Hymn of the Day: ACS1093 In a Deep, Unbounded Darkness
Text: Anonymous, China; tr. Francis P. Jones, (1890–1975); adapt. Mary Louise Bringle, (1953)
Tune: DIVINUM MYSTERIUM, Plainsong mode V, 13th cent.

This text that originated as the theme song for a Bible study institute in China is a meditation on the eternal nature of God. Like the hymn “Of the Father’s love begotten,” with which this tune is often paired, we begin in the time before creation when God claimed us. After praising God’s steadfastness in stanza two, our joy overflows at the incarnation in stanza three. Finally, stanza four returns us to the realm of eternity, joining together the beginning and final chapters of the Bible by connecting references to stories from Genesis and Exodus with the wedding feast of the Lamb in Revelation.