e, our Master.

Touch Thou the shepherd's lips, O Lord,
That in this blessed hour
He may proclaim Thy sacred Word
With unction and with power;
What Thou wouldst have Thy servant say,
Put Thou into His heart, we pray,
With grace and strength to say it.

Let heart and ear be opened wide
Unto Thy Word and pleading;
Our minds, O Holy Spirit, guide
By Thine own light and leading.
The law of Christ we would fulfil,
And walk according to His will,
His Word our rule of living.

Jesper Swedberg (1653-1735).

A HYMN-BOOK THAT FAILED

When the Swedish colonists along the Delaware gathered in their temples
to worship God in the latter part of the 17th century, they sang songs
from a hymn-book the use of which had been prohibited in Sweden. It was
the much-mooted hymn-book of Jesper Swedberg. Originally published by the
author in 1694 and intended for the Church of Sweden, it immediately came
under suspicion on the ground that it contained unorthodox teachings and
was promptly confiscated. This, however, did not hinder the authorities
from sending the book in large quantities to America, and it was used on
this side of the Atlantic for many years.

Swedberg, who was born near Falun, Sweden, in the year 1653, was the
first important hymnist of his native land. From the days of the
Reformation no noteworthy advance had been made in Swedish hymnody until
Swedberg began to tune his lyre. The official "Psalm-book" had been
revised on several occasions, but the Upsala edition of 1645 contained
only 182 hymns, far too few to meet the needs of church worship and
private devotion.

It was in 1691 that Swedberg received the royal commission to prepare a
new hymn-book. He was fortunate in having the aid of such gifted poets as
Haqvin Spegel, Petrus Lagerlof, Israel Kolmodin and Jacob Boethius in the
execution of his task.

The new book, containing 482 Swedish hymns and a few in Latin, made its
appearance in 1694. A large edition was printed, the financial cost of
which was borne largely by Swedberg himself. It met with immediate
opposition, particularly from Bishop Carl Carlsson, who charged that the
hymn-book contained "innumerable heresies of a theological,
anthropological, Christological, soteriological and eschatological
nature."

It was enough. King Karl XI immediately appointed a new commission to
rev