Son of an en­grav­er and book­sell­er, Con­der lost his right eye at age five, due to a bad small­pox vac­cin­a­tion. How­ever, his na­tive talents led him to be a suc­cess­ful au­thor, ed­i­tor and pub­lish­er. He ed­it­ed The Ec­lec­tic Re­pub­lic and The Pa­tri­ot, and wrote books on a wide va­ri­e­ty of sec­u­lar and re­li­gious sub­jects. A mem­ber of the Con­gre­ga­tion­al­ist de­nom­in­a­tion, his Con­gre­ga­tion­al Hymn-Book sold 90,000 co­pies in its first se­ven years. His other works in­clude:

• The Wi­thered Oak, 1805
• The Re­ver­ie, 1811
• The Star in the East, with Other Po­ems Chief­ly Re­li­gious and Do­mes­tic, 1824
• Sac­red Po­ems, Do­mes­tic Po­ems, and Mis­cel­lan­e­ous Po­ems, 1824
• The Choir and the Or­a­to­ry, 1836
• Hymns of Praise, Pray­er, and De­vout Me­di­ta­tion, 1856

Sources

Hymns

1. Baptized into Our Savior’s Death
2. Be Merciful, O God of Grace
3. Beyond, Beyond That Boundless Sea
4. Blessed Be God, He Is Not Strict
5. Bread of Heaven, on Thee We Feed
6. Comrades of the Heavenly Calling
7. Day by Day the Manna Fell
8. Followers of Christ of Every Name
9. Forever Will I Bless the Lord
10. Grant Me, Heavenly Lord, to Feel
11. Grant, O Savior, to Our Pray­ers
12. Hallelujah! Raise, O Raise
13. Head of the Church, Our Risen Lord
14. Heavenly Father, to Whose Eye
15. Heavens Declare His Glory, The
16. Ho­ly, Ho­ly, Ho­ly, Lord, in the Highest Heaven
17. How Honored, How Dear
18. How Shall I Follow Him I Serve?
19. I Am Thy Workmanship, O Lord
20. In the Day of My Distress
21. Jehovah’s Praise Sublime
22. Leave Us Not Comfortless
23. Lord, for Thy Name’s Sake!
24. Lord Is King!, The
25. My Lord, I Did Not Choose You
26. Now with Angels Round the Throne
27. O Be Joyful in the Lord
28. O Breathe upon This Languid Frame
29. O Comfort to the Dreary
30. O Give Thanks to Him Who Made
31. O God, Protector of the Lowly
32. O God, to Whom the Happy Dead
33. O God, Who Didst an Equal Mate
34. O God, Who Didst Thy Will Unfold
35. O God, Who Dost Thy Sovereign Might
36. O God Whose All Creating Might
37. O Ho­ly, Ho­ly, Ho­ly Lord
38. O How Feeble Flesh and Blood
39. O How Should Those Be Clean Who Bear
40. O Lord, Hadst Thou Been Here!
41. O Say Not, Think Not in Thy Heart
42. O Show Me Not My Savior Dying
43. O Thou Divine High Priest
44. O Thou God Who Hearest Pray­er
45. O Thou Who Givest All Their Food
46. O Thou Whose Covenant Is Sure
47. Praise on Thee, in Zion Gates
48. Praise the God of All Crea­tion
49. See the Ransomed Millions Stand
50. Thou Art the Everlasting Word
51. Thy Hands Have Made and Fashioned Me
52. ’Tis Not that I Did Choose Thee
    • My Lord, I Did Not Choose You
53. To All Thy Faithful People, Lord
54. To His Own World He Came
55. To Our God Loud Prais­es Give
56. Upon a World of Guilt and Night
57. Welcome, Welcome, Sinner, Hear
58. When in the Hour of Lonely Woe
59. Wheresoever Two or Three