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3 Father of endless majesty,

All might and love we render thee;
Thy true and only Son adore,
The same in dignity and power;
And God the Holy Ghost declare,
The saints' eternal Comforter.
Charles Wesley.

When devils engage, The billows arise,
And horribly rage, And threaten the skies:
Their fury shall never Our steadfastness
shock,

The weakest believer Is built on a rock."

Verse three, line three, the author wrote, "Our Jesus's praises," etc.

The year 1744 was a time of great opposition to, and persecution of, the Methodists in England. The country was at war with France. An invasion for the purpose of dethroning George II. and crowning the exiled representative of the House of Stuart was expected. The Methodists were represented as Papists in dis

From a metrical paraphrase of fourteen stanzas on the Te Deum Laudamus in the author's Hymns for Those that Seek and Those that Have Redemption in the Blood of Jesus Christ. London, 1747. These are the first, second, and fifth stanzas. The author wrote "the" instead of "thy" in the last line of verse one. "Among metrical versions of the Teguise, working for the Pretender. Their Deum," says Rev. F. W. Macdonald, "there is none superior to Charles Wesley'shardly any other, indeed, which has taken or retains hold on Christian congregations." (See No. 729.)

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meetings were broken up by mobs, and many of their preachers were impressed into the army. Even the Wesleys were brought before the magistrates for examination. In the midst of these persecutions they published a pamphlet containing thirty-three pieces and entitled Hymns for Times of Trouble and Persecution, 1744. This hymn was first published in that pamphlet.

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L. M.

THOU to whom, in ancient time,

The lyre of Hebrew bards was strung,
When kings adored in song sublime,
And prophets praised with glowing
tongue;

2 Not now on Zion's height alone
The favored worshiper may dwell;
Not where, at sultry noon, thy Son
Sat weary by the patriarch's well.

3 From every place below the skies,
The grateful song, the fervent prayer,
The incense of the heart, may rise
To heaven, and find acceptance there.

4 O Thou to whom, in ancient time,
The lyre of prophet bards was strung,
To thee at last, in every clime,
Shall temples rise and praise be sung.
John Pierpont.
"Universal Worship" is the title which

The waves of the sea Have lift up their voice, this hymn bears in the author's Poems

Sore troubled that we In Jesus rejoice;

The floods they are roaring, But Jesus is here,
While we are adoring He always is near.

and Hymns, 1840. It was written for the opening of the Independent Congregation

L. M.

To days,

thee, Eternal Soul, be praise!

Through souls of saints and prophets, Lord,
Hast sent thy light, thy love, thy word.

al Church in Barton Square, Salem, Mass., 14
December 7, 1824, and was printed at the
close of the sermon preached by Rev.
Henry Colman on that day. The senti-
ment of verses two and three seems to
have been inspired by Christ's conversa-
tion with the woman of Samaria at the
well. (John iv. 21-23.) Two stanzas are
omitted.

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2 We thank thee for each mighty one
Through whom thy living Light hath shone;
And for each humble soul and sweet
That lights to heaven our wandering feet.

3 We thank thee for the love divine
Made real in every saint of thine;
That boundless love itself that gives
In service to each soul that lives.

4 We thank thee for the word of might
Thy Spirit spake in darkest night,
Spake through the trumpet voices loud
Of prophets at thy throne who bowed.

5 Eternal Soul, our souls keep pure,
That like thy saints we may endure;
Forever through thy servants, Lord,
Send thou thy light, thy love, thy word.
Richard W. Gilder.

This hymn was contributed by special request to the Methodist Hymnal, 1905, and was published in this volume for the first time. The author titled it a "Thanksgiving Hymn." He died just before Thanksgiving Day, 1909.

A letter addressed to Mr. Gilder, expressing high appreciation of this hymn and inquiring concerning its origin, called forth the following reply, dated Four Brooks Farm, Tyringham, Mass., August 23, 1907:

I am very much surprised and touched that you should write as you have of the Thanksgiving hymn. In answer to your inquiries I would say that it was inspired by the same event as the Wesleyan poem. I had begun it before reaching Middletown to take part in the exercises there-and would have finished it there had I not been so occupied with other matters-and I did not, of course, wish to force it, so to speak. When, soon after, it was completed, I showed it to Professor Winchester, at whose house I had stayed; and, as you know, he asked to lay it before your committee. I think some other Hymnal has since used it (one for schools), and it will appear in my book, "The Fire Divine," now going through the press. So you see it had a Methodist origin, as Wesley was in my

mind, and it was first printed in the new the divine love has been "made real" in Methodist Hymnal.

The celebration at Wesleyan Universi

ty, Middletown, Conn., to which the au

thor makes allusion, was held in June,

1903.

We have here a hymn of lofty religious sentiment and of striking poetic beauty, and characterized withal by more than ordinary strength and dignity of thought. In no other hymn in our Hymnal is the Divine Being addressed as the eternal

"Soul." This was objected to at first by some members of the Commission who were compiling the Hymnal because it was thought that such a title of Deity would lend itself too easily to a Pantheistic conception of God's relation to the world; but, upon closer examination and study, it was seen that the hymn not only taught but strongly emphasized the per

sonality of Deity. The infinite Soul is here related in the most personal and vi

tal manner to our finite souls.

Note how artistically the poet develops here the devotional thoughts that are contained in the three words found in the last line of the first stanza-"light," "love," and "word." The second, third, and fourth stanzas, respectively, are devoted to developing these three thoughts, the hymn here taking the form of thanksgiving to God for his gracious gift of light and love and the word of might.

Fi

the soul of a believer it will show itself, not in seeking selfish enjoyment, but in loving service to one's fellow-man. nite souls that are true and pure become the channels through whom the infinite and eternal Soul sends his own divine light and love and word to those whose lives are darkened by ignorance and sin. Taking the form, in verses two, three, and

four, of thanksgiving for blessings past

and present, in the closing stanza it takes

the form of a prayer for purity of soul and for the evangelization of the world through the spread of the light and love and word of God.

There is every reason to believe that this hymn will take a high and permanent place among the really useful hymns of

the Christian Church.

The most frequently quoted lines that Dr. Gilder ever wrote are the verses titled "The Song of a Heathen Sojourning in Galilee, A.D. 32:"

15

The fifth and last stanza brings together O

with rare poetic skill from verse one the infinite Soul and finite souls, and from verses two, three, and four the light, the love, and the word of God. Note also how beautifully and impressively verse two brings out the idea that God gives his light not only to the "mighty one," but to the "humble soul and sweet;" and this he does that all enlightened souls, however humble, may become lights to others, guiding their wandering feet to heaven. Verse three teaches no less beautifully and impressively the truth that whenever

2

If Jesus Christ is a man,

And only a man,-I say That of all mankind I cleave to him, And to 1.im will I cleave alway.

If Jesus Christ is a God,

And the only God,-I swear

I will follow him through heaven and hell, The earth, the sea and the air.

L. M. D.

GOD of God! O Light of Light!

Thou Prince of Peace, thou King of kings,

To thee, where angels know no night,
The song of praise forever rings:
To him who sits upon the throne,

The Lamb once slain for sinful men,
Be honor, might; all by him won;
Glory and praise! Amen, Amen!
Deep in the prophets' sacred page,
Grand in the poets' winged word,
Slowly in type, from age to age,
Nations beheld their coming Lord;
Till through the deep Judean night

Rang out the song, "Good will to men !" Hymned by the firstborn sons of light,

Reëchoed now, "Good will!” Amen!

3 That life of truth, those deeds of love,

That death of pain, 'mid hate and scorn; These all are past, and now above,

He reigns our King! once crowned with
thorn.

"Lift up your heads, ye heavenly gates;"
So sang his hosts, unheard by men;
"Lift up your heads, for you he waits."
"We lift them up! Amen, Amen!"

4 Nations afar in ignorance deep;

Isles of the sea, where darkness lay;

Praise, laud, and bless his name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

4 For why? the Lord our God is good,
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
William Kethe.

This quaint metrical paraphrase of the one hundredth Psalm is one of the most historic hymns of the language. It has

These hear his voice, they wake from sleep, been found in most of the hymn books

And throng with joy the upward way.
They cry with us, "Send forth thy light,"
O Lamb, once slain for sinful men ;
Burst Satan's bonds, O God of might;
Set all men free!

Amen, am n!

5 Sing to the Lord a glorious song,

Sing to his name, his love forth tell; Sing on, heaven's hosts, his praise prolong;

Sing, ye who now on earth do dwell; Worthy the Lamb for sinners slain,

that have appeared in the last one hundred and fifty years. It first appeared in J. Daye's Psalter, London, 1560-61. In verse two, line three, the original has "We are his folck." The second appearance of the hymn was in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter, 1561, where it reads: "We are his folke." In nearly all later editions it reads as above, "We are his flock"-which

From angels, praise; and thanks from is what the author probably wrote, it be

men;

Worthy the Lamb, enthroned to reign,
Glory and power! Amen, Amen!

John Julian.

This triumphant hymn was written by the Rev. John Julian, D.D., editor in chief of the Dictionary of Hymnology, the most ambitious work on hymnody in our language. The date is given as 1883.

ing a printer's blunder to make it read "folck." The familiar tune called "Old Hundred" is popularly associated with this hymn, but Dr. Julian says this tune appeared in the French-Genevan Psalter in 1551 as the tune for the one hundred and thirty-fourth Psalm, and he thinks this hymn by Kethe was written for the tune rather than the tune for the hymn. The tune continues to be used; but the hymn, though still sung in many church

The first stanza is addressed directly to Deity, and is the best of the five. The second calls attention to the gradual progress of revelation. The fourth stanza de-es, is treasured more as a precious histor

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ic relic of the past than for its adaptation to present use in public worship. As a mere matter of curiosity, we give here the hymn as it first appeared in print in 1560:

Al people yt on earth do dwel,

sing to ye lord, with chèreful voice
Him serve wt fear, his praise forth tel,
come ye before him and reioyce.
The Lord ye know is God in dede,

with out our aide, he did us make:
We are his folck, he doth us fede,

and for his Shepe, he doth us take. Oh enter then his gates with prayse approche with ioye, his courtes unto: Praise, laude, and blesse his name alwayes, for it is semely so to doe.

For why? the Lord our God is good,
his mercy is for eure sure:
His trueth at all tymes firmely stood
and shall from age to age indure.

John Wesley for his Collection of Hymns
for the People Called Methodisis, 1779,
and was made necessary by the omission
of the second stanza of the original.
The omitted stanzas are as follows:

2

The lowest Step about thy Seat
Rises too high for Gabriel's Feet,

In vain the tall Arch-Angel tries

To reach thine height with wondering Eyes.

"One of the greatest of all our hymns," says Dr. W. B. Bodine; "great in its associations, great in its simplicity, great in its spiritual power. It is the only hymn still remaining in our hymnal (Protestant Episcopal) which was sung by our forefathers in the Jamestown Colony, estab-5 lished three centuries ago—the only hymn sung continuously in our churches from that day to this. The tune ("Old Hundred") to which it has been sung by many 18 millions of people, and around which so many memories cling, was the work of Louis Bourgeois, editor of the French Genevan Psalter of 1551."

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Earth from afar has heard thy Fame,
And Worms have learnt to lisp thy Name;
But, O, the Glories of thy Mind
Leave all our soaring Thoughts behind.

7s, 6s. D.

GOD, the Rock of Ages,

Who evermore hast been,
What tim: the tempest rages,
Our dwelling place serene;
Before thy first creations,

O Lord, the same as now,
To endless generations
The everlasting Thou!

2 Our years are like the shadows
On sunny hills that lie,
Or grasses in the meadows
That blossom but to die:
A sleep, a dream, a story
By strangers quickly told,
An unremaining glory

Of things that soon are old.

3 O thou who canst not slumber,
Whose light grows never pale,
Teach us aright to number
Our years before they fail.
On us thy mercy lighten,

On us thy goodness rest,
And let thy spirit brighten

The hearts thyself hast blessed.

4 Lord, crown our faith's endeavor
With beauty and with grace,
Till, clothed in light forever,
We see thee face to face:
A joy no language measures,
A fountain brimming o'er,
An endless flow of pleasures,
An ocean without shore.

This grand and worshipful hymn first appeared in Hora Lyricæ, 1706, under the title "The Glories of God Exceed All Worship." It appears in the second edition, 1709, without change except the title, which is "God Exalted Above All Praise." It has six stanzas. These are one, three, four, and six, with a change in In the author's volume titled The Two only one line. Watts wrote verse two, Brothers, 1871, the date of this hymn is line one: "Thy dazzling beauties whilst given as 1862; but in his annotation upon he sings." This change was made by the hymn as published in The Hymnal

Edward H. Bickersteth.

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