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Abiel A. Livermore

1811 - 1892 Author of "A Holy Air Is Breathing Round" in The Cyber Hymnal Livermore, Abiel Abbot, D.D. was born at Wilton, New Hampshire, Oct. 30, 1811, and graduated at Harvard in Arts, in 1833; and Divinity, 1836. The latter year he was ordained as a Unitarian Minister, and became Pastor at Keene, New Hampshire, 1836; Cincinnati, 1850; Yonkers, New York, 1857. In 1863 he removed to Meadville, Pennsylvania, as the President of the Theological School. Dr. Livermore is the author of various works, and was the chief editor of the Cheshire Pastoral Association's Christian Hymns, 1844, one of the most widely circulated and estimable of American Unitarian collections. To that collection he contributed "A holy air is breathing round" (Holy Communion), which has passed into several collections, including Martineau's Hymns, &c, 1873. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907), p. 680

Emily Taylor

1795 - 1872 Author of "O here, if ever, God of love" in Services for Congregational Worship. The New Hymn and Tune Book Taylor, Emily, born 1795, was the daughter of Samuel Taylor, of New Buckenham, Norfolk, niece of John Taylor, of Norwich, the hymnwriter, and great grand-daughter of Dr. John Taylor, the Hebraist. Miss Taylor was the writer of numerous tales for children, chiefly historical, and of various books of instruction, and of descriptive natural history. Amongst her publications are:— (1) Letters to a Child on Maritime Discovery, 1820; (2) Vision of Las Casas, and other Poems, 1825; (3) Poetical Illustrations of Passages of Scripture, 1826 ; (4) Tales of the Saxons, 1832; (5) Tales of the English, 1833; (6) Memoir of Sir T. More, 1834; (7) The Boy and the Birds, 1835. She also edited Sabbath Recreations, 1826; and Flowers and Fruit in Old English Gardens, 1836; and contributed to the Magnet Stories, 1860, &c.; and the Rainbow Stories, 1870, &c. Miss Taylor wrote several hymns, which appeared as follows:—To the Unitarian Collection of Psalms & Hymns, printed for the Renshaw Street Chapel, Liverpool, 1818, she contributed anonymously:— 1. Come to the house of prayer. Invitation to Public Worship. Sometimes given as "O come to the house of Prayer." 2. God of the changing year Whose arm of power. Lessons of the Changing Year. 3. O Father, though the anxious fear. Sunday. 4. O here, if ever, God of love. Holy Communion. These, and the following 6 hymns, were given anonymously in the 2nd ed. of the Norwich Unitarian Hymn Book, 1826:— 5. Here, Lord, when at Thy Table met. Holy Communion. 6. O not for these alone I pray. Holy Communion. Sometimes, "No, not for these alone I pray." 7. The Gospel is the light. Worth and Power of the Gospel. Sometimes “It is the one true light." 8. Thus shalt thou love the Almighty God [Lord] . Self-consecration to God. 9. Who shall behold the King of kings? Purity. 10. Who that o'er many a barren part. Missions. Sometimes it begins with st. ii., "Thy kingdom come! The heathen lands." Of the above No. 6 is part of a longer poem which was given in her Poetical Illustrations of Passages of Scripture, 1826. This work also contains:— 11. O Source of good! around me spread. Seek, and ye shall find. 12. Truly the light of morn is sweet. Early Piety. 13. When summer suns their radiance fling. Resignation with Praise. In the Rev. J. R. Beard's Collection of Hymns for Public and Private Worship, 1837, several of the above are repeated, and also:— 14. If love, the noblest, purest, best. Communion with Jesus. Of these 14 hymns 10 are in Dr. Martineau's Hymns, &c, 1840, and 9 in his Hymns, &c, 1873. Several are also found in other collections, as Horder's Congregational Hymns, 1881, and some American and other hymn-books. Although for the greater part of her life Miss Taylor was a Unitarian, latterly, under the influence of F. D. Maurice, she joined the Church of England She died in 1872. [Rev. Valentine D. Davis, B.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

James Cowden Wallace

1793 - 1841 Person Name: James E. Wallace Author of "An Eye That Never Sleeps" in The Voice of Thanksgiving No. 4 Wallace, James Cowden, was born at Dudley, circa 1793. He was brother of the Rev. Robert Wallace (1791-1880), Professor of Theology in Manchester New College, and author of Antitrinitarian Biography. J. C. Wallace was Unitarian minister at Totnes, 1824, and afterwards at Brighton and Wareham. He died at Wareham in 1841. He was a prolific hymnwriter, and contributed various other poetical pieces to the Monthly Repository. In a Selection of Hymns for Unitarian Worship, by R. Wallace, Chesterfield, 1822, there are 13 of his hymns, and in the 2nd edition of the same, 1826, there are 29 more. There are also 10 of his hymns in the Dukinfield Selection of Psalms & Hymns for Christian Worship, 1822 (still in use), and 64 in Beard's Collection of Hymns, 1837. Of these hymns the following are still in common use:— 1. Is there no balm to soften grief? The Efficacy of Prayer (1837). 2. It is not rank, or power, or state. The Universality of the Gospel. 3. There's not a place in earth's vast round. God seen in Everything. 4. Through every clime God's care extends. Divine Care of All. 5. There is an eye that never sleeps. The Divine Helper in Need. [Rev. Valentine D. Davis, B.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ===================== Wallace, James Cowdan, 1793 (?>-184l. Minister at various places in the south of England, finally at Wareham, author of a considerable number of hymns, to be found in his brother Robert's Selection of Hymns for Unitarian Worship, Chesterfield, 1822, enlarged ed., 1826, and in Beard's Collection, 1837. In the Baptist Hymnal is, "There is an eye that never sleeps” (The Divine watchfulness). See "There's not a star whose trembling light.” --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Caroline A. Mason

1823 - 1890 Person Name: Mrs. Caroline A. Mason Author of "God Speaks to Me" in The Carol Mason, Caroline Atherton, née Briggs, daughter of Dr. Calvin Briggs, of Marblehead, b. there July 27, 1823, married Charles Mason, a lawyer at Fitchburg, in 1853, and d. there June 13, 1890. She published a volume of poems as Utterance: or Private Voices to the Public Heart, 1852. Her Lost Ring and other Poems was issued in 1891. Of her hymns the following are in common use:— 1. I cannot walk in darkness long. [Evening.] This begins with st. v. of her poem on eventide, "At cool of day with God I walk." In her Lost Ring, 1891, p. 165. 2. 0 God. I thank Thee for each sight. [The Joy of Living.] From her Lost Ring, Dec, 1891, p. 164, where it is entitled "A Matin Hymn," and begins "I lift the sash and gaze abroad." 3. The changing years, eternal God. [Adoration.] Written for the Bicentennial of the First Cong. Church, Marblehead, Aug. 13, 1884 (Lost Ring, 1891, p. 174). It begins "The changing centuries, O God." Of these Nos. 1 and 2 are in Putnam's Singers & Songs, 1875, pp. 464-5. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Johann G. Nägeli

Person Name: Johann Georg Nägeli (1773-1836) Composer of "NAOMI" in The Christian Hymnary. Bks. 1-4 See Nägeli, Hans George, 1773-1836

H. B. Hartzler

1840 - 1920 Person Name: Rev. H. B. Hartzler Author of "O Holy Ghost, I welcome Thee" in Evangelical Hymnal Hartzler, Henry Burns. (York County, Pennsylvania, March 23, 1840--1920). Evangelical. Licensed 1869, pastor Trinity Church, York Penn., in 1873-1874; editor of The Messenger in 1870s and 1880s; taught Bible in Mt. Hermon school, Northfield, Massachusetts. Was associated with D.L. Moody. Went with the United Evangelical CHurch in the schism, was editor of its Evangel 1894-1902. Editor of and hymn-contributor to Evangelischer Gesangbuch and Hymn Book of the United Evangelical Church. Bishop of that denomination 1902-1910. Most famous hymn was "Go and seek the lost and dying." --Ellen Jane Lorenz, DNAH Archives

William Hiley Bathurst

1796 - 1877 Person Name: William H. Bathurst Author of "O For a Faith" in The Revival No. 3 Bathurst, William Hiley , M.A., son of the Rt. Hon. Charles Bragge (afterwards Bathurst) some time M.P. for Bristol, born at Clevedale, near Bristol, Aug. 28, 1796, and educated at Winchester, and Christ Church, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1818. From 1820 to 1852 he held the Rectory of Barwick-in-Elmet, near Leeds. Resigning the Rectory in the latter year, through his inability to reconcile his doctrinal views with the Book of Common Prayer, he retired into private life, and died at Lydney Park, Gloucestershire, Nov. 25, 1877. His works include, The Georgics of Virgil: Translated by W. H. B., 1849; Metrical Musings; or, Thoughts on Sacred Subjects in Verse, 1849; and Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Use, 1831 (2nd ed. 1842). This last contains 141 versions of Psalms, and 206 hymns. All the latter, and many of the former are original. Of his hymns, those in most extensive use are, "Hark! the distant isles proclaim," "Holy Spirit from on high,” "Jesus, Thy Church with longing eyes,” "Eternal Spirit, by whose power," "O for a faith that will not shrink” and “O Saviour, may we never rest." In addition to these and a few others (all of which are annotated under their first lines), the following are in common use, but mainly in America:— 1. Before Thy cross, my dying Lord. Faith. 2. Before Thy mercy-seat, O Lord. Holy Scriptures. 3. Behold what unspeakable love. Heaven. 4. Does the Lord of Glory speak? Holy Scripture. 5. Ere the world with light invested. Holy Spirit. 6. Except the Lord our labours bless. Ps. cxxvii. 1. Full of weakness and of sin. The Creator Spirit desired. 8. Glory to the Almighty Father. Praise. 9. Holy Lord, our hearts prepare. Preparation for Prayer. 10. Holy Spirit from on high. Holy Spirit's direction implored. 11. How blest are they who feel the weight. Repentance. 12. How strange that souls whom Jesus feeds. Conflict. 13. How sweet it is in early youth. Youthful Piety. 14. How sweet the hour of closing day. Death. 15. Led by a Father's gentle hand. Communion of Saints 16. Lord, a better heart bestow. Lent. 17. Lord, bid the light arise. To the Holy Spirit. 18. Lord, shed Thy glory as of old. Whitsuntide. 19. Lord, what blessed consolation. Safety of the Church. 20. Lord, when our offerings we present. Offertory. 21. 0 for a beam of heavenly light. Lent. 22. 0 for that flame of living tire. Holy Spirit. 23. 0 give thanks unto the Lord. Ps. cv. 24. Shepherd of Israel, from above. On behalf of Children. 25. This day the Lord hath called His own. Sunday. 26. When the world my heart is rending. Heaven. 27. Why search ye in the narrow tomb? Ascension. 28. Ye servants of the living God. Praise. All these hymns were given in his Psalms & Hymns , &c, 1831 (Preface dated November 15th, 1830), and repeated, without alteration, in the 2nd ed., 1842. They are characterized by simplicity of language, and directness of aim; but do not in any instance rise above the ordinary level of passable hymn-writing. In some American collections Bathurst's name is contracted to "Bath," and this is regarded either as a complete surname or as a Bath Collection. The contraction was given by Bickersteth in his Christian Psalmody, 1833. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =================== Bathurst, William H., p. 117, ii. Additional hymns from his Psalms & Hymns, 1831, are in common use as follows:— 1. Great God, when I approach Thy throne. Redemption. 2. How bright a day was that which saw. The First Sabbath. 3. How frail and fallible I am. Jesus Unchangeable. 4. In Jesus' name with one accord. Divine Worship. 5. Lord, I claim Thee for my own. Ps. lxiii. 6. Lord shew Thy glory as of old. This is not "Lord shed Thy glory, &c," as stated at p. 118, i., 18. 7. Lord, when I lift my voice to Thee. Ps. ci. 8. O Lord, defend us as of old. Ps. lxxiv. 9. O Lord, how long shall heathens hold. Ps. lxxix. 10. 0 Lord, look down with pitying eye. Intercession for the Jews. Begins with st. iv. of “0 how is Zion's glory gone." 11. Praise God, O my soul. Ps. cxlvi. 12. Saviour, at Thy feet we bow. United Prayer. 13. 'Tis past, that agonizing hour. Ascension. 14. The Lord look'd all around. Universal Corruption. 15. To the Source of every blessing. Praise to the Father. 16. What can relieve the troubled soul? Christ the Comforter. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Samuel Francis Smith

1808 - 1895 Author of "Spirit of holiness, descend" in The Mennonite Hymnal Smith, Samuel Francis, D.D., was born in Boston, U.S.A., Oct. 21, 1808, and graduated in arts at Harvard, and in theology at Andover. He entered the Baptist ministry in 1832, and became the same year editor of the Baptist Missionary Magazine. He also contributed to the Encyclopaedia Americana. From 1834 to 1842 he was pastor at Waterville, Maine, and Professor of Modern Languages in Waterville College. In 1842 he removed to Newton, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1854, when he became the editor of the publications of the Baptist Missionary Union. With Baron Stow he prepared the Baptist collection known as The Psalmist, published in 1843, to which he contributed several hymns. The Psalmist is the most creditable and influential of the American Baptist collections to the present day. Dr. Smith also published Lyric Gems, 1854, Rock of Ages, 1870, &c. A large number of his hymns are in use in America, and several have passed into some of the English collections. Taking his hymns in common use in alphabetical order, we have the following:— 1. And now the solemn deed is done. Ordination. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 954. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, it is altered to "The solemn service now is done." 2. As flows the rapid river. Life Passing Away. In Christian Psalmody, 1833, No. 33; the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, Boston, 1841; and The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1059. Found in a few English hymn-books, and in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 3. Auspicious morning, hail. American National Anniversary. Written for July 4th, 1841, and published in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1007. 4. Beyond where Cedron's waters flow. Gethsemane. In L. Bacon's Appendix, 1833; the Psalmist, 1843, No. 220, and later collections. 5. Blest is the hour when cares depart. Divine Worship. In The Psalmist, 1843, No. 947, and others. 6. Constrained by love we follow where. Holy Baptism. Appeared in the Baptist edition of the Plymouth Hymn Book, 1857. 7. Down to the sacred wave. Holy Baptism. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns added to his Collection of 1817, in 1832, No. 510; repeated in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 818, and in several collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 8. Hail! ye days of solemn meeting. Public Worship. An altered form of No. 26 below, in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866, as an "American Hymn, 1840." 9. How blest the hour when first we gave. Holy Baptism. Appeared in the Baptist edition of thePlymouth Hymn Book, 1857, No. 1468. 10. How calmly wakes the hallowed morn. Holy Baptism. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 810, in later collections, and in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 11. Jesus, Thou hast freely saved us. Salvation. In Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 503, and others. 12. Meekly in Jordan's Holy Stream. Holy Baptism. Contributed to The Psalmist, 1843, No. 808. 13. My country, 'tis of thee. National Hymn. "Written in 1832, and first sung at a children's Fourth of July celebration in Park Street church, Boston." Included in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1000, and found in a large number of American hymn-books, but not in use in Great Britain. It is one of the most popular of Dr. Smith's compositions. Text, with note in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 14. 0 not my own these verdant hills. Bought with a Price. Appeared in Nason's Congregational Hymn Book, 1857, and given inLaudes Domini, 1884. 15. Onward speed thy conquering flight. Missions. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 892, and is found in several modern collections in Great Britain and America. Also in Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868. 16. Planted in Christ, the living Vine. Christian Fellowship; or, For Unity. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 929, inLyra Sacra Americana, 1868, and several hymn-books. Of the hymns contributed by Dr. Smith to The Psalmist this is the best, and one of the most popular. 17. Remember thy Creator. Youthful Piety Enforced. In Christian Psalmody, 1832, No. 32; the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, 1841; The Psalmist, 1843, No. 778; Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868, and other collections. 18. Sister, thou wast mild and lovely. Death and Burial. Written on the death of Miss J. M. C. of Mount Vernon School, Boston, July 13,1833, and published in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1096. 19. Softly fades the twilight ray. Sunday Evening. Written in 1832, and included in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 56. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, and several hymn-books. 20. Spirit of holiness, descend. Whitsuntide. Appeared in the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, 1841, No. 295, and again in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 384. In the Unitarian Hymns for the Church of Christ, Boston, 1853. St. ii., iii., iv. were given as "Spirit of God, Thy churches wait." This form of the text and the original are both in modern hymn-books. 21. Spirit of peace and holiness. Institution of a Minister. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 953, and Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872. 22. The morning light is breaking. Missions. Written in 1832, and included in Hastings's Spiritual Songs, 1832-33, No. 253; and The Psalmist, 1843, No. 912. This hymn is very popular and has been translated into several languages. Dr. Smith says of it that “it has been a great favourite at missionary gatherings, and I have myself heard it sung in five or six different languages in Europe and Asia. It is a favourite with the Burmans, Karens, and Telegus in Asia, from whose lips I have heard it repeatedly.” 23. The Prince of Salvation in triumph is riding. Missions. Given in Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1832-33, No. 274; The Psalmist, 1843, and later collections. 24. Tis done, the [important] solemn act is done. Ordination. Appeared in The Psalmist 1843, No. 951, and later hymn-books. 25. Today the Saviour calls. Invitation. First sketch by Dr. Smith, the revised text, as in Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, No. 176, and The Psalmist, No. 453, by Dr. T. Hastings (p. 495, i. 19). 26. Welcome, days of solemn meeting. Special Devotional Services. Written in 1834, and given in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872. See No. 8. 27. When shall we meet again ? Parting. This is a cento. The first stanza is from Alaric A. Watts's Poetical Sketches, &c, 1822, p. 158 ; and st. ii.-iv. are by Dr. Smith. In this form it was published in L. Bacon's Supplement to Dwight, 1833, No. 489. It is in several American hymn-books; and also the English Baptist Psalms & Hymns, 1858, &c. 28. When the harvest is past and the summer is gone. Close of Worship. Contributed to Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1831, No. 244; and repeated in the Fuller and Jeter Supplement to The Psalmist, 1847, No. 22, and later collections. 29. When thy mortal life is fled. The Judgment. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 379, and repeated in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 455, and later hymn-books. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 30. While in this sacred rite of Thine. Holy Baptism. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 803: Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868, &c. 31. With willing hearts we tread. Holy Baptism. In The Psalmist, 1843, No. 798; and again in the Baptist Praise Book, 1871. 32. Yes, my native land, I love thee. A Missionary's Farewell. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 445, and found in later collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

William Cowper

1731 - 1800 Person Name: William Cowper, 1731-1800 Author of "Oh, for a Closer Walk with God" in Hymns of the Saints William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper"; b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1731; d. East Dereham, Norfolk, England, 1800) is regarded as one of the best early Romantic poets. To biographers he is also known as "mad Cowper." His literary talents produced some of the finest English hymn texts, but his chronic depression accounts for the somber tone of many of those texts. Educated to become an attorney, Cowper was called to the bar in 1754 but never practiced law. In 1763 he had the opportunity to become a clerk for the House of Lords, but the dread of the required public examination triggered his tendency to depression, and he attempted suicide. His subsequent hospitalization and friendship with Morley and Mary Unwin provided emotional stability, but the periods of severe depression returned. His depression was deepened by a religious bent, which often stressed the wrath of God, and at times Cowper felt that God had predestined him to damnation. For the last two decades of his life Cowper lived in Olney, where John Newton became his pastor. There he assisted Newton in his pastoral duties, and the two collaborated on the important hymn collection Olney Hymns (1779), to which Cowper contributed sixty-eight hymn texts. Bert Polman ============ Cowper, William, the poet. The leading events in the life of Cowper are: born in his father's rectory, Berkhampstead, Nov. 26, 1731; educated at Westminster; called to the Bar, 1754; madness, 1763; residence at Huntingdon, 1765; removal to Olney, 1768; to Weston, 1786; to East Dereham, 1795; death there, April 25, 1800. The simple life of Cowper, marked chiefly by its innocent recreations and tender friendships, was in reality a tragedy. His mother, whom he commemorated in the exquisite "Lines on her picture," a vivid delineation of his childhood, written in his 60th year, died when he was six years old. At his first school he was profoundly wretched, but happier at Westminster; excelling at cricket and football, and numbering Warren Hastings, Colman, and the future model of his versification. Churchill, among his contemporaries or friends. Destined for the Bar, he was articled to a solicitor, along with Thurlow. During this period he fell in love with his cousin, Theodora Cowper, sister to Lady Hesketh, and wrote love poems to her. The marriage was forbidden by her father, but she never forgot him, and in after years secretly aided his necessities. Fits of melancholy, from which he had suffered in school days, began to increase, as he entered on life, much straitened in means after his father's death. But on the whole, it is the playful, humorous side of him that is most prominent in the nine years after his call to the Bar; spent in the society of Colman, Bonnell Thornton, and Lloyd, and in writing satires for The Connoisseur and St. James's Chronicle and halfpenny ballads. Then came the awful calamity, which destroyed all hopes of distinction, and made him a sedentary invalid, dependent on his friends. He had been nominated to the Clerkship of the Journals of the House of Lords, but the dread of appearing before them to show his fitness for the appointment overthrew his reason. He attempted his life with "laudanum, knife and cord,"—-in the third attempt nearly succeeding. The dark delusion of his life now first showed itself—a belief in his reprobation by God. But for the present, under the wise and Christian treatment of Dr. Cotton (q. v.) at St. Albans, it passed away; and the eight years that followed, of which the two first were spent at Huntingdon (where he formed his lifelong friendship with Mrs. Unwin), and the remainder at Olney in active piety among the poor, and enthusiastic devotions under the guidance of John Newton (q. v.), were full of the realisation of God's favour, and the happiest, most lucid period of his life. But the tension of long religious exercises, the nervous excitement of leading at prayer meetings, and the extreme despondence (far more than the Calvinism) of Newton, could scarcely have been a healthy atmosphere for a shy, sensitive spirit, that needed most of all the joyous sunlight of Christianity. A year after his brother's death, madness returned. Under the conviction that it was the command of God, he attempted suicide; and he then settled down into a belief in stark contradiction to his Calvinistic creed, "that the Lord, after having renewed him in holiness, had doomed him to everlasting perdition" (Southey). In its darkest form his affliction lasted sixteen months, during which he chiefly resided in J. Newton's house, patiently tended by him and by his devoted nurse, Mrs. Unwin. Gradually he became interested in carpentering, gardening, glazing, and the tendance of some tame hares and other playmates. At the close of 1780, Mrs. Unwin suggested to him some serious poetical work; and the occupation proved so congenial, that his first volume was published in 1782. To a gay episode in 1783 (his fascination by the wit of Lady Austen) his greatest poem, The Task, and also John Gilpin were owing. His other principal work was his Homer, published in 1791. The dark cloud had greatly lifted from his life when Lady Hesketh's care accomplished his removal to Weston (1786): but the loss of his dear friend William Unwin lowered it again for some months. The five years' illness of Mrs. Unwin, during which his nurse of old became his tenderly-watched patient, deepened the darkness more and more. And her death (1796) brought “fixed despair," of which his last poem, The Castaway, is the terrible memorial. Perhaps no more beautiful sentence has been written of him, than the testimony of one, who saw him after death, that with the "composure and calmness" of the face there “mingled, as it were, a holy surprise." Cowper's poetry marks the dawn of the return from the conventionality of Pope to natural expression, and the study of quiet nature. His ambition was higher than this, to be the Bard of Christianity. His great poems show no trace of his monomania, and are full of healthy piety. His fame as a poet is less than as a letter-writer: the charm of his letters is unsurpassed. Though the most considerable poet, who has written hymns, he has contributed little to the development of their structure, adopting the traditional modes of his time and Newton's severe canons. The spiritual ideas of the hymns are identical with Newton's: their highest note is peace and thankful contemplation, rather than joy: more than half of them are full of trustful or reassuring faith: ten of them are either submissive (44), self-reproachful (17, 42, 43), full of sad yearning (1, 34), questioning (9), or dark spiritual conflict (38-40). The specialty of Cowper's handling is a greater plaintiveness, tenderness, and refinement. A study of these hymns as they stood originally under the classified heads of the Olney Hymns, 1779, which in some cases probably indicate the aim of Cowper as well as the ultimate arrangement of the book by Newton, shows that one or two hymns were more the history of his conversion, than transcripts of present feelings; and the study of Newton's hymns in the same volume, full of heavy indictment against the sins of his own regenerate life, brings out the peculiar danger of his friendship to the poet: it tends also to modify considerably the conclusions of Southey as to the signs of incipient madness in Cowper's maddest hymns. Cowper's best hymns are given in The Book of Praise by Lord Selborne. Two may be selected from them; the exquisitely tender "Hark! my soul, it is the Lord" (q. v.), and "Oh, for a closer walk with God" (q. v.). Anyone who knows Mrs. Browning's noble lines on Cowper's grave will find even a deeper beauty in the latter, which is a purely English hymn of perfect structure and streamlike cadence, by connecting its sadness and its aspiration not only with the “discord on the music" and the "darkness on the glory," but the rapture of his heavenly waking beneath the "pathetic eyes” of Christ. Authorities. Lives, by Hayley; Grimshaw; Southey; Professor Goldwin Smith; Mr. Benham (attached to Globe Edition); Life of Newton, by Rev. Josiah Bull; and the Olney Hymns. The numbers of the hymns quoted refer to the Olney Hymns. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================ Cowper, W. , p. 265, i. Other hymns are:— 1. Holy Lord God, I love Thy truth. Hatred of Sin. 2. I was a grovelling creature once. Hope and Confidence. 3. No strength of nature can suffice. Obedience through love. 4. The Lord receives His highest praise. Faith. 5. The saints should never be dismayed. Providence. All these hymns appeared in the Olney Hymns, 1779. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ===================== Cowper, W., p. 265, i. Prof. John E. B. Mayor, of Cambridge, contributed some letters by Cowper, hitherto unpublished, together with notes thereon, to Notes and Queries, July 2 to Sept. 24, 1904. These letters are dated from Huntingdon, where he spent two years after leaving St. Alban's (see p. 265, i.), and Olney. The first is dated "Huntingdon, June 24, 1765," and the last "From Olney, July 14, 1772." They together with extracts from other letters by J. Newton (dated respectively Aug. 8, 1772, Nov. 4, 1772), two quotations without date, followed by the last in the N. & Q. series, Aug. 1773, are of intense interest to all students of Cowper, and especially to those who have given attention to the religious side of the poet's life, with its faint lights and deep and awful shadows. From the hymnological standpoint the additional information which we gather is not important, except concerning the hymns "0 for a closer walk with God," "God moves in a mysterious way," "Tis my happiness below," and "Hear what God, the Lord, hath spoken." Concerning the last three, their position in the manuscripts, and the date of the last from J. Newton in the above order, "Aug. 1773," is conclusive proof against the common belief that "God moves in a mysterious way" was written as the outpouring of Cowper's soul in gratitude for the frustration of his attempted suicide in October 1773. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Minot J. Savage

1841 - 1918 Person Name: M. J. S. Author of "Father, by whatsoever light" in Sacred Songs For Public Worship Savage, Minot Judson, D.D., was born at Norridgewock, Maine, June 10, 1841, and educated at Bangor Seminary, where he graduated in 1864. From 1867 to 1873 he was a Congregational Minister, and then he joined the Unitarians, and has now (1900) a charge in Boston. He has published several works, including Poems, Boston, 1882. He also edited, with H. M. Dow, Sacred Songs for Public Worship, Boston, 1883, to which he contributed 46 original hymns. In hymnals other than this, of his hymns the following are in common use:— 1. Dost thou hear the bugle sounding. Consecration to Duty. 2. Father, we would not dare to change Thy purpose, &C. Prayer. 3. 0 God Whose law is in the sky. Consecration to Duty. 4. 0 star of truth down shining. Truth. 5. The God that to the fathers revealed His holy will. God unchangeable. 6. The very blossoms of our life. Holy Baptism. 7. What purpose burns within our hearts. Joining in Church Fellowship. 8. God of the glorious summer hours. New Year This is in D. Agate's Sunday S. Hymn Book, 1881, No. 371, and dated 1875. From the Sunny Side, N.Y.. 1875,p. 119. Some of these hymns are given in Hunter's Hymns of Faith and Life, Glasgow, 1889, and recent American hymnals. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)