Come, living God, when least expected

Representative Text

1 Come, living God, when least expected,
when minds are dull and hearts are cold,
through sharpening word and warm affection
revealing truths as yet untold.

2 Break from the tomb in which we hide you
to speak again in startling ways;
break through the words in which we bind you
to resurrect our lifeless praise.

3 Come now, as once you came to Moses
within the bush alive with flame,
or to Elijah on the mountain,
by silence pressing home your claim.

4 So, let our minds be sharp to read you
in sight or sound or printed page,
and let us greet you in our neighbours,
in ardent youth or mellow age.

5 Then, through our gloom, your Son will meet us
as vivid truth and living Lord,
exploding doubt and disillusion
to scatter hope and joy abroad.

6 Then we will share his radiant brightness
and, blazing through the dread of night,
illuminate by love and reason,
for those in darkness, faith's delight.

Author: Alan Gaunt

(no biographical information available about Alan Gaunt.) Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Come, living God, when least expected
Author: Alan Gaunt
Meter: 9.8.9.8
Publication Date: 2005
Copyright: © 1991 Stainer & Bell Ltd. (Admin. Hope Publishing Co.)

Tune

SUNSET (Stocks)


SPIRITUS VITAE

The name SPIRITUS VITAE derives from the Latin translation of Bessie P. Head's text "O Breath of Life, " for which Mary Jane Hammond (b. England, 1878; d. St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, 1964) composed the tune around 1914. That text and SPIRITUS VITAE were first published in Heavenly Places and…

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RENDEZ À DIEU

GENEVAN 98/118 is the one tune in the Psalter Hymnal used for two psalms. It was first published in the 1551 Genevan Psalter as a setting for Psalm 118; in the 1562 edition it was also set to Psalm 98 (hence both numbers in the tune name). The tune is also often named RENDEZ A DIEV, the French incip…

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Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 7 of 7)
Text

Ancient and Modern #615a

Text

Ancient and Modern #615b

Text

Church Hymnary (4th ed.) #609

Audio

Common Praise #403

TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #215

Text

Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #609

Hymns of Truth & Light #4

Include 1 pre-1979 instance
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