Samuel Stennett was one of the most respected and influential ministers of the Dissenting persuasion, and a confidant of many of the most distinguished statesmen of his time. The celebrated John Howard was his parishoner and intimate friend. His degree of Doctor of Divinity was bestowed upon him by Aberdeen University. Besides his theological writings he composed and published thirty-eight hymns, among them—
On Jordan's stormy banks I stand,
When two or three with sweet accord,
Here at Thy table, Lord, we meet,
and—
“'Tis finished,” so the Saviour cried.
“Majestic Sweetness” began the third stanza of his longer hymn—
To Christ the Lord let every tongue.
Dr. Stennett died in London, Aug. 24, 1795.
THE TUNE.
For fifty or sixty years “Ortonville” has been linked with this devout hymn, and still maintains its fitting fellowship. The tune, composed in 1830, was the work of Thomas Hastings, and is almost as well-known and as often sung as his immortal “Toplady.” (See chap. 3, “[Rock of Ages].”)