g school and preached in the local congregation.

To this school came young men from all parts of the British Isles and
even from the continent. Most of them prepared to become ministers in the
Independent Church. Doddridge himself was practically the whole faculty.
Among his subjects were Hebrew, Greek, Algebra, Philosophy, Trigonometry,
Logic, and theological branches.

As a hymn-writer Doddridge ranks among the foremost in England. He was a
friend and admirer of Isaac Watts, whose hymns at this time had set all
England singing. In some respects his lyrics resemble those of Watts.
Although they do not possess the strength and majesty found in the
latter's hymns, they have more personal warmth and tenderness. Witness,
for instance, the children's hymn:

See Israel's gentle Shepherd stand
With all-engaging charms;
Hark! how He calls the tender lambs,
And folds them in His arms.

Note also the spiritual joy that is reflected in the hymn so often used
at confirmation:

O happy day, that stays my choice
On Thee, my Saviour and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad.

Something of Doddridge's own confiding trust in God is expressed in the
beautiful lines:

Shine on our souls, eternal God!
With rays of beauty shine;
O let Thy favor crown our days,
And all their round be Thine.

Did we not raise our hands to Thee,
Our hands might toil in vain;
Small joy success itself could give,
If Thou Thy love restrain.

Other noted hymns by Doddridge include such gems as "Hark, the glad
sound, the Saviour comes," "Great God, we sing that mighty hand," "O
Fount of good, to own Thy love," and "Father of all, Thy care we bless."

Doddridge wrote about four hundred hymns. Most of them were composed for
use in his own congregation in connection with his sermons. None of them
was published during his life-time, but manuscript copies were widely
circulated among the Independent congregations in England. The fact that
about one-third of his hymns are still in common use on both sides of the
Atlantic bears witness of their unusual merit.

Though Doddridge struggled under the burden of feeble health, his life
was filled with arduous duties. When he was only forty-eight years old it
became apparent that he had fallen a victim to tubercular infection. He
was advised to leave England for Lisbon, Portugal. Lacking fun