Above:  The Church Triumphant and the Church Militant, by Andrea di Bonaiuto, at the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy

Image in the Public Domain

Text by Reginald Heber (1783-1826)

Text Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England

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Holy, Holy, Holy!  Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;

Holy, Holy Holy! Merciful and mighty!

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

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Holy Holy, Holy!  all the Saints adore thee,

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;

Cherubim and Seraphim falling down before thee,

Which, wert, and art, and evermore shall be.

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Holy, Holy, Holy!  though the darkness hide thee,

Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,

Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee

Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

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Holy, Holy, Holy!  Lord God Almighty!

All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea;

Holy, Holy, Holy!  Merciful and mighty!

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

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SOME UNITARIAN VERSIONS OF THE HYMN

(FOR THE SAKE OF CURIOSITY, IF NOTHING ELSE)

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Hymn Sources = Hymns of the Spirit (1937), American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America; and Hymns for the Celebration of Life (1964), Unitarian Universalist Association

Holy, holy, holy!  Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;

Holy, holy, holy!  Merciful and Mighty!

Who wert, and art, and evermore shall be.

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Holy, holy, holy!  Though the darkness hide thee,

Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,

Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee

Perfect in power, in love and purity!

+++++

Holy, holy, holy!  Lord God Almighty!

All thy works shall praise thy name in earth, and sky, and sea;

Holy, holy, holy!  Merciful and Mighty!

Who wert, and art, and evermore shall be.

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Hymn Source = Singing the Living Tradition (1993), Unitarian Universalist Association

Holy, holy, holy!  author of creation!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;

holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty;

who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

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Holy, holy, holy, though the darkness hide thee,

hindered by our vanities we have not eyes to see.

Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee,

perfect in power, in love, and purity.

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Holy, holy, holy!  author of creation!

All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea;

holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty;

who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

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Might I state the obvious?  First, the irony of a staunchly Trinitarian hymn appearing in altered forms in Unitarian hymnals is rich.  Furthermore, “hindered by our vanities we have not eyes to see ” is substantially different from “though the sinful eye of man thy glory may not see.”

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 23, 2017 COMMON ERA

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Above:  River in Mountains Spring

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = Hymns of the Spirit for Use in the Free Churches of America (1937), American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America

Text (1867) by Thomas Hornblower Gill (1819-1906)

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The glory of the spring how sweet!

The newborn life how glad!

What joy the happy earth to greet

In new, bright raiment clad!

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Divine Renewer, thee I bless;

I greet thy going forth;

I thee love in the loveliness

Of thy renewed earth.

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But O these wonders of thy grace,

These nobler works of thine,

These marvels sweeter far to trace,

These new births more divine,–

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These sinful souls thou hallowest,

These hearts thou makest new,

These mourning souls by thee made blest,

These faithless hearts made true!

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Creator Spirit, work in me

These wonders sweet of thine!

Divine Renewer, graciously

Renew this heart of mine!

Above:  Lightbulb in Darkness

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Sources = Hymns of the Spirit for Use in the Free Churches of America (1937), American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America, and Hymn and Tune Book for the Church and Home (Revised Edition) (1883), American Unitarian Association

Text (1860) by Thomas Hornblower Gill (1819-1906)

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Spirit of Truth, who makest bright

All souls that long for heav’nly light,

Appear, and on our darkness shine;

Descent, and be our Guide divine.

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Spirit of Power, whose might doth dwell

Full in the souls that love thee well,

Unto these fainting hearts draw near,

And be our daily Quickener.

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O tender Spirit, who dost mourn

Whene’er from thee thy people turn,

Give me each day to grieve thee less;

Enjoy my fuller faithfulness.

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Spirit of Joy, who makest glad

Each broken heart by sin made sad,

Pour on these mourning souls thy cheer;

Give us to bless our Comforter;

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Till thou shalt make us meet to bear

The sweetness of heaven’s holy air,

The light wherein no darkness is,

Th’eternal, overflowing bliss!

Above:  Christ the King, by Jan van Eyck

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = Hymns of the Spirit for Use in the Free Churches (1937), American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America

Text (1846) by Thomas Hornblower Gill (1819-1906)

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Our God, our God, thou shinest here,

Thine own this latter day;

To us thy radiant steps appear,

Here goes thy glorious way!

To us thy radiant steps appear,

Here goes thy glorious way!

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We shine not only with the light

Thou sheddest down of yore;

On us thou streamest strong and bright,

Thy comings are not o’er.

On us thou streamest strong and bright,

Thy comings are not o’er.

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The fathers had not all of thee,

New births are in thy grace;

All open to our souls shall be

Thy glory’s hiding-place.

All open to our souls shall be

Thy glory’s hiding-place.

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Thou comest near; thou standest by;

Our work begins to shine;

Thou dwellest with us mightily,–

On come the years divine!

Thou dwellest with us mightily,–

On come the years divine!

Above:  White Mountains Scenic

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = Hymns of the Spirit for Use in the Free Churches of America (1937), American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America

Text (1869) by Thomas Hornblower Gill (1819-1906)

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Lord God, by whom all change is wrought,

By whom new things to birth are brought,

In whom no change is known,

Whate’er thou dost, whate’er thou art,

Thy people still in thee have part,

Still, still, thou art our own.

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Spirit who makest all things new,

Thou leadest onward; we pursue

The heav’nly march sublime;

‘Neath thy renewing fire we glow,

And still from strength to strength we go,

From height to height we climb.

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Darkness and dread we leave behind;

New light, new glory, still we find,

New realms divine possess,

New births of grace raptures bring;

Triumphant the new song we sing,

The great Renewer bless.

Above:  Landscape Summer Lake

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = Hymns of the Spirit for Use in the Free Churches of America (1937), American Unitarian Association and Unitarian Church of America

Text (1852) by Thomas Hornblower Gill (1819-1906)

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I walk amidst thy beauty forth,

My joy thy praise declares;

I bless thee with thy blooming earth,

I drink thy vernal airs.

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Those old eternal hills of thine,

What mighty cheer they breathe!

What fulness of delight divine

Thy solemn stars bequeath!

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Each wonder of thy hand still makes

My gladness fresh and strong;

The glory of my God still wakes

The glory of my song.

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When cheer and strength my heart doth lack,

Thy gladness makes me whole;

Amidst thy summer I win back

The summer of my soul.

Above:  Good Shepherd

Image in the Public Domain

Text by Lucy Larcom (1826-1893)

Hymn Source = Hymns of the Spirit (1937), American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America

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1.  I thank thee, Lord, for precious things

Which thou into my life hast brought;

More gratefully my spirit sings

Its thanks for all I yet have not.

2.  How fair thy word to me has been!

How dear the friends who breathe its air!

But who can guess what waits within

Thine opening realms, thy worlds more fair?

3.  At friendly shores, at peaceful isles

I tough, but may not long delay;

Where thy flushed East with mystery smiles

I steer into th’unrisen day.

4.  For veils of hope before thee drawn,

For mists that hint th’immortal coast

Hid in thy farthest, faintest dawn,–

My God, for these I thank thee most.

5.  Joy, joy! to see, from every shore

Whereon my step makes pressure fond,

Thy sunrise reddening still before,–

More light, more love, more life beyond!

Above:  Episcopal Church of the Ascension, Cartersville, Georgia, May 13, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = Hymns of the Spirit (1937), American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America

Text (1795) by John Taylor (1750-1826)

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1.  Lord, what off’ring shall we bring,

At thine altars, when we bow?

Hearts, the pure, unsullied spring

Whence the kind affections flow;

2.  Soft compassion’s feeling soul,

By the melting eye expressed;

Sympathy, at whose control

Sorrow leaves the wounded breast.

Above:  Episcopal Church of the Mediator, Washington, Georgia, June 7, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = Hymns of the Spirit (1937), American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America

Text (before 1895) by Byron G. Russell (1850-1930)

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1.  Our Father, unto thee

We now on bended knee

Our voices raise.

For all thy love has wrought,

Our life with blessings fraught,

Transcending all our thought,

We speak thy praise.

2.  And not by lips alone

Would we thy goodness own,

And worship thee,

But may our lives express

That which our hearts confess,

And we in holiness

More worthy be.

3.  And may our hands reach out

To those who round about

Demand our love.

In every hour of need

May we their pleadings heed,

Till earth becomes indeed

Like heaven above.

Above:  Ohio River

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = Hymns of the Spirit (1937), American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America

Text (1875) by William Channing Gannett (1840-1923)

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1.  From heart to heart, from creed to creed

The hidden river runs;

It quickens all the ages down,

It binds the sires to sons,–

2.  The stream of faith, whose source is God,

Whose sound, the sound of prayer,

Whose meadows are the holy lives

Upspringing ev’rywhere.

3.  And still it moves, a broadening flood,

And fresher, fuller grows

A sense as if the sea were near,

Towards which the river flows.

4.  O thou who art the secret Source

That riseth in each soul,

Thou art the Ocean, too–and thine,

That ever deepening roll!