by Zachary Groff | December 4, 2023
At the dawning of creation,
by the power of God’s Word,
light shone forth, cutting through the darkness,
when God’s mighty voice was heard.
By our sin the darkness took us,
and we fell from our high place.
But our Savior did not abandon us:
Christ has saved us by His grace.
We are called into communion:
faithful to the Scriptures owned;
truly holding the precious Faith Reformed,
Christ’s Commission, we obey.
He will call us home to glory:
th’Spirit’s jewels in our King’s crown.
Glorified, we will stand and praise Him:
Glory to the Risen Lamb.
I wrote this hymn to the stately – but energetic – tune, LA BOUM. I first encountered this tune performed by a bagpipe ensemble. Its provenance is in some question (the most likely original composer being a certain Bertrand Louet), but it is a rousing tune that lends itself to singing and harmonization (which I prepared for this hymn). I am indebted to Dr. Robert Cathcart for assistance in smoothing out the lyrics in the third stanza, in which I highlight the threefold motto of the Presbyterian Church in America: Faithful to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed Faith, Obedient to the Great Commission. For a .pdf, click here.
You can listen to recordings of the hymn here:
With accompaniment:
Without accompaniment (a capella):
An earlier recording of the hymn is featured at the end of my friend Ryan Biese’s fascinating interview on the Westminster Standard Podcast, available below:
Zachary Groff is a PCA Teaching Elder serving as Pastor of Antioch Presbyterian Church in Woodruff, SC.