The text for this hymn was written by Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847). Orphaned at an early age, Lyte attended Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where he was a scholar and distinguished himself in English poetry. At one time he had intended studying medicine, but abandoned it for theology. In 1815 he was ordained and served a number of parishes in Ireland and western England. In 1818 he underwent a great spiritual change following the illness and death of a clergyman brother, which influenced the rest of his life. Lyte said of him: "He died happy under the belief that though he had deeply erred, there was One whose death and sufferings would atone for his delinquencies, and be accepted for all that he had incurred." And concerning himself, Lyte added: "I was greatly affected by the whole matter, and brought to look at life and its issue with a different eye than before; and I began to study my bible, and preach in another manner than I had previously done." The text for "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven" is a free paraphrase of Psalm 103. Unfortunately, a stanza based on verses 15-17 is often omitted:

"Frail as summer's flower we flourish, blows the wind and it is gone;

But while mortals rise and perish, God endures unchanging on.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise the High Eternal One."

            Henry Francis Lyte's lyrics have been set to various hymn tunes, but the one we'll be using this week is LAUDA ANIMA, by John Goss (1800-1880). Sir John Goss was an English organist, composer and teacher.

            Born to a musical family, he was a boy chorister of the Chapel Royal, London, and later a pupil of Thomas Attwood, organist of St Paul's Cathedral. After a brief period as a chorus member in an opera company he was appointed organist of a chapel in south London, later moving to more prestigious organ posts. As a composer, Goss wrote little for the orchestra, but was known for his vocal music, both religious and secular. LAUDA ANIMA, composed in 1868, is one of his best-known compositions, and the translation of its Latin name is "Praise my soul" - the opening words of Psalm 103.

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"

            Author Edward Mote (1797-1874)was not brought up in a godly home and did not have the advantage of early exposure to Scripture. In fact, his parents managed a pub in London and often neglected young Edward, who spent most of his Sundays playing in the city streets. Of his theological upbringing, he said "So ignorant was I that I did not know that there was a God." Eventually he became exposed to the Word of God, and was baptized at the age of 18. This event, however, did not send him immediately into the ministry. He was apprenticed to become a cabinetmaker, a career which he successfully conducted for another 37 years. Eventually, at the age of 55, he became pastor of a Baptist church in Horsham, Sussex, where he did not miss a Sunday in the pulpit for the next 21 years. He resigned from this pastorate in 1873 due to ill health, and died the following year at the age of 77. It was with this background that Mote wrote the hymn we have today, "The Solid Rock." It was during his career as a cabinetmaker that the hymn came into being. Mote's original title for the hymn in this collection was "The Immutable Basis of a Sinner's Hope." As to the doctrinal message of the hymn, several key thoughts and phrases qualify it as a "Hymn of Grace." Of course, the chorus itself clearly sets forth the message of grace. Nothing in this hymn hints that any work on our part can add to Christ's work in order to secure our eternal salvation. However, the hymn is not ignorant of the reality of our daily struggles. This hymn, penned by the son of neglectful pub keepers, has become one of the most beloved gospel hymns in the Church today.

            The tune to which Mote's text is most commonly set, was composed by William B. Bradbury (1816-1868). William Bradbury was born at York, York County, Maine, and spent the first few years of his life on his father's farm. He loved music, and would spend his spare hours in studying and practicing as much music as he could find.   In 1830 his parents moved to Boston, where he saw and heard for the first time a piano and organ, as well as various other instruments. This led him to devote his life to the service of music. In his day, he created a style of juvenile music, especially Sunday School music, which swept the country and set the pattern for his successors in Sunday School song-making.