Person Results

Switch back to the old search page.Advanced Search

Showing 1 - 6 of 6Results Per Page: 10 20 50

John Mason

1645 - 1694 Author of "Now from the altar of our hearts" in The Methodist Hymnal Mason, John. The known facts of his life are scanty. He was the son of a Dissenting Minister, and the grandfather of John Mason, the author of A Treatise on Self-Knowledge. He was educated at Strixton School, Northants, and Clare Hall, Cambridge. After taking his M.A., he became Curate of Isham; and in 1668, Vicar of Stantonbury, Bucks. A little more than five years afterwards he was appointed Rector of Water-Stratford. Here he composed the volume containing The Songs of Praise, his paraphrase of The Song of Solomon, and the Poem on Dives and Lazarus, with which Shepherd's Penitential Cries was afterwards bound up. This volume passed through twenty editions. Besides the Songs of Praise, it contains six Penitential Cries by Mason, and it is this portion of his work which harmonizes with the compositions of Shepherd. Probably his hymns were used in public worship, and if so, they are among the earliest hymns so used in the Church of England. Some of his hymns are often found in the early Hymn Collections of the 18th century. The most notable work besides this volume is Select Remains of the Rev, John Mason, a collection of sententious and practical sayings and Christian letters, published by his grandson, and much eulogized by Dr. Watts. His friend, Shepherd, who was at Water-Stratford at the remarkable period to which reference is made below, published two of Mason's Sermons, with a preface of his own. Mason was a man of true piety and humility; known for eminent prayerfulness; faithful, experimental, effectual preaching; "a light in the pulpit, and a pattern out of it." His friendship with Baxter, and Shepherd, the Nonconformist Minister of Braintree, probably indicates his sympathies and theological position. Baxter calls him "the glory of the Church of England," and says :— "The frame of his spirit was so heavenly, his deportment so humble and obliging, his discourse of spiritual things so weighty, with such apt words and delightful air, that it charmed all that had any spiritual relish.” The close of his life was sensational enough. One night, about a month before his death, he had a vision of the Lord Jesus, wearing on His head a glorious crown, and with a look of unutterable majesty in His face. Of this vision he spoke; and preached a Sermon called The Midnight Cry, in which he proclaimed the near approach of Christ's Second Advent. A report spread that this Advent would take place at Water-Stratford itself, and crowds gathered there from the surrounding villages. Furniture and provisions were brought in, and every corner of the house and village occupied. Most extraordinary scenes occurred, singing and leaping and dancing. The excitement had scarcely died out when the old man passed away (1694), still testifying that he had seen the Lord, and that it was time for the nation to tremble, and for Christians to trim their lamps. His last words were, “I am full of the loving kindness of the Lord." [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] The full titles of his Songs of Praise, and the additions thereto, are:— (1) Spiritual Songs; or, Songs of Praise to Almighty God upon several occasions, 1683. (2) The Song of Songs which is Solomon's first Turned, then Paraphrased in English Verse. Published with the former. (3) Dives and Lazarus, incorporated with the former 1685. (4) Penitential Cries, Begun by the Author of the Songs of Praise, And carried on by another Hand. Licensed and Entered, Sept. 13, 1693. This forms the concluding part of all editions of the Songs of Praise after 1693. The complete work was reprinted by D. Sedgwick in 1859. This reprint was accompanied by a short Memoir. In this reprint Mason's Penitential Cries and Ps. 86 are given under Songs of Praise, pp. 49-61, those under Penitential Cries being all by Shepherd (q.v.). Mason's Life, by John Dunton, was published in 1694, and included some miscellaneous poems; and another, by Henry Maurice, in 1695, in which are two hymns not found elsewhere. We may add that Mason published a Catechism, with some Verses for Children. Of this, however, no copy is known to exist. Mason's Songs are commonly presented in modern hymnbooks in the form of centos, which are sometimes compiled from a single Song, and in other instances from several Songs. Many of these are annotated under their respective first lines. The rest include:— 1. Blest be my God that I was born. Praise for the Gospel. 2. Lord, for the mercies of the night. Morning. 3. Lord of my life, Length of my days. Praise for Deliverance from Immediate danger of Death. 4. My God, a God of pardon is. Praise for Pardon of Sin. 5. My God, my only Help and Hope. Praise for Providence. 6. My God, my reconciled God. Praise for Peace of Conscience. 7. My God was with me all this night. Morning. 8. Thou wast, 0 God; and Thou wast blest. Praise for Creation. 9. Thousands of thousands stand around. Praise. A cento from Songs i. and ii. In Griffith, Farran & Co.'s Ancient and Modern Library, No. 12, Giles Fletcher's Christ's Victory and Triumph, &c, 1888, p. 208 (edited by W. T. Brooke), a short hymn by Mason is given from Multum in Parvo: or the Jubilee of Jubilees, 1732, beginning "High praises meet and dwell within." It is an indifferent example of Mason's powers as a writer of sacred verse. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ==================== Mason, J., p. 716, ii. Mason's Midnight Cry, stated on p. 717, i. as having been preached in 1694, was delivered in 1691. The 1st ed. of this sermon is:— “The Midnight Cry. A Sermon Preached On the Parable of the Ten Virgins . . . . By J. M., M.A., Rector of W. in the County of B., London: Nathanael Ranew . . 1691. This edition has no hymns. To the 4th ed. in 1692, published by the same Nathanael Ranew, there was added:— The Fourth Edition, with the Addition of two Hymns for the Coming of Christ. By the same Author. The first of these hymns begins:— "The evening of the Day Portends a dismal night," and is in 12 stanzas of 8 lines. The second hymn is:— "Come, come, my dearest, dearest Lord, Make haste and come away." This is in 14 stanzas of 4 lines. Of the first and fifth eds. there are copies in the Brit. Museum, and of the first in the Julian Collection of the Church House, London. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Isaac Watts

1674 - 1748 Author of "Amidst Thy Wrath Remember Love" in The Cyber Hymnal Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary labours. He did not retire from ministerial duties, but preached as often as his delicate health would permit. The number of Watts' publications is very large. His collected works, first published in 1720, embrace sermons, treatises, poems and hymns. His "Horae Lyricae" was published in December, 1705. His "Hymns" appeared in July, 1707. The first hymn he is said to have composed for religious worship, is "Behold the glories of the Lamb," written at the age of twenty. It is as a writer of psalms and hymns that he is everywhere known. Some of his hymns were written to be sung after his sermons, giving expression to the meaning of the text upon which he had preached. Montgomery calls Watts "the greatest name among hymn-writers," and the honour can hardly be disputed. His published hymns number more than eight hundred. Watts died November 25, 1748, and was buried at Bunhill Fields. A monumental statue was erected in Southampton, his native place, and there is also a monument to his memory in the South Choir of Westminster Abbey. "Happy," says the great contemporary champion of Anglican orthodoxy, "will be that reader whose mind is disposed, by his verses or his prose, to imitate him in all but his non-conformity, to copy his benevolence to men, and his reverence to God." ("Memorials of Westminster Abbey," p. 325.) --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872. ================================= Watts, Isaac, D.D. The father of Dr. Watts was a respected Nonconformist, and at the birth of the child, and during its infancy, twice suffered imprisonment for his religious convictions. In his later years he kept a flourishing boarding school at Southampton. Isaac, the eldest of his nine children, was born in that town July 17, 1674. His taste for verse showed itself in early childhood. He was taught Greek, Latin, and Hebrew by Mr. Pinhorn, rector of All Saints, and headmaster of the Grammar School, in Southampton. The splendid promise of the boy induced a physician of the town and other friends to offer him an education at one of the Universities for eventual ordination in the Church of England: but this he refused; and entered a Nonconformist Academy at Stoke Newington in 1690, under the care of Mr. Thomas Rowe, the pastor of the Independent congregation at Girdlers' Hall. Of this congregation he became a member in 1693. Leaving the Academy at the age of twenty, he spent two years at home; and it was then that the bulk of the Hymns and Spiritual Songs (published 1707-9) were written, and sung from manuscripts in the Southampton Chapel. The hymn "Behold the glories of the Lamb" is said to have been the first he composed, and written as an attempt to raise the standard of praise. In answer to requests, others succeeded. The hymn "There is a land of pure delight" is said to have been suggested by the view across Southampton Water. The next six years of Watts's life were again spent at Stoke Newington, in the post of tutor to the son of an eminent Puritan, Sir John Hartopp; and to the intense study of these years must be traced the accumulation of the theological and philosophical materials which he published subsequently, and also the life-long enfeeblement of his constitution. Watts preached his first sermon when he was twenty-four years old. In the next three years he preached frequently; and in 1702 was ordained pastor of the eminent Independent congregation in Mark Lane, over which Caryl and Dr. John Owen had presided, and which numbered Mrs. Bendish, Cromwell's granddaughter, Charles Fleetwood, Charles Desborough, Sir John Hartopp, Lady Haversham, and other distinguished Independents among its members. In this year he removed to the house of Mr. Hollis in the Minories. His health began to fail in the following year, and Mr. Samuel Price was appointed as his assistant in the ministry. In 1712 a fever shattered his constitution, and Mr. Price was then appointed co-pastor of the congregation which had in the meantime removed to a new chapel in Bury Street. It was at this period that he became the guest of Sir Thomas Abney, under whose roof, and after his death (1722) that of his widow, he remained for the rest of his suffering life; residing for the longer portion of these thirty-six years principally at the beautiful country seat of Theobalds in Herts, and for the last thirteen years at Stoke Newington. His degree of D.D. was bestowed on him in 1728, unsolicited, by the University of Edinburgh. His infirmities increased on him up to the peaceful close of his sufferings, Nov. 25, 1748. He was buried in the Puritan restingplace at Bunhill Fields, but a monument was erected to him in Westminster Abbey. His learning and piety, gentleness and largeness of heart have earned him the title of the Melanchthon of his day. Among his friends, churchmen like Bishop Gibson are ranked with Nonconformists such as Doddridge. His theological as well as philosophical fame was considerable. His Speculations on the Human Nature of the Logos, as a contribution to the great controversy on the Holy Trinity, brought on him a charge of Arian opinions. His work on The Improvement of the Mind, published in 1741, is eulogised by Johnson. His Logic was still a valued textbook at Oxford within living memory. The World to Come, published in 1745, was once a favourite devotional work, parts of it being translated into several languages. His Catechisms, Scripture History (1732), as well as The Divine and Moral Songs (1715), were the most popular text-books for religious education fifty years ago. The Hymns and Spiritual Songs were published in 1707-9, though written earlier. The Horae Lyricae, which contains hymns interspersed among the poems, appeared in 1706-9. Some hymns were also appended at the close of the several Sermons preached in London, published in 1721-24. The Psalms were published in 1719. The earliest life of Watts is that by his friend Dr. Gibbons. Johnson has included him in his Lives of the Poets; and Southey has echoed Johnson's warm eulogy. The most interesting modern life is Isaac Watts: his Life and Writings, by E. Paxton Hood. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] A large mass of Dr. Watts's hymns and paraphrases of the Psalms have no personal history beyond the date of their publication. These we have grouped together here and shall preface the list with the books from which they are taken. (l) Horae Lyricae. Poems chiefly of the Lyric kind. In Three Books Sacred: i.To Devotion and Piety; ii. To Virtue, Honour, and Friendship; iii. To the Memory of the Dead. By I. Watts, 1706. Second edition, 1709. (2) Hymns and Spiritual Songs. In Three Books: i. Collected from the Scriptures; ii. Composed on Divine Subjects; iii. Prepared for the Lord's Supper. By I. Watts, 1707. This contained in Bk i. 78 hymns; Bk. ii. 110; Bk. iii. 22, and 12 doxologies. In the 2nd edition published in 1709, Bk. i. was increased to 150; Bk. ii. to 170; Bk. iii. to 25 and 15 doxologies. (3) Divine and Moral Songs for the Use of Children. By I. Watts, London, 1715. (4) The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, And apply'd to the Christian State and Worship. By I. Watts. London: Printed by J. Clark, at the Bible and Crown in the Poultry, &c, 1719. (5) Sermons with hymns appended thereto, vol. i., 1721; ii., 1723; iii. 1727. In the 5th ed. of the Sermons the three volumes, in duodecimo, were reduced to two, in octavo. (6) Reliquiae Juveniles: Miscellaneous Thoughts in Prose and Verse, on Natural, Moral, and Divine Subjects; Written chiefly in Younger Years. By I. Watts, D.D., London, 1734. (7) Remnants of Time. London, 1736. 454 Hymns and Versions of the Psalms, in addition to the centos are all in common use at the present time. --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================================== Watts, I. , p. 1241, ii. Nearly 100 hymns, additional to those already annotated, are given in some minor hymn-books. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ================= Watts, I. , p. 1236, i. At the time of the publication of this Dictionary in 1892, every copy of the 1707 edition of Watts's Hymns and Spiritual Songs was supposed to have perished, and all notes thereon were based upon references which were found in magazines and old collections of hymns and versions of the Psalms. Recently three copies have been recovered, and by a careful examination of one of these we have been able to give some of the results in the revision of pp. 1-1597, and the rest we now subjoin. i. Hymns in the 1709 ed. of Hymns and Spiritual Songs which previously appeared in the 1707 edition of the same book, but are not so noted in the 1st ed. of this Dictionary:— On pp. 1237, L-1239, ii., Nos. 18, 33, 42, 43, 47, 48, 60, 56, 58, 59, 63, 75, 82, 83, 84, 85, 93, 96, 99, 102, 104, 105, 113, 115, 116, 123, 124, 134, 137, 139, 146, 147, 148, 149, 162, 166, 174, 180, 181, 182, 188, 190, 192, 193, 194, 195, 197, 200, 202. ii. Versions of the Psalms in his Psalms of David, 1719, which previously appeared in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1707:— On pp. 1239, U.-1241, i., Nos. 241, 288, 304, 313, 314, 317, 410, 441. iii. Additional not noted in the revision:— 1. My soul, how lovely is the place; p. 1240, ii. 332. This version of Ps. lxiv. first appeared in the 1707 edition of Hymns & Spiritual Songs, as "Ye saints, how lovely is the place." 2. Shine, mighty God, on Britain shine; p. 1055, ii. In the 1707 edition of Hymns & Spiritual Songs, Bk. i., No. 35, and again in his Psalms of David, 1719. 3. Sing to the Lord with [cheerful] joyful voice, p. 1059, ii. This version of Ps. c. is No. 43 in the Hymns & Spiritual Songs, 1707, Bk. i., from which it passed into the Ps. of David, 1719. A careful collation of the earliest editions of Watts's Horae Lyricae shows that Nos. 1, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, p. 1237, i., are in the 1706 ed., and that the rest were added in 1709. Of the remaining hymns, Nos. 91 appeared in his Sermons, vol. ii., 1723, and No. 196 in Sermons, vol. i., 1721. No. 199 was added after Watts's death. It must be noted also that the original title of what is usually known as Divine and Moral Songs was Divine Songs only. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907) =========== See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

Karl P. Harrington

1861 - 1953 Composer of "PARKER" in The Methodist Hymnal Born: June 13, 1861, Somersworth, New Hampshire. Died: November 14, 1953, Berkeley, California. Buried: Middletown, Connecticut. Son of Calvin S. and Eliza Chase Harrington, Karl earned his AB degree in 1882, and his AM in 1885, from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. He studied at the University of Berlin (1887-89) and Yale University (1890-91). He taught high school in Westfield, Massachusetts (1882-85); Latin at Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts (1885-87); was a Latin tutor at Wesleyan University (1889-91); Latin professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1891-99); University of Maine (1899-1905); and Wesleyan University (1905). While at the University of North Carolina, he directed the Glee Club. His works include: The Roman Elegiac Poets, circa 1914 Richard Alsop, "a Hartford Wit" Walks and Climbs in the White Mountains, 1926 --www.hymntime.com/tch/

Johann Samuel Diterich

1721 - 1797 Person Name: J. S. Diterich Author of "Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt" in Pilgerklänge Diterich, Johann Samuel, eldest son of A. M. Diterich, pastor of St. Mary's Church, Berlin, was born at Berlin, Dec. 15, 1721. After studying at the Universities of Frankfurt a. Oder, and Halle, he was for some time a private tutor in Berlin. He was, in 1748, appointed diaconus of St. Mary's Church in Berlin, and regimental chaplain, becoming, in 1751, archidiaconus, and, in 1754, pastor of St. Mary's. In 1763 he was appointed private Chaplain to the Queen, and in 1770 a member of the Supreme Consistory. He died at Berlin, Jan. 14, 1797 (Koch, vi. 228-231; Allg. Deutsche Biog., v. 258-259). His hymns appeared in the following works:— (1) Lieder für den offentlichen Gottesdienst Berlin, 1765, with 23G hymns, edited by himself and his col¬leagues in Stanzas Mary's Church. Designed as a supplement to Porst's Gesang-Buch of 1713. (2) Gesangbuch zum (foltesdienstlichen Gebrauch in den Königlich-Preus-sischen Landen, Berlin, 1780, with 447 hymns principally edited by himself. (3) Gesangbuch für die häusliche Andacht. Berlin, 1787, with 421 hymns, principally of recent date. None of these books give names of authors. Diterich seems to have contributed about 100 hymns either original or entirely recast, besides rewriting portions of many others. He distinguished himself as a leader in the unhappy process of “modernising" and "improving" the older German hymns, by which they were reduced to 18th cent. "correctness," and had all the life polished out of them. His 1765 collection formed the model of many wretched hymn-books, and his influence is even seen in such recent collections as the Hamburg Gesang-Buch 1842, the Nassau Gesang-Buch, 1844, and the Gesang-Buch für die evang. Landeskirche im Grossherzogtum Sachsen, Weimar, 1883. A number of the recasts from the older hymns which appear under Diterich's name are noted in this Dictionary under the names of their original authors. The following may be regarded as practically original:— i. Schon ist der Tag von Gott bestimmt. [Second Advent.] 1765, as above, No. 129, in 8 stanzas of 7 lines. Included as No. 390 in the Nassau Gesang-Buch, 1844. The only translation in common use is:— The trumpet sounds! the day is come! A full and good translation in Dr. H. Mills's Horae Germanica, 1845 (ed. 1856, p. 332). Dr. Hatfield included stanzas i., iv., vi., vii., altered, in his Church Hymn Book, 1872. The following, although not in English common use, are available for hymnological purposes :— ii. Auf Erden Wahrheit auszubreiten. Christ's Ministry. 1787, as above, No. 79, in 10 stanzas. Translated by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (ed. 1856, p. 283), as "That men to truth might not be strangers." iii. Auf! Jesu Jünger! freuet euch! Ascension. 1765, as above, No. 79, in 12 stanzas, and is based on E. Alber's hymn "Nun freut euch Gottes Kinder all" (q. v.). Two forms have been translated (1) “Auf, Christen, auf und freuet euch," in the Berlin Gesang-Buch, 1780, No. 114; tr. as "Rejoice, ye saints, your fears be gone," by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (ed. 1856, p. 324); and (2) "Ihr Jünger Jesu, freuet euch," in the Trier Gesang-Buch. (R. C), 1846, p. 94. Tr. as "Rejoice, ye saints, in glad accord," by Dr. R. F. Littledale, in Lyra Messianica, 1864, p. 371. iv. Herr, meiner Seele grossen Werth. Greatness of the Soul. 1765, as above, No. 195, in 9 stanzas. Translated by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (ed. 1856, p. 30), as “Lord, on the soul's enduring worth." v. Mein Heiland lebt. Er hat die Macht. Resurrection of the Dead. 1765, as above, No. 123, in 8 stanzas. Translated by Miss Manington, 1863,p. 75, "My Saviour lives, and He the might." vi. O Jesu, wahrer Frömmigkeit. Jesus our Example. Seems to have been suggested by J. J. Rambach's "Du wesentliches Ebenbild " in his Haus Gesang-Buch, 1735, No. 84. First published 1789, as above, No. 59, in 8 stanzas. Translated by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (ed. 1856, p. 285), as "Jesus, of what we should approve." [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Heinrich Cornelius Hecker

1699 - 1743 Person Name: G. C. Hecker Author of "Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt" in Pilgerklänge

William Cutter

1801 - 1867 Author of "She Loved Her Savior" in The Cyber Hymnal Cutter, William, born at North Yarmouth, Maine, May 15, 1801, and was removed in childhood to Portland, and educated at Bowdoin College, graduating in 1821. He was subsequently engaged for some time in business in Portland, and again in Brooklyn, New York. Died Feb. 8, 1867. Mr. Cutter, who was a member of the Congregational body, was a deserving writer, who has hitherto missed his due meed of acknowledgment. To his friend Mr. Colesworthy we are indebted for the details of his life and hymnological work. His hymns include:— 1. Thy neighbour? it is he whom thou. Christian Brotherhood. This appeared in the Christian Mirror for May 30, 1828 (Mr. Colesworthy thinks that he set the types for it), and again in Cheever'sAmerican Poetry, 1831. An altered form of the hymn, "Who is thy neighbour? he whom thou," soon came into use, and was often printed before it was included anonymously in W. B. O. Peabody's Unitarian Springfield Collection, 1835. From being found in that collection it has been attributed to Peabody in error. 2. Hide not thy talent in the earth. Duty. Appeared in the Christian Mirror, Oct. 10, IS28. In some collections it begins with stanza ii., "What if the little rain should say." 3. She loved her Saviour, and to Him. Thankfulness and Duty. Was first published in the Christian Mirror, but the date is uncertain. It was reprinted by Cheever in his American Poetry, 1831. In addition to the above, Cutter wrote several hymns which appeared in the Mirror, and in the Sunday School Instructor, of which he and Mr. Colesworthy were joint editors. His hymns are unknown to the English collections. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Export as CSV

User Links

User Links

Discover

Collections

Store

Connect

Search