Hymns, Selected and Original ‎#16

16. What is our God, or what his name

1 What is our God, or what his name,
Nor men can learn, nor angels teach;
He dwells conceal'd in radiant flame,
Where neither eyes nor thoughts can reach.

2 The spacious worlds of heavenly light,
Compar'd with him, how short they fall!
They are too dark, and he too bright,
Nothing are they, and God is all.

3 He spoke that wondrous word,and lo!
Creation rose at his command:
Whirlwinds and seas their limits know,
Bound in the hollow of his hand,

4 There rests the earth, there roll the spheres,
There nature leans, and feels her prop:
But his own self-sufficience bears
The weight of his own glories up.

5 The tide of creatures ebbs and flows,
Measuring their changes by the moon:
No ebb his sea of glory knows:
His age is one eternal noon.

6 Then fly, my song, an endless round,
The lofty tune let Gabriel raise;
All nature dwell upon the sound,
But we can ne'er fulfil the praise.

Text Information

• First Line: What is our God, or what his name
• Meter: L. M.
• Publication Date: 1828
• Topic: Being and Perfections of God; God supreme and self-sufficient

Tune Information

(No tune information)