John Newton, 1725-1807
A hymn composed for a prayer meeting.
John Newton and William Cowper, the English poet, instituted prayer meetings at Olney where the two labored together in a famous ministry, Newton as minister of the church, and Cowper as his voluntary assistant. The prayer meetings were attended in such large numbers that it became necessary to move the services into a large room. For the first meeting in this new room, each of the men prepared a special hymn, the one by Newton being our hymn, with his first, third, and seventh stanzas omitted.
For further comments on John Newton see [Hymn 274].
MUSIC. DURHAM appeared in Ravenscroft’s Psalter, 1621, set to Psalms 28 and 76, and marked as a “Northern Tune.” The Scottish Psalter of 1635 includes it among the Common Tunes.
280. Again, as evening’s shadow falls
Samuel Longfellow, 1819-92
“Vesper Hymn” is the title which this hymn bears in the author’s volume, Vespers, 1859, a small book of songs prepared for use in evening services. In a letter dated Feb. 11, 1890, Longfellow wrote, “My two favorites among my hymns are the vesper hymn, ‘Again, as evening’s shadow falls,’ and the one beginning, ‘I look to Thee in every need’” ([244]).
For comments on Samuel Longfellow see [Hymn 28].
MUSIC. GERMANY. For comments on this tune see [Hymn 222].