Bonar has been called “the prince of Scot­tish hymn write­rs.” After grad­u­at­ing from the Un­i­ver­si­ty of Ed­in­burgh, he was or­dained in 1838, and be­came pas­tor of the North Par­ish, Kelso. He joined the Free Church of Scot­land af­ter the “Dis­rupt­ion” of 1843, and for a while edit­ed the church’s The Border Watch. Bonar re­mained in Kel­so for 28 years, af­ter which he moved to the Chal­mers Me­mor­i­al church in Edin­burgh, where he served the rest of his life. Bonar wrote more than 600 hymns. At a me­mor­i­al service fol­low­ing his death, his friend, Rev. E. H. Lundie, said:

His hymns were writ­ten in very var­ied cir­cum­stances, some­times timed by the tink­ling brook that bab­bled near him; some­times at­tuned to the or­dered tramp of the ocean, whose crest­ed waves broke on the beach by which he wan­dered; some­times set to the rude mu­sic of the rail­way train that hur­ried him to the scene of du­ty; some­times mea­sured by the si­lent rhy­thm of the mid­night stars that shone above him.

Bonar’s works in­clude:

• Hymns of Faith and Hope, 1857

Sources

Hymns

1. Almighty Comforter and Friend
2. All That I Was
3. Angel Voices, Sweetly Singing
4. Ascend, Beloved, to the Joy
5. Bathed in Unfallen Sunlight
   • Fresh from the Throne of Glory
6. Be Brave, My Brother
7. Be Still, My Soul, Jehovah Loveth Thee
8. Bear Thou My Burden
9. Beloved, Let Us Love
10. Beyond the Smiling and the Weeping
11. Blessed Be God, Our God
12. Blessèd Night, When First That Plain
13. Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power
14. Brethren, Arise, Let us Go Hence
15. Bridegroom Comes, The
16. By the Cross of Jesus Standing
17. Calm Me, My God
18. Christ Has Done the Mighty Work
19. Church Has Waited Long, The
20. Come, Lord, and Tarry Not
21. Come, Mighty Spirit, Penetrate
22. Cross, It Standeth Fast, The
23. Deep Down Beneath the Unresting Surge
24. Done Is the Work That Saves
25. Everlasting Prais­es
26. Far Down the Ages Now
27. Father, Make Use of Me
28. Father, Our Children Keep
29. Fear Not the Foe, Thou Flock of God
30. Few More Years Shall Roll, A
31. Fill Thou My Life
32. Finish Thy Work, the Time Is Short
33. For Lack of Love I Languish
34. For the Bread and for the Wine
35. For Thee We Long and Pray
36. Free One Makes You Free, The
37. From the Cross the Blood Is Falling
38. From This Bleak Hill of Storms
39. Glory Be to God the Father
    • Glory Be to Him Who Loved Us
40. Go, Labor On: Spend, and Be Spent
41. Go Up, Go Up, My Heart
42. Great Ruler of the Land and Sea
43. He Called Them, and They Left
44. He Has Come, the Christ of God
45. He Is Near (I Know Not When the Lord Will Come)
46. He Liveth Long Who Liveth Well
47. Help Me, My God, to Speak
48. Here, O My Lord, I See Thee
49. Here Shall Death’s Triumph End
50. Holy Father, Hear My Cry
51. Holy Father, Mighty God
52. Ho, Ye Thirsty, Parched and Fainting
53. How Are My Troubles Multiplied
54. How Sweetly Doth He Show His Face
55. I Ask a Perfect Creed
56. I Close My Heavy Eye
57. I Hear the Words of Love
58. I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
59. I Lay My Sins on Jesus
60. I See the Crowd in Pilate’s Hall
61. I Thought upon My Sins
62. I Was a Wandering Sheep
63. I Weep, but Do Not Yield
64. Jesus, My Sorrow Lies Too Deep
65. Jesus, Sun and Shield Art Thou
66. Jesus the Christ of God
67. Jesus, While This Rough Desert Soil
68. Jesus, Whom Angel Hosts Adore
69. Let There Be Light, Jehovah Said
70. Lie Down, Frail Body, Here
71. Light Hath Arisen, The
72. Light of Life So Softly Shining
73. Light of the World! Forever, Ever Shining
74. Lo, God, Our God, Has Come
75. Long, Long Deferred, Now Come at Last
76. Lord, Give Me Light to Do Thy Work
77. Make Haste, O Man, to Live
78. Make Use of Me, My God
79. Master’s Touch, The
80. Nay, ’Tis Not What We Fancied It
81. No Blood, No Altar, Now
82. No, Not Despairingly
83. No Seas Again Shall Ever Sever
84. No Shadows Yonder
85. Not to Ourselves Again
86. Not What I Am, O Lord
87. Not What These Hands Have Done
    • I Bless the Christ of God
    • Not What My Hands Have Done
88. Not with the Light and Vain
89. Now in Parting, Father, Bless Us
90. O Everlasting Light
91. O Light of Light, Shine In
92. O Love Invisible, Yet Infinite
93. O Love of God, How Strong and True
94. O Love That Casts Out Fear
95. O Strong to Save and Bless
96. O This Soul, How Dark and Blind
97. O ’Tis Not What We Fancied It
98. On the Great Love of God I Lean
99. On Thee, O Jesus, Strongly Leaning
100. Oppressed with Noonday’s Scorching Heat
101. Peace to the World
102. Peace upon Peace, Like Wave on Wave
103. Rejoice and Be Glad!
104. Rest for the Toiling Hand
105. Safe Across the Waters
106. Shall This Life of Mine Be Wasted?
107. Silent, like Men in Solemn Haste
108. Sinful Man Am I, A
109. Sing Them, My Children
110. Soon Shall the Trump of God
111. Sounds the Trumpet from Afar
112. Sower Divine, Sow the Good Seed in Me
113. Speak, Lips of Mine
114. Speaketh the Sinner’s Sin with­in my Heart
115. Spirit of Everlasting Grace
116. Still One in Life and One in Death
117. Surely, Yon Heaven, Where Angels See God’s Face
118. That City with the Jeweled Crest
119. That Clime Is Not Like This Dull Clime of Ours
120. Thee in the Loving Bloom of Morn
121. There Is a Morn­ing Star, My Soul
122. These Are the Crowns That We Shall Wear
123. This Is Not My Place of Resting
124. This Is the Day of Toil
125. Through Good Report and Evil, Lord
126. Thy Thoughts Are Here, My God
127. Thy Way, Not Mine, O Lord
128. Thy Works, Not Mine, O Christ
129. Till the Day Dawn
130. Time’s Sun is Fast Setting
131. To Him Who Spread the Skies
132. To Jehovah, God of Might
133. To the Name of God on High
134. Trustingly, Trustingly
135. Tomb Is Empty, The
136. Unto th’Eternal Hills
137. Upward Where the Stars Are Burning
138. We Take the Peace Which He Hath Won
139. Weep, Pilgrim, Weep
140. When the Weary, Seeking Rest
141. Where the Faded Flower Shall Freshen
142. Yes, for Me He Careth
143. Yet There Is Room