Earth and All Stars

Top Media Author Text Info Notes Tune Timeline Arrangements Instances

Earth and all stars

Author: Herbert Brokering (1964)
Tune: EARTH AND ALL STARS (Johnson)
Published in 33 hymnals

Audio files: MIDI, Recording

Piano/Organ
	Ten Hymn Introductions, Set 1

Choral
	God Has Done Marvelous Things

Instrumental
	Earth and All Stars - (Choral Score)

Representative text cannot be shown for this hymn due to copyright.

Author: Herbert Brokering

Herbert F. Brokering (b. Beatrice, Nebraska, May 21, 1926; d. Bloomington, Minnesota, November 7, 2009) was a Lutheran pastor with German roots, an author of more than forty books, and a poet and hymn writer known especially for two hymn texts, “Earth and All Stars” and “Alleluia! Christ Is Risen,” both set to the same tune. He was born in Nebraska, the son of a German Lutheran pastor; earned degrees from Wartburg College in Iowa, University of Iowa, and Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, OH, and pursued graduate study in Germany at the University of Kiel and the University of Erlangen. He served as a pastor of three Lutheran congregations, in Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas; taught at the Navy Chaplain’s Career School in Ne… Go to person page >

^ top

Related Texts

First Line:	Earth and all stars
Title:	Earth and All Stars
Author:	Herbert Brokering (1964)
Meter:	4.5.7.4.5.7 with refrain
Place of Origin:	United States
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	He has done marvelous things
Notes:	French translation: "Firmament haut, combé d'étoiles" by Shirley Judd; Spanish translation: See "Tierra y sol, mundos que vuelan" by Vernon L. Peterson
Copyright:	© 1968, Augsburg Publishing House. Used by permission.

English

10 shown out of 28

French

Community of Christ Sings #102

Spanish

Community of Christ Sings #102

^ top

Notes

Scripture References:
all st. = Ps. 96:1, Ps. 98, Ps. 150

Herbert Brokering (b. Beatrice, NE, 1926) wrote this text for the ninetieth anniversary of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, in 1964. It was published in David Johnson's Twelve Folksongs and Spirituals in 1968 and in the Lutheran hymnal Contemporary Worship I in 1969. About his writing of the text Brokering says:

I tried to gather into a hymn of praise the many facets of life which emerge in the life of community. So there are the references to building, nature, learning, family, war, festivity. Seasons, emotions, death and resurrection, bread, wine, water, wind, sun, spirit. . . have made great impressions on my imagination.

Like 431 and 435, "Earth and All Stars" is a catalog text, inviting us to join with a whole host of natural and cultural phenomena to "sing to the Lord a new song!" The text alludes to Psalm 96:1 in each stanza and to Psalm 98:1 in the refrain. But Brokering presents a modern list of natural, manufactured, and inanimate things that join in praising the Lord: planets in cosmic order (st. 1); weather and vegetation (st. 2); musical instruments (st. 3); technology and building (st. 4); learning and athletics (st. 5); wisdom, and all of God's people (st. 6).

A prolific author, Brokering is currently a freelance consultant on worship and ministry. Specializing in religious education, he studied at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa; the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Columbus, Ohio; the University of Iowa; and the University of Erlangen, Germany. Brokering is a prominent figure in the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches and has served as a parish pastor in several Lutheran congregations. His writings include Lord, Be with Me (1969), Lord, If (1977), and texts for hymns, anthems, cantatas, and musicals.

Liturgical Use:
Many uses as a modern hymn of praise. Sing the entire hymn or use a selection of stanzas as follows: stanzas 1-2 for worship that focuses on nature; other stanzas for worship that focuses on work, education, festivity/worship.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

^ top

Tune

EARTH AND ALL STARS (Johnson)

David Johnson (b. San Antonio, TX, 1922; d. Phoenix, AZ, 1987), former music department chairman at St. Olaf College, composed EARTH AND ALL STARS and published it in his Twelve Folksongs and Spirituals (1968). Johnson studied at Trinity, University, San Antonio, Texas, and received his master's and…

Go to tune page >

All tunes published with 'Earth and All Stars'^ top