redolentia, pectus tacitum pertentavere, dum vel ipsa cœlorum peneralia paululum quasi patere visa sunt יד "Veggendo in quel albor balenar Christo. Dant. Par. c. 14. We are sincerely of opinion that the hymn will justify this lofty panegyric: [ul to gi 1-9 120 1 z,}p,ཆོ***༔』་*ཟི Dies iræ, dies illa enontonda * " Quid sum miser tum dicturus Quem patronum rogaturus 1 Cum vix justus sit securus? Most of our readers are familiar with Luther's Oh God! what do I see and hear, the end of things created;' and Heber's Advent Hymn is admirable; but to our taste the simplicity and homely strength of the old monkish verse surpasses every hymn on a similar subject. It has the merit common to some* others of these compositions-it seems to suggest its own music.But although the subjects and the character of the ancient hymns of the church may enter into consideration, if a collection of hymns shall be formed for the national church, unless as models, they can be of little use. We return, therefore, to the materials which we possess, out of which such a selection may be made. It is well known that the admirable Bishop Heber entertained a strong opinion on the expediency of such a collection, and devoted much time and labour in order that he might render this valuable service to the national church; and since piety and poetry have rarely been so intimately associated as in the mind of that gifted individual, if his collection has not been thought worthy of immediate adoption in any of our churches-if the general impression appears to be, that though his volume may furnish the richest and amplest contributions to such a purpose, it has not entirely supplied the deficiency-we are naturally led to inquire into the causes of this, which the popularity of the volume forbids us to consider a failure, and would candidly examine for what reasons the collection has not commanded instant admission into our public services. We acknowledge the deepest attachment to Bishop Heber, and the warmest interest in his fame. We adopt the words of Cicero to his brother, Nos quædam tenet, propter amorem singularem, infinita in te aviditas gloriæ.*For this and other reasons we do not affect entire impartiality in our estimate of this volume; and we must confess, that whatever objections we raise are extorted from us with extreme reluctance. If ever the design be accomplished, the Church of England will owe its advancement more to Bishop Heber than to any other individual; and he, whose candour and modesty were equal to his talents and virtues, would have hailed with gladness any suggestions which might have contributed to perfect that object which he had so much at heart. Besides those principles, then, which we have laid down for the selection from the psalter, we conceive the following regulations, in the selection and composition of hymns for public worship, important. In the first place, it is obvious that hymns intended for general use must easily adapt themselves to common tunes, such as may be sung by uninstructed persons, and by the children in our parochial schools. The metres, therefore, must be simple and regular; above all, the pauses and the measure strongly and emphatically marked. There are several in the bishop's volume, selected from earlier writers, which it would be impossible to arrange, unless as anthems:-we allude particularly to the two irregular lyrics from Bishop Taylor; nor do we think that the somewhat harsh and involved verses of Drummond, on St. John the Baptist, and Michaelmas days, would, without difficulty, conform themselves to an easy and fluent air. The bishop's own noble Ode on Michaelmas day, the hymu for the Ascension, and perhaps that beginning There was joy in Heaven,' though we apprehend, that the two latter must have been composed, either directly for, or on the recollection of, some appropriate tune, would, nevertheless, we conceive, hardly be brought down to common use. We highly approve of Bishop Heber's plan of connecting the psalm or hymn with the liturgy of the day. There can be no question of its propriety on the great fasts and festivals of the church, where one tone and character pervade the whole service, and some one great event of Christianity is perpetually impressed Cic. ad Quint. Frat. There is another passage in the same Epistle singularly applicable to the progress of our Christian Bishop. We fear the early annals of our Indian Empire might furnish the contrast. Quid autem reperiri tam eximium aut expetendum potest, quani istam virtutem, moderationem animi, temperantiam, non latere in tenebris, neque esse abditam, sed in luce Asia, in oculis clarissimæ provinciæ, atque in auribus omnium gentium ac nationum esse positam? Non itineribus tuis perterreri homines? non sumtu exhauriri? non adventu commoveri? esse, quocunque veneris, et publicè et privatam maximam lætitiam, cum urbs custodem, non tyrannum ; domus hospitem non expilatorem recepisse videatur.' upon upon the congregation. It is well known, that in the church of Rome the services for passion week form a grand scenic representation of the last days of our Lord; every incident and circumstance is brought directly before the imagination and feelings of the devout worshipper. The church of England retained as much of this impressive form, as was consistent with her usual sobriety and good sense. But the propriety of hymns for this period will depend upon the degree in which they are intelligible to the mass of the auditory. If the allusion be to some incident which is not distinctly enforced on the attention, the hymn, instead of being in unison with the service, will appear incongruous; and the compiler of hymns must allow for the general tardiness, rather than calculate on a quick and ready comprehension in those for whom his service is intended. Take, for example, Mr. Milman's hymn for Palm Sunday. • Ride on! ride on in majesty! Hark all the tribes Hosanna cry! In lowly pomp ride on to die! Oh Christ! thy triumphs now begin O'er captive death and conquer'd sin. Ride on ride on in majesty! The winged squadrons of the sky Look down with sad and wondering eyes, Ride on ride on in majesty! Ride on ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die! Bow thy meek head to mortal pain, Then take, oh God! thy power, and reign!' It is obvious that the congregation here ought to remember the verse in the psalms on which this hymn is founded, and to have the scene of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem immediately before their eyes, otherwise the meaning of the address is obscure, and the ardent and triumphant expressions ill-timed and misplaced. Perhaps in the following the author has reckoned. upon a congregation whose imagination is more highly excited than is generally the case in this country, where we suspect that far the larger proportion may say with Audrey, the gods have not made them poetical.' It pre-supposes the most perfect inti macy macy with every circumstance of the crucifixion; it calculates on that scene being as really pictured forth by the mind of the Protestant worshipper, as it might be in that of the imaginative Italian, under all the exalting influence of the previous ceremonies of the holy week, and the perpetual presentation of the crucifix. 'Bound upon the accursed tree, 'Bound upon the accursed tree, Bound upon the accursed tree, Where the service is without any particular character, and points at no particular incident in the Christian history, the bishop has usually framed his hymn upon some allusion to the gospel of the day. His hymns, therefore, are clearly more appropriate to the pause between the communion service, in which the gospel is read, and the sermon. Perhaps if psalms and hymns were compiled in something like an equal number, the interval between the prayers and communion service might be always supplied by a psalm. But in some cases we must acknowledge that the bishop has been tempted, by his own limitation, into writing a short poem on the subject of the gospel, rather than merely taken a hint for an address to the Almighty, which we conceive to be the great characteristic of an hymn. Take, for instance, the following stanzas, in our opinion extremely beautiful in thought, expression, and rhythm, on the raising of the widow's son. 'Wake not, oh mother! sounds of lamentation; Strong is his arm, the bringer of salvation! Bear forth the cold corpse, slowly, slowly bear him; Why Why pause the mourners, who forbids our weeping? Change then, oh sad one, grief to exultation! The most important principle in the composition of hymns, however, as well as in the selection of psalms, is that which we have already partially developed, but which we would illustrate still further, namely, that they should be so general that any individual in a Christian assembly may join in them without impropriety, and at the same time possess a sort of personal applicability to each separate worshipper. Hymns for public service should be suited to all times and seasons, to every rank and condition of men, to every state of religious feeling. They are the common property of the religious assembly; each individual may appropriate their general language, as far as possible, to his peculiar case; but he must not expect them to accommodate themselves to what we will call the accidents of his spiritual state. Their prayers must be for the blessings which all alike stand in need of; their thanksgivings for mercies in which all partake. Hence the essential distinction between hymns and devotional poetry. What is permitted to, and often constitutes the beauty of the latter, is precisely that which renders it unfit for the former. Let us first take an extreme case: we find in more than one collection of hymns for public devotion, Pope's well-known address of the dying Christian to his soul. Could absurdity be more glaring than to hear two thousand hale and lusty Christians shouting out to their departing spirits, as if in articulo mortis? To the department of devotional poetry we assign over very far the largest portion of Mr. Montgomery's copious collection. We apprehend it was meant by that gentleman rather for the closet than the public assembly of Christians. He himself would be the first to perceive the unfitness of some of his own compositions for congregational worship. We may quote, for example, his very pleasing stanzas upon prayer. " Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, Utter'd or unexpress'd; The motion of a hidden fire, That trembles in the breast. Prayer is the burthen of a sigh, " Prayer is the simplest form of speech That infant lips can try, Prayer the sublimest strains that reach Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, |