Dear Editor,
What a very timely ‘Comment’ column in August’s en, ‘Hart to Heart: how are your times alone with the Lord at the moment?’!
The language used by Joseph Hart in his hymns might seem very dated, but with careful meditation there are tremendous truths to be discovered. He was obviously greatly affected when considering our Lord’s sufferings – as were the NT apostles ( such as Peter ‘redeemed by the precious blood of Christ’ and Paul, ‘the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me’).
It has to be said that some of Hart’s hymns are perhaps not really suitable for public singing, but on the other hand they can be most helpful for private devotions.
Hymns are by definition not the actual word of God and we must never put them on the same level. They are simply godly people putting down their own experiences of the Christian life and especially of what Jesus means to them. In other words, we ourselves can relate to what is being written, and Hart especially is very ‘down to earth’.
It is helpful to look at Dr John Ling’s website where there is a thorough introduction to Joseph Hart. Dr John Ling is a bioethics expert who, prior to retirement, lectured at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Yours sincerely,
John Martin East Sussex
