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All hail the power of Jesus' Name!
Author: Edward Perronet Meter: 8.6.8.6 Appears in 3,425 hymnals Topics: Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Lyrics: 1 All hail the power of Jesus' Name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown him Lord of all.
2 Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all.
3 Hail Him, ye heirs of David's line,
Whom David Lord did call;
The God incarnate, Man divine:
And crown Him Lord of all.
4 Ye Gentile sinners, ne'er forget
The wormwood and the gall;
Go, spread your trophies at His feet
And crown Him Lord of all.
5 Let every kindred, every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all.
6 O that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall;
We'll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Used With Tune: MILES' LANE
All hail the power of Jesus' Name!
O for a thousand tongues to sing
Author: C. Wesley Meter: 8.6.8.6 Appears in 1,736 hymnals Topics: Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Lyrics: 1 O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise!
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!
2 My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.
3 Jesus, the Name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears,
'Tis life, and health, and peace.
4 He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean;
His Blood availed for me.
5 Look unto Him, ye nations; own
Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone,
Be justified by grace.
6 See all your sins on Jesus laid;
The Lamb of God was slain:
His soul was once an offering made
For every soul of man.
7 Glory to God, and praise, and love,
Be ever, ever given;
By saints below and saints above,
The Church in earth and heaven. Used With Tune: ST. MARTIN
O for a thousand tongues to sing
Lamb of God! we fall before Thee
Author: Joseph Hart Appears in 50 hymnals Topics: Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Lyrics: 1 Lamb of God, we fall before Thee,
Humbly trusting in Thy cross;
That alone be all our glory,
All things else are only dross.
2 Thee we own a perfect Savior,
Only source of all that’s good.
Ev'ry grace and ev'ry favor
Comes to us through Jesus’ blood.
3 Jesus gives us true repentance,
By His Spirit sent from heav’n;
Whispers this transporting sentence:
"Son thy sins are all forgiven."
4 Faith He grants us to believe it,
Grateful hearts His love to prize;
Want we wisdom? He must give it;
Hearing ears, and seeing eyes.
5 Jesus gives us pure affections,
Wills to do what He requires:
Makes us follow His directions,
And what He commands, inspires.
6 All our prayers, and all our praises,
Rightly offered in His name,—
He that dictates them is Jesus;
He that answers is the same. Used With Tune: WILMOT
Lamb of God! we fall before Thee
O Helligaand, du Skat saa skjøn
Author: Bart. Ringwald; Søren Jonassøn Hymnal: Salmebog for Lutherske Kristne i Amerika #431 (1919) Topics: Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday; Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday Lyrics: 1 O Helligaand, du Skat saa skjøn,
Som gjør os evig rige,
Du, som med Fader og med Søn
I Guddoms Magt er lige,
Og gaar saa fra dem begge ud,
Fra Evighed en mægtig Gud,
Som alle Kristne prise!
2 Med Bøn vi falde dig til Fod:
O lær du os alene
Af ganske Hjerte, Hu og Mod
Vor Frelsermand at tjene,
Og hannem udi al vor Nød
For Herre over Liv og Død
At kjende og at prise!
3 Gjør al vor Levnets Vandring ny,
Og vore Veie rene;
Hjælp os Forargelser at sky,
Og tjene Herren ene,
At vi kan Jesu Kristi Tro
For Verdens Børn, som hos os bo,
Med kristen Idræt vise!
4 Din Naade-Dug lad til enhver
Guds Kirkes Lem nedflyde,
Lad hver en Sjæl, som saaret er,
Din søde Salve nyde!
Giv Kraft i Korsets haarde Tid,
Lad Kjærlighed i al vor Id
Imod vor Næste vises.
5 Giv Styrke og et freidigt Mod
At træde mod vor Fiende,
At vi mod Verden, Kjød og Blod
Og Satan Seier vinde!
Naar Døden løsner Livets Baand,
Lad Sjælen gjemmes i din Haand,
Og Kroppen rolig hvile!
Languages: Norwegian
O Helligaand, du Skat saa skjøn
O Helligaand du Skat saa skjøn
Author: S. Jonassøn; B. Ringwald Hymnal: M. B. Landstads Kirkesalmebog og "Nokre Salmar" ved Professor Dr. E. Blix, samt følgende tillæg #431 (1897) Topics: Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday High Mass; Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday For Evening Lyrics: 1 O Helligaand, du Skat saa skjøn,
Som gjør os evig rige,
Du, som med Fader og med Søn
I Guddomsmagt er lige,
Og gaar saa fra dem begge ud,
Fra Evighed en mægtig Gud,
Som alle Kristne prise!
2 Med Bøn vi falde dig til Fod:
O lær du os alene
Af ganske Hjerte, Hu og Mod
Vor Frelsermand at tjene,
Og hannem udi al vor Nød
For Herre over Liv og Død
At kjende og at prise!
3 Gjør al vor Levnets Vandring ny,
Og vore Veie rene;
Hjælp os Forargelser at sky,
Og tjene Herren ene,
At vi kan Jesu Kristi Tro
For Verdens Børn, som hos os bo,
Med kristen Idræt vise!
4 Din Naade-Dugg lad til enhver
Guds Kirkes Lem nedflyde,
Lad hver en Sjæl, som saaret er,
Din søde Salve nyde!
Giv Kraft i Korsets haarde Tid,
Lad Kjærlighed i al vor Id
Imod vor Næste vises!
5 Giv Styrke og et freidigt Mod
At træde mod vor Fiende,
At vi mod Verden, Kjød og Blod
Og Satan Seier vinde!
Naar Døden løsner Livets Baand,
Lad Sjælen gjemmes i din Haand,
Og Kroppen rolig hvile! Languages: Norwegian Tune Title: [O Helligaand du Skat saa skjøn]
O Helligaand du Skat saa skjøn
O hvilken Ære
Author: Brorson Hymnal: Salmebog for Lutherske Kristne i Amerika #166 (1919) Topics: Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday Lyrics: 1 O hvilken Ære,
For Tanken alt for stor,
Hans Barn at være,
Som i det Høie bor!
Naar man er bleven
Til Herren ret omvendt,
Fra Verden reven,
Med Jesus ret bekjendt,
I Himlen skreven
Med Lammets røde Prent!
2 O hvilket Smykke
Fra Himlene er det,
O hvilken Lykke
Er denne Barneret!
Naar, hvad os skader,
Vi kan for Thronen gaa,
Og sige: Fader,
dit Barn du hjælpe maa!
O Gud, hvor lader
Det deilig der at staa!
3 Hvo kan udsige,
Hvad Kristi Kraft formaar,
Naar Himlens Rige
I Sjælen ret opgaar!
Naar i mig brænder
Men Jesu Kjærlighed,
Og mig omspender
Som Himlen selv saa bred,
Hvor jeg mig vender
Og tænker op og ned!
4 O, jeg har fundet
Lyksalighedens Stand,
Og sødt forvundet
Min første Jødsels Band!
O hvor fornøiet
Er nu min arme Sjæl,
Før dybt nedbøiet
Til Jorden som en Træl,
Nu høit ophøiet
Med sin Immanuel!
5 O surt fortjente
Min Sjæles Frydestund!
O søde Rente
Af Jesu Pinsels Pund!
Er Førstegrøden
Saa meget sød og kjær,
Hvad Engle-Føden,
Som mig skal times der,
Naar efter Døden
Jeg rigtig hjemme er!
6 Naar jeg skal tage
Mod Dødens sidste Bud,
Da kan jeg drage
Med Glæde til min Gud,
Hans Haand skal lindre
Mig Dødens Kamp og Sved,
Hvad kan det hindre,
At Støvet falder ned,
Hist skal det tindre
I evig Herlighed!
Languages: Norwegian
O hvilken Ære
Thomas Hastings
1784 - 1872 Person Name: Thomas Hastings, Mus. Doc. Topics: Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Composer of "BYEFIELD" in Evangelical Lutheran hymnal Hastings, Thomas, MUS. DOC., son of Dr. Seth Hastings, was born at Washington, Lichfield County, Connecticut, October 15, 1784. In 1786, his father moved to Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y. There, amid rough frontier life, his opportunities for education were small; but at an early age he developed a taste for music, and began teaching it in 1806. Seeking a wider field, he went, in 1817, to Troy, then to Albany, and in 1823 to Utica, where he conducted a religious journal, in which he advocated his special views on church music. In 1832 he was called to New York to assume the charge of several Church Choirs, and there his last forty years were spent in great and increasing usefulness and repute. He died at New York, May 15, 1872. His aim was the greater glory of God through better musical worship; and to this end he was always training choirs, compiling works, and composing music. His hymn-work was a corollary to the proposition of his music-work; he wrote hymns for certain tunes; the one activity seemed to imply and necessitate the other. Although not a great poet, he yet attained considerable success. If we take the aggregate of American hymnals published duriug the last fifty years or for any portion of that time, more hymns by him are found in common use than by any other native writer. Not one of his hymns is of the highest merit, but many of them have become popular and useful. In addition to editing many books of tunes, Hastings also published the following hymnbooks:—
(1) Spiritual Songs for Social Worship: Adapted to the Use of Families and Private Circles in Seasons of Revival, to Missionary Meetings, &c, Utica, 1831-2, in which he was assisted by Lowell Mason; (2) The Mother's Hymn-book, 1834; (3) The Christian Psalmist; or, Watts's Psalms and Hymns, with copious Selections from other Sources, &c, N. Y., 1836, in connection with "William Patton; (4) Church Melodies, N. Y., 1858, assisted by his son, the Rev. T. S. Hastings; (5) Devotional Hymns and Poems, N. Y., 1850. The last contained many, but not all, of his original hymns. (6) Mother's Hymn-book, enlarged 1850.
The authorship of several of Hastings's hymns has been somewhat difficult to determine. All the hymns given in the Spiritual Songs were without signatures. In the Christian Psalmist some of his contributions were signed "Anon." others "M. S.," whilst others bore the names of the tune books in which they had previously appeared; and in the Church Melodies some were signed with his name, and others were left blank. His MSS [manuscript] and Devotional Hymns, &c, enable us to fix the authorship of over 50 which are still in common use. These, following the chronological order of his leading work, are:—
i. From the Spiritual Songs, 1831:—
1. Before Thy footstool kneeling. In Sickness. No. 358, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines.
2. Bleeding hearts defiled by sin. Fulness of Christ. No. 261, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines.
3. Child of sin and sorrow, Filled with dismay. Lent. No. 315, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. It is sometimes given as "Child of sin and sorrow, Where wilt thou flee?" It is in extensive use.
4. Delay not, delay not, 0 sinner draw near. Exhortation to Repentance. No. 145, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. Given in several important collections.
5. Forgive us, Lord, to Thee we cry. Forgiveness desired. No. 165, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines.
6. Gently, Lord, 0 gently lead us. Pilgrimage of Life. No. 29, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. It is given in several collections. The first two lines are taken from a hymn which appeared in the Christian Lyre, 1830.
7. Go forth on wings of fervent prayer. For a blessing on the distribution of Books and Tracts. No. 250, in 4 stanzas of 5 lines. It is sometimes given as “Go forth on wings of faith and prayer," as in the Baptist Praise Book, N. Y., 1871, No. 1252; but the alterations are so great as almost to constitute it a new hymn.
8. Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning. Missionary Success. No. 239, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. In several hymnbooks in Great Britain and America.
9. How calm and beautiful the morn. Easter. No. 291, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines. Very popular.
10. In this calm, impressive hour. Early Morning. No. 235, pt. i. in 3 stanzas of 6 lines. In several collections.
11. Jesus, save my dying soul. Lent. No. 398, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. A deeply penitential hymn.
12. Now be the gospel banner. Missions. No. 178, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. In several collections (see below).
13. Now from labour, and from care. Evening. No. 235. Pt. ii. in 3 stanzas of 6 lines. This hymn, with No. 10 above, "In this calm," &c, constitute one hymn of 6 st. in the Spiritual Songs, but divided into two parts, one for Morning and the other for Evening. Both parts are popular as separate hymns.
14. 0 God of Abraham, hear. Prayer on behalf of Children. No. 288, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. In use in Great Britain.
15. 0 tell me, Thou Life and delight of my soul. Following the Good Shepherd. No. 151, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, on Cant. i. 7, 8.
16. Return, O wanderer, to thy home. The Prodigal recalled. No. 183, in 3 stanzas of 4 lines, with the refrain, " Return, return " (see below).
17. Soft and holy is the place. Public Worship. No. 351, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, and some other collections, the opening line is altered to "Sweet and holy is the place."
18. That warning voice, 0 sinner, hear. Exhortation to Repentance. No. 231, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines.
19. To-day the Saviour calls. Lent. No. 176, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. Dr. Hastings says, in a communication to Dr. Stevenson (Hymns for Church and Home, 1873), this hymn “was offered me in a hasty sketch which I retouched." The sketch was by the Rev. S. F. Smith.
20. Why that look of sadness. Consolation. No. 268, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines.
21. Zion, dreary and in anguish. The Church Comforted. No. 160, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines.
Concerning the two hymns, No. 12, "Now be the gospel banner"; and No. 16, "Beturn, O wanderer, to thy home," Dr. Stevenson has the following note in his Hymns for Church and Home, London, 1873:—
"In a letter to the Editor, Dr. Hastings wrote, not more than a fortnight before his death, 'These two hymns of mine were earlier compositions, the former ["Now be," &c.] for a Utica Sunday School celebration, the latter ["Return, 0 wanderer," &c.] after hearing a stirring revival sermon on the Prodigal Son, by the Rev. Mr. Kint, at a large union meeting in the Presbyterian Church, where two hundred converts were present. The preacher at the close eloquently exclaimed with tender emphasis, "Sinner, come home! come home! come home!" It was easy afterwards to write, "Return, 0 wanderer."'"
Several additional hymns in the Spiritual Songs, 1831, have been ascribed to Dr. Hastings, but without confirmation. The sum of what can be said on his behalf is that the hymns are in his style, and that they have not been claimed by others. They are:—
22. Drooping souls, no longer mourn. Pardon promised. No. 40, in 3 stanzas of 8 1., of which st. i., ii. are altered from J. J. Harrod's Public, Parlour, and Cottage Hymns, Baltimore, 1823, that is, 8 years before the Spiritual Songs were published.
23. Dying souls, fast bound in sin. Pardon offered. No. 41, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines. It is usually given in an abridged form.
ii. From his Mother's Hymn Book, 1834:—-
24. Forbid them not, the Saviour cried. Holy Baptism. No. 44.
25. God of mercy, hear our prayer. On behalf of Cliildrcn, No. 48, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. It was included in J. Campbell's Comprehensive Hymn Book, Lond., 1837, and subsequently in several collections.
26. God of the nations, bow Thine ear. Missions. No. 115, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines. In several collections.
27. How tender is Thy hand. Affliction. No. 99, in 5 stanzas of 41.
28. Jesus, while our hearts are bleeding. Death. Resignation. No. 95, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. This is in extensive use and is one of his best and most popular hymns.
29. Lord, I would come to Thee. Self-dedication of a Child. No. 72, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines.
30. 0 Lord, behold us at Thy feet. Lent. No. 59, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. It is doubtful if this is by Hastings. It is sometimes signed "Mrs. T."
31. The rosy light is dawning. Morning. No. 11, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines.
32. The Saviour bids us [thee] watch and pray. Watch and Pray. No. 119, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines.
33. Thou God of sovereign grace. On behalf of Children. No. 66, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines.
34. Wherever two or three may meet. Divine Service. No. 56.
35. Within these quiet walls, 0 Lord. Mothers' Meetings. No. 58, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. In Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866, No. 1010, it begins, "Within these peaceful walls." This reading is from J. Campbell's Comprehensive Hymn Book, London, 1837. It is very doubtful if this is by Hastings.
iii. From the Christian Psalmist, 1836:—
36. Children, hear the melting story. On the life of Christ. No. 430, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines. It is given as from the Union Minstrel, and the statement that it is by Hastings is very doubtful, no evidence to that effect being in the possession of his family. Dr. Hatfield, in his Church Hymn Book, dates it 1830, and gives it as "Anon."
37. Go, tune thy voice to sacred song. Praise No. 190, in 5 stanzas of 5 lines, and given as from "ms."
38. He that goeth forth with weeping. Missions No. 212, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines, and given as from "ms." It is in several collections.
39. I love the Lord, Whose gracious ear. Ps. cxvi. Page 186, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines, as from "ms."
40. Lord of the harvest, bend Thine ear. For the Increase of the Ministry. No. 407, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, as from "ms." This hymn Dr. Hastings altered for his Devotional Hymns & Poems, 1850, but it has failed to replace the original in the hymnbooks.
iv. From the Reformed Dutch Additional Hymns, 1846:—
41. Child of sorrow, child of care [woe]. Trust. No. 168, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines, appeared in W. Hunter's Minstrel of Zion, 1845.
42. Heirs of an immortal crown. Christian Warfare. No. 136, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines.
43. O Saviour, lend a listening ear. Lent. No. 175. Stanzas vi., i., iv., v., altered.
44. The Lord Jehovah lives. Ps. xviii. No. 26, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines.
These three hymns, together with many others, are given in the Dutch Reformed Hymns of the Church, N. Y., 1869. In the 1847 Psalms & Hymns there were, including these, 38 hymns by Hastings, and 2 which are doubtful.
v. From Dr. Hastings's Devotional Hymns and Religious Poems, 1850:—
45. In time of fear, when trouble's near. Encouragement in Trial. Page 95, in 3 stanzas of 4 lines. In use in Great Britain.
vi. From Church Melodies, 1858:—-
46. For those in bonds as bound with them. Missions. No. 416, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, on Heb. xiii. 3.
47. Forget thyself, Christ bids thee come. Holy Communion. No. 683, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines.
48. Jesus, Merciful and Mild. Leaning on Christ. No. 585, in 4 stanzas of 8 1. In several collections.
49. Pilgrims in this vale of sorrow. Self-denial. No. 397, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines.
50. Saviour, I look to Thee. Lent. In time of Trouble. No. 129, in 4 stanzas of 7 lines.
51. Saviour of our ruined race. Holy Communion. No. 379, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines.
52. Why that soul's commotion? Lent. No. 211, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. It is doubtful if this is by Hastings.
vii. In Robinson's Songs of the Church, 1862:
53. Be tranquil, 0 my soul. Patience in Affliction. No. 519, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. Altered in Robinson's Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865.
54. Peace, peace, I leave with you. Peace, the benediction of Christ. No. 386, in 3 stanzas of 7 lines.
55. Saviour, Thy gentle voice. Christ All in All. No. 492, in 3 stanzas of 7 lines.
viii. In Bobinson's Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865:—
56. God of the morning ray. Morning. No. 53, in 2 stanzas of 7 lines.
Of Hastings's hymns about 40 are in the Reformed Dutch Psalms & Hymns, 1847; 39 in Robinson's Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865; 15 in Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872; and 13 in the Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. They are also largely represented in other collections. Many other of his compositions are found in collections now or recently in common use, but these are not of the highest merit. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
========================
Hastings, T., p. 494, i. Additional hymns are:—
1. Children hear the wondrous story; and "Sinners, hear the melting story," are altered forms of No. 36, on p. 495, i.
2. Father, we for our children plead. On behalf of Children.
3. Forgive my folly, O Lord most holy. Lent.
4. Hosanna to the King, That for, &c. Praise to Jesus.
5. I look to Thee, O Lord, alone. Pardon desired.
6. Jesus, full of every grace. Pardon desired.
7. O why should gloomy thoughts arise? The Mourner Encouraged.
8. Peace to thee, O favoured one. Peace in Jesus.
9. Saviour, hear us through Thy merit. Forgiveness. Of these hymns, No. 3 is in Hasting’s Spiritual Songs, 1831; No. 9 in his Mother's Hymn Book, 1834, and his Devotional Hymns, 1850; and Nos. 4, 5 & 8 in his Devotional Hymns, 1850.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
Thomas Hastings
Lowell Mason
1792 - 1872 Person Name: L. Mason Topics: The Church Year Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Composer of "[My faith looks up to Thee]" in The Lutheran Hymnary Dr. Lowell Mason (the degree was conferred by the University of New York) is justly called the father of American church music; and by his labors were founded the germinating principles of national musical intelligence and knowledge, which afforded a soil upon which all higher musical culture has been founded. To him we owe some of our best ideas in religious church music, elementary musical education, music in the schools, the popularization of classical chorus singing, and the art of teaching music upon the Inductive or Pestalozzian plan. More than that, we owe him no small share of the respect which the profession of music enjoys at the present time as contrasted with the contempt in which it was held a century or more ago. In fact, the entire art of music, as now understood and practiced in America, has derived advantage from the work of this great man.
Lowell Mason was born in Medfield, Mass., January 8, 1792. From childhood he had manifested an intense love for music, and had devoted all his spare time and effort to improving himself according to such opportunities as were available to him. At the age of twenty he found himself filling a clerkship in a banking house in Savannah, Ga. Here he lost no opportunity of gratifying his passion for musical advancement, and was fortunate to meet for the first time a thoroughly qualified instructor, in the person of F. L. Abel. Applying his spare hours assiduously to the cultivation of the pursuit to which his passion inclined him, he soon acquired a proficiency that enabled him to enter the field of original composition, and his first work of this kind was embodied in the compilation of a collection of church music, which contained many of his own compositions. The manuscript was offered unavailingly to publishers in Philadelphia and in Boston. Fortunately for our musical advancement it finally secured the attention of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, and by its committee was submitted to Dr. G. K. Jackson, the severest critic in Boston. Dr. Jackson approved most heartily of the work, and added a few of his own compositions to it. Thus enlarged, it was finally published in 1822 as The Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music. Mason's name was omitted from the publication at his own request, which he thus explains, "I was then a bank officer in Savannah, and did not wish to be known as a musical man, as I had not the least thought of ever making music a profession." President Winchester, of the Handel and Haydn Society, sold the copyright for the young man. Mr. Mason went back to Savannah with probably $500 in his pocket as the preliminary result of his Boston visit.
The book soon sprang into universal popularity, being at once adopted by the singing schools of New England, and through this means entering into the church choirs, to whom it opened up a higher field of harmonic beauty. Its career of success ran through some seventeen editions. On realizing this success, Mason determined to accept an invitation to come to Boston and enter upon a musical career. This was in 1826. He was made an honorary member of the Handel and Haydn Society, but declined to accept this, and entered the ranks as an active member. He had been invited to come to Boston by President Winchester and other musical friends and was guaranteed an income of $2,000 a year. He was also appointed, by the influence of these friends, director of music at the Hanover, Green, and Park Street churches, to alternate six months with each congregation. Finally he made a permanent arrangement with the Bowdoin Street Church, and gave up the guarantee, but again friendly influence stepped in and procured for him the position of teller at the American Bank.
In 1827 Lowell Mason became president and conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society. It was the beginning of a career that was to win for him as has been already stated the title of "The Father of American Church Music." Although this may seem rather a bold claim it is not too much under the circumstances. Mr. Mason might have been in the average ranks of musicianship had he lived in Europe; in America he was well in advance of his surroundings. It was not too high praise (in spite of Mason's very simple style) when Dr. Jackson wrote of his song collection: "It is much the best book I have seen published in this country, and I do not hesitate to give it my most decided approbation," or that the great contrapuntist, Hauptmann, should say the harmonies of the tunes were dignified and churchlike and that the counterpoint was good, plain, singable and melodious.
Charles C. Perkins gives a few of the reasons why Lowell Mason was the very man to lead American music as it then existed. He says, "First and foremost, he was not so very much superior to the members as to be unreasonably impatient at their shortcomings. Second, he was a born teacher, who, by hard work, had fitted himself to give instruction in singing. Third, he was one of themselves, a plain, self-made man, who could understand them and be understood of them."
The personality of Dr. Mason was of great use to the art and appreciation of music in this country. He was of strong mind, dignified manners, sensitive, yet sweet and engaging.
Prof. Horace Mann, one of the great educators of that day, said he would walk fifty miles to see and hear Mr. Mason teach if he could not otherwise have that advantage.
Dr. Mason visited a number of the music schools in Europe, studied their methods, and incorporated the best things in his own work. He founded the Boston Academy of Music. The aim of this institution was to reach the masses and introduce music into the public schools. Dr. Mason resided in Boston from 1826 to 1851, when he removed to New York. Not only Boston benefited directly by this enthusiastic teacher's instruction, but he was constantly traveling to other societies in distant cities and helping their work. He had a notable class at North Reading, Mass., and he went in his later years as far as Rochester, where he trained a chorus of five hundred voices, many of them teachers, and some of them coming long distances to study under him. Before 1810 he had developed his idea of "Teachers' Conventions," and, as in these he had representatives from different states, he made musical missionaries for almost the entire country. He left behind him no less than fifty volumes of musical collections, instruction books, and manuals.
As a composer of solid, enduring church music. Dr. Mason was one of the most successful this country has introduced. He was a deeply pious man, and was a communicant of the Presbyterian Church. Dr. Mason in 1817 married Miss Abigail Gregory, of Leesborough, Mass. The family consisted of four sons, Daniel Gregory, Lowell, William and Henry. The two former founded the publishing house of Mason Bros., dissolved by the death of the former in 19G9. Lowell and Henry were the founders of the great organ manufacturer of Mason & Hamlin. Dr. William Mason was one of the most eminent musicians that America has yet produced.
Dr. Lowell Mason died at "Silverspring," a beautiful residence on the side of Orange Mountain, New Jersey, August 11, 1872, bequeathing his great musical library, much of which had been collected abroad, to Yale College.
--Hall, J. H. (c1914). Biographies of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.
Lowell Mason
Augustus Toplady
1740 - 1778 Person Name: Augustus M. Toplady Topics: Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Author of "Rock of Ages, cleft for me" in Church Book Toplady, Augustus Montague, the author of "Rock of Ages," was born at Farnham, Surrey, November 4, 1740. His father was an officer in the British army. His mother was a woman of remarkable piety. He prepared for the university at Westminster School, and subsequently was graduated at Trinity College, Dublin. While on a visit in Ireland in his sixteenth year he was awakened and converted at a service held in a barn in Codymain. The text was Ephesians ii. 13: "But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." The preacher was an illiterate but warm-hearted layman named Morris. Concerning this experience Toplady wrote: "Strange that I, who had so long sat under the means of grace in England, should be brought nigh unto God in an obscure part of Ireland, amidst a handful of God's people met together in a barn, and under the ministry of one who could hardly spell his name. Surely this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous." In 1758, through the influence of sermons preached by Dr. Manton on the seventeenth chapter of John, he became an extreme Calvinist in his theology, which brought him later into conflict with Mr. Wesley and the Methodists. He was ordained to the ministry in the Church of England in 1762, and in 1768 he became vicar of Broadhembury, a small living in Devonshire, which he held until his death. The last two or three years of his life he passed in London, where he preached in a chapel on Orange Street. His last sickness was of such a character that he was able to make a repeated and emphatic dying testimony. A short time before his death he asked his physician what he thought. The reply was that his pulse showed that his heart was beating weaker every day. Toplady replied with a smile: "Why, that is a good sign that my death is fast approaching; and, blessed be God, I can add that my heart beats stronger and stronger every day for glory." To another friend he said: "O, my dear sir, I cannot tell you the comforts I feel in my soul; they are past expression. . . . My prayers are all converted into praise." He died of consumption August 11, 1778. His volume of Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Worship was published in 1776. Of the four hundred and nineteen hymns which it contained, several were his own productions.
If on a quiet sea 446
Rock of ages, cleft for me 279
Hymn Writers of the Church, 1915 by Charles S. Nutter
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Toplady, Augustus Montague, M.A. The life of Toplady has been repeatedly and fully written, the last, a somewhat discursive and slackly put together book, yet matterful, by W. Winters (1872). Summarily, these data may be here given: he was born at Farnham, in Surrey, on November 4, 1740. His father, Richard Toplady, was a Major in the British array, and was killed at the siege of Carthagena (1741) soon after the birth of his son. His widowed mother placed him at the renowned Westminster school, London. By-and-by circumstances led her to Ireland, and young Augustus was entered at Trinity College, Dublin, where he completed his academical training, ultimately graduating M.A. He also received his "new birth" in Ireland under remarkable conditions, as he himself tells us with oddly mixed humility and lofty self-estimate, as "a favourite of heaven," common to his school:—
"Strange that I who had so long sat under the means of grace in England should be brought right unto God in an obscure part of Ireland, midst a handful of people met together in a barn, and by the ministry of one who could hardly spell his own name. Surely it was the Lord's doing and is marvellous. The excellency of such power must be of God and cannot be of man. The regenerating spirit breathes not only on whom but likewise, when and where and as He listeth."
Toplady received orders in the Church of England on June 6, 1762, and after some time was appointed to Broadhembury. His Psalms and Hymns of 1776 bears that he was then “B.A." and Vicar of Broadhembury. Shortly thereafter be is found in London as minister of the Chapel of the French Calvinists in Leicester Fields. He was a strong and partizan Calvinist, and not well-informed theologically outside of Calvinism. We willingly and with sense of relief leave unstirred the small thick dust of oblivion that has gathered on his controversial writings, especially his scurrilous language to John Wesley because of his Arminianism, as we do John Wesley's deplorable misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Calvinism.
Throughout Toplady lacked the breadth of the divine Master's watchword "Forbid him not, for he that is not against us is for us" (St. Luke ix. 50). He was impulsive, rash-spoken, reckless in misjudgment; but a flame of genuine devoutness burned in the fragile lamp of his overtasked and wasted body. He died on August 11, 1778. The last edition of his works is in 6 vols., 8 vo., 1825. An accurate reproduction of most of his genuine hymns was one of the reprints of Daniel Sedgwick, 1860. His name occurs and recurs in contemporary memoirs and ecclesiastical histories, e.g., in Tyerman's Life of John Wesley. The reader will find in their places annotations on the several hymns of Toplady, and specially on his "Rock of Ages,” a song of grace that has given him a deeper and more inward place in millions of human hearts from generation to generation than almost any other hymnologist of our country, not excepting Charles Wesley. Besides the "Rock of Ages" must be named, for power, intensity, and higher afflatus and nicer workmanship, "Object of my first desire,” and "Deathless principle arise." It is to be regretted that the latter has not been more widely accepted. It is strong, firm, stirring, and masterful. Regarded critically, it must be stated that the affectionateness with which Toplady is named, and the glow and passion of his faith and life, and yearning after holiness, have led to an over-exaltation of him as a hymnwriter. Many of his hymns have been widely used, and especially in America, and in the Evangelical hymnbooks of the Church of England. Year by year, however, the number in use is becoming less. The reason is soon found. He is no poet or inspired singer. He climbs no heights. He sounds no depths. He has mere vanishing gleams of imaginative light. His greatness is the greatness of goodness. He is a fervent preacher, not a bard. [Rev. A. B. Grosart, D.D., LL.D.]
Toplady's hymns and poetical pieces were published in his:—
(1) Poems on Sacred Subjects wherein The Fundamental Doctrines of Christianity, with many other interesting Points, are occasionally introduced. . . Dublin: Printed by S. Powell, in Crane-lane, MDCCLIX.; (2) his Psalms & Hymns for Public and Private Worship, 1776; (3) in The Gospel Magazine, 1771-1776; and (4) in Hymns and Sacred Poems on a variety of Divine Subjects, &c. D. Sedgwick's reprint, 1860. His Works, with a Memoir by W. Row, were published in 6 volumes, in 1794. Walter How was also the editor of the 2nd and some later editions of the Psalms & Hymns. He was a most careless editor, and attributed several hymns by C. Wesley and others to Toplady.
The following additional hymns in common use together with centos indicated in the sub-lines, are from:—
i. His Poems on Sacred Subjects, 1759.
1. Can my heaven-born soul submit? All for Christ.
2. Come from on high, my King and God. Holiness desired.
(1.) 0 might this worthless heart of mine.
3. Earnest of future bliss. The Witness of the Spirit.
4. From Thy supreme tribunal, Lord. Christ's Righteousness a Refuge.
(1.) The spotless Saviour lived for me.
5. Great God, Whom heaven, and earth, and sea. For Peace.
6. I saw, and lo! a countless throng. Saints' Days. Revised form in the Gospel Magazine, 1774, p. 449.
7. Immovable our hope remains. Divine Faithfulness.
8. Jesus, God of love, attend. Divine Worship. Pt. ii. is "Prayer can mercy's door unlock."
9. Jesus, Thy power I fain would feel. Lent.
10. Lord, I feel a carnal mind. Mind of Christ desired.
11. My yielding heart dissolves as wax. On behalf of Arians, &c.
(1.) 0 Jesus, manifest Thy grace.
12. Not to myself I owe. Praise for Conversion,
(1.) Not to ourselves we owe.
(2.) The Father's grace and love.
13. 0 that my heart was right with Thee. Dedication to God desired.
14. 0 Thou that hearest the prayer of faith. Christ the Propitiation.
15. 0 Thou Who didst Thy glory leave. Thanksgiving for Redemption.
16. 0 when wilt Thou my Saviour be. Trust in Jesus.
(1.) Jesus, the sinner's Rest Thou art.
17. Redeemer, whither should I flee? Safety in the Cross.
18. Remember, Lord, that Jesus bled. Pardon.
19. Surely Christ thy griefs hath borne. Redemption. Revised text in Gospel Magazine, 1774, p. 548.
(1.) Weary sinner, keep thine eyes.
(2.) Weeping soul, no longer mourn.
ii. From the Gospel Magazine.
20. Compared with Christ, in all besides. Christ All in All. Feb. 1772.
21. Eternal Hallelujahs Be to the Father given. Holy Trinity, Dec. 1774.
22. From whence this fear and unbelief. Reviving Faith, Feb. 1772.
23. How vast the benefits divine. Redemption. Dec. 1774. From this "Not for the works which we have done" is taken.
24. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? Christ All and in All, Feb. 1772. From this "If my Lord Himself reveal" is taken.
25. Jesus, immutably the same. Jesus, the True Vine. June, 1771.
All these hymns, together with "O precious blood, 0 glorious death" (Death of Christ), are in D. Sedgwick's reprint of Toplady's Hymns, &c, 1860. We have met with several other hymns to which Toplady's name is appended, but for this we can find no authority whatever.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Augustus Toplady
