All Things Bright and Beautiful

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Each little flower that opens

Author: Cecil Frances Alexander (1848)
Published in 327 hymnals

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	All Things Bright and Beautiful

Piano/Organ
	When In Our Music - Three Hymn Settings…

Choral
	All Things

Representative Text

Refrain:
All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all.

1 Each little flow'r that opens,
each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings. [Refrain]

2 The purple-headed mountain,
the river running by,
the sunset and the morning
that brightens up the sky. [Refrain]

3 The cold wind in the winter,
the pleasant summer sun,
the ripe fruits in the garden:
He made them every one. [Refrain]

4 He gave us eyes to see them,
and lips that we might tell
how great is God Almighty,
who has made all things well. [Refrain]

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #184

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Author: Cecil Frances Alexander

As a small girl, Cecil Frances Humphries (b. Redcross, County Wicklow, Ireland, 1818; Londonderry, Ireland, 1895) wrote poetry in her school's journal. In 1850 she married Rev. William Alexander, who later became the Anglican primate (chief bishop) of Ireland. She showed her concern for disadvantaged people by traveling many miles each day to visit the sick and the poor, providing food, warm clothes, and medical supplies. She and her sister also founded a school for the deaf. Alexander was strongly influenced by the Oxford Movement and by John Keble's Christian Year. Her first book of poetry, Verses for Seasons, was a "Christian Year" for children. She wrote hymns based on the Apostles' Creed, baptism, the Lord's Supper, the Ten Commandment… Go to person page >

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Related Texts

First Line:	Each little flower that opens
Title:	All Things Bright and Beautiful
Author:	Cecil Frances Alexander (1848)
Meter:	7.6.7.6 with refrain
Place of Origin:	Ireland
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	All things bright and beautiful
Notes:	Spanish translations: See "Las flores y los pájaros Dios sólo pudo hacer" by Carmen Cortés P.; "Las flores y los pájaros criaturas son de Dios" by Oscar Rodríguez
Copyright:	Public Domain

English

10 shown out of 236

Korean

찬송과 예배 = Chansong gwa yebae = Come, Let Us Worship: the Korean-English Presbyterian hymnal and service book #63

Spanish

Santo, Santo, Santo: cantos para el pueblo de Dios = Holy, Holy, Holy: songs for the people of God #1

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Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Matt. 6:28-29
all st. = Gen 1:31, Eccles. 3:11, Neh. 9:6, Ps. 148

Cecil F. Alexander (PHH 346) wrote a number of hymn texts on articles of the Apostles' Creed. This text, whose biblical source is Genesis 1:31 ("and God saw all that he had made, and it was very good"), is Alexander's explanation of the Creed's phrase "Maker of heaven and earth." The text was first published in her Hymns for Little Children (1848) in seven stanzas, one of which was:

The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
God made them high and lowly
And ordered their estate.

In the currently familiar form of this hymn Alexander's original first stanza has been turned into the refrain, and her stanzas 3 and 6 have been omitted.

The vivid images depicting the creedal statement are easily understood by God's children of all ages. It is a catalog text (see also 431 and 433) because it enumerates various creatures God has made: flowers and birds (st. 1); mountains, rivers, daylight, and evening (st. 2); summer, winter, and harvest (st. 4). The final stanza and the refrain teach us that the creation points to and praises the Creator, for "the Lord God made them all." Note that "all" is used four times in the refrain!

Liturgical Use:
As a creation hymn, especially for children but also suitable for adults; with Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 9, as a hymn of confession of faith.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
==========================

All things bright and beautiful. Cecil F. Alexander, née Humphreys. [God, our Maker.] A successful and popular hymn for children, on the article of the Creed, "Maker of Heaven and Earth," which appeared in her Hymns for Little Children, 1848, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. It is usually given in an unaltered form, as in Thring's Collection, 1882.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Tune

ROYAL OAK

ROYAL OAK is presumably named for a tree at Boscobel, Shropshire, England, in which King Charles II hid during the Battle of Worcester, 1651. A folk song that may well be older than the seventeenth century, ROYAL OAK was associated in the 1600s with the loyalist song "The Twenty-Ninth of May," a son…

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[All things bright and beautiful] (Monk)

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For Leaders

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In his book on hymns, Albert Bailey writes of this particular one, “For once Mrs. Alexander has forgotten her theology and lost herself in the beauty of nature” (The Gospel in Hymns, 354). Many of us, if not all, have had these moments. Whether we’re in a park, on a mountain, at the sea or a lake, or simply driving down the highway with a glorious sunset behind us, it is not difficult to find ourselves lost in the beauty of God’s creation. These scenes should bring to mind Genesis 1:31: “And God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” Albert Bailey is perhaps mistaken when he claims that Alexander forgot her theology in the writing of these verses. For when we are in the midst of God’s creation, are our ideas of who God is not being shaped by all that we see? God made a good creation, and He loves it. Our God is a good God, who gives us good things, and then tasks us with taking care of them. Our God is imaginative, and His creation is both whimsical and sometimes startlingly majestic. Let us lift our voices in praise to our maker, the creator of all things bright and beautiful.

Text:

This text was written by Cecil F. Alexander as part of her collection of hymn texts on articles of the Apostle’s Creed. This specific hymn is Alexander’s explanation of the phrase, “Maker of heaven and earth.” The text is also based on Genesis 1:31: “And God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” Her text was first published in 1848 in seven stanzas. The first stanza has since been turned into a refrain, and stanzas three and six are often omitted.

Tune:

The tune ROYAL OAK is presumably named for a tree at Boscobel, Shropshire, England, in which King Charles II hid during the Battle of Worcester in 1651. In the seventeenth century, the tune was associated with the loyalist song, “The Twenty-Ninth of May,” celebrating the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. In the nineteenth century, Martin F. Shaw arranged the tune as a hymn setting, and it is now commonly associated with Alexander’s text. Use light instrumentation, such as piano, flute, recorder, or guitar.

John Rutter’s 1990 arrangement of the hymn is beautiful for choir, with a melody and accompaniment that fits the text wonderfully. It also is not terribly difficult, and can be accompanied with a variety of instruments, or simply piano.

Alternative Harmonization for Piano:

Hopson, Hal H. The Creative Use of the Piano in Worship.

When/Why/How:

There are a number of difference services in which this hymn would be appropriate. It could be sung during a celebration of God’s creation, as a hymn of response to a reading of the Apostle’s Creed or the first chapter of Genesis, or as an opening hymn of praise throughout the year. Along with a reading of the Apostle’s Creed, this hymn could be paired with the hymn “All Creatures of Our God and King,” or “For the Beauty of the Earth.” This is also a great hymn to teach children, due to the repeated refrain and simple melody.

Suggested music:

Morning Has Broken-A Suite of Hymns for Piano
Burkhardt, Michael. Praise and Thanksgiving. Set 6
Postludes of Praise for Piano
Kinyon, Barbara. All Things Bright and Beautiful - for Handbells
Offutt, Fred. All Things - for Choir, with an original tune

Laura de Jong,
Hymnary.org

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Baptist Hymnal 1991 #46

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The Cyber Hymnal #120

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Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #435

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Timeless Truths #397

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The United Methodist Hymnal #147

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Worship and Rejoice #30

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With Heart and Voice: songs for all God's children #113

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Page Scans

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Psalms and Hymns to the Living God (2023), p.245

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Instances

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Piano/Organ When In Our Music - Three Hymn Settings for Organ The Church Pianist's Library, Vol. 6 All Things Bright and Beautiful (Hymns, Spirituals and Gospel Songs for Solo Piano) More Piano/Organ...
Choral All Things More Choral...
Instrumental This Is My Father's World: Three Hymns for Trumpet and Organ More Instrumental...
Handbells ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL TIME TO RING 5 More Handbells...
PowerPoint ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL - Lead Line (Worship & Rejoice 2003 - 30) ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL (Presbyterian Hymnal 266) ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL (Gray Psalter 435) More PowerPoint...

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All Things Bright and Beautiful

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Each little flower that opens

Representative Text

Author: Cecil Frances Alexander

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Baptist Hymnal 1991 #46

The Cyber Hymnal #120

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #435

Timeless Truths #397

The United Methodist Hymnal #147

Worship and Rejoice #30

With Heart and Voice: songs for all God's children #113

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