The Methodist Hymn-Book Illustrated
THE METHODIST HYMN-BOOK
ILLUSTRATED
THE
METHODIST HYMN-BOOK
ILLUSTRATED
by
JOHN TELFORD, B.A.
author of
'the life of john wesley', 'the life of charles wesley'
'the story of the upper room,' etc.
LONDON
CHARLES H. KELLY
2 castle st., city road, and 26 paternoster row, e.c.
THE preparation of such a volume as this is surrounded by problems. The writer makes no claim to have solved all of them, or to have escaped mistakes and errors. He has had the advantage of following a host of diligent workers in such fields, and to them he is under deep obligation. The Dictionary of Hymnology has been constantly at his side, and to that unapproached masterpiece he owes a debt on every page. Mr. G. J. Stevenson's Methodist Hymn-Book has often suggested an illustrative incident; Mr. S. W. Duffield's English Hymns: their Authors and History, kindly lent him by an old friend, the Rev. John Reacher, and the Rev. Dr. A. E. Gregory s fascinating Fernley Lecture, The Hymn-Book of the Modern Church, have been of great service. The writer would also acknowledge his obligation to Mr. F. A. Jones's Famous Hymns and their Authors; the Rev. John Brownlie's Hymns and Hymn-Writers of 'The Church Hymnary' and other books, to which reference is made in the following pages.
Mr. W. T. Brooke, the expert in hymnology, began the preparation of such a volume as this, and his notes have helped the writer in various ways, epecially in dealing with the problems of the text and authorship of some well-known hymns.
The plan of the present work was fixed by the desire to make it a Companion to the Hymn-Book. The introductory sections on 'Wesley Hymns and Hymn-Books' and 'The Hymns of the Christian Church' will, it is hoped, be found useful to those who wish to gain fuller information on these subjects than it was possible to give under individual hymns. The area covered is so wide that it has been necessary to deny oneself the luxury of extended exposition or comment. Any corrections, facts, or hints as to famous uses of hymns will be welcomed by the writer.
January, 1906. 'Psalmody, which had been neglected in England beyond what some readers would suppose, the Wesleys took up from the beginning, with a clear-sighted view of its importance, and with a zeal that ensured success. Methodism never could have become what it did without its unparalleled hymn-book. That, perhaps, has been more effective in preserving its evangelical theology than Wesley's Sermons and his Notes on the New Testament. Where one man read the homilies and the exposition, a thousand sang the hymns. All divisions in Christendom have a stamp imprinted on their piety, by which they are easily known. As to the fervour of Methodism, there can be no mistake; and it is owing largely to the concrete and personal character of its psalmody. It does not deal in the calm, intellectual contemplation of abstract themes, however sacred and sublime; but in the experience of believers, as soldiers of Christ, "fighting," "watching," "suffering," "working," and "seeking for full redemption." You catch in them the trumpet-blast, the cry of the wounded, the shout of victory, and the dirge at a warrior's funeral.'
DR. STOUGHTON,
Religion in England in 1800-1850.
CONTENTS
| PAGE | ||
| Introductory— | ||
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1 | |
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18 | |
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39 | |
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501 | |
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523 | |
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527 | |
'There is no exercise that I had rather live and die in, than singing praises to our Redeemer and Jehovah, while I might in the Holy Assemblies, and now when I may not, as Paul and Silas, in my bonds, and my dying pains, which are far heavier than my bonds. Lord Jesus, receive my praise and supplications first, and lastly, my departing soul. Amen.'
RICHARD BAXTER,
Preface to Version of the Psalms, 1692.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1936, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 87 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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