Bowring had quite a few strings to his bow, including being familiar with over one hundred languages, being governor of Hong Kong (1854-9) and writing a number of hymns. The entry about him in Wikipedia suggests that he was a Unitarian, and it offers the following information about one compilation of his hymns:
Hymns (Privately published, 1825) This includes the hymns In the cross of Christ I Glory, and Watchman, Tell Us of the Night, both still used in many churches. The American composer Charles Ives used part of Watchman, Tell Us of the Night in the opening movement of his Fourth Symphony.
A check in the 'Authors and Sources' section at the back of the Christian Science Hymnal (pp. 621-626) lists the following hymn authorship by him:
- 79 God is Love: His mercy brightens
- 128/9 How sweetly flowed the gospel sound
- 133/424 I cannot always trace the way
- 363 Upon the Gospel's sacred page
- 368/9 Watchman, tell us of the night
Mary Baker Eddy's reference to Bowring concerns hymn 79. She objected to one particular verse--
Chance and change are busy ever,
Man decays and ages move;
But His mercy waneth never, --
God is wisdom, God is love.
This verse has been omitted in our hymnal. Mrs. Eddy reasoned that 'if it be true that God's power never waneth, how can it be also true that chance and change are universal factors, - that man decays?' (Unity of Good, p. 26). She continues, 'Many ordinary Christians protest against this stanza of Bowring's, and its sentiment is foreign to Christian Scientists' (ibid).
We can be glad to sing the hymn without this offending stanza. I, for one, always cherish the recurring message of the hymn: God is wisdom, God is Love.
Julie Swannell
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