Above:  Mountain and Sky, Utah

Image in the Public Domain

Original German Text (1680) by Joachim Neander (1650-1680)

Composite English Translation

Hymn Source = Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917), The United Lutheran Church in America (1918-1962) and its immediate predecessor bodies

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Heaven and earth, and sea and air,

All their Maker’s praise declare;

Wake, my soul, awake and sing:

Now thy grateful praises bring.

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See the glorious orb of day

Breaking through the clouds his way;

Moon and stares with silvery light

Praise Him through the silent night.

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See how He hath ev’ry where

Made this earth so rich and fair;

Hill and vale and fruitful land,

All things living, show His hand.

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See how through the boundless sky

Fresh and free the birds do fly;

Fire and wind and storm are still

Servants of His royal will.

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See the water’s ceaseless flow,

Ever circling to and fro;

From the sources to the sea,

Still it rolls in praise to Thee.

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Lord, great wonders workest Thou!

To Thy sway all creatures bow.

Write Thou deeply in my heart

What I am, and what Thou art!

Above:  Icon of Christ Pantocrator

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Text (1854) by Henry Augustine Collins (1827-1919)

Hymn Source = Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917), The United Lutheran Church (1918-1962) and its immediate predecessor bodies

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1.  Jesus, meek and lowly,

Saviour, pure and holy,

On Thy love relying,

Hear me humbly crying.

2.  Prince of life and power,

My salvation’s tower,

On the Cross I view Thee

Calling sinners to Thee.

3.  There behold me gazing

At the sight amazing:

Bending low before Thee,

Helpless, I adore Thee.

4.  By Thy red wounds streaming,

With Thy life-blood gleaming,

Blood for sinners flowing,

Pardon free bestowing;

5.  By that fount of blessing,

Thy dear love expressing,

All my aching sadness

Turn Thou into gladness.

6.  Lord, in mercy guide me;

Be Thou e’er beside me;

In Thy ways direct me,

‘Neath Thy wings protect me.

Below:  One of My Crucifixes

Photograph by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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Above:  Apotheosis of War, by Vasily Vereshchagin

Image in the Public Domain

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This is a hymn for use in time of war.  Sadly, we human beings keep acting is ways which keep the sentiments of the hymn current.

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This is one of those great Anglican contributions to English-language hymnody.

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PART THE FIRST:  THE BEGINNING

The story begins with Henry Fothergill Chorley (1808-1872), a Quaker-born novelist, playwright, libretticist, and literary and music critic in London, England, the United Kingdom.  In 1842 he published a hymn, “God, the All-Terrible! Thou Who Ordainest.”  My sources identified the the publication as having occurred in Part Music (1842), by John Pike Hullah (1812-1884).  A search at hymnary.org led me to my reprint of the Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes (Henry Ward Beecher, Plymouth Congregational Church, Brooklyn, New York, 1855), where I found these verses:

1.  God, the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest

Thunder Thy clarion, and lightning Thy sword;

Show forth Thy pity on high where Thou reignest,

Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.

2.  God, the Omnipotent! mighty Avenger,

Watching invisible, judging unheard;

Save us in mercy, O save us from danger,

Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.

3.  God, the all-merciful! earth hath forsaken

Thy ways all holy, and slighted Thy word;

But not Thy wrath in its terror awaken,

Give to us pardon and peace, O Lord.

4.  So will Thy people with thankful devotion,

Praise Him who saved them from peril and sword;

Shouting in chorus, from ocean to ocean,

Peace to the nations, and praise to the Lord.

(Hymn #1101)

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PART THE SECOND:  UNITARIANS DURING THE CIVIL WAR

Hymns of the Spirit (American Unitarian Association, 1864), included an abbreviated and different version of the text, starting with the second stanza.  Thus the hymn became “God, the Omnipotent! Mighty Avenger!”  The context of the U.S. Civil War was evident:

1.  God the Omnipotent! mighty Avenger!

Watching invisible, judging unheard!

Save Thou our land in the hour of her danger,

Give to us peace in Thy time, O Lord!

2.  Thunder and lightnings Thy judgment have sounded;

Letters of flame have recorded Thy word,

‘Only in righteousness true peace is founded’:

Give us that peace in Thy time, O Lord!

3.  So shall the people, with thankful devotion,

Praise Him who saved them from peril and sword;

Shouting in chorus, from ocean to ocean,–

‘Peace to the nation, and praise to the Lord!’

(Hymn #262)

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PART THE THIRD:  ENTER JOHN ELLERTON

In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), John Ellerton (1826-1893), a priest of The Church of England and author of no fewer than 86 hymns, wrote “God the Almighty One, Wisely Ordaining,” based on Chorley’s hymn.  The text debuted in Robert Brown-Borthwick’s Select Hymns for Church and Home (The Church of England, 1871).  I found the original version of that hymn via Google Books.

1.  God the Almighty One, wisely ordaining

Judgments unsearchable, famine and sword;

Over the tumult of war Thou are reigning;

Give to us peace in our time, O Lord!

2.  God the All-righteous One! man hath defied Thee;

Yet to eternity standeth Thy word;

Falsehood and wrong shall not tarry beside Thee;

Give to us peace in our time, O Lord!

3.  God the All-pitiful, is it not crying,

Blood of the guiltless like water outpoured?

Look on the anguish, the sorrow, the sighing;

Give to us peace in our time, O Lord!

4.  God, the All-wise! by the fire of Thy chastening

Earth shall to freedom and truth be restored;

Through the thick darkness Thy kingdom is hast’ning,

Thou wilt give peace in Thy time, O Lord!

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PART THE FOURTH:  THE JOINING AND SUBSEQUENT VARIATIONS AND ALTERATIONS

The first joining of the Chorley and Ellerton texts occurred in the 1874 revision of Church Hymns (The Church of England, 1871), as one can read for oneself by following the hyperlink and seeking hymn #262.  Since then many hymnals have contained various composites of the Chorley and Ellerton texts, frequently with alterations to them.  The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) contained the hymn, but listed it as “God, Lord of Sabaoth, Thou Who Ordainest.”  The hymn was “God the All-Merciful! Earth Hath Forsaken” in the Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917) but “God the Omnipotent! King, Who Ordainest” in the Service Book and Hymnal (1958).  The influential Hymnal (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1895) and its successor from 1911 listed the hymn as “God, the All-Terrible,” but The Hymnal (1933) changed the title to “God the Omnipotent.”  Among more conservative Presbyterians (especially in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America) who use either the 1961 or the 1990 versions of the Trinity Hymnal, God remains “All-terrible.”  God was “All-terrible” in The Methodist Hymnal (Methodist Episcopal Church and Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1905), but “Omnipotent” in The Methodist Hymnal of 1935 (Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Protestant Church, and Methodist Episcopal Church, South; later The Methodist Church, 1939-1968).  As late as The Hymnal of 1918 (Episcopal Church, authorized in 1916) God was “All-Terrible,” but the deity was “Omnipotent” instead in The Hymnal 1940 (published in 1943).  The consensus among hymnal committees is that God is “Omnipotent,” not “All-terrible.”

The variation on the hymn in The Hymnal 1982 (Episcopal Church, 1985) contains four stanzas–two from Chorley, two from Ellerton, and all of them altered.  This is the version I sing in church:

1.  God the Omnipotent! King, who ordainest

thunder thy clarion, the lightning thy sword;

show forth thy pity on high where thou reignest:

give to us peace in our time, O Lord.

2.  God the All-merciful! earth hath forsaken

thy ways all holy, and slighted thy word;

bid not thy wrath in its terrors awaken:

give to us peace in our time, O Lord.

3.  God, the All-righteous One! earth hath defied thee;

yet eternity standeth thy word,

falsehood and wrong shall not tarry beside thee:

give to us peace in our time, O Lord.

4.  God the All-provident! earth by thy chastening

yet shall to freedom and truth be restored;

through the thick darkness thy kingdom is hastening:

thou wilt give peace in thy time, O Lord.

Hymn writer Brian Wren (1936-) wrote of hymns in Praying Twice:  The Music and Words of Congregational Song (Louisville, KY:  Westminster John Knox Press, 2000, page 297):

I have shown that congregational songs are communal.  Though they usually originate from particular authors, their primary purpose is to give shared expression to shared experience, not parade the author’s personality.  Because they are communal a faith community may, in principle amend them.

The story of “God the Omnipotent!” fits that statement well.

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PART THE FIFTH:  DROPPING THE HYMN

Denominations revise their official hymnals from time to time.  In so doing they add some texts and remove others.  Here is a partial list of denominations which have removed “God the Omnipotent!” (however they have listed it) from their official hymnody as of 2015, based on hymnals of which I own physical copies:

1. the American Baptist Churches U.S.A., during their transition from the Hymnbook for Christian Worship (1970) to no official hymnal;
2. the Anglican Church of Canada, during the transition from The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada (1971) to Common Praise (1998);
3. the Evangelical Covenant Church of America, during the transition from The Covenant Hymnal (1973) to The Covenant Hymnal:  A Worshipbook (1996);
4. the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, during the transition from the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006);
5. The Evangelical Lutheran Synod, during the transition from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) to the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (1996);
6. the Free Methodist Church of North America and the Wesleyan Church, during their transition from Hymns of Faith and Life (1976) to no official hymnal;
7. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, during its transition from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) to Lutheran Worship (1982) and the Lutheran Service Book (2006);
8. the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), by way of its predecessors, the Presbyterian Church in the United States and The United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., during the transition from The Hymnbook (1955) to The Worshipbook–Services and Hymns (1972);
9. the Reformed Church in America, during its transition from Rejoice in the Lord:  A Hymn Companion to the Scriptures (1985) to Lift Up Your Hearts:  Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs (2013);
10. the Southern Baptist Convention, during the transition from Baptist Hymnal (1956) to Baptist Hymnal (1975); the text is absent even from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship‘s Celebrating Grace Hymnal (2010);
11. the Unitarian Universalist Association, sometime after Hymns of the Spirit (American Unitarian Association, 1864) and before Hymns of the Spirit (American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America, 1937);
12. The United Methodist Church, during its transition from The Hymnal of the Evangelical United Brethren Church (1957) and The Methodist Hymnal/The Book of Hymns (1966) to The United Methodist Hymnal:  Book of United Methodist Worship (1992); and
13. the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, during the transition from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) to Christian Worship:  A Lutheran Hymnal (1993); neither is the hymn present in Christian Worship:  Supplement (2008).

That list covers a wide theological range.  So does the list of denominations which have retained it–from The Episcopal Church to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to the United Church of Christ to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America.  The list of denominations which have never added it to their official hymnody is also diverse, ranging from the Christian Reformed Church of North America to the Church of Nazarene.  Sometimes the presence or absence of the hymn indicates more about tastes in hymnody and worship style than about theology.

Another piece of supporting evidence for that conclusion comes from two non-denominational Evangelical hymnals Tom Fettke edited:  The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration (1986) and The Celebration Hymnal:  Songs and Hymns for Worship (1997).  The former contains the hymn which is the subject of this post, but the latter does not.  A Victorian hymn set to the majestic former Russian national anthem does not fit with contemporary worship, with its seven-eleven songs, does it?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 21, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF J. B. PHILLIPS, BIBLE TRANSLATOR AND ANGLICAN PRIEST

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Above:  Entry of Christ Into Jerusalem, by Wilhelm Morgner

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917), United Lutheran Church of America (1918-1962) and its immediate predecessor bodies

Text (1805) by Thomas Cotterill (1779-1823)

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1.  Jesus! exalted far on high,

To whom a Name is given–

A Name surpassing ev’ry name

That’s known in earth or heaven!

2.  Before Whose throne shall ev’ry knee

Bow down with one accord;

Before Whose throne shall ev’ry tongue

Confess that Thou art Lord;

3.  Jesus, Who in the form of God,

Didst equal honor claim,

Yet, to redeem our guilty souls,

Didst stoop to death and shame!

4.  O may that mind in us be formed

Which shone so bright in Thee,

An humble, meek, and lowly mind,

From pride and envy free.

5.  May we to others stoop, and learn

To emulate Thy love;

So shall we bear Thine image here,

And share Thy throne above.

Above:  Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1902

Photographer = T. E. Dillon

H19648 U.S. Copyright Office

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-127366

John Caspar Mattes (1876-1948) served as pastor of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Scranton, from 1915 to 1927, and as assistant pastor then as pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Scranton, from 1927 to 1938, before becoming a Professor of Theology at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, in 1939.  He translated hymns, especially German ones, and served on the committee which produced the Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917).

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The Royal Standard Forward Goes:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/the-royal-standard-forward-goes/

O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/o-spirit-of-life-o-spirit-of-god/

Smite Us Not in Anger, Lord:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/smite-us-not-in-anger-lord/

Friend of the Weary, O Refresh Us:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/friend-of-the-weary-o-refresh-us/

Deck Thyself with Joy and Gladness:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/deck-thyself-with-joy-and-gladness/

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Above:  A Clipping from the Mason City Globe-Gazette, Mason City, Iowa, June 18, 1945, Page 5

Accessed via newspapers.com

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Above:  Christ the Merciful

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917), United Lutheran Church in America (1918-1962) and its immediate predecessors

Original German Text by Ludwig Andreas Gotter (1661-1735)

English Translation (1914, 1917) by John Caspar Mattes (1876-1948)

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1.  Friend of the weary, O refresh us,

And turn to us Thy loving face,

With Thy sweet peace and pardon bless us,

That sin may be destroyed by grace;

O come, Thy sweet compassion showing,

On our poor souls Thy grace bestowing.

2.  From Thee our only comfort cometh,

Our strength and hope, O Lord of all;

To Thee all power still belongeth

To save and help us in each fall;

Thy grace and pardon will deliver,

And set us free from shame forever.

3.  And Thou did’st help the sick and weary,

Who once were gathered at Thy side,

‘Mid earthly deserts, waste and dreary,

In Thy sure aid we still confide;

When evils come, our souls assailing,

Send us Thy Word of grace unfailing.

Above:  The Missal, by John William Waterhouse

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917), United Lutheran Church in America (1918-1962) and its immediate predecessors

Original German Text by Johann Georg Albinus (1624-1679)

English Translation (1914) by John Caspar Mattes (1876-1948)

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1.  Smite us not in anger, Lord,

But in mercy spare us,

Save us from our just reward,

In Thy pity hear us.

Through our sin,

Great hath been,

Let Christ’s intercession

Cover our transgression.

2.  Strengthen us in love, O Lord,

Gently as a Father;

When Thou dost Thy help afford

All our fears are over.

Weak indeed,

We have need

That Thy love correct us,

And Thy grace protect us.

3.  Glorious God, Thy Name we praise:

Father, Son, and Spirit;

Now and through eternal days,

And Thy mercies merit.

Glory be

Unto Thee

Who hast pity on us,

And with love hast won us.

Above:  Pentecost, by El Greco

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917), United Lutheran Church in America (1918-1962) and its immediate predecessors

Original German Text (1651) by Johann Niedling (1602-1668)

English Translation (1913) by John Caspar Mattes (1876-1948)

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1.  O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God,

In ev’ry need Thou bringest aid,

Thou comest forth from God’s great throne,

From God, the Father and the Son;

O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God.

2.  O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God,

Make us to love Thy sacred Word;

The holy flame of love impart,

That charity may warm each heart;

O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God.

3.  O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God,

Increase our faith in our dear Lord;

Unless Thy grace the power should give,

None can believe in Christ and life;

O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God.

4.  O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God,

Enlighten us by Thy blest Word;

Teach us to know the Father’s love,

And His dear Son, Who reigns above:

O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God.

5.  O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God,

By Whom our souls to heaven are led,

Make us to fight so valiantly

That we may reign eternally;

O Spirit, O Spirit of God.

6.  O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God,

Forsake us not in death or need.

We’ll sing Thy praise and honor Thee

With grateful hearts eternally;

O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God.

Above:  One of My Crucifixes, July 15, 2014

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Hymn Source = Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917), United Lutheran Church in America (1918-1962) and its immediate predecessors

Original Latin Text by St. Venantius Honorius Clementius Fortunatus (Died 600/609)

English Translation (1913) by John Caspar Mattes (1876-1948)

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1.  The royal standard forward goes,

The holy Cross with mystery glows,

Where death by life was put to shame,

And life from death triumphant came.

2.  Here from my Saviour ‘s pierced side

Flows forth the purifying tide,

That lets no sinful spot remain,

As blood and water cleanse each stain.

3.  Fulfilled is now the hope foretold,

That faithful prophets sang of old;

When God His wondering people see,

Ruling all nations from the Tree.

4.  Hail! only source of hope and life;

In this sad time of pain and strife,

To faithful souls Thy grace increase,

And to the guilty give Thy peace.

5.  And now, O Blessed Trinity,

Let endless praises be to Thee,

Who through the triumph of Thy love,

Hast gained for us a crown above.

Above:  Cross and Crown

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917), United Lutheran Church in America (1918-1962) and its immediate predecessors

Original German Words (1735) by Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760) and Johann Nitschmann, Jr. (1712-1783)

English Translation (1740) by John Wesley (1703-1791), altered

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1.  Jesus, Thou wounded Lamb of God,

O wash me in Thy cleansing Blood;

Give me to know Thy love; then pain

Is sweet, and life or death is gain.

2.  Take my poor heart, and let it be

For ever closed to all but Thee.

Seal Thou my breast, and let me wear

That pledge of love for ever there.

3.  What are our works but sin and death,

Till Thou Thy quickening Spirit breathe?

Thou giv’st the power Thy grace to move;

O wondrous grace! O boundless love!

4.  How can it be, Thou heavenly King,

That Thou shouldst us to glory bring,

Make slaves the partners of Thy throne,

Decked with a never-fading crown?

5.  Ah, Lord, enlarge our scanty thought

To know the wonders Thou hast wrought;

Unloose our stammering tongues, to tell

Thy love immense, unsearchable!