The Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century: With a supplemental chapter on the revival in AmericaHood, Edwin Paxton
History
The Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century: With a supplemental chapter on the revival in America
Hood, Edwin Paxton
Evangelical Revival
In a far humbler sphere, but representing the same faith and fervour as
Toplady, and also carried away young, was Cennick. In an article in the
_Christian Remembrancer_, on English hymnology, written very much for
the purpose of throwing contempt on all the hymn-writers of the Revival,
Cennick is spoken of as “a low and violent person; his hymns peculiarly
offensive, both as to matter and manner.” Some exceptions are made by
the reviewer for “Children of the Heavenly King.” We may presume,
therefore, that to this writer, “Thou dear Redeemer, dying Lamb,” is one
of the “peculiarly offensive.” This is not wonderful, when in the next
page we read that “the hymns of Newton are the very essence of
doggerel.” This sounds rather strange, as a verdict, to those who have
felt the particular charm of that much-loved hymn, “How sweet the name
of Jesus sounds!” It is not without a purpose that we refer to this
paper in the _Christian Remembrancer_—evidently by a very scholarly
hand—because its whole tone shows how the sacred song of the Revival
would be likely to be regarded by those who had no sympathy with its
evangelical teaching. The writer, for instance, speaking of Wesley’s
hymns, doubts whether any of them could possibly be included by any
chance in English hymnology! “Jesus, lover of my soul,” is said, “in
some _small_ degree to approximate to the model of a Church hymn!” Of
the Countess of Huntingdon’s hymn-book, the writer says, “We shall
certainly not notice the raving profanity!” It is not necessary further
either to sadden or to irritate the reader by similar expressions; but
the entire paper, and the criticisms we have cited, will show what was
likely to be the effect of the hymns of the Revival on many similar
minds of that time. In fact, the joy of the Revival work arose from
this, that no person, no priest, nor Church usage, was needed to
interpose between the soul and the Saviour. Faith in Christ, and His
immediate, personal presence with the soul seeking Him by faith, as it
was the burden of the best of the sermons, so it was, also, of all the
great hymns.
The origin and the authors of several eminent hymns are certainly
obscure. To Edward Perronet must be assigned the authorship of the fine
coronation anthem of the Lamb that was slain: “All hail the power of
Jesus’ name!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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