All power to the Lamb of God

Martin Leckebusch here starts, and continues, with ‘the Lamb of God’ (cf 283); but he gives himself and us the space to explore some of the implications of a such a paradoxical title—a powerful lamb! His 7 stzs unusually rhyme their 2nd and 3rd lines, while the 1st and 4th move forward the theme of Revelation 5:12 by their controlled repetition with variation. He writes ‘I looked at each of the component parts [of this verse] in turn, each providing one stanza’. Other Scriptures are, as often, quoted suggested as we look at many aspects of Christ’s incarnation and triumph, notably Philippians 2:6–11 and 2 Corinthians 8:9. The text was written in Jan 1995, prompted by a comment from Terry Higgins: ‘We praise God for a reason’. It was published in More than Words (2000), and like 270 appears here for the first time in a hymnal.

Andrew Griffiths’ tune ST AUDRIES, not to be confused with others with similar names, was composed at home in Surbiton for these words in 1999, by request of the Praise! music team, soon after they became available. The music was first used at the composer’s home church and is named after the school where he met his future wife on a Lee Abbey houseparty. In More than Words the named tune is CHILDHOOD, from a 1923 book.

b Leicester 1962. King Edward VII Coll, Coalville, Leics; Oriel Coll Oxford; BA/MA (Maths) 1983; Brunel Univ Middx, MSc (Numerical Analysis) 1984. He worked for 16 yrs as a Computer Systems Programmer, followed by 5 as Support Specialist. In 2006 he was redirected to the role of Technical Design Authority for the IBM mainframe platform within Lloyds TSB. He has belonged to various CofE and Free Churches, including 6 yrs as a Methodist Local Preacher (1992–1998); currently a member of Kendal Rd Baptist Ch, Longlevens, Gloucester since 2001. His hymn-writing began in 1987; 144 hymn texts were collected in More than Words, 2000, some of which had appeared in earlier books including NewStart (1999, 6 hymns in a total of 71), Sing Glory (14 hymns), and Praise! A collection of 150 texts based on the Psalms, for singing to well-known tunes, appeared in 2006, giving a total of 275 texts by then in print. 6 of these are in Carol Praise (2006). In that year he also joined the Text Advisory Group (TAG) of Jubilate Hymns which he later chaired, and he also consults regularly with representatives of the more informal songwriters; he is active in the Hymn Soc, and lives with his family in Gloucester. In the 2005 edn of A Panorama of Christian Hymnody, which features 2 of his texts, Paul A Richardson notes their ‘conservative theology, biblical imagery and structural ingenuity’, adding that ML ‘advocates a restoration of hymnody in traditional forms to those who, like him, are in the charismatic wing of the church’. He is also keen to explore some issues often neglected by contemporary writers. By 2010, which saw the publication of a further collection Never Let the Songs End, the total number of his hymns had exceeded 400. Nos.270, 278, 285, 322, 381, 586, 604, 665, 756, 770, 771, 841, 856, 882, 892, 926, 936, 942, 1023, 1029, 1111, 1112, 1113, 1114, 1123, 1124, 1125, 1139, 1140, 1141, 1142, 1167, 1168, 1170, 1171, 1173, 1176, 1177, 1182, 1194, 1196, 1197, 1202, 1206, 1207, 1208, 1217, 1240, 1243.