In the Day of Need

Representative Text

1 In the day of need may your answer be the LORD;
may the God of Jacob strengthen you.
May he send you help from his high and holy place,
and support you for the glory of his name.

2 May the LORD God grant you success in all your plans;
may he give you all your heart's desire.
May we sing for joy when we see the battle won,
when the LORD has heard and answered every prayer.

3 Now I know that God will encourage those he loves;
he will hear and answer from on high.
Not a word shall fail of the promise he has made,
nor the works of his victorious right hand.

4 There are some who boast of the weapons of the world,
but the power of God is all our pride.
Those who arm for war shall one day collapse and fall,
but God's people stand and in their King prevail.

(This is the only representative text available.)^ top

Versifier: Christopher M. Idle

Christopher Martin Idle (b. Bromley, Kent, England, 1938) was educated at Elthan College, St. Peter's College, Oxford, and Clifton Theological College in Bristol, and was ordained in the Church of England. He served churches in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria; London; and Oakley, Suffolk; and recently returned to London, where he is involved in various hymnal projects. A prolific author of articles on the Christian's public responsibilities, Idle has also published The Lion Book of Favorite Hymns (1980) and at least one hundred of his own hymns and biblical paraphrases. Some of his texts first appeared in hymnals published by the Jubilate Group, with which he is associated. He was also editor of Anglican Praise (1987). In 1998 Hope Publishing… Go to person page >

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First Line:	In the day of need may your answer be the LORD
Title:	In the Day of Need
Versifier:	Christopher M. Idle (1969)
Meter:	12.9.12.11
Copyright:	Text and music © 1973, Hope Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Used by permission

Year B, Ordinary Time, Trinity Sunday

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Notes

A prayer for the king (God's anointed-Messiah) by those about to follow him into battle.

Scripture References:
st. 1 =vv. 1-3, 9
st. 2 = vv. 4-5
st. 3 = v. 6
st. 4=vv. 7-9

The themes of Psalm 20 suggest that the people are assembled to follow the king into battle. They commend the king to God's protection and help (st. 1-2), confess their confident reliance on the LORD in the impending battle (st. 3), and close with an appeal to God for the king's safety and victory, professing trust in God rather than in human resources (st. 4).

Christopher Martin Idle (b. Bromley, Kent, England, 1938) wrote this versification in 1969; it was first published in Psalm Praise (1973). Idle suggests that "the fourth stanza seems to have a message peculiarly relevant to a world where many in east and west boast of their weapons of war and rely on them to preserve 'peace.'" Idle was educated at Elthan College, St. Peter's College, Oxford, and Clifton Theological College in Bristol, and was ordained in the Church of England. He served churches in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria; London; and Oakley, Suffolk; and recently returned to London, where he is involved in various hymnal projects. A prolific author of articles on the Christian's public responsibilities, Idle has also published The Lion Book of Favorite Hymns (1980) and at least one hundred of his own hymns and biblical paraphrases. Some of his texts first appeared in hymnals published by the Jubilate Group, with which he is associated. He was also editor of Anglican Praise (1987).

Liturgical Use:
Occasions when the church contemplates following Christ into battle-thus fitting for adult baptism, profession of faith, or at the conclusion of worship, as God's people take up their service and spiritual warfare in the world.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

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Tune

SAMSON (Warren)

Norman L. Warren (PHH 15) composed SAMSON for this text in 1972 for publication in Psalm Praise (1973). The tune was named after Warren's "small, very friendly" dog, a Border terrier. This simple folklike tune requires strong unison for congregational singing, with two beats to the bar. --Psalter Hy…

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