Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is “Tell all the world of Jesus” by James Seddon. The theme is obvious from the first line – the command to spread the Gospel. The three verses cover, roughly speaking, his mission for the redemption of all creation, his gifts to the individual and his eventual triumph over sin and death.
We have here Jesus as Redeemer of the World, Jesus as personal Saviour, and Jesus as King of the Universe. However it passes over his suffering on the cross, which may be intended to make it a ‘nice’ hymn to sing, but of course misses the vital historical and theological point of sacrifice being necessary for redemption. It also makes him a rather ‘cuddly’ saviour (offering forgiveness, peace, care, love and mercy), without any of the demands of discipleship. This is salvation-lite.
The suggested tune, Thornbury by Basil Harwood, is better known to the words “Thy hand O God has guided”. Thornbury is the adjacent parish to Eccleshill: I wonder whether Basil Harwood had any connection with that part of Bradford?
I thought this was a well-crafted hymn, and I appreciated the constancy of the “Tell all the world of Jesus” first line and the “Proclaim his …” opening of the fifth line in every verse. And it didn’t strike me as being “salvation-lite” until Stephen pointed it out … but I confess I can see what he means. I enjoyed singing it.
So far as I know Basil Harwood had no links to Thornbury in Bradford, and I think it’s more likely that he named the tune after the town in Gloucestershire (near the original M4 Severn crossing, before the new one was built and the old one renamed the M48), since he retired to that area.