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Hymns We Sing
A series of articles about well-
by Frank White
No 4 -
Shepherd of Tender Youth
Words – Clement of Alexandria (circa 200) Music Lowell Mason (1792-
This is probably the oldest Christian hymn whose author is known. Words attributed to Clement of Alexandria ( Titus Flavius Clemens) translated from Greek to English by Henry M. Dexter in 1846.
Shepherd of tender youth, guiding in love and truth
Through devious ways; Christ our triumphant King,
We come Thy Name to sing and here our children bring
To join Thy praise.
A further 4 verses follow.
Music by Lowell Mason in 1831. “Olivet” is also sung to the Hymn “My faith looks up to Thee”
We Plough the Fields and Scatter
Words. Matthias Claudius(1740-
This well known Harvest Hymn is though by many to come from the English countryside
W R O N G It has rather different origins. It is the “Peasant’s Song” from a sketch by Claudius in “Paul Erdmann’s Feast” –Hamburg 1782 . This depicted a harvest thanksgiving in a North German farmhouse. It was based upon a peasant’s song which he heard at the home of one of the local framers. At the time of writing this hymn he was editor of the local paper in Hesse Darmstadt, where he was also a Commissioner of Agriculture.
The Hymn translated into English by Miss Jane Montgomery Campbell was originally 17 verses long with a refrain after each verse !
The tune Wir Pfluen (Dresden) by Shultz was set to the Hymn in 1800 by now shortened to 6 verses.
It first appeared in Rev. Charles S Bere`s “A Garland of songs” (1861) and subsequently in the Appendix (1868) to Hymns Ancient and Modern where verse 3 – now the last verse in most Hymnals – was revised to the present text from the original
Line 5 – Originally – No gifts have we to offer Now – Accept the gifts we offer
Line 7 – Originally – But that which thou desirest Now – And, what thou most desirest
This alteration was probably introduced to make the hymn suitable for services where harvest produce was on view or offered by the worshipers, although the English Hymnal No 293 continues to use the original words.
Did you know ?
The youngest hymnist is John Milton who was 15 years old when he wrote “Let us with a gladsome mind”.