The Story of Our Hymns Part 42

Hark, from all lands, from the isles of the ocean, Praise to Jehovah ascending on high; Fallen the engines of war and commotion, Shouts of salvation are rending the sky.

Thomas Hastings.

THOMAS HASTINGS, POET AND MUSICIAN

High among the names of those who in the early days of America labored to raise the standard of hymnody must be inscribed the name of Thomas Hastings, Doctor of Music. Poet and musician by nature, Hastings may truly be said to have devoted his entire life to the elevation of sacred song.

The story of his life is typical of the struggles and hardships of many American pioneers who conquered in spite of the most adverse circ.u.mstances. Born at Washington, Conn., October 15, 1784, young Hastings removed with his parents to Clinton, N. Y., when he was only twelve years old. The journey was made in ox-sleds through unbroken wilderness in the dead of winter.

The frontier schools of those days offered little opportunity for education, but the eager lad trudged six miles a day to receive the instruction that was given. A pa.s.sionate fondness for music was first satisfied when he secured a musical primer of four pages costing six pence. The proudest moment in his life came when he was named leader of the village choir.

It was not until he was thirty-two years old that Hastings was able to secure employment as a music teacher, but from that time until his death, in 1872, he devoted all his energies to the work he loved.

Hastings was ever tireless in contending that good music should have a recognized place in religious worship. From 1823 to 1832, during which time he edited the Western Recorder, in Utica, N. Y., he had an excellent opportunity to spread his views on music. In the latter year twelve churches in New York City jointly engaged his services as choir director, and for the remainder of his life Hastings made the great American metropolis his home.

Though seriously handicapped by eye trouble, Hastings produced a prodigious amount of work. It is claimed that he wrote more than one thousand hymn tunes. He also published fifty volumes of church music.

Some of the finest tunes in our American hymnals were composed by him.

Who has not found inspiration in singing that sweet and haunting melody known as "Ortonville"? And how can we ever be sufficiently grateful for the tune called "Toplady," which has endeared "Rock of Ages" to millions of hearts? Besides these there are at least a score of other beautiful hymn tunes that have been loved by the singing Church for nearly a century, any one of which would have won for the composer an enduring name.

Through the composing of tunes, Hastings was led to write words for hymns. More than six hundred are attributed to him, although many were written anonymously. "Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning" is generally regarded as his best hymn. It strikingly reflects the spirit of the missionary age in which Hastings lived.

Another very popular and stirring missionary hymn, written by Hastings in 1831, is a song of two stanzas:

Now be the gospel banner In every land unfurled; And be the shout, Hosannah!

Reechoed through the world; Till every isle and nation, Till every tribe and tongue, Receive the great salvation, And join the happy throng.

Yes, Thou shalt reign forever, O Jesus, King of kings!

Thy light, Thy love, Thy favor, Each ransomed captive sings: The isles for Thee are waiting, The deserts learn Thy praise, The hills and valleys, greeting, The songs responsive raise.

A hymn with the t.i.tle, "Pilgrimage of Life," though very simple, is singularly beautiful and very tender in its appeal. The first stanza reads:

Gently, Lord, O gently lead us, Pilgrims in this vale of tears, Through the trials yet decreed us, Till our last great change appears.

Hastings did not cease writing and composing hymns until three days before his death. It is said that more of his hymns are found in the standard church hymnals of America than those of any other American writer. Their survival through almost a century is a testimony to their enduring quality.

Key's Hymn of Praise

Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise thee For the bliss Thy love bestows, For the pardoning grace that saves me, And the peace that from it flows.

Help, O G.o.d, my weak endeavor; This dull soul to rapture raise; Thou must light the flame, or never Can my love be warmed to praise.

Praise, my soul, the G.o.d that sought thee, Wretched wanderer, far astray; Found thee lost, and kindly brought thee From the paths of death away; Praise, with love's devoutest feeling, Him who saw thy guilt-born fear, And, the light of hope revealing, Bade the blood-stained cross appear.

Lord, this bosom's ardent feeling Vainly would my lips express; Low before Thy footstool kneeling, Deign Thy suppliant's prayer to bless; Let Thy grace, my soul's chief treasure, Love's pure flame within me raise; And, since words can never measure, Let my life show forth Thy praise.

Francis Scott Key, 1823.

FRANCIS SCOTT KEY, PATRIOT AND HYMNIST

Francis Scott Key is known to every American child as the author of our national anthem, "The star spangled banner"; but his fame as a Christian hymnist has not gone abroad to the same degree. And yet, as the author of "Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise Thee," he ranks among the foremost of American hymn-writers.

Key lived during the stirring days of our country's early history. His father was an officer in the Continental army who fought with distinction during the Revolutionary War. Francis was born at Frederick, Maryland, August 1, 1779. After receiving a legal education he began to practice law in Washington, and served as United States district attorney for three terms, holding that office at the time of his death.

The story of how he came to write "Star spangled banner" scarcely needs to be repeated. It was during the War of 1812 that Key was authorized by President Madison to visit the British fleet near the mouth of the Potomac in order to obtain the release of a friend who had been captured.

The British admiral granted Key's request, but owing to the fact that an attack was about to be made on Fort McHenry, which guarded the harbor of Baltimore, Key and his party were detained all night aboard the truce-boat on which they had come.

It was a night of great anxiety. A fierce bombardment continued during the hours of darkness, and as long as the sh.o.r.e fortifications replied to the cannonading, Key and his friends were certain that all was well.

Toward morning, the firing ceased, and they were filled with dark forebodings. The others went below to obtain some sleep, but Key continued to pace the deck until the first streaks of dawn showed that the "flag was still there."

His joy was so unbounded that he seized a piece of paper, and hastily wrote the words of his famous anthem. It was not completed until later in the day, when he reached Baltimore and joined in the victorious joy that filled the city.

While "Star spangled banner" is not a Christian hymn, there are n.o.ble sentiments in it that reveal the writer at once as a devout Christian, and this was eminently true of Key.

As a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church he held a lay reader's license, and for many years read the service and visited the sick. He also conducted a Bible cla.s.s in Sunday school. Although he lived in a slave state, he was finally moved by conscientious scruples to free his slaves. He also did much to alleviate conditions among other unfortunate blacks.

When the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1823 appointed a committee to prepare a new hymn-book for that body, Key was made a lay member of it.

Another member of the committee was Dr. William Muhlenberg, who in that same year had published a little hymnal for use in his own congregation.

It was in this hymnal, known as "Church Poetry", that Key's beautiful hymn, "Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise Thee," was first published.

In Dr. Muhlenberg's hymn-book the hymn had only three stanzas, and that is the form in which it has since appeared in all other hymnals. In 1900, however, Key's autograph copy of the hymn was discovered, and it was found that the hymn originally had four stanzas. The missing one reads:

Praise thy Saviour G.o.d that drew thee To that cross, new life to give, Held a blood-sealed pardon to thee, Bade thee look to Him and live.

Praise the grace whose threats alarmed thee, Roused thee from thy fatal ease, Praise the grace whose promise warmed thee, Praise the grace that whispered peace.

Another excellent hymn, "Before the Lord we bow", was written by Key in 1832 for a Fourth of July celebration.

A bronze statue of Key, placed over his grave at Frederick, Md., shows him with his hand outstretched, as at the moment when he discovered the flag "still there," while his other hand is waving his hat exultantly.

Bryant's Home Mission Hymn

Look from Thy sphere of endless day, O G.o.d of mercy and of might!

In pity look on those who stray Benighted, in this land of light.