Hymn 673-Commit thou all thy griefs. 674-Give to the winds thy fears. Original by Paul Gerhard. Translated, by the Rev. JOHN WESLEY, from the Spanish : 437-0 God, my God, my all thou art. By WILLIAM COWPER : : 559-God moves in a mysterious way. By the Rev. AUGUSTUS M. TOPLADY :- By the Rev. JOSEPH HART: 588—This, this is the God we adore. By the Rev. J. STENNETT : 583-Again our weekly labours end. By Miss ANNE Steele : 580-Great God, this hallowed day of thine. 722-Almighty Maker of my frame. 746-Father of mercies, in thy word. By the Rev. Tнomas Olivers : 66-Lo! he comes with clouds descending. 669-The God of Abraham praise. 671-Before the great Three-One. By the Rev. BENJAMIN RHODES:637-My heart and voice I raise. 638-Jerusalem divine. By Mrs. AGNES BULMER : Hymn 737-Thou, who hast in Sion laid. By the Rev. WILLIAM M. BUNTING: 748-O God! how often hath thine ear. There are two hymns, 560 and 647, the authors of which I have not been able to ascertain, Hymn 560, it is believed, never appeared in any book published by Mr. Wesley. Hymn 647 is found in the "Collection of Psalms and Hymns," published in the joint names of John and Charles Wesley; the fourth edition of which was printed in 1748. But that it was not the original composition of either of the brothers, is pretty certain; because the rhyming of the first and third lines is neglected. And among all the known productions of Charles Wesley, we have not a single stanza in which this defect exists; nor among those of John, except in two of his translated hymns (673, 674), which are partially defective. There is some uncertainty about Hymn 653. The fourth and following verses are found in the early editions of the Hymns and Sacred Poems, published in the names of the two brothers, and may confidently be attributed to Charles Wesley; but the author of the first three verses is not known. They appear in a collection of Psalms and Hymns, published in 1800 by Robert Carr Brackenbury, Esq., and were possibly composed by that gentleman. Of Hymn 699 also it should be stated, that the first and second verses are from Dr. Watts, and the fourth from Bishop Kenn; whence the third verse was taken, has not been ascertained. It is highly probable that some few others of the hymns, besides the five enumerated above, were from the pen of John Wesley; but we have no means of ascertaining which they are; and in the absence of all satisfactory proof to the contrary, the only alternative is to assign all that remain unaffiliated, to Charles Wesley. The Hymns in the Hymn Book and Supplement are numbered as 769; but there being two that are numbered 46, they are in reality 770. When classified according to their respective authors, they will stand thus Thus it appears, that to the sanctified talent of Charles Wesley, we are, under God, indebted for about 623 out of the 770 hymns, which constitute the collection now in use among the Methodists; or for nearly six-sevenths of the whole. CHAPTER III. EXCELLENCE OF THE WESLEYAN HYMNS, IN SENTIMENT. WITH great propriety does Mr. Wesley, in the preface, speak of his Hymn Book, as being in effect, a little body of experimental and practical divinity. To establish and illustrate this point, will be the object of the present chapter. Do we wish to have correct and scriptural views of the ever-blessed God, his glorious perfections, and the relations which he sustains to us? Where shall we find these things better stated, than in Hymns 38, 199, 223 to 226, 232 to 235, 238 to 245, 247 to 250, 263, 264, 316, 407, 540 to 543, 561, 563, 564, 567 to 574, 576, 584 to 593, 597, 598, 599, 669. Or do we wish to dwell on the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and to discover the application and the importance of that fundamental doctrine? In these hymns not only is the doctrine distinctly avowed, but its intimate connexion with all inward and experimental religion is made apparent. Consult, on this subject, Hymns 221, 232, 237, 239, 251 to 262, 473, 476, 477, 506, 514, 515, 517, 532, 562, 564, 647, 649, 654, 671, 737, 745, 757, 769. |