John Hunter

John Hunter (1848–1917) was a Scottish Congregational minister, worship editor, and hymn writer whose work joined devotional prayer with practical Christian discipleship. Born in Aberdeen on July 12, 1848, he was first trained for the drapery trade before preparing for ministry. After study at Paton Congregational College in Nottingham, his promise led to further study at Spring Hill College in Birmingham, an institution later associated with Mansfield College, Oxford.

Hunter served Congregational churches in York from 1871 and Hull from 1882 before becoming minister of Trinity Congregational Church, Glasgow, in 1887. He remained there until 1901, served King's Weigh House Chapel in London from 1901 to 1904, and then returned to Trinity, Glasgow, where he continued until ill health led to his resignation in 1913. He died in Hampstead, London, on September 15, 1917.

His publications show a sustained interest in the worship of the church. They include Devotional Services for Public Worship (1886), Hymns of Faith and Life (1889), and Hymns for Faith and Life (1899). His best-known hymn text, originally beginning “Dear Master, in whose life I see,” is a compact prayer of confession and discipleship: the worshiper sees in Christ a life of complete integrity and asks for help to bring aspiration and action together. Hunter's writing reflects the Free Church concern that Christian worship should shape the moral and spiritual life of believers.