FOREWORD

The hymn lore of the Christian Church offers a fascinating field for profitable research and study. To know the hymns of the Church is to know something of the spiritual strivings and achievements of the people of God throughout the centuries. Henry Ward Beecher has well said: “Hymns are the jewels which the Church has worn, the pearls, the diamonds, the precious stones, formed into amulets more potent against sorrow and sadness than the most famous charm of the wizard or the magician. And he who knows the way that hymns flowed, knows where the blood of true piety ran, and can trace its veins and arteries to the very heart.”

This volume has been inspired by a desire on the part of the author to create deeper love for the great lyrics of the Christian Church. In pursuing this purpose an effort has been made to present such facts and circumstances surrounding their authorship and composition as will result in a better understanding and appreciation of the hymns themselves.

A hymn is a child of the age in which it was written. For this reason the author has followed a chronological arrangement in an endeavor, not only to set forth the historical background of the hymns, but also to trace the spiritual movements within the Church that gave them birth.

The materials contained in this volume have been gathered from sources too numerous to mention here. The author feels a special sense of gratitude for information drawn from David R. Breed’s “The History and Use of Hymns and Hymn-Tunes,” Edward S. Ninde’s “The Story of the American Hymn,” and John Julian’s monumental work, “Dictionary of Hymnology.” No claim is made to originality, except in the manner of presentation and interpretation. A popular style has been adopted in order to appeal to the lay reader.

Thus we send forth this book with the earnest prayer that it may inspire many hearts to sing with greater devotion the praises of Him who redeemed us with His blood and made us to be kings and priests unto God.

Ernest Edwin Ryden.

St. Paul, Minnesota, November 14, 1930.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I: EARLY CHRISTIAN HYMNODY [The Early Christian Chants] 13 [Greek and Syriac Hymns] 19 [The Rise of Latin Hymnody] 25 [An Ancient Singer Who Glorified the Cross] 31 [The Golden Age of Latin Hymnody] 35 PART II: GERMAN HYMNODY [Martin Luther, Father of Evangelical Hymnody] 43 [The Hymn-Writers of the Reformation] 53 [Hymnody of the Controversial Period] 59 [The King and Queen of Chorales] 65 [Hymns of the Thirty Years’ War] 69 [A Hymn Made Famous on a Battle Field] 77 [The Lutheran Te Deum] 81 [Paul Gerhardt, Prince of Lutheran Hymnists] 85 [Joachim Neander, the Paul Gerhardt of the Calvinists] 93 [A Roman Mystic and Hymn-writer] 99 [Hymn-writers of the Pietist School] 103 [The Württemberg Hymn-writers] 111 [How a Great Organist Inspired Two Hymnists] 117 [Gerhard Tersteegen, Hymn-writer and Mystic] 123 [Zinzendorf and Moravian Hymnody] 127 [Two Famous Hymns and some Legends] 131 [Hymnody in the Age of Rationalism] 135 [Hymns of the Spiritual Renaissance] 141 PART III: SCANDINAVIAN HYMNODY [The Swedish Reformers and Their Hymns] 149 [A Hymn-Book That Failed] 155 [David’s Harp in the Northland] 161 [The Golden Age of Swedish Hymnody] 169 [The Fanny Crosby of Sweden and the Pietists] 177 [Kingo, the Poet of Easter-Tide] 185 [Brorson, the Poet of Christmas] 191 [Grundtvig, the Poet of Whitsuntide] 197 [Landstad, a Bard of the Frozen Fjords] 203 PART IV: ENGLISH HYMNODY [The Dawn of Hymnody in England] 209 [Isaac Watts, Father of English Hymnody] 215 [Doddridge: Preacher, Teacher, and Hymnist] 221 [Wesley, The Sweet Bard of Methodism] 225 [A Great Hymn that Grew out of a Quarrel] 233 [The Bird of a Single Song] 239 [England’s First Woman Hymnist] 245 [A Slave-trader Who Wrote Christian Lyrics] 249 [An Afflicted Poet Who Glorified God] 253 [An Irish Poet and His Hymns] 259 [The Hymn Legacy of an English Editor] 263 [Heber, Missionary Bishop and Hymnist] 269 [An Invalid Who Blessed the World] 275 [How Hymns Helped Build a Church] 279 [A Famous Hymn by a Proselyte of Rome] 285 [Henry Francis Lyte and His Swan Song] 291 [Sarah Adams and the Rise of Women Hymn-writers] 297 [A Hymn Written in a Stage-coach] 301 [An Archbishop’s Wife Who Wrote Hymns] 305 [Bonar, the Sweet Singer of Scotland] 311 [Two Famous Translators of Ancient Hymns] 317 [Baring-Gould and His Noted Hymn] 323 [Frances Ridley Havergal, the Consecration Poet] 327 [A Unitarian Who Gloried in the Cross] 333 [A Model Hymn by a Model Minister] 337 [Matheson and His Song in the Night] 341 Part V: AMERICAN HYMNODY [The Beginning of Hymnody in America] 347 [America’s First Woman Hymnist] 353 [Thomas Hastings, Poet and Musician] 359 [Francis Scott Key, Patriot and Hymnist] 363 [America’s First Poet and His Hymns] 367 [The Hymn-writer of the Muhlenbergs] 371 [The Lyrics of Bishop Doane] 375 [The Quaker Poet as a Hymn-writer] 379 [America’s Greatest Hymn and Its Author] 383 [Samuel Smith, a Patriotic Hymn-writer] 389 [Two Famous Christmas Hymns and Their Author] 395 [Harriet Beecher Stowe and Her Hymns] 399 [A Hymn Written on Two Shores] 407 [A Hymn That Grew out of Suffering] 411 [A Famous Hymn Written for Sailors] 415 [A Tragedy That Inspired a Great Hymn] 419 [Anna Warner and Her Beautiful Hymns] 423 [Phillips Brooks and His Carols] 427 [Women Who Wrote Hymns for Children] 431 [Fanny Crosby, America’s Blind Poet] 435 [One of America’s Earliest Gospel Singers] 441 [The Lyrist of Chautauqua] 445 [Gladden’s Hymn of Christian Service] 449 [A Hymn with a Modern Message] 453 [A Lutheran Psalmist of Today] 457 [Survey of American Lutheran Hymnody] 463 [Index of Notable Hymns] 471 [Alphabetical Index of Hymns and Sources] 477 [Authors’ and General Index] 493 [Bibliography] 503