II.

What is to-day the Standard of the Best Church hymns?

We have now reached an understanding as to what may rightly be called "The best Church hymns." We have seen that, while every one is at liberty to choose the hymns that are best to him, only the Church decides which are the best Church hymns. The Church hymn is intended for Church use, and the best hymns are those which do, as a matter of fact, fulfil that use; those, in other words, which have won the widest approval and use by the Church.

We have before us a list of the thirty-two best hymns. What remains is to examine the characteristics of these hymns, so as to gain an answer to the question, What is to-day the standard of the best Church hymns?

Of these thirty-two hymns, only two are

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of the seventeenth century,-Bishop Ken's 'Awake, my soul, and with the sun," and his "All praise to Thee, my God, this night." Of the eighteenth century, Dr. Watts leads with five,- "When I survey the wondrous cross," "Our God, our Help in ages past," "Come, let us join our cheerful songs," "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun," and "There is a land of pure delight." Charles Wesley follows with four,-" Jesus, Lover of my soul," "Hark! the herald angels sing," "Christ the Lord is risen to-day," and "Lo! He comes with clouds descending." John Newton, with two,-"How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds," and "Glorious things of thee are spoken." And these others with one each: Toplady, "Rock of Ages"; Doddridge, "Hark the glad sound! the Saviour comes Perronet, "All hail the power of Jesus' Name"; Cowper, "God moves in a mysterious way"; Williams, "Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah"; and Cennick, "Children of the heavenly King."

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Of the nineteenth century, Lyte leads with two: "Abide with me," and "Jesus, I my cross have taken "; and these writers have one each: Keble, "Sun of my soul"; Adams,

"Nearer, my God, to Thee"; Heber, "From Greenland's icy mountains"; Montgomery, "Hail to the Lord's Anointed"; Grant, "O worship the King"; Marriott, "Thou whose almighty word"; Elliott, "Just as I am"; and the anonymous recast of an older hymn, "Jerusalem, my happy home."

Of the nineteenth century also are three versions of Latin hymns: Neale's "Jerusalem the golden," and "Brief life is here our portion"; and Caswall's "Jesus, the very thought of Thee."

The first thing the reading of this list suggests is the catholicity of the Church's judgment; for Roman, Anglican, Independent, Moravian, Wesleyan, and Unitarian, alike, are allowed to contribute to it. The Church's unity, indeed, is foreshadowed in her hymnody.

One is impressed also with the absence from this list of all recent hymns. The latest of them was in print by 1851. At first, this would seem to indicate the judgment of the Church that in hymnody "the old is better." But the fact is rather that a hymn makes its way slowly; and naturally it takes a great while for any hymn to attain a use so general and widespread, and among so many branches of the Church.

1. Seeking now the characteristics of these "best Church hymns," we may begin with their lyrical quality. They are adapted for setting to music and singing. With the exception, perhaps, of Watts's "Jesus shall reign," you would choose to sing them rather than to read them. We put this lyrical quality first, as most naturally to be expected of a hymn. But, historically, it was by no means the first to be insisted upon. Our fathers began with versions of the Psalms which were anything but lyrical, and the hymns which succeeded them were often hardly more singSome of these linger yet. Watts's Go, preach My gospel" is as honest prose as man ever wrote. And in the case of a class of

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hymns, such as "'Tis a point I long to know" and "How sad our state by nature is, nothing but an inherited tradition could account for a proposal to sing any one of them. Gradually, with the growth of musical feeling, the heavy hymns are being left behind. Already the Church has decided that only lyrics can find a place among the best hymns,

2. We note again the literary excellence of all these hymns. No less than eleven of the thirty-two are included by Mr. Palgrave in

his very exclusive "Treasury" as literature, "poetry for poetry's sake"; and three others by Mr. Stedman in his "Victorian Anthology" (including "Nearer, my God, to Thee," the faultiest of them all, but saved, in an art sense, by the beauty of its interwoven refrain). One other, "When I survey," etc., Matthew Arnold considered the finest hymn in the language. And of the remainder, representing such writers as Wesley, Watts, Heber, Montgomery, Cowper, Caswall, Neale, and Grant, there is none without distinct literary merit.

Analyzing this literary excellence, we find that each one has a single theme, giving unity to the hymn; and a proper development of it, giving life and movement to the verses (the weaker and less sung verses of "Jesus, Lover of my soul" being an exception). These themes are poetically sound, and their treatment is interesting. The language is refined and beautiful, the images happy (with an occasional lapse, as in the unfortunate "stony griefs" of "Nearer, my God, to Thee"). And in all, and over all, that winning grace of simplicity. Simplicity always stands for much, but in a hymn, which must have the gift of a