The Cluster of Spiritual Songs,
Divine Hymns, and Sacred Poems, being Chiefly a Collection was first published by Jesse
Mercer (1769-1841) around 1800. The oldest surviving copy was
published in 1810.[1]
A Mercer’s Cluster was reprinted at
late as 1875 in Philadelphia, suggesting there was at least some demand for the
hymn book over 30 years after Mercer’s death. The Primitive Hymns, Spiritual Songs, and Sacred Poems: Regularly
Selected, Classified and Set in Order, and Adapted to Social Singing and All
Occasions of Divine Worship was first published by Benjamin Lloyd in 1841,
the year Jesse Mercer died.[2] It
has remained in publication from that time to the present.
Some
researchers of Mercer’s hymn book, such as Kay Norton & Don Tennyson, believe
that Benjamin Lloyd used The Cluster
as a prototype for his own hymn book.[3] In
contrast Primitive Baptist writers such as R. Paul Drummond, discount the idea,
positing the ecclesiological differences between the two and the simple fact
they could have coincidentally used a common source.[4] There
is little doubt there is some incidence of common source. Lloyd did not
identify his sources or credit any authors of hymns,[5] so
one cannot determine the sources based on original documentation. We are left
rather with the evidence of circumstance. Different investigators, approaching
with different inclinations, come to different conclusions. I now cast mine
into the ring as well.
First,
a definite conclusion is not possible. All conclusions are based on
circumstantial evidence and are susceptible to interpretation. As Drummond
points out “there is no real evidence to disprove these assertions.” Several
factors alone may not have great significance, but together may bind a tighter
case.
Regional proximity
Jesse
Mercer and Benjamin Lloyd, though of different generations, were both
Southerners of similar background and religious persuasion. Though Lloyd may
not have known Mercer, their lifespans overlap by over 35 years – and Lloyd
certainly would have known of the prominent Georgia Baptist Mercers. Benjamin
Lloyd was an active Georgia Baptist preacher in the last ten years of Mercer’s
life. He was born in Hancock County, Georgia, the very area where the Mercers
were located. Benjamin’s grandfather, John Lloyd, settled in Hancock County in
1784, about 3 miles west of Powelton. Silas Mercer organized the Powell’s Creek
Church there in 1786 and pastored until his death in 1796.[6] Though
Lloyd was born here in 1804, his parents moved to Jones County when he was
small.[7]
Nevertheless, is it likely that his family, if Baptists, were members of the
Powell’s Creek Church.[8] It
is know that Lloyd’s future father-in-law Cary Cox “and his wife were received
into Powell’s Creek Baptist Church in Warren Co., on 2-7-1795.”[9]
Theological similarity
Theological
differences between Mercer and Lloyd are often raised as reasons Lloyd would
not have copied Mercer. There were differences. But sometimes they are
misunderstood and overemphasized. For example Kay Norton, citing Beverly Bush
Patterson and commenting on the Lloyd and Mercer common heading “On Free Grace”,
says that this was “an emphasis that sometimes rendered the Lloyd collection
less popular with Primitives.”[10] Neither
Mercer’s nor Lloyd’s “On Free Grace” sections have anything to do with
Arminianism, but rather with their common belief that God’s grace is free and unmerited by any act on man’s
part. Tennyson, a Southern Baptist, assumes that Mercer and Lloyd would have
different positions on “election, predestination and feet washing”[11] –
with Lloyd demonstrating “the absence of overtly pro-mission hymns and the
presence of certain hymns about foot washing, predestination and election.”[12]
Lloyd was not “pro-mission” and would exclude such hymns.[13]
Lloyd emphasized feet washing perhaps to a greater degree than Mercer,
including five hymns under his heading “Washing the Saints’ Feet.” But at least
two of Mercer’s hymns favorably mention the practice of feet washing, numbers
404 and 544.[14]
Further Mercer boldly used “Election, ‘tis a joyful sound” (the first line of
his No. 45, but first line of the second stanza of Lloyd’s No. 18). Mercer and
Lloyd well agreed that “Long ere the sun began his days” salvation was fixed by
the three-in-one and that by God’s “high displays of sovereign grace” not one whom
God predestinated would be lost (Mercer 54 and Lloyd 6).[15]
Jesse Mercer’s Ten Letters
Addressed to the Rev. Cyrus White demonstrate well his allegiance to
the doctrines of predestination, unconditional election, and the limited
atonement.[16]
It must be understood that the great division between Baptists in the 1810s to
1840s was more ecclesiological (as a matter of practice) than soteriological
(as a matter of salvation) – certainly in Mercer’s and Lloyd’s cases.
Organizational comparability
The
similarities of The Cluster and Primitive Hymns have been noted by both
those who conclude that Lloyd used The
Cluster as a prototype and those who disagree. I do not expect to change
many opinions but wish to point out some of the correspondence between the two
books that has been previously noted, but add one that I think has not.
Comparing
Mercer and Lloyd[17]
o
Likeness of title
§
“Spiritual Songs, Divine Hymns, and Sacred Poems” vs. “Primitive Hymns,
Spiritual Songs, and Sacred Poems”
§
There
is a certain parallel in the titles of the two works. This is one easily
ascribed to coincidence and commonality. Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs are
mentioned in the Bible and frequently used in hymnal titles. In contrast, in my
list of over 400 Baptist hymn books and hymnals, the word “poem” is used
prominently in only ten titles (including The
Cluster and Primitive Hymns) and
“Sacred Poems” is found in the title of only one other than these two – The Western Harp, or Hymns, Spiritual Songs,
and Sacred Poems, by Peter Long in 1848 (seven years after Lloyd’s book).
o
Agreement of content
§
Mercer
“clustered” his hymns in topical order, beginning with “Free Grace,” as does
Lloyd. From here they diversify, but also share the headings “Glories of
Christ,” “Conviction & Conversion,” “(Believers’) Baptism” and “Christian
Exercises.” Lloyd creates many categories not found in The Cluster. Nearly half of Mercer’s hymns are found under the
heading “Christian Exercises.”[18] “Christian
Exercises,” though not occupying as large a percentage in Primitive Hymns as in The
Cluster, is by far the largest section of subjects (162 of 700 hymns) in
Lloyd’s book. The largest individual sections, in decreasing order, are “Prayer,”
“Joy and Praise,” “On Free Grace” and “The Glories of Christ.” The two largest
(“Prayer,” “Joy and Praise”) are themselves sub-categories of the “Christian
Exercises” category of songs.
§
Lloyd’s
hymn choices often agree with Mercer’s. 58 of Lloyd’s hymn were in the 1810 Cluster – about a third of Mercer’s
content at the time. “…51% [of Lloyd’s hymns] were found in the 1823 edition of
Mercer’s Cluster…”[19]
In itself this in not a particularly compelling argument, considering Tennyson
found a greater percentage of Lloyd’s hymns (58%) in the 1828 Dover Selection of Andrew Broaddus.
o
Hymns with the same tune
recommended:
§
In
some cases Mercer and Lloyd name hymn tunes to match particular hymns in their
books. For example, Portugal is
recommended for “How lovely, how divinely sweet” (Mercer 354 and Lloyd 331) and
Lenox for “Awake, awake, arise,”
“Blow ye the trumpet, blow,” “Come every pious heart,” “Encouraged by thy
word,” “Jesus, at thy command,” “Sinful, and blind, and poor,” “Supported by
thy Word,” and “Why tarriest thou, arise.” Since Lenox and the hymns are H.M. (Hallelujah Meter, or
6.6.6.6.8.8) there may not have been many well-known tunes from which to
choose.
o
Hymns with the same subject
heading:
§
Both
Mercer and Lloyd give titles or subject heading for their tunes. Many of them
that I compared were the same. Some are simple or short enough to explain by
coincidence, but others seem unlikely to have arisen that way.
§
Awake,
awake, arise: The birth of Christ hailed
§
Blow
ye the trumpet, blow: The jubilee
§
Come
every pious heart: Christ’s love above
all price
§
Encouraged
by thy word: The beggar’s plea made
before the Lord
§
How
lovely, how divinely sweet: The
blessedness of public worship
§
Jesus,
at thy command: The Christian’s life
perilous
§
O
when shall I see Jesus and reign with Him above: Longing for and encouraging others in the way to heaven
§
Sinful,
and blind, and poor: Bartimaeus, or a
convicted sinner begging
§
Supported
by thy Word: This is the victory, even
our faith
§
Thy
mercy, my God, is the theme of my song: Grace,
free and full
o
Hymns in the same order:
§
Hymns
that Lloyd shares in common with Mercer are often found in the same order (or
reversed order) in both books. Here are a few examples:[20]
Mercer No.
|
First line of hymn
|
Lloyd No.
|
54
|
Long ere the sun began
his days
|
6
|
55
|
When first the God of
boundless grace
|
7
|
56
|
The soul that’s truly
born of God
|
8
|
79
|
Behold the Savior of
mankind
|
39
|
80
|
High on a throne my
Lord doth sit
|
40
|
81
|
Up, haste to Calvary,
my soul
|
41
|
82
|
To him who on the
fatal tree
|
42
|
87
|
How condescending, and
how kind
|
43
|
88
|
How sweet and awful is
the place
|
44
|
503
|
A thousand promises
are wrote
|
405
|
504
|
Come, humble souls, ye
mourners, come
|
406
|
We also find that Lloyd’s 65-71
are Mercer’s 148-155, though not in exactly the same order. Lloyd’s 129-131 are
Mercer’s 220-218 (i.e., in reverse order). Lloyd’s 160-163 are Mercer’s
239-242, though not in exactly the same order. Should a perusal of the order of
the hymns in The Cluster and Primitive Hymns yield fairly consistent
results, this would add to the weight of evidence toward Lloyd’s using The Cluster as a prototype and away from
the explanation of simple coincidence.
According
to C. D. Mallary, The Cluster had “extensive
circulation in many parts of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi...”[21]
It “reflected [Mercer’s] understanding of biblical doctrine.” Chute’s
proposition that use of The Cluster
would have “affected the theology of those who attended worship where it was in
use” seems reasonable.[22]
Its wide circulation in the South reasonably suggests that it influenced the
orbit of Benjamin Lloyd. It probably was acceptable to many “Primitive” Baptists
until the rise of the mission controversy. “The hymnal that Jesse Mercer
edited, The Cluster, enjoyed a
commanding presence in the majority of Baptist churches in Georgia until he
added hymns containing missionary themes.”[23]
The mission controversy provided the reasoning for a new hymn book.
There
is no shame that Lloyd would have looked to a successful and familiar hymn book
for ideas on how to move forward with his fledgling venture. There was no need
to reinvent the wheel. Where he found agreement with Mercer’s content and
method he had a handy guide. Where he did not, he could consult others and use
his own judgment. The division in the Baptist fellowship made Benjamin Lloyd
feel the necessity of moving forward with a hymn book for the Old School
Baptists, “…seeing that no one of the Primitive Denomination has stepped
forward.”[24]
Bibliography
- A Piety Above the Common
Standard: Jesse Mercer and the Defense of Evangelistic Calvinism, Anthony L. Chute, Macon, GA: Mercer
University Press, 2004
- A Portion for the Singers: a
History of Music Among Primitive Baptists Since
1800, R. Paul Drummond,
Atwood, TN: Christian Baptist Publications,
1989
- “A
Study of Benjamin Lloyd’s ‘The Primitive Hymns’,” Don Tennyson, Thesis, New
Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1973
- Baptist Offspring, Southern
Midwife —Jesse Mercer's Cluster of Spiritual Songs (1810): A Study in American
Hymnody, Kay
Norton. (Detroit Monographs in Musicology/Studies in Music, 34.) Warren, MI:
Harmonie Park Press, 2002
- “Baptist
Offspring, Southern Midwife--: Jesse Mercer's Cluster of Spiritual Songs
(1810): A Study in American Hymnody,” a book review by Stephen A. Marini in Notes 59(4):884-886, January 2003, Music
Library Association, Johns Hopkins University Press
- Benjamin Lloyd’s Hymn Book: a
Primitive Baptist Tradition,
Joyce Cauthen, editor, Montgomery, AL: Alabama Folklife Association, 1999
- Biographical History of Primitive
or Old School Baptist Ministers of the United States, R. H. Pittman, Anderson, IN: Herald Printing Co., 1909
- “Elder
Benjamin Lloyd: a Pioneer Baptist in Alabama,” Zion’s Landmark, Vol. 113, No. 9, August 1980, (By Oliver C. Weaver,
originally published in The Alabama
Review 21, April 1968: 144-55)
- “I Will Sing the Wondrous Story”:
a History of Baptist Hymnody in North America, David W Music and Paul A Richardson, Macon, GA: Mercer
University Press, 2008
- Memoirs of Elder Jesse Mercer, Charles Dutton Mallary, New
York, NY: John Gray, 1844
- Primitive Baptists of the
Wiregrass South: 1815 to the Present,
John G. Crowley, Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press, 1998
- The Cluster of Jesse Mercer, C. Ray Brewster, Macon, GA: Renaissance
Press, 1983
Footnotes
[1] “Mercer…published
the first edition of
The Cluster
around 1800 as a collection of roughly 150 hymns and added a small supplement
to the 1804 edition. No copies of these first two editions have survived.”
(Marini,
Notes, 884)
[2]
There are no extent copies of the 1841 edition.
[3] Baptist Offspring, Southern Midwife, Kay
Norton, p. 83 and “A Study of Benjamin Lloyd’s ‘The Primitive Hymns’,” Don Tennyson,
1973, p. 26, both promote this proposition.
[4] A Portion for the Singers, Drummond, pp.
77-78
[5] Only
one hymnist is identified in Primitive Hymns. A note under hymn number 690
explains, “This hymn was composed by Rev. F. Swint, formerly a member of the
Darien Church, Ga., in view of the discord produced by the introduction of the
religious societies in the churches.”
Elder
Frederick Swint (1789-1860) (there called “Reverend) was an early
Baptist minister in Chambers County, Alabama. He was one of four ministers of
the presbytery (along with Lloyd) when Mount Pisgah Primitive Baptist Church
was constituted in 1837, and was the first pastor of the church. Don Clark,
from Mount Pisgah, says Lloyd’s hymn book has been continuously used in the song
services at Mount Pisgah Church since it was published in 1841.
[6]
That Silas Mercer was held in high esteem might be noted in naming children,
such as Elder John Parker’s son
Silas
Mercer Parker
[8] As
far as I know, no one has investigated the church records for the Lloyd family.
[10] Baptist Offspring, Southern Midwife, Norton,
p. 83; Drummond agrees that Lloyd’s has a few “texts that…reflect doctrines
that are not typical of the Old Baptists,” but does not think this a major
difficulty with the volume. –
A Portion for the Singers, Drummond, p. 78
[11] “In
the early nineteenth century Primitive Baptist hymnody, as typified by
The Primitive Hymns, is (with the
exception of a few hymns dealing with election, predestination, and
feetwashing; and the omission of hymns related to missions) essentially in the
same stream as the hymnody of the pro-mission Baptists.” – Tennyson, p. 29
[12] Benjamin Lloyd’s Hymn Book, Cauthen, p.
66
[13]
It was the system Lloyd opposed and not preaching the gospel. He would have no
problem with texts such as hymn number 557, “Go forth, ye heralds, in my
name…Where’er the human race is found, The joyful news to all impart…” It is
interesting that, though Lloyd would use some hymns that would later be
criticized as “pro-mission” and “Arminian” (Tennyson cites 109, 118, 142, 435
& 559) he includes
none of the 20
hymns in Mercer’s “Missions” section of his book. Subtitled “The Dawning of the
Latter-Day Glory,” these hymns seem to me to be heavily weighted toward the
postmillennial eschatological position. Millennial differences may have been
part of the impetus for world-wide missions among some Baptists and part of the
source of consternation among those Baptists who held a non-millennial or
premillennial position.
[14]
This should come as no surprise, considering the active practice of feet
washing among the Separate Baptists of Mercer’s heritage. It should also be
noted that all Primitive Baptists do not observe the rite.
[15]
Mercer also includes John Newton’s hymn in which the Great Physician “rescued
me against my will.” (No. 5)
[16]
Mercer probably disagreed with “the absolute predestination of all things,” but
so do the majority of those styled Primitive Baptists.
[17]
To me it seems ideal to compare Mercer’s 1835 edition with Lloyd’s 1841
edition. I have compared Lloyd’s 1858 with Mercer’s 1823 online and the first
lines and hymns in Ray Brewster’s book.
[18]
Based on the 1823 edition; see, e.g.,
A
Piety Above the Common Standard, Chute, p. 38; p.223 43.37% devoted to his
category titled Christian Exercises in 1823 edition
[19] Tennyson,
as cited in
Benjamin Lloyd’s Hymn Book,
Cauthen, p. 66
[20] I
changed Mercer’s original Roman numerals to Arabic numerals.
[21] Memoirs of Elder Jesse Mercer, Mallary,
p. 85
[22] A Piety Above the Common Standard, p. 38
[23] A Piety Above the Common Standard, p.
viii
