Forgive our sins as we forgive

‘And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us’; those words, daily prayed in whatever form or language by millions of Christians the world over, are as demanding as they are reassuring. The hymns we sing refer countlessly to the 1st clause, rarely to the 2nd. Rosamond Herklots began to redress that balance in a hymn she wrote at her home in Bromley, Kent, in 1966 or possibly as early as 1962. While it was not, therefore, at the very beginning of the new wave of writing which is normally traced to c1960 and onwards, there is no hymn which better illustrates the gap between the style and scope which (with a few exceptions) was general before then, and the newer directions taken since into the fresher air breathed by those who take them. Its original form, appeared in the A&M supplement of 1969, 100 Hymns for Today. Taking this book and 5 further hymnal supplements from 4 denominations produced between then and 1987, we find this to be significantly the only hymn which they all included. It has now become almost unthinkable for a major hymnal to omit it—though some have managed to do so.

Neglect, too, was the literal soil from which the words grew. A children’s song from the 1970s begins ‘Pullin’ the weeds, Lord, pullin’ the weeds …’; Rosamond Herklots’ more adult verses began life when she was not merely pulling but digging. It was her nephew John’s garden in Stoke Damerel, Devonport, where he was Curate, which needed the more thorough treatment. While the author, just turned 60, was applying her fork and trowel to the roots, she was reminded of the similar but greater harm which deep-rooted, fast-spreading and tangled resentments and ‘unforgiveness’ cause to the human spirit. She lived to see her hymn chosen and sung (and, one hopes, pondered) by churches worldwide, and to see the need for some of her original expressions to be modified. She had written at 3.3 ‘how small the debts men owe to us’, and at 4.3 ‘then, reconciled to God and man’.

We may regret that no single tune has yet emerged as the natural partner for these words. A wide variety, both old and new, have been put at their service; of which the first was the 18th-c CROWLE, with ST BERNARD (505) a ‘safe’ alternative. Even BANGOR, chosen here, while expressing the right mood, is in demand for so many other hymns that we may yet hope for something at the same time as fresh and as singable as the words. William Tans’ur’s (or Tanzer’s) tune appeared in his 1734/35 book A Compleat Melody: or the Harmony of Syon, which he called ‘the most curiosest Book that ever was published’. It was set there to a version of Psalm 12 and named BANGOR TUNE (‘Composed in three parts. W.T.’); in a reprint it was used for Psalm 11. He may have been its arranger rather than its composer. It has long been a favourite in Scotland, and in With One Voice is set to 3 hymns and named as an alternative for 2 others; several hymnals include it at least twice. It is acknowledged as WT’s greatest achievement, as the text is that of its author.

b Masuri, N India 1905, d Greenwich, SE London 1987. Born into a gifted clerical and missionary family, she attended Leeds Girls’ High Sch and the Univ of Leeds (BA, French). After teacher training she taught briefly in Palestine c1930, but did not pursue this profession, returning to England to train as a secretary. She worked with Unilever for some years, and during air-raids in the 1939–45 war helped to entertain the children among the thousands of Londoners sheltering in underground stations. Her hymn-writing began c1940. After the war she moved to a flat in Amblecote Rd near Grove Park station in SE London, which remained her home for the next 30 years, and was secretary to a distinguished specialist in Spina Bifida. Later she worked at the head office of the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. During these years of some loneliness and ‘ascetic simplicity’ she belonged to St Mary’s Ch, Plaistow, in Bromley just a mile away, and dedicated a small collection of 15 Hymns of Hope ‘for the Vicar and people…whose encouragement made this book possible’. Another booklet of Five Easter Poems adopted the ‘voice’ of NT characters including ‘Black Simon’s Story’—from Cyrene. These texts show a close affinity to those of her contemporary Albert Bayly, with their biblical roots, contemporary feel and wide social concern. She sang contralto with the Alexandra Choir who often performed at the Royal Albert Hall, and was noted for her amazing memory and ‘gentle, oldfashioned humour’. 5 of her hymns are in print, and more than 60 others (possibly up to 100) remain in typed and handwritten mss. No.824.