This hymn first appeared in John Rippon’s (1751-1836) A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, 1787, in seven stanzas, under the title “Exceeding Great and Precious Promises.” The title is taken from 2 Peter 1:4: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.” The Hymn is initialed ‘K’ which is an1822 Collection of Hymns, is credited to ‘Kn’ and is an 1835 edition as “Keen,” a gentleman about whom nothing further is known. There was an R. Keene, who was precentor of Rippon’s Baptist Church in New Park Street, London. He composed the tune GEARD, which was the first setting to the words.

John Rippon was born on April 29, 1751, at Tiverton, Devonshire, England. He trained for the ministry at the Baptist College in Bristol and in 1773 was appointed to be the temporary pastor of the Baptist Church in Carter Lane, Tooley Street, London. The appointment however proved to be permanent, for he continued with the church as it moved to New Park Street, for a period of 63 years until his death in London on December 17, 1836. 

 He published, in addition to the book above mentioned, A Selection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes from the Best Authors, 1791, a popular work that went into 27 editions. He was considered to be an authority on Isaac Watts and wrote some of the hymns in his Selection, although not specifying which were of his composition. He also altered the text of some of the hymns—for example, SDAH 229, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name”—and made additions to others. The Baptist College of Providence, Rhode Island, honored him in 1792 with the degree of Doctor of Divinity.

FOUNDATION is here called PROTECTION, taken from M. L. Swan’s New Harp of Columbia, 1867.

FOUNDATION is an early American hymn melody in the pentatonic scale, found in Joseph Funk’s A Compilation of Genuine Church Music, 1832, and in The Sacred Harp, 1844, where it is credited to Z. chambers. It has been known as BELLEVUE, CONVENTION, and PROTECTION. Its present name shoes its association with the words “How Firm a Foundation.” Funk was born on April 6, 1778, in westernPennsylvania. He moved with his patents two years later to the Shenandoah Valley, near Harrisonburg, Virginia. He learned and taught music and conducted singing schools in Virginia, and started a monthly journal for rural music and singing schools. He also translated two Mennonite publications. Funk died in 1862. The tune was arranged for SDAH by Melvin West (1930-     ; see Biographies) in 1984.