Humbly in your sight we come together, Lord

Humbly in your sight we come together, Lord. J.P. Chirwa (d. 1940), translated by Tom Colvin* (1925-2000). This is a translation of ‘Tiza Pantazi Pinu’, a hymn in Tumbuka, a Bantu language spoken in northern Malawi and some neighbouring countries. The first line appears as above in Colvin’s Fill us with your love (1983), and then in Songs of God’s People (1988), World Praise (1993), Glory to God (1994), and Sing Glory (1999). In Colvin’s last book, Come, let us walk this road together (1997), ‘Lord’ is changed to ‘God’, presumably to avoid the exclusive...