In 1967, Timothy Dudley-Smith was invited to write this hymn for the centenary service of The Scripture Union, to be sung to the tune of Sibelius’s
Finlandia. The hymn is often used as one of commemoration for the work of God in our own lives. But that is to pay attention only to the first verse: it goes on to other, wider themes: the word of God in the Bible, our land today, our world in its pain. It was included in
Youth Praise II in 1969, with this tune by Michael Baughen.
from notes by Alan Luff © 1999
