E-text prepared by Stephen Hutcheson
The
Story of Our Hymns
by
ERNEST EDWIN RYDEN
PASTOR OF GLORIA DEI LUTHERAN CHURCH
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
AUGUSTANA BOOK CONCERN
ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS
Copyright 1930
by
Augustana Book Concern
First Edition, December, 1930
Second Edition, April, 1931
AUGUSTANA BOOK CONCERN
ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS
To the Sweet Memory
of Our Bonnie Boy
Richard Edward Ryden
Who at the Age of Ten Years Went
Home to Sing with the
Angels.
He is not dead: he only sleeps,
Safe in the arms of Him who keeps
His lambs secure from earth’s alarm,
From grief and sin and foes that harm.
He is not dead: he is at rest,
Content upon his Saviour’s breast;
Dear little child, we loved you so,
But Jesus loved you more, we know.
He is not dead: the Shepherd came
To call His little lamb by name;
The gentle Shepherd watch will keep,
While His beloved child doth sleep.
He is not dead: by angel bands
Now welcomed to the heavenly lands,
With theirs a childish voice shall sing
Hosannas to the children’s King.
He is not dead: though tears may flow,
Faith whispers: “It is better so.”
With joy we’ll meet on that fair shore,
Where God’s own children weep no more.
FOREWORD
The hymn lore of the Christian Church offers a fascinatingfield for profitable research and study. To know thehymns of the Church is to know something of the spiritualstrivings and achievements of the people of God throughoutthe centuries. Henry Ward Beecher has well said: “Hymnsare the jewels which the Church has worn, the pearls, thediamonds, the precious stones, formed into amulets morepotent against sorrow and sadness than the most famouscharm of the wizard or the magician. And he who knowsthe way that hymns flowed, knows where the blood of truepiety ran, and can trace its veins and arteries to the veryheart.”
This volume has been inspired by a desire on the part ofthe author to create deeper love for the great lyrics of theChristian Church. In pursuing this purpose an effort hasbeen made to present such facts and circumstances surroundingtheir authorship and composition as will result in a betterunderstanding and appreciation of the hymns themselves.
A hymn is a child of the age in which it was written.For this reason the author has followed a chronologicalarrangement in an endeavor, not only to set forth the historicalbackground of the hymns, but also to trace the spiritualmovements within the Church that gave them birth.