They come, God’s messengers of love

They come, God’s messengers of love. Robert Campbell* (1814-1868). First published in Campbell’s Hymns and Anthems for the Use of Holy Services within the United Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane (Edinburgh, 1850) for ‘Saint Michael and All Angels’. It was reprinted with alterations by Francis H. Murray* in his Hymnal, for use in the English Church (1852; see Murray's Hymnal*), from which it found its way into the First Edition of A&M (1861). JJ thought it ‘the most widely adopted hymn for St Michael and All Angels of any in the English language’ (p. 1163). It is a tender and beautiful hymn to comfort the dying. Campbell’s original text and that of the First Edition of...