Casken’s Child of Hope is described as Hymn and Variation on "The race that long in darkness pined", a Christmastide and Epiphany hymn first appearing in the Scottish Psalter of 1615, as given in the Ravenscroft Psalter of 1621. It presents Verse 1 of the original hymn followed by an extended variation on verses 1, 3 and 5.