Henry Alford

Henry Alford
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Short Name: Henry Alford
Full Name: Alford, Henry, 1810-1871
Birth Year: 1810
Death Year: 1871

Alford, Henry, D.D., son of  the Rev. Henry Alford, Rector of Aston Sandford, b. at 25 Alfred Place, Bedford Row, London, Oct. 7, 1810, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in honours, in 1832. In 1833 he was ordained to the Curacy of Ampton. Subsequently he held the Vicarage of Wymeswold, 1835-1853,--the Incumbency of Quebec Chapel, London, 1853-1857; and the Deanery of Canterbury, 1857 to his death, which took. place  at  Canterbury, Jan. 12, 1871.  In addition he held several important appointments, including that of a Fellow of Trinity, and the Hulsean Lectureship, 1841-2. His literary labours extended to every department of literature, but his noblest undertaking was his edition of the Greek Testament, the result of 20 years' labour.    His hymnological and poetical works, given below, were numerous, and included the compiling of collections, the composition of original hymns, and translations from other languages.    As a hymn-writer he added little to his literary reputation. The rhythm of his hymns is musical, but the poetry is neither striking, nor the thought original.   They are evangelical in their teaching,   but somewhat cold  and  conventional. They vary greatly in merit, the most popular being "Come, ye thankful  people, come," "In token that thou  shalt  not fear," and "Forward be our watchword." His collections, the Psalms and Hymns of 1844, and the Year of Praise, 1867, have not achieved a marked success.  His poetical and hymnological works include—

    (1) Hymns in the Christian Observer and the Christian Guardian, 1830. (2) Poems and Poetical Fragments (no name), Cambridge, J.   J.  Deighton, 1833.  (3) The School of the Heart, and other Poems, Cambridge, Pitt Press, 1835. (4) Hymns for the Sundays and Festivals throughout the Year, &c.,Lond., Longman ft Co., 1836. (5) Psalms and Hymns, adapted for the Sundays and Holidays throughout the year, &c, Lond., Rivington, 1844. (6) Poetical Works, 2 vols., Lond., Rivington, 1845. (7) Select Poetical Works, London, Rivington, 1851. (8) An American ed. of his Poems, Boston, Ticknor, Reed & Field, 1853(9) Passing away, and Life's Answer, poems in Macmillan's Magazine, 1863. (10) Evening Hexameters, in Good Words, 1864. (11) On Church Hymn Books, in the Contemporary Review, 1866. (12) Year of Praise, London, A. Strahan, 1867. (13) Poetical Works, 1868. (14) The Lord's Prayer, 1869. (15) Prose Hymns, 1844. (16) Abbot of Muchelnaye, 1841. (17) Hymns in British Magazine, 1832.   (18) A translation of Cantemus cuncti, q.v.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Alford, Henry, p. 39, ii. The following additional hymns by Dean Alford are in common use:—
1. Herald in the wilderness. St. John Baptist. (1867.)
2. Let the Church of God rejoice. SS. Simon and Jude. (1844, but not in his Psalms & Hymns of that year.)
3. Not in anything we do. Sexagesima. (1867.)
4. O Thou at Whose divine command. Sexagesima. (1844.)
5. 0 why on death so bent? Lent. (1867.)
6. Of all the honours man may wear. St. Andrew's Day. (1867.)
7. Our year of grace is wearing to a close. Close of the Year. (1867.)
8. Saviour, Thy Father's promise send. Whit-sunday. (1844.)
9. Since we kept the Saviour's birth. 1st Sunday after Trinity. (1867.)
10. Thou that art the Father's Word. Epiphany. (1844.)
11. Thou who on that wondrous journey. Quinquagesima. (1867.)
12. Through Israel's coasts in times of old. 2nd Sunday after Epiphany. (1867.)
13. Thy blood, O Christ, hath made our peace. Circumcision . (1814.)
14. When in the Lord Jehovah's name. For Sunday Schools. (1844.)
All these hymns are in Dean Alford's Year of Praise, 1867, and the dates are those of their earliest publication, so far as we have been able to trace the same.

--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Wikipedia Biography

Henry Alford (7 October 1810 – 12 January 1871) was an English churchman, theologian, textual critic, scholar, poet, hymnodist, and writer.

Texts by Henry Alford (69)sort descendingAsAuthority LanguagesInstances
Alabanzas hoy cantadHenry Alford (Author)Spanish4
All the world is God's own fieldH. Alford (Author)English3
As to his earthly parents' homeHenry Alford (Author)English3
Be true to every inmost thoughtAlford (Author)English7
Blessed are they whose hearts are pureHenry Alford (Author)English1
Brightly did the light DivineHenry Alford (Author)3
Come, ye thankful people, comeHenry Alford (Author)English637
Day of anger that dread dayHenry Alford (Author)English13
Earth is passed away and goneH. Alford (Author)10
Elevemos al CreadorHenry Alford, 1810-1871 (Author)Spanish8
Elevemos al SeñorHenry Alford (1810-1871) (Author)Spanish2
Far over yon horizon rise the city towersHenry Alford (Author)English20
Forth to the land of promise boundHenry Alford (Author)English16
Forward be our watchword, Hearts and voices joinedHenry Alford (Author)English313
Forward, flock of JesusHenry Alford (Author)English2
Glory of thy Father's faceAlford (Author)3
God is our refuge and defense Our shield His dread OmnipotenceHenry Alford (Author)English3
God is our refuge and our strength, When trouble's hour is nearHenry Alford (Author)English5
God's great harvest home draws nearHenry Alford, 1810-1871 (Author)English2
Hark, through the courts of heavenHenry Alford (Author)English6
Herald, in the wildernessHenry Alford (Author)1
I know not if or dark or brightDean of Canterbury (Author)English16
I saw two women weeping by the tombHenry Alford (Author)English2
In token that thou shalt not fearHenry Alford (Author)English35
Jehovah He Wakaŋ ektaHenry Alford (Author)Dakota1
Jesus, our Lord, who tempted wastHenry Alford (Author)2
Let us all in concert sing AlleluiaRev. Dr. Henry Alford (Translator)English6
Lift high the song of praiseHenry Alford (Author)English2
Lo! the feast is spread todayHenry Alford (Author)8
Lo! the storms of life are breakingHenry Alford (Author)English10
Lord, what a change within us one short hourDean Alford (Author)English1
Managyaman umaycayHenry Alford (Author)Tagalog2
My bark is wafted to the strandH. Alford (Author)English5
Not in any thing we doHenry Alford (Author)English3
O Savior, precious Savior, Whom yet unseen we loveH. Alford (Author)English2
O Thou, at whose dear name we bendHenry Alford (Author)English2
O thou, at whose divine commandHenry Alford (Author)English5
O Thou who hast Thy servants taughtRev. Henry Alford, 1810-1871 (Author)English37
Our year of grace is wearing to its closeHenry Alford (Author)3
Praise be to God on high, The triumph hour is nearHenry Alford (Author)1
前去!我們口號 (Qián qù! Wǒmen kǒuhào)Henry Alford (Author)Chinese2
Rejoice, rejoice, believers! And let your lights appearHenry Alford (Author)English1
Savior of them that trust in TheeHenry Alford (Author)3
Savior, Thy father's promise sendAlford (Author)2
Set thy house in orderRev. Henry Alford, 1810-1871 (Author)English4
Since we kept the Savior's birthHenry Alford (Author)2
Speak, for thy servant heareth, Thus give us grace, O LordHenry Alford (Author)4
Speak thou the truth, let others fenceHenry Alford (Author)English4
Take, O Lord, my faithless heartRev. Henry Alford, 1810-1871 (Author)English5
Ten thousand times ten thousand, In sparkling raiment brightHenry Alford (Author)English390
The calm of blessed nightHenry Alford (Author)2
The first sad hours of shameHenry Alford (Author)1
The great Apostle, called by graceHenry Alford (Author)1
The highest and the holiest placeH. Alford, 1810-71 (Author)English6
The lovely form of God's own churchHenry Alford (Author)4
Thine, O Lord, is the kingdomHenry Alford (Author)English1
Thou didst toil my soul to gainHenry Alford (Author)English2
Thou, Savior, who thyself didst giveHenry Alford (Author)1
Thou that art the Father's WordHenry Alford (Author)English4
Thou, Who on that wondrous journeyDean Alford (Author)English13
Through Israel's coasts, in times of oldHenry Alford (Author)3
Thy blood, O Christ, hath made our peaceHenry Alford (Author)3
Ti Tusind' Gang ti Tusind'Henry Alford (Author)2
Till He come, O let the wordsHenry Alford (Author)English5
We walk by faith, and not by sight, No gracious words we hearHenry Alford, 1810-1871 (Author)English72
When Christ, the Lord, would come on earthHenry Alford (Author)English3
When in the Lord Jehovah's NameHenry Alford (Author)English17
Zehn tausendmal zehn tausend, in kleidern hell undHenry Alford (Author)German2
Zehntausendmal Zehntausend in Kleidern hell und schönHenry Alford (Author)German4

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