And earth is filled with light;
With resurrection radiance
The very tomb is bright;
There’s joy in heavenly places
When o’er all earthly races
The dawn of mercy breaks.
In the preparation of the “Psalm-book,” there was no one on whom Archbishop Wallin leaned so heavily for help and counsel as Johan Åström, parish priest in Simtuna and Altuna. This man, who was born in 1767, was a lyric poet of unusual ability, and Wallin valued his judgment very highly, even to the extent of seeking his criticism of his own hymns. Eighteen of the hymns in the “Psalm-book” are from Åström’s pen. Many of them, however, are unfortunately tinged by the spirit of rationalism, from which influence Åström had not quite been able to free himself. Instead of emphasizing trust in the Saviour’s merits as the true way to eternal life, there is a strong suggestion in Åström’s hymns that the heavenly goal is achieved by walking in the Saviour’s footsteps. Witness, for example:
Lord, disperse the mists of error,
In Thy light let me see light;
Give Thou me that faith and visior