Teach me, dear Lord, to savour every moment

The passing of precious time is a recurring feature of Martin Leckebusch’s hymns—as indeed it was for Watts and Wesley. He wrote it in July 1997, and says ‘This text, which is one of my personal favourites among my work, is one I need to take to heart. Stanza 1 was drafted in my mind while reroofing our garden shed; stanza 2 in similar haste, jotted down in a lay-by while I was trying neither to forget the ideas nor be late for an appointment. Ah, the rush of life!’ He refers to Psalm 139:16, Proverbs 3:5, Matthew 6:33 and Ephesians 1:4,11 and 5:16. The hymn was published in the author’s More than Words (2000), and features here in a full hymnal for the first time. For the importance of ‘every moment’, cf 850.

The two stzs were written with the LONDONDERRY AIR in mind—unusual in that most of the many texts set to this tune have 3 stzs (as at 84) or 4 (508). This, the third arrangement in the present book, was made for Praise! by Margaret Ellis.

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.