The Olney Hymns (/ˈoʊni/) were first published in February 1779, and are the combined work of curate John Newton (1725–1807) and his poet friend, William Cowper (1731–1800). The hymns were written for use in Newton's rural parish which was made up of relatively poor and uneducated followers. The Olney Hymns are an illustration of the potent ideologies of the Evangelical movement, to which both men belonged, present in many communities in England at the time.
The Olney Hymns were very popular; by 1836 there had been 37 recorded editions, and it is likely that many other editions were printed in both Britain and America. As hymn-singing gained popularity in the nineteenth century, many (around 25) of the hymns were reproduced in other hymn-books and pamphlets. Today around six of the original 348 Olney Hymns regularly feature in modern church worship, the most famous of which is "Amazing Grace".
Read more about Olney Hymns: Background, Newton and Cowper's Personal Background, The Hymns in More Detail
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... The general impact of Olney Hymns was immediate and it became a widely popular tool for evangelicals in Britain for many years ... The most prevalent themes in the verses written by Newton in Olney Hymns are faith in salvation, wonder at God's grace, his love for Jesus, and his ebullient exclamations of the joy he found in his faith ... to his parishioners, he wrote many of the hymns in first person, admitting his own experience with sin ...
... Olney Hymns (1779)--'Light Shining out of Darkness' There is a fountain fill'd with blood Drawn from EMMANUEL's veins And sinners, plung'd beneath that flood, Lose ... Olney Hymns (1779)--'Praise for the Fountain Opened' Oh! for a closer walk with GOD, A calm and heav'nly frame A light to shine upon the road That leads me ...
... The Olney Hymns are in part an expression of Newton and Cowper's personal religious faith and experience, and a reflection of the principal tenets of the Evangelical faith the inherent sinfulness of man ... and day-to-day use in Newton's ministry of Olney ... Hymn singing, though, was not without controversy, particularly within the official church, the Church of England ...
Famous quotes containing the word hymns:
“What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul”
—Unknown. “What Wondrous Love is this!” L. 3-5, Dupuy’s Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1811)