O King of earth, and air, and sea. Bishop R. Heber. [Lent.] Appeared in his posthumous Hymns, &c, 1827, p. 55, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, and appointed for the 4th Sunday in Lent. Although apparently based upon the petition in the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread," it was doubtless suggested by the Gospel of the day, the feeding of the five thousand (John vi. 1). It is in common use in Great Britain and America. In the American Unitarian Book of Hymns, 1848, No. 492, it begins with stanza iv., "Thy bounteous hand with food can bless."
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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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