To God, the Universal King

To God

the uni­vers­al King

Let all man­kind their tri­bute bring;

All that have breath! your voic­es raise

In songs of nev­er end­ing praise.

The spa­cious earth on which we tread

And wid­er heav­ens stretched o’er our head

A large and so­lemn tem­ple frame

To ce­le­brate its build­er’s fame.

Here the bright sun

that rules the day

As through the sky he makes his way

To all the world pro­claims aloud

The bound­less sov­er­eign­ty of God.

When from his courts the sun re­tires

And with the day his voice ex­pires

The moon and stars ad­opt the song

And through the night the praise pro­long.

The list­ening earth with rap­ture hears

Th’harmonious mu­sic of the spheres;

And all her tribes the notes re­peat

That God is wise

and good and great.

But man

en­dowed with nob­ler pow­ers

His God in nob­ler strains ad­ores;

His is the gift to know the song

As well as sing with tune­ful tongue.