"I cannot see thy face and live! Then let me see thy face and die!" &c., has been omitted in the later editions of the Wesleyan collection. We would omit also the fourth : : "Moses thy backward parts might see," &c. Hymn 411. In a volume entitled "Select Hymns, adapted to the Devotional Exercises of the Baptist Denomination, by James H. Linsley, and Gustavus F. Davis," we find this beautiful hymn credited to Miller! We are aware that the lines, "Which saves us to the uttermost, Till we can sin no more," might have been deemed heterodox by their readers, had they been assigned to Charles Wesley; and can very well appreciate the situation of the compilers: but they were not wise. Had they assigned it to Cowper, their readers would not have been led to ask the unanswerable question, Who is that Miller? The remaining hymns, under the head of "Christian Fellowship," are also Wesley's, with the exception of hymns 443, 445, 452. The last is by Fawcett, and the two former are parts of Watts's common and short metre versions of the one hundred and thirty-third Psalm. The four hundred and forty-third has been altered, we know not by whom. Watts wrote, "Lo, what an entertaining sight Are brethren that agree, Brethren, whose cheerful hearts unite From each, our book has omitted one verse, so that there can be no objection to them on account of their length. Hymns 412 and 414 are beautiful specimens of the Anapostic measure. Taking versification and sentiment together, there is nothing in the range of English poetry that exceeds the stanza,"In assù-rance of hòpe, we to Jè-sus look up, Till his bàn-ner unfurl'd in the air From our graves we shall see, and cry out-It is HE! And fly up to acknowledge him therè.” From hymn 414 we might omit stanzas 7, 8. The lines, "With his mercy's full blaze, With the sight of his face, Our beatified spirits he feeds," do not convey a very definite idea; nor are we quite sure that we know in what sense we should understand the line,— "Eternity seems as a day!" Hymn 424. From this hymn our collection has cut off the larger part; four verses, not much inferior to those retained. One of them has been dovetailed into the four hundred and twenty-seventh, in our book. There is something very striking as well as Scriptural in the third verse of hymn 426 : "With us thou art assembled here," &c. The same thought occurs in even stronger language in the third stanza of hymn 436: "Present we know thou art," &c. Stennett, versifying the same passage, writes, "There, says the Saviour, will I be The Saviour's language is-" There am I." Hymn 429 might be divided at the end of verse fourth; and a competent hand would do the church a service by dividing or abbreviating the two following. They are both beautiful, and we see nothing to alter unless it be the lines : "Clothed with the sun, we smile to see The moon beneath our feet." Hymn 432. From this hymn our collection has omitted four verses which are retained in the English collection. The omission has done it no injury. Hymn 434. The second stanza, being an allusion to Lot's escape from Sodom, is not equal to the rest of this admirable hymn. There is thrilling poetry in the last stanza. Hymn 435. Two stanzas have been with propriety omitted. Hymn 438 is readily susceptible of division at the end of the fourth verse. Hymn 439. The rhyme is faulty in verse 3. If it were omitted, and verse 4 also, the connection would not be broken, and the hymn would be improved. Hymn 441. Perhaps another word for the rhythm's sake might be substituted for "cemented," in the first stanza. Hymn 442. The lines, "A drop of that unbounded sea O Lord, resorb it into thee!" do not convey a very intelligible idea. If by the drop we are to understand "our love," we doubt the propriety of wishing it to be resorbed. Hymn 447. This is taken from a long poem which we find entire in the Wesleyan collection, making four separate hymns. Several of the couplets have been transposed, and it has been skilfully done. Hymn 448 being on a subject frequently dwelt upon, and in a metre of which we have a great many, might be omitted. Hymn 452 was written by Fawcett. Hymn 454. We have two verses, (6, 7,) that are not in the Wesleyan collection. Hymn 456 is by Watts. Hymn 457 is below Wesley's general standard, and might with propriety be superseded. Hymn 458 is faulty in the third verse, and might also be spared. Hymn 459. We know not to whose muse to attribute this. The two first lines are evidently taken from Wesley's : "Comfort, ye ministers of grace, Comfort my people, saith your God!" The remainder is on a different subject. It is not in the English collection, nor are the two following, which nevertheless, from internal evidence, we pronounce to be Wesley's. Hymns 462, 463, which are translations from the German, beautified in their passage by the poet of Methodism, make but one (the two hundred and seventy-ninth) in the Wesleyan collection. It has been happily divided. Hymn 464 might be omitted. Hymn 465. The second stanza, as written by Wesley, has been omitted in our collection. It is as follows: "Not all the powers of hell can fright A soul that walks with Christ in light: He walks and cannot fall: Clearly he sees, and wins his way, And more than conquers all." The reason for its omission is evident, though not valid, for certainly while a soul walks with Christ it cannot fall. We should prefer the omission of the last stanza, in which occurs the bravado : "And if he can obtain thy leave, Let Satan pluck me thence." Hymn 466. From this hymn of Dr. Watts's have been omitted his third and fifth verses. We advocate the restoration of the latter. The hymn is incomplete without it : “He spake, and light shone round his head, The grace of their ascended God." Hymn 468. The third verse of this beautiful hymn was omitted in the editions prepared by father Hitt. For what reason it is impossible to say. Instead of it, he gave us the following, which, if it were written by himself, is the best specimen of his poetic skill that we have met with : "O that my Jesus' heavenly charms Might every bosom move! Fly, sinners, fly into those arms Of everlasting love." Hymn 469 is by an unknown author. In the fourth verse we should have read "stand" instead of stood; but "rhymes are more imperative than kings." As it is, the verb look, in the last line, ought also to have been in the past tense. Hymn 471. This was written by the pious Doddridge. By some means the word And has usurped the place of "All" in the beginning of the fourth verse. Hymn 473 is a very appropriate prayer for one who would be wise to win souls. As we have others on the same topic, which are not so personal in their character, it might perhaps be omitted in a collection designed for the public. Hymn 475. We have not met with these lines in any other collection. They are, we suspect, of cisatlantic origin. Hymn 476. This is a long, and not very literal paraphrase of the Lord's prayer. The poetry is good; but its length, and the difficulty of selecting from it parts suitable for singing, are, with us, reasons sufficient for wishing the space it occupies otherwise filled. Hymn 479 is a part of Dr. Watts's paraphrase of the seventysecond Psalm. We know not who supplied the second verse. It is not found in the doctor's collection; nor in the Wesleyan HymnBook, which adds from the original three verses : "Blessings abound where'er he reigns; The pris'ner leaps to lose his chains; The weary find eternal rest; And all the sons of want are blest. Where he displays his healing power Death and the curse are known no more: In him the tribes of Adam boast More blessings than their father lost. Let every creature rise and bring The last line is evidently an improvement on the original :- Hymn 481. The apparently strange prayer in the last lines of this hymn is accounted for by the fact that it reads in the original,"Wisdom, pure religious fear, Our king's peculiar treasure prove." Father Hitt, to suit it to republican America, altered the word, and we now pray that "piety sincere" may prove the "peculiar treasure" of our land, and that it may be inspired with "humble love." Hymn 482 is a collection of Scriptural sentiments, in general well expressed, but lacking unity. Of the hymns under the head-"Christmas," we find but two (485, 490) in the Wesleyan collection. Hymn 488 is by Watts. Hymn 489 is the very best specimen of the versification of Tate and Brady that has fallen to our notice. Hymn 491 is by Medly. The rest are Charles Wesley's, with the exception of hymn 487, which is by an unknown hand. The feeble For, in the fifth line of the first stanza, was necessary for the metre's sake, but destroys the poetical reputation of the author. From hymn 485 we would omit the second stanza, the latter part of which is not literally true; and the fourth, which is unnecessary. We should incline also to find substitutes for hymn 486, which is too discursive, and for hymn 488, which is very similar to the one immediately following. In the collection of our Protestant Episcopal brethren, (certified by B. T. Onderdonk, 1832,) our four hundred and ninetieth is very ingeniously altered, and as it is one of the few alterations that can honestly be deemed improvements, we would accept it. They read, beginning at the third line of the second stanza : "Late in time behold him come, Offspring of the virgin's womb! Hail th' incarnate Deity: Pleased, as man, with man to dwell, Jesus, now Emanuel. Ris'n with healing in his wings, Light and life to all he brings; Hail the Sun of righteousness, Hail the heaven-born Prince of peace." VOL. IV.-13 |