Scripture References:
st. 1 = Gen. 1, Job 38:7
st. 2 = John 1:14, 1 Cor. 15
One of the best short hymns in the hymnal's Word of God section, "The Lord Almighty Spoke" is a crisp text, striking in its simplicity and its thought pattern. Stanza 1 extols God's creative word; stanza 2 celebrates the victory of Christ, the Word made flesh; and stanza 3 appeals to the Trinity to proclaim the coming kingdom.
Charles E. Watson (b. Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, England, 1869; d. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, 1942) left the Church of England to study for the ministry in the Congregational Church. Beginning in 1898 he served Congregational churches at Lymm in Cheshire, Oakhill; in Somerset; and for the last thirty-three years of his life, the Rodborough Tabernacle United Reformed Church in Gloucestershire. He wrote two hymns and a prayer book for his congregation at Rodborough Tabernacle. This hymn was published in the Rodborough Hymnal in 1964. Stanza 3 was altered for publication in the Psalter Hymnal.
Liturgical Use:
Because stanzas 1 and 2 are designed for teaching (only st. 3 addresses God), this hymn is most useful in conjunction with reading Scripture and preaching the Word. But it can be used at many points in the worship service, including the beginning and end.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
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