Home • LDS Hymns (76-100) • #83 Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah

#83 Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah

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-History: (Source: Wikipedia)

Written By: Peter Williams & William Williams

William Williams Pantycelyn[1] (1717 – 11 January 1791), also known as Williams Pantycelyn and Pantycelyn, is generally acknowledged as Wales‘ most famous hymn writer. He was also one of the key leaders of the 18th century Welsh Methodist revival, along with Daniel Rowlandand Howell Harris. As a poet and prose writer he is today considered to be one of Wales‘ greatest writers. The son of John Williams, a small farmer at Pantycelyn (“holly hollow”), his mother’s name was Dorothy. His father died in 1742. The farm is located 4 miles from Llandovery in West Wales. As a boy he attended a non-conformist church (Welsh usage: chapel) at Cefnarthen. Later the family identified with the Calvinist doctrines and moved church. Later, after his conversion, Williams was a painstaking upholder of traditional Reformation doctrine in its Calvinist form and gave stern warnings against Arminianism, Arianism, Socinianism, Sandelmanism and other deviations (ref.p.7 G. T. Hughes).

He wrote some of his work in English, but the great majority is in his native Welsh. He published his first work in 1744, the first part of Aleluia, a collection of hymns. This was followed by further collections:

  • Hosanna i Fab Dafydd (Hosannah to the Son of David), 1751
  • Rhai hymnau a chaniadau duwiol (Some godly hymns and songs), 1759
  • Caniadau y rhai sydd ar y môr o wydr (The songs of those on the crystal sea), 1762
  • Ffarwel weledig, groesaw anweledig bethau (Farewell seen, and welcome unseen things), 1763;
  • Gloria in excelsis, 1771;
  • Ychydig hymnau (A few hymns), 1774;
  • Rhai hymnau newyddion (Some new hymns), 1782.

He also published two collections of English hymns:

  • Hosannah to the son of David, 1759
  • Gloria in excelsis, 1772.

Possibly his best known hymn is Arglwydd, arwain trwy’r anialwch (in English, Lord, lead me through the wilderness, translated as the English Hymn Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah), usually sung to John Hughes’ Cwm Rhondda .

Music By: John Hughes

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