Love is His Word (Richer than gold is the love of my Lord)

This hymn was written by English Roman Catholic hymn writer and editor, Luke Connaughton (1917-1979).

It was first published in Sing a New Song in 1970, and has been included in various other collections since, including ones in the USA and Australia.

With meter 4.4.8.5.4.7, tunes it has been set to include:

CRESSWELL (Milner) by Anthony Milner (b 1925) - the original tune
JULINORMA by Robert Hutmacher - set to the text when it was published in the US.

Downloads

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Tune: CRESWELL

Tune: JULINORMA

Examples

Choir with piano, Tune - CRESWELL

Choir with band, Tune - CRESWELL

Instrumental - organ. Tune - CRESWELL

Professional singer with keyboard backing. Tune: CRESWELL

Singer, self-accompanied on guitar:

Professional choir - light orchestral backing. Tune: JULINORMA

Lyrics

The words are still copyright- though they are available here.

There are 7 verses, each with 4 lines, and a two-line chorus which is repeated between lines. A rough outline is:

1. Love is His word, Love is His way,
...
Love only love is His ...

Chorus
Richer than gold is the love of my Lord.
Better than splendour and wealth.

2. Love is His way, love is His mark,

3. Love is his mark, love is His sign,

4. Love is His sign, love is His news,

5. Love is His news, Love is His name,

6. Love is His name, love is His law,

7. Love is His law, Love is His word ...