A Second Astounding Hymn 

Following on from my last "Post" and in the same vein I would like to speak of another hymn that touched my heart in recent months. The hymn commences with the sweet exhortation to the soul of the believer with the words: "Behold my soul thy Saviour;" It is found in "A Collection of Hymns For the Use of the Protestant Church of the United Brethren." Moravian Brethren.

To my knowledge, I have never seen the particular hymn I refer to, in the many hymnals with which I am familiar, nor in any that I have collected until I purchased a copy of the  Hymn Book mentioned above. But one Lord's Day morning when gathered to His Name alone with the saints at Corsham to "Break Bread," we sang this hymn (4 verses) from the (local) "Supplement." I was arrested by an unusual phrase of quite striking beauty." The phrase that captivated me on that occasion, directing my thoughts to the conflict in Gethsemane, reads:

"Till, through His pores in anguish,

The blood-sweat forced its way. 

As you will see, (no doubt with some difficulty,) from the poor photograph of the hymn, it actually has eight verses!

Very keen to find out about the author as our Supplement does not include names of authors, names of tunes, or any dates, I recently began my research. It proved surprising and fascinating.

Below is part of a brief biography of the Moravian brother's testimony:  

Full Name:	Gregor, Christian, 1723-1801
Birth Year:	1723
Death Year:	1801

Gregor, Christian, son of Georg Gregor, a peasant living in the Silesian village of Dirsdorf, near Peilau, was born at Dirsdorf on 1st January 1723. In 1742 he went to Herrnhut, where he was at first employed in tuition. He became leader of the music in the Moravian Brethren's congregation at Herrnhaag, in 1748, and in 1749 at Zeist; but in 1753 he returned to Herrnhut as cashier of the Moravian Brethren's Board of Direction. On 6th November 1801, he attended a meeting, held at Herrnhut, of the Board of Direction of which he had been a member from 1764. Just as he entered his house at Berthelsdorf, near Herrnhut, he was struck down with paralysis and died that same day. 

He was a man greatly beloved and respected, simple of heart, loving, earnest and hardworking; and was entrusted with many important missions and visitations. His hymns are characterised by childlike fervour of devotion to his crucified Lord. A number appeared in Des kleinen Brüder-Gesangbuchs dritter Theil, Barby, 1767; but they were mostly contributed to the Gesang-buch zum Gebrauch der evangelischen Brüder Gemeinen, Barby, 1778, of which he was the principal editor. He was also an excellent organist, and edited, in 1784, a collection of accompanying tunes for the hymnbook of 1778, contributing thereto various melodies by himself. A little volume entitled Historische Nachrteht vom Brüder-Gesangbuche des Jahres 1778, und von dessen Lieder-Verfassern, Gnadau, 1835 (2nd ed., 1851), occasionally referred to in these pages, is based on materials collected by Gregor.