1
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
2
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
3
To all life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but nought changeth Thee.
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but nought changeth Thee.
4
Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render, O help us to see:
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render, O help us to see:
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.
5
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
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Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria
God used this song to deliver me from child delivery that almost took my life in the year 2011. I am alive, my baby is alive
Glory!!!
Enugu, Independence Layout, Nigeria
Great and insightful, a trip to an attempt to define God's love and attributes in a song. God bless you for the song.
Festac Town, Lagos, Nigeria
This is great to listen to. God bless whoever is behind this site.
Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
The greatest hymn of all. My best.
Lagos, Nigeria
How can I ever stop loving this song. Truly, our God is great.
Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
My Father’s favorite hymn! I’ve always loved this hymn from childhood. The more I meditate on the wordings, the more I appreciate it. Indeed, God deserves all the honour and Adoration.
Kaduna, Nigeria
Wonderful God, El-Shadai, Immortal, I AM, Alpha And Omega, Jehovah Nissi, Jireh, Rohi, Enyon, May Your name forever be praised!
Lagos, Nigeria
Singing this hymn, you grow in confidence of whom your Father is. You glow with pride. You feel like hugging Him. Smilling, you boldly declare, "I can do all things through Christ ...
Ilorin, Kwara, Nigeria
This hymn is as close as we can get in acknowledging the plenipotency of our God. No word in the entire lyrics is a waste. You could sense that it was written under a deep influence of the Holy Ghost! Amen.
Tolland, Connecticut, United States
Walter Chalmers Smith (1824-1908). “How do you express the inexpressible mystery of the Creator whose name was unutterable in Hebrew Scriptures save the self described I AM? How do you put into words what cannot be known? ” Walter Chalmers Smith attempted this in his classic hymn “Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise”.
A Scottish Free Minister educated at the universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, Smith served in congregations in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. In 1893, he was elected moderator of the General Assembly for the church’s 50th Jubilee Celebration. This hymn is the only one of his volumes of poetry that remains in common use. Hymnologist Albert Bailey says poetry was for Smith “ the retreat of his nature from the burden of his labors. ”
The original version has six stanzas appearing in Smith hymns “Christ and the Christian Life” (1867).
This hymn is based on First Timothy 1:17 to the version of the tune ‘St. Denio’ in use today adapted from a Welsh song set to a hymn in John Roberts’ collection of hymns published in 1839.
Smith died September 19th and is buried in Edinburgh.