HYMNS, HYMN-WRITERS, AND HYMN.BOOKS.

Many Crowns: a Selection of Scripture Texts and Appropriate Hymns; illustrative of the Names and Titles of the Lord Jesus. With a Preface by the Rev. W. W. Champneys, Canon of St. Paul's, &c. London: Seeley and Co. 1860.

The Unsearchable Riches of Christ; illustrated by appropriate texts and hymns. With a Preface by the Rev. J. Stevenson, D.D., author of "Christ on the Cross." London: Seeleys. 1861.

Hymns for the Church of God. In two Parts. Leicester:

Browne. 1859.

THE first two of these three little works are twins. They are evidently by the same compiler, and formed on the same plan. They are groups of flowers from the garden so often alluded to in the book of Canticles. One page gives an idea, in the words of Scripture, and the opposite page presents a hymn, in which the thought is expanded and placed in various lights, in the language of poetry. A single specimen may suffice. At page 74 of the second collection the subject is,—

"OUR KEEPER.

"The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. (Psa. cxxi. 5.)

"He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it? and shall not He render to every man according to his works? (Prov. xxiv. 12.)

"Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling,—to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power. (Jude 24, 25.)

"You, who are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation. (1 Pet. i. 5.)

"The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. (2 Thess. iii. 3.)

"I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Rev. iii. 10.)"

On the opposite page stands this hymn :

"Near me, O my Saviour, stand,

In every trying hour;

Guard me with Thine outstretched hand,

And hold me by Thy power;

Mindful of Thy faithful word,

All-sufficient grace bestow;

Keep me, keep me, blessed Lord!

And never let me go.

"Give me, Lord, a holy fear,

And fix it in my heart;
That I may from evil near
With speedy steps depart;
Still Thy timely help afford,
All Thy loving-kindness show;
Keep me, keep me, blessed Lord,
And never let me go.

"Never let me go till I,

Upborne on wings of love,
Reach the blessed shore on high,

And take my seat above:
Thou hast passed Thy gracious word,
Safely, Lord, to bring me through,
Thou wilt, therefore, keep me, Lord,
And never let me go.'

In this way are illustrated, in the first volume, all the Names and Titles of the Lord Jesus; and in the second, the particulars of "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ." Each topic is exhibited, first in Scripture language, and then, as depicted in the glowing pages of our best Christian poets. Few pocket volumes contain more valuable or more interesting matter than do these two little books.

The third work on our list is also a collection of verses on Scripture subjects, and it has two peculiar features. First, it seems to us to have a flavour of " Plymouth Brethrenism." It is described as being a book "for the church of God;" and, undoubtedly, few will be able to sympathize with the feelings of the compiler, except those who enjoy the blessing of full assurance in a very high degree. Take, for instance, the following beautiful hymn:-

"I have a heritage of joy,

That yet I must not see;

The hand that bled to make it mine
Is keeping it for me.

"I have a certainty of love

That sets my heart at rest;
A calm assurance for to-day,
That to be thus is best:—

"A prayer reposing on His truth,

Who hath made all things mine,
That draws my captive will to Him,
And makes it one with Thine.

"My heart is resting, O my God,
My heart is in Thy care;
I hear the voice of joy and health
Resounding everywhere:

"Thou art my portion, saith my soul;
Amen! sweet voices say;

The music of that glad Amen
Will never die away."

But our chief reason for taking notice of this hymn-book is, that it seems to betoken the presence of another Toplady among us. And this is no light matter. A writer who can leave behind him, as his parting legacy, such hymns as "What though my frail eyelids refuse," and When languor and disease invade," is no trifling gift to the church; and to know that we have one such still amongst us, is a fact of great and abiding interest. We do not speak with decision. We cannot pretend to know every hymn that has ever been given to the church; but we do find, in this collection of " Hymns for the Church of God," some pieces of real value, of which we had previously no knowledge. We will cite two or three of these, as pieces which have met our eyes, at least, first in this unpretending little volume.

Here is one on Hebrews xi. 16:-" But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city":

"Hope of the coming glory

Is balm to the distrest;

Is medicine in sickness,
Is love, and life, and rest.
To that bright, blessed country,
Our eyes with longing turn;
At mention of its blessings
Our hearts within us burn.

"Oh one abiding city!

O kingdom full of joy!
Where tears are ever banished,
And sorrows can't alloy ;-
Thou hast no need of moonbeam,
Nor e'en of sunshine bright:

God is Himself thy glory,

The Lamb Himself thy light.

"Beside thy living waters,

That pure and crystal river,
The tree of life doth flourish,
Which yields her fruit for ever:
There all our yearnings centre,
There we shall surely come;
There see God's face for ever,

And serve Him in our home."

Here is another, on Malachi iii. 6 :-"I am the Lord, I change

not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed":

"Change is our portion here!

Soon fades the summer sky;

The landscape droops in autumn sere,
And spring-flowers bloom to die:
But faithful is Jehovah's word,

'I will be with thee,' saith the Lord.

Change is our portion here!
E'en on the heavenly road;
In faith, and hope, and holy fear,
In love towards our God.

How often we distrust that word,
'I will be with thee,' saith the Lord.
"Change is our portion here!

Yet midst our changing lot,

Midst withering flowers and tempests drear
There is that changes not:
Unchangeable Jehovah's word,

'I will be with thee,' saith the Lord.

"Changeless the way of peace;

Changeless Emmanuel's name;
Changeless the covenant of grace,
Eternally the same;

'I change not,' is our Father's word;

Thou art my portion,' holy Lord."

A third takes its subject from Psalm cxii. 7:-" He will not be afraid of any evil tidings; for his heart standeth fast, and believeth in the Lord":

My heart is fixed, O God my strength,

My heart is strong to bear:

I will be joyful in Thy love,
And peaceful in Thy care;

Deal with me, for my Saviour's sake,
According to His prayer;

"But go not far from me, my Strength,
Whom all my times obey:
Take from me anything Thou wilt,
But go not Thou away;

And let the storm that doth Thy work,
Deal with me as it may.

"There is no death for me to fear,

For Christ, my Lord, hath died;
There is no curse in this my pain,
For He was crucified;

And it is fellowship with Him
That keeps me near His side.

Happy are they that learn in Thee,
Though patient suffering teach,

The secret of enduring strength,
And praise too deep for speech;
Praise that no pressure from without,
No strife within can reach.”

We might give several more specimens of this kind, did our space permit. Concerning their authorship we may be mistaken, and some of our readers may have known, long since, verses which never met our eye; but if these hymns be indeed new ones, we may congratulate the church on possessing a writer who combines rich spiritual experience with a high talent for versification.

Yet this little collection of hymns, chiefly old, but having some which appear to us to be new, raises a question which has been often discussed but never decided; and on which the verdict of the Plymouth Brethren would doubtless differ greatly from that of most other denominations in Christ's church. The question to which we allude is this, Whether it is fitting or desirable to place before an ordinary congregation, in Pancras church or in Surrey chapel, hymns on Christian experience? The opinion of the compiler of these "Hymns for the Church of God" is perhaps not expressed on this point; inasmuch as he would reply that his book was not offered to, or intended for, our ordinary congregations, Still, he cannot altogether escape from the question, for he would doubtless reckon within "the church of God," "babes in Christ," "who had need of milk, and not of strong meat:" and, obviously, it must be difficult for a babe in Christ to use such language as we find in many of his pages. As, for instance, at p. 328:

"So nigh, so very nigh to God;

I cannot nearer be;

For in the person of His Son
I am as near as He.

"So dear, so very dear to God,

More dear I cannot be,

The love wherewith He loves the Son,

Such is His love to me."

Thus, shift our ground as we may, so long as hymns treating of the different phases of Christian experience form any large proportion of a collection, so long will a doubt remain of its fitness for general or extensive use.

We can well remember being forcibly impressed with this doubt or difficulty several years ago, when attending, for a considerable period, St. John's chapel in Bedford Row, then under the charge of Mr. Baptist Noel, Mr. Noel had compiled for his congregation a new hymn-book; and we were frequently perplexed by the hymns prescribed to be sung. Thus, in a