Here faith reveals to mortal eyes A brighter world beyond the skies, Here shines the light which guides his way O grant us grace, Almighty Lord, John Byrom, a fellow in Trinity College, Oxford, wrote a number of hymns, but one of which, "Christian, Awake, Salute the Happy Morn," survives. In 1787 Dr. John Rippon published "A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors," which contained a new hymn signed with the initial "K."-"How Firm a Foundation." This exultant song of faith, one of the great hymns of the eighteenth century, closes with these words: The soul that on Jesus still leans for repose I will not, I will not desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake. These lively songs of the latter half of the eighteenth century show a genuine hunger after righteousness; they are joyful in the sense of the soul's freedom to reach toward heaven, and they are unshakably certain of the infinite power and goodness of God. A CHAPTER VII BISHOP HEBER AND THE ROMANTIC REVIVAL NEW period of English hymnody centers around Reginald Heber, who with Watts and Wesley stands in the succession of master writers of hymns. Heber was guided by three ideas in regard to the hymn, none of which was new, yet the union of which was new and highly important. The first idea was that of Bishop Ken and others, and of course the medieval church, that the hymn is liturgical and should follow and adapt itself to the church calendar throughout the year; the second idea was that of Watts, the Wesleys, and the Baptist leaders that the hymn should follow and supplement the sermon; the third idea, so urged by Addison, was that the hymn should be a finished piece of literary art. Heber strove to create and have adopted by the Church of England not a psalm-book, nor a psalm-and-hymn-book, but a hymnal to accompany the Book of Common Prayer as a part of the church service; he strove to create and collect a body of hymns which should be of most practical use to instruct and inspire the people and which at the same time should be poems of high literary excellence. Reginal Heber was born at Malpas, Cheshire, in 1783. His father was a minister of the Church of England, a learned, well-to-do, devout man, a clergyman of the type which all along has carried with zealous good works a certain rich comeliness of life. After a brilliant career at Oxford, Reginald Heber spent fourteen more or less idyllic years at Hodnet as a country squire, a country parson, and a man of letters. During this period, with the advice and contributions of Scott, Milman, and others, he virtually finished his hymn-book. As Bishop of Calcutta he left for India in 1823. He died in India after three years of missionary work in which he combined superbly the good qualities of the modern administrative expert with those of old-time saint. His book, "Hymns Written and Adapted for the Weekly Church Service of the Year," was never officially adopted, though more than any other book it brought hymn singing into the Established Church. Further than that, it set a new standard for the whole of English hymnody. And a standard was needed. The opening of the century brought a wide-spread and, as has been said, democratic publication and use of hymns. Books were published not only in London but in Southampton, Manchester, and other towns over England as well as in America. There was a copious output of original hymns by various authors, in addition to collections of old and new hymns made for various chapels, parishes, or individuals. Between 1800 and 1820 there were nearly fifty differ ent hymn-books in use in the Church of England alone; and yet the Church of England was still largely of the mind that hymn singing was a Dissenting innovation; the metrical Psalms were still in use and regarded as standard. Indeed, during these years the growth of hymnody had been so rapid and strong as to become disquieting to many; earnest efforts were made to limit it by church ordinances. The liberals, however, and the group of religious revivalists that was gathering at Oxford, instead of trying to restrict and curb the hymn, began to improve it and to use it powerfully for their purpose. Reactionary opposition but served to raise more singing; and, further, the wholesome competition for excellence among the singing people contributed to a great advance in English hymnody. In 1827 appeared the great books of Heber and Keble. That of Montgomery had appeared two years before. Besides the vigorous native hymnody, there was coming in also a new wealth of translations. In the midst of all this development of hymnody, it was Heber's book that, more than any other, set the standard. Heber maintains a higher literary level than is maintained by any other author of a large number of hymns. He brought some of the strong intellectual and artistic influences of the time into the hymn-book. Six of Heber's most famous hymns may be mentioned, each representing a different conception of hymnody and a different manifestation of the religious spirit. Each is a masterpiece of its type. They show the breadth of their author's understanding and sympathy; they indicate the intensity and depth of his religion. "Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning" is a calendar hymn for the feast of the Epiphany, liturgical, glittering, stately; "The Son of God Goes Forth to War" is a call of churchly zeal, personal, evangelical, militant; "By Cool Siloam's Shady Rill" is an exquisite nature poem as well as an exquisite hymn; "Bread of the World in Mercy Broken" is a quiet communion hymn full of pensive loveliness and warm reality of faith; "From Greenland's Icy Mountains" is a hymn for foreign missions, immediately practical, yet blithely, almost gaily, romantic; "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty" is a hymn of grandeur, sonorous, full of the pomp and circumstance of awful worship. The style of the Epiphany hymn suggests the "wealth of orient pearl and gold" as well as the cool and lively freshness of morning: Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, Cold on his cradle the dewdrops are shining; |