Salem’s Bright King

The following baptismal hymn appears at least as early as the 1812 5th edition of Hymns, Original and Selected, for the Use of Christians by Elias Smith & Abner Jones (Philadelphia, PA: Herald Office, pp. 76-78), where is it Hymn 73, a “Hymn on Baptism.” The meter is C. P. M. (8.8.6.8.8.6.). The words of the hymn are uncredited.

The hymn uses the immersion of “Salem’s bright King, Jesus by name” of Jesus by John the Baptist to teach about baptism and exhort believers to follow Jesus’s example. The tune Salem’s Bright King can be found in Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book by John Daily and the Harp of Ages by A. N. Whitten.

Hymn on Baptism.

1. Salem’s bright King, Jesus by name,
In ancient time to Jordan came,
All righteousness to fill;
’Twas there the ancient Baptist stood,
Whose name was John, a man of God,
To do his Master’s will.

2. The holy Jesus did demand
His right to be baptized then,
The Baptist gave consent;
On Jordan’s banks they did prepare,
The Baptist and his Master dear,
Then down the bank they went.

3. Down in old Jordan’s rolling stream
The Baptist led the holy Lamb,
And there did him baptize;
Jehovah saw his darling Son,
And was well pleas’d in what he’d done,
And own’d him from the skies.

4. The op’ning heaven now complies,
The Holy Ghost like lightning flies,
Down from the courts above;
And on the holy heavenly Lamb,
The Spirit lights and does remain,
In shape like a fair dove.

5. This is my Son, Jehovah cries,
The echoing voice from glory flies,[i]
O children, hear ye him!
Hark! ’tis his voice, behold he cries:
Repent, believe, and be baptiz’d,
And wash away your sin.

6. Come children, come, his voice obey,
Salem’s bright King has mark’d the way,
And has a crown prepar’d;
O then arise and give consent,
Walk in the way that Jesus went,
And have the great reward.

7. Believing children gather round,
And let your joyful songs abound,
With cheerful hearts arise;
See here is water, here is room,
A loving Saviour calling, Come,
O children be baptiz’d.

8. Behold his servant waiting stands,
With willing heart and ready hands
To wait upon the bride;
Ye candidates your hearts prepare,
And let us join in solemn pray’r,
Down by the water side.

Some have credited the words to Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntington, but to me this seems unlikely (see footnote).[ii]  I have not discovered any attempts to identify the composer of the music. However, there are some specific attempts to identify the author of the words. In Songs of Pilgrimage and The Christian Hymnary the hymn is credited to Clement Phinney, a Free Will Baptist minister.[iii] Others only credit their source. The hymn is credited “F. W. B. Coll.” in Conference Hymns and The Baptist Harp.[iv] It is credited to “Vermont Coll.” in The Christian Psalmist.[v] These sources could at least be suggestive toward the possibility of Phinney as the author.[vi]

Clement Phinney was the son of Edmund Phinney Jr. and Sarah Hamblen born August 16, 1780 in Gorham, Cumberland County, Maine. He married Joanna Wallace in 1803. Phinney became a Free Will Baptist minister probably in the early 1800’s, and preached throughout New England. Clement Phinney died on March 2, 1855 was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine. He would seem at least a good possibility of being the author of this hymn.

Short bios of Phinney are found in The Morning Star and the Free Baptist Cyclopaedia.

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[i] In The Christian Hymnary of 1909 (and some others), the second line of this stanza (stanza 3 in that book) is “On him to rest the Spirit flies.”
[ii] I believe this may be a case of Selina Hastings writing a hymn that is used with the same tune of Salem’s Bright King.

[iii] Songs of Pilgrimage: a Hymnal for the churches of Christ (2nd edition), H. L. Hastings, editor. Boston, MA: Scriptural Tract Repository, 1888. The Christian Hymnary: a Selection of Hymns and Tunes for Christian Worship, Cincinnati, OH: Christian Publishing Company, 1891/1909.
[iv] Conference Hymns for Social Worship: Selected and Original, David Benedict (Providence, RI: Isaac H. Cady, 1842, p. 194). The Baptist Harp: A New Collection of Hymns for the Closet, the Family, Social Worship, and Revivals, (Philadelphia, PA: American Baptist Publication Society, 1849, p. 287). It is possible that the “F. W. B. Coll.” might be the Free Will Baptist publication Sacred Melodies for Conference and Prayer Meetings, and for Social and Private Devotion.

[v] The Christian Psalmist: Being a Collection of Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, New York, NY: J. & J. Harper, 1833, p. 362.
[vi] However, The Life of Clement Phinney, by D. M. Graham (1851) does not seem to mention it (unless I missed it). The biography does mention Phinney singing.