Rivulet Controversy

The Rivulet Controversy This is the name given to the unedifying debate that arose after the publication in 1856 (Preface dated November 1855) of The Rivulet. Hymns for Heart and Voice by Thomas Toke Lynch*. It was a controversy that almost destroyed the Congregational Union that had been founded as recently as 1831. The book contained hymns that are still sung today, such as ‘Dismiss me not thy service, Lord’*, ‘Gracious Spirit, dwell with me’*, and ‘My faith, it is an oaken staff’*. Many of the hymns celebrate in a gentle and harmless way the loveliness of nature and the benevolence of God. They were denounced by James Grant, the editor of the Morning Advertiser, as containing ‘not one...