O God, from whom all mercy springs

Another Psalm whose title locates it precisely, in David’s cave-hideout at 1 Samuel 24. Comparing it with 56, Kirkpatrick says ‘It breathes the same spirit of lofty confidence in the presence of danger.’ Its concluding stzs reappear as the opening of Psalm 108. David Preston wrote his version while Praise! was in preparation and completed it in Nov 1998; crucial lines in stzs 2 and 3 reflect the sudden lifting of the gloom and its replacement with songs of joy. The opening lines owe something to Watts: My God, in whom are all the springs. A ‘Scripture song’ using part of this Psalm is found at 183, by Brent Chambers. The author’s own tune DAWN was composed for this text; both appear here for the first time. But he notes, ‘A great problem finding a tune with solemn first half and ecstatic second half. DGP a reluctant contributor; other offerings welcome.’ The name comes from v8 of the Psalm (here, the final word of stz 3); ‘the focus of one of the most dramatic moments in the Psalter: instead of having to wait for daylight to save him from those out to kill him, he is so certain that God has already answered his prayer (cf Mark 11:23ff.) that his ecstatic cry of thanksgiving will arouse the very sun’— DGP.

b London 1939. d 2020. Archbishop Tenison’s Grammar School, Kennington, London; Keble College Oxford (MA Mod Langs.) He worked as a French Teacher, including 11 years at Ahmadu Bello Univ, Nigeria, and gained a PhD on the French Christian poet Pierre Emmanuel (1916 84). A member of Carey Baptist Ch, Reading, for many years, he later moved to Alweston, nr Sherborne, Dorset. He compiled The Book of Praises (Carey Publications, Liverpool) in 1987, with versions of 71 Psalms; these include modified texts of Watts and a few other classic paraphrasers, but most are by contemporary writers including himself. 60 of his metrical Psalm versions are so far published, including one each in Sing Glory (2000), the Scottish Church Hymnary 4th Edn (2005) and Sing Praise (2010), and 3 in the 2004 edn of CH; also 10 tunes. His writing and composing has taken place in Leicester, Reading, Nigeria and his present home; he was a member of the editorial board throughout the preparation of Praise! and had a major share in the choice of music for the Psalm texts (1-150). His convictions about the Psalms, as expressed in the Introduction to BP, are that ‘There is nothing to compare with their blend of the subjective and the objective, the inner life and practical goodness, the knowledge of one’s own rebellious heart and the knowledge of God…Today’s general neglect of congregational Psalm singing is a symptom of the spiritual malaise of our churches. When the preaching of the Gospel has prospered, bringing into being churches vibrant with spiritual life, men and women have taken great delight in praising their Maker and Redeemer through these scriptural hymns’. 15 of his own, self-selected, feature as his share of ‘contemporary hymns’ in the 2009 Come Celebrate; he has also served as a meticulous proof-reader. Nos.1, 2A, 5*, 6, 7, 11, 15, 16, 17, 19A, 24A, 27A, 30B, 32*, 33*, 38, 40, 42, 43, 47, 51*, 52, 55, 57*, 64, 66, 74, 76, 77, 84, 90, 91A, 96*, 97, 99, 100B, 101, 114*, 120, 126, 132, 139, 142*, 143, 145A, 147*, 824*, 830*, 963*.