My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files
Planning worship?
Check out our sister site, ZeteoSearch.org,
for 20+ additional resources related to your search.
- |
User Links
Search Results
O thou to whose all searching sight
Author: J. Wesley; N. L. Von Zinzendorf Appears in 391 hymnals Topics: Aspiration Used With Tune: SWEDEN
O thou to whose all searching sight
To Jesus, our exalted Lord
Author: Steele Appears in 103 hymnals Used With Tune: SWEDEN
To Jesus, our exalted Lord
Grant us Thy light, that we may know
Author: Lawrence Tuttiett Appears in 73 hymnals Used With Tune: SWEDEN
Grant us Thy light, that we may know
Saviour, when night involves the skies
Author: Thomas Gisborne Hymnal: Hymns of the Church #17 (1912) Languages: English Tune Title: SWEDEN
Saviour, when night involves the skies
O Love of God! how strong and true
Author: Horatius Bonar Hymnal: Songs of the Christian Life #69 (1912) Languages: English Tune Title: SWEDEN
O Love of God! how strong and true
And didst Thou, Lord, our sorrows take?
Author: T. H. Gill Hymnal: Hymns of the Faith #70 (1887) Languages: English Tune Title: SWEDEN
And didst Thou, Lord, our sorrows take?
John Wesley
1703 - 1791 Person Name: J. Wesley Translator of "O thou to whose all searching sight" in The Academic Hymnal John Wesley, the son of Samuel, and brother of Charles Wesley, was born at Epworth, June 17, 1703. He was educated at the Charterhouse, London, and at Christ Church, Oxford. He became a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, and graduated M.A. in 1726. At Oxford, he was one of the small band consisting of George Whitefield, Hames Hervey, Charles Wesley, and a few others, who were even then known for their piety; they were deridingly called "Methodists." After his ordination he went, in 1735, on a mission to Georgia. The mission was not successful, and he returned to England in 1738. From that time, his life was one of great labour, preaching the Gospel, and publishing his commentaries and other theological works. He died in London, in 1791, in his eighty-eighth year. His prose works are very numerous, but he did not write many useful hymns. It is to him, however, and not to his brother Charles, that we are indebted for the translations from the German.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872
======================
John Wesley, M.A., was born at Epworth Rectory in 1703, and, like the rest of the family, received his early education from his mother. He narrowly escaped perishing in the fire which destroyed the rectory house in 1709, and his deliverance made a life-long impression upon him. In 1714 he was nominated on the foundation of Charterhouse by his father's patron, the Duke of Buckingham, and remained at that school until 1720, when he went up, with a scholarship, from Charterhouse to Christ Church, Oxford. Having taken his degree, he received Holy Orders from the Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Potter) in 1725. In 1726 he was elected Fellow of Lincoln College, and remained at Oxford until 1727, when he returned into Lincolnshire to assist his father as curate at Epworth and Wroot. In 1729 he was summoned back to Oxford by his firm friend, Dr. Morley, Rector of Lincoln, to assist in the College tuition. There he found already established the little band of "Oxford Methodists" who immediately placed themselves under his direction. In 1735 he went, as a Missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, to Georgia, where a new colony had been founded under the governorship of General Oglethorpe. On his voyage out he was deeply impressed with the piety and Christian courage of some German fellow travellers, Moravians. During his short ministry in Georgia he met with many discouragements, and returned home saddened and dissatisfied both with himself and his work; but in London he again fell in with the Moravians, especially with Peter Bohler; and one memorable night (May 24, 1738) he went to a meeting in Aldersgate Street, where some one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. There, "About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." From that moment his future course was sealed; and for more than half a century he laboured, through evil report and good report, to spread what he believed to be the everlasting Gospel, travelling more miles, preaching more sermons, publishing more books of a practical sort, and making more converts than any man of his day, or perhaps of any day, and dying at last, March 2, 1791, in harness, at the patriarchal age of 88.
The popular conception of the division of labour between the two brothers in the Revival, is that John was the preacher, and Charles the hymnwriter. But this is not strictly accurate. On the one hand Charles was also a great preacher, second only to his brother and George Whitefield in the effects which he produced. On the other hand, John by no means relegated to Charles the exclusive task of supplying the people with their hymns. John Wesley was not the sort of man to depute any part of his work entirely to another: and this part was, in his opinion, one of vital importance. With that wonderful instinct for gauging the popular mind, which was one element in his success, he saw at once that hymns might be utilized, not only for raising the devotion, but also for instructing, and establishing the faith of his disciples. He intended the hymns to be not merely a constituent part of public worship, but also a kind of creed in verse. They were to be "a body of experimental and practical divinity." "In what other publication," he asks in his Preface to the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780 (Preface, Oct. 20,1779), "have you so distinct and full an account of Scriptural Christianity; such a declaration of the heights and depths of religion, speculative and practical; so strong cautions against the most plausible errors, particularly those now most prevalent; and so clear directions for making your calling and election sure; for perfecting holiness in the fear of God?" The part which he actually took in writing the hymns, it is not easy to ascertain; but it is certain that more than thirty translations from the German, French and Spanish (chiefly from the German) were exclusively his; and there are some original hymns, admittedly his composition, which are not unworthy to stand by the side of his brother's. His translations from the German especially have had a wide circulation. Although somewhat free as translations they embody the fire and energy of the originals.
It has been the common practice, however for a hundred years or more to ascribe all translations from the German to John Wesley, as he only of the two brothers knew that language; and to assign to Charles Wesley all the original hymns except such as are traceable to John Wesley through his Journals and other works.
The list of 482 original hymns by John and Charles Wesley listed in this Dictionary of Hymnology have formed an important part of Methodist hymnody and show the enormous influence of the Wesleys on the English hymnody of the nineteenth century.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
===================
See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
John Wesley
Nicolaus Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf
1700 - 1760 Person Name: N. L. Von Zinzendorf Author of "O thou to whose all searching sight" in The Academic Hymnal Zinzendorf, Count Nicolaus Ludwig, the founder of the religious community of Herrnhut and the apostle of the United Brethren, was born at Dresden May 26, 1700. It is not often that noble blood and worldly wealth are allied with true piety and missionary zeal. Such, however, was the case with Count Zinzendorf. In 1731 Zinzendorf resigned all public duties and devoted himself to missionary work. He traveled extensively on the Continent, in Great Britain, and in America, preaching "Christ, and him crucified," and organizing societies of Moravian brethren. John Wesley is said to have been under obligation to Zinzendorf for some ideas on singing, organization of classes, and Church government. Zinzendorf was the author of some two thousand hymns. Many of them are of little worth, but a few are very valuable, full of gospel sweetness and holy fervor. He died at Herrnhut May 6, 1760.
—Hymn Writers of the Church by Charles Nutter
================
Zinzendorf, Nicolaus Ludwig, Count von, was born at Dresden, May 26, 1700; was educated at the Paedagogium at Halle (1710-1716), and at the University of Wittenberg (1716-1719); became Hof-und Justizrath at the Saxon court at Dresden in the autumn of 1721; received a license to preach from the Theological Faculty of the University of Tubingen in 1734; was consecrated Bishop of the Moravian Brethren's Unity at Berlin, May 10, 1737; and died at Herrnhut, May 9, 1760.
An adequate sketch of the life and labours of this remarkable man would far exceed the limits of our space. The details of his life are fully given in his Leben, by A. G. Spangenberg, 8 vols., Barby, 1772-75 (English version, abridged, by Samuel Jackson, London, 1838); and good sketches, with references to the fuller biographies, will be found in Koch, v. 248, Herzog's Real-Encyklopädie, xvii. 513, &c. The English reader may also consult T. Kübler's Historical Notes to the Lyra Germanica, 1865, p. 107; Josiah Miller's Singers and Songs, 1869, p. 160; Miss Winkworth's Christian Singers of Germany, 1869, p. 305, &c. It is impossible to speak of Zinzendorf apart from the religious Communion of which he was the Second Founder.
Zinzendorf's first hymn was written at Halle in 1712, and his last at Herrnhut, May 4, 1760. Between these dates he wrote more than 2000 hymns. He himself published an edition of his poems as his Teutsche Gedichte at Herrnhut, 1735 (2nd ed., Barby, 1766), but this only contains 128 hymns. The fullest representation of them is in Albert Knapp's Geistliche Gedichte des Graf en von Zinzendorf, published at Stuttgart in 1845 (hereafter, in this article, referred to as Knapp, 1845). This contains 770 pieces, arranged in three books, with an introduction and a biographical sketch by Knapp.
In preparing this edition Knapp had access to much unpublished material in the archives at Herrnhut, and found there many of the hymns in Zinzendorf's autograph. But too much of the labour he bestowed thereon was spent in endeavouring, not so much to reconstruct the text from the original sources, as to modernise it. In various instances the hymns are altogether rewritten, so that the form in which they appear is not that in which, as a matter of fact, Zinzendorf did write them, but that in which he might have written them had he been Albert Knapp, and lived in the year of grace 1845. So much is this the case, that comparatively few of the hymns are given in Knapp's edition in their original form. If not altered they are often either abridged or else combined with others.
The keynote of Zinzendorf's hymns, and of his religious character, was a deep and earnest personal devotion to and fellowship with the crucified Saviour. This is seen even in his worst pieces, where it is his perverted fervour that leads him into objectionable familiarity with sacred things both in thought and in expression. If his self-restraint had been equal to his imaginative and productive powers, he would have ranked as one of the greatest German hymnwriters. As it is, most even of his best pieces err in some way or other, for if they are reverent and in good taste, they are apt to lack concentration and to be far too diffuse. His best hymns, and those which have been most popular in German and English beyond the Moravian connection, are those of the period prior to 1734. Among the characteristically Moravian hymns of the period 1734 to 1742 there are also, various noble pieces. The later productions, especially from 1743 to 1750, are as a rule one-sided, unreal, and exaggerated in sentiment, and debased in style; exemplifying a tendency inherited from Scheffler, and suffered to run to riot. Without doubt he wrote too much (especially considering the limited range of subjects treated of in his hymns), and gave too little care to revision and condensation. Yet many of his hymns are worthy of note, and are distinguished by a certain noble simplicity, true sweetness, lyric grace, unshaken faith in the reconciling grace of Christ, entire self-consecration, willingness to spend and be spent in the Master's service, and fervent brotherly love.
The more important hymnbooks in which Zinzendorf’s productions mainly appeared may for convenience be briefly noted here, as follows:—
(1) Sammlung geistlicher und lieblicher Lieder, Leipzig, 1725, with 889 hymns. The 2nd edition was published circa 1728, and contains anAnhäng with Nos. 890-1078 [Berlin Library, Ei. 2017]; while some copies have a Zugabe with Nos. 1079-1149 [Berlin, Ei. 2016], and others have also an Andere Zugabe, circa 1730, with hymns 1-44, bound up with them [Berlin, Ei, 2014, and British Museum]. The 3rd edition, with 1416 hymns in all, was published at Görlitz in 1731. A copy of this, now in the Hamburg Library, has bound up with Nachlese einiger geistlicher Lieder, dated 1733.
(2) Herrnhut Gesang-Buch 1735 (Das Gesang-Buch der Gemeine in Herrn-Huth) with its various Anhange and Zugaben up to 1748.
(3) London Gesang-Buch 1753-54 (Etwas vom Liede Mosis ... das ist: Alt- und neuer Brüder-Gesang, &c), published at London, vol. i. 1753, ii. 1754.
(4) Brüder Gesang-Buch 1778 (Gesangbuch zum Gebrauch der evangelischen Brüdergemeinen), published at Barby in 1778.
Zinzendorf's hymns passed into German non-Moravian use mainly through the Ebersdorf Gesang-Buch, 1742 (Evangelisches Gesangbuch in einen hinlänglichen Auszug der Alten, Neuern und Neuesten Lieder, &c), and in recent times through Knapp's Evangelischer Lieder-Schatz, 1837-1865. Comparatively few are found in non-Moravian English hymnbooks prior to 1840, save in the versions made by John Wesley. The translations made by the English Moravians have been very little used by others, except by those who were connected by birth with the Moravians, such as James Montgomery (through whose influence several were included in Mercer's Church Psalter & Hymn Book, 1855 and 1857), J. A. Latrobe and C. H. Bateman. The versions made by English non-Moravians since 1840 have been mostly of hymns which the Moravians themselves had not thought good to translate.
In the larger edition of the English Moravian Hymn Book of 1886, hymns which are by Zinzendorf may easily be traced, his name being added to them, and the first line of the original German prefixed. The others which have passed into use outside the Moravian connection, or have been translated by non-Moravians, are here noted as follows:—
i. Ach Bein von meinen Beinen. Longing for Heaven. Written circa 1750 (Knapp, 1845, p. 176). Included in the Kleine Brüder Gesang-Buch, 2nd ed. Barby, 1761, No. 2110, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines; repeated, altered, in the Brüder Gesang-Buch,1778. No. 1681. Translated as:—
1. The seasons, Lord! are Thine—how soon. A free version as No. 479 in J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841.
2. How soon, exalted Jesus. This is No. 838 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 1233).
ii. Ach! mein verwundter Fürste. Union with Christ. Written Aug. 1737 (Knapp, 1845, p. 125). First published in Appendix viii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1197, and in 4 stanzas of 6 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 774, stanza iv. was omitted.
The translation in common use is of stanzas i., ii. Another translation is, "My wounded Prince enthron'd on high," by C. Kinchen, as No. 85 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742. In the 1808 and later editions(1886, No. 352), stanza iii. altered to "Lord, take my sinful, worthless heart "is continued.
iii. Der Gott von unserm Bunde. Supplication. Written in 1737 ( Knap , 1845, p. 231). First published in Appendix vii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1201, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines, entitled, "Hymn for the Hours of Prayer." In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1474.
The translation in common use is based on stanza i., ii. Other translations are (1) "The God to whom we homage pay." This is No. 97 in pt. iii. 1748 of the Moravian Hymn Book. (2) "O may the God of mercies." This is No. 592 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801. In the ed. of 1886, No. 706, it begins with stanza iii., "Lord, our High Priest and Saviour."
iv. Die Bäume blühen ab. Autumn . In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, No. 12, dated Autumn, 1721, and entitled "Comforting thoughts on Death." It is in Knapp, 1845, p. 17. Further noted under "Wie wird mir einst doch sein".
v. Du Vater aller Kreatur. Work for Christ. Written 1722 (Knapp, 1845, p. 26). First published in Appendix. vi., circa 1737, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1159, and in 13 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1717 consists of stanza viii.-xiii. beginning, "Des Lebens abgestecktes Ziel." Translated as:—
Whether the period of this life. This is a translation of stanza viii.-x. as No. 847 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789. To this in later eds. (1886, No. 1235) No. 848 was added. This is "Lord may 1 live to Thee by faith," and is a translation of an anonymous 17th century stanza, "Herr Jesu! dir leb ich," which is No. 1686 in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778. The full form is in J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841.
vi. Geschwister! wir geben uns Herzen und Hände. Christian Work. Written 1737 (Knap p, 1845, p. 234). First published in Appendix vii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1217, and in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1391, it is united, as in Knapp, with "Gesinde des Heilands". Translated as:—
Grace! how good, how cheap, how free. This is a translation, by C. Kinchen, of stanza v., as No. 28 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742. Included in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866.
vii. Glanz der Ewigkeit. Morning. In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 13, dated Berlin, May, 1721. First published as No. 470 in the Sammlung, 1725, in 15 stanzas of 6 lines. In Knapp, 1845, p. 16. The only stanza translated into English is stanza xi. as part of "Jesu, geh' voran”.
viii. Grosser Bundes-Engel. Ascensiontide. Written for Ascension Day (his birthday), 1740 (Knapp, 1845, p. 144, dated May 26, 1740). First published in Appendix xi.,
circa 1741, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1426, in 27 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 603. Translated as:—
Lord, when Thou saidst, So let it be. This is a translation, by C. G. Clemens, of stanza iii., as No. 156 in the Moravian Hymn Book , 1789 (1849, No. 190). Included in the Congregational Hymn Book, 1836, and in Dr. Martineau's Hymns, 1840 and 1873.
ix. Heiliger, heiliger, heiliger Herr Zebaoth. Eternal Life. Heaven Anticipated. The Rev. J. T. Müller, of Herrnhut, informs me that this was written in 1723 on the occasion of the birthday (Oct.6) of Zinzendorf s grandmother, H. C. von Gersdorf. Knapp, 1845, p. 193, dates it Oct. 18, 1723. First published as No. 1078 (2) in the 2nd ed., circa 1728, of the Sammlung in 7 stanzas of 7 lines, entitled, Closing Hymn. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, stanza ii., iii., beginning "Hatten wir," are included as stanzas i., ii., of No. 1739. Translated as:—
Had we nought, had we nought. This is a translation of stanzas ii., iii., by W. O. Keley, as No. 1189 in the 1808 Supplement to the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801 (1849, No. 1186), and repeated in J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841, No. 475.
x. Ich bin ein kleines Kindelein. Children. This is No. 1022 in the 3rd ed., 1731, of the Sammlung, in 13 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1214, and in the Hist. Nachricht thereto (1835, p. 188) marked as a catechetical hymn for children, and dated 1723. Knapp, 1845, p. 40, dates it June, 1723, and alters it to "Ich bin ein Kindlein, arm und klein." It is a simple and beautiful hymn, and is contained in a number of recent German non-Moravian collections, e.g. in the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 1408. Translated as:—
1. Saviour, who didst from Heaven come down. This is a free translation of stanzas ii.,iii., v., made by James Bullivant Tomalin in 1860, and contributed to Lord Selborne's Book of Praise, ed. 1866, Appendix, No. 27, with the note at p. 500, "I am indebted for this to the kindness of the translator." Repeated in S. D. Major's Book of Praise for Home & School, 1869, and in America in the Baptist Service of Song, 1871, &c. In M. W. Stryker's Christian Chorals, 1885, and Church Song, 1889, it is altered, beginning, "O Saviour, Who from Heav'n came down."
2. I am a little child you see. By C. Kinchen, as No. 49 in the Moravian Hymn Book 1742. This form is followed in the edition of 1886, No. 1038, and in the Bible Hymn Book, 1845. In the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789, it begins with stanza ii., "Thou, gracious Saviour, for my good;" and this form altered to, "My Saviour dear, Thou for my good," is in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825.
xi. Kommt, Sünder, und blicket dem ewigen Sohne. Repentance or Lent. Mr. Müller informs me that this was written in Aug. 1736, at , 1845, p. 130, dates it Nov. 22,1738. First published in Appendix viii., circa 1739, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1308, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch 1778, No. 321. Translated as:—
Sinners! come; the Saviour see. This a good and full translation by C. Kinchen, as No. 120, in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742. Of this stanzas i., ii. are included in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866. Other forms are (1) "Are you formed a creature new" (stanza vi.). In the Moravian Hymn Book, 1769 (1886, No. 1280), Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825, &c. (2) "Rise, go forth to meet the Lamb" (stanza viii. alt.). In J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1852, No. 457.
xii. Kron' und Lohn behertzter Ringer. The Beatitudes. Founded on St. Matt. v. 3-12. In his Teutsche Gedichte, 1735. p. 41, dated, Sept. 7, 1722 (his marriage day), and entitled, "Thoughts on my own marriage." First published as No. 700 in the Sammlung, 1725, in 16 stanzas of 12 lines. In Knapp, 1845, p. 30. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 513, beginning, "Jesu, der du uns erworben." Translated as:—
Jesu! Lord so great and glorious. This, omitting stanzas xiv., xv., is No. 226 in pt. ii. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754, as "Jesus, Lord most great and glorious"). The versions of stanzas i., ix., xvi., from the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789, were included in the Dalston Hospital Hymn Book, 1848.
xiii. Naht heran, ihr lieben Glieder. Holy Communion. Written in 1731 (Knapp, 1845, p. 212). 1st published in the 3rd ed., 1731, of the Sammlung as No. 1416 in 16 stanzas of 4 lines. Also in the Brüder Gesang-Buch 1778, No. 1148. Translated as:—
1. Friends in Jesus, now draw near. This is a free translation, omitting stanza v., vi., viii.-x.,xiv., by Miss Borthwick in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 4th ser., 1862, p. 57, the German being quoted as "Kommt herein, ihr lieben Glieder." This translation is repeated in full in Lyra Eucharistica, 1863, p. 34, and abridged in G. S. Jellicoe's Collection 1867, Windle, No. 480, and Harland, 1876, No. 451.
2. Come, approach to Jesu's table. This is No. 556 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1849, No. 965),
xiv. 0 du Hüter Ephraim. Supplication for Grace. In his Teutsche Gedichte, 1735,p. 158, dated 1728,entitled, "On his wife's 28th birthday " (she was born Nov. 7, 1700), and with the note, "This poem was written for the birthday festival of the Countess, was sung by a company or coterie of friends, each member of which was indicated according to their circumstances at the time." It had previously appeared, without the first stanza, and this form, which begins, "Herz der göttlichen Natur".
xv. Rath, Kraft, und Held, und Wunderbar. Christmas. Founded on Is. ix. 6. In his Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 25, in 9 stanzas of 6 lines, entitled, "Christmas Thoughts," and dated 1721; and in the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch,1735, No. 827. In Knapp, 1845, p. 21. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 488, it begins with stanza vi., "Mein alles! mehr als alle Welt." Translated as:—
My all things more than earth and sky. This is a translation of stanza vi., by C. G. Clemens, as No. 306 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789. In 1801 altered to "My all in all, my faithful Friend;" and to this in 1826, trs. of stanzas ii., vii.-ix.,by P. Latrobe, were added (1886.No. 399). From this form a cento in 5 stanzas of L. M., beginning, "O Lord! Thou art my rock, my guide," was included in Dr. Martineau's Hymns, 1840.
xvi. Ruht aus von eurer Mühe. Christian Church. Written in 1737 (Knapp 1845, p. 232, as Du gestern und auch heute). First published in Appendix vi., circa 1737, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1183, in 8 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled, "Hymn of the witnesses." In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, stanza iv. is given as No. 1042. Translated as:—
0 Jesus Christ, most holy. This is a translation of stanza iv. by C. G. Clemens, as No. 487 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1849, No. 807 ; 1886, No. 795, beginning, "Lord Jesus Christ") Included in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866.
xvii. Seligs Volk der Zeugenwolk. Holy Communion. Written in 1739 (Knapp, 1845, p. 138, beginning, "Christi Blut, Die Segensfluth," and p. 256, "Selig Volk.") First published in Appendix viii., circa 1739, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1340, in 14 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled, "Hymn at the Feast of Love." In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, as Nos. 1127 and 1422, the latter beginning, "Werther Tod und Wunden roth; " and including stanza xi. ("Wisst ihr was? So heisst der Pass"), xiii., xiv. Translated as:—
1. Would the world our passport see. This is a translation of stanza xi., xiii. as No. 1152 in the 1808 Supplement to the Moravian Hymn Book of 1801 (1886, No. 895). Included as No. 212 in J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841.
2. Flock of Grace, ye Witnesses. This is No. 40 in pt. iii. 1748 of the Moravian Hymn Book.
3. Happy race of witnesses. By C. Kinchen as No. 551 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789. In 1886 four stanzas are given as No. 951, and the other two beginning, "Eat and rest at this great feast" (stanza viii.) as No. 1022.
xviii. Was hatten wir für Freude oder Ehre . Repentance. Written in 1739 (Knapp, 1845, p. 139). First published in Appendix viii., circa 1739, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1349, and in 48 stanza of 2 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 396, reduced to 19 stanzas. Translated as:—
What Joy or Honour could we have. In full as No. 161 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742; abridged in 1789 to 12, and in 1801 to 7 stanzas. The 1801 version, which represents stanzas i.-iv., viii., ix., xi. was included in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825; and with the trs. of stanzas iii., xi. omitted, and a hortatory stanza added, as No. 268 in J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841. In the Moravian Hymn Book, 1886, No. 322, it begins with the translation of stanza iii., "None is so holy, pure, and just."
xix. Wenn sich die Kinder freuen. Christian Work. Written about 1752 (Knapp, 1845, p. 179, as "Wenn wir uns kindlich freuen"). Included as No. 2101 in the London Gesang-Buch (Etwas vom Liede Mosis, &c), 1753, in 15 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 490 consists of stanzas i.—iii., vi., ix., xiii.-xv. beginning, "Wenu wir uns kindlich freuen." Translated as:—
1. When we seek with loving heart. By Miss Borthwick, in full from the 1778 (with an original stanza as stanza ix.) in the Family Treasury, 1861, pt. ii., p. 112, and in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1862, p. 89 (1884, p. 250). Repeated, abridged, in E. T. Prust's Supplemental Hymn Book, 1869.
2. When the children joyful are. This is No. 312 in pt. ii. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754.
3. When children are rejoicing . This is at p. 373 of pt. ii. in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754.
xx. Wir sind nur dazu. Christian Warfare. Written in 1734 (Knapp, 1845, p. 113). First published in Appendix iii., circa 1737, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1073, and in 21 stanzas of 6 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1330 has 13 stanzas; while stanza xvii. ("Die Streitertreue") is given as stanza v. of No. 1394. Translated as:—
Warrior, on thy station stand. This is a translation of stanza xvii. as No. 1161 in the 1808 Supplement to the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801 (1886, No. 896). Adopted by Dr. Martineau in his Hymns, 1840 and 1873, altered to "Warrior! to thy duty stand."
Hymns not in English common use:—
xxi. Auf, auf, es ist geschehe. Holy Communion. This is No. 166 in the Sammlung, 1725, in 12 stanzas of 4 lines, and in the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 2. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1188 it begins, "Ich eil in Jesu Armen" (5 stanzas being added, and stanzas viii., xi. omitted), and in the Hist. Nachricht thereto (ed. 1851, p. 188) is marked as written on the occasion of his first communion in 1714. In Knapp, 1845, p. 6, it begins, "Ist's ja, es ist geschehen," Translated as "Happy, thrice happy hour of grace." By L. T. Nyberg, of stanzas i., xii., as No. 693 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 1021) ; repeated in C. H. Bateman's Congregational Psalmist, 1846.
xxii. Christen sind ein göttlich Volk. Christian Life. In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 231, dated 1731, and entitled, "Hymn for a Royal Princess-apparent," viz. for Charlotte Amelia, daughter of King Christian VI. of Denmark. It had appeared in the Nachlese of 1733 to Knapp, 1845, p. 97, and in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 491. Translated as “Christians are a holy band, Gathered by the Saviour's hand." This is by Dr. J. F. Hurst in his translation of K. R. Hagenbach's History of the Church in the 18th and 19th Centuries, N. Y., 1869, vol. i., p. 434.
xxiii. Das äussre Schifflein wälgert sich. For those at Sea. First published in the Zugabe, circa 1744, to Appendix xi. to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1855, in 16 stanzas of 4 lines entitled, "Hymn for the ship's company, February, 1743." Written during a stormy passage from America to Germany. In Knapp, 1845, p. 164. The translations are: (1) "Our ship upon the surging sea." In the British Herald, Aug. 1866, p. 313, repeated in Reid's Praise Book, 1872. (2) "Our little bark, it rocks itself." In L. Rehfuess's Church at Sea, 1868, p. 18.
xxiv. Die Christen gehn von Ort zu Ort. Burial of the Dead. In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 113, as part of No. 45, which is entitled "Over the grave of the grandmother" (Henriette Catharine von Gersdorf. She died March 6, 1726), and dated March, 1726. The hymn itself is entitled, "Air after the funeral rites." It had appeared in the Andere Zugabe, circa 1730, to the Sammlung as No. 6 (ed. 1731, No. 1246), in 3 stanzas of 8 lines entitled, “Funeral Hymn." In Knapp, 1845, p. 72, and in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1701. The translations are : 1) "Believers go from place to place." By Dr. J. Hunt in his Spiritual Songs of Martin Luther, 1853, p. 146. (2) "Through scenes of woe, from place to place." By Dr. G. Walker, 1860, p. 50. (3) "From place to place the Christian goes." By J. D. Burns in his Memoir & Remains, 1869, p. 263. (4) “From land to land the Christian goes." This is No. 1251 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1886.
xxv. Du innig geliebter Erloser der Sünder. Readiness to serve Christ. Written in 1735 (Knapp, 1845, p. 222). First published in Appendix iv., circa 1737, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1080, and in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1335. Translated as "Sinners' Redeemer whom we only love." This is a translation of stanzas i., iv., v., by C. Kinchen, as No. 121 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742. In the 1789 and later editions (1886, No. 861), it begins, "Sinners' Redeemer, gracious Lamb of God." The text of 1742, slightly altered, is No. 206 in Lady Huntingdon's Selection, 1780.
xxvi. Du Vater aller Geister. Evening. In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 15, entitled, "Evening Thoughts," and dated Oct. 1721. It is No. 497 in the Sammlung, 1725, in 6 stanzas of 8 lines. In Knapp, 1845, p. 16, and in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 235. Translated as “Father of living Nature." By H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 102.
xxvii. Gesinde des Heilands des seligen Gottes. Christian Work. Written in 1737 (Knapp, 1845, p. 234), first published in Appendix vii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1216, and in 10 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1391. Translated as "Ye blest Domestics of the slaughter'd Lamb." In full as No. 178 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742 (1754, pt. ii., No. 250). Repeated, abridged, in the Bible Hymn Book, 1845, No. 286.
xxviii. Ich bitt dich, herzliches Gottes-Lamm! Love to Christ. Written in Oct. 1741 (Knapp, 1845, p. 152, as "Ein selig Herze führt diese Sprach"). First published in Appendix xi., circa 1743, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1724, and in 12 stanzas of 5 lines, In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 704, it begins, with stanza ii., altered to "Ein selges Herze führt diese Sprach." Translated as "When heavenwards my best affections move." By Miss Borthwick (from the 1778), dated April, 1861, in the Family Treasury , 1861, p. 328. In Hymns from the Land of Luther, 4th ser., 1862, p. 60 (1884, p. 223), altered to "When towards heaven."
xxix. 0 du Hüter Ephraim. Burial of the Dead. This is included at p. 10 in the Nachlese of 1733 to the 3rd ed. 1731 of the Sammlung, and is in 8 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled, "Of departure to the Father;" and in the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 256, entitled, "In the name of the community." Included as No. 695 in the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, 1735, beginning with stanza ii. altered to "Tödten ist dem Herrn erlaubt." In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1715, it begins with stanza iii., "Ehmals sollts gestorben sein," and in the Hist. Nachricht thereto (1835, p. 190) is marked as written on the death of Matthaus Linner in 1732. In Knapp, 1845, p. 101. Translated as "Once the sentence justly sounded." By Miss Borthwick in Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1862, p. 92 (1884, p. 252).
xxx. 0 Liebe, die in fremde Noth. On Unity. In the Teutsche Gedichte, 1735, p. 94, dated 1725, and entitled, "On the Saviour's faithfulness." First published as No. 198 (b) in the 1725 Sammlung, in 18 stanzas of 4 lines. In the London Gesang-Buch, 1753, No. 1764, stanzas ix., x., beginning, " Der du noch in der letzten Nacht," were given as a separate hymn; and this form is repeated in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 714, the Berlin Geistliches Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 1037, &c. In Knapp, 1845, p. 70. The translations, all of stanza ix., x., are: (1) "Lord Jesus, who that very night." By P. H. Molther, as stanzas ii., iii. of No. 387 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 477, beginning, "Lord Jesus, in that"). (2) "Thou Who didst die for all and each." By Miss Cox, 1841, p. 147. (3) "O Thou, Who with Thy latest breath." By Lady E. Fortescue, 1843, p. 66. (4) "Thou who in that bitter night." By Miss Warner, 1858, p. 436. (5) "Thou who in that last sad night." By Miss Fry, 1859, p. 151. (6) "Thou who upon that last sad night." In the Family Treasury, 1859, p. 200. (7) "O Thou who didst on that last night." By R. Massie in the British Herald, Feb. 1865, p. 28. (8) "O Thou, who on that last sad eve." By E. Massie, 1866, p. 69.
xxxi. O wie so gliicklich waren wir. Love to Christ. On the blessedness of union with Christ. First published in Appendix vii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch as No. 1237, and in 8 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 829, and in the Hist. Nachricht thereto (1835, p. 186) marked as written for J. A. Rothe (p. 978, i.), and dated 1737. In Knapp, 1845, p. 236. Translated as "How full our cup of joy would be." By Miss Burlingham in the British Herald, Sept. 1865, p. 131, and in Reid's Praise Book, 1872.
xxxii. Reiner Bräutgam meiner Seelen. Desire for Holiness. Written in 1721 (Knapp, 1845, p. 21). Included in the 2nd edition, circa 1728, of the Sammlung as No. 1001, and in the Christ-Catholisches Singe- und Bet-Büchlein, 1727, p. 133, in 30 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 798. Translated as "Jesu, to Thee my heart I bow." This is a free translation of stanzas i., x.-xii., xvi., xvii., by J. Wesley in Psalms & Hymns, Charlestown, 1736-7, and Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739 (Poetical Works 1868-72, vol i., p. 109). Repeated in the Wesley Hymns & Spiritual Songs, 1753, Moravian Hymn Book, 1754, Bayley's Selection, Manchester, 1789, Bateman's Congregational Psalmist, 1846.
xxxiii. Schau von deinem Thron. Supplication. Written in 1720 (Knapp, 1845, p. 14), and founded on the Lord's Prayer. In the Sammlung, 1725, No. 443, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines. Translated as "All glory to the Eternal Three." By J. Wesley in Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1739 (Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. i., p. 130).
xxxiv. Solche Leute will der König küssen. Humility. First published in Appendix vii., circa 1738, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1241, and in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. Mr. Müller informs me that it was written in 1738, and was dedicated to Eva Maria Immig née Ziegelbauer, who on March 5,1740, became the wife of A. G. Spangenberg. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 842, stanzas ii., iii. are stanzas i., iv. of this Knapp, 1845, p. 89 dates it 1728. The translations are:—(1) "To such the King will give a kiss of Love." This is No. 154 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1742 (1754, pt. ii., No. 62).
(2) "His loving kindness those shall richly share." This is No. 508 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801. (3) "Such the King will stoop to and embrace." By Miss Winkworth, 1869, p. 310.
xxxv. Verliebter in die Sünderschaft. Love to Christ. First published in Appendix iii., circa 1737, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch, as No. 1072, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Brüder Gesang-Buch
Nicolaus Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf
John Keble
1792 - 1866 Person Name: J. Keble Author of "New every morning is the love" in The Book of Praise for Sunday Schools Keble, John, M.A., was born at Fairford, in Gloucestershire, on St. Mark's Day, 1792. His father was Vicar of Coln St. Aldwin's, about three miles distant, but lived at Fairford in a house of his own, where he educated entirely his two sons, John and Thomas, up to the time of their entrance at Oxford. In 1806 John Keble won a Scholarship at Corpus Christi College, and in 1810 a Double First Class, a distinction which up to that time had been gained by no one except Sir Robert Peel. In 1811 he was elected a Fellow of Oriel, a very great honour, especially for a boy under 19 years of age; and in 1811 he won the University Prizes both for the English and Latin Essays. It is somewhat remarkable that amid this brilliantly successful career, one competition in which the future poet was unsuccessful was that for English verse, in which he was defeated by Mr. Rolleston. After his election at Oriel, he resided in College, and engaged in private tuition. At the close of 1813 he was appointed Examining Master in the Schools, and was an exceedingly popular and efficient examiner. On Trinity Sunday, 1815, he was ordained Deacon, and in 1816 Priest, by the Bishop of Oxford, and became Curate of East Leach and Burthorpe, though he still continued to reside at Oxford. In 1818 he was appointed College Tutor at Oriel, which office he retained until 1823. On the death of his mother in the same year, he left Oxford, and returned to live with his father and two surviving sisters at Fairford. In addition to East Leach and Burthorpe, he also accepted the Curacy of Southrop, and the two brothers, John and Thomas, undertook the duties between them, at the same time helping their father at Coln. It should be added, as an apology for Keble thus becoming a sort of pluralist among "the inferior clergy," that the population of all his little cures did not exceed 1000, nor the income £100 a year. In 1824 came the only offer of a dignity in the Church, and that a very humble one, which he ever received. The newly-appointed Bishop of Barbadoes (Coleridge) wished Keble to go out with him as Archdeacon, and but for his father's delicate state of health, he would probably have accepted the offer. In 1825 he became Curate of Hursley, on the recommendation of his old pupil, Sir William Heathcote; but in 1826, on the death of his sister, Mary Ann, he returned to Fairford, feeling that he ought not to separate himself from his father and only surviving sister. He supplied his father's place at Coln entirely. 1827 was memorable for the publication of The Christian Year, and 1828 for the election to the Provostship of Oriel, which his friends, rather than himself, seem to have been anxious to secure for him. In 1829 the living of Hursley was offered to him by Sir William Heathcote, but declined on the ground that he could not leave his father. In 1830 he published his admirable edition of Hooker's Works. In 1831 the Bishop of Exeter (Dr. Philpotts) offered him the valuable living of Paignton, but it was declined for the same reason that Hursley had been declined. In the same year he was also elected to the Poetry Professorship at Oxford. His Praelectiones in that capacity were much admired. In 1833 he preached his famous Assize Sermon at Oxford, which is said by Dr. Newman to have given the first start to the Oxford Movement. Very soon after the publication of this sermon the Tracts for the Times began to be issued. Of these Tracts Keble wrote Nos. 4, 13, 40, and 89. In 1835 his father died, and Keble and his sister retired from Fairford to Coln. In the same year he married Miss Clarke and the Vicarage of Hursley, again becoming vacant, was again offered to him by Sir W. Heathcote, and as the reason for his previous refusal of it no longer existed, he accepted the offer, and in 1836 settled at Hursley for the remainder of his life. That life was simply the life of a devoted and indefatigable parish priest, varied by intellectual pursuits. In 1864 his health began to give way, and on March 29, 1866, he passed away, his dearly loved wife only surviving him six weeks. Both are buried, side by side, in Hursley churchyard.
In his country vicarage he was not idle with his pen. In 1839 he published his Metrical Version of the Psalms. The year before, he began to edit, in conjunction with Drs. Pusey and Newman, the Library of the Fathers. In 1846 he published the Lyra Innocentium, and in 1847 a volume of Academical and Occasional Sermons. His pen then seems to have rested for nearly ten years, when the agitation about the Divorce Bill called forth from him in 1851 an essay entitled, An Argument for not proceeding immediately to repeal the Laws which treat the Nuptial Bond as Indissoluble; and in the same year the decision of Archbishop Sumner in the Denison case elicited another essay, the full title of which is The Worship of Our Lord and Saviour in the Sacrament of the Holy Communion, but which is shortly entitled, Eucharistical Adoration. In 1863 he published his last work, The Life of Bishop Wilson (of Sodor and Man). This cost him more pains than anything he wrote, but it was essentially a labour of love.
In the popular sense of the word "hymn," Keble can scarcely be called a hymnwriter at all. Very many of his verses have found their way into popular collections of Hymns for Public Worship, but these are mostly centos. Often they are violently detached from their context in a way which seriously damages their significance. Two glaring instances of this occur in the Morning and Evening hymns. In the former the verse "Only, O Lord, in Thy dear love, Fit us for perfect rest above," loses half its meaning when the preceding verse, ending "The secret this of rest below," is excised, as it generally is in collections for public worship, and the same may be said of that most familiar of all Keble's lines, "Sun of my soul, thou Saviour dear," which has of course especial reference to the preceding verse, "'Tis gone, that bright and orbed blaze," &c. The Lyra Innocentium has furnished but few verses which have been adopted into hymn collections; the Psalter has been more fortunate, but the translations from the Latin are almost unknown.
Taking, however, the word "hymn" in the wider sense in which Dr. Johnson defines it, as "a song of adoration to some superior being," Keble stands in the very first rank of hymnwriters. His uneventful life was the very ideal life for such a poet as Keble was, but not the sort of life which would be best adapted to train a popular hymnwriter. The Christian Year and the Lyra Innocentium reflect in a remarkable degree the surroundings of the writer. They are essentially the works of a refined and cultured mind, and require a refined and cultured mind to enter into their spirit. Keble, all his life long, and never more than in the earlier portion of it, before he wrote, and when he was writing The Christian Year, breathed an atmosphere of culture and refinement. He had imbibed neither the good nor the evil which the training of a public or even of a private, school brings. It was not even the ordinary home education which he had received. He had been trained, up to the very time of his going to college, by his father, who was clearly a man of culture and refinement, and had been himself successively Scholar and Fellow of Corpus. When he went to Oxford, he can scarcely be said to have entered into the whirl of university life. The Corpus of those days has been admirably described by Keble's own biographer, Sir John Coleridge, and by Dean Stanley in his Life of Dr. Arnold; and the impression which the two vivid pictures leave upon the mind is that of a home circle, on rather a large scale, composed of about twenty youths, all more or less scholarly and refined, and some of them clearly destined to become men of mark. When he removed across the road to Oriel, he found himself in the midst of a still more distinguished band. Whether at home or at college he had never come into contact with anything rude or coarse. And his poetry is just what one would expect from such a career. Exquisitely delicate and refined thoughts, expressed in the most delicate and refined language, are characteristic of it all. Even the occasional roughnesses of versification may not be altogether unconnected with the absence of a public school education, when public schools laid excessive stress upon the form of composition, especially in verse. The Christian Year again bears traces of the life which the writer led, in a clerical atmosphere, just at the eve of a great Church Revival, "cujus pars magna fuit." “You know," he writes to a friend, “the C. Y. (as far as I remember it) everywhere supposes the Church to be in a state of decay." Still more obviously is this the case in regard to the Lyra Innocentium. It was being composed during the time when the writer was stricken by what he always seems to have regarded as the great sorrow of his life. Not the death of his nearest relations—-and he had several trials of this kind—-not the greatest of his own personal troubles dealt to him so severe a blow as the secession of J. H. Newman to the Church of Rome. The whole circumstances of the fierce controversy connected with the Tract movement troubled and unsettled him; and one can well understand with what a sense of relief he turned to write, not for, but about, little children, a most important distinction, which has too often been unnoticed. If the Lyra had been written for children it would have been an almost ludicrous failure, for the obscurity which has been frequently complained of in The Christian Year, is still more conspicuous in the latter work. The title is somewhat misleading, and has caused it to be regarded as a suitable gift-book for the young, who are quite incapable of appreciating it. For the Lyra is written in a deeper tone, and expresses the more matured convictions of the author; and though it is a far less successful achievement as a whole, it rises in places to a higher strain of poetry than The Christian Year does.
Another marked feature of Keble's poetry is to a great extent traceable to his early life, viz. the wonderful accuracy and vividness of his descriptions of natural scenery. The ordinary schoolboy or undergraduate cares little for natural scenery. The country is to him a mere playing field. But Keble's training led him to love the country for its own sake. Hence, as Dean Stanley remarks, “Oxford, Bagley Wood, and the neighbourhood of Hursley might be traced through hundreds of lines, both in The Christian Year and the Lyra Innocentium.” The same writer testifies, with an authority which no other Englishman could claim, to "the exactness of the descriptions of Palestine, which he [Keble] had never visited.” And may not this remarkable fact be also traced to some extent to his early training? Brought up under the immediate supervision of a pious father, whom he venerated and loved dearly, he had been encouraged to study intelligently his Bible in a way in which a boy differently educated was not likely to do. Hence, as Sir John Coleridge remarks,
"The Christian Year is so wonderfully scriptural. Keble's mind was, by long, patient and affectionate study of Scripture, so imbued with it that its language, its train of thought, its mode of reasoning, seems to flow out into his poetry, almost, one should think, unconsciously to himself."
To this may we not add that the same intimate knowledge of the Bible had rendered the memory of the Holy Land so familiar to him that he was able to describe it as accurately as if he had seen it? One other early influence of Keble's life upon his poetry must be noticed. Circumstances brought him into contact with the "Lake poets." The near relation of one of the greatest of them had been his college friend, and John Coleridge introduced him to the writings not only of his uncle, S. T. Coleridge, but also of Wordsworth, to whom he dedicated his Praelectiones, and whose poetry and personal character he admired enthusiastically. To the same college friend he was indebted for an introduction to Southey, whom he found to be "a noble and delightful character," and there is no doubt that the writings of these three great men, but especially Wordsworth, had very much to do with the formation of Keble's own mind as a poet. It has been remarked that in Keble's later life his poetical genius seemed to have, to a great extent, forsaken him; and that the Miscellaneous Poems do not show many traces of the spirit which animated The Christian Year and the Lyra Innocentium. Perhaps one reason for this change may be found in the increased interest "which Keble took in public questions which were not conducive to the calm, introspective state of mind so necessary to the production of good poetry. The poet should live in a world of his own, not in a world perpetually wrangling about University Reform, about Courts of Final Appeal, about Marriage with Deceased Wife's Sister, and other like matters into which Keble, in his later years, threw himself—heart and soul.
It is not needful to say much about Keble's other poetical works, The Psalter was not a success, and Keble did not expect it to be. It was undertaken," he tells us, "in the first instance with a serious apprehension, which has since grown into a full conviction, that the thing attempted is, strictly speaking, impossible." At the same time, if Keble did not achieve what he owned to be impossible, he produced a version which has the rare merit of never offending against good taste; one which in every line reflects the mind of the cultured and elegant scholar, who had been used to the work of translating from other languages into English. Hymnal compilers have hitherto strangely neglected this volume; but it is a volume worth the attention of the hymn compiler of the future. There is scarcely a verse in it which would do discredit to any hymnbook; while there are parts which would be an acquisition to any collection. His translations from the Latin have not commended themselves to hymnal compilers. Some of his detached hymns have been more popular. But it is after all as writer of The Christian Year that Keble has established his claim to be reckoned among the immortals. It would be hardly too much to say that what the Prayer Book is in prose, The Christian Year is in poetry. They never pall upon one; they realise Keble's own exquisite simile:—
"As for some dear familiar strain
Untired we ask, and ask again;
Ever in its melodious store
Finding a spell unheard before."
And it would hardly be too bold to prophesy that The Christian Year will live as long as the Prayer Book, whose spirit Keble had so thoroughly imbibed, and whose "soothing influence" it was his especial object to illustrate and commend. [Rev. John H. 0verton, D.D.]
Keble's hymns, poetical pieces, and translations appeared in the following works :—
(1.) The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and Holy days Throughout the Year. Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1827. Preface dated "May 30th, 1827." The last poem, that on the “Commination," is dated March 9, 1827. The poems on the "Forms of Prayer to be used at Sea," "Gunpowder Treason," "King Charles the Martyr," "The Restoration of the Royal Family," "The Accession," and "Ordination," were added to the 4th edition, 1828. The Messrs. Parker have pub. a large number of editions to date, including a facsimile reprint of the first edition, and an edition with the addition of the dates of composition of each poem. A facsimile of Keble's manuscript as it existed in 1822 was also lithographed in 1882, by Eliot Stock, but its publication was suppressed by a legal injunction, and only a few copies came into the hands of the public. Since the expiration of the first copyright other publishers have issued the work in various forms.
(2.) Contributions to the British Magazine, which were included in Lyra Apostolica, 1836, with the signature of "γ."
(3.) The Psalter or Psalms of David; In English Verse; By a Member of the University of Oxford. Adapted for the most part, to Tunes in Common Use; and dedicated by permission to the Lord Bishop of Oxford. . . . Oxford, John Henry Parker: J. G. & F. Rivington, London, MDCCCXXXIX. Preface dated “Oxford, May 29, 1839."
(4.) The Child's Christian Year: Hymns for every Sunday and Holy-Day. Compiled for the use of Parochial Schools. Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1841. This was compiled by Mrs. Yonge. Keble wrote the Preface, dated “Hursley, Nov. 6, 1841," and signed it “J. K." To it he contributed the four poems noted below.
(5.) Lyra Innocentium: Thoughts in Verse on Christian Children, their Ways and their Privileges . . . Oxford: John Henry Parker : F. & J. Rivington, London, 1846. The Metrical Address (in place of Preface) “To all Friendly Readers," is dated "Feb. 8, 1846."
(6.) Lays of the Sanctuary, and otter Poems. Compiled and Edited by G. Stevenson de M. Rutherford... London: Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1859. This was a volume of poems published on behalf of Mrs. Elizabeth Good. To it Keble contributed the three pieces noted below.
(7.) The Salisbury Hymn-Book 1857. Edited by Earl Nelson. To this be contributed a few hymns, some translations from the Latin, and some rewritten forms of well-known hymns, as "Guide me, 0 Thou great Jehovah," &c.
(8.) Miscellaneous Poems by the. Rev. J. Keble, M.A., Vicar of Hursley. Oxford and London: Parker & Co., 1869. The excellent Preface to this posthumous work is dated "Chester, Feb. 22, 1869," and is signed "G.M," i.e. by George Moberly, late Bishop of Salisbury. This volume contains Keble's Ode written for the Installation of the Duke of Wellington as Chancellor of the University of Oxford, in 1834, his poems from the Lyra Apostolica, his hymns named above, his translations from the Latin, and other pieces not published in his works.
The most important centos from The Christian Year, which are in common use as hymns, and also the hymns contributed to the Salisbury Hymn Book, 1857, are annotated in full under the first lines of the original poems. The translations from the Latin and Greek are given under the first lines of the originals. There are also several of his more important pieces noted in the body of this work. Those that …have no special history, are the following (the dates given being those of the composition of each piece):—
i. From The Christian Year, 1827 and 1828.
1. Creator, Saviour, strengthening Guide. Trinity Sunday. (March 3, 1826.)
2. Father, what treasures of sweet thought. Churching of Women. (March 13, 1827.)
3. God is not in the earthquake: but behold. 9th Sunday after Trinity. The still mall voice. (Aug. 13,1822.)
4. In troublous days of anguish and rebuke. 9th S. after Trinity. The still small voice. (Aug. 13, 1822.)
5. Lessons sweet of spring returning. 1st Sunday after Epiphany. Spring. (May 17,1824.)
6. My Saviour, can it ever be? 4th Sunday after Easter. The promised Comforter.
7. 0 Father of long suffering grace. 18th Sunday after Trinity. God's longsuffering. (Oct. 6, 1823.)
8. 0 God of mercy, God of might, How should, &c. Holy Communion. (Jan. 31, 1827.)
9. 0 Lord my God, do Thou Thy holy will. Wednesday before Easter. Resignation. (Aug. 13, 1821.)
10. 0 say not, dream [think] not, heavenly notes. Catechism. (Feb. 16, 1827.)
11. 0 shame upon thee, listless heart. SS. Philip & James. (Aug. 3, 1825.)
12. 0 who shall dare in this frail scene? St. Mark's Day. (1820.)
13. Red o'er the forest peers the setting sun. 23rd Sunday after Trinity. The Resurrection of the body. (Nov. 12, 1825.)
14. Spirit of Christ, Thine earnest give. Ordination. (March 28, 1828.)
15. Spirit of light and truth, to Thee. Ordination. (March 28, 1828.)
16. Spirit of might and sweetness too. Confirmation. (Feb. 21, 1827.)
17. Sweet nurslings of the vernal skies. 15th S. after Trinity. Consider the lilies. Live for today. (Feb. 3, 1826)
18. The days of hope and prayer are past. 4th Sunday after Easter. The promised Comforter.
19. The live-long night we've toiled in vain. 5th Sunday after Trinity. Miracle of the Fishes. (1821.)
20. The midday sun with fiercest glare. Conversion of St. Paul. (Mar. 2,1822.)
21. The shadow of the Almighty's cloud. Confirmation. (Feb. 22, 1827.)
22. The silent joy that sinks so deep. 2nd Sunday after Epiphany. Turning Water into Wine.
23. Then, fainting soul, arise and sing. 4th Sunday after Easter. The promised Comforter.
24. When brothers part for manhood's race. St. Andrew's Day. (Jan. 27, 1822.)
25. Who is God’s chosen priest ? St. Matthias's Day.
26. Why doth my Saviour weep? 10th Sunday after Trinity. Christ weeping over Jerusalem. (1819.)
27. Why should we faint and fear to live alone? 24th Sunday after Trinity. God's goodness in veiling the future. (June 7, 1825.)
28. Wish not, dear friends, my pain away. 16th Sunday after Trinity. Resignation. (1824.)
ii. From The Psalter, 1839.
29. From deeps so wild and drear. Ps. cxxx.
30. God our Hope and Strength abiding. Ps. xlvi.
31. How pleasant, Lord of hosts, how dear. Ps. lxxxiv.
32. Lord, be my Judge, for I have trod. Ps. xxvi.
33. Lord, Thy heart in love hath yearned. Ps. lxxxv.
34. Lord, Thou hast search'd me out and known. Ps. cxxxix
35. My God, my God, why hast Thou me? Ps. xxii.
36. My Shepherd is the living God. Ps. xxiii.
37. My Shepherd is the Lord; J know. Ps. xxiii.
38. Praise the Lord, for He is love. Ps. cxxxvi.
39. Praise ye the Lord from heaven. Ps.cxlviii.
40. Sing the song unheard before. Ps. xcvi.
41. Sound high Jehovah's Name. Ps. cxxxv.
42. The earth is all the Lord's, with all. Ps. xxiv.
43. The mercies of the Lord my God. Ps. lxxxix.
44. The seed of Jacob, one and all. Ps. xxii.
iii. From The Child's Christian Year, 1841, and later editions.
45. Bethlehem, above all cities blest. Innocents’ Day.
46. Lo, from the Eastern hills the Lord. l0th Sunday after Trinity. The Gospel. (Late editions.)
47. Our God in glory sits on high. 1st Sunday after Easter. The Epistle.
48. When Christ to village comes or town. 16th Sunday after Trinity. The Gospel. (Late editions.)
iv. From Lyra Innocentium, 1846.
49. Christ before thy door is waiting. Presence of Christ in His poor; or, Offertory.
50. How [When] the new-born saints, assembling. Offertory.
51. Once in His Name Who made thee. Holy Baptism.
52. Who for the like of me will care? Naamans' Servant-maid
v. From Lays of the Sanctuary, 1859.
53. Lord, lift my heart to Thee at morn. Emigrant's Midnight Hymn.
54. O Love unseen, we know Thee nigh. Cento from No. 53.
55. Slowly the gleaming stars retire. Morning Hymn for Emigrants at Sea.
56. The twilight hour is sweet at home. Evening hymn for Emigrants at Sea.
The editor of Keble's Miscellaneous Poems says concerning Nos. 53, 55, and 56:—
"The three hymns for Emigrants, for use at Midnight, Morning, and Evening, were written at the request of his friend Sir Frederic Rogers, at that time Emigration Commissioner. They were printed in the first edition of the ‘Prayers for Emigrants, which he had compiled, but were subsequently omitted, perhaps as being thought not sufficiently simple for the class of people for whose use the Book of Prayers was chiefly intended." Preface, p. vi.
It is found that nearly 100 hymns (counting centos as such) by Keble are in common use at the present time, and of these some rank with the finest and most popular in the English language.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
John Keble
