The God of Abraham praise

In a section rich in classically grand hymns, this adaptation of a Heb doxology ranks among the finest. ‘Amazing … daring’, says Prof J RWatson; ‘its verses proceed from earth to heaven in an ecstasy of imaginative excitement’. Montgomery praises the ‘majestic style’ of this ‘noble ode.’ Although the history of the English versions is far from simple, we can be sure that Thomas Olivers first appropriated and considerably adapted it for Christian use. It is ironical that this early Methodist who was sacked by John Wesley for his erratic proof-reading should be the author of a text which itself has been subject to so much variation. The essentials may be briefly listed as, a) the tune; b) the opening line, using a scriptural title from Genesis 24 and on into the NT; c) the imagery of the OT, notably of its first 5 books or Pentateuch, leading into that of the NT, notably Revelation; d) the ‘Holy, holy, holy’ as part of its climactic, heavenly, conclusion; and e) the sustained note of praise throughout. Equally over-simplified, perhaps, are the questions faced by editors and answered in varied ways; they include: a) singular or plural: ‘we bow’ or ‘I bow’, etc? b) is the word ‘Jehovah’ essential, negotiable, or inadmissible? c) how many stzs?

Olivers wrote his text in 1770, probably at the Westminster home of John Bakewell, after hearing the Jewish Yigdal sung in Heb by Meyer Leoni (Lyon) and congregation at the ‘Great Synagogue’ in Duke’s Place on the W side of Aldgate. This would have covered the 13 articles of the creed of orthodox Judaism, as drawn up by Moses ben Maimon (or Maimonides, 14th c), versified by Daniel ben Judah Dayyam (14th-15th c), and often sung antiphonally to close the service on the eve of Sabbaths and festivals. He chose the singular, used 12 stzs, and published his text in a leaflet c1770–72, A Hymn to the God of Abraham, in Three Parts, Adapted to a celebrated Air, sung by the Priest [sic], Signior Leoni, etc, at the Jews’ Synagogue, in London. The version adopted here consists of the 6 stzs as selected and adapted for HTC. The 1933 Methodist Hymn Book has all 12, though its 1904 predecessor split them into three separate hymns; A&M Revised has 10, EH 8, CH 6 and GH 4. The fundamental words, from one angle, are ‘the watery deep we pass /with Jesus in our view’; only those who experience and believe both these lines will want to sing this hymn. On 28 May 1775 John Newton spoke from this hymn at the Olney prayer meeting, having seen it published in The Gospel Magazine in April. The 2 pages about this hymn in Julian include the original Heb text, a literal translation, and Olivers’ 12 stzs.

The tune LEONI is called by the liturgical name of the distinguished cantor heard by Thomas Olivers, and has come to us as adapted by the author.

b Tregynon, nr Newtown, Powys (Montgomeryshire), N Wales 1725, d London 1799. Orphaned at the age of 4, he grew up as a ‘wild and reckless youth’ with what might today be called anti-social or challenging behaviour. Bad debts cut short a shoemaking apprenticeship in his home town, but after staying at Shrewsbury and Wrexham he heard George Whitefield preach at Bristol. This, with Zech 3:2, was the turning point; he settled as a shoemaker in Bradford-on-Avon, meticulously paid his debts, and joined the Methodist society (as it was then) at Tregynon. ‘The love I had for Mr Whitefield’, he said, ‘was inexpressible’; but in 1753 John Wesley appointed him an itinerant lay preacher, a position he held for some 46 years, travelling on horseback and sharing the hardships, persecution and blessings of the revival years. He also became for some years a sub-editor of Wesley’s Arminian Magazine, attracting some of Toplady’s more contemptuous fire, until in 1789 his mistakes became too much for his mentor and chief, who also objected to articles added by Olivers without permission. But he also had some hand in preparing the movement’s early hymn-books for the press, including the classic 1780 Collection, and wrote an admiring elegy on the death of John Wesley. The tune HELMSLEY has sometimes been ascribed to him, but see notes to 511. He retired in 1790, remained mostly in London, outlived Wesley by some 8 years and was buried beside him at the City Road Chapel. A belated memoir by J Kirk appeared in 1868, in a volume of his hymns and other verse edited by D Sedgwick. No.199, 199*=802*