Beyond All Praising

A favorite hymn of mine is “O God Beyond All Praising.” It’s a relatively recent work, written in 1982 by Michael Perry (d 1996), an Anglican priest. He wrote the text specifically to be used to the stately tune “Thaxted,” originally from the “Jupiter” section of The Planets by Gustav Holst. In 1908 Holst adapted it for use with a patriotic poem in the UK, “I Vow to Thee, My Country.” There are multiple arrangements of the hymn, including one by Dan Forrest.

I think the worship lyrics are wonderfully reinforced by Holst’s stately, serious, elevated tune and by Forrest’s arrangement of it. It draws you in and raises your soul to want to be a part of the worshiping throng, in a kind of foretaste of the ultimate choral worship (Rev 5.9-14).

Though God has not (yet) granted me a voice to sing these words as they deserve to be sung, I’ve committed the words to memory—

O God beyond all praising,
we worship you today
and sing the love amazing
that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder
at every gift you send,
at blessings without number
and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you
and wait upon your word,
we honour and adore you,
our great and mighty Lord.

Then hear, O gracious Saviour,
accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favour
may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows
be filled with good or ill,
we’ll triumph through our sorrows
and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty
and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty
our sacrifice of praise.

I joy in the simple gratitude expressed here, and the firm determination to leverage that gratitude into trusting endurance, particularly as expressed in the words

Whether our tomorrows
be filled with good or ill,
we’ll triumph through our sorrows
and rise to bless you still.

I can imagine a glint in the eyes and a steely set to the jaw of the person speaking: I will trust you. No matter what. We’ll get through this.

Good words in fearsome days.

Incidentally, a Catholic lyricist wrote a new second (and thus middle) stanza—

The flower of earthly splendor
in time must surely die,
its fragile bloom surrender to you,
the Lord most high;
but hidden from all nature
the eternal seed is sown–
though small in mortal stature,
to heaven’s garden grown;
for Christ the man from heaven
from death has set us free,
and we through him
are given the final victory.

It’s good to be reminded—regularly—that God is great, and God is good, and that his ways are perfect. I know people today who are struggling under burdens of bereavement, abandonment, disease, fear, their own weakness. We can all be strengthened in the knowledge that Someone is greater than all these things, so great that he can use them for our benefit.

And he loves us.

Photo by Gabriel Lamza on Unsplash