Matthew BRIDGES [9965]

  General Notes:

Matthew Bridges was born at Malden, Essex, on July 14, 1800. He began his literary career with the publication of a poem, "Jerusalem Regained," in 1825; followed by a book entitled The Roman Empire under Constantine the Great, in 1828, its purpose being to examine "the real origin of certain papal superstitions." As a result of the influence of John Henry Newman and the Oxford Movement, Bridges became a Roman Catholic in 1848, and spent the latter part of his life in Canada. He died in Quebec on October 6, 1894.
Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872

Bridges, Matthew, youngest son of John Bridges, Wellington House, Surrey, and brother of the Rev. Charles Bridges, author of An Exposition of the cxix. Psalm, born at The Friars, Maiden, Essex, July 14,1800, and educated in the Church of England, but subsequently conformed to the Church of Rome. His works include, Babbicombe, or Visions of Memory, with other Poems, 1842; Hymns of the Heart, 1848 (enlarged in 1852); and The Passion of Jesus, 1852, besides some prose productions. From the last two works his hymns found in common use are taken, the greater number being from Hymns of the Heart. Besides the hymns in use in Great Britain, as, "Behold the Lamb," "My God, accept my heart this day," and others, the following, all of which were published in 1848, are found in several American collections, to which they were introduced mainly through the Rev. H. W. Beecher's Collection, 1855:
1. Bright were the mornings first impearl'd. At the grave of Lazarus.
2. Head of the hosts in glory. All Saints. From this is derived "Armies of God! in union," which is given in some American collections.
3. Lo, He comes with clouds descending (q. v.).
4. Rise, glorious Conqueror, rise. Ascension.
5. Soil not thy plumage, gentle dove. Morning.
Of late years Mr. Bridges has resided in the Province of Quebec, Canada.
John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Matthew Bridges was raised in the Church of England. Critical of the Roman Catholic Church, he even wrote a book against its teaching. But Bridges was drawn into the Oxford Movement, and eventually followed John Henry Newman and others into the Church of Rome. The latter years of his life were spent in Quebec, Canada. In the past, some suggested that he died there, but it seems he returned to England before his death in 1894.
The hymn for which Matthew Bridges is known, written in 1851, is the great worship hymn Crown Him with Many Crowns. The hymn is based on the description given in the book of Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ at His triumphant return. There John says, "On His head were many crowns" (Rev. 19:12). Bridges developed that thought and built his hymn around a series of descriptive titles for Christ: "Crown Him the virgin's Son," "Crown Him the Lord of love," "Crown Him the Lord of peace," and so on.
In 1864, Anglican clergyman Godfrey Thring took some of Bridges' hymn and combined it with stanzas of his own. He was asked to do this as there were some parts of Bridges' poetry that raised objections doctrinally for Protestants. "Crown Him the Son of God," and "Crown Him the Lord of life" are two stanzas from Thring's pen. What we have in most hymnals today is a combination of the work of the two men. The result is a stirring hymn of worship.
Notice, in the second of two of Bridges' stanzas below, the thought expressed that we will still see the wounds of Calvary on the glorified body of Christ in eternity. There is some evidence to suggest this will be so. Thomas said he would not believe the Lord had risen from the dead unless he could "see in His hands the print of the nails, and put [his] finger into the print of the nails, and put [his] hand into His side." And the Lord Jesus invited him to do just that (Jn. 20:24-27). Later, in his vision of heaven, John saw in the midst of the throne of God "A Lamb as though it had been slain" (Rev. 5:6).
In that realm of infinite perfection, when all the saints have been clothed in glorified, resurrection bodies, do you expect your body to retain the scars and imperfections of earth? I don't! Yet apparently there will be one jarring exception to that, the scars in the hands and feet and side of Jesus. But far from being distracting and repellent, those wounds will be, for us, heaven's most beautiful sight. Why? Because of the richness of their meaning. Because they will be eternal evidence of God's matchless love, and of what He sacrificed to save us.
Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.
Crown Him the Lord of love, behold His hands and side,
Rich wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his wondering eye at mysteries so bright.
There are many versions of this great hymn posted on YouTube (good, bad and indifferent!). In searching through them, I found some that made me cringe syncopated renditions, sung in a crooning, sexy way more suited to a sensual love song. And one that illustrates a pet peeve a dramatic choral arrangement sung while the offering was being taken. What? Do we not have enough time for both? Must we worry about paying the bills while trying to revel in the majesty of the Lord? (Yes, I know: offering our gifts to Him should be an act of worship. But realizing that is so, does it not deserve a place of its own?)
John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Matthew Bridges
Marriage date02 Apr 1823
Marriage placeBristol
Spouse's nameSarah Tripp
ResidenceBristol, Gloucester, England
Record setEngland Marriages 1538-1973

MATTHEW BRIDGES
Marriage quarter1
Marriage year1858
MarriageFinder Eliza Mary Knight
DistrictMarylebone London
Volume1A
Page623

A Mr M & Mrs Bridges described as a gent & a lady travelled on the:
Vessel: Sarmatian
Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
Port of Arrival: Quebec, Quebec, Canada
Date of Arrival: 11 May 1880
Ancestry 2017 Canadian Passeger Lists

Matthew Bridges
Birth Date: 14 Jul 1800
Birth Place: Maldon, Essex, England
Death Date: 6 Oct 1894
Death Place: Sidmouth, Devon, England
Cemetery: Convent of the Assumption
Burial or Cremation Place: Sidmouth, East Devon District, Devon, England

  Other Records

1. Mathew Bridges: Poem on the death of George Downing Fortescue in Aug 1826, 1826.
Liveing Archive 153a-b LT13

Verses
Sacred to the Memory
of
George Downing Fortescue
Who died
Aged 13 years.

An early flower of fairest form
In lowliness retired?
Was withered by a sudden storm
And in an hour expired
Sweet youth too lovely in thy life
To live a longer day
And yet more lovely when thy strife
Of nature passed away.

So dies the Dolphin, as in death
His fleeting beauties fail
So sinks the day star as the breath
Of morning swells the gale.

So fades an Iris? on the sky
Too beautiful to last
And as we gage with wondering eye
The miracle is passed.

Yet these are transitory things
Which only shine awhile
Like chequer'd joys which pleasure brings
Oh like a mourners? smile
But that which now is dust is laid
Shall from the dust arise
No more to die no more to fade
In phrenia? of the skies.

Sweet youth thy grave embellish'd with tears
One day shall yield her dead
While cleansed from sin and free from fear?
Thy soul hath homed and fled
We we who weep would follow too
To share that blissful scene
And see the Lamb as thou canst do
Without a veil between.
M Bridges.

2. Mathew Bridges: Poem to his Cousin Maria in her Grief at her sister Frances's death, Abt 1826.
Liveing Archive 152b-c LT13

To My Dear Cousin
Mrs Knottesford
On the death of her sister (Fanny)
Hast thou been to the grave to weep
To hang thy harp on the Willow ?
How soft was the Pilgrims sleep
With the saviour's arm for her pillow

Hast thou been to the grave to weep
That home for the laden and weary ?
There repose in heaven is deep
Though the toil of her march was dreary

Hast thou been to the grave to weep ?
Her spirit was hovering o'er thee,
To tell through whom, she was strengthened to seek
Her golden harvest of glory !

Hast thou been to the grave to weep
And did not the minds emotion
Come on like the bailing gales which sweep
O'er the calm of an quiet ocean

Hast thou been to the grave to weep
That bed may be ours tomorrow
So (?) then let us pray for the grace to keep
Lower mean (?) in underlying sorrow

Yet go you to the grave to weep
That thy tears may be tears of gladness
And every grass covered heap
Where believers have fallen asleep
Should banish from those who weep
At last the sting of the sadness
M Bridges.

3. Census: England, 30 Mar 1851, Chester Hill Woodchester GLS. Mathew is recorded as head of house married aged 50 Esquire born Maldon ESS

4. Census: England, 8 Apr 1861, Chester Hill Woodchester GLS. Mathew is recorded as head of house married aged 60 a fundholder and proprietor of mortgages born Maldon ESS

5. Census: England, 2 Apr 1871, Bath Abbey SOM. Mathew is recorded as a lodger married aged 70 with an independant fortune born Maldon ESS

6. Census: England, 5 Apr 1891, Coment Villa Sidmouth DEV. Matthew is recorded as head of house married aged 90 living on his own means born Maldon ESS

Matthew married Sarah FRIPP [9964] [MRIN: 3054], daughter of Samuel FRIPP of Bristol [9961] and Dorothea BOWLES [9955], on 2 Apr 1823 in Bristol GLS. (Sarah FRIPP [9964] was born on 22 Aug 1789 in Kings Down Bristol, baptised on 20 Sep 1789 in Brethren's Chapel Maudlin Lane Bristol and died in 1857.)

Matthew next married Eliza Mary KNIGHT [25907] [MRIN: 9318], daughter of Henry KNIGHT [34631] and Margaret [34632], 1 Qtr 1858 in Marylebone London MDX. (Eliza Mary KNIGHT [25907] was born on 2 Apr 1828 in La Maison Rouge Cannington nr Shepton Mallet SOM and was baptised on 3 Apr 1828 in Shepton Mallett Mission SOM.)