It is difficult to determine how a young life will be lived. Who knew that the child who once wrote during family prayers: “There was a mouse for want of stairs, ran up a rope to say his prayers,” would write many years later “See from His head, His hands His feet, Sorrow and love […]
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Tag: Hymns
Frances Jane (Fanny) Crosby (1820 – 1915
This hymn has an interesting history of its travels. To God Be the Glory was written in the United States some time before 1873 but it had not become popular. Fanny Crosby does not mention it in any of her writings, nor does William H. Doane, the composer of the tune. Apparently, it first became […]
John Rippon (1751 – 1836)
Mysteries remain regarding the origin of this wonderful hymn and its tune. The hymn first appeared in Rippon’s most famous work, A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, Intended as an Appendix to Dr. Watts, published in 1787 under the title, Exceedingly Great and Precious Promises. It was eventually published 27 times. In early […]
Frances Ridley Havergal (1836 – 1879)
Frances Ridley Havergal, daughter of the Rev. W. H. Havergal, was born at Astley, Worcestershire, England, December 14, 1836. Her father, Rev. W. H. Havergal, was a vicar and a hymn writer. The name Ridley came from her Godfather, W. H. Ridley, Rector of Hambleden, who was descended from Bishop Ridley, the martyr. She was […]
Baptist Hymn Writers
Losing the great hymns of our faith has been a concern of mine for a number of years. In this old volume from 1888, we can see how much we have lost by dropping so many meaningful and precious hymns from our services. Burrage not only reviews the hymns, complete with all the words of […]
Isaac Watts: His Life and Hymns
I’m interested in Watts (1674-1748) first for his great contribution to our hymn book. Second because he was an influential pastor, educator, poet, and hymn writer in England just before the time of the Wesleys, John Newton, and William Cowper. Watts was instrumental in getting hymn singing back into the church services among the nonconformist […]
Great Hymns of the Faith
In addition to one’s daily reading schedule, it is a good thing to read through the hymn book in a year. I am going on my fifth year of reading through this 1968 edition of Great Hymns. Since I rise early, I can sing a hymn in the morning (no one else need listen) before […]
An Authentic Narrative
John Newton, pastor, song writer, and former slave-trader, wrote his auto-biography in a series of fourteen letters to a friend. They are quite remarkable in literary genius and spiritual insight. They remind one of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe as Newton traveled the sailing world in hunt of treasure to sell (sometimes even slaves) and often […]
Letters of John Newton
We all know John Newton as the author of Amazing Grace, perhaps the best-known gospel hymn of all time. We also may know him as a converted slave trader who contributed to the English abolition movement in the late 1700s. Fewer may know him as a conservative (though Anglican) pastor of two parish churches during […]
Sankey: the singer & his song
While ordering some books online I came across this small book first published in 1946 and reprinted in 1996 by Ambassador Books, Belfast. Since we visit the place in Edinburgh where Moody and Sankey preached and sang, I am curious to know the details of their ministry together. The author relays the story of how […]