2021.03.21
On the Seventh Sunday of Easter last year, ‘Hail, thou once despisèd Jesus’ [495] was sung because of the reference in its climactic third stanza to Christ’s enthronement in heaven (the Sunday in question being the Sunday after Ascension Day). We sing it again this week because of its many connections to the appointed selection from the Epistle to the Hebrews, which highlights Our Lord’s priestly role as intercessor, and his attitude of submission to suffering, all for our benefit.
‘My faith looks up to thee’ [691] was written in 1830 when its author, the poet and later Congregational minister Ray Palmer, was 21. Like many or most hymns cast in the first person singular, it was never intended for congregational singing, but rather is a statement of personal faith in Christ. The third stanza is in particular a prayer for help in following Our Lord’s instruction in Sunday’s Gospel: ‘Whoever serves me must follow me’:
While life’s dark maze I tread,
and griefs around me spread,
be thou my guide;
bid darkness turn to day;
wipe sorrow’s tears away,
nor let me ever stray
from thee aside.
and griefs around me spread,
be thou my guide;
bid darkness turn to day;
wipe sorrow’s tears away,
nor let me ever stray
from thee aside.