All the Nations of the Earth

This hymn exhorting all creation to praise God was written by Michael Cockett (b 1938), and first published in Hymns Old and New - A Hymnbook for the Irish Church in 1977.

It is set to an un-named tune by Kevin Mayhew (b 1942) which has a 4/4 time-signature.   In the key of G the first few notes are  D D d d BG E

It is still available in some in-print hymnals, including Hymns Old and New Catholic Edition (2009), and the Celebration Hymnal for Everyone.

Examples

Instrumental - organ:

Instrumental - piano:

Lyrics

The lyrics are copyright so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available on this website.

It has a four-line chorus which is repeated after every verse. The verses are also four lines long - the 2nd and 4th lines are just "alleluia". A rough outline is:

Chorus
All the nation of the earth,
Praise the lord who brings to birth
The greatest star the smallest flower,
Alleluia.

1 Let the heavens praise the Lord ...

2 Hills and valleys, praise the Lord ...

3 Deep sea water, praise the Lord ...

4 Roaring lion, praise the Lord ...

5 Kings and rulers (alt: Earthly monarchs), praise the lord