HYMNS OF FAITH AND LIFE COLLECTED AND EDITED BY THE REV. JOHN HUNTER "I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the GLASGOW JAMES MACLEHOSE & SONS Publishers to the University 1889 BV 459 .48 PREFACE. THIS Hymn-Book is not published with any intention of rivalling existing collections. It has a purpose of its own. In preparing it I have carefully tried to avoid hymns written to express scholastic and sectarian interpretations of the Christian facts and truths. The hymns most suitable for common worship are those which give expression to the fundamental experiences and persuasions of the soul, and to the largest and simplest aspects of Christian faith and life; whose statements are so undogmatic and comprehensive that they are not restricted by private interpretation, but may be sung by the devout and thoughtful without any strain to the mind and conscience. By the omission of a verse, or line, or word here and there I have been able to retain some old and excellent hymns, which, on account of their phraseology, are in danger of being lost to a large and ever-increasing number of worshippers. Wider service for a hymn may well be urged as a |