My Father’s World

The hymn, This is My Father’s World, has been on my heart for several days. I remember singing this song in elementary school, and it has remained a favorite through the years. Each morning as I walk, I hear the songs of the redbirds, and I see the intricate beauty of the flowers and grasses along the road. I am so amazed by God’s creation!

The lyrics of the song were written in the late 1800s by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, a minister in New York. After his death in 1901, they were published by his wife, and a friend adapted an English folk song for the tune.

This is My Father’s World speaks of the beauty of God’s creation, which I rejoice in every day, but it also speaks of the fallen state of this world. I find great comfort and hope in the third stanza.

1 This is my Father's world,And to my listening earsAll nature sings, and round me ringsThe music of the spheres.This is my Father's world:I rest me in the thoughtOf rocks and trees, of skies and seas--His hand the wonders wrought.

2 This is my Father's world:The birds their carols raise,

The morning light, the lily white,Declare their Maker's praise.This is my Father's world:He shines in all that's fair;In the rustling grass, I hear Him pass,He speaks to me everywhere.

3 This is my Father's world:

O let me ne'er forgetThat though the wrong seems oft so strong,God is the Ruler yet.This is my Father's world:The battle is not done;Jesus Who died shall be satisfied,and earth and heav'n be one.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Psalm 111:7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.

This is My Father’s World – a good listen

Photo – Along the Wayside, Waterton Canada – Eddy Mims