For comments on John Ellerton, who added the third stanza, see [Hymn 42].
MUSIC. PERFECT LOVE is from an anthem composed by Joseph Barnby for the marriage of Princess Louise of Wales to the Duke of Fife, July 27, 1889. The anthem has been sung at many subsequent royal weddings.
For comments on Joseph Barnby see [Hymn 21].
BURIAL OF THE DEAD
313. Safe in the arms of Jesus
Fanny J. Crosby, 1820-1915
Written April 30, 1868, at the request of W. H. Doane, composer of the tune to which it was to be sung. The hymn and tune were published first in Songs of Devotion for Christian Associations, 1870. It is a tender lyric which has given peace and satisfaction to many who have faced death and especially to mothers who have lost children.
Fanny Crosby, born in Putnam County, N. Y., became blind when six weeks old as the result of an application of a warm poultice to her eyes. She was educated in the New York (City) Institute for the Blind and there served as a teacher for a time. In 1858, she was married to Alexander van Alstyne, a blind musician. Miss Crosby began writing verses when a child of eight years and throughout her long life showed a marvelous facility for expression in poetry, which resulted in the writing of nearly 6,000 hymns besides many secular poems. Many of her hymns were written for W. H. Doane, Robert Lowry, Philip Phillips, Ira Sankey, and others who were editors of evangelistic song books. She is best known by her maiden name but also wrote under her married name and 216 noms de plume. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Ten of her hymns are in the Hymnary.
MUSIC. SAFE IN THE ARMS, also known as “Refuge,” was composed by William Howard Doane, 1832-1916, a manufacturer of wood-working machinery in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a member of the Baptist Church and served many years as superintendent of the Sunday school in his church. A music enthusiast, he published 35 collections of song books and composed numerous hymn tunes, anthems, and cantatas. In 1875, Denison University, Granville, Ohio, conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Music.