ise Swedberg's work, with the result that 75 hymns were omitted and
six new hymns added. It was printed in 1696 and remained in use as the
"Psalm-book" of the Church of Sweden for more than a century, until it
was succeeded in 1819 by Wallin's masterpiece.

The unsold copies of the first edition, about 20,000 in number, were
confiscated and stored away. From time to time quantities of these books
were sent to the Swedish colonists in America, for whose "preservation in
the true faith," as the hymnologist Soderberg ironically remarks, "the
Swedish authorities seemed less concerned."

Swedberg felt the slight keenly and often made significant references in
his diary regarding those who had been instrumental in rejecting his
work. One of these notations tells how the Cathedral of Upsala was
destroyed by fire in 1702, and how the body of Archbishop O. Svebilius,
although encased in a copper and stone sarcophagus, was reduced to ashes.
"But my hymn-books," he adds, "which were only of paper, unbound and
unprotected, were not even scorched by the flames."

The final form in which his hymn-book was published nevertheless still
retained so many of his own hymns, and the entire book was so impregnated
with his own spirit, that it has always been known as "Swedberg's
Psalm-book." A noted critic has called it "the most precious heritage he
left to his native land." It was Swedberg who wrote the sublime stanza
that has become the doxology of the Church of Sweden:

Bless us, Father, and protect us,
Be our souls' sure hiding-place;
Let Thy wisdom still direct us,
Light our darkness with Thy grace!
Let Thy countenance on us shine,
Fill us all with peace divine.
Praise the Father, Son, and Spirit,
Praise Him all that life inherit!

Swedberg was elevated to the bishopric of Skara in 1702. He died in 1735,
universally mourned by the Swedish people.

Haqvin Spegel, who collaborated with Swedberg in the preparation of his
hymn-book, was the more gifted poet of the two. It was he who, by his
hymns, fixed the language forms that subsequently became the model for
Swedish hymnody. Although Spegel never stooped to sickly sentimentality,
his hymns are so filled with the spirit of personal faith and fervent
devotion that they rise to unusual lyric heights. A sweet pastoral
fragrance breathes through the hymn, "We Christians should ever
consider," as the following stanza testifies:

The lilies, nor