Scripture Verse

God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. Genesis 1:9

Introduction

Words: Un­known au­thor, 6th Cen­tu­ry (Im­men­se cae­li Con­di­tor). Trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by Ga­bri­el Gil­lett in The Eng­lish Hym­nal (Lon­don: Ox­ford Un­i­ver­si­ty Press, 1906).

Music: Ills­ley John Bi­shop, A Set of New Psalm Tunes 1711 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Gillett or Bishop (head-and-shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els), would you ?

Lyrics

O boundless Wisdom, God most high,
O Maker of the earth and sky,
Who bid’st the parted waters flow
In heaven above, on earth below.

The streams on earth, the clouds in heaven,
By Thee their ordered bounds were given,
Lest ’neath the untempered fires of day
The parchèd soil should waste away.

E’en so on us who seek Thy face
Pour forth the waters of Thy grace;
Renew the fount of life within,
And quench the wasting fires of sin.

Let faith discern the eternal Light
Beyond the darkness of the night,
And through the mists of falsehood see
The path of truth revealed by Thee.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.