A genuine prayer song, one of Cowper's festival of the Malpas, Middlewich and best. In the most recently published edition of Cowper's Poems (London, 1905) the editor, J. C. Bailey, has the following note which gives some interesting facts concerning the origin of this hymn: This beautiful hymn was written on the occasion of the first prayer meeting held at a house in Olney called the Great House. In the letter of November 30, 1793, to John Johnson, printed for the first time in the appendix to the Introduction, Cowper says that writing on a Sabbath morning makes him go back to the time when "on Sabbath mornings in winter I rose before day, and by the light of a lanthorn trudged with Mrs. Unwin, often through snow and rain, to a prayer meeting at the Great House, as they call it, near the church at Olney. There I always found assembled forty or fifty poor folks, who preferred a glimpse of the light of God's countenance and favor to the comforts of a warm bed," etc. Nantwich Choral Association. It was later revised and reduced to the four stanzas here given and published in the Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1868. It is the most popular of all the author's hymns, and is regarded as one of the greatest evening hymns of the English Church. It was written to be sung to. a tune in Thorne's collection titled "St. Agnes;" but the author later expressed a preference for the tune by Dr. Hopkins ("Ellers") found in the music edition. "As tenderly spiritual as it is ethically strong," is Horder's comment. The omitted stanza is: Grant us thy peace-the peace thou didst bestow On thine apostles in thine hour of woe; My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: The foolneither shall evil dwell with thee. ish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy and in thy fear will I worship thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in The original contains eight stanzas. We have above verses one, two, and five, unal tered. Stanzas three and four are as follows: 3 Thou art a God before whose Sight 4 But to thy House will I resort I will frequent thine holy Court, From The Psalms of David Imitated in From the Olney Hymns, 1779. It is a the Language of the New Testament, Lonmetrical version of the apostolic benedic- don, 1719. tion: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion. on the Holy Ghost, be with you all." (2 Cor. xiii, 14.) It has been translated into several languages. 42 L. M. EW every morning is the love Nour wakening and uprising prove; Through sleep and darkness safely brought, Restored to life and power and thought. 2 New mercies, each returning day, Hover around us while we pray; New perils past, new sins forgiven, New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven. 3 If on our daily course our mind Be set to hallow all we find, New treasures still of countless price 4 The trivial round, the common task, 5 Only, O Lord, in thy dear love John Keble. "Morning" is the title of this in the author's Christian Year, 1827. It comprises verses six, seven, eight, fourteen, and sixteen of a poem of sixteen stanzas. It is based upon Lamentations iii. 22, 23: "His compassions fail not. They are new every morning." The hymn begins with the words: "Hues of the rich unfolding morn." It was written September 20, 1822. The Christian Year is one of the greatest religious classics in the English language. What the Prayer Book is in prose for public worship, the Christian Year is in poetry for private devotion. 43 STILL 11s, 10s. still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh, So does this bless consciousness awaking, Breathe each day nearness unto thee and heaven. 5 When sinks the soul, subdued by toil, to slumber, Its closing eyes look up to thee in prayer; Sweet the repose beneath thy wings o'ershading, But sweeter still, to wake and find thee there. 6 So shall it be at last, in that bright morning, When the soul waketh, and life's shadows flee; O in that hour, fairer than daylight dawning, Shall rise the glorious thought-I am with thee. Harriet B. Stowe. Contributed by the author, Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, to the Plymouth Collection, edited by her brother, Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, in 1855. It manifests a spirit of entire consecration and an intimate communion with God. As the fifth stanza intimates, the last conscious thought of the Christian at night and the first in the morning should be of God. Very suitable for private use, I doubt if this hymn ever becomes popular for the public congregation. It is unaltered and entire. The author of this hymn by writing Uncle Tom's Cabin gained a permanent place in the annals of the nation. People When the bird waketh, and the shadows differ as to the correctness of her pen picflee; Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight, Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with thee. ture of slavery, but I am not aware that any one questions the honesty of her purpose or the piety of her heart. A 2 Alone with thee, amid the mystic shadows, 44 3 As in the dawning o'er the waveless ocean, 4 Still, still to thee! as to each newborn A fresh and solemn splendor still is given, L. M. WAKE, my soul, and with the sun 2 Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart, 3 All praise to thee, who safe hast kept, 4 Lord, I my vows to thee renew: Disperse my sins as morning dew; that took place. He is buried in the churchyard at Frome, under the east win Guard my first springs of thought and will, dow of the church, and nothing but a simAnd with thyself my spirit fill. 5 Direct, control, suggest, this day, That all my powers, with all their might, Thomas Ken. This is a part of Bishop Ken's famous "Morning Hymn," the original of which contains fourteen stanzas, being the first, fifth, ninth, twelfth, and thirteenth stanzas. This and its companions, the no less admired Evening and Midnight Hymns, enjoy the enviable distinction of having furnished, at least in English-speaking countries, The Doxology of the Christian Church. Each of these hymns closes with our well-known "long-meter doxology." ple iron railing marks his resting place. But one who is embalmed in the affections of the Christian Church, as he is, needs no marble shaft to perpetuate his memory or to mark his resting place as long as his grand doxology shall continue to be sung the world around. The fact that these three hymns should have been prepared especially for the use of college students adds to their interest. Two omitted stanzas in the "Morning Hymn" are worthy of being quoted here: I would not wake nor rise again, The "Evening Hymn" contains sentiments that young and old alike can well afford day: These three valuable hymns, it is interesting to note, were originally written for the use of the students in Winchester College. As early as 1674 Bishop Ken published a Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College. This book had gone through thirty-two to utter in prayer-song at the close of editions by 1799. The earliest edition that contained the above three hymns was that of 1695. In this work he thus counsels the young men: "Be sure to sing the Morning and Evening Hymns in your chamber, devoutly remembering that the Psalmist upon happy experience assures you that it is a good thing to tell of the loving-kindness of the Lord early in the morning and of his truth in the night season." As these words appear in the first (1674) edition of the Manual, we are warranted in concluding that the two hymns referred to had then been printed and supplied to students, possibly on sheets of paper. The author used to sing this hymn every morning upon waking, playing the accompaniment with his lute. In obedience to his expressed wish, when he died he was buried at sunrise, and the singing of this hymn was almost the only ceremony Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son, How much better than lying awake and My God, I now from sleep awake, The soul that begins and closes all his days with songs and prayers like these has learned the secret of a serene, happy, and useful life. Were any lines ever written more certain to secure immortality for their author and for themselves than the following four lines which were first written as a closing stanza for each of these three hymns? 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. 45 W S. M. E lift our hearts to thee, O Day-Star from on high! 20 let thy orient beams The night of sin disperse, 3 How beauteous nature now! 4 May we this life improve, To mourn for errors past; And live this short revolving day 5 To God, the Father, Son, John Wesley. Title: "A Morning Hymn," from A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, published by John Wesley, 1741. This is one of the few original hymns ascribed to John Wesley. One reason why it is thought to be his rather than Charles Wesley's is that it is only half-rhymed. Not a single known stanza of Charles Wesley's has that peculiarity. The sublime thought expressed in the third line of the first stanza is borrowed from Plato: "Lumen est umbra Dei." It has not been altered, but one stanza, the fourth, has been omitted: |