Scripture References:
st. 2 = Deut. 31:6:(Heb. 13:5) Ps.48:14
This hymn of praise combines present and past to give hope for the future: we humbly and thankfully sing God's praise (st. 1), we praise God for his protection throughout our lives (st. 2), and we go forward under God's guiding hand (st. 3). The text was written at the request of J. Archer Gibson, organist at Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. Gibson asked Julia Buckley Cady Cory (b. New York, NY, 1882; d. Englewood, NJ, 1963) to write a text to the tune KREMSER to replace the older text associated with that tune, "We Gather Together." The new hymn was first sung at Thanksgiving Day services in 1902 at the Brick Presbyterian Church and Church of the Covenant, both in New York City.
It was first published in Hymns of the Living Church (1910) and has been the first hymn in every edition of the Psalter Hymnal.
Cory was the daughter of a prominent New York architect, J. Cleveland Cady. Her father was also a Sunday school superintendent and amateur hymnologist. Partly because of his influence Julia began to write hymns at an early age. She was a member of the Brick Presbyterian Church; after moving to Englewood, New Jersey, she joined the First Presbyterian Church. She married Robert Haskell Cory in 1911.
Liturgical Use:
Heritage festivals and harvest thanksgiving; beginning of worship; doxology during the offering of gifts.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988