THE HIGHer Life Et tenco et teneor NEW YORK BROUGHTON AND WYMAN 1868 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by BROUGHTON & WYMAN, In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. BOSTON : GEO. C. RAND & AVERY, STEREOTYPERS AND PRINTERS. (RECAP) INTRODUCTION. ERHAPS in nothing is the substantial unity PERHAPS of the Christian Church, with all her varying modes of worship and symbols of belief, more significantly seen than in her "hymns and spiritual songs." The theology of the intellect may be discordant; but the theology of the heart is harmonious. Hymns are the expressions of religious emotions, inspired by one eternal Spirit, in the contemplation of one divine Saviour, or in adoration of one heavenly Father. In the Psalms, saints of all ages, of all conditions in life, in all the varied experiences of joy and sorrow, find a common and ample utterance. Prayer and praise, desire and gratification, want and fulness, as the personal consciousness of individual men, never fail to find an adequate language for their expression in the inspired strains of the sweet singers of Israel. NOV -91911 278976 5864 704. In like manner, in the "Hymns of the Ages," the rich inheritance which the consecrated psalmists in our Christian Israel have bestowed upon the Church, although the singers themselves differed widely in the circumstances under which they sung, in their views of church order and government, and even in their utterances of the doctrines of their common gospel, still their collected psalmody forms but one mighty organ of a celestial tone. Every separate singer opens a different "stop" in the sublime instrument; but all unite in a divine harmony, forming together a glorious diapason, resounding down the ages. Mr. Toplady and Mr. Wesley were widely separated from each other in their "systems" of grace; but the former expressed the experimental effect of his view as he sang, "Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee;" and Mr. Wesley poured forth from his lyre, in the fulness of his heart, his confession of faith, in the memorable words, "Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to thy bosom fly;" INTRODUCTION. 5 and these two precious hymns, as any one can see and feel in their reading, are one. Our hymn-books have been greatly enriched in later years, and have become the treasure-houses of the abundant offerings which gifted hearts have placed upon Christ's altar. Many sweet hymns have been shortened to meet the requisitions of the " service of song;" and many other hymns, old and new, while full of melody and rich in doctrine, are not adapted to the public devotions of the sanctuary. But Christian readers are not willing to permit any of these heavenly chords to cease their vibration. They have another office to perform. They meet a want of pious hearts, becoming the choice companions of hours of meditation and prayer. Volumes containing these unabridged hymns are multiplying. They are, however, generally limited in their subjects. Very naturally, hymns of patience, consolation, and of heaven, form the staple of these compilations. The present volume is devoted to the expression of religious desires and experiences in seeking for the highest form of the divine life upon earth, and of the consequent activities and charities to which a holy heart, pervaded with the spirit of Christ, will prompt the devout believer. |