First Line: | Earth and all stars |
Title: | Earth and All Stars |
Author: | Herbert Brokering (1964) |
Meter: | 4.5.7.4.5.7 with refrain |
Place of Origin: | United States |
Language: | English |
Refrain First Line: | He has done marvelous things |
Notes: | French translation: "Firmament haut, combé d'étoiles" by Shirley Judd; Spanish translation: See "Tierra y sol, mundos que vuelan" by Vernon L. Peterson |
Copyright: | © 1968, Augsburg Publishing House. Used by permission. |
Scripture References:
all st. = Ps. 96:1, Ps. 98, Ps. 150
Herbert Brokering (b. Beatrice, NE, 1926) wrote this text for the ninetieth anniversary of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, in 1964. It was published in David Johnson's Twelve Folksongs and Spirituals in 1968 and in the Lutheran hymnal Contemporary Worship I in 1969. About his writing of the text Brokering says:
I tried to gather into a hymn of praise the many facets of life which emerge in the life of community. So there are the references to building, nature, learning, family, war, festivity. Seasons, emotions, death and resurrection, bread, wine, water, wind, sun, spirit. . . have made great impressions on my imagination.
Like 431 and 435, "Earth and All Stars" is a catalog text, inviting us to join with a whole host of natural and cultural phenomena to "sing to the Lord a new song!" The text alludes to Psalm 96:1 in each stanza and to Psalm 98:1 in the refrain. But Brokering presents a modern list of natural, manufactured, and inanimate things that join in praising the Lord: planets in cosmic order (st. 1); weather and vegetation (st. 2); musical instruments (st. 3); technology and building (st. 4); learning and athletics (st. 5); wisdom, and all of God's people (st. 6).
A prolific author, Brokering is currently a freelance consultant on worship and ministry. Specializing in religious education, he studied at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa; the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Columbus, Ohio; the University of Iowa; and the University of Erlangen, Germany. Brokering is a prominent figure in the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches and has served as a parish pastor in several Lutheran congregations. His writings include Lord, Be with Me (1969), Lord, If (1977), and texts for hymns, anthems, cantatas, and musicals.
Liturgical Use:
Many uses as a modern hymn of praise. Sing the entire hymn or use a selection of stanzas as follows: stanzas 1-2 for worship that focuses on nature; other stanzas for worship that focuses on work, education, festivity/worship.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook