Ruth Taylor

Among my many favourite hymns I have chosen ‘All my hope on God is founded’ which we sang recently in church: MP 292; AMNS 336.

It brings back strong memories of a warm July evening in 1997. I was surrounded by family, friends, and a very welcoming crowd. It was the occasion of Nick’s Induction Service as Team Rector and Vicar of St. George’s.

We had chosen this hymn because of its message of love, hope, and encouragement, at a time of new beginnings. In the first verse are the lines:

‘He doth still my trust renew.
Me through change and chance He guideth
Only good and only true’.

These words have helped me especially in the years since that night. Through many times of joy and some of sadness, I have recalled the following lines:

‘Daily doth the Almighty Giver
Bounteous gifts on us bestow’.
And the verse finishes with the reassuring:
‘Love doth stand at His hand,
Joy doth wait on His command’.
Sometimes the future can seem an uncertain place, but the final line of this hymn helps to reassure me, as the first line did:

‘Ye who follow shall not fall’.

Music and Lyrics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2oYTtyBSxk