Great God, what do I see and hear

Although some traditions persist with older hymns erring on the fiercer side of warning, it is safe to say that no one hymn still in common use addresses its subject as plainly as this. (See however 350 stz 4, 511 stz 2 and 913 stz 3 among others.) The least we can say is that the 2nd and 3rd stzs need to be sung with due thought and care. From anonymous beginnings it is now labelled as of ‘composite origin’. Stz 1 was published in 1802 at Sheffield in Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Devotion; its origins have been ascribed to the German of Bartholomaüs Ringwalt (1532-c1599) from 1581. 10 years later William B Collyer’s extensive Hymns partly Collected and partly Original added the 2nd stz and two others. In 1820 Thos Cotterill’s Selection (9th edn) kept stz 1 and revised Collyer’s three, since when ‘other changes have been made by various editors’ (Historical Companion to Hymns A&M), including Murray’s Hymnal of 1852. As usual, Julian’s Dictionary of Hymnology fills in much of the detail.

Not unconnected with its theme, perhaps, are the verbal changes which successive revisers have introduced almost from the start, in order to make its doctrine singable as well as strong. It is found in current evangelical books as well as in older Anglican ones, which place it under ‘Advent’, corresponding to section 3h in Praise! The distinctive features of this Jubilate version are at 1.3 (from ‘the Judge of all men doth …’); 2.6 (‘his presence sheds …’); 3.1–4 (‘Th’ungodly … / behold … / in woe … / and sighs are …’). Stz 4 read ‘Great Judge, to thee our prayers we pour …’ but The Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer is one of several late-19th-c books to introduce ‘his cross’ as the grounds for our hope on ‘the day’; this is retained here as in the 1965 Anglican Hymn Book, GH and HTC. But line 3 of the first and last stzs reads ‘the Judge of all the earth comes near’ in the Jubilate version. The composite text remains rich in Scripture, from Gospel parables and Pauline epistles to the Book of Revelation, not forgetting Genesis 18:25 and James 5:9. (The 1928 edition of Gospel Hymns includes 19 texts, out of 1,212, beginning ‘Great God …’)

The 16th-c German tune LUTHER’S HYMN (for which see 29) has been the almost invariable partner for these solemn words, though HTC’s second choice is Michael Fleming’s recent composition PALACE GREEN.

(originally ‘Bengow’), b Deptford, Kent (SE London) 1782, d Chislehurst, Kent 1854. Educated at Homerton Coll. At the age of 18 he began preaching at the Congregational Chapel on the corner of Peckham High St and what is now Rye Lane. Founded in 1657 and giving its name to Meeting House Lane, the congregation moved to its new premises nearby in 1714, but by 1800 had declined to consist of some 10 members after an ‘unsound’ ministry. The following year Collyer became the pastor; two new galleries added in 1816 became insufficient, and the building was demolished to be replaced by a new one seating 1000. It became known as Hanover Chapel (another title preserved in street names) owing to its popularity with at least two dukes—of Kent and Sussex—of the royal House of Hanover. A further enlargement took place in 1846, by which time Collyer was known as one of London’s leading Free Church preachers; on one occasion he contributed to the Evangelical Magazine in defence of his rhetorical preaching style. He took a great interest in amateur medicine and wrote many doctrinal and other Christian books. He died at no.5 Rye Lane after more than 50 years as pastor. Collyer Place, a small turning off Peckham High St, preserves his name locally; so does a small plaque on the site, and several publications of the Peckham Society and its editor and historian, the Methodist John D Beasley. Dr F J Falding in Julian describes the considerable variety of Collyer’s hymns, and praises him as ‘a man of amiable disposition, polished manners, and Christian courtesy, popular with rich and poor alike’. His best-known lines have a long history in Baptist books such as John Stevens’ Selection, which also features his hymn ‘At the Choice of Deacons’; ‘To serve the table of the Lord,/ provide a portion for the poor,/ and to the preachers of the word/ their rightful maintenance insure’! see also the notes on no.886 (in EP1) and on its author H K White, below. Collyer’s 10 stzs on White, his junior by 3 years, were inscribed ‘Blackheath Hill, 24th June 1808’. No.962*.

b Cannock, Staffs 1779, d Sheffield, Yorks 1823. The Free School, Birmingham, and St John’s Coll Cambridge (BA 1801); elected a Fellow, then ordained (CofE) 1803. After serving a curacy at Tutbury, nr Burton-on-Trent, Staffs, he became incumbent of Lane End, Staffs in 1808, and of St Paul’s Sheffield from 1817 until his early death aged 43. He assisted Jonathan Stubbs in producing the 1805 Uttoxeter Selection of Psalms and Hymns, but the crucial impact on hymnody made by his brief career came a little later, heralded by A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Use which he edited in 1810. For the 8th edn of this most successful book, produced in 1819, Cotterill shared the work with James Montgomery, a fellow hymn-lover and author across the city. The book had now grown to comprise 150 Psalms and 367 hymns, of which he contributed 32 and Montgomery, 50. But it became a test case for the legality of hymn-singing in the CofE’s regular services (as distinct from midweek, open-air or private gatherings such as Newton and the Wesleys arranged). Since there was no explicit provision for this in the BCP, the case was heard at the Diocesan Court at York. Archbishop Harcourt proposed a classic Anglican solution; the book was withdrawn, to be replaced by a similar volume to be approved by and dedicated to him. This was duly done in the following year 1820; the choice of hymns was slimmed down to 146, but the flood-gates were open for the torrents of Victorian hymns which were to fill the churches in future years. Cotterill did not live to see it, but without him (or someone like him, and maybe a shrewd bishop of archbishop) there would have been no A&M or any of the evangelical books which followed. At Cotterill’s death, Montgomery wrote the hymn Friend after friend departs. Nos.308, 547*, 652, 962*.