While my Jesus I’m possessing

While my Jesus I’m possessing. James Allen* (1734-1804).  It is noted in JJ, p. 1274, that this hymn appeared in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of Those that Seek, and Those that have Redemption in the Blood of Christ (Kendal, 1757, Second Edition, with appendix, 1761), known as the ‘Kendal Hymn Book’, but that it was rewritten by Walter Shirley* for the Countess of Huntington’s Collection of Hymns (1770 edition) as ‘Sweet the moments, rich in blessing’*. For the full text, JJ refers the reader to Charles Rogers*’s Lyra Britannica (1867)*. There Allen’s authorship is established by the initials ‘J.A.’, although Rogers admits that Christopher Batty, another editor of the ‘Kendal Hymn...