I praised the earth, in beauty seen

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I praised the earth, in beauty seen

Author: Reginald Heber
Published in 23 hymnals

Representative Text

1 I praised the earth in beauty seen,
With garlands gay of various green;
I praised the sea whose ample field
Shone glorious as a silver shield;
And earth and ocean seemed to say,
"Our beauties are but for a day."

2 I praised the sun, whose chariot rolled
On wheels of amber and of gold;
I praised the moon, whose softer eye
Gleamed sweetly through the summer sky;
And moon and sun in answer said,
"Our days of light are numbered."

3 O God! O Good beyond compare!
If thus Thy meaner works are fair,
If thus Thy bounties gild the span
Of ruined earth and sinful man,
How glorious must the mansion be,
Where Thy redeemed shall dwell with Thee!

Amen.

Source: Voices of Praise: for school and church and home #280

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Author: Reginald Heber

Reginald Heber was born in 1783 into a wealthy, educated family. He was a bright youth, translating a Latin classic into English verse by the time he was seven, entering Oxford at 17, and winning two awards for his poetry during his time there. After his graduation he became rector of his father's church in the village of Hodnet near Shrewsbury in the west of England where he remained for 16 years. He was appointed Bishop of Calcutta in 1823 and worked tirelessly for three years until the weather and travel took its toll on his health and he died of a stroke. Most of his 57 hymns, which include "Holy, Holy, Holy," are still in use today. -- Greg Scheer, 1995… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	I praised the earth, in beauty seen
Author:	Reginald Heber
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Notes

I prais'd the earth in beauty seen. Bishop R. Heber. [Flower Services.] Published in his posthumous Hymns, &c, 1827, p. 92, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines, and appointed for the 4th Sunday after Trinity. It is well suited for Flower Services, and is found in several modern collections.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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