The words were written by English Anglican clergyman, hymn collector and editor, John Hampden Gurney (1802–1862).
It is based on a similar hymn which was published with no attribution in "Hymns for Children" Boston, U.S.A., 1825. This had 6 verses, each with 4 lines in it. Gurney obtained when he was editing "A Collection of Hymns for Public Worship", published in Lutterworth in 1838. He combined some phrases from the American hymn with some of his own, to produce the a first version of Yes God is Good with four-line verses. He published his final version in "The Psalms & Hymns for Public Worship, Selection for some of the Churches in Marylebone" in 1851. It is likely that other editors have made small changes to the words since then, too.
With meter 8.8.8.8, tunes it is set to include:
From ocean's depths and spreading wood,
Ten thousand voices seem to cry,
God made all men, and God is good.
2 The sun that keeps his trackless way,
And downward pours his golden flood,
Night's sparkling hosts, all seem to say,
In accents clear, that God is good.
3 The merry birds prolong the strain,
Their song with ev'ry spring renewed;
And balmy air, and falling rain,
Each softly whispers, God is good.
4 Yes, God is good, all nature says,
By God's own hand with speech endued;
And man, in louder notes of praise,
Should sing for joy that God is good.
5 For all Thy gifts we bless Thee, Lord,
But chiefly for our heavenly food;
Thy pard'ning grace, Thy quick'ning word,
These prompt our song that God is good.
From ocean's depths and spreading wood,
Ten thousand voices seem to cry,
God made us all, and God is good.
2 The sun that keeps God's trackless way,
And downward pours a golden flood,
Night's sparkling hosts, all seem to say,
In accents clear, that God is good.
3 The merry birds prolong the strain,
Their song with ev'ry spring renewed;
And balmy air, and falling rain,
Each softly whispers, God is good.
4 Yes, God is good, all nature says,
By God's own hand with speech endued;
And we, with louder notes of praise,
Should sing for joy that God is good.
5 For all Your gifts we bless You, Lord,
But chiefly for our heavenly food;
Your pard'ning grace, Your quick'ning word,
These prompt our song that God is good.
It is based on a similar hymn which was published with no attribution in "Hymns for Children" Boston, U.S.A., 1825. This had 6 verses, each with 4 lines in it. Gurney obtained when he was editing "A Collection of Hymns for Public Worship", published in Lutterworth in 1838. He combined some phrases from the American hymn with some of his own, to produce the a first version of Yes God is Good with four-line verses. He published his final version in "The Psalms & Hymns for Public Worship, Selection for some of the Churches in Marylebone" in 1851. It is likely that other editors have made small changes to the words since then, too.
With meter 8.8.8.8, tunes it is set to include:
- WILLIAMS (Kingsley) by English organist and music-teacher George Kingsley (1811-1884)
- DANIEL (Irish) - source unknown, described as a traditional Irish melody
- TRURO - anonymous, first published in Psalmodia Evangelica, (second vol. 1789)
- An unnamed tune by Clint Higgs (2008 (choral arrangement)
- An unnamed tune by Harry Hicks, 2016 (lead sheet)
Downloads
This section may contain affiliate links: I earn from qualifying purchases on these. Free downloads are provided where possible (eg for public domain items).
Examples
Choir with piano, professional recording:
Choir and congregation with organ, recorded live in a church service. Tune WILLIAM.
Small choir with band, recorded in church:
Choir with piano, professional recording, words on-screen, tune WILLIAMS
Concert-style performance:
Lyrics
Traditional language
Yes, God is good: in earth and sky,From ocean's depths and spreading wood,
Ten thousand voices seem to cry,
God made all men, and God is good.
2 The sun that keeps his trackless way,
And downward pours his golden flood,
Night's sparkling hosts, all seem to say,
In accents clear, that God is good.
3 The merry birds prolong the strain,
Their song with ev'ry spring renewed;
And balmy air, and falling rain,
Each softly whispers, God is good.
4 Yes, God is good, all nature says,
By God's own hand with speech endued;
And man, in louder notes of praise,
Should sing for joy that God is good.
5 For all Thy gifts we bless Thee, Lord,
But chiefly for our heavenly food;
Thy pard'ning grace, Thy quick'ning word,
These prompt our song that God is good.
Modern English
Yes, God is good: in earth and sky,From ocean's depths and spreading wood,
Ten thousand voices seem to cry,
God made us all, and God is good.
2 The sun that keeps God's trackless way,
And downward pours a golden flood,
Night's sparkling hosts, all seem to say,
In accents clear, that God is good.
3 The merry birds prolong the strain,
Their song with ev'ry spring renewed;
And balmy air, and falling rain,
Each softly whispers, God is good.
4 Yes, God is good, all nature says,
By God's own hand with speech endued;
And we, with louder notes of praise,
Should sing for joy that God is good.
5 For all Your gifts we bless You, Lord,
But chiefly for our heavenly food;
Your pard'ning grace, Your quick'ning word,
These prompt our song that God is good.
No comments:
Post a Comment