His name is William Chatterton Dix who was born in Bristol, England in 1837. His father who was a surgeon had written a biography entitled The Life of Chatterton, and He named William for this Bristol poet whom he admired very much. William’s father sent him to Bristol Grammer School to train for a career in business and he became Head of the Maritime Insurance Company in Glasgow, Scotland which insured ships and their cargoes.
When he was twenty-three years old, he became seriously ill and His recovery took a long time. As he lay I be, he had plenty of time to think about life and to pray. He felt a closeness to God which he had never felt before. Evangelical Christians would say that I had been born again.
He began to put his thoughts into poetry and his poems were later used as hymn-texts. One of the hymns he worte during this period of recovery was the hymn,
“As with gladness men of old” (1860)
As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold;
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright,
So, most gracious Lord, may we
Evermore be led by Thee!
As with joyful steps they sped,
Savior, to Thy lowly bed,
There to bend the knee before
Thee whom heaven and earth adore,
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek Thy mercy-seat!
As they offered gifts most rare
At Thy cradle, rude and bare,
So may we with holy joy,
Pure and free from sin's alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King!
After his recovery, he continued to write hymns, writing about forty hymns in all. To celebrate Christmas, he wrote another carol to be sung to the tune of an old English folk-song.
“What child is this” (1866)
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.
Some other hymns writing by William Chatterton Dix are:
"Alleluia! Sing to Jesus", "Come Unto Me, Ye Weary", "To Thee, O Lord, Our Hearts We"
He was humble to be spoken of as one of the leaders of English hymnody. And he died in Clifton, England in 1898, at the age of sixty-one.
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