We sing the glorious conquest

We sing the glorious conquest. John Ellerton* (1826-1893). Like many of Ellerton’s hymns this was written in a single day, 28 February 1871, for inclusion in Church Hymns published later in the same year. It also appeared in the second edition of A&M (1875). This is similar to many of his hymns in being written for a particular Christian Festival, in this case The Conversion of St Paul. Most of them, however, were primarily devotional in purpose: this was a rallying cry to Christian people who were feeling that culturally and intellectually things were moving against them. Even some prominent clergy such as Charles Kingsley* expressed deep disquiet. Doubt, Darwinism and Biblical...