I’ve been exploring some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy 😀. But now, I’ve decided to alternate between very modern hymns, old hymns, and in-between hymns, namely the worship songs from the 60s to the 90s that feature in hymnbooks such as Mission Praise. Today it’s the turn of the old hymns.
Today’s song is Eternal Light from around 1826.
1 Eternal Light! Eternal Light!
How pure the soul must be,
when, placed within your searching sight,
it shrinks not, but with calm delight
can face such majesty.
2 The spirits that surround your throne
may bear the burning bliss;
but that is surely theirs alone,
since they have never, never known
a fallen world like this.
3 O how shall I, whose dwelling here
is dark, whose mind is dim,
before the face of God appear
and on my human spirit bear
the uncreated beam?
4 There is a way for man to rise
to that sublime abode:
an offering and a sacrifice,
a Holy Spirit’s energies,
an advocate with God.
5 Such grace prepares us for the sight
of holiness above:
those once in ignorance and night
can dwell in the eternal Light,
through the eternal Love.
I do remember singing and playing this one on the organ quite a lot many years ago. I don’t hear the older hymns much nowadays.
This hymn is a little unusual in some respects. You could imagine people of other faiths singing it, as many agree that God is mysterious and majestic. Even atheists sometimes express a sense of awe at the universe or at whatever is behind the universe. The difference with religious people is that we are aware of sin and how that makes us feel unworthy and maybe fearful of being in the presence of God. So it’s not just because we see Him as awesome, but we are aware of His holiness and justice and the fact that He punishes sin.
I remember the words of Peter when he first realized who Jesus was:
Luke 5:8
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
And many years later, long after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, John saw Jesus in a vision. It was clearly not just John’s imagination but a real encounter with the ascended Jesus:
Revelation 1:17-18
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Today’s hymn isn’t specifically about Jesus. It’s about God in general terms, but more about the Father. But in the fourth verse, it speaks about an “offering and a sacrifice” and an “advocate with God”. It’s essentially saying that though we might dread entering the presence of God, we can boldly approach the throne of grace because our sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus. It doesn’t spell all that out as other hymns do, but that’s what it’s pointing at. Charles Wesley’s hymn And Can it Be states it in more specific terms:
5 No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th'eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
And the New Testament also makes it clear that we can approach God’s throne through Jesus.
Hebrews 10:19-22
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
I don’t see many performances of the hymn on YouTube, but I do see some other hymns with the same or similar titles. So, here’s a mix of today’s hymn and similarly titled hymns:
Hibernia Gospel 