Hymns From Home: This Is My Father's World

​PRAY
Father, this is YOUR world, and when "the wrong seems oft so strong" may we not forget that you who 'created the earth and all who dwell therein', still reign on high, and that 'the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.'

LYRIC
This is my Father's world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas-
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world:
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad! 

SCRIPTURE
Psalm 24 & Romans 8:18-19

BACKGROUND

The lyric to This Is My Father's World was written by Maltbie D. Babcock, a Presbyterian minister in Baltimore who had a particular interest to the academic community at Johns Hopkins University, but also ministered to many others.  In addition to being a minister he was particularly known for penning hymn texts and devotional poems.

As was the case with many of these hymns published early in the 1900's, the hymn tune - TERRA BEATA - was originally an English folk tune that was arranged by Franklin L. Sheppard to accompany these lyrics written by his personal friend Babcock for publication in a hymnal.  A lifelong Presbyterian, Sheppard was an organist at one church, a decon and minister of music at another and later became President of the Presbyterian Board of Publications where he compiled the official Presbyterian hymnal of 1911.
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PERSONAL

I'm not certain when I first came to love this hymn although for some reason as I type this I can hear my mother's voice saying "Oooo that's one of my favorites" so it's possible that this is why it came to mind this afternoon.  Or maybe she'll comment on this blog below and tell us all that it's actually not a favorite and then we'll all know I was wrong.  But either way, I couldn't stop humming this tune this afternoon and then it hit me how timely this hymn is right now.

If you're like me, and you've become a bit of a news junkie, you know that the world is a scary and downright bizarre place.  It's easy to get swept up in playing the blame game and pointing the finger at one political party or another, worrying about what will become of this, that or the next thing.  But as Psalm 24 so eloquently points out, "The earth is the LORD'S and the fullness thereof...the world and those who dwell therein."  It's all HIS world!  Particularly in this situation where nothing is going well and we just want to demand to speak to "whoever is in charge here," I have great news for us!  We CAN!  He who created the whole world is only a whispered prayer away.