Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs ‎#9

9. To God the Universal King

1. To God the universal King,
Let all mankind their tribute bring;
All that have breath, your voices raise,
In songs of never ending praise.

2. The spacious earth on which we tread,
And wider heavens stretched o’er our head,
A large and solemn temple frame,
To celebrate its builder’s fame.

3. Here the bright sun, that rules the day,
As through the sky he makes his way,
To all the world proclaims aloud
The boundless sov'reignty of God.

4. When from his courts the sun retires,
And with the day his voice expires,
The moon and stars adopt the song,
And through the night the praise prolong.

5. The listening earth with rapture hears
Th’harmonious music of the spheres;
And all her tribes the notes repeat,
That God is wise, and good and great.

6. But man, endowed with nobler powers,
His God in nobler strains adores;
His is the gift to know the song,
As well as sing with tuneful tongue.

Text Information

• First Line: To God the universal king
• Title: To God the Universal King
• Author: Samuel Stennett, 1727-1795
• Meter: 8.8.8.8
• Publication Date: 2018
• Topic: An Hymn; Praise Unto God
• Notes: The name Stennett has a long connection with the English Baptists. This name was well-served by its son Samuel. Son, grandson, and then great-grandson continued a century of preachers. Raised from a boy of ten in his father's congregation at Little Wild Street in London, his father's death two decades later committed Samuel to the same flock, which he too served for more than three decades. Though a personal friend of King George III, Stennett refused the favour of English royalty and the established church, choosing rather to hold fast to hos godly heritage. While more familiar lines from his pen include "On Jordan's Stormy Banks" and "Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned", these lines reflect "one of the best" of his compositions and form the first song in Rippon's Selection.

Tune Information

• Name: ANTIGUA
• Composer: R. Wells, Unknown
• Meter: 8.8.8.8
• Key: B♭ Major
• Source: The Baptist Hymn and Tune Book, 1858