Godfrey Thring

1823-1903

Born: March 25, 1823, Alford, Som­er­set, Eng­land.

Died: Sep­tem­ber 13, 1903, Shamley Green, Sur­rey, Eng­land.

Buried: Sham­ley Green, Sur­rey, Eng­land.

Son of Rev. John Gale Dalton Thring and brother of Lord Thring, God­frey grad­u­at­ed from Bal­li­ol Coll­ege, Ox­ford, Eng­land. He was or­dained in the An­gli­can church, and was given the rec­to­ry at Al­ford-with-Horn­blot­ton, near Glas­ton­bury. Lat­er, he be­came Prebendary at Wells Ca­thed­ral. While at Al­ford-with-Horn­blot­ton, Thring wrote a number of hymn vol­umes, in­clud­ing:

His Hymns and Po­ems for the Ho­ly Days and the Festivals of the Church, be­came well known. Thring’s brother Edward wrote of this work:

Be sure that no paint­ing, no art work you could have done, could have been so pow­er­ful for good…As long as the Eng­lish lang­uage lasts, sun­dry of your hymns will be read and sung…and ma­ny a soul of God’s crea­tures will thrill at your words. What more can a man want? Ve­ry like­ly if you had had all that old heath­en­dom rammed in­to you, as I had, and all the lit­er­a­ry slic­ing and prun­ing, and been scis­sored like me, you would just have lost the fresh­ness and sim­ple touch which makes you what you are. No, my boy, I make a ti­dy school­mas­ter and pass into the lives of ma­ny a pu­pil, and you live on the lips of the Church. So be sa­tis­fied. And what does it mat­ter, if we do the Mas­ter’s will?

Sources

Hymns

  1. All That’s Good, and Great, and True
  2. And Now, ’Mid Myriad Worlds Enthroned
  3. Beneath the Church’s Hallowed Shade
  4. Blessed Savior, Thou Hast Taught Us
  5. Blot Out Our Sins of Old
  6. Bowed Down with Sorrow, Sin and Shame
  7. Bulwark of a Mighty Na­tion
  8. Crown Him with Ma­ny Crowns
  9. Dead to Life, Yet Loath to Die
  10. Earth in Robes of Light Arrayed, The
  11. Fierce Raged the Tempest O’er the Deep
  12. For Mercy, Lord, I Cry
  13. Four Days Had Come and Gone to Rest
  14. From the Eastern Mountains
  15. Gird We, Sol­diers, for the Battle
  16. God the Father, God the Son, Ho­ly Spirit, Three
  17. Grant us, O Our Heavenly Father
  18. Great Architect of Worlds Unknown
  19. Hail! Sac­red Day of Earthly Rest
  20. Hark! Hear Ye Not the Angel Song
  21. Hark! The Vault of Heaven Is Ringing
  22. Hast Thou Sinned? Sin No More
  23. Have We No Zeal for Him Who Died?
  24. Heal Me, O My Savior, Heal
  25. Hear Us, Thou That Broodest
  26. I Heard a Sound of Voices
  27. In the Name of God the Father
  28. Jesus Came, the Heavens Adoring
  29. Jesu, Heavenly Shepherd
  30. Last Great Day of Work Had Come
  31. Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing
  32. Lord God Almighty, Who Hearest All
  33. Lord of Power, Lord of Might
  34. Lord, Who at Cana’s Wedding Feast
  35. Make me Ho­ly, O My Savior
  36. O Death, Thou Art No More
  37. O For the Faith That Knows No Doubt
  38. O God of Mercy, God of Might
  39. O God, the King of Glory, Who
  40. O Mighty God, Creator, King
  41. O Sing to the Lord with a Psalm of Thanksgiving
  42. O Thou Who Dwellest in Realms of Light
  43. O Thou, Who Every Change of Human Life
  44. O Thou, Who from One Blood Didst Make
  45. O Thou Who Madest Land and Sea
  46. O Thou, Who Sittest Enthroned above All Worlds
  47. Ocean Hath No Danger, The
  48. Radiant Morn Hath Passed Away, The
  49. Savior, Blessèd Savior
  50. See the Sun High Heaven Ascending
  51. So Grass, and Herb, and Fruitful Tree
  52. Thou That Sendest Sun and Rain
  53. Thou to Whom the Sick and Dying
  54. Thrice Happy He Whose Tranquil Mind
  55. Thy Love for All Thy Creatures
  56. To Thee, O God, We Render Thanks
  57. Watch Now, Ye Christ­ians
  58. We Know Not, O We Know Not
  59. When o’er the Water’s Misty Deep
  60. With Azure Girdle Circled Round
  61. With Tears and Hearts Bowed Down with Sorrow
  62. Work Is Sweet for God Hast Blest

If you have ac­cess to a pho­to of Thring that we could put on­line, please click here.

08/12/2007 00:36:50