Thursday 21 May. Song 119 ‘Spirit of Truth and Grace’
Words: © Ian D Cunningham / Music: R Vaughan-Williams © OUP
YouTube recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPYfNaDqJko&t=1106s (from 18’26”)
Featured image: The Day of Pentecost: detail of north ambulatory stained-glass window in Norwich Cathedral © Julian P Guffogg
This is, obviously, a hymn for Pentecost, which is nearly upon us. The author has chosen to write words that fit the well-known tune ‘Down Ampney’, usually sung to the words ‘Come down, O Love Divine’ (another Pentecost hymn, in itself a 19tgh century translation of a 15th century original).
The three verses convey three aspects of the Spirit’s work in us. Firstly, his ‘truth and grace’, asking to be shown eternal truth and a sense of communion with each other. Secondly, his ‘joy and peace’ working in the individual to let us be aware of God’s love and joy ‘that won’t let us go’. Thirdly, his ‘life and power’, asking that he would inspire our hearts to praise with true devotion and serve the world with God’s compassion.
As a prayer, this works well. The Spirit comes to us as individuals and also as a congregation, to nurture each of us as is appropriate for us as beloved children of God and to enable us to work together using our different gifts for the common good. But I am not really inspired by this as a hymn. For one thing, the intended internal rhymes between the two halves of each verse do not work (gather/together, caring/comparing, devotion/compassion). For another, the language used reads more like prose than poetry, and the use of contractions such as ‘won’t’ does not fit well in a hymn. So I suggest using this text in intercessions, and leave Down Ampney for its original, poetic words.