Friday, May 5, 2017

"All things bright and beautiful... the Lord God made them all."



Hymn: “All Things Bright and Beautiful” – Cecil F. Anderson (1818-1895)
Common Tunes: ROYAL OAK, SPOHR

First, let me say that I love this hymn text… set to most any tune. I especially love John Rutter’s setting (see below). I always enjoy singing it and love what it has to say. However…

For those of us who are not so bright and beautiful, I want to say that the Lord God made US all, too! “All things dull and hideous” would not make nearly such a great hymn title, but the Lord God did make them/us all.

I know it’s a children’s hymn about nature and not human-kind, but admit it: all of God’s creatures great and small are not all that lovely. Let’s talk about alligators, naked mole rats, blobfish, and Madagascar’s aye aye. Did you ever see a close up of a California condor? But the Lord God made all those, too.

Now that I think through the text, all of us aren’t all that wise and wonderful either. Some of us are dim-witted and average-ish. The good thing is that most of us are bright in our own way and beautiful to someone.

Fellow not so bright, unattractive, everyday folk: we were designed by God and cared about just as much as the most brilliant Homo sapiens and the most striking flora and fauna. This hymn is about all of us; we only sing about the attractive living things.

I’ll remove my tongue from my cheek now so I can sing this wonderful hymn!

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sings Arrangement of ROYAL OAK Tune

John Rutter Conducting His Setting of This Text


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Hymnlines - Hemlines: Get it?! :)

Hymnlines - Hemlines: Get it?! :)