A devotion in 24 days – Day 18.

All Things Bright and Beautiful – Cecil Frances Alexander 1848

Scripture:

Nehemiah 9:6 You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.

Revelation 4:11 Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.

Born in 1818 in Ireland, Alexander began to write poetry in her elementary school journal. Though she was known as an advocate of the poor and needy as well as starting a school for the deaf with her sister, her hymn writing was directed at children. Her first book of poetry, Verses for Seasons, was a “Christian Year” for children. And while she theologically sound hymns based on the Apostles’ Creed, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the Ten Commandments, and prayer, they were written in simple language designed for children. Her more than four hundred hymn texts were published in Verses from the Holy Scripture, Hymns for Little Children, and Hymns Descriptive and Devotional.

Refrain:

All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all.

1 Each little flow’r that opens,
each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colors,
God made their tiny wings.

2 The purple-headed mountain,
the river running by,
the sunset, and the morning
that brightens up the sky;

3 The cold wind in the winter,
the pleasant summer sun,
the ripe fruits in the garden,
God made them, ev’ry one.

4 God gave us eyes to see them,
and lips that we might tell
how great is God Almighty,
who has made all things well.