The Story of Our Hymns Part 18

"So far had we traveled in what our age termed 'enlightenment' and another age shall call 'darkness,' that the very Word of G.o.d ... was regarded as a sort of contribution to the ancient history which had already served its purpose and was needed no more."

The atonement of Christ now became the central theme in his hymn-book, the pure evangelical tone of which may be heard in one of his own hymns:

There is a truth so dear to me, I'll hold it fast eternally, It is my soul's chief treasure: That Jesus for the world hath died, He for my sins was crucified-- O love beyond all measure!

O blessed tidings of G.o.d's grace, That He who gave the thief a place To paradise will take me And G.o.d's own child will make me!

Kind Shepherd, Son of G.o.d, to Thee Mine eyes, my heart, so yearningly, And helpless hands are lifted.

From Thee I strayed; ah, leave me not, But cleanse my soul from each dark blot, For I am sore afflicted.

A wandering sheep, but now restored, Ah, bear me to Thy fold, dear Lord, And let me leave Thee never, O Thou who lovest ever!

Again we find him giving expression to faith's certainty in a stanza that has become very dear to the Swedish people:

Blessed, blessed he who knoweth That his faith on Thee is founded, Whom the Father's love bestoweth Of eternal grace unbounded, Jesus Christ, to every nation A Redeemer freely given, In whose Name is our salvation, And none else in earth or heaven.

The poetic utterance and exalted language of Wallin's hymns made him the hymnist _par excellence_ for festival days, as witness the quotation above from his Christmas hymn and the following stanza from his Ascension hymn:

To realms of glory I behold My risen Lord returning; While I, a stranger on the earth, For heaven am ever yearning.

Far from my heavenly Father's home, 'Mid toil and sorrow here I roam.

His metrical version of the _Te Deum Laudamus_ is also an impressive example of the poetic genius of this master psalmist:

Jehovah, Thee we glorify, Ruler upon Thy throne on high!

O let Thy Word Through all the earth be heard.

Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O Lord!

Thou carest gently for Thy flock; Thy Church, firm-founded on the Rock, No powers dismay Until Thy dreadful day.

Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O Lord!

All nations, in her fold comprised, Shall bow their knees unto the Christ, All tongues shall raise Their orisons and praise: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O Lord!

Around Thy throne the countless throng At last in triumph swell the song, When Cherubim Shall answer Seraphim: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O Lord!

Although a hymn usually loses much of its original expression in translation, something of the rare beauty in Wallin's poetry is still apparent in the following:

Where is the Friend for whom I'm ever yearning?

My longing grows when day to night is turning; And though I find Him not as day recedeth, My heart still pleadeth.

His hand I see in every force and power, Where waves the harvest and where blooms the flower; In every breath I draw, my spirit burneth: His love discerneth.

When summer winds blow gently, then I hear Him; Where sing the birds, where rush the streams, I'm near Him; But nearer still when in my heart He blesses Me with caresses.

O where such beauty is itself revealing In all that lives, through all creation stealing, What must the Source be whence it comes, the Giver?

Beauty forever!

Other n.o.ble hymns by the Swedish archbishop recently translated into English include "Behold, the joyful day is nigh," "Guardian of pure hearts," "I know in Whom I trust," "Great joy and consolation," "He lives! O fainting heart, anew," "Mute are the pleading lips of Him,"

"Thine agony, O Lord, is o'er," "A voice, a heavenly voice I hear,"

"Heavenly Light, benignly beaming," "Father of lights, eternal Lord," "In my quiet contemplation," "Jerusalem, lift up thy voice," "Jesus, Lord and precious Saviour," "O blessed is the man who stays," "O let the children come to Me," "Strike up, O harp and psaltery," "Watch, my soul and pray,"

and "Again Thy glorious sun doth rise."

Wallin's "Psalm-book" has aroused the greatest admiration wherever it has become known. The hymnologists of Germany, including Mohnike, Knapp, Weiss and Wackernagel, have given it undivided praise. Mohnike declared, "This is undoubtedly the most excellent hymn-book in the entire Evangelical Church, and, if translated, it would become the hymn-book for all Christian people." Knapp concurs by saying, "The Scriptural content of this book is clothed in the most beautiful cla.s.sical language; there is nothing in Evangelical Germany to equal it."

A Vision of Christ's Triumph

Thy scepter, Jesus, shall extend As far as day prevaileth.

Thy glorious kingdom, without end, Shall stand when all else faileth, Thy blessed Name shall be confessed, And round Thy cross, forever blest, Shall kings and people gather.

The child when born to Thee we take, To Thee in death we hasten; In joy we often Thee forsake, But not when sorrows chasten.

Where truth and virtue are oppressed, Where sorrow dwells, pain and unrest, Thy help alone availeth.

Come, Jesus, then, in weal and woe, In life and death be near us; Thy grace upon our hearts bestow, And let Thy Spirit cheer us, For every conflict strength afford, And gather us in peace, O Lord, When all the world Thou judgest.

Frans Michael Franzen, 1816

THE GOLDEN AGE OF SWEDISH HYMNODY

Archbishop Wallin was not alone in the preparation of that masterpiece of Northern hymnody known as the "Swedish Psalm-book of 1819." Although the lion's share of the task fell to the lot of the gifted psalmist, he was aided by a number of the greatest spiritual poets in Scandinavian history. It was the golden age in Swedish hymnody, when such men as Franzen, Hedborn, Geijer, strom, Afzelius and Nystrom were singing "the glories of the Lamb."

Foremost in this unusual group was the beloved Frans Michael Franzen, a lyric poet of singular talent. Born at Uleaborg, Finland, in 1772, he held a number of positions at the University of bo, and later removed to Sweden, where he became pastor of St. Clara church, in Stockholm, and eventually Bishop of Hernosand. He died in 1847.

Franzen early became a.s.sociated with Wallin and exerted a strong influence over the latter. Though not as prolific a writer as Wallin, the hymns of Franzen are rich in content and finished in form. Because of their artless simplicity it has been said that "the cultured man will appreciate them and the unlettered man can understand them." Among the most popular are two evening hymns--"The day departs, yet Thou art near"

and "When vesper bells are calling." The latter is a hymn of solemn beauty:

When vesper bells are calling The hour of rest and prayer, When evening shades are falling, And I must hence repair, I seek my chamber narrow, Nor my brief day deplore, For I shall see the morrow, When night shall be no more.

O take me in Thy keeping, Dear Father, good and just, Let not my soul be sleeping In sin, and pride, and l.u.s.t.

If in my life Thou guide me According to Thy will, I may in death confide me Into Thy keeping still.

The voice of gracious invitation heard in Franzen's communion hymn, "Thine own, O loving Saviour," has called millions of hungering souls to the Lord's Supper. His hymn for the first communion of catechumens, "Come, O Jesus, and prepare me," is also regarded as the most appealing of its kind in Swedish hymnody. The stirring note in his hymn of repentance, "Awake, the watchman crieth," reveals Franzen as a poet of power and virility as well as a writer of the more meditative kind. The same solemn appeal, although expressed in less severe language, is also heard in his other call to repentance:

Ajar the temple gates are swinging, Lo! still the grace of G.o.d is free.

Perhaps when next the bells are ringing The grave shall open unto thee, And thou art laid beneath the sod, No more to see this house of G.o.d.

Franzen was recently accorded a unique honor in America when his soul-gripping Advent hymn, "Prepare the way, O Zion," was made the opening hymn in the Hymnal of the Augustana Synod. This hymn-book contains more translations of Swedish hymns than any other volume published in America.

When we add to the hymns already mentioned such beautiful compositions as "Thy scepter, Jesus, shall extend," "Look to Jesus Christ thy Saviour,"

and "The little while I linger here," it will readily be understood why Franzen ranks so high among the foremost hymnists of the North.

To Samuel Johan Hedborn, another of Wallin's contemporaries, posterity will ever be grateful for "Holy Majesty, before Thee," a magnificent hymn of praise that for loftiness of poetic sentiment and pure spiritual exaltation has probably never been excelled. The first stanza suggests something of the heavenly beauty of this n.o.ble hymn:

Holy Majesty, before Thee We bow to wors.h.i.+p and adore Thee; With grateful hearts to Thee we sing.