Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Originally a Welsh Hymn, Translated to English by Peter Williams
"Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" is a popular Welsh hymn. It was written by William Williams (1717-1791), translated into English by Peter Williams (1722-1796) and others, and composed by John Hughes (1873-1932) who created the tune "CWM Rhondda" for the hymn.
About the Hymn
The hymn, fully drawn from the Bible, compares the 43-year journey of the Israelites to the promised land with the living of a Christian life as a "pilgrim through the barren land." It is widely used in Wales, even common for a large crowd such as a rugby match to burst into a spontaneous singing. It has been translated into over 75 different languages.
The Welsh people are known as one of the most enthusiastic groups of singers. To this day they still conduct the International Eisteddfodd (singing festival) at Llangollen. This hymn is a product of that musical heritage.
"Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" first appeared in 1745 in a hymnal published by Williams in Bristol, England. It originally consisted of five six-line stanzas and was enititled "Strength to Pass Through the Wilderness."
William Williams - Text Author
William Williams, is affectionately known as the "sweet singer of Wales," the son of a prosperous farmer in the parish of Carmarthenshire. He was a young medical student touched by the sermon and stirred into a new vocation, after an open-air evangelistic gathering by a Welsh preacher, Howell Harris. In England the Wesleys (Charles and John) and George Whitefield were conducting similar public revivals. Eventually William Williams left the medical school and entered the ministry.
William Williams served two parishes in the Anglican Church for a time but never felt at ease in the established, ritualistic church. Like Harris, he preached the gospel in all of Wales and for the next 43 years traveled long distances on horseback, preaching and singing the gospel in his native tongue. He was respected as a persuasive preacher, yet the primary source of his influence was his hymns. He wrote approximately 800 of them, all in Wales. Isaac Watts has been to England, as William Williams, to Wales. Unfortunately, most of his hymns have not been translated, and "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" is the only hymn for which he is widely known today. Of the 800 that William Williams wrote, "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" is his greatest hymn.
Other versions of the Hymn
- Published by Peter Williams (no relation to William Williams) in which he translated into English stanzas 1,3, 5. (1771)
- William Williams, or possibly his son John, made another English version using Peter William's first stanza, then translating stanzas three and four of the original hymn and adding a new fourth verse. (1772)
- Most hymnals today make use of the only three of these stanzas.
Melody composer - John Hughes
The tune was written in 1907 by John Hughes, a Welsh composer of Sunday school marches, anthems and hymn tunes. This particular tune was written for the annual Baptist Cymnfa Ganu (singing festival) at the Capel Rhondda, Potypridd, Wales, printed in leaflets for that occasion.
First stanza
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim thru this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty
Hold me with Thy powerful hand:
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more,
Feed me till I want no more.
Lyrics and Music from CyberHymnal (Click Midi from there)
Sources:
101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications (1982)
Together in Song Companion, by Wesley Milgate and D'Arcy Wood, The Australian Hymn Book Pty Ltd. (2000)
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
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