Musical Notes

Hello OCBC family,
“The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1).

This is one of my favorite verses in the psalms about creation; the whole universe belongs to our Lord. And this verse is the base for a wonderful hymn that we love to sing, “This Is My Father’s World.”

“This is my Father's world,
And to my list'ning ears,
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world,
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.”

The author of this hymn is Maltbie D. Babcock, and he was born in Syracuse, N.Y., Aug. 3, 1858, went to college is Syracuse and became a presbyterian minister. On October 4, 1882, he married Katherine Eliot Tallman, and they had two kids, but sadly, both children died in infancy.

Babcock was a prolific author and loves to write poems and hymns. Yes, we know his most famous hymn, “This Is My Father’s World” but he has more hymns as well. “Gaily the bells are ringing”, “O blessed Saviour, Lord of love”, “Shining Sun, shining sun”, “Rest in the Lord, my soul”, “Be strong: we are not here to play.”

“This is my Father's world,
The birds their carols raise;
The morning light, the lily white
Declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world,
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.”

This hymn was not originally written for children, but it became very popular to teach doctrine to little ones.

Babcock was in Italy in 1901 after visiting the Holy Land, and he wrote this hymn, and sadly a few months after, Babcock passed away. He was 42 years old.

The melody is a traditional English folk melody, and it is called TERRA BEATA, Latin for “beautiful world.”

We are living in a world where people call the earth “our mother” and we have the “Earth Day” forgetting who the real Creator is, the Triune God. Let us not forget to praise God and give thanks to Him for this creation.

“This is my Father's world,
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world,
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heav'n be one.”

Please, use this hymn as part of your personal time with God, and rejoice in our God the Creator.

In His service,
Israel