Scripture Verse

All things were made by Him. John 1:3

Introduction

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Christopher Smart (1722–1771)
Wikimedia Commons

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Words: Chris­to­pher Smart (1722–1771), from his lost Song of Da­vid.

Music: Mag­da­len Col­lege Will­iam Hayes, 1774 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

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William Hayes (1706–1777)
Wikimedia Commons

Lyrics

We sing of God, the migh­ty source
Of all things; the stu­pen­dous force
On which all strength de­pends;
From whose right arm, be­neath whose eyes,
All pe­ri­od, pow’r, and en­ter­prise
Commences, reigns, and ends.

The world, the clus­t’ring spheres He made,
The glo­ri­ous light, the sooth­ing shade;
Dale, cham­paign, grove and hill;
The mul­ti­tu­din­ous ab­yss,
Where na­ture joys in sec­ret bliss,
And wis­dom hides her skill.

Tell them I Am, Je­ho­vah said,
To Mos­es while on earth in dread
And smit­ten to the heart;
At once, ab­ove, be­neath, around,
All na­ture with­out voice or sound
Replied, O Lord, Thou art.

Glorious the sun in mid ca­reer;
Glorious the as­sembled fires ap­pear;
Glorious the com­et’s train:
Glorious the trum­pet and alarm;
Glorious the al­migh­ty stretched-out arm;
Glorious the en­rap­tured main:

Glorious, most glo­ri­ous, is the crown
Of Him that brought sal­va­tion down
By meek­ness, Ma­ry’s son;
Seers that stu­pen­dous truth be­lieved,
And now the match­less deed’s achieved,
Determined, dared, and done.