Those of you reading this who have childhood memories of going to church may be able to remember the first hymn book you used. My faith journey can be traced by the hymn books I have used and the hymns I have known and loved. The first was Hymns Ancient and Modern, with no hint of revision. I can still feel the slightly damp pages and smell the musty paper, the result of storage in a cold village church with plenty of ancient history but not much sign of modern life. Our Jack Russell terrier attended sometimes and at least he created amusement amongst the congregation.
To this day I am not sure where the division comes between ancient and modern, in hymnody at least. On Dartmoor in May one of our outings was to the wonderful Lydford Gorge. The geology is amazing but what caught my attention was the way that an old railway bridge blended into the much older landscape to the extent that it seemed to have been there since the ice age. Beside the more recent path to the Devils Cauldron the bridge is ancient but to the whirling water in the cauldron it is a youthful addition.
Our hymns are expressions of the faith of ages. Ancient or modern they focus on God and our response to God in Faith. They praise, they lament, they pray and proclaim; some seem to have been there always while others are obviously new. How do you use hymns? Do love or loathe them? Do you prefer worship songs or the ‘big’ hymns – whichever is the case it is certain that we all have those that speak to and for us and that are special.
Hymn 323 in Singing the Faith is an example of one that was not in Ancient and Modern, Songs of Praise, Hymns for Church and School, Congregational Praise or Rejoice and Sing. I found it first in Hymns and Psalms and quickly realised how much of the journey of faith Francis Rowley had packed into five verses and a chorus. How had ai got through childhood, youth school and college without it? The author lived from 1854 to 1952 so is not ancient and not modern. He lived through the twentieth century’s hard times but was before my time.
Do read it if you feel so inclined and whether you prefer to sing Calon Lan or Hyfrydol time horizons blur as we repeat:
Yes, I’ll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ who died for me,
Sing it with his saints in glory,
Gathered by the crystal sea.
A Prayer
God of ancient and modern we thank you for those who help us to understand timelessness and that the content of faith matters more than its date or time. We thank you for our stories and the many living illustrations of faithfulness and endurance that surround us daily.
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever, give us grace to see you and to walk with you in every vista and age of life. Amen.