I have been in the process of writing and recording a set of albums, Old & New, setting new music to old hymns. I recently released my second of three and wanted to write a little about why I spent so much time devoted to old stuff (see intro post). You can download both of the albums for free here: gregwillson.bandcamp.com. This post is on the first track, Let There Be Light.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

In this verse from 2 Corinthians, Paul connects God’s work in creating the world in Genesis to His re-creation of our hearts. That’s a pretty amazing juxtaposition. The radical nature of creating something out of nothing, of shaping the heavens and intimately breathing into man’s nostrils is the connection to the radical nature of our heart of stone becoming one of flesh.

In creation a human was made from earthen clay. In re-creation, a human is re-made, connecting God’s life-giving work to creation, but also calling to something more—Eden was never supposed to be the end of the story. To become more human, more of what we are supposed to be, means God’s light to shine brighter in our darkness of the deep. And we trust in the God who continually brings us into this light.

Obedience for the one who is united to Christ means to live out our human-ness. So we call for God’s light to shine: in our darkened hearts and throughout the whole earth.

This is the inspiration for Let There Be Light. John Marriot in 1813 wrote the overwhelming majority of the verse lyrics, I tweaked them a tiny bit. But I added a chorus to continue the idea of petitioning God to bring His much needed light into our lives.

Lyrics:
Thou, whose almighty word
Chaos and darkness heard
And took their flight
Hear us, we humbly pray
And where the gospel’s day
Sheds not its glorious ray
Let there be light

Thou, who didst come to bring
On Thy protecting wing
Healing and sight
Sight to the inly blind
Health to the sick in mind
Oh! now, to all mankind
Let there be light

Chorus
Your light come down
In it we’re found
You heal our hearts
Each crooked part

Spirit of truth and love
Life-giving holy Dove
Speed forth Thy flight
Move o’er the water’s face
By Thine almighty grace
And in earth’s darkest place
Let there be light

Blessed and holy Three
Glorious Trinity
Wisdom, love, might
Boundless as ocean’s tide
Rolling in fullest pride
O’er the world far and wide
Let there be light