Part 5. The God Is Light Metaphor in Christian Hymns
Christian hymn writers have long probed and richly proclaimed God’s word in harmonious poetry, providing us with a rich and robust musical theology. The God is light metaphor permeates Christian hymnody with the unique majestic truth that our God is Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one in three and three in one. The light metaphor appears in various forms in hymn lyrics.
But the light found in Christian hymns is unearthly; it is other than humanly conceived, for it is the supernatural light of our creator. In our present Lutheran hymnal[1] (page numbers in parentheses) we find that this unearthly light is:
Everlasting, eternal:
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- O Little Town of Bethlehem (65) – In Bethlehem’s “dark streets shineth the everlasting light.”
- O Come, All Ye Faithful (55) – Jesus is “Light from Light eternal.”
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The Holy Trinity:
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- O Trinity, Most Blessed Light (591) – the Holy Trinity is described as “most blessed light” and asked to “shine your light into our hearts” (function of Holy Spirit)
- Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty (195) – God (Father and Holy Spirit) is hidden in darkness “to human eyes,” and “the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see.”
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The splendor of God:
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- O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright (586) – God’s splendor is bright and undimmed; Jesus is “Light from Light, light’s fountain spring.”
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The blessing of Christians:
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- O Christians, Haste (570) – Your mission “to tell to all the world that God is light,” and “haste to bring the brighter day.”
- Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain (106) – “You shall walk with God in light.”
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The invisible:
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- Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (240) – The invisible God dwells “in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,” and God our “great Father of glory” is “Father of light.” Even God’s angels are “veiling their sight” before his bright countenance, yet we call upon God to “lead us to see the light of your splendor.”
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Spiritual light in human hearts:
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- We Now Implore God the Holy Ghost (190) – the Holy Spirit, though invisible to human eyes, is implored to “shine in our hearts” and “set our hearts with heavn’ly fire aglow.”
- Holy Spirit, Light Divine (183) – The Holy Spirit is “Light Divine” (though invisible to human eyes) and beseeched to “shine upon this heart of mine; chase the gloom of night away; turn the darkness into day.”
- Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (176) – The Holy Spirit is called “holy Light, Guide divine, . . . the Word of life to shine.”
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Jesus:
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- Behold the Lamb of God (101) – Jesus is described as “One with the Ancient of all days, One with the Comforter (Holy Spirit) in praise, All light, all love.” All three persons of the Trinity are all love. How could God be love (1 John 4:8) if he were single with no other one to love?
- Down from the Mount of Glory (97) – The transfigured Christ “stood radiant in the light, light found in God-head solely, for human eyes too bright.”
- Oh, Wondrous Type! Oh, Vision Fair (96) – Jesus, “brighter than the sun he glows,” is the “eternal Son” with the Father and Holy Spirit “ever one.”
- How Good, Lord, to Be Here (95) – Jesus’ “face and garments, like the sun, shine with un-borrowed light.”
- The Star Proclaims the King Is Here (91) – The Magi from afar “followed his guiding star, and led by light to Light they pressed.” Created light leads wise people everywhere and everywhen to the unique uncreated light that is God.
- The People that in Darkness Sat (90) – People in darkness “a glorious light have seen; the light has shone on them who long in shades of death have been.”
- To Jordan’s River Came Our Lord (89) – Jesus is “the God from God, the Light from Light, the Lord of glory, pow’r love and might.”
- O God from God, O Light from Light (85) – “O God from God, O light from Light” is Jesus our “Prince of Peace and King of kings.”
- Angels from the Realms of Glory (80) – “yonder shines the infant light (Jesus).”
- Arise and Shine in Splendor (81) – “Your light is drawing near. Above, the day is beaming, In matchless beauty gleaming; the glory of the Lord is here.” God’s glory is in his light (Ezekiel 1:4-28)
- Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel (23) – Christ is the “Day-spring from on high” (the place where the sun rises) who cheers us by drawing nigh and dispersing the gloomy clouds of night and putting death’s dark shadows to flight.
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In summary, the above quotes show that the hymn writers consider God’s light, from one or more of the three persons of the Holy Trinity, to be:
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- Everlasting, eternal.
- The innate essence of God the Holy Trinity.
- Both visible in Jesus and invisible in the Father and Holy Spirit.
- The fountain of light and the splendor of God’s majesty.
- The good news that Christians must hasten to bring to the world.
- The illumination for our Christian walk.
- Inaccessible by mere mortals, too bright even for unveiled angels’ eyes.
- Penetrating and illuminating human hearts with heavenly fire.
- Dissipating the darkness of sin.
- Divinely guiding men.
- All light, all love.
- Brilliantly and awesomely transfigured in Jesus and his glorified resurrected saints.
- More powerful than the most powerful created lights, the suns.
- A guide to those wise ones seeking the Savior of the world.
- A glory and liberation from those under the sentence of death.
- The power behind the love of God.
- The essence of the prince of peace and king of kings.
- The radiance of Christ the infant.
- The dayspring of the world, (Jesus Luke 1:76-79)
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The examples given here are far from exhausting the profuse presence of the God Is Light metaphor in hymns of the Christian church. You, my reader, will undoubtedly think of others perhaps more illustrative and relevant. Nevertheless, the metaphor dwells extensively throughout Holy Scripture and the theology and praises of the Church—our God is light, in him there is not darkness, for he is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Alleluia!
[1] Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal. Authorized by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Northwestern Publishing House. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.1993, Eleventh Printing, 2014.
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