The Cyber Hymnal ‎#4794

4794. O Father, Thy Kingdom Is Come upon Earth

1. O Father, Thy kingdom is come upon earth,
Thou rulest in all Thy creation;
Thou sendest Thy witnesses, telling Thy worth,
To call and entreat every nation,
With news of Thy mighty salvation,
With news of Thy mighty salvation.

2. They lift up a light amid shadows of fear,
And love is Thy banner above them;
No trouble shall touch them, no foes that appear
Shall e’er from their loyalty move them;
’Tis Thou dost uphold and approve them,
’Tis Thou dost uphold and approve them.

3. They go in Thy strength, and they speak in Thy name,
With power of Thy promise forth faring,
And during the battle the victory claim,
Their trust in Thy strength is their daring,
Salvation to all men declaring,
Salvation to all men declaring.

Text Information

• First Line: O Father, Thy kingdom is come upon earth
• Title: O Father, Thy Kingdom Is Come upon Earth
• Swedish Title: Tilkomme ditt rike, o Herre vår Gud
• Author: Karolina W. Sandell-Berg (1870)
• Translator: Unknown
• Meter: 11.9.11.99.9
• Language: English
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: On April 17, 1869, two Swedish missionaries, Kjellberg and Elfblad, were killed in Kunama, Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). Then, over the Christmas and New Year season of 1869/1870, news reached Stockholm that another missionary in the same area had died, several others were sick and had moved to another area for treatment, and the only missionary still in the Kunama area was attacked by the same people who months earlier murdered the other missionaries. Happily, though, the lone missionary was saved. When Sandell heard the tidings, she wrote this hymn, and Wennerberg composed the tune shortly after. The words first appeared in the inaugural issue of Missions-Tidningen in 1870, and the music in the second issue.

Tune Information

• Name: TILLKOMME DITT RIKE
• Composer: Gunnar Wennerberg, 1817-1901 (1870)
• Meter: 11.9.11.99.9
• Incipit: 53212 55176 77323
• Key: g minor
• Copyright: Public Domain