Dudley-Smith, Timothy

b Manchester 1926. Tonbridge School, Kent, Pembroke Coll Camb, and Ridley Hall Camb; ordained (CofE) 1950. After ministry at Northumberland Heath (nr Erith, Kent) and Bermondsey (SE London) he worked with the Evangelical Alliance, editing Crusade magazine before moving to the Church Pastoral Aid Society, becoming Gen Sec in 1965. Subsequently he became Archdeacon of Norwich (73–81), then suffragan Bp of Thetford until his retirement to Ford, nr Salisbury, in 1992. A writer of verse (including a mastery of the comic sort) from his youth, he is seen by Prof J R Watson (in The English Hymn, 1997) as igniting the late 20th cent ‘hymn explosion’ with his 1961 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord, one of the hymns from that period in the widest use. He is the author of over 250 hymn texts in a similar number of hymnals worldwide, first collected in Lift Every Heart (1984), most recently in A House of Praise ( 2003). The latest of 4 smaller supplements, A Door for the Word, appeared in 2006, and 2 smaller booklets of his texts with accompanying music were published in 2001 and 2006: respectively Beneath a Travelling Star and A Calendar of Praise.

For many years the Bible commentator Derek Kidner was a mentor for most of TDS’s early drafts. While some were begun or completed at home, on trains or elsewhere, several were the fruit of family holidays on the Cornish coast, as a pre-breakfast employment (and delight) overlooking the beach near The Lizard. As reviewers have often observed, his texts are notable for their varied metres, disciplined rhyming, and biblical content; the theme of redemption through the cross and the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is a theme encountered consistently, naturally and with variety; so is the fact that ‘the Lord is risen’. Without plagiarising, the hymns deliberately draw on a wide range of earlier poets and other authors for suggested ideas, as the attached notes fully illustrate. 37 items are included in Sing Glory (1999); 18 are in the N American Worship and Rejoice (2001), 9 in the 2005 edn of A Panorama of Christian Hymnody and 33 in the new Anglo- Chinese Hymns of Universal Praise (new edn, 2006). His other books include A Flame of Love: A personal choice of Charles Wesley’s verse ( 1987), Praying with the English Hymn-writers (1989), and a 2 vol biography (the first) of John R W Stott (1999, 2001). He has served on editorial groups for Psalm Praise (1973) and Common Praise (2000), and has addressed and been honoured by both the N American and British Hymn Societies, respectively as Fellow and Hon Vice-President. In 2003 he was awarded the OBE ‘for services to hymnody’. Hymn festivals in Tunbridge Wells and Salisbury, together with an extended BBC ‘Sunday Half Hour’ on New Year’s Eve, marked his 80th birthday at the end of 2006, following the publication of a seasonallyarranged selection of 30 texts in A Calendar of Praise (with music, mostly traditional). In an opening address to the Hymn Soc’s Guildford conference in its 70th year (also 2006), TDS spoke of his (and our) ups and downs as ‘Snakes and Ladders’, concluding with that greatest of ‘ladders’ from Gen 28, referred to in Elizabeth’s Clephane’s text (699) which has meant everything to him: ‘so seems my Saviour’s cross to me/ a ladder up to heaven’. Nos.10, 20, 25, 26, 32, 34, 41, 56, 60, 63, 65, 69B, 72, 73, 91B, 115, 119H, 134, 141, 218, 238, 320, 327, 351, 360, 389, 402, 405, 410, 413, 436, 459, 466, 488, 497, 516, 531, 553, 558, 623, 628, 659, 688, 697, 746, 750, 784, 823, 924, 925, 939, 949, 951, 1001, 1002, 1005, 1006, 1009, 1019, 1020, 1025, 1042, 1077, 1136, 1166, 1174, 1214.

Hymns

Themes:
  • The Son - His Return in Glory
  • The Son - His Ascension and Reign
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Isaiah 11:4
  • Isaiah 49:7
  • Exodus 15:18
Book Number:
  • 72
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Suffering and Death
Scriptures:
  • 1 John 4:14
  • Isaiah 53:11
  • 1 Peter 2:24
Book Number:
  • 410
Themes:
  • The Gospel - Repentance and Faith
  • The Gospel
Scriptures:
  • Philippians 3:8-10
  • Hebrews 13:21
  • Ezekiel 36:26
Book Number:
  • 697
Themes:
  • The Christian Life - Submission and Trust
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 25:1-22
  • Psalms 31:4
  • Psalms 86:4
Book Number:
  • 25
Themes:
  • The Christian Life
  • The Christian Life - Humbling and Restoration
Scriptures:
  • Joel 2:13
  • Ephesians 3:14-15
  • Ephesians 2:4
Book Number:
  • 823
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Suffering and Death
Scriptures:
  • John 16:20-22
  • Matthew 20:28
  • Mark 10:45
Book Number:
  • 413
Themes:
  • The Christian Life
  • The Christian Life - Freedom in Christ
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 4:8
  • Exodus 15:2
  • Hebrews 13:20-21
Book Number:
  • 746
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Birth and Childhood
Book Number:
  • 1166
Themes:
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life - Governments and Nations
Scriptures:
  • Luke 2:14
  • Matthew 6:10
  • Luke 11:2
Book Number:
  • 949
Themes:
  • Psalms
  • Approaching God - Morning and Evening
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 141:2-3
  • Numbers 6:24-26
  • Exodus 27:20-21
Book Number:
  • 134
Themes:
  • The Gospel
  • The Gospel - New Birth and New Life
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 34:22
  • John 3:5-8
  • Ephesians 3:16-17
Book Number:
  • 688
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Birth and Childhood
Scriptures:
  • Matthew 27:35
  • Mark 10:32
  • Psalms 83
Book Number:
  • 351
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Life and Ministry
Scriptures:
  • Deuteronomy 6:16
  • Hebrews 2:18
  • Psalms 119:11
Book Number:
  • 389
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Resurrection
Scriptures:
  • Romans 8:2
  • Matthew 28:1-8
  • Revelation 11:15
Book Number:
  • 459
Themes:
  • Psalms
  • Approaching God - Morning and Evening
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 134:2
  • Hebrews 13:15
  • Revelation 3:11
Book Number:
  • 141
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Birth and Childhood
Book Number:
  • 1006
Collections:
  • Christmas Praise
Book Number:
  • CP10
Themes:
  • Psalms
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life - The Earth and Harvest
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 6:5
  • Genesis 1:6-10
  • Genesis 8:22
Book Number:
  • 65
Themes:
  • The Church
  • The Christian Life
  • The Christian Life - Commitment and Obedience
Book Number:
  • 1019
Themes:
  • The Church
  • The Christian Life
  • The Christian Life - Perseverance
Book Number:
  • 1020
Themes:
  • The Bible
  • The Bible - Enjoyment and obedience
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 95:7
  • Luke 24:32
  • Ephesians 2:8-9
Book Number:
  • 553
Themes:
  • Approaching God - Adoration and Thanksgiving
Scriptures:
  • 1 Samuel 23:14-16
  • Psalms 84:1-2
  • Hosea 10:12
Book Number:
  • 63
Themes:
  • Approaching God
  • Approaching God - Creator and Sustainer
Book Number:
  • 1001
Themes:
  • The Father
  • The Father - His Love
Book Number:
  • 1002
Themes:
  • The Church
  • The Church - Evangelism and Mission
Scriptures:
  • 1 Corinthians 2:8
  • Acts 1:8
  • Isaiah 9:7
Book Number:
  • 623
Themes:
  • The Gospel - Repentance and Faith
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Exodus 34:7
  • Psalms 32:7
  • Psalms 34:22
Book Number:
  • 32
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Ascension and Reign
Scriptures:
  • Revelation 19:15
  • Revelation 21:8
  • Daniel 7:9-22
Book Number:
  • 497
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Ascension and Reign
Scriptures:
  • Revelation 4:8
  • Revelation 5:12
  • Isaiah 6:3
Book Number:
  • 488
Themes:
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 32:6
  • Psalms 69:36
  • Psalms 19:12-13
Book Number:
  • 69B
Themes:
  • Approaching God
  • Approaching God - Beginning and ending of the year
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 47:8
  • Isaiah 2:4
  • Ezekiel 48:35
Book Number:
  • 238
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Birth and Childhood
Scriptures:
  • Romans 8:2
  • 2 Corinthians 9:15
  • Matthew 2:11
Book Number:
  • 360
Themes:
  • The Father
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 121
Book Number:
  • 1214
Themes:
  • The Gospel - Repentance and Faith
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 23:6
  • Psalms 26:2
  • Psalms 84:1-2
Book Number:
  • 26
Themes:
  • Psalms
  • The Christian Life - Spiritual Warfare
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 10:16
  • Psalms 71:12
  • Romans 3:14
Book Number:
  • 10
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Resurrection
Scriptures:
  • Revelation 15:3
  • Ephesians 1:11-12
  • Luke 24:34
Book Number:
  • 466
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Suffering and Death
Book Number:
  • 1174
Themes:
  • The Holy Spirit
  • The Holy Spirit - His Presence in the Church
Scriptures:
  • Ephesians 4:10
  • Revelation 14:3
  • Habakkuk 3:2
Book Number:
  • 531
Themes:
  • Approaching God
  • Approaching God - Morning and Evening
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 3:5
  • Psalms 5:1-3
  • Colossians 3:15-16
Book Number:
  • 218
Themes:
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life - Governments and Nations
Scriptures:
  • Luke 24:32
  • Revelation 15:3
  • Jeremiah 10:7
Book Number:
  • 951
Themes:
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life - Those in Need
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Job 19:13-19
  • Psalms 29:9
  • Psalms 41
Book Number:
  • 41
Themes:
  • The Christian Life - Suffering and Trial
  • Psalms
  • The Christian Life - Spiritual Warfare
Scriptures:
  • 1 Samuel 21:12-15
  • Psalms 57:1
  • Psalms 102:9
Book Number:
  • 56
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Name and Praise
Scriptures:
  • Micah 5:4
  • Revelation 15:3
  • Hebrews 1:6
Book Number:
  • 320
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Suffering and Death
Scriptures:
  • Matthew 1:21
  • John 1:29
  • Revelation 5:9-12
Book Number:
  • 436
Themes:
  • Approaching God - Adoration and Thanksgiving
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 6:5
  • Psalms 88:10-12
  • 1 John 5:21
Book Number:
  • 115
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Life and Ministry
Scriptures:
  • Hebrews 13:8
  • Matthew 8:23-27
  • Mark 4:35-41
Book Number:
  • 402
Themes:
  • The Christian Life
  • The Christian Life - Assurance and Hope
Scriptures:
  • Revelation 15:3
  • Hebrews 13:8
  • Revelation 20:11-13
Book Number:
  • 784
Themes:
  • The Church
  • Approaching God
  • Approaching God - Adoration and Thanksgiving
Book Number:
  • 1077
Themes:
  • The Bible
  • The Bible - Enjoyment and obedience
Scriptures:
  • Genesis 1:14-16
  • Joshua 1:7-8
  • Job 19:25
Book Number:
  • 558
Themes:
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life - Christian Citizenship
Scriptures:
  • Deuteronomy 16:18-20
  • Psalms 41:1
  • Micah 6:8
Book Number:
  • 924
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Name and Praise
Scriptures:
  • John 1:14
  • Exodus 4:22
  • Psalms 83
Book Number:
  • 327
Themes:
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life - Christian Citizenship
Scriptures:
  • James 1:27
  • Genesis 1:31
  • Matthew 9:27-31
Book Number:
  • 925
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Priesthood and Intercession
  • The Son - His Ascension and Reign
Book Number:
  • 1005
Themes:
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 140:5
  • Psalms 141:9
  • Psalms 11:1
Book Number:
  • 91B
Themes:
  • The Christian Life - Assurance and Hope
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Genesis 32:1-2
  • Exodus 2:23-24
  • Numbers 20:14-16
Book Number:
  • 34
Themes:
  • The Church
  • The Church - Evangelism and Mission
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 145:3
  • Daniel 4:37
  • Isaiah 12:4-5
Book Number:
  • 628
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Life and Ministry
Scriptures:
  • John 1:14
  • Isaiah 9:2
  • 1 Peter 2:24
Book Number:
  • 405
Themes:
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life
  • Christ's Lordship over all of life - Christian Stewardship
  • Approaching God
Book Number:
  • 1009
Themes:
  • The Church - The Life of Prayer
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 53
  • Psalms 20:7
  • Psalms 37:4
Book Number:
  • 20
Themes:
  • The Christian Life
  • The Christian Life - Freedom in Christ
Scriptures:
  • Genesis 1:26-27
  • Philemon 16
  • 1 John 3:1
Book Number:
  • 750
Themes:
  • The Christian Life
  • Approaching God
  • Approaching God - Creator and Sustainer
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 19:7-11
Book Number:
  • 1042
Themes:
  • The Christian Life - Guidance
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Numbers 6:25
  • 2 Samuel 22:31
  • Psalms 119:129-144
Book Number:
  • 119H
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Name and Praise
  • The Son - His Suffering and Death
Scriptures:
  • Philippians 2:6-11
Book Number:
  • 1136
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Name and Praise
  • The Son - His Birth and Childhood
Book Number:
  • 1025
Themes:
  • The Church
  • The Church - The Lord's Supper
Scriptures:
  • John 15:1-8
  • 1 John 1:3
  • 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Book Number:
  • 659
Themes:
  • The Gospel - Invitation and Warning
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • Psalms 51:10
  • Matthew 5:8
  • 2 Timothy 2:22
Book Number:
  • 73
Themes:
  • The Son
  • The Son - His Return in Glory
Scriptures:
  • Revelation 22:4-5
  • Matthew 27:35
  • Mark 15:24
Book Number:
  • 516
Themes:
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life
  • Christ's Lordship Over All of Life - Health and Healing
Scriptures:
  • Jeremiah 17:14
  • Luke 17:11-19
  • Acts 10:38
Book Number:
  • 939
Themes:
  • Psalms
Scriptures:
  • 2 Samuel 8:13
  • 1 Chronicles 18:12
  • Psalms 60:4
Book Number:
  • 60