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 Thy Hand, O God, Has Guided from 1865.
1 Your hand, O God, has guided
your flock from age to age;
your faithfulness is written
on history’s open page.
Our fathers owned your goodness,
and we their deeds record;
and both to this bear witness:
one church, one faith, one Lord!
2 Your heralds brought the gospel
to greatest and the least;
they summoned men and women
to share the great King’s feast.
And this was all their teaching
in ev’ry deed and word,
to all alike proclaiming:
one church, one faith, one Lord!
3 Your mercy will not fail us
nor leave your work undone;
with your right hand to help us
the vict’ry shall be won.
And then by earth and heaven
your name shall be adored;
and this shall be our anthem:
one church, one faith, one Lord!
The lyrics video shows a picture of Martyn Lloyd Jones. When I first attended my local Baptist church, I discovered that many people were strongly influenced by him. I jokingly called him the Baptist pope – but someone told me that he wasn’t a Baptist. I think his church (Westminster Chapel) was a Congregational church, And the hymn was written by an Anglican.
But the key thing is that the one true holy catholic church consists of all true believers around the world and down through history – regardless of denominational labels. It would be nice to have all evangelical churches in one denomination or movement. That was the vision of Martyn Lloyd Jones for the UK (For more information, see Lloyd-Jones and Evangelical Unity: Was he Right?)
But maybe that’s a little like all shops being Lidl shops. I don’t particularly care where I buy my shopping, though I do like Lidl. And if I move to a town, I would try to find a good evangelical church near me. I might like a Baptist church, but I’m not unduly concerned about the label. I just like evangelical churches because I consider them sound theologically, however much they differ on secondary issues. But this hymn is sung outside evangelical circles. In fact, musically, I associate it with very traditional “high church” Anglican churches. I read that the writer wasn’t in the evangelical wing of the Anglican church. But I do like the hymn. I heard it the other day on Sounds Sacred on Radio Ulster – during my Belfast visit.
Here’s a passage that’s strongly associated with the hymn:
Ephesians 4:4-6
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Here are some other instances of the hymn:
