Dir, nur dir verschreib’ ich mich—
Gotteslamm, hier komme ich!
MUSIC. WOODWORTH was first published in Hastings’ and Bradbury’s hymnal, The Third Book of Psalms, 1849, set to the words, “The God of love will surely indulge.” The tune became widely known after its association with “Just as I am, without one plea.” It is the most popular of Bradbury’s tunes and appears in nearly all American hymnals.
For comments on Wm. Bradbury see [Hymn 103].
459. Come, ye sinners, poor and needy
Joseph Hart, 1712-68
An evangelistic song, written by a Congregational minister. Hart, born in London and brought up in a devout Christian home, was well educated and taught the classics for many years. Early in life he departed from his religious training and fell into a life of “carnal and spiritual wickedness, irreligious and profane.” After continuing in this state for a long period of years, during which he exerted a pernicious influence upon all with whom he associated, Hart became deeply convicted, in his fortieth year, and betook himself to daily prayer and Bible reading. He was finally converted upon hearing a sermon on Rev. 3:10: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth”—preached in the Moravian Chapel in Fetter Lane, London. Becoming an earnest and consecrated Christian, and writer of hymns, he was importuned to become a preacher, which he did, although in his 48th year. From 1760 till his death in 1768, he preached regularly as pastor of an Independent Congregation in London, drawing large crowds. He died in the midst of labors and successes almost unprecedented, and it is said that 20,000 people came to his funeral. He is remembered chiefly, however, for his hymns, most of them of the evangelistic type.
MUSIC. GREENVILLE, a beautifully quaint and popular tune, was not written for sacred use but for a little song in the opera Le Devin du Village, by Rousseau. It was once popular in a piano arrangement known as “Rousseau’s Dream.”
Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712-78, philosopher and musician, was born at Geneva. Though not a religious man, he greatly influenced education in Europe and became one of the great forces in modern literature. A political radical, he was forced to leave France and for a time lived in England. His opera, Le Devin du Village, was a success, but none of his later musical efforts came to anything. He lived an unhappy life and is thought to have committed suicide. His death occurred near Paris, July 3, 1778.