MUSIC. BURFORD, a very good tune in triple time, written in the minor mode, is of uncertain authorship, though it is credited in some books to Henry Purcell, c. 1658-95, one of England’s great composers and organists. It is set to Psalm 42 in A Book of Psalmody, 1718, by John Chetham, and appears in a large number of other 18th century psalmodies, invariably without composer’s name.
229. O brother man, fold to thy heart thy brother
John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807-92
A hymn of brotherly love and service, taken from a poem of 15 stanzas, entitled, “Worship,” to which was affixed the scriptural reference, James 1:27: “Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” A concern for the well being of his fellow man was to Whittier a vital part of the Christian faith, as witness his championship of the cause of the slaves.
For comments on John Greenleaf Whittier see [Hymn 173].
MUSIC. COMFORT. The tune appears anonymously in the “Supplement” to Hymns of the Spirit, 1937.
230. Rise up, O men of God
William P. Merrill, 1867—
A hymn challenging the men of the church to loyal service to Christ. It is widely used in America and has found a place in English and Canadian hymnals. Concerning the origin of the hymn, Dr. Merrill says, in a letter to the writer, dated, April 18, 1947:
I was asked back in 1911 to write a hymn to be used in the “Brotherhood Movement,” then going strong. I had come upon an article by Gerald Stanley Lee, entitled, “The Church of the Strong Men”; and that gave me a start. I can give no interesting details as to how I wrote it; I just did it.
Highchurchmen have objected to the hymn, because they have said that only God can make the church great. To that I have answered that if anyone can show me a single instance in history where God has made the church great without using MEN OF GOD to do it, I should be interested. No answer has ever come. I heard that hymn sung in Europe, in India, China, and Japan.