Dictionary of Hymnology
Learn hymn terms, meters, forms, and the history behind Christian worship music — curated for hymn lovers, worship leaders, and students.
A car of fire is on the air
History
A striking nineteenth-century hymn on death and burial written by William Winstanley Hull and published in 18…
A charge to keep I have
Hymn
Charles Wesley's famous hymn of personal responsibility, first published in 1762 and based on Leviticus 8:35.
A day, a day of glory
Hymn
John Mason Neale's joyful 1860 Christmas carol, written expressly for Edmund Sedding's Antient Christmas Caro…
A debtor to mercy alone
Hymn
Augustus Montague Toplady's celebrated hymn on the assurance of faith, first published in the Gospel Magazine…
A Friend there is; your voices join
Hymn
Joseph Swain’s poignant 1791 hymn on Christ’s friendship, composed following the tragic loss of his only son.
A little flock! So calls He thee
Hymn
Horatius Bonar's expansive 1857 poem on the Church, published in Hymns of Faith and Hope and adapted into var…
A little ship was on the sea
Hymn
Dorothy Ann Thrupp’s highly popular nineteenth-century children's hymn illustrating the biblical narrative of…
A little while—our Lord shall come
Hymn
James George Deck's influential 1841 Advent hymn, rooted in Plymouth Brethren hymnody and adopted across prom…
A look to Jesus saves the soul
History
Albert Midlane’s 1862 conversion hymn, featured in Gospel Echoes and compiled across several late Victorian r…
A mourning class, a vacant seat
Hymn
An anonymous 1835 Sunday School hymn composed to comfort classmates after the death of a fellow student, wide…
A Patre Unigenitus
History
An anonymous Latin Epiphany hymn originating between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, notable for its uniq…
A Patre Unigenitus (English Translations)
History
The principal nineteenth-century English translations of the ancient Latin Epiphany hymn 'A Patre Unigenitus'…
A pilgrim through this lonely world
Hymn
Sir Edward Denny's solemn 1839 Passiontide hymn detailing Christ's earthly isolation, popular within Plymouth…
A solis ortus cardine (Coelius Sedulius)
History
Coelius Sedulius's landmark fifth-century alphabetical acrostic poem on the life of Christ, which shaped medi…
A solis ortus cardine (Translations and Structural Variants)
History
An index of the nineteenth-century English and German translations of Coelius Sedulius's hymn, detailing the …
A voice upon the midnight air
Hymnology
A publication summary of the anonymous Passiontide hymn 'A voice upon the midnight air,' charting its origin …
A widowed mother lost her son
Hymnology
A publication history of Dorothy Ann Thrupp's hymn on divine compassion, tracking its 1840 debut under her in…
A. (Ann Gilbert)
History
The signature "A." as used to denote Ann Gilbert (née Taylor) in William Bengo Collyer's Collection of Hymns,…
A. (Joseph Addison)
History
The signature "A." used to denote hymns by Joseph Addison in the Bristol Baptist Collection compiled by John …
A. B. (George Burder)
History
The initials "A. B." as sometimes historically cited, or "A. R." as actually adopted, by George Burder for hi…
A debtor to mercy alone
Hymn
Augustus Montague Toplady's celebrated hymn on the assurance of faith, first published in the Gospel Magazine…
A Friend there is; your voices join
Hymn
Joseph Swain’s poignant 1791 hymn on Christ’s friendship, composed following the tragic loss of his only son.
A little flock! So calls He thee
Hymn
Horatius Bonar's expansive 1857 poem on the Church, published in Hymns of Faith and Hope and adapted into var…
A little ship was on the sea
Hymn
Dorothy Ann Thrupp’s highly popular nineteenth-century children's hymn illustrating the biblical narrative of…
A little while—our Lord shall come
Hymn
James George Deck's influential 1841 Advent hymn, rooted in Plymouth Brethren hymnody and adopted across prom…
A look to Jesus saves the soul
History
Albert Midlane’s 1862 conversion hymn, featured in Gospel Echoes and compiled across several late Victorian r…
A mourning class, a vacant seat
Hymn
An anonymous 1835 Sunday School hymn composed to comfort classmates after the death of a fellow student, wide…
A Patre Unigenitus
History
An anonymous Latin Epiphany hymn originating between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, notable for its uniq…
A Patre Unigenitus (English Translations)
History
The principal nineteenth-century English translations of the ancient Latin Epiphany hymn 'A Patre Unigenitus'…
A pilgrim through this lonely world
Hymn
Sir Edward Denny's solemn 1839 Passiontide hymn detailing Christ's earthly isolation, popular within Plymouth…
A solis ortus cardine (Coelius Sedulius)
History
Coelius Sedulius's landmark fifth-century alphabetical acrostic poem on the life of Christ, which shaped medi…
A solis ortus cardine (Translations and Structural Variants)
History
An index of the nineteenth-century English and German translations of Coelius Sedulius's hymn, detailing the …
A voice upon the midnight air
Hymnology
A publication summary of the anonymous Passiontide hymn 'A voice upon the midnight air,' charting its origin …
A widowed mother lost her son
Hymnology
A publication history of Dorothy Ann Thrupp's hymn on divine compassion, tracking its 1840 debut under her in…
A. (Ann Gilbert)
History
The signature "A." as used to denote Ann Gilbert (née Taylor) in William Bengo Collyer's Collection of Hymns,…
A. (Joseph Addison)
History
The signature "A." used to denote hymns by Joseph Addison in the Bristol Baptist Collection compiled by John …
A. B. (George Burder)
History
The initials "A. B." as sometimes historically cited, or "A. R." as actually adopted, by George Burder for hi…