Saturday, May 4, 2024  

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Today's Hymn
“Let All the World in Every Corner Sing”

Let all the world in every corner sing,
my God and King!

The heavens are not too high,
God’s praise may thither fly;
the earth is not too low,
God’s praises there may grow.

The church with psalms must shout:
no door can keep them out.
But more than all,
the heart must bear the longest part.

Let all the world in every corner sing,
my God and King!

by George Herbert
Hymn 636, Glory to God

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Reflection

It amazes me how some hymns endure for centuries as this one written by Anglican pastor George Herbert who lived in the early seventeenth century. Many of his poems endured and were translated into hymns.

This is a hymn of praise, sung in community with joy and gusto. This praise has no limits, and we shout it from heaven and earth. Nothing can keep our praises from God when we sing from the heart.

I love singing joyful hymns of praise in church when we are one in song. I remember the words from many hymns that I learned as a child and sing to this day. If someone would ask me to recite words of a familiar hymn, I would draw a blank. However, I do recall the words when they are set to song and the music carries them along. When the melody starts on a piano or organ, the lyrics are right there, almost automatically.

When we sing hymns of praise, I feel enveloped with gratitude and in kindred spirit with those singing around me. We are in one voice, a chorus of praise to God in every corner of our lives.

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Prayer
My praise and thanks to God and the poets, hymn writers, and musicians who have made this hymn timeless. Amen.

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Written by Arlene Faulk, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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