Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah
This hymn is often used for significant occasions – ordinations, funerals, coronations, etc. – likely because it juxtaposes a call to action with an abiding sense of God’s guidance amidst struggle, using the Exodus story to convey this imagery. This imagery includes references to the God who provides the “bread of heaven” to those walking in “barren lands.” The second stanza points to the “fire and cloudy pillar” that the Israelites followed, as well as the “crystal fountain” the rock from which “the healing stream doth flow” – a God that sustains its people through hunger and thirst.
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
Hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.
Lead On, O Cloud of Presence – text by Ruth C. Duck
An excerpt from an essay by Dr. C. Michael Hawn:
“I recall the first time that I sang this hymn. Knowing well Ernest W. Shurtleff’s hymn, “Lead on, O King Eternal” (1887), I was delighted to recall its images as I sang Ruth Duck’s creative paraphrase with current and inclusive theology.
Dr. Duck has been a hymn writer since the early 1970s, writing about 170 hymns, metrical psalms and canticles. She describes the origins of this hymn:
“‘Lead on, O Cloud of Presence’ emerged while I was trying to adapt ‘Lead on, O King Eternal’ for Because We Are One People (1974). Both texts used the Exodus imagery (Numbers 9:15-23). The old hymn uses triumphalist military language, while the new hymn grows out of liberation movements. The cloud and fiery pillar are symbols of God’s presence, guiding people in uncertain times as they journey toward freedom.”
The author lived in Memphis, Tenn., from 1964-1969. She notes that she “was deeply influenced by Dr. [Martin Luther] King’s presence and death there. ‘Lead On’ undoubtedly grows out of that experience. So much has been accomplished toward racial justice and reconciliation and so much more needs to be done. The journey is truly our home!”
Among other themes in her hymns, Dr. Duck explores alternative language for God. She offers the theological root of this exploration: “I bring several central concerns to writing hymn texts. One is to develop new language that includes all people, moving beyond exclusively masculine images and pronouns. My first hymn texts [including ‘Lead on, O Cloud of Presence’] emerged from attempts to revise hymns that had much masculine imagery. At the same time, I am committed to using language that rings true to my own experience. Thus, I avoid language that is only experimental; a hymn text must express genuine faith experience.”
Lead on, O cloud of Presence, the exodus is come,
in wilderness and desert our tribe shall make its home.
Our slavery left behind us, new hopes within us grow.
We seek the land of promise where milk and honey flow.
Lead on, O fiery Pillar, we follow yet with fears,
but we shall come rejoicing though joy be born of tears.
We are not lost, though wandering, for by your light we come,
and we are still God’s people. The journey is our home.
Lead on O God of freedom, and guide us on our way,
and help us trust the promise through struggle and delay.
We pray our sons and daughters may journey to that land
where justice dwells with mercy, and love is law’s demand.