AND HYMNS FOR THE CHURCH. WITH SUPPLEMENTARY HYMNS ON THE EPISTLES AND GOSPELS FOR THE SUNDAYS OF THE CHURCH'S YEAR. X WRITTEN BY WILLIAM J. IRONS, D.D. PREBENDARY OF ST. PAUL'S AND BECTOR OF ST. MARY WOOLNOTH, 'I will sing of the Lord because He hath dealt so lovingly with me.' LONDON: J. T. HAYES, 17 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 1883. 14722. f. l. ΤΟ HARRIET, WIFE OF THE REV. ROBERT LLOYD, M.A. Of Dripshill, THE FAMILIAR FRIEND OF MY WIFE FROM HER YOUTH, PREFACE. THE efforts made of late years to provide suitable Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship, at least shew how much the need is felt. In the usual "Collections" there are Hymns of high devotional power, and some of great beauty as poems; but a serious proportion of the compositions which make up large metrical volumes are unsatisfactory. Some seem to have been resorted to, chiefly, because writers of tunes needed words. But the graceful harmonies, suited with verses which sometimes mean but little, or are even unsound in doctrine or misdirected in feeling, have not yet reconciled us to existing Collections, though they may have given them a temporary popularity. It has on this account even been suggested that metrical singing should be altogether abandoned, and that the Chanted Psalms of the Prayer Book alone might suffice us. But it were enough to reply to this that, if desirable, our Congregations could not be persuaded to it. And it must not be forgotten, that the Chanted Psalms are to a great extent unintelligible to ordinary people, and that the spiritual use of them is an uncommon attain |