O the love that drew salvation's plan

This chorus (for such it mainly is) is one of many owing its popularity in Britain largely to its inclusion in the CSSM collection first published in 1921, and the combined Scripture Union Choruses of 1964. It held its place in the first Youth Praise in 1966 which effectively reached a different generation. Few of those who then sang it would have realised that this is the final stz and refrain of a 4-stz text by William Reed Newell, beginning Years I spent in vanity and pride. That first line may be true for many, but is not for all; cf ‘Long my imprisoned spirit lay …’ of 776. The full composition, however, is frequently included in N American books, and in Pentecostal and Salvationist hymnals in Britain. MP encouraged its continuing use from 1996 onwards, in its expanding series. On his way to give a lecture at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago where he taught in the 1890s, William Newell is said to have stepped into a side-room in order to jot down some lines which were forming in his mind. He then reached his classroom and gave the words to Daniel B Towner, whose tune CALVARY was completed virtually on the spot and published with the text in 1895 in a book called (oddly but hopefully?) Famous Hymns, then in 1905 in Revival Hymns (ed Towner and Alexander, ‘as used in the Torrey-Alexander meetings’). The shorter form, however, is often preferred as here, subtitled ‘At Calvary’. The name ‘Calvary’ occurs just once in the Bible, and that only in the AV/NKJV, from the Lat text of Luke 23:33, for ‘Calvaria’ (Gk ‘Kranion’, Aramaic ‘Golgotha’ as in Matthew 27:33— the place of a skull). But for some reason Kranion does not have the same resonance to an English ear.

The tune chosen here is LUDGATE HILL, named from the street leading up to London’s St Paul’s Cathedral. Its composer is unknown, and it appears in few books; it should not be confused with the 20th-c tune LUDGATE. Brian West of Swanley, Kent, has subsequently (2001) composed PARDON MULTIPLIED, which further extends the life of the original chorus.

b Savannah, Ohio, USA 1868, d DeLand, Florida, USA 1956. Wooster (Univ) Coll; Princeton Theological Seminary; Oberlin Theol Seminary. He served several pastorates before being appointed asst superintendent of Moody Bible Institute, Chicago. This overlapped with his ministry at Bethesda Congregational Ch. Partly at Moody’s own suggestion he held regular Bible classes in various cities for many years, including St Louis, Detroit and Toronto, travelling between them by train. He also visited London. He was in demand as a conference speaker and his Bible commentaries included his 1905 Old Testament Studies, and work on the book of Revelation (1935). One gospel song, or at least its chorus, has effectively eclipsed all his more academic writing. No.441.