Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#295

295. Lord of All Good

Text Information

• First Line: Lord of all good, we bring our gifts to you
• Title: Lord of All Good
• Author: Albert F. Bayly (1950, alt.)
• Meter: 10 10 10 10
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Scripture:
  2 Corinthians 5:18-21
  ;
  2 Corinthians 9:7
• Topic: Commitment & Dedication; Dedication and Offering; Obedience; Offering; Trinity
• Copyright: By permission of Oxford University Press

Tune Information

• Name: MORESTEAD
• Composer: Sydney Watson (1964)
• Meter: 10 10 10 10
• Key: D Major
• Copyright: © Sydney Watson

Text Information:

Scripture References:
st. 2 = Rom. 12:1
st. 3 = 2 Cor. 9:7

Albert F. Bayly (PHH 293) included this text in his collection Again I Say Rejoice (1967); he originally wrote it for a Christmas fair at Eccleston Congregational Church, St. Helens, Lancashire, England, where Bayly served as minister from 1956 to 1962. The Psalter Hymnal Revision Committee modernized second-person singular pronouns throughout the hymn text.

"Lord of All Good" expresses that not our gifts alone but our entire selves are to be an offering for God's service (st. 1) and for his glory (st. 2) out of gratitude and praise to the triune God who creates, saves, and sustains us (st. 3). This excellent hymn of dedication proceeds with certainty toward the doxology of its final stanza.

Liturgical Use:
A great offertory hymn! Also useful at the close of the worship service, bringing together our whole-life dedication and a strong doxology; special occasions of consecration and dedication such as adult baptism, profession of faith, ordination, renewal of vows, and so on.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

Sydney Watson (b. Manchester, England, 1903; d. Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, 1991) composed MORESTEAD, which is considered one of his best tunes. Its initial "rocket" motif, its melodic contour, and its "walking" bass are a fine match for Bayly's text. Intended for unison singing at two beats (not four) per measure, this tune has an active pedal part for organists with two feet! Save your bright mixtures or colorful reeds for stanza 3, and sing that stanza at a slightly slower pace than the first two.

MORESTEAD was published in the British Hymns far Church and School (1964) as a setting for Henry M. Butler's "Lift Up Your Hearts." The tune is named after a village in Hampshire, England, just southeast of Winchester, where Watson often rode his bicycle.

Educated at the Royal College of Music in London, Keble College, and Oxford University, Watson had a distinguished career in music education and church music. Organist at New College, Oxford, from 1933 to 1938, he also taught music at Winchester College (1938-1946) and at Eaton (1946-1955). Later Watson was conductor of the Oxford Bach Choir and Orchestra and organist at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford (1955-1970).

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook