Earlier this week I wrote about the hymns of Timothy Dudley Smith who died on Monday. I thought I would share here some of my favourites. I realise that a few will be new to many of my readers.
Name of all Majesty is a hymn of praise to Christ working through his life story. It points to his deity and describes his name as “fathomless mystery”, describing him as “king of the ages by angels adored.” My favourite line is in the verse that takes us to calvary “darkness defeated and Eden restored.
Lord for the years was written in 1967 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Scripture Union.
Colin Webster and Phil Moore recently provided a new arrangement of “The Heavens are singing” giving it a lively contemporary feel.
One for those of you who love singing the Psalms. A beautiful setting of Psalm 121 “I lift my eyes to the quiet hills.” A reminder that we are “kept by the Father’s care.”
I’ve already mentioned that “Safe in the shadow of the Lord” is probably my favourite of Timothy Dudley Smith’s hymns and one of my all time favourites. I first remember singing this at Christchurch Fulwood in Sheffield during the early 90s. I suspect under Philip Hacking’s influence we sung quite a few TDS hymns. WE also sung this in some of our online services during the 2020 pandemic when its description of safety from fear and darkness seemed especially apt.
“We come as guests invited” … often sung at communion. A reminder that Jesus is both the host who invites us to a meal with him and the food, bread on which we feast.
This one is clearly dependent on Romans 8. Like all the best hymn writers, Dudley Smith was passionately Trinitarian and this hymn reminds us of the Holy Spirit’s work.
I understand that Tell out my soul was not intended originally to be a hymn for singing but a personal poem. Generations of “children’s children” are glad that this has become probably Timothy Dudley Smith’s best known and best loved hymn.
Faithroots 