1
Lord of all being, throned afar,
Thy glory flames from sun and star;
Center and light of every sphere,
Yet to each loving heart how near.
Thy glory flames from sun and star;
Center and light of every sphere,
Yet to each loving heart how near.
2
Sun of our life, Thy quickening ray
Sheds on our path the glow of day;
Star of our hope, Thy softened light
Cheers the long watches of the night.
Sheds on our path the glow of day;
Star of our hope, Thy softened light
Cheers the long watches of the night.
3
Our midnight is Thy smile withdrawn,
Our noontide is Thy gracious dawn,
Our rainbow arch Thy mercy's sign;
All, save the clouds of sin, are Thine.
Our noontide is Thy gracious dawn,
Our rainbow arch Thy mercy's sign;
All, save the clouds of sin, are Thine.
4
Lord of all life, below, above,
Whose light is truth, whose warmth is love,
Before Thy ever-blazing throne
We ask no luster of our own.
Whose light is truth, whose warmth is love,
Before Thy ever-blazing throne
We ask no luster of our own.
5
Grant us Thy truth to make us free,
And kindling hearts that burn for Thee,
Till all Thy living altars claim
One holy light, one heavenly flame.
And kindling hearts that burn for Thee,
Till all Thy living altars claim
One holy light, one heavenly flame.
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Storrs, Connecticut, United States
This hymn was composed by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1809, and graduated at Harvard university. A physician by profession, he was known as a practitioner chiefly in literature, being a brilliant writer and long the leading political wit of America. He was, however a man of deep religious feeling, and a devout attendant at King’s Chapel, Unitarian, in Boston where he spent his life. He held a Harvard Professorship of Anatomy and Physiology for more than 50 years, but his enduring work is in his poems, and his volume, “The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. ” He died January 22, 1898
Detroit, MI, United States
Oliver Wendell Holmes [father of the great U.S. Supreme Court Justice] went to Harvard University to study law but ended up studying medicine. His fame, however, came from his literary efforts. After writing "Old Ironsides" at the age of 21 and launching "The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table" series at 22, he quickly gained fame as a writer.
In December 1859, the last of his papers making up "The Professor at the Breakfast-Table" appeared. He concluded with these words: "And so my year's record is finished. ... Peace to all such as may have been vexed in spirit by any utterance the pages have repeated. They will doubtless forget for the moment the difference in the lines ... and join in singing this hymn to the source of the light we all need to lead us."
Then he printed this hymn, which has been called "the finest sentiment of God's omnipresence in the English language." - Great Songs of Faith by Brown & Norton