The Enchiridion

J.H.Gurney: Collection of Hymns for Public Worship

J.H.Gurney: A Collection of Hymns for Public Worship, 1838

Transcription of Title Page and Preface, from a copy in The Congregational Library, London. 

(Title-page) 

It is good to sing praises unto our God, for it is pleasant,

and praise is comely. __ Psalm cxlvii.

All nations of the earth,

Extol the world's great King;

With melody and mirth

His glorious praises sing.

My soul, bear thou thy part,

Triumph in God above;

And with a well-tuned heart

Sing thou the songs of love.

Baxter.

(Title-page, verso)

(Over, facing Preface, verso)

 (Preface: additional paragraph-breaks have been inserted in this transcription to improve screen readability.)

PREFACE

_______

MODERN Collections of Hymns have become so numerous that many persons, doubtless, think any addition to them rather an evil than a good; inasmuch as each new compilation increases the difficulty of selection for the future, and helps to make one portion of our public services less uniform than it was before. Every fresh Editor of course conceives that in some particulars he can improve upon the labours of those who have preceded him, and comforts himself with the thought that, in a matter of so much importance as the singing of God's praises in the public congregation, every approach to perfection is decided gain.

His share in these feelings the writer does not intend to disclaim; but he can truly say that he was not determined by them to undertake the present work. He certainly knew of no Collection that thoroughly satisfied himself; but the conceit that he could produce something better than any of them would never have drawn him into the field of competition, if he had not perceived, in all that he was acquainted with, two obvious defects, which he knew might be supplied.

One was, that none, possessed of sufficient fulness and variety, were so cheap as he desired to see them; and the other, that in almost all the works, that are best known and widely circulated, there is a large admixture of hymns neither suited nor intended for congregational singing. A reference to the title-pages of most of our popular collections will verify the latter statement, as they are drawn up avowedly for social, or private and social, as well as public, worship; and in other cases, where the Collector would have all his hymns sung in the church, the judicious reader will be of the opinion that many of them are quite unfit for such a purpose.

We all feel, as regards the prayers which are offered up by our parochial congregations, that they should be of a different complexion from those which are presented in the closet, or in a select circle of Christian friends; and the admirable judgment with which the Liturgy of the Church of England is adapted to its object of embodying the spiritual wants and feelings of the mixed multitude for whose use it is composed, is generally allowed to be one of its peculiar and most striking excellencies.

Now the same rule evidently applies to our songs of praise; yet by a large portion of our hymn collectors it seems to have been completely discarded. When the work is announced as containing hymns both for public and private use, it is intended, of course, that a fit choice should be made by the person to whom the task of selection is entrusted Sunday by Sunday; and that those only should be sung in Church which are deemed suitable for the purpose. But in this there is a double evil; first, the selector is not unfrequently the parish-clerk, or the leader of the choir, and a refined taste as to devotional composition may form no part of the qualifications of either; and secondly, the poor are thus compelled to buy their hymn-books at a higher price than they need to, if all extraneous matter, all that is not wanted for Church purposes, were excluded. The devout part of them will, of course, wish to join in singing the praises of God; that wish we ought to meet and encourage in every possible way; and when we know that every shilling is precious to them, it is hard that they should not be able to get what they want for such a purpose, without spending something more for what they do not want.

To supply these two defects has been the leading motive of the Editor in compiling this volume. In the article of cheapness he trusts he has come down as low as could be desired or expected. He deemed it most important that the price of the book, in the cheapest form, should not exceed a shilling; and his object has been to print as many hymns as could be afforded for that sum.

The other point, he knows, is one of considerable difficulty and delicacy; for obvious as the rule is, its application, in each particular instance, is far from easy. Many persons have their favourite hymns, which they will think quite as fit to be introduced as others that have been preferred to them. Some will be of opinion, on the other hand, that exclusion might have been carried further with advantage, and that by the insertion of some compositions that are found in the following pages he has violated his own rule. Upon the whole, however, he trusts that, with much care and labour, he has done that which he proposed to himself, namely, produced a Collection so cheap as to be within reach of the poorest, and containing very few hymns that the most fastidious will consider unsuitable to a Christian congregation. For himself he can say, that he has not printed one which he does not hope to hear sung by his people, and to join in singing himself.

Every Collector, probably, has felt that the greatest practical difficulty attending his work was that of determining to what extent he should allow of alterations. Of this liberty the Editor has availed himself very sparingly. Alterations, in popular and well-known hymns, he has rarely admitted, and never for the mere sake of improvement. Whenever he could find the original, he has done so, and printed according to the author's version; except in cases where the whole hymn was too valuable to part with, and a slight verbal alteration removed some obvious blot.

A few compositions by old authors, and two or three anonymous ones, which appear for the first time in this Collection, he has not scrupled to make as good as he could. In that case, as persons are not familiar with the originals, the ear is not disappointed of the well-known sound, nor is the mind unpleasantly perplexed between conflicting versions.

Wherever a verse, or new matter equivalent to a verse, has been introduced, an asterisk is prefixed to the author's name in the table of first lines, that he may not be made responsible for what is not wholly his. Several hymns, including a few to which Bishop Ken's name is attached, have been completely rewritten; but as nearly all the ideas, and a few of the lines, belong to the original authors, the Editor, of course, could not claim them as his own. In these cases, two asterisks have been prefixed to the name; and the reader has the satisfaction of knowing from what quarry the materials have come, though other hands have fashioned them into their present shape.

With respect to the arrangement, the alphabetical order has been preferred, as, upon the whole, the simplest and best. As to the number of verses of which hymns should consist, tastes differ a good deal. Some persons object to more than three or four verses; while, on the other hand, the effect of some of our choice hymns is sadly impaired by curtailment. It will be seen that the Editor has erred rather on the side of length than on the opposite one of brevity; because it is easy for those who wish for shorter hymns to omit what they think excessive; whereas, in the other case, there is no remedy. When a hymns contains more than four or five verses, he has frequently enclosed a verse in brackets, not intending thereby to pronounce it unfit for singing, but only to mark it as that which can best be spared, if persons think the whole too long. 

Upon one point the Editor is particularly anxious that the public should be informed; namely, that as the work is stereotyped, there will be no alterations in future editions, should any be called for. Word for word, as it stands now, it must be printed hereafter; and this pledge will be of some value in the eyes of those who, like himself, have experienced for many years the inconvenience of singing out of a Collection which has been "improved," as successive editions were called for. If any of his clerical brethren choose to introduce his book into their churches, they may be assured that, as long as it is in use, every copy will exactly answer to its fellows; and the very desirable uniformity of the whole congregation singing the same words will be secured.

The Editor has to return his grateful thanks to the following gentlemen, for the permission, promptly and kindly granted, to insert hymns composed by themselves; - the Rev.W.H.Bathurst, Josiah Conder, Esq., the Rev.T.Grinfield, the Rev.H.F.Lyte, and, last not least, Mr Montgomery, who at once gave him permission to levy contributions to any extent from the treasures with which he has enriched this department of English Literature.

One hymn, No.7 in this Collection, has never before been published. ["And did the Son of God appear".] By the Rev.H.V.Elliott he has been allowed the use of two admirable hymns, numbered 147 and 272, the productions of a near relative of his own, and no mean poetess. ["My God and Father, while I stray"; "What though the people say"; both attributed only to "Elliott's Col.".] Mr Kelly's hymns he is enabled to publish by the liberal permission of Mr Tims, of Dublin, to whom the copyright belongs; and to the kindness of the Committee of the Congregational Union of England and Wales he is indebted for a valuable contribution in some hymns, lately published under the judicious editorship of the last-named gentleman.

A table of tunes, adapted to the several metres, is subjoined at the end of the book, from which is will be seen that every metre is provided with one tune at least,* and, where more than three or four hymns of the same metre are inserted, with two or more.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

[ Gurney's footnote ]

* The apparent exceptions are hymns 57, 121, 147, 183. [Listed at the end of this transcription.] For the first there is a spirited tune composed by Kelly, or it may be sung to a short metre tune by omitting the last two lines of each verse; the last may be sung as a common metre hymn; and the two others as long metre hymns.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

The Editor does not pretend to any musical skill, and persons better qualified to pronounce an opinion on such a subject might possibly have made a somewhat different selection. He has been careful to name, with the assistance of better judges than himself, such tunes as seem best suited for congregational use; and to those who know even less about tunes than he does such an enumeration may possibly be a convenience.

With these observations the Editor humbly commends the produce of his labours to the divine blessing. If only the people among whom he ministers shall be helped by it "with one mind and one mouth to glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," his pains will be abundantly repaid. Praise, we know, is the language of heaven, and with the song that ascribes "blessing and honour, and glory and power to Him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb," the walls of the New Jerusalem are for ever ringing. May the Church on earth catch the spirit of the redeemed in heaven, and send up to the great Parent of all a louder and more united strain of holy joy! 

Lutterworth,

January, 1838.

[ Four hymns referred to in Gurney's footnote above:

57 From Egypt lately come (Thomas Kelly)

121 Let God arise (Thomas Kelly)

147 My God and Father, while I stray (Elliott's Col.)

183 Our blest Redeemer, ere He breathed (H.F.Lyte)

End of File. Return to Top . . .

<< Back to the Notes on J.H.Gurney's Collection

<< Back to the Alphabetic Index of Source Books

(The Rejoice & Sing Enchiridion:edited by David Goodall; last amended 12/3/02)