, the very thought of 
 Thee." 
 
 The first thing the reading of this list suggests 
 is the catholicity of the Church's judgment ; 
 for Roman, Anglican, Independent, Moravian, 
 Wesleyan, and Unitarian, alike, are allowed 
 to contribute to it. The Church's unity, in- 
 deed, is foreshadowed in her hymnody. 
 
 One is impressed also with the absence from 
 this list of all recent hymns. The latest of 
 them was in print by 185 1. At first, this would 
 seem to indicate the judgment of the Church 
 that in hymnody " the old is better. " But the 
 fact is rather that a hymn makes its way slowly ; 
 and naturally it takes a great while for any 
 hymn to attain a use so general and widespread, 
 and among so many branches of the Church. 
 
ftbe Beet Cburcb Ibsmns* 
 
 i. Seeking now the characteristics of these 
 "best Church hymns," we may begin with 
 their lyrical quality. They are adapted for 
 setting to music and singing. With the ex- 
 ception, perhaps, of Watts's "Jesus shall 
 reign," you would choose to sing them rather 
 than to read them. We put this lyrical quality 
 first, as most naturally to be expected of a 
 hymn. But, historically, it was by no means 
 the first to be insisted upon. Our fathers 
 began with versions of the Psalms which were 
 anything but lyrical, and the hymns which 
 succeeded them were often hardly more sing- 
 able. Some of these linger yet. Watts's 
 " Go, preach My gospel " is as honest prose as 
 man ever wrote. And in the case of a class of 
 hymns, such as " 'Tis a point I long to know " 
 and " How sad our state by nature is," nothing 
 but an inherited tradition could account for a 
 proposal to sing any one of them. Gradually, 
 with the growth of musical feeling, the heavy 
 hymns are being left behind. Already the 
 Church has decided that only lyrics can find a 
 place among the best hymns. 
 
 2. We note again the literary excellence of 
 all these hymns. No less than eleven of the 
 thirty-two are included by Mr. Palgrave in 
 
flnttoDuctton. 
 
 his very exclusive "Treasury" as literature, 
 u poetry for poetry's sake " J and three others 
 by Mr. Stedman in his "Victorian An- 
 thology" (including "Nearer, my God, to 
 Thee," the faultiest of them all, but saved, in 
 an art sense, by the beauty of its interwoven 
 refrain). One other, " When I survey," etc., 
 Matthew Arnold considered the finest hymn 
 in the language. And of the remainder, 
 representing such writers as Wesley, Watts, 
 Heber, Montgomery, Cowper, Caswall, Neale, 
 and Grant, there is none without distinct liter- 
 ary merit. 
 
 Analyzing this literary excellence, we find 
 that each one has a single theme, giving unity 
 to the hymn ; and a proper development of it, 
 giving life and movement to the verses (the 
 weaker and less sung verses of "Jesus, Lover 
 of my soul " being an exception). These 
 themes are poetically sound, and their treat- 
 ment is interesting. The language is refined 
 and beautiful, the images happy (with an occa- 
 sional lapse, as in the unfortunate "stony 
 griefs" of "Nearer, my God, to Thee"). 
 And in all, and over all, that winning grace of 
 simplicity. Simplicity always stands for much, 
 but in a hymn, which must have the gift of a 
 
XTbe ;fBest Cburcb 1&smn5. 
 
 quick appeal to many differing minds, simplicity 
 stands for fundamentals. 
 
 Literary excellence, then, is a marked com- 
 mon feature of the best hymns. This means 
 that the Church at large has not accepted a 
 hymn of inferior literary qualities, and in view 
 of the advance of general culture, it leaves the 
 very comfortable assurance that she never will. 
 
 3. We note again that each of these hymns 
 has liturgical propriety, both in the subject 
 matter and in the form. They keep within 
 the subjects proper to public devotions, but 
 within that limit they range freely through the 
 whole sphere of worship. Now, praise is the 
 chief act of worship, but it is by no means the 
 only one. Prayer is an act of worship, and 
 the expression of our aspirations is an act of 
 worship. These hymns include both. The 
 element of praise is not quite absent from any 
 one of them, perhaps, but not many could be 
 classed as technically hymns of praise. This 
 fact has its own importance just now; for, in 
 the reaction from the use of sentimental and 
 egotistical hymns that make much of ourselves 
 and little of God and His Christ, quite a party 
 has grown up which maintains that the only 
 proper theme of a hymn is the adoration and 
 
Introduction. 
 
 praise of God. Didactics and invitation, 
 supplication and intercession, they say, are 
 provided for elsewhere in the service, and they 
 would return to the definition of St. Augustine, 
 that hymns are ' • the praises of God with song. ' ' 
 Welcome as is the reaction, the movement, 
 while in the right direction, is too radical. It 
 needs to be corrected by the verdict of the 
 Church. And this verdict must settle the 
 liturgical office of a hymn. A good hymn is 
 not necessarily a form of pure praise, but rather 
 a form of worship, and it may take its theme 
 from any of the proper parts of public worship. 
 
 Let us go now a little deeper, to look for the 
 spiritual qualities which have given these hymns 
 so long a life, so universal acceptance. These 
 seem especially to be two. One of them is 
 reverence, and the other is reality. 
 
 4. That tone of reverence pervades every 
 one of these hymns. It sounds all the way 
 from the majestic heights of Watts' s " Our God, 
 our Help in ages past," which celebrates His 
 eternity and unchangeableness, to the familiar 
 levels of Ken's morning and evening hymns, 
 in which the little things of life are brought 
 into that same august Presence. Any one can 
 test this quality of reverence for himself, in 
 
Zbe JSest Gburcb Ibgmns, 
 
 several ways. The most natural way would 
 be to read or sing the hymns over, and observe 
 the effect upon himself, how that they clothe 
 his own mood with reverence. Another way, 
 more effective, if one cared to try it, were that 
 of singing any of these hymns to trivial melo- 
 dies, in rapid time and with careless manner. 
 But the test is rather that one would not care 
 to do that. The quality of the hymn makes 
 the performance irreverent. 
 
 And it is, no doubt, this quality of reverence 
 which gives to a hymn its hymnic character, 
 makes it suitable for use in the Church's wor- 
 ship. Whether it be directly addressed to 
 God, or whether it be in the form of praise or 
 of prayer, is not the real test of the hymn's 
 fitness, but whether it be of the quality of 
 reverence. And just here, just where the best 
 hymns are strong, is where so many of the 
 hymns which are in current evangelistic use 
 begin to fail. They fail in other things, but 
 they begin to fail at the very foundation ; for 
 in the worship of God there is no other foun- 
 dation laid than is already laid, — in reverence. 
 And a hymn may not be so gross as to be 
 irreverent, and yet it may lack reverence, — in 
 conception and in expression, and especially 
 
"ffntrofcuctton. 
 
 in the feelings it tends to excite in those who 
 sing or hear it. A hymn may lack reverence, 
 but a good hymn cannot lack it. The best 
 hymns are thrilled with it through and through. 
 
 5. Then there is that other of these deeper 
 qualities which are common to all or.r group, 
 the quality of spiritual reality. It has two 
 sides, — one turned outward toward the world 
 of things spiritual, the side of truth, and one 
 turned inward toward spiritual experience,, the 
 side of sincerity. And only so would God be 
 worshipped, — in sincerity and in truth. A 
 hymn, therefore, as an acceptable act of wor- 
 ship, must be true to facts and must be sincerely 
 spoken by the singers. 
 
 There are untrue hymns j and an untrue 
 hymn is no better because the misrepresentations 
 are veiled under poetic diction. Addison's 
 "How are Thy servants blessed, O Lord," 
 (in the altered form as used in the hymn- 
 books) and Draper's "Ye Christian heralds, 
 go proclaim " (as generally used, in the original 
 text), are examples of untrue hymns. And 
 there are many hymns which, put into the 
 mouths of an ordinary congregation, are quite 
 insincere, — the hymns, for example, which 
 express a desire for immediate death, or, more 
 
Gbe Meet Cburcb Ibymne. 
 
 generally, which say to God things which the 
 singers do not feel or do not believe. A con- 
 gregation will sing such hymns thoughtlessly, 
 if they are set to music that is seductive ; 
 but certainly it is a serious responsibility to 
 place such hymns in the Order of Worship. 
 
 There are untrue hymns and insincere hymns, 
 but the best Church hymns, as they are now set 
 before us, are neither. They are marked by 
 spiritual reality. They express, that is to say, 
 spiritual truths which are within the people's 
 apprehension, and sound spiritual feelings which 
 are not beyond the experience of the average 
 Christian worshiper. This is true of them in 
 a very marked degree ; but are there no excep- 
 tions? We turn instinctively to the "New 
 Jerusalem hymns," — "Jerusalem the golden" 
 and "Jerusalem, my happy home." Canon 
 Kingsley protested against such hymns as un- 
 real, but surely it is carrying "the manly and 
 robust ' ' type of religion pretty far to exclude 
 aspirations after heaven from our Christian 
 hymnody. It is rather the class of hymns 
 represented by Faber's " O Paradise " that are 
 open to such objection. It is interesting to com- 
 pare this recast (" Jerusalem, my happy home," 
 probably Montgomery's) with the earlier " O 
 
Introduction. 
 
 mother dear, Jerusalem," on which it is based, 
 just to see how the right feeling of the recaster 
 has given reality to what was hardly more than 
 a mood of individualistic transcendentalism, 
 having poetic truth rather than congregational 
 fitness. 
 
 This spiritual reality in the substance,, and 
 not a mere plural form, is what makes a hymn 
 congregational : which fact has its importance 
 to us who are so often reminded that a good 
 hymn must use the plural forms " we, us, our," 
 and not "I, me, mine." Our list contradicts 
 the dictum. Many of these hymns use the 
 singular pronouns throughout, but they are 
 still the best congregational hymns, — con- 
 gregational because they express experiences 
 natural and proper to the average Christian. 
 And if they express them in an individual 
 form, they are all the more true to life ; for our 
 spiritual experiences also are individual. 
 
 With this last note, the answer to our ques- 
 tion, What is to-day the standard of our best 
 Church hymns ? seems to be complete. These 
 are the five elements which enter into that 
 standard : First, the lyrical quality ; second, 
 literary excellence ; third, liturgical propriety; 
 fourth, reverence; fifth, spiritual reality. 
 
Zbe JSest Cburcb ttvmne. 
 
 It was interesting to discover which hymns 
 are the best ; and, if our examination of them 
 is careful and true, it is an added gain to know 
 what it is that makes them best. The verdict 
 of the Church is conclusive, but it covers only 
 the hymns old enough to have secured a full 
 and wide trial. We are left more to our own 
 judgment in dealing with the great body of 
 more recent hymns, and from that very fact 
 arises the advantage in determining the stand- 
 ard of the hymns known to be the best, so that 
 we may measure the newer candidates for favor 
 by that same standard. 
 
Zhc t^mns 
 
\ a living anb Wng pragcr for tbe 
 Iboltest believer in tbe TRflorlfc 
 
 ROCK of Ages, cleft for me, 
 Let me hide myself in Thee ; 
 Let the water and the blood, 
 From Thy riven side which flowed, 
 Be of sin the double cure, 
 Cleanse me from its guilt and power. 
 
 2 Not the labors of my hands 
 Can fulfil Thy law's demands ; 
 Could my zeal no respite know, 
 Could my tears for ever flow, 
 All for sin could not atone ; 
 Thou must save, and Thou alone. 
 
 3 Nothing in my hand I bring, 
 Simply to Thy cross I cling ; 
 Naked, come to Thee for dress, 
 Helpless, look to Thee for grace ; 
 Foul, I to the fountain fly ; 
 Wash me, Saviour, or I die. 
 
Gbe $est Cburcb t>£mns. 
 
 4 While I draw this fleeting breath, 
 When my eyelids close in death, 
 When I soar to worlds unknown, 
 See Thee on Thy judgment throne, 
 Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
 Let me hide myself in Thee. 
 
 This hymn properly stands first, for it has had great 
 power over the minds of men. Its author was an English 
 clergyman, the Rev. Augustus Montague Toplady, born 
 in 1740. He was a man of feeble body but of intense 
 feelings, and earnestly opposed the Methodist movement 
 in the Church of England (see under No. 3). The 
 hymn was first printed at the end of an article in the 
 number for March, 1776, of the Gospel Magazine, of 
 which Toplady was editor. He died in 1778. 
 
 [Notes.— Verse 1, line 1. Rock of' Ages. Isaiah xxvi, 4, 
 reads (in the margin) "Jehovah is the rock of 
 ages." Cleft for me. See Psalm Ixxviii, 15. 
 
 Verse 1, line 2. See Exodus xxxiii, 22. 
 
 Verse 1, line 3. See St. John's Gospel xix, 34. 
 
 Verse 4, line 2. Toplady wrote it, When my eye- 
 strings break in death." It was altered in 1815 
 by Dr. Cotterill, the editor of a hymn-book.] 
 
 2 Cruciff xion to tfoe Wttorlb bs tbe 
 Cross of Cbrfst cm. vi, i 4 . 
 
 WHEN I survey the wondrous cross 
 On which the Prince of glory died, 
 My richest gain I count but loss, 
 And pour contempt on all my pride. 
 
 4 
 
Zbe JBest Cburcb Ibvmns. 
 
 2 Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, 
 
 Save in the death of Christ my God : 
 All the vain things that charm me most, 
 I sacrifice them to His blood. 
 
 3 See, from His head, His hands, His feet, 
 
 Sorrow and love flow mingled down : 
 Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, 
 Or thorns compose so rich a crown ? 
 
 4 Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
 
 That were a present far too small ; 
 Love so amazing, so Divine, 
 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all. 
 
 A great literary critic (Matthew Arnold) thought this 
 the finest hymn in the English language. It was written 
 by Dr. Isaac Watts, a prominent Independent clergyman 
 of England; born 1674, died 174S. Dr. Watts set 
 himself to improve the character of the hymns used in 
 dissenting churches. In 1707-09 he published a book 
 containing 365 of his hymns, of which this is one ; and 
 in 1719 another volume of free versions or'' Imitations' 1 
 of the Psalms. They became very popular, and for a 
 long time no other hymns than those of Dr. Watts were 
 sung in a great many churches in England and this 
 country. He is often called "the Father of English 
 Hymnody. ' ' 
 
 5 
 
£be JBest Gburcb IbEtnns* 
 
 This hymn is founded on the text in Galatians referred 
 to in its title. The thought in both hymn and text is 
 that " worldliness dies in my heart when I look on the 
 world's Maker dead for me on the cross." 
 
 There were five verses in the hymn as Dr. Watts pub- 
 lished it, one of which is generally omitted. 
 
 1fn ^Temptation* 
 
 JESUS, Lover of my soul, 
 Let me to Thy bosom fly, 
 While the nearer waters roll, 
 
 While the tempest still is high : 
 Hide me, O my Saviour, hide, 
 
 Till the storm of life is past ; 
 Safe into the haven guide, 
 O receive my soul at last. 
 
 Other refuge have I none ; 
 
 Hangs my helpless soul on Thee ; 
 Leave, ah ! leave me not alone, 
 
 Still support and comfort me. 
 All my trust on Thee is stayed, 
 
 All my help from Thee I bring ; 
 Cover my defenceless head 
 
 With the shadow of Thy wing. 
 6 
 
XLbc JBest Cburcb Ibfimns. 
 
 3 Wilt Thou not regard my call ? 
 
 Wilt Thou not accept my prayer ? 
 Lo, I sink, I faint, I fall ! 
 
 Lo, on Thee I cast my care ; 
 Reach me out Thy gracious hand ! 
 
 While I of Thy strength receive, 
 Hoping against hope I stand, 
 
 Dying, and behold I live ! 
 
 4 Thou, O Christ, art all I want ; 
 
 More than all in Thee I find : 
 Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, 
 
 Heal the sick, and lead the blind. 
 Just and holy is Thy Name ; 
 
 I am all unrighteousness ; 
 False and full of sin I am, 
 
 Thou art full of truth and grace. 
 
 5 Plenteous grace with Thee is found, 
 
 Grace to cover all my sin ; 
 Let the healing streams abound ; 
 
 Make and keep me pure within. 
 Thou of life the Fountain art, 
 
 Freely let me take of Thee ; 
 Spring Thou up within my heart, 
 
 Rise to all eternity. 
 
 Of all hymns in the English language this, no doubt, 
 is loved the best. It was written in 1740 by the Rev. 
 
Gbe JScet Cburcb f>smtt0. 
 
 Charles Wesley; born 1707, died 1788. He was a 
 clergyman of the Church of England, and took an active 
 part in the Methodist movement, in which his brother 
 John was the leader, and out of which all the Methodist 
 churches have grown. The Wesleys put great faith in 
 the power of hymns to teach religious truths to the people 
 and to reach their hearts. Charles Wesley wrote more 
 than 6000 hymns. Some were printed in hymn-books 
 to be sung at the Methodist meetings, and some in tracts 
 to be read and committed to memory at home. He was 
 among the greatest of all hymn writers, and many of his 
 hymns are sung in all branches of the Church. 
 
 [Note.— Verse 1, line 3. Nearer -waters. ' In a wide expanse 
 of waters a distant part may be lashed into fury 
 by a passing storm, whilst around a given ship 
 there is perfect calm. Or the nearer waters may 
 be affected, while the distant waters are sleeping 
 in the silent air. In life, as in nature, storms are 
 local. And men cry for help, not against distant 
 dangers, but out of their immediate troubles. 
 Their life is amid "the nearer waters " of tempta- 
 tions, and to them the Lover of souls is indispen- 
 sable.' J. Julian.] 
 
 Un ^Evening t)^mn* 
 
 ALL praise to Thee, my God, this 
 night, 
 For all the blessings of the light ; 
 Keep me, O keep me, King of kings, 
 Beneath Thy own almighty wings. 
 
Gbe JBcet Cburcb "foEmns. 
 
 2 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. 
 
 3 Teach me to live, that I may dread 
 The grave as little as my bed ; 
 
 To die, that this vile body may 
 Rise glorious at the awful day. 
 
 4 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. 
 
 5 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. 
 
 6 O when shall I in endless day 
 For ever chase dark sleep away, 
 And hymns with the supernal choir 
 Incessant sing, and never tire ! 
 
 This hymn, as also No. 7, was written more than two 
 centuries ago by Thomas Ken. He was born in 1637, 
 was educated at Winchester College and Oxford, and 
 became a clergyman. We do not know just when he 
 wrote the hymns, but he printed them in a little book of 
 
 9 
 
Zhe Meet Cburcb 1b*>mns* 
 
 prayers he made for the scholars at Winchester. Ken 
 was a good man in a bad time. His holy life shines like 
 "a good deed in a naughty world." He was made 
 Bishop of Bath and Wells by King Charles II, who 
 respected him because he was brave. But his life was 
 filled with troubles until he died in 1711. His morn- 
 ing and evening hymns still live in millions of hearts. 
 There are 12 verses in all in this hymn. 
 
 [Notes. — Verse 1, line 4. See Psalms xvii, 8 ; xxxvi, 7. 
 
 Verse 3, line 3. Vile body. " Vile " is used in the 
 older sense of" held in little esteem " (that is, as 
 compared with the "glorious" resurrection body). 
 
 Verse 6, line 3. Supernal, that is, heavenly.] 
 
 5 " 3Lo ! we bape left all, an& XoU 
 lowefc TEbee." 
 
 JESUS, I my cross have taken, 
 All to leave, and follow Thee ; 
 Destitute, despised, forsaken, 
 
 Thou, from hence, my all shalt be : 
 Perish every fond ambition, 
 
 All I've sought, or hoped, or known ; 
 Yet how rich is my condition, 
 
 God and heaven are still my own. 
 
 2 Man may trouble and distress me, 
 'Twill but drive me to Thy breast ; 
 Life with trials hard may press me, 
 Heaven will bring; me sweeter rest : 
 
Zbc J&cet Cburcb ftsmiw. 
 
 O 'tis not in grief to harm me 
 While Thy love is left to me ; 
 
 O 'twere not in joy to charm me, 
 Were that joy unmixed with Thee. 
 
 Take, my soul, thy full salvation, 
 
 Rise o'er sin and fear and care ; 
 Joy to find in every station 
 
 Something still to do or bear ; 
 Think what Spirit dwells within thee, 
 
 What a Father's smile is thine, 
 What a Saviour died to win thee : 
 
 Child of heaven, shouldst thou repine ? 
 
 Haste, then, on from grace to glory, 
 
 Armed by faith, and winged by prayer ; 
 Heaven's eternal day's before thee, 
 
 God's own hand shall guide thee there. 
 Soon shall close thy earthly mission ; 
 
 Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days ; 
 Hope soon change to glad fruition, 
 
 Faith to sight, and prayer to praise. 
 
 This hymn was printed as early as 1S24, in six verses ; 
 but it was many years before even the name of the 
 author was known. He was the Rev. Henry Francis 
 Lyte, curate of an English parish made up mostly of 
 fishermen and sailors, and himself a victim of consumption. 
 II 
 
XLbe Meet Cbutcb Ibgmna. 
 
 But now every one knows and honors his name, for he 
 wrote not only this beautiful hymn of consecration, but 
 many others, and, best of all, " Abide with me: fast falls 
 the eventide," (see under No. 9). 
 
 [Note.— Verse 1, line 1. My cross have taken. See St. Mat- 
 thew xvi, 24.] 
 
 6 Evening st Luke XX iv, 29. 
 
 SUN of my soul, Thou Saviour dear, 
 It is not night if Thou be near ; 
 O may no earth-born cloud arise 
 To hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes. 
 
 2 When the soft dews of kindly sleep 
 My wearied eyelids gently steep, 
 
 Be my last thought, how sweet to rest 
 For ever on my Saviour's breast. 
 
 3 Abide with me from morn till eve, 
 For without Thee I cannot live ; 
 Abide with me when night is nigh, 
 For without Thee I dare not die. 
 
 4 If some poor wandering child of Thine 
 Have spurned to-day the voice Divine, 
 Now, Lord, the gracious work begin ; 
 Let him no more lie down in sin. 
 
 12 
 
Cbe JScet Cburcb Ibsmns. 
 
 5 Watch by the sick ; enrich the poor 
 With blessings from Thy boundless store ; 
 Be every mourner's sleep to-night, 
 Like infants' slumbers, pure and light. 
 
 6 Come near and bless us when we wake, 
 Ere through the world our way we take, 
 Till in the ocean of Thy love 
 
 We lose ourselves in heaven above. 
 
 In 1827 the Rev. John Keble, an English clergyman 
 and a true poet, published a book of his verses. He 
 called it "The Christian Year," because it had a poem 
 for each Sunday in the year, and for all other days and 
 times for which his Church appointed services. Our 
 beautiful and familiar hymn is taken from the second 
 poem in that book, called " Evening." 
 
 H /IDorning 1b£mn, 
 
 AWAKE, my soul, and with the sun 
 Thy daily stage of duty run : 
 Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise 
 To pay thy morning sacrifice. 
 
 13 
 
Gbe JBeet Gburcb l^mns* 
 
 2 Thy precious time misspent redeem ; 
 Each present day thy last esteem ; 
 Improve thy talent with due care ; 
 For the great day thyself prepare. 
 
 3 By influence of the light Divine 
 Let thy own light to others shine ; 
 Reflect all heaven's propitious rays 
 In ardent love and cheerful praise. 
 
 4 Wake and lift up thyself, my heart, 
 And with the angels bear thy part, 
 Who all night long, unwearied, sing 
 High praise to the Eternal King. 
 
 5 All praise to Thee, who safe has kept, 
 And hast refreshed me whilst I slept : 
 Grant, Lord, when I from death shall 
 
 wake, 
 I may of endless light partake. 
 
 6 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. 
 
 7 Praise God from whom all blessings flow ; 
 Praise Him, all creatures here below ; 
 Praise Him above, ye heavenly host : 
 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 
 
 14 
 
Zbc Jgest Cburcb Ibvjmns. 
 
 This is the other of Bishop Ken's immortal hymns, 
 spoken of under No. 4. There are 14 verses in all. 
 The last verse (it is the last verse of Xo. 4 also) is used 
 separately as " The Long-metre Doxology " and is oftener 
 sung than any verse in the language. In Harper's Maga- 
 zine for December, 1S97, Richard Harding Davis gives 
 an account of its splendid effect as sung at the Queen's 
 Jubilee open-air service before St. Paul's Cathedral in 
 London in June of that year. " There were ten thousand 
 people singing ■ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ' 
 as loudly as they could, and with tears running down 
 their faces. There were princesses standing up in their 
 carnages, and black men from the Gold Coast, Mahara- 
 jahs from India, and red-coated Tommies, and young men 
 who will inherit kingdoms and empires, and archbishops, 
 and cynical old diplomats, and soldiers and sailors from 
 the ■ land of the palm and the pine ? and from the Seven 
 Seas, and women and men who were just subjects of the 
 Queen and who were content with that. There was prob- 
 ably never before such a moment in which so many races 
 of people, of so many castes, and of such different values 
 to this world, sang praises to God at one time and in one 
 place and with one heart." 
 
 8 f>$mn for Gbristmas*£>a£* 
 
 TJARK ! the herald angels sing, 
 
 * A " Glory to the new-born King ; 
 Peace on earth, and mercy mild, 
 God and sinners reconciled ! " 
 
 15 
 
XLbe asest Cburcb Ibgmns* 
 
 Joyful, all ye nations, rise, 
 Join the triumph of the skies ; 
 With the angelic host proclaim, 
 " Christ is born in Bethlehem ! " 
 Hark ! the herald angels sing, 
 " Glory to the new-born King." 
 
 2 Christ, by highest heaven adored ; 
 Christ, the Everlasting Lord ! 
 Late in time behold Him come, 
 Offspring of the Virgin's womb : 
 Veiled in flesh the Godhead see ; 
 Hail the Incarnate Deity, 
 Pleased as man with men to dwell, 
 Jesus, our Emmanuel. 
 
 Hark ! the herald angels sing, 
 " Glory to the new-born King." 
 
 3 Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace ! 
 Hail, the Sun of Righteousness ! 
 Light and life to all He brings, 
 
 Risen with healing in His wings. 
 Mild He lays His glory by, 
 Born that man no more may die, 
 Born to raise the sons of earth, 
 Born to give them second birth. 
 Hark ! the herald angels sing, 
 " Glory to the new-born King." 
 16 
 
Zbe West Cburcb tb^mns. 
 
 In 1739 appeared the first of the hymn-books which 
 the Wesleys prepared for the Methodists (see under 
 No. 3). In this book was a Christmas hymn by Charles 
 Wesley, beginning " Hark, how all the welkin rings. ,? 
 From time to time changes were made in the hymn by 
 one editor and another, until in 1S10 it took the form 
 here printed, in which it is sung in so many churches at 
 Christmas time. 
 
 [Notes. — Verse I, line 1. See St. Luke's Gospel ii, 14. 
 
 Verse 2, line 3. Late in time. See Hebrews i. 2. 
 Verse 2, line 8. Emmanuel. See Isaiah vii, 14.] 
 
 9 " Hfnfce wttb its : for it is toward 
 
 evening, ani> tbe &a£ is far 
 
 Spent/ ' St. Lukexxiv, 29. 
 
 ABIDE with me : fast falls the even- 
 tide ; 
 The darkness deepens ; Lord, with me 
 
 abide : 
 When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, 
 Help of the helpless, O abide with me. 
 
 2 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. 
 
 17 
 
Zbe asest Gburcb Ibsmns. 
 
 3 I need Thy presence every passing hour ; 
 What but Thy grace can foil the temp- 
 ter's power? 
 
 Who like Thyself my guide and stay can 
 
 be? 
 Through cloud and sunshine, O abide 
 
 with me. 
 
 4 I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless : 
 Ills have no weight, and tears no bitter- 
 ness. 
 
 Where is death's sting ? where, grave, 
 
 thy victory ? 
 I triumph still, if Thou abide with me. 
 
 5 Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing 
 
 eyes ; 
 Shine through the gloom, and point me 
 
 to the skies : 
 Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's 
 
 vain shadows flee : 
 In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. 
 
 This hymn was written by the Rev. Henry Francis 
 Lyte (see under No. 5) a few weeks before his death, 
 and had eight verses in all. His daughter tells us that 
 on September 4, 1847, he preached for the last time in 
 the village church, having been ordered to a warmer 
 climate as his only chance of living through the winter ; 
 and on the evening of that day he placed the hymn in 
 18 
 
Cbe JSest Cburcb 1bv>mn3. 
 
 the hands of one of his family. It is the prayer of one 
 who feels the night of death closing around him, and is 
 not afraid while the Master stays beside him. Mr. Lyte 
 died at Nice, Italy, on the 20th of November following. 
 
 IQ Zbc tt>ea\?enh? Jerusalem. 
 
 Rev. xxi and xxii. 
 
 T ERUSALEM, my happy home, 
 
 ^ Xame ever dear to me ! 
 When shall my labors have an end, 
 In joy and peace, and thee ? 
 
 2 When shall these eyes thy heaven-built 
 
 walls 
 And pearly gates behold ? 
 Thy bulwarks with salvation strong, 
 And streets of shining; gold ? 
 
 3 There happier bowers than Eden's bloom, 
 
 Xor sin nor sorrow know : 
 Blest seats ! through rude and stormy 
 scenes 
 I onward press to you. 
 
 4 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. 
 
 19 
 
Cbe Best Cburcb Tbymne. 
 
 5 Apostles, martyrs, prophets, there 
 
 Around my Saviour stand ; 
 And soon my friends in Christ below 
 Will join the glorious band. 
 
 6 Jerusalem, my happy home ! 
 
 My soul still pants for thee : 
 Then shall my labors have an end, 
 When I thy joys shall see. 
 
 At the British Museum in London there is a manu- 
 script book as old as Queen Elizabeth's time, which con- 
 tains a copy of a hymn beginning like this one, and it 
 bears the title " A Song Mad[e] by F: B : P. To the 
 tune of Diana." Some one took the words and thoughts 
 of a few verses out of the old hymn, and made them over 
 into this hymn, which was printed about 1796 in a little 
 hymn-book for the use of Eckington Church in England. 
 James Montgomery, the poet, edited the little hymn-book, 
 and very likely it was he who re-wrote the hymn, 
 
 \ \ Z\)C IRame of Jesus. 
 
 Solomon's Song i, 3. 
 
 HOW sweet the Name of Jesus sounds 
 In a believer's ear ! 
 It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, 
 And drives away his fear. 
 20 
 
Gbe JBeet Cburcb thymus. 
 
 2 It makes the wounded spirit whole, 
 
 And calms the troubled breast ; 
 'Tis Manna to the hungry soul, 
 And to the weary Rest. 
 
 3 Dear Name ! the Rock on which I build, 
 
 My Shield and Hiding-place, 
 My never-failing Treasury, filled 
 With boundless stores of grace ; 
 
 4 By Thee my prayers acceptance gain, 
 
 Although with sin defiled ; 
 Satan accuses me in vain, 
 And I am owned a child. 
 
 5 Jesus, my Shepherd, Brother, Friend, 
 
 My Prophet, Priest, and King, 
 My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, 
 Accept the praise I bring. 
 
 6 Weak is the effort of my heart, 
 
 And cold my warmest thought ; 
 But when I see Thee as Thou art, 
 I'll praise Thee as I ought. 
 
 7 Till then I would Thy love proclaim 
 
 With every fleeting breath ; 
 And may the music of Thy Name 
 Refresh my soul in death. 
 
 21 
 
Gbe JBest Gburcb D^mns* 
 
 It is touching to think that this hymn (by the Rev. 
 John Newton), so filled with love and tender reverence, 
 was written by one whose earlier life was wild and prof- 
 ligate, who was a deserter from the English navy, and 
 then engaged in the slave-trade. During a terrible storm 
 at sea he turned his back upon that old life, and gave 
 his heart to Christ. Returning to England he was 
 ordained to the ministry in 1 764 at the age of thirty-nine, 
 and became curate of the village of Olney. There he 
 became intimate with the poet Cowper, and they both 
 wrote hymns to be sung at weekly prayer meetings which 
 Newton held in an empty house. In 1779, 348 of these 
 hymns were published in a book called " Olney Hymns." 
 280 of them, including this one, were by Newton, and 
 68 were by Cowper. Newton lived to be eighty-two 
 years old. 
 
 [Note.— Verse 5, line 1. Brother. Newton wrote it, " Hus- 
 band."] 
 
 \2 Nearer, ms <Sofc> t to Ubee* 
 
 NEARER, my God, to Thee, 
 Nearer to Thee ! 
 E'en though it be a cross 
 
 That raiseth me ; 
 Still all my song shall be, 
 Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
 Nearer to Thee ! 
 22 
 
Cbe IScet Cburcb Ibgrnns. 
 
 2 Though like the wanderer, 
 
 The sun gone down, 
 Darkness be over me, 
 
 My rest a stone ; 
 Yet in my dreams I'd be 
 Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
 
 Nearer to Thee ! 
 
 3 There let the way appear, 
 
 Steps unto heaven : 
 All that Thou send'st to me 
 
 In mercy given : 
 Angels to beckon me 
 Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
 
 Nearer to Thee ! 
 
 4 Then, with my waking thoughts 
 
 Bright with Thy praise, 
 Out of my stony griefs 
 
 Bethel I'll raise ; 
 So by my woes to be 
 Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
 
 Nearer to Thee ! 
 
 5 Or if on joyful wing 
 
 Cleaving the sky, 
 Sun, moon, and stars forgot, 
 
 Upwards I fly, 
 Still all my song shall be, 
 Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
 
 Nearer to Thee ! 
 23 
 
XLbe West Cburcb 1b£mns, 
 
 An English lady, Mrs. Sarah Flower Adams, wrote this 
 hymn for a hymnal published by her pastor in 184 1. She 
 was a good woman, who wore out her own life in minister- 
 ing to an afflicted sister. She was an Unitarian, which 
 explains why the hymn does not appeal to Christ, whom 
 we love to think of as the Way to God. To understand 
 the 2d, 3d, and 4th verses, it is necessary to know the 
 story of Jacob's dream as told in Genesis xxviii. 
 
 [Notes. — Verse 1, line 3. A cj-oss. The cross is a symbol 
 of suffering. And sometimes God uses suffering 
 to draw us nearer to Him by making us feel more 
 humble and dependent upon Him. 
 Verse 1, line 5. Shall. Mrs. Adams wrote here 
 "would."] 
 
 \ 3 before a Collection ma&e for 
 tbe Society for tbe propaga* 
 tion of tbe 6ospel. 
 
 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. 
 24 
 
Cbc 1Scet Cburcb fo^mus. 
 
 2 What though the spicy breezes 
 
 Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle ; 
 Though even* 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. 
 
 3 Can we, whose souls are lighted 
 
 With wisdom from on high, 
 Can we to men benighted 
 
 The lamp of life deny ? 
 Salvation ! O salvation ! 
 
 The joyful sound proclaim, 
 Till each remotest nation 
 
 Has learned Messiah's Name. 
 
 4 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 rei^n. 
 
 Reginald Heber (born 17S3) wrote this stirring hymn 
 one Saturday in iS 19 for a missionary service to be held 
 next day at the church in Wrexham, England, of which 
 
 2 5 
 
Zbe JBeet Cburcb •fovmns. 
 
 his father-in-law was pastor. When he read it aloud, 
 his father-in-law said, "There, that will do very well." 
 And it has done very well ever since. Dr. Theodore 
 Cuyler once said that Heber did more for the spread of 
 the gospel by writing this hymn than if he had founded 
 a Board of Missions. It is only one of many good hymns 
 which Heber wrote. He was afterwards Bishop of Cal- 
 cutta, where he did noble work for Christ until his death 
 in 1826. 
 
 [Note.— Verse 3, line 4. The lamp of life. See Isaiah lxii, 
 1. Deny. See Romans x, 14.] 
 
 J4 ©salm ace, Ub. first ipart 
 /iDan afraxl anb (3oD BternaL 
 
 OUR God, our Help in ages past, 
 Our Hope for years to come, 
 Our Shelter from the stormy blast, 
 And our eternal Home : 
 
 2 Under the shadow of Thy throne 
 
 Thy saints have dwelt secure ; 
 Sufficient is Thine arm alone, 
 And our defence is sure. 
 
 3 Before the hills in order stood, 
 
 Or earth received her frame, 
 From everlasting Thou art God, 
 To endless years the same. 
 26 
 
Cbe JBest Cburcb *Emns. 
 
 A thousand ages in Thy sight 
 
 Are like an evening gone ; 
 Short as the watch that ends the night 
 
 Before the rising sun. 
 
 5 The busy tribes of flesh and blood, 
 
 With all their lives and cares, 
 Are carried downwards by Thy flood, 
 And lost in following years. 
 
 6 Time, like an ever-rolling stream, 
 
 Bears all its sons away : 
 They fly forgotten, as a dream 
 Dies at the opening day. 
 
 7 Our God, our Help in ages past ; 
 
 Our Hope for years to come ; 
 Be Thou our Guard while troubles last, 
 And our eternal Home. 
 
 This is a part of one of the free versions or " Imita- 
 tions " of the Psalms (see under Xo. 2), which Dr. 
 Watts published in 17 19. It is one of the very best of 
 all the hymns he wrote. To understand the hymn, it is 
 only necessary to read the earliest verses of the 90th 
 psalm. 
 
 27 
 
Zbe JBeet Cburcb IbEtnns. 
 
 15 Jerusalem tbe (Soifcen* 
 
 JERUSALEM the golden, 
 *J With milk and honey blest ! 
 Beneath thy contemplation 
 
 Sink heart and voice opprest. 
 I know not, O I know not, 
 
 What joys await us there ; 
 What radiancy of glory, 
 
 What bliss beyond compare. 
 
 2 They stand, those halls of Zion, 
 
 All jubilant with song, 
 And bright with many an angel, 
 
 And all the martyr throng. 
 The Prince is ever in them, 
 
 The daylight is serene ; 
 The pastures of the blessed 
 
 Are decked in glorious sheen. 
 
 3 There is the throne of David ; 
 
 And there, from care released, 
 The song of them that triumph, 
 
 The shout of them that feast ; 
 And they, who with their Leader 
 
 Have conquered in the fight, 
 For ever and for ever 
 
 Are clad in robes of white. 
 28 
 
Zbc IBcet Cburcb ibsmns. 
 
 4 O mine, my golden Zion ! 
 
 O lovelier far than gold ! 
 With laurel-girt battalions, 
 
 And safe, victorious fold : 
 O sweet and blessed country, 
 
 Shall I ever see thy face ? 
 O sweet and blessed country, 
 
 Shall I ever win thy grace ? 
 
 5 Exult, O dust and ashes, 
 
 The Lord shall be thy part : 
 His only and for ever, 
 
 Thou shalt be, and thou art. 
 Exult, O dust and ashes, 
 
 The Lord shall be thy part : 
 His only and for ever, 
 
 Thou shalt be, and thou art. 
 
 In the 1 2th century Bernard, a monk in the French 
 Abbey of Cluny, wrote a long Latin poem which con- 
 trasted the evils of the world with the happiness and 
 beauty of heaven. An English clergyman, Dr. John 
 Mason Xeale, in 1S51 published a translation of 400 lines 
 of the poem, and from this the verses are taken which 
 make up our hymn. Dr. Xeale lived to see the hymn 
 become the most popular of all hymns about heaven. 
 But what pleased him most was to be told that a little 
 child, who was a great sufferer, became so fond of the 
 29 
 
Gbe aseet Cburcb IbEmns* 
 
 verses that he would lie " without a murmur or motion, 
 while the whole 400 lines were read to him." 
 
 [Notes. — Verse 1, line 1. The golden. See Revelation 
 
 xxi, 18. 
 Verse 1, line 2. See Exodus iii, 8. 
 Verse 1, line 6. Neale wrote it, " What social joys 
 
 are there." 
 Verse 1, line 8. What bliss. Neale wrote it, 
 
 "what light." 
 Verse 2, line 2. All jubilant. Neale wrote it, 
 
 " conjubilant." (None of these changes is an 
 
 improvement over what Neale wrote, but they 
 
 are generally accepted now.) 
 Verse 3, line 1. See Isaiah ix, 7. 
 Verse 5, line 1. Dust and ashes, that is, man, 
 
 who was formed out of the dust and whose body 
 
 shall be left like ashes when the fire is out. See 
 
 Genesis xviii, 27.] 
 
 \ £ TLfty IKi ng&om Come ! 
 
 LO! He comes, with clouds descending, 
 Once for favored sinners slain ; 
 Thousand thousand saints attending 
 Swell the triumph of His train : 
 
 Alleluia ! 
 God appears on earth to reign. 
 
 2 Every eye shall now behold Him, 
 Robed in dreadful majesty ; 
 Those who set at naught and sold Him, 
 Pierced, and nailed Him to the Tree, 
 
 Deeply wailing, 
 Shall the true Messiah see. 
 
 30 
 
Cbe JScet Cburcb tvimns. 
 
 3 Every island, sea, and mountain, 
 
 Heaven and earth, shall flee away ; 
 
 All who hate Him must, confounded, 
 
 Hear the trump proclaim the day ; 
 
 Come to judgment ! 
 Come to judgment, come away ! 
 
 4 Xow Redemption, long expected, 
 
 See in solemn pomp appear ! 
 All His saints, by man rejected, 
 Xow shall meet Him in the air : 
 
 Alleluia ! 
 See the day of God appear ! 
 
 5 Answer Thine own Bride and Spirit ; 
 Hasten, Lord, the general doom ; 
 The new heaven and earth to inherit 
 Take Thy pining exiles home : 
 
 All creation 
 Travails, groans, and bids Thee come. 
 
 Yea, Amen ! let all adore Thee, 
 High on Thine eternal throne : 
 
 Saviour, take the power and glory ; 
 Claim the kingdom for Thine own 
 
 O come quickly ; 
 Alleluia ! come, Lord, come. 
 
Zbe JSest Cburcb IBgmns. 
 
 Parts of three separate hymns are woven together in 
 this. In 1760 the Rev. Mr. Madan was making a hymn- 
 book for the Church of England, and wished a hymn 
 upon the second coming of Christ. He took these 1st, 
 2d, and 6th verses from one, and the 5th verse from an- 
 other hymn of Charles Wesley (see under No. 3), and the 
 3d and 4th from a hymn by John Cennick (see under 
 No. 29) and then made several changes in them before 
 his hymn suited him. It seems like a strange way of 
 making a hymn ; but the hymn is among the best we have 
 on the subject. 
 
 [Notes.— Verse I, line 1. See Revelation i, 7. 
 
 Verse 5. line 1. Bride and Spirit. See Revelation 
 
 xxii. 17. 
 
 Verse 6, line 5. O come quickly. See Revelation 
 
 xxii, 20.] 
 
 J 7 fl>salm Ixxil Second part, 
 Gbrist's ftftidDom among tbe 
 Gentiles, 
 
 JESUS shall reign where'er the sun 
 Does his successive journeys run ; 
 His kingdom stretch from shore to shore 
 Till moons shall wax and wane no more. 
 
 2 For Him shall endless prayer be made, 
 And praises throng to crown His head : 
 His Name, like sweet perfume, shall rise 
 With every morning sacrifice ; 
 
 3* 
 
Cbe fteet Cburcb 'Ibsmns. 
 
 3 People and realms of even' tongue 
 Dwell on His love with sweetest song ; 
 And infant voices shall proclaim 
 Their early blessings on His Xame. 
 
 4 Blessings abound where'er He reigns ; 
 The prisoner leaps to lose his chains, 
 The weary find eternal rest, 
 
 And all the sons of want are blest. 
 
 5 Let even* creature rise and bring 
 Peculiar honors to our King, 
 Angels descend with songs again, 
 And earth repeat the loud Amen. 
 
 This is another of the "Imitations'' of the Psalms 
 which Dr. Watts published in 1 7 19 see under No. 2). 
 An incident will best illustrate the meaning of the hymn. 
 One day, in 1S62, King George of the South Sea Islands 
 was to give a new constitution to his people, exch. 
 a heathen for a Christian form of government, 
 the spreading branches of the banyan trees sat some 5000 
 natives, assembled for Divine worship. Foremost among 
 them all sat King George himself. Around him were 
 seated old chiefs and warriors. But old and young alike 
 rejoiced together in the joys of that day. It would be 
 impossible to describe the deep feeling manifested when 
 the solemn service began by the entire sm ging 
 
 the hymn, ' Jesus shall reign where'er the sun.' 'Who, so 
 
 33 
 
Gbe Sest Cbutcb 1b£mns. 
 
 much as they, could realize the meaning of the poet's 
 words ? For they had been rescued from the darkness 
 of heathenism and cannibalism, and they were that day 
 met for the first time under a Christian constitution, and 
 with Christ himself reigning in the hearts of most of 
 them. That was indeed Christ's kingdom set up in the 
 
 earth.' 
 
 \ 8 Zlon, or tbe Citp of 0o&. 
 
 Isaiah, Chap, xxxiii, 20, 21. 
 
 GLORIOUS things of thee are spoken, 
 Zion, city of our God ; 
 He whose word cannot be broken 
 
 Formed thee for His own abode : 
 On the Rock of Ages founded, 
 
 What can shake thy sure repose ? 
 With salvation's walls surrounded, 
 Thou mayst smile at all thy foes. 
 
 2 See, the streams of living waters, 
 
 Springing from eternal Love, 
 Well supply thy sons and daughters, 
 
 And all fear of want remove : 
 Who can faint, while such a river 
 
 Ever flows their thirst to assuage ? 
 Grace, which, like the Lord the Giver, 
 
 Never fails from age to age. 
 
 34 
 
 
Zbc J£est Cburcb *>£mns. 
 
 Round each habitation hovering, 
 
 See the cloud and fire appear 
 For a glory and a covering, 
 
 Showing that the Lord is near : 
 Thus deriving from their banner 
 
 Light by night, and shade by day, 
 Safe they feed upon the rnanna 
 
 Which He gives them when they pray. 
 
 Saviour, if of Zion's city 
 
 I, through grace, a member am, 
 Let the world deride or pity, 
 
 I will glory in Thy Name ; 
 Fading is the worldling's pleasure, 
 
 All his boasted pomp and show ; 
 Solid joys and lasting treasure 
 
 None but Zion's children know. 
 
 This is another of the hymns which the Rev. John 
 Newton published in " Olney Hymns" (see under Xo. 
 II). The poet thinks of the Church of Christ as a great 
 city in which God has His dwelling, and in which all 
 Christians are fellow-citizens. And he thanks God for 
 the privilege and honor of being a member of His Church. 
 
 [Notes. — Verse i, line I. Spoken. See Psalm lxxxvii, 3. 
 
 Verse 1, line 4. His own abode. See Psalm cxxxii, 
 
 13, H- 
 
 Verse 1, line 5. Founded. See St. Matthew xvi, 
 
 iS. 
 
 Verse 1, line 7. Surrounded. See Isaiah xxvi, 1. 
 
 Verse 2, line 1. Streams. See Psalm xlvi, 4. 
 
 Verse 3, line 2. Cloud and fire. See Isaiah iv, 5. 
 
 6.] 
 
 3d 
 
Zbc Meet Cburcb limits. 
 
 \ 9 GbriSt'6 /lDeS0a0e t from Luke iv, 18, 19. 
 
 HARK, the glad sound ! the Saviour 
 comes, 
 The Saviour promised long : 
 Let every heart prepare a throne, 
 And every voice a song. 
 
 2 On Him the Spirit, largely poured, 
 
 Exerts its sacred fire ; 
 Wisdom and might, and zeal and love, 
 His holy breast inspire. 
 
 3 He comes, the prisoners to release 
 
 In Satan's bondage held ; 
 The gates of brass before Him burst, 
 The iron fetters yield. 
 
 4 He comes, from the thick films of vice 
 
 To clear the mental ray, 
 And on the eye -balls of the blind 
 To pour celestial day. 
 
 5 He comes, the broken heart to bind, 
 
 The bleeding soul to cure ; 
 And with the treasures of His grace 
 To enrich the humble poor. 
 
 36 
 
Gbe JBcat Cburcb IbBmns. 
 
 6 Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace, 
 Thy welcome shall proclaim ; 
 And heaven's eternal arches ring 
 With Thy beloved Name. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Philip Doddridge (born 1702, died 1 751) 
 wrote this hymn, but it was never printed till after his 
 death. He was a great friend of Dr. Watts, and wrote 
 very many hymns, of which this perhaps is the best. It 
 is a song of welcome to greet the coming (advent) of 
 Christ to be our Saviour ; — just as if the poet had been 
 present in the Nazareth Synagogue when Jesus read the 
 prophet's words about Himself, and the poet had taken 
 those words from His mouth and made them into a song. 
 (See St. Luke iv, 18, 19.) 
 
 20 Cbrfst 3esus tbe Xamb of Gofc, 
 worsbippet) bs all tbe Gre* 
 atioru Rev. v , n, 12, 13. 
 
 /^OME, let us join our cheerful songs 
 ^^ With angels round the throne ; 
 Ten thousand thousand are their tongues, 
 But all their joys are one. 
 
 37 
 
Cbe 1Scet Gburcb Ibymns. 
 
 2 " Worthy the Lamb that died," they cry, 
 " To be exalted thus : " 
 " Worthy the Lamb," our lips reply, 
 " For He was slain for us." 
 
 3 Jesus is worthy to receive 
 Honor and power Divine ; 
 And blessings, more than we can give, 
 Be, Lord, for ever Thine. 
 
 4 Let all that dwell above the sky, 
 
 And air, and earth, and seas, 
 Conspire to lift Thy glories high, 
 And speak Thine endless praise. 
 
 5 The whole creation join in one, 
 
 To bless the sacred Name 
 Of Him that sits upon the throne, 
 And to adore the Lamb. 
 
 This is another of Dr. Watts's hymns (see under No. 2). 
 He calls upon us to join in the worship of the angels 
 about God's throne in heaven, of which St. John tells us 
 in the verses from Revelation referred to in the title of the 
 hymn. 
 
 38 
 
Gbe JiSest Gburcb Ibamns. 
 
 2 J On tbe iResurrectfon— Ube XorD 
 is Iking, 
 
 ALL hail the power of Jesus' Name ! 
 Let angels prostrate fall ; 
 Bring forth the royal diadem, 
 And crown Him Lord of all. 
 
 2 Crown Him, ye morning stars of light, 
 
 Who fixed this floating ball ; 
 Now hail the strength of Israel's might, 
 And crown Him Lord of all. 
 
 3 Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God 
 
 Who from His altar call ; 
 Extol the Stem of Jesse's rod, 
 And crown Him Lord of all. 
 
 4 Ye seed of Israel's chosen race, 
 
 Ye ransomed of the fall, 
 Hail Him who saves you by His grace, 
 And crown Him Lord of all. 
 
 5 Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget 
 
 The wormwood and the gall, 
 Go, spread your trophies at His feet, 
 And crown Him Lord of all. 
 
 39 
 
XLbe 3Best Cburcb Ibsmns* 
 
 6 Let every kindred, every tribe, 
 On this terrestrial ball, 
 To Him all majesty ascribe, 
 And crown Him Lord of all. 
 
 7 O that with yonder sacred throng 
 We at His feet may fall ; 
 We'll join the everlasting song, 
 And crown Him Lord of all. 
 
 This is often called " The Coronation Hymn." It 
 appeared in the Gospel Magazine for April, 17S0, and 
 was written by Edward Perronet. He was born in 1 726, 
 was brought up in the Church of England, and became 
 one of John Wesley's helpers (see under Xo. 3). After- 
 ward he was pastor of an Independent church in Canter- 
 bury, where he died in 1792, and was buried in the clois- 
 ters of the famous Cathedral. In life he was full of fire 
 and enthusiasm, and some of it burns yet in his spirited 
 hymn. The 6th verse, as almost always sung now, and 
 as printed here, was a good deal changed from what 
 Perronet wrote by an editor, Dr. Rippon, in 1787, and he 
 added this 7th verse to the hymn. 
 
 [Notes.— Verse 3, line 3. See Isaiah xi, 1. 
 
 Verse 5, line 2. See Jeremiah ix, 15.] 
 
 40 
 
Zbe JSest Cburcb Ibgmns. 
 
 22 ^be "Keign of Gbrist on Eattb. 
 
 Psalm lxxii. 
 
 HAIL to the Lord's Anointed, 
 Great David's greater Son ! 
 Hail, in the time appointed, 
 
 His reign on earth begun ! 
 He comes to break oppression, 
 
 To set the captive free, 
 To take away transgression, 
 And rule in equity. 
 
 2 He shall come down like showers 
 
 Upon the fruitful earth ; 
 And love, joy, hope, like Rowers, 
 
 Spring in His path to birth ; 
 Before Him on the mountains 
 
 Shall peace, the herald, go, 
 And righteousness, in fountains, 
 
 From hill to valley flow. 
 
 3 Kings shall fall down before Him, 
 
 And gold and incense bring ; 
 All nations shall adore Him, 
 
 His praise all people sing ; 
 For He shall have dominion 
 
 O'er river, sea, and shore, 
 Far as the eagle's pinion 
 
 Or dove's light wing can soar. 
 
 4i 
 
Zfte Mcdt Cburcb Ib^mns* 
 
 4 For Him shall prayer unceasing 
 
 And daily vows ascend ; 
 His kingdom still increasing, 
 
 A kingdom without end : 
 The mountain dews shall nourish 
 
 A seed in weakness sown, 
 Whose fruit shall spread and flourish, 
 
 And shake like Lebanon. 
 
 5 O'er every foe victorious, 
 
 He on His throne shall rest, 
 From age to age more glorious, 
 
 All blessing and all -blest : 
 The tide of time shall never 
 
 His covenant remove, 
 His Name shall stand for ever, — 
 
 That Name to us is Love. 
 
 James Montgomery, the author of this hymn, was born 
 
 in 1 77 1, and was for many years editor of a newspaper 
 
 in Sheffield, England. He was also quite celebrated as 
 
 a poet. His poems are not much read now, but some of 
 
 his hymns are among the best we have. This one was 
 
 written in 1S21, and Montgomery used sometimes to 
 
 recite it at the close of a speech at a public missionary 
 
 meeting. It was very appropriate at such a time, because 
 
 like the 72d Psalm (of which it is an imitation) it draws 
 
 a picture of the glad time when Christ's kingdom shall 
 
 cover all the earth. 
 
 [Note.— Verse 4 t line 8. Like Lebanon, that is, like the great 
 trees on Mt. Lebanon, shaken in the wind.] 
 
 42 
 
Cbe 3Sest Cburcb Ibgmns. 
 
 23 psalm civ. 
 
 O WORSHIP the King all glorious 
 above, 
 O gratefully sing His power and His 
 
 love ; 
 Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of 
 
 days, 
 Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with 
 praise. 
 
 2 O tell of His might, O sing of His grace, 
 Whose robe is the light, whose canopy 
 
 space. 
 His chariots of wrath the deep thunder- 
 clouds form, 
 And dark is His path on the wings of 
 the storm. 
 
 3 The earth with its store of wonders un- 
 told, 
 
 Almighty, Thy power hath founded of 
 old'; 
 
 Hath established it fast by a changeless 
 decree, 
 
 And round it hath cast, like a mantle, 
 the sea. 
 
 45 
 
Zbc Meet Cburcb IbEmns, 
 
 4 Thy bountiful care what tongue can 
 
 recite ? 
 It breathes in the air ; it shines in the 
 
 light ; 
 It streams from the hills ; it descends to 
 
 the plain ; 
 And sweetly distils in the dew and the 
 
 rain. 
 
 5 Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, 
 In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail ; 
 Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the 
 
 end, 
 Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and 
 Friend ! 
 
 6 O measureless Might ! Ineffable Love ! 
 While angels delight to hymn Thee above, 
 The humbler creation, though feeble their 
 
 lays, 
 With true adoration shall lisp to Thy 
 praise. 
 
 This hymn gives us some of the thoughts about God's 
 greatness and love that are contained in the 104th Psalm. 
 It was written by Sir Robert Grant, who in 1834 was 
 appointed English Governor of Bombay (India), and 
 died there in 1838. 
 
 44 
 
Zbc JSest Cburcb Ibsmns. 
 
 24 Dgmn fou Easter=S>ap* 
 
 CHRIST the Lord is risen to-day," 
 Sons of men and angels say : 
 Raise your joys and triumphs high ; 
 Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply. 
 
 2 Vain the stone, the watch, the seal ; 
 Christ has burst the gates of hell : 
 Death in vain forbids His rise ; 
 Christ has opened Paradise. 
 
 3 Lives again our glorious King : 
 Where, O death, is now thy sting ? 
 Once He died, our souls to save : 
 Where thy victory, O grave ? 
 
 4 Soar we now where Christ has led, 
 Following our exalted Head : 
 Made like Him, like Him we rise ; 
 Ours the cross, the grave, the skies. 
 
 5 Hail the Lord of earth and heaven ! 
 Praise to Thee by both be given : 
 Thee we greet triumphant now : 
 Hail, the Resurrection Thou ! 
 
 45 
 
Zbe Meet Cburcb 1b^mn6* 
 
 This is a part of one of the hymns of Charles Wesley, 
 
 and was printed in the same book as his Christmas 
 
 Hymn, No. 8. 
 
 [Notes. — Verse 3, line 3. Wesley wrote it, " Dying once He 
 all doth save." 
 Verse 5, line 4. The Resurrection Thou ! See St. 
 John's Gospel xi, 25. "Jesus said unto her, I 
 am the resurrection."] 
 
 25 IPrapinQ for Strength 
 
 GUIDE me, O Thou Great Jehovah, 
 Pilgrim through this barren land ; 
 I am weak, but Thou art mighty, 
 Hold me with Thy powerful hand : 
 
 Bread of heaven, 
 Feed me till I want no more. 
 
 2 Open now the crystal fountain, 
 
 Whence the healing stream doth flow ; 
 Let the fire and cloudy pillar 
 
 Lead me all my journey through : 
 
 Strong Deliverer, 
 Be Thou still my Strength and Shield. 
 
 3 When I tread the verge of Jordan, 
 
 Bid my anxious fears subside ; 
 Death of deaths and hell's Destruction, 
 Land me safe on Canaan's side : 
 
 Songs of praises 
 I will ever give to Thee. 
 46 
 
Cbe 36cst Cburcb Ibvmns. 
 
 This hymn was first written in the Welsh language by 
 the Rev. William Williams, a clergyman of Wales, and 
 
 was printed in his Book of Hymns in 1745. About 
 twenty-seven years afterward he printed this English 
 version of his hymn, the first verse of it made 
 brother, the other verses by himself. The writer thinks 
 of our life as a march across the desert to the better 
 land, like that journey of the Israelites of which we read 
 in Exodus ; and he thinks of God as leading us and feed- 
 ing us now as He did His people then. 
 
 [Notes.— Verse i, line 5. Bread of heaven. See Exodus 
 xvi, 14. 15, and St. John's Gospel vi, 31-55. 
 
 Verse 2, lines 1. 2. Se? Exodus xvii. 6. 
 
 Verse 3, line 5. " Death of deaths, and hell's 
 Destruction.'* These words are titles given to 
 God : He can put an end to the power of death 
 and of hell.] 
 
 26 "turn tbat cometb unto me, 1 will 
 in no wise enst out" John vi, 37 . 
 
 JUST as I am, without one plea 
 *J But that Thy blood was shed for me, 
 And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, 
 O Lamb of God, I come. 
 
 2 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. 
 
Zhc Beet Gburcb IbEmns. 
 
 3 Just as I am, though tossed about 
 With many a conflict, many a doubt, 
 Fightings and fears within, without, 
 
 O Lamb of God, I come. 
 
 4 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. 
 
 5 Just as I am ! Thou wilt receive, 
 
 Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; 
 Because Thy promise I believe, 
 O Lamb of God, I come. 
 
 6 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. 
 
 The authoress of this hymn, Miss Charlotte Elliott, of 
 Brighton, England, was born in 1 789, and was an invalid 
 nearly all her life till her death in 187 1. This is one of 
 several hymns she wrote for a little book she made in 
 1836, intended to help and comfort other sick people. 
 She never dreamed that it would come to be loved by 
 everybody. 
 
 48 
 
Zbe West Cburcb Ibsmns. 
 
 27 %iQht Sbtning out of Bareness* 
 
 GOD moves in a mysterious way 
 His wonders to perform ; 
 He plants His footsteps in the sea, 
 And rides upon the storm. 
 
 2 Deep in unfathomable mines 
 
 Of never-failing skill 
 He treasures up His bright designs, 
 And works His sovereign will. 
 
 3 Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take ; 
 
 The clouds ye so much dread 
 Are big with mercy, and shall break 
 In blessings on your head. 
 
 4 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 
 
 But trust Him for His grace ; 
 Behind a frowning providence 
 He hides a smiling face. 
 
 5 His purposes will ripen fast, 
 
 Unfolding every hour ; 
 The bud may have a bitter taste, 
 But sweet will be the flower. 
 
 6 Blind unbelief is sure to err, 
 
 And scan His work in vain ; 
 God is His own Interpreter, 
 And He will make it plain. 
 
 49 
 
£be Meet Cburcb Ib^mns* 
 
 The famous poet William Cowper (born 1731 , died 
 1800) wrote this hymn straight from the heart. It was 
 first printed in 1774 in a little book of " Letters on 
 Religious Subjects," which Cowper' s friend, John New- 
 ton, published while they were living together at Olney 
 (see under No. 11). There are times in the life of every 
 one when the ways of God's providence seem dark and 
 hard to understand. But Cowper's lot was made particu- 
 larly hard by brain trouble which made him subject to 
 fits of insanity. Under the shadow of one of these 
 dreadful attacks he wrote this hymn of trust in God's 
 providence. 
 
 28 ^be flDost 1bolp IRame of Jesus* 
 
 JESUS, the very thought of Thee 
 With sweetness fills my breast ; 
 But sweeter far Thy face to see, 
 And in Thy presence rest. 
 
 2 Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame, 
 
 Nor can the memory find, 
 A sweeter sound than Thy blest Name, 
 O Saviour of mankind. 
 
 3 O Hope of every contrite heart, 
 
 O Joy of all the meek, 
 To those who fall, how kind Thou art ! 
 How good to those who seek ! 
 
 50 
 
Zbc ;fBest Cburcb fb^mns. 
 
 4 But what to those who find ? Ah, this 
 Xor tongue nor pen can show : 
 The love of Jesus, what it is 
 None but His loved ones know. 
 
 5 Jesus, our only Joy be Thou, 
 As Thou our Prize wilt be ; 
 Jesus, be Thou our Glory now, 
 And through eternity. 
 
 Like No. 15, this hymn is translated from the Latin, 
 and the original of this, as of that, was written by a 
 monk, and the name of the writer of each was the same, — 
 Bernard. But the other Bernard was an obscure monk 
 in the Abbey of Cluny, while the writer of this, Bernard 
 of Clairvaux (born 1091, died 1153), was head of the 
 Abbey of that name, an orator, scholar, and statesman, 
 and indeed one of the most prominent figures in the 
 history of the middle ages. He had beautiful thoughts 
 in his heart, and expressed some of them in lovely hymns. 
 These five verses are from a translation of his hymn upon 
 the Name of Jesus, made by the Rev. Edward Caswall 
 in 1849. Caswall was then a clergyman in the Church 
 of England, but in the next year joined the Roman 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 51 
 
Cbe $est Gburcb Ibvmns. 
 
 29 H Dgmn for tbe Gbil&ren of (Bob 
 in tbe Ba^s of tbeir pilgrimage. 
 
 p HILDREN of the heavenly King, 
 ^^ As ye journey, sweetly sing ; 
 Sing your Saviour's worthy praise, 
 Glorious in His works and ways. 
 
 2 We are travelling home to God 
 In the way the fathers trod ; 
 They are happy now, and we 
 Soon their happiness shall see. 
 
 3 Shout, ye little flock and blest ; 
 Ye on Jesus' throne shall rest ; 
 There your seat is now prepared, 
 There your kingdom and reward. 
 
 4 Lift your eyes, ye sons of light, 
 Zion's city is in sight ; 
 
 There our endless home shall be, 
 There our Lord we soon shall see. 
 
 5 Fear not, brethren ; joyful stand 
 On the borders of your land ; 
 Jesus Christ, your Father's Son, 
 Bids you undismayed go on. 
 
 52 
 
£be 35est Cburcb fegmit*. 
 
 Lord, obediently we go, 
 Gladly leaving all below ; 
 Only Thou our Leader be, 
 And we still will follow Thee. 
 
 The author of this hymn was the Rev. John Cennick, 
 born 1 718. He was at one time a helper of the Wesleys 
 
 in the Methodist meetings (see under No. 3), and after- 
 ward a clergyman in the Moravian Church. He pub- 
 lished this in 1742 with many other hymns, and died at 
 the early age of thirty-eight years. It is pleasant to think 
 of him as safely home, while we travelers sing his cheer- 
 ful hymn. 
 
 30 H prospect of Ibeaven makes 
 2>eatb £as$. 
 
 "THERE is a land of pure delight, 
 * Where saints immortal reign ; 
 Infinite day excludes the night, 
 And pleasures banish pain. 
 
 2 There everlasting spring abides, 
 And never-withering flowers ; 
 Death, like a narrow sea, divides 
 
 This heavenly land from ours. 
 
 *■ 
 
 53 
 
vTbe JBest Cburcb Ibigmns* 
 
 3 Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood 
 
 Stand dressed in living green ; 
 So to the Jews old Canaan stood, 
 While Jordan rolled between. 
 
 4 But timorous mortals start and shrink 
 
 To cross this narrow sea ; 
 And linger, shivering, on the brink, 
 And fear to launch away. 
 
 5 O could we make our doubts remove, 
 
 Those gloomy doubts that rise, 
 And see the Canaan that we love 
 With unbeclouded eyes ; 
 
 6 Could we but climb where Moses stood, 
 
 And view the landscape o'er, 
 Not Jordan's stream, nor death's cold 
 flood, 
 Should fright us from the shore. 
 
 Another hymn by Dr. Watts (see under No. 2) ; one 
 of the first he wrote, but published with the others 
 in 1707. This hymn carries forward the thought of No. 
 25. God has led now the children of Israel all the way 
 to the river Jordan, which alone separates them from the 
 promised land ; and they should not be afraid that He 
 will not take them safely across, nor fear to step into the 
 
 54 
 
Zbe fficvt Cburcb f>£mn£. 
 
 waters. And the crossing of Jordan has been ever since 
 an image of the Christian's death, and Canaan an image 
 of heaven. We need not be afraid of death, while we 
 look toward heaven. 
 
 [Notes.— Verse 3. line 4. Jordan rolled between. See Joshua 
 
 iii, 1. 
 
 Verse 6. line 1. Where Moses stood. See Deuter- 
 onomy xxxiv, 1-4. 
 
 Verse 6, line 3. This line is not very clearly ex- 
 pressed. The meaning is, " Xot Jordan's stream 
 (that is to say, not death's cold flood.) "] 
 
 3 J /ilMssionars f>smn. 
 
 THOU, whose almighty word 
 Chaos and darkness heard, 
 And took their flight, 
 Hear us, we humbly pray ; 
 And, where the gospel's day 
 Sheds not its glorious ray, 
 Let there be light. 
 
 2 Thou, who didst come to bring 
 On Thy redeeming wing 
 
 Healing and sight, 
 Health to the sick in mind, 
 Sight to the inly blind, 
 O now to all mankind 
 
 Let there be light. 
 
 55 
 
Gbe JSeet Cburcb Ib^mne, 
 
 Spirit of truth and love, 
 Life-giving, holy Dove, 
 
 Speed forth Thy flight ; 
 Move o'er the waters' face 
 Bearing the lamp of grace, 
 And in earth's darkest place 
 
 Let there be light. 
 
 Holy and blessed Three, 
 Glorious Trinity, 
 
 Wisdom, Love, Might ! 
 Boundless as ocean's tide 
 Rolling in fullest pride 
 Through the world, far and wide, 
 
 Let there be light. 
 
 This hymn was written about 1813 by the Rev. John 
 Marriott, pastor of a country church in England. In 
 Genesis i, ii, and iii, we are told how the Spirit of God 
 moved over the waters, before the earth had taken shape, 
 and how God's voice called through the dark, " Let there 
 be light." And now the poet prays that God will send 
 His Holy Spirit with the light of Christ's gospel to all 
 places in the world that are dark with sin and shame. 
 
 [Note.— Verse 4, line 1. Marriott wrote this line, " Blessed, 
 and holy, and."] 
 
 56 
 
Zbc JScst Cburcb tenuis. 
 
 32 JSviti %itc is faere our portion- 
 
 BRIEF life is here our portion, 
 Brief sorrow, short-lived care ; 
 The life that knows no ending, 
 The tearless life, is there. 
 
 2 O happy retribution ! 
 
 Short toil, eternal rest ; 
 For mortals and for sinners 
 A mansion with the blest ! 
 
 3 And now we fight the battle, 
 
 But then shall wear the crown 
 Of full and everlasting 
 And passionless renown ; 
 
 4 And now we watch and struggle, 
 
 And now we live in hope, 
 And Zion in her anguish 
 With Babylon must cope ; 
 
 5 But He, whom now we trust in, 
 
 Shall then be seen and known ; 
 And they that know and see Him 
 Shall have Him for their own. 
 
 57 
 
Gbe Meet Cburcb ttvmne. 
 
 6 The morning shall awaken, 
 
 And shadows shall decay, 
 And each true-hearted servant 
 Shall shine as doth the day. 
 
 7 Yes, God, my King and Portion, 
 
 In fulness of His grace, 
 We then shall see for ever, 
 And worship face to face. 
 
 This, the last, but certainly not the least beautiful, of 
 our thirty two hymns, was not written as a separate and 
 complete hymn. It consists of verses taken from Dr. 
 Neale's translation of the poem of Bernard, from which 
 "Jerusalem the Golden" also was taken, and which is 
 described under that hymn, No. 15. 
 
 [Notes. — Verse 2, line 1. Retribution. The word is rightly 
 used, as here to refer to the distribution of 
 rewards in the next life, as well as of punish- 
 ments. 
 
 Verse 4, lines 3 and 4. Zion is the Church of God 
 in the world, and Babylon stands for the powers 
 of worldliness that contend against the Church. 
 
 Verse 6, line 1. This line is slightly altered.] 
 
 58