Hymn texts

Many of these hymn texts attempt to express some feature of our faith that is otherwise lacking into today's hymnody.

Most are to hymn tunes that are already well-known, so should be easy for your local church to adopt. In cases where the tune may be unfamiliar, the item includes a PDF of the score and an MP3 demo.

Also included here is a hymn text by Sue Gilmurray, reproduced here with her kind permission, which deserves to be far more widely known.

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First line (Title)	Tune	Example	Commentary	Comments	Publication
Acclaim the Lord, you heavenly powers	Kepier			Psalm 29 close paraphrase.
Alleluia, alleluia; Blessed are they				Psalm 112 paraphrase, specifically maintaining the alphabetic acrostic structure of the original Hebrew.
Alleluia, alleluia; Boundless in joy				Psalm 111 paraphrase, specifically maintaining the alphabetic acrostic structure of the original Hebrew.
Called by you	Saxilby (alternatively Liebster Jesu)			Start of service; gathering. The text is a fresh translation of the 17th century German hymn Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier.
Climate is breaking	Bunessan			Lamenting our role in climate change. Based closely on the well-known song Morning has broken. Ideal for school assemblies.
Contented are those (Rejoice and be glad)	Water of Tyne			There seems to be a lack of hymns closely based on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12). This new one uses a folk tune from north-east England, where the Northumbrian pipes feature in local music and suit well such near-pentatonic and hexatonic tunes.
God eternal, timeless moment	Blaenwern	Video[1]	Commentary	A strongly Trinitarian hymn. Includes themes of mission, outreach, redemptive suffering and Pentecost. Norwegian translation below.	Singing the Faith Plus[2]
In chaos and nothingness	Enns	Video[3]	Commentary	Creation, wonder, science. A hymn to celebrate science and our omniscient God.	American Scientific Affiliation "God and Nature", Winter 2019 (one minor subsequent edit)
Make straight the way	Kingsfold		Commentary	Mission, ordination, confirmation, commitment. "Way, truth, life".	Worship in the City[4]
O radiant light (Phos hilaron)	Horkstow Grange (a.k.a. Harkstow Grange)			A translation of an ancient Greek evening hymn, set to a Lincolnshire folk tune collected by Percy Grainger and used in his Lincolnshire Posy suite.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord	Gresford	Video[5]	Commentary	The solemn tune Gresford, a.k.a. "The Miners' Hymn", was written in response to the 1934 Gresford colliery disaster. This close paraphrase, based on Psalm 130, aims to stay faithful to the tune's mining roots.	Singing the Faith Plus[2] Durham Newslink, 2009.
Over the darkness (God of creation)			Commentary	A song-like hymn about darkness and light, chaos and order, at creation, at the incarnation, at the crucifixion and resurrection and in our lives.
Rejoice in God, you peoples	Thaxted			Psalm 66:8–20 paraphrase.
Sing alleluias to the Lord	Lasst Uns Erfreuen	Video[6]		Psalm 98 paraphrase.
Sing unto the Lord a fresh, new song	Elgar 1			Psalm 96 paraphrase, written specifically to the opening theme of Elgar's First Symphony.
Sovereign Lord, let nations tremble	Regent Square		Commentary	Psalm 99: close paraphrase.
You once favoured, Lord, your people	Mannheim			Psalm 85 paraphrase. Suitable for Advent 2.
You spoke your word	Londonderry Air		Commentary	Faith, scripture and science. Dedicated to the late Tom McLeish.
Your throne, O Lord	Finlandia		Commentary	Adoration; creation; reign of Christ. From Hebrews 1.
Translations into other languages
Gud vår Skaper, tidløs, evig		Video[7]		Norwegian version of God eternal, timeless moment.	Jeg Vet En Sang (I know a song)[8]
Texts by Sue Gilmurray
The northern world grows dark and cold (Carol for the world)	Kingsfold			Advent, Christmas. Written in the wake of the Twin Towers events, New York, of 11th September, 2001 (9/11).

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