THE
CHRISTIAN HYMN BOOK:
A COMPILATION OF
PSALMS, HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS,
ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
BY
A. CAMPBELL AND OTHERS.
REVISED AND ENLARGED BY A COMMITTEE.
CINCINNATI:
H. S. BOSWORTH, PUBLISHER.
1870.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by
R. M. Bishop, C. H. Gould, W. H. Lape, O. A. Burgess, and J. B. Bowman, Trustees,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio.
MIAMI PRINTING COMPANY,
Printers, Stereotypers, and Binders,
WEST EIGHTH ST., NEAR MAIN.
INTRODUCTION.
This Hymn Book is the result of an agreement between AlexanderCampbell—the former proprietor of the Christian HymnBook—and the Christian brotherhood at large, as represented inthe American Christian Missionary Society. At the annual meetingof the Society, in 1864, an overture was made by Mr. Campbell,of the copy-right of the Christian Hymn Book, to be heldby certain brethren, in trust, on two conditions: 1. That a committeebe mutually agreed on by himself and the Society, to reviseand enlarge the book, so as to meet the general wishes of thebrotherhood of Disciples; 2. That the profits arising from thesale of the book be given to the A. C. M. S. This overture wasaccepted, and the Committee of Revision was immediately appointed.That Committee, having fulfilled their task, now presentthe fruit of their labors to the public.
It will be seen that, while the former book was made the basisof this, the work of revision and enlargement has been made asthorough as possible. Still, comparatively few hymns have beenexpunged. After making as complete an exploration as our timewould allow, of the realms of Christian Hymnology, we weremore than ever convinced of the value of the labor, judgment,and taste, displayed in the compilation of the book we have solong used and cherished. We have met with no book of equalsize, that possesses equal merit. The principal changes we havemade, are:
1.—A new classification of subjects—increasing the facility ofreference to hymns on the various subjects of song.
2.—An unbroken series of numbers to the hymns, which, whileit necessitates the abolition of the formal distinction betweenPsalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, enables us to avoid the confusionthat constantly grew out of the three series of numbers,which the former classification required.
3.—The numbering of the stanzas of every hymn, for easy reference,when any stanza is omitted in singing.
4.—An arrangement of meters, under every heading.
5.—A greatly enlarged number and variety of hymns, suited tothe diversified wants of personal, social, and public devotion.
We take pleasure in acknowledging our indebtedness to numerousbrethren, for counsel and assistance; especially to ElderWilliam Baxter, whose collected material and original contributionshave been cheerfully placed at our disposal.