Hymn Book as “Prayer Book”

An interesting thought.

It has been asserted by some that in many of the English “free churches” (dissenters from the Anglican Church, including Baptists), the hymn book acted as a central, unifying, and authoritative resource. In that place it fulfilled many of the same functions as the Book of Common Prayer did in the Church of England. I find this very intriguing, and think there is some merit in that assertion. A group of churches with a shared hymn book had a degree of shared theological and structural framework for worship.

For example, Ernest Payne says that the hymn book as a body of practical and experimental divinity was “One of the more immediate and personal legacies of Wesley was the hymn book he edited.” He continues, “In the Free Churches a hymn book takes the place occupied by the Prayer Book in the devotional life, public and private, of the Anglican. This in part explains how it is that the hymns of Watts, Doddridge, and the Wesleys have so entered into the life of the English people.”

The Free Church Tradition in the Life of England, Ernest Alexander Payne. London: S.C.M. Press Ltd., 1944, p. 79

A Church’s Music

It seems to a large degree I have lost or failed to keep up with a part of the original focus of this blog – “Music.” Below is an interesting exposition of the church music at Refuge Reformed Church of Ogden, Utah. Pastor Brian Sauvé explains the church’s Sunday music program. I do not know this church or its pastors. (Therefore, this is not intended as a personal recommendation. It is a topic of interest.)

[Q.] “How do you do music at your church on Sundays?”

[A.] Here’s the breakdown:

We sing almost exclusively from the Cantus Christi 2020 hymnal, accompanied by a piano. Most of the settings are in four-part harmony.

We don’t amplify anything. I conduct the congregation from the front, but don’t sing into a microphone. Sometimes I sing the melody, but often I sing the Tenor part.

We sing 10 songs per service. Three of them stay the same each week (David Erb’s setting of Psalm 134, The Lord’s Prayer, and the Doxology).

The other seven usually consist of about five Psalms and two hymns. These are scattered at different points of the service, including two that we sing seated during the distribution of the bread and wine for Communion.

Why we sing in four parts:

1. It allows men to sing like men, women to sing like women, children to sing like children.

2. It takes effort. We don’t want to offer to the Lord that which costs nothing.

3. It is objectively beautiful, far more so than the best contemporary worship band I’ve ever heard—and we’re not even particularly gifted or anything.

4. Much of the great musical inheritance of the Church is in parts. Lose this skill and you lose access to the richness of that blessing.

How we learn to sing songs in parts:

Every Tuesday evening, barring the last Tuesday of the month, we have a potluck followed by a Psalm-singing workshop. I use the “Sing Your Part” app to teach each group their parts, then we practice. The actual practice is only 45 minutes, so the whole thing only takes 90 minutes each week.

We typically have about 50% of our Sunday attendance at Psalm sing on Tuesdays. This lets us learn, on average, one new song per month.

I couldn’t even read music when we started learning this stuff. Any church [can] do this if they decide to.

[Originally written in an X post on July 24, 2023, by Brian Sauvé.]

Baptist hymn books and hymnals 2016--2025

My last list of Baptist hymn books and hymnals is here: Baptist hymn books and hymnals 2001--2016. The initial post on the topic is here: List of Baptist Hymn Books and Hymnals. We Baptists keep coming out with new books, so one can’t rest on his laurels. I started updating the list in 2019 with books since the list was “finished.” This brings it up to date to March 2023 (2025, as of 11/12/25), as far as books of which I am aware.[i] If anyone has suggestions to add to the list, please do so.

Baptist hymn books and hymnals 2016--2025

• Olmstead Baptist Church Hymnal, Stephen duBarry, editor, Olmstead, KY: Olmstead Baptist Church, 2017
• Hymns to the Living God, Scott Aniol,‎ Ryan J. Martin, editors, Fort Worth, TX: Religious Affections Ministries, 2017
• Songs of Zion, Bryce H. Lowrance, Tim McCool, Carrollton, AL: Songs of Zion, Inc., 2017
• Rock Fork Regular Baptist Church Song Book, Daryl Slone, Willie Crase Jr., Rock Fork Regular Baptist Church of Jesus Christ, Garrett, KY: Printed by Pippa Valley Printing, 2018
• Worship the King: an Old School Baptist Hymnal, Christopher Crouse, Philip Conley, Worship the King Hymnal Corporation, 2018
• Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Shape Note Edition, Knoxville, TN: Melody Publications, 2020
• The Good Old Songs, Second Volume, David Montgomery, et al., Dale, TX: Primitive Baptist Heritage Corporation, 2020
• A Primitive Baptist Psalter: the Psalms of David in Metric, Joseph R. Holder, editor. March to Zion Publications, 2021
• Bierton Particular Baptists Hymn Book: A Selection from the Gadsby Hymnal Published in 1814, David Clarke, editor, Fareham, UK: Bierton Baptists, 2022
• Bierton Particular Baptists Hymn Book, with Music, David Clarke, editor, Fareham, UK: Bierton Baptists, 2022
• Old School Psalter, Danielsville, GA: Old School Hymnal Foundation, 2025

“Left-off” list

• Baptist Church Hymnal (Revised), London: Psalms and Hymns Trust, 1933
• A Few of My Favorite Songs: for the Benefit of Regular Baptist Church, McRoberts, KY: R. H. Welch, n.d.
• A New Hymnal: a Collection of New and Old Spiritual Songs, Monroe Breeding, W. H. Caudill Jr., 1965
• Some of Our Favorite Songs, George W. Mullins, Hobert Mullins, McRoberts, KY: McRoberts Regular Baptist Church, 1977
• Heart-Felt Melodies, Charlie Henry Culbreth, Columbia, AL: C. H. Culbreth, 1979
• Primitiva Iglesia Bautista Imnos (A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship for the Primitive Baptist Churches in the Philippines), L. Jeff Harris, editor. Roswell, GA: Maple Tree Book Company, 1995
• The New National Baptist Hymnal, 21st Century Edition, Nashville, TN: R. H. Boyd Publishing Company, 2001
• Harvest Hymns for South Cushing Baptist, Cushing ME: Cushing Historical Society, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009
• Baptista Gyülekezeti Énekeskönyv (Baptist Church Songbook), Ujvárosi Lajos, editor. Martonvásár: Akadémiai Nyomda Kft., 3rd edition, 2010
• Favorite Songs of the Macedonia Old Regular Baptist Church, Eddie Turner, n. p. 4th edition, 2014

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[i] As I find books that I left out, I will add them here until I get around to updating the lists. [11/12/2025]:I believe all the “left-offs” have now been added in their proper places.

A Forgotten Hymn Book

Introduction

A recent find by Haaswurth Books has shined the light on a relatively unknown hymnbook and its compiler. In 1851-52, H. A. Griggs compiled and edited the first hymnbook of the General Baptists in the Midwestern United States.

This body of General Baptists is theologically dependent but historically independent of the General Baptists in England and early America.  The separation of Benoni Stinson (1798-1869) from the United Baptists originated this distinct body. Stinson professed faith in 1820 and joined a United Baptist Church in Wayne County, Kentucky. He was ordained a minister in November 1821. He moved to Indiana around 1822, where he pastored and organized churches. He leaned toward an Arminian theology, holding “that Christ tasted death for every man.” In October 1824, Stinson led churches in Vanderburgh County, Indiana to organize the Liberty Association of General Baptists. Stinson held free or open communion in addition to free will, both of which put him at odds with the Baptists with whom he was previously connected. [i]

The First Hymnbook of the U.S. General Baptists

Cover page of Grigg’s hymnbook, from the collection of Alfred Merril Smoak, Jr., DWS
Used by permission of Haaswurth Books

At the 28th meeting of the Liberty Association of General Baptists in 1851, “Elder H. A. Greggs (sic) presented a plan for the compilation of a General Baptist Hymn Book, which was approved. This was the first Hymn Book published by the General Baptists in the United States.” [ii] The hymnbook itself, published in 1852, identifies the compiler as “Griggs” rather than “Greggs.” [iii] The Liberty Association approved the work, and Griggs’s effort became the first hymnbook among this body of General Baptists. Griggs probably bore the brunt and expense of the work, it being “Published by the Compiler.”[iv] Morton & Griswold on Main Street in Louisville, Kentucky set the type and printed the book, which was available in 1852.

The full title of Griggs’s book is The General Baptist Hymn Book: containing a Selection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Christian Worship, with several Original Pieces by the Compiler. According to Haaswurth Books, Griggs published The General Baptist Hymn Book in the common 3" x 5" hymnbook size of the day. It contained 651 words-only hymns on 550 pages, followed by an index on pages 551-565. It contained an endorsement by “the Committee appointed by Liberty, Union, and Cumberland Associations of General Baptists.” Having examined The General Baptist Hymn Book, the committee stated they “do hereby cheerfully recommend the Book to the public, and to our own denomination in particular.” [v]

The General Baptist History suggests Griggs’s hymnbook obtained a level of popularity such that it still remained a preference among older church members in 1882. However, another General Baptist hymnbook compiled by George P. Cavanah circa 1858-59 superseded it. In 1880, “Elder H. A. Gregg (sic), author of the first Hymn Book” served on the committee of the General Association of General Baptists that recommended J. E. Cox’s Manual of Praise as “a standard Hymn book for General Baptists...” [vi]

Griggs’s hymnbook seems to have soon passed out of the memory of the general public and General Baptists themselves. Henry Sweetser Burrage does not refer to it in Baptist Hymn Writers and Their Hymns. Starr’s 26-volume A Baptist Bibliography does not list it; neither does I Will Sing the Wondrous Story by Music and Richardson take notice of it.[vii]

A. D. Williams did not mention The General Baptist Hymn Book in 1892 when he wrote Benoni Stinson and the General Baptists (Owensville, IN: General Baptist Publishing House) – suggesting it had been largely forgotten by then. Laslie’s History of the General Baptists of 1938 mentions neither Griggs nor his hymnbook.[viii] History of Union Association of General Baptists does not mention it either (though it briefly mentions Griggs).[ix] The next year (1954) in History of the General Baptists, Ollie Latch mentioned a hymnbook authorized in 1851, but without any other mention of its author or other details.[x]

H. A. Griggs, the Hymnbook Compiler

The compiler of the hymnbook suffered much the same fate as the book itself. He has dropped out of the memory of both the general public and General Baptists. When Montgomery wrote in 1882, he described H. A. Griggs as “now very old and is well known by all the Associations in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. He now belongs to Union Association and was a delegate to the General Association in 1881.”[xi] By the time the history of the Union Association was written in 1953, he only received two passing mentions (pp. 128, 135). His name does not appear in the History of the General Baptists by Latch.

H. A. Griggs participated in the Liberty Association, the Cumberland Association, the Union Association, and the General Association of General Baptists. He was apparently in the Liberty Association in 1851 when they approved the hymnbook.[xii] Williams mentions Griggs (as “H. A. Gregg”) in a list of “several strong ministers” in the Cumberland Association circa 1856.[xiii] Griggs served on a General Association committee in 1880. “Little Zion church [in the Union Association] was organized May 1, 1884, by Elder A. Pearce, Eld. H. E. Todd, Eld. M. B. Covington and H. A. Griggs.”[xiv] At an unknown date, he pastored Mt. Gilead Church in Webster County, Kentucky, which was in the Union Association of General Baptists. [xv]

So, who was H. A. Griggs? What follows proposes his likely of identity, based on records accessible at Ancestry.com (U.S. and State Censuses, land records, etc.) – circumstantial evidence that corresponds to the scant biographical information in the General Baptist histories previously cited. Griggs may have been near Louisville, Kentucky in 1852, since he had his hymnbook printed there. He was at least in the same general area of the primary labors of Benoni Stinson and the General Baptists.

The H. A. Griggs who best suits the known information is Hubbard A. Griggs. He shows up in the censuses as follows: [xvi]

• Home in 1850: Curran, Saline County, Illinois; Hubbard A. Griggs, a shoemaker
• Home in 1855: Pope County, Illinois (state census, occupation not mentioned)
• Home in 1860: Luce, Spencer County, Indiana; Hubbard Gregg, teacher
• Home in 1870: Noble, Richland County, Illinois; H. A. Griggs, works in Shoe Shop
• Home in 1880: Dixon, Webster County, Kentucky; H. A. Griggs, Shoe and Boot Maker

These four counties are all in the Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area where the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky intersect and thus reasonably coincides with where H. A. Griggs, the General Baptist minister, lived and labored.

If this is the correct identification, we can extrapolate the following biographical information concerning H. A. Griggs the compiler of the General Baptist hymnbook. Hubbard A. Griggs was born circa 1813 in the state of New York.[xvii] By 1837, he had moved westward and married Elizabeth “Betsey” Beadle (or Bedell) on January 12, 1837 at Troy, Athens County, Ohio. They had at least six children: John, James, Alonzo, Lorenzo D., Margaret A., and Sarah M. Griggs.[xviii] They must have moved from Ohio to Virginia for a short season, since son Lorenzo was born there around 1843. They were in Illinois by 1848. Griggs served as a Private in the Illinois infantry during the Mexican-American War, circa 1846-1848.[xix] On March 6, 1862 he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a Private in the Indiana 53rd Infantry Company C.

Elizabeth died before 1865, when H. A. Griggs married Sarah Reed on October 8, 1865, in Spencer County, Indiana. This marriage was brief, probably ended by Sarah’s death. On February 21, 1866, Griggs married Jerusha Oliver in Richland County, Illinois. They were both still living in 1880, in Webster County, Kentucky.[xx]

Card showing headstone order

Hubbard A. Griggs died circa 1887 in Corydon, Henderson County, Kentucky.[xxi] He is buried in the Corydon Cemetery.

Conclusion

This brief article greatly suffers from not having access to The General Baptist Hymn Book by H. A. Griggs. No analysis of his poetry or editorial work is possible. Instead, H. A. Griggs and The General Baptist Hymn Book reminds us to reflect on the transience of life. Berryman Hicks (1778-1839), a Baptist preacher in South Carolina poetically sighed,

The time is swiftly rolling on,
When I must faint and die;
My body to the dust return,
And there forgotten lie.

Let the nearly-forgotten story of H. A. Griggs and the first General Baptist hymnbook remind us that the vicissitudes of life bring us all to one end. It is appointed unto men once to die, and “the memory of them is forgotten.” As historians we memorialize; as Christian chroniclers we also admonish. The “house of mourning...is the end of all men,” and surely the living should lay it to heart. The believer finds hope in the sure promise of God, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” The Lord knoweth them that are his.

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[i] General Baptist History, D. B. Montgomery and Jefferson Holeman, editors. Evansville, IN: Courier Company, 1882, pp. 179-199, 209-213. At the time Liberty Association was organized, they held that “the saints will finally persevere through grace to glory.” This was modified at a later date to, “he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved” (pp. 210-211). According to Montgomery & Holeman, Stinson did not believe in perseverance at the time Liberty Association was organized, but other members did.
[ii] General Baptist History, Montgomery & Holeman, p. 258.
[iii] The book includes the spellings Gregg, Greggs, and Griggs.
[iv] Of three 19th century hymn books General Baptist History (p. 400) states, “The different enterprises on Hymn books proved successful, except that none of them was very renumerative (sic) to the publishers. Each one met the demand of the church at the time of publication.”
[v] https://www.haaswurth.com/products/griggs-the-general-baptist-hymn-book-1852-rare-kentucky-book
[vi] General Baptist History, pp. 398-400.
[vii] https://www.haaswurth.com/blogs/news/griggs-the-general-baptist-hymn-book-kentucky-1852; Baptist Hymn Writers and Their Hymns, Henry Sweetser Burrage. Brown Thurston and Company, 1888; A Baptist Bibliography: Being a Register of Printed Material By and About Baptists; Including Works Written Against the Baptists, Edward Caryl Starr. Volume 9, 1964; “I Will Sing the Wondrous Story”: A History of Baptist Hymnody in North America, David W. Music, Paul Akers Richardson. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2008.
[viii] Laslie’s History of the General Baptists, Theophilus Alexander Hall Laslie (Revised by L. O. Roberts and E. Y. Laslie). Poplar Bluff, MO: General Baptist Publishing House, 1938.
[ix] History of Union Association of General Baptists, Home Mission Board of the Union Association. Poplar Bluff, MO: General Baptist Press, 1953.
[x] “In 1851, Liberty delegates authorized the publication of a Hymnbook. This matter was agitated and kept alive until the book was finished. It was one of the more important factors of a growing interest in publications, as we shall see.” History of the General Baptists, Ollie Latch. Poplar Bluff, MO: General Baptist Press, 1954, p. 157.
[xi] General Baptist History, Montgomery & Holeman, p. 398.
[xii] American Baptist Register for 1852 does not list H. A. Griggs as a pastor in the Liberty General Baptist Association (John Lansing Burrows, editor. Philadelphia, PA: American Baptist Publication Society, 1853). The “returns” in the list are from the 1851 minutes.
[xiii] Benoni Stinson and the General Baptists, Alvin Dighton Williams. Owensville, IN: General Baptist Publishing House, 1892, p. 356. A mention in Minutes and Journal of the Southern Illinois Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church (September 25-28, 1867, Alton, IL: N. V. Crossman Printer, 1867, p. 14; also mentioned on page 18) would seem to likely be this same person: “Rev. George Scawthon, of the Church of United Brethren in Christ, and Hubbard A. Griggs, of the Baptist Church, were recognized as Elders of the M. E. Church—they being required to take upon them the usual vows.”
[xiv] History of Union Association of General Baptists, p. 128.
[xv] History of Union Association of General Baptists, p. 135.
[xvi] Additionally, General Land Office records establish certain purchases or ownership of property, though they do not establish residency: Williamson County, Illinois (1851), Pope County, Illinois (1857).
[xvii] His recorded age in the 1850 census would put his birth in 1807. However, the other three censuses consistently suggest the 1813 birth.
[xviii] Ada V. Griggs is in the 1870 census, 8 years old. She probably was also the child of Hubbard and Elizabeth.
[xix] Illinois Database of Mexican-American War Veterans.
[xx] What happened to Jerusha Griggs after the death of Hubbard A. Griggs is unknown. The burial locations of Elizabeth, Sarah, and Jerusha are all unknown.
[xxi] Jerusha Griggs filed as a Civil War widow on December 19, 1887. A contract to supply a Union soldier headstone for H. A. Griggs was dated August 21, 1888. 

The Pilgrim Psalter

In connection with the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim landing in Plymouth, Sister Mary Huffman of Birmingham, Alabama has republished The Pilgrim Psalter by Henry Ainsworth (originally, The Book of Psalmes, Englished both in Prose and Metre. With Annotations, opening the words and sentences by conference with other Scriptures. Amsterdam: Giles Thorp, 1612). In December of 1620, the Mayflower Compact Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth Harbor. In their worship, they used Ainsworth’s Psalter.

Description from The Psalter Company website:

The Pilgrim Psalter (originally titled “The Book of Psalms, Englished in Prose and Meter”) was produced by Henry Ainsworth in 1612. Ainsworth was a Hebrew scholar and Bible teacher among the English Separatists in Amsterdam. Ainsworth’s metrical translations of the Psalms are remarkably faithful to the Hebrew text, and he set them to many of the standard tunes of the Reformation era. The Pilgrims began using this Psalter while living in Amsterdam, and they carried it with them on the Mayflower. It was used in Plymouth until the colony ceased to be independent in 1692. It is here newly reprinted with updated spelling and musical notation, along with a historical introduction explaining its history, features, use, and lasting influence.

ISBN: 978-1-7369918-0-0
Publisher: The Psalter Company, LLC
Binding: Hardcover, Cloth
Pages: 446
Dimensions: 9 1/4" X 6 1/4" X 1 1/4"
Price: $20 each of $325 for a case of eighteen​

Sister Huffman is a devoted Christian and talented musician well-qualified to edit this edition. In addition to the metered psalms and accompanying tunes, the front material has 60 pages, including:

• An endorsement from Colonel John Eidsmoe, Board of Directors of the Plymouth Rock Foundation
  
• Foreword by Gary Marks, minister emeritus of the Church of the Pilgrimage
  
• The original preface by Henry Ainsworth
• Introduction by Mary Huffman, explaining the Pilgrim history as well as the psalms and tunes of the psalter
• A brief essay on the worship of the Pilgrims, by Paul Jehle, President of the Plymouth Rock Foundation

The bulk of the book – 358 pages – contains Ainsworth’s translations of the Psalms in meter, with accompanying tunes. There are, of course, 150 psalms. Each is provided with a tune – some with more than one tune. This new work presents these psalms not just as historical material, but as songs for the churches to sing. The modernizing of spelling and updating of how the tune is presented will aid in this. The Pilgrim Psalter could be used exclusively by churches that want to sing the Psalms only. It could be used as a hymnal supplement in churches that would not want to sing the Psalms exclusively.
 
The back material includes a writing by Ainsworth on the life and work of David; a biography of Ainsworth; information on the tune sources; and a bibliography.

To truly understand the heart, mind, and soul of the Pilgrims, we need to understand their music...Through their music they received comfort, assurance, and inspiration to their quest and pursue their vision. And their music was not the chanting of monks, the cantatas of Bach, the oratorios of Handel. Their music was plain and simple, sung without musical accompaniment, assembled in the Reformation Psalters, and based upon the word of God, particularly the Psalms. John Eidsmoe, “Endorsement”

To combine all these factors and considerations of Hebrew and English poetry in a consistent way throughout the entirety of the 150 Psalms is no small task. Indeed, while other English Psalters have achieved more polish by English standards, none has achieved more accuracy with the Hebrew in wording and structure, and in such a systematic and comprehensive way, and still with a remarkably intact English poetic structure. Mary Huffman, p. xxxii

The mark of the Reformation and doctrine of the Priesthood of the Believer restored the concept that the choir was the congregation, and thus the Pilgrims’ focus was on the participation of the people in worship. Paul Jehle, p. lx

This work provides continuity by making good use of The Music of the Pilgrims by Waldo Selden Pratt – a book published in 1921 (Boston: Oliver Ditson Co) on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock.

The book is very handsomely done! I highly recommend it. If you are a collector of song books, it will make a nice addition to your collection. If you are a student of church history and/or American history, you will want this book. If you are looking for songs to sing – The Pilgrim Psalter has them.
 
Sample Recording, Psalm 33 from The Pilgrim Psalter

A List of Possible Editions of the Harp of Ages

Proposed List of Editions of the Harp of Ages

Based on my research, up to this point, of the history of the Harp of Ages and its editions, I offer the following thoughts and proposed list of editions of Harp of Ages by A. N. Whitten. Your thoughts on my thoughts will be especially welcome. As they say, “two heads are better than one.”

First Edition. 1925. The original publication of Harp of Ages by A. N. Whitten, Dublin, Texas, occurred before September 25, 1925.[i] The second page of the index of a book belonging to a Sacred Harp singer identifies the printer, The Armstrong Printing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.[ii] There is some degree of assumption that this is the first edition; it is not iron clad. The preface mentions, “It is customary in offering a new book to the public for the author to assign a reason of its need.” Yet, it is possible that an original preface will be reprinted in a second edition.

Second Edition. The second printing, between 1925 and 1939.[iii] Printings that change the songs Alabama to Am I a Soldier of the Cross and Happy Day to Happy to Meet Again will be either the second or the third edition. This is a deduction based on the two latter songs appearing in the fourth edition, rather than Alabama and Happy Day.[iv]

Third Edition. The third printing, between 1925 and 1939.[v] Printings that change the songs Alabama to Am I a Soldier of the Cross and Happy Day to Happy to Meet Again will be either the second or the third edition. This is a deduction based on the two latter songs appearing in the fourth edition, rather than Alabama and Happy Day.

Fourth Edition. Circa 1939, by A. N. Whitten, Dublin, Texas. This book appeared by or before August 18, 1939.[vi] This book expands the size of Harp of Ages from 159 numbered songs and hymns to 191 numbered songs and hymns. (Though, with the second and third editions undetermined, it is possible one of those had previously increased the size of the book.)

Fifth Edition. Circa 1946, by A. N. Whitten, Dublin, Texas, published in or after 1946. Song number 61, It Must Have Been at Easter Time Long Ago, is dated 1946.[vii] There are two printings of this with slight differences, though none apparently in the songs and hymns. The second “corrects” the index by adding the titles of five songs. These songs had previously appeared in the book but had been left out of the index. These titles are added underneath the previously printed index.

Sixth Edition. After August 18, 1949, by W. A. Whitten, Lake Charles, Louisiana. The cover changes “Published by A. N. Whitten, Dublin, Texas” to “Published by W. A. Whitten, Lakes Charles, La.” The title page changes “Published by A. N. Whitten Dublin, Texas” to “Originally Published by A. N. Whitten (now deceased) Dublin, Texas.” Otherwise, this appears to be a reprint of the last printing by A. N. Whitten’s lifetime.[viii]

Seventh Edition. 1973, by Harp of Ages, Incorporated, Muleshoe, Texas. (Source: Title page, Harp of Ages, 1973)

Eighth Edition. 1977, by Harp of Ages, Incorporated, Muleshoe, Texas. (Source: Title page, Harp of Ages, 1977)

I have not included any further detail on the 1973 and 1977 Harp of Ages’ books, since they are the best known and most readily available. Information about the earlier books is subject to change as more early printings of the book are found. This could prove more editions or printings exist than those I have found.

Currently the greatest difficulty, in my opinion, is whether we have/know what is the first edition of the book. There are no dates in the early printings. Not all four of the first through fourth editions have been identified. To my knowledge, we have three books that could qualify for the first through fourth editions. The fourth edition is known by that fact (“fourth edition”) being mentioned in the preface. That leaves two books that are slightly different that could qualify for either the first and second, or second and third editions. All of which means we need to find four different early books to be satisfied we “know” what is the first edition. At least I do, to be satisfied. Does that make sense?

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[i] “Pleasant Summer,” A. N. Whitten, Glad Tidings, September 25, 1925, p. 1; Title page, Harp of Ages, 1973

[ii] Book owned by Sheldon Finlay; Armstrong printed The Sacred Harp by W. M. Cooper of 1902 and William H. Crouse’s Pilgrim's Hymnal in 1908. There is another songbook of the same period (1922) and the same size (159 songs) printed by The Armstrong Printing Company – Hymns of Zion (Austin, TX: Firm Foundation Publishing House). It would be interesting to compare the two for similarities.

[iii] No source currently available proves the specific edition number, but second and third editions must be between the first and fourth.

[iv] Book owned Joseph Weyel of San Antonio, Texas.

[v] No source currently available proves the specific edition number, but second and third editions must be between the first and fourth.

[vi] Taken together, the “Preface” of the Fourth Edition of the Harp of Ages and “Wise, Unwise, and Otherwise,” in The Dublin Progress, Friday, August 18, 1939, p. 1.

[vii] Book owned by R. L. Vaughn of Mt. Enterprise, Texas.

[viii] Pictures from Harp of Ages songbook sold on eBay, by robinsnestoriginals. Nathan Aldrich copy of the Harp of Ages.

List of Baptist hymn books and hymnals 2016--2019

My last list of Baptist hymn books and hymnals is here: Baptist hymn books and hymnals 2001--2016. The initial post on the topic is here: List of Baptist Hymn Books and Hymnals. We Baptists keep coming out with new books, so one can’t rest on his laurels. Below is the start of updating books since the list was “finished” about two-and-one-half years ago![i] If anyone has suggestions to add to the list, please do so.

Baptist hymn books and hymnals 2016--2019

• Olmstead Baptist Church Hymnal, Stephen duBarry, editor, Olmstead, KY: Olmstead Baptist Church, 2017
• Hymns to the Living God, Scott Aniol,‎ Ryan J. Martin, editors, Fort Worth, TX: Religious Affections Ministries, 2017
• Songs of Zion, Bryce H. Lowrance, Tim McCool, Carrollton, AL: Songs of Zion, Inc., 2017
• Rock Fork Regular Baptist Church Song Book, Daryl Slone, Willie Crase Jr., Rock Fork Regular Baptist Church of Jesus Christ, Garrett, KY: Printed by Pippa Valley Printing, 2018
• Worship the King: an Old School Baptist Hymnal, Christopher Crouse, Philip Conley, Worship the King Hymnal Corporation, 2018

“Left-off” list

• Baptist Church Hymnal (Revised), London: Psalms and Hymns Trust, 1933
• A Few of My Favorite Songs: for the Benefit of Regular Baptist Church, McRoberts, KY: R. H. Welch, n.d.
• A New Hymnal: a Collection of New and Old Spiritual Songs, Monroe Breeding, W. H. Caudill Jr., 1965
• Some of Our Favorite Songs, George W. Mullins, Hobert Mullins, McRoberts, KY: McRoberts Regular Baptist Church, 1977
• Harvest Hymns for South Cushing Baptist, Cushing ME: Cushing Historical Society, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009

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[i] As I find books that we left out, I will add them here until I get around to updating the lists.

Sweet Songster on Google Books

Couple of years ago I posted about A Singer and His Songs: E. W. Billups and The Sweet Songster.  I wrote:

The copy I have contains 350 pages with 285 numbered hymns, followed by 5 “choruses,” then 6 more hymns that are not numbered, then “A Form of Matrimony” (a short marriage ceremony), and a first lines index.

I have since discovered that The Sweet Songster, a Collection of the Most Popular and Approved Songs, Hymns, and Ballads is on Google Books. The scan there seems to correspond exactly with the reprint that I have.

[Note: it may have been added since I wrote that in October 2016, or perhaps I just failed to find it at the time.]

Primitive News

W. Clark Lee and David I. Lee of Hoboken, Georgia have recently purchased the rights to publish The Primitive Hymns, by Benjamin Lloyd. First produced by Benjamin Lloyd in 1841, this hymn-book has remained in print all these years through the efforts of family and concerned friends. In my opinion, it is a “national treasure.” I have written about it in Two Important Southern Hymn Books: Mercer’s and Lloyd’s and Two Important Southern Hymn Books; Comparing Mercer and Lloyd.

The Primitive Hymns, LLC website is being built but has not yet been published to the Web. Correspondence may be directed to company’s principal address:

The Primitive Hymns, LLC 

5497 Raybon Road West

Hoboken, GA 31542

Once the web site in published online, e-correspondence will also be available. See letter below for more details.

B. W. Nash printing

Bushrod Washington Nash was an editor and printer in addition to being a preacher. He began a religious periodical called the Baptist Review in the summer of 1873. He started publishing in La Grange, NC, but later moved to Goldsboro in 1882. In addition to printing the Baptist Review, Nash’s Baptist Review Job Office also printed association minutes books – at least from the Cape Fear Free-Will Baptist Conference in 1884, to the Vernon Freewill Baptist Association in 1904 and the Jasper Freewill Baptist Association in 1905. In 1876 B. W. Nash published a hymn book titled  Baptist Harmony: a New Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs (La Grange, NC: The Author, 1876), and which was released in a second edition in 1884 (Baptist Harmony: a Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, (2^nd edition, Goldsboro, NC: Baptist Review Job Office, 1884).

Some of B. W. Nash’s sons also learned the trade, and at one time ran Nash Brothers Printing business in Goldsboro.

Online Baptist Hymn and Tune Books

Sir Walter Scott:
Devotion borrows Music’s tone,
And Music took Devotion’s wing;
And, like the bird that hails the sun,
They soar to heaven, and soaring sing.

Song books

• A Selection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs (Purify)
• A Selection of Hymns, for public worship (Gadsby)
• A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors (Rippon)
• Hymn and Tune Book for use in Old School or Primitive Baptist Churches (Durand & Lester)
• Hymns Adapted to Public Worship, or Family Devotion (Beddome)
• Hymns and Spiritual Songs (Trivett)
• North Carolina Sonnets, or a Selection of Choice Hymns for the Use of Old School Baptists (Osbourn)
• The Baptist Hymn Book (Beebe)
• The Baptist Hymn Book (Buck)
• The Cluster of Spiritual Songs, Divine Hymns, and Sacred Poems (Mercer)
• The Primitive Baptist hymnal: a choice collection of hymns and tunes of early and late composition by Sears and Ausmus
• The Primitive Hymns, Spiritual Songs, and Sacred Poems (Lloyd)
• The Psalmist (Smith and Stow)
• The Republican Hymn Book (Herbert)
• The Sacred Harp, 1860 (White & King)
• The Sacred Harp, Fifth Edition 1909 (J. L. White)
• Zion’s Hymns (Hearn)

Links to my Lists of Baptist Hymn Books

• List of Baptist Hymn Books and Hymnals
• Baptist hymn books and hymnals 1691--1800
• Baptist hymn books and hymnals 1801--1825
• Baptist hymn books and hymnals 1826--1850
• Baptist hymn books and hymnals 1851--1875
• Baptist hymn books and hymnals 1876--1900
• Baptist hymn books and hymnals 1901--1925
• Baptist hymn books and hymnals 1926--1950
• Baptist hymn books and hymnals 1951--2000
• Baptist hymn books and hymnals 2001--2016
• Baptist hymn books and hymnals 2016--2023

About or related to hymn books

• A serious answer to a late book, stiled, A reply to Mr. Robert Steed’s epistle concerning singing

Two Important Southern Hymn Books; Comparing Mercer and Lloyd

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 known 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

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[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

[7] Elder Benjamin Lloyd: a Pioneer Baptist in Alabama

[8] As far as I know, no one has investigated the church records for the Lloyd family.

[9] To my parents Jesse Berryman Robinson II and Helen Evelyn Cox, Helen R. Graves, [S.l. : s.n.], 1900, p. 150

[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

[24] The Primitive Baptist, March 18, 1841; cited in Benjamin Lloyd’s Hymn Book, Cauthen, p. 63

Two Important Southern Hymn Books: Mercer’s and Lloyd’s