Psalm 31:3
Words by William Williams, 1717-1791
Music by John Hughes, 1873-1932
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Throughout the centuries the Welsh people have been
recognized as one of the most enthusiastic groups of
singers in the world. From the days of the Druids, Wales
has been a land of song. To this day they still conduct an
International Eisteddfodd (singing festival) at
Llangollen. This hymn is a product of that fine musical
heritage.
During the early part of the eighteenth century a young
Welsh preacher, Howell Harris, was stirring Wales with his
evangelistic preaching and congregational singing. In
England the Wesleys and George Whitefield were conducting
similar revivals and outdoor campaigns. One of the lives
touched by Harris's preaching was William Williams. Prior
to this time Williams had been preparing for the medical
profession, but upon hearing a sermon by Harris, young
Williams gave his heart and life to God and decided to
enter the ministry. He served two parishes in the Anglican
Church for a time but never felt at ease in the
established, ritualistic church. Like Harris, he decided
to take all of Wales as his parish and for the next
forty-three years traveled nearly 100,000 miles on
horseback, preaching and singing the gospel in his native
tongue. Though he suffered many hardships, he was
affectionately known as the "sweet singer of Wales."
Throughout Wales he was respected as a persuasive
preacher, yet it is said that the chief source of his
influence was his hymns. He wrote approximately 800 of
them, all in Welsh. One hymnologist has said, "What Isaac
Watts has been to England, that and more has William
Williams been to Wales." Unfortunately, most of Williams's
hymns are untranslated, and this is the only hymn for
which he is widely known today.
"Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" first appeared in a
hymnal published by Williams in Bristol, England, in 1745.
It originally consisted of five six-line stanzas and was
entitled "Strength to Pass Through the Wilderness." In
1771 another hymnal was published by Peter Williams (no
relation) in which he translated into English stanzas 1,
3, 5. A year later the original author, William Williams,
or possibly his son John, made another English version
using Peter Williams's first stanza, then translating
stanzas three and four of the original hymn and adding a
new fourth verse. Most hymnals today make use of only
three of these stanzas.
The imagery of the hymn is drawn wholly from the Bible.
The hymn compares the forty-year journey of the Israelites
to the promised land with the living of a Christian life
as a "pilgrim[age] through this barren land." Note the
symbolic phrases used throughout: "bread of heaven"
(manna), "crystal fountain" (I Corinthians 10:3, 4), "fire
and cloudy pillar," "verge of Jordan," "Canaan's Side."
The tune for this text was written in 1907 by John Hughes,
a noted Welsh composer of a number of Sunday School
marches, anthems and hymn tunes. This particular tune was
written especially for the annual Baptist Cymnfa Ganu
(singing festival) at Capel Rhondda, Pontypridd, Wales,
and was printed in leaflets for that occasion. The text
with this tune is still one of the most popular and widely
used hymns in Wales. It is not at all uncommon even today
for a large crowd at some public event such as a rugby
match to burst into the spontaneous singing of this hymn.
The strong symbolic text with its virile tune has had
great universal appeal, evidenced by the fact that the
hymn has been translated into over seventy-five different
languages.
Quoted from "101 Hymn Stories" by Kenneth Osbeck. Kregel Publishers, P.O. Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501, 1982.
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