22
January 1876 A.D. John
Dykes—Composer of “Holy, Holy, Holy”
Graves, Dan. “John Dykes Composer of `Holy, Holy,
Holy.’” Christianity.com. Jun 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/john-dykes-composer-of-holy-holy-holy-11630579.html. Accessed
10 Jul 2014.
"Holy, Holy,
Holy, Lord God Almighty," read Reginald Heber's widow. Among her dead
husband's papers she found the words of one of the most powerful and beautiful
hymns ever written. But years would pass before the lines took their place in
worship services around the world.
In 1861, a publisher
rediscovered the words. He asked John Bacchus
Dykes to furnish him with a tune. It made sense for him to turn to John who had
a natural aptitude for music (he graduated with a music master that same year).
John had been a church organist since he was ten-years-old and was co-founder
and president of the Cambridge University Musical Society.
John accepted the words. Within
thirty minutes he wrote the tune "Nicea," which carried the praise of
the Trinity to Christians everywhere.
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God
Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, Holy, Holy, Merciful and Mighty!
God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, Holy, Holy, Merciful and Mighty!
God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity!
The year after he composed this
famous tune, John was appointed vicar of St. Oswald. This put him in charge of
a parish. He was thirty-nine and had already held several lesser church posts.
John's people came to love him.
His bishop, however, did not
care for John's views. John was "high-church." This meant that he
stressed the continuity of the Church of England with the Roman Catholic church
from which it had sprung. He believed that church and monarchy had divine
rights which were being washed away by modern changes. There was long-lasting
disagreement between John and his bishop because of this.
Charles Baring, his bishop,
refused to give John any help with his large parish unless he would agree to
conduct his services in a more "low-church" style. He had to get rid
of colorful collars, stop burning incense and not turn his back on his
congregation at times during the service. John wouldn't agree and so he had to
handle the whole parish himself, a job which exhausted him.
Nonetheless, in addition to his
regular duties, he managed to write over 300 hymn tunes. These included some
for our favorite hymns, such as "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee" and
less familiar songs such as "Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand" and
"Lead, Kindly Light."
Worn out with his labors and
constant friction with his bishop, John died on this day,
January 22, 1876. He was just fifty-three years old. Those who loved and
admired him, raised £10,000 to support his widow and children.
Bibliography:
"All Things Bright and Beautiful; the
Authors." http://www.concerthall.ca/authors.html
"Dykes, John Bacchus." The Oxford
Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University, 1997.
"Holy, Holy, Holy."
http://www.camalott.com/~ckirk/holyholyholy.html
"Holy, Holy, Holy." Crusader
Hymns and Hymn Stories. Chicago, Illinois: Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association, 1967.
"John Bacchus Dykes."
http://www.cyberhymnal.org
"John Bacchus Dykes."
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/ Hymns_and_Carols/
Biographies/john_bacchus_dykes.htm
Routley, Erik. Hymns and the Faith. Greenwich,
Connecticut: Seabury Press, 1956.
Wells, Amos R. A Treasure of Hymns; Brief biographies of 120 leading
hymn- writers and Their best hymns. Boston: W. A. Wilde company,
1945.
Last updated June,
2007.
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