God, loving ruler of our world

Authors:
Themes:
Book Number:
  • 1084

God, loving ruler of our world,
all things were made by you;
by your creative, gracious power
you made us rulers too.

2. But we reject you; godless lives
spin out our sorry tale,
and in ourselves, our land, our world,
how hopelessly we fail!

3. You take us fairly at our word;
and if we still rebel
your judgement pays us what we ask:
the godless death of hell.

4. Yet you are love! You gave your Son;
this Man has met our need:
your rule he lived, our death he died,
the slaves of sin are freed!

5. You raised him from the stony grave,
to spell the end of death:
he brings good news, forgiveness, life:
he comes to judge the earth.

6. So grant me grace to follow Christ,
and I will surely pray,
trust all his words, accept his rule
and walk with him today.

© CHRISTOPHER IDLE/ADMINISTERED BY THE JUBILATE GROUPKITLEY HOUSE, ST KATHERINES ROAD, TORQUAY, TQ1 4DE, UK copyrightmanager@jubilate.co.ukUSED BY PERMISSION
Christopher idle

The Christian Life - Commitment and Obedience

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Tunes

  • Bonnyton
    Metre:
    • CM (Common Metre: 86 86)
    Composer:
    • Bell, John Lamberton
  • Creator God
    Creator God
    Metre:
    • CM (Common Metre: 86 86)
    Composer:
    • Warren, Norman Leonard

A look at the author

Idle, Christopher Martin

b Bromley, Kent 1938. Eltham Coll, St Peter’s Coll Oxford (BA, English), Clifton Theol Coll Bristol; ordained in 1965 to a Barrow-in-Furness curacy. He spent 30 years in CofE parish ministry, some in rural Suffolk, mainly in inner London (Peckham, Poplar and Limehouse). Author of over 300 hymn texts, mainly Scripture based, collected in Light upon the River (1998) and Walking by the River (2008), Trees along the River (2018), and now appearing in some 300 books and other publications; see also the dedication of EP1 (p3) to his late wife Marjorie. He served on 5 editorial groups from Psalm Praise (1973) to Praise!; his writing includes ‘Grove’ booklets Hymns in Today’s Language (1982) and Real Hymns, Real Hymn Books (2000), and The Word we preach, the words we sing (Reform, 1998). He edited the quarterly News of Hymnody for 10 years, and briefly the Bulletin of the Hymn Society, on whose committee he served at various times between 1984 and 2006; and addressed British and American Hymn Socs. Until 1996 he often exchanged draft texts with Michael Perry (qv) for mutual criticism and encouragement. From 1995 he was engaged in educational work and writing from home in Peckham, SE London, until retirement in 2003; following his return to Bromley after a gap of 40 years, he has attended Holy Trinity Ch Bromley Common and Hayes Lane Baptist Ch. Owing much to the Proclamation Trust, he also belongs to the Anglican societies Crosslinks and Reform, together with CND and the Christian pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation. A former governor of 4 primary schools, he has also written songs for school assemblies set to familiar tunes, and (in 2004) Grandpa’s Amazing Poems and Awful Pictures. His bungalow is smoke-free, alcohol-free, car-free, gun-free and TV-free. Nos.13, 18, 21, 23A, 24B, 27B, 28, 31, 35, 36, 37, 48, 50, 68, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 85, 89, 92, 95, 102, 108, 109, 114, 118, 119A, 121A, 125, 128, 131, 145B, 157, 176, 177, 193*, 313*, 333, 339, 388, 392, 420, 428, 450, 451, 463, 478, 506, 514, 537, 548, 551, 572, 594, 597, 620, 621, 622, 636, 668, 669, 693, 747, 763, 819, 914, 917, 920, 945, 954, 956, 968, 976, 1003, 1012, 1084, 1098, 1138, 1151, 1158, 1159, 1178, 1179, 1181, 1201, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1209, 1210, 1211, 1212, 1221, 1227, 1236, 1237, 1244, 1247, 5017, 5018, 5019, 5020.