Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is ‘Eternal God, supreme in tenderness’ by Alan Gaunt. The words are said to be ‘after Julian of Norwich’ and the last line of each verse repeats perhaps her most famous saying, ‘all things shall be well’ (or in the last verse, ‘all things made well’).
Otherwise, the structure of the hymn is Trinitarian, with one verse each addressed to the Creator, Son, Spirit and Trinity. The mercy of the Father, the comfort of the Son, the joy of the Spirit and the eternity of the Trinity, are what will make all things well. Interestingly, it is the Son who is also addressed as ‘a mother comforting’. Jesus did use some mothering imagery such as when he said he wanted to gather the people of Jerusalem ‘under his wing’ (as a mother bird).
I like Alan Gaunt’s creative ways of putting writers’ words into verse, but I feel bound to say that I am uneasy with Julian of Norwich’s conviction that “All shall be well, and all things shall be well”. I’m one of those who would far rather translate Romans 8:28 not as “All things work together for good to those who love God” but as “In all things God works for good together with those who love him” – and to me the difference is actually quite vital, particularly when we are dealing with people who have suffered injustices and heartache. I think the last verse “we trust to see in you all things made well” is OK in that it looks forward to God’ corrective activity, but I don’t warm to the way that this is ambiguously expressed in the other verses. I hope Alan might take this (if he reads it) not as a criticism of him but rather of his source text.