Rejoice beneath Thy covering wings,
Each day in mercy sent.

Safe with Thy counsel in my work,
Thee, Lord, I'll keep in view,
And feel that still Thy bounteous grace
Is every morning new.

Johan Olof Wallin, 1816.

DAVID'S HARP IN THE NORTHLAND

When Longfellow translated Tegner's Swedish poem, "Children of the Lord's
Supper," he introduced Johan Olof Wallin to the English-speaking world in
the following lines:

And with one voice
Chimed in the congregation, and sang an anthem immortal
Of the sublime Wallin, of David's harp in the Northland.

Wallin is Scandinavia's greatest hymnist and perhaps the foremost in the
entire Christian Church during the Nineteenth century. The Swedish
"Psalm-book" of 1819, which for more than a century has been the
hymn-book of the Swedish people in the homeland and in other parts of the
world, is in large measure the work of this one man. Of the 500 hymns in
this volume, 128 are original hymns from his pen, 178 are revisions by
Wallin, twenty-three are his translations, and thirteen are
semi-originals based on the hymns of other authors. In brief, no less
than 342 of the hymns of the "Psalm-book" reflect the genius of this
remarkable writer.

Early in life Wallin began to reveal poetic talent. Born at Stora Tuna,
Dalarne province, in 1779, he overcame the handicaps of poverty and poor
health and at the age of twenty-four he had gained the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy at the University of Upsala. In 1805, and again in 1809, he
won the chief prize for poetry at the University.

In 1806 he was ordained to the Lutheran ministry. Very soon he began to
attract attention by his able preaching. In 1812 he was transferred to
Stockholm, and in 1816 he became dean of Vesteras. In 1824 he was
elevated to the bishopric, and thirteen years later became Primate of the
Church of Sweden when he was made Archbishop of Upsala. He died in 1839.

As early as 1807 Wallin had begun to publish collections of old and new
hymns. He possessed the rare ability of translating sacred poetry of
other lands in such a way that often the translation excelled the
original in virility and beauty.

In 1811 a commission was appointed by the Swedish parliament to prepare a
new hymn-book to succeed that of Jesper Swedberg, which had been in use
for more than a century. Wallin was made a member of this body. Within
three y