Thursday, January 2, 2024

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 2nd of January 2025 Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

If you yourself are a hymn writer, I don’t want you to get nervous… But, as I was looking over my various collections of calendars and dates and charts, I’ve found a pattern- and sure, it means nothing- but the 2nd of January seems to come for hymn writers as I’ve found a handful of them dying on this day- and in an even more peculiar twist, three eccentric English hymn writers all died on this day- I will walk you through these characters in reverse order as it reflects the growing gin eccentricity and I think the quality off their most famous hymn.

The first was the delightfully named Yorkshire curate called Sabine Baring-Gould who died on this day in 1924. Baring Gould was an amateur historian as well as clergy- he wrote a multi-volume “Lives of the Saints” and a book on curious myths from the Middle Ages.

His best-known hymn was written for a children’s Pentecost procession- Onward Christian Soldiers- please pause for all those in the Protestant Peace traditions to make a good shiver… historically Christians on this side of Paradise are called the church “militant” still “fighting the good fight,” and none of this need be inherently violent, unjust or opposed to the teachings of Jesus.

Our second centric hymn writer to transfer from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant on this day was Edward Caswall in 1878. Caswall was something of a controversial figure- the son of an Anglican clergyman he studied at Oxford and was made a priest in the Anglican Church before resigning his position- he had come under the influence of the Oxford movement and John Henry Newman. When his wife died, he became a priest in the Catholic Church and translated hymns into English- his most famous being “When Morning Gilds the Skies”- it’s got a nice refrain, “May Jesus Christ Be Praised,” but “gilding” is  either an antiquated verb or has taken on connotations of duplicity.

And the last eccentric hymn writer to die on this, the 2nd of January, was Edward Perronet, born in 1721 and dying on this day in 1792. He was a priest in the church of England, as was his father. And as his father had a relationship with the Evangelical Wesley’s and Whitefield so too did Edward until his own dissenting became too much, even for other dissenters. He stayed in the church of England but wrote: "I was born, and I am like to die in the tottering communion of the Church of England, but I despise her nonsense.” He was known for his sharp tongue and irascible personality, and this might make it all the more ironic that he is most famous for one of- If I may suggest- one of the greatest and majestic hymns in the English language- “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name” published anonymously at first in 1779 in the Gospel Magazine the whole eight stanza text was published the following year- I will read from it with the last word for today- and it is ok if right now you hear the melody and those rousing first words:

All Hail the Power of Jesus Name

Let Angels prostrate fall

Bring forth the royal diadem

And Crown him Lord of All

[I just sang “Diadem,” my favorite setting, but at a jaunty pace and with an 8.6.8.6…. Rhyme scheme: you can sing it to a number of tunes]

You will hear the lines in just a bit of “the Seed of Israel’s chosen race” and of “David’s Line” and the call of all creation to crown and praise him.

1924, 1878, and 1792- Sabine Baring-Gould, Edward Caswall, and Edward Perronet- all eccentric English hymn writers who died on this, the 2nd of January.

 

 

The last word for today from Perronet’s great hymn:

Crown Him ye morning stars of light,
Who fix'd this floating ball;

Now hail the strength of Israel's might,

And crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God,

Who from His altar call;

Extol the stem of Jesse's rod,

And crown Him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel's chosen race,

Ye ransom'd of the fall,

Hail Him Who saves you by His grace,

And crown Him Lord of all.

Hail Him, ye heirs of David's line,

Whom David Lord did call;

The God incarnate, man Divine,

And crown Him Lord of all.

Sinners! whose love can ne'er forget

The wormwood and the gall,

Go—spread your trophies at His feet,

And crown Him Lord of all.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 2nd of January 2025 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who wonders if we will spread our participation trophies at his feet, he is… Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man with a trophy despite being the worst player on the 1991 Irvine Youth Basketball Runnin Rebels… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.