Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is “Lord you are the light of life to me” by Brian Hoare. After a run of three familiar songs, this one, and its composer, are new to me. Brian also composed the tune, which has the unusual metrical pattern of 9.10.11.10 and so can’t easily be substituted with another. For once I’m writing this before seeing John’s rendition so maybe he will have written his own?
This is a personal sort of hymn, written in terms of “I and me”. It addresses the Lord Jesus directly as a friend, as well as a King (verse 5). He is variously addressed as the light of life who guides me, the rock who keeps me safe when I am weak, the truth who brings freedom and liberty, the Lamb who died for love of me (and set an example for the way I should love others), and finally the king who reigns perfectly and unceasingly, in contrast to earth’s rulers. Although new to me, this is a hymn I would be happy to use in a church service when occasion arises, as well as devotionally.
No – seeing as Brian Hoare has written lots of words to “standard” hymn tunes, but few tunes of his own, I felt I had a moral obligation to use his tune – and once I did so, I found that I liked it very much and greatly enjoyed singing it.
I think the hymn’s way of going through the aspects of Jesus is very engaging, and its structure of using the third line to reflect the first is very helpful in drawing out the meaning of the various titles used. And I thought the tune was great too: the way the second half slightly varies the first half is very well constructed. All in all I thought this hymn stood out head and shoulders above many of the others in the book, and this is a hymn to which I hope I’ll return in future.