My Lord, you called my name

The simplicity of this further text from Martin Leckebusch (see note to 270) should not blind us to its depth. Line 2 (which from John Bell and Graham Maule is also a first line) often introduces the theme of the pre-incarnate Christ; here it is more personal to me. It reflects the truth of Psalm 139, echoes the consciousness of such as Jeremiah and Paul of a calling long before they became aware of it, and adds a sense that ‘my footsteps’ have often also needed not only a directing but a turning back. The hymn appeared in the author’s own collection, where it is headed ‘Footsteps’ and indexed under ‘Reaching for God’, ‘The Love of God’ and ‘Remade by God’; then in Sing Glory (1999) shortly before its appearance here. Ironically, he says, ‘I cannot recall writing this text! It simply re-emerged from the first drafts pile one day …’

In all these books, IBSTONE is chosen as a natural tune, though it is also in demand for texts such as 651, and 874 for which it was written. Maria Tiddeman composed it for the 1875 edition of A&M, naming it after one of the two villages near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire where her father was rector. The author suggests an alternative, QUAM DILECTA (651).

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.