Musical Notes

Hello OCBC family. Psalm 8:1-2 said, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.” In 1863, Folliott S. Peirpoint was walking through the woods in England, and he was looking of the beauty of the creation. The big trees, the little birds, the river, gave him the inspiration to write a hymn that is a prayer full of thanksgiving. Above all, he thought of the perfect sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for our sins, and a new hymn was born, “For the Beauty of the Earth.”

This hymn was originally used for the Lord’s Supper celebration, and now, sadly, churches just sing it during Thanksgiving time. We should sing this song more often through the year because we must to be grateful to God during the whole year; His blessings are not just during the month of November.

During this time of transition, let us raise our voice and worship the Lord for His faithfulness, using these beautiful words of this loved hymn.

1 For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies.

Refrain:
Christ, our Lord, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.

2 For the wonder of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale and tree and flower,
sun and moon and stars of light,

3 For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild,

4 For yourself, best gift divine,
to the world so freely given,
agent of God's grand design:
peace on earth and joy in heaven.
​
In His service,
Israel