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THE

CHRISTIAN HYMNAL:

REVISED.

A COLLECTION OF

HYMNS AND TUNES

FOR

CONGREGATIONAL AND SOCIAL WORSHIP.

IN TWO PARTS.

1882.

CENTRAL BOOK CONCERN,

180 Elm Street,

CINCINNATI, OHIO.

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, March 16th, by

R. M. BISHOP, C. H. GOULD, J. B. BOWMAN, O. A. BURGESS, W. H. LAPE, Trustees,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

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2172 104

TRUSTEES' PREFACE.

THE publication of this revised edition of THE CHRISTIAN HYMNAL has been undertaken in response to a very general desire for such a work, as indicated in the action of the General Christian Missionary Convention, at its session held in Louisville, Ky., October, 1880. A committee appointed at that time to take into consideration the propriety of such a revision, made the following report, which was adopted by the Convention :

1. That we deem the subject of the hymnology of the Church, in its bearing on the development of Christian life and character, to be of the first importance, and to merit the watchful care of the brotherhood.

2. That we deem it very desirable, as tending to promote unity and fellowship in our worship, to harmonize, as far as possible, our church music, by having the same psalmody in all our churches.

3. That, while we regard our present Hymnal as an excellent compilation of music and sacred poetry, and its general use thus far, in our churches, as highly complimentary to the musical taste and sound judgment of the brethren under whose supervision it was prepared, we, nevertheless, believe that it is necessary, in order to preserve the unity in our hymnology above referred to, and to keep it abreast of the times, that the Committee proceed, at the earliest practicable date, to make such a thorough revision of the same as will, in their judgment, aided by the wisest counsel they can secure, adapt it to the present needs of the brotherhood, and, so far as practicable, place it beyond the reach of just criticism; that while such economy in this revision, as may be in harmony with the necessary improvements, is recommended, in order that any profit arising from its sale may inure to the benefit of the missionary work, such benefit should, in our judgment, be held subordinate to the more important object of producing such a book as will meet the demands of musical worship in our large and growing brotherhood.

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The trustees immediately announced this action of the Convention. through the religious press, and on the 27th of November, 1880, a circular was issued, calling attention to the proposed work, and requesting suggestions as to changes needed, that the character of the revision might be such as to give it as wide an acceptance as possible.

Several hundred copies of this circular were mailed to prominent brethren. There was secured in response a large number of letters advising many changes.

On the 20th of January, 1881, the trustees met to consider these suggestions, and decide what action should be taken to carry into effect (most successfully) the wishes of the brotherhood. Two members of the original editing committee being dead, T. M. Allen and A. S. Hayden; a third, W. T. Moore, being in England, and, therefore, unable to assist in the work; and the engagements of W. K. Pendleton and Isaac Errett, the remaining members of the committee, being such as to prevent their participation, A. I. Hobbs, C. L. Loos, J. S. Lamar, A. R. Benton, and Joseph Franklin were appointed editors, to whom the hymnology of the new book was committed; and J. H. Fillmore, L. H. Jameson, and T. P. Haley were selected to take charge of the music.

The correspondence received by the trustees in answer to their circular was placed in the hands of these committees, and since that time the work has been entirely under their direction.

They have been at great labor and pains to make the production in every respect a superior one.

A considerable sum of money has been expended in procuring new music; and no means have been spared to make as perfect a Hymnal as possible. At the same time, the price has been kept so low as to make it the cheapest publication of the kind in the United States, and cause its general introduction to be as easy and speedy as possible.

In conclusion, the trustees wish to express their confidence in the high character of the work which is presented, and hope that it may meet with the approval of the brotherhood, and that in its use many may find that "it is good to sing praises unto our God."

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* Elected March 23, 1882, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of O. A. Burgess, March, 14, 1882.

REVISERS' PREFACE.

THE Revisers of THE CHRISTIAN HYMNAL having completed their work, herewith submit it to the favorable consideration of the Churches of Christ. While we do not presume to claim that it is beyond the reach of adverse criticism, yet we feel confident that it will meet the wants of the Churches for public and social worship, and we trust it will be heartily accepted by them. Attention is asked to some of its more prominent features.

It will be noticed that the division of the book into general departments has been discarded. At first glance this may seem to be a loss, but careful reflection will show it to be a great gain. It is more than compensated by giving a wider scope for the adaptation of hymns to tunes; by a closer proximity of hymns of the same metre; by locating on facing pages a larger number of tunes and hymns interchangeable; by escaping frequent arbitrary adaptation of hymns to music in one department, which ought to appear in another; and by the analytical index, which has been made quite full, so that hymns on any desired subject may be easily found.

In order to secure a wider range of subjects, we have not confined ourselves to our former collection of hymns, but have introduced, from various sources, many new and valuable ones. A larger number of devotional hymns. has been diligently sought for. A number of excellent chants has also been selected. Much care has been taken to secure such a collection as the exigencies of the times demand, and the spiritual needs of the people require.

The number of tunes suitable for congregational and social worship has been greatly enlarged, and, at the same time, we have kept in view the wants of those who desire more difficult music. Many pieces of music retained have been transposed or rearranged where improvement seemed possible.

Several original hymns and tunes have been contributed by persons, who are given due credit, by name, where their contributions appear.

Part II has been compiled with a view to convenient revision, when necessary to bring in valuable new music, or to cast out that which may not stand the test of use-also that it may be published separately, if thought

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