O Thou Who Madest Land and Sea

Representative Text

1 O Thou Who madest land and sea,
And guidest all, in all their ways,
Who hearest those who bring to Thee
Their sacrifice of prayer and praise;
Oh, hear Thy children as they bring
Themselves a lowly offering!

2 Great God, Who with a Father's love
Dost watch o'er all created things,
And gatherest all, below, above,
Beneath the shadow of Thy wings;
Protect, we pray Thee, now, and bless
Thy children who are fatherless.

3 Thou hearest still the eagle's cry,
And notest e'en a sparrow's fall,
Thy listening ear doth heed on high,
And hearken to the raven's call;
Then, heavenly Father, hear and bless
Thy children who are fatherless.

4 Come, heavenly Father, come to-day,
For we Thy children come to Thee,
And Thou wilt never say us, nay,
If come we in humility;
New-born in Thee, O Father, bless
Thy children who are fatherless.

5 Cast forth upon the barren strand
Of this lone world, to Thee we fly;
In faith and hope, we fain would stand
Beneath Thy sheltering arm for aye;
Stretch forth Thy hand ad pitying bless
Thy children who are fatherless.

6 And may we all with joyful mind
Our hearts as living offerings bring,
The first-fruits of our life, to find
A Father in our heavenly King;
And learn in life and death to bless
Thee, "Father of the fatherless."

Amen.

The Hymnal: revised and enlarged as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892

Author: Godfrey Thring

Godfrey Thring (b. Alford, Somersetshire, England, 1823; d. Shamley Green, Guilford, Surrey, England, 1903) was born in the parsonage of Alford, where his father was rector. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, England, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1847. After serving in several other parishes, Thring re­turned to Alford and Hornblotten in 1858 to succeed his father as rector, a position he retained until his own retirement in 1893. He was also associated with Wells Cathedral (1867-1893). After 1861 Thring wrote many hymns and published several hymnals, including Hymns Congregational (1866), Hymns and Sacred Lyrics (1874), and the respect­ed A Church of England Hymn Book Adapted to the Daily Services of the Church… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: O Thou Who madest land and sea
Title: O Thou Who Madest Land and Sea
Author: Godfrey Thring (1881)
Meter: 8.8.8.8.8.8
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

MELITA (Dykes)

The original chant melody associated with this text [i.e., "Eternal Father, strong to save"] is found in most hymnals of denominations where chant has played a role, including the Lutheran tradition, which has produced much organ music on this well-known chant. The setting here is by John B. Dykes (…

Go to tune page >


[O Thou Who madest land and sea]


Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 6 of 6)

Hymnal of the Evangelical Church. Word ed. #d576

Page Scan

Hymns of Praise and Patriotism #40

TextPage Scan

The Church Hymnal #276

Page Scan

The Church Hymnal #276

Page Scan

The Hymnal #276

Suggestions or corrections? Contact us