Truly God is good

This little song for children, arranged as a 4-part round, attracted surprising attention from some early reviewers of Praise! It was submitted from Australia by Brian Black, while he was in England for a Hymn Society conference; like the shortest Psalm (117) it uses its brevity to encapsulate the simple truth which so many people find hard to grasp, or to retain in troubled times. Another short Psalm with the same message is 100 (v5); among longer ones, 73 and 118 (v1 in both). Pandina Lam, one of the enlarged music team for the present book, arranged the author’s tune TRULY GOD IS GOOD.

b Hornsby, nr Sydney, NSW, Australia 1926. He took the Australian matriculation exam in 1952 and studied at Moore Theological Coll, Sydney, 1953–56; ordained (Anglican) 1953. After a curacy at Seven Hills he served as Rector of Tagoona, Westmead, Carlingford (associate), Blackheath and Norfolk Island. He then worked with the Bush Church Aid Soc, relieving in the Australian outback, including a short relief spell in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2001. He retired at 65 to Winmalee, NSW, where he was one of the few Australian members of the Hymn Society of GB and Ireland; he has compered several hymn festivals. He began writing poetry in 1975, ‘providentially triggered by a bush fire!’—BB. Hymns followed soon afterwards, his first published work in Britain appearing in the 1980s; his paraphrase from Phil 2, Before the heaven and earth, was included in the 1987 edn of HTC, followed by a dozen other collections. Including songs for children and adults, vespers, introits, rounds, benedictions etc he has written some 350 pieces, 7 of which are so far in print. In 1999 in retirement he served a holiday locum on Lord Howe Island (in the Pacific nr Norfolk Is) which became an annual event, during which he has spent time writing, concentrating recently on Psalm-based rounds. He was the first (and for many years the only) writer from the southern hemisphere to belong to the Jubilate Hymns network. He is also a keen traveller (trekking in Nepal 1982), gardener and tennis player. Nos. 253, 904.