Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#164

164. O LORD, You Are My Light

1 O LORD, you are my light
and my salvation near;
then who will cause me fright
or fill my heart with fear?
While God my strength, my life sustains,
secure from fear my soul remains.

2 My one request has been
and still this prayer I raise:
that I may live within
God's house for all my days,
God's glorious beauty to admire,
and in his temple to inquire.

3 When troubles round me swell,
when fears and dangers throng,
securely I will dwell
in his pavilion strong.
Within the shelter of his tent
he hides me till the storm is spent.

4 Uplifted on a rock
above my foes around,
amid the battle shock
my song shall still resound.
Then joyful offerings I will bring;
the LORD God's praise my heart shall sing.

Text Information

• First Line: O LORD, you are my light
• Title: O LORD, You Are My Light
• Meter: 66 66 88
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Scripture:
  Psalm 27:1-6
• Topic: Epiphany & Ministry of Christ; Assurance; Light
• Source: Psalter, 1869 (st. 1); Psalter, 1912; alt. (st. 2-4)

Tune Information

• Name: ARTHUR'S SEAT
• Composer: John Goss, 1800-1880
• Arranger: Uzziah C. Burnap (1874)
• Meter: 66 66 88
• Key: A♭ Major

Text Information:

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Ps. 27:1
st. 2 = Ps. 27:4
st. 3 = Ps. 27:5
st. 4 = Ps. 27:5b-6

This setting of Psalm 27:1-6 expresses great confidence in God's protection of his people, a confidence that leads the psalmist to bring “Joyful offerings” (st. 4) to the LORD. The first stanza (originally “Jehovah is my light”) was first published in The Book of Psalms (1871), a text-only psalter that was later published with music in 1887. Stanzas 2-4 (altered) are from the 1912 Psalter, which in turn had altered the 1871 text. For further commentary on this psalm see PHH 27.

Liturgical Use:
Beginning of worship; during the dedication of offerings. See also PHH 27.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

ARTHUR'S SEAT was composed by John Goss (b. Fareham, Hampshire, England, 1800; d. London, England, 1880). As a boy Goss was a chorister at the Chapel Royal and later sang in the opera chorus of the Covent Garden Theater. He was a professor of music at the Royal Academy of Music (1827-1874) and organist of St. Paul Cathedral, London (1838-1872); in both positions he exerted significant influence on the reform of British cathedral music. Goss published Parochial Psalmody (1826) and Chants, Ancient and Modern (1841); he edited William Mercer's Church Psalter and Hymn Book (1854). With James Turle he published a two-volume collection of anthems and Anglican service music (1854).

ARTHUR'S SEAT was first published in Hymns and Songs of Praise (New York, 1874) as arranged by one of the editors, Uzziah C. Burnap (b. Brooklyn, NY, 1834; d. Brooklyn, 1900). Burnap's vocation was in the dry goods business, but his avocation was music. As a young man he studied music at the University of Paris and then served the Reformed Church of Brooklyn Heights for thirty-seven years as organist. Burnap composed and arranged many hymn tunes and was the music editor of two hymnals used in the Reformed Church of America: Hymns of the Church with Tunes (1869) and Hymns of Prayer and Praise (1871).

ARTHUR'S SEAT is named after a hill overlooking Edinburgh, Scotland; the British prince Arthur defeated a Saxon army in that area. The tune starts energetically, subsides, and then builds to a strong climax in its final phrase.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook