LYRICS

Thank you Lord for saving my soul,  Thank you Lord for making me whole,
Thank you Lord for giving to me thy great salvation so rich and free.
(repeat)

This is My Father’s World
(1901)

Hymn Background:

…For the world is mine and all that is in it.
Psalm 50:12b

Maltbie Babcock was arguably the most remarkable student Syracuse University had ever seen. Hailing from an aristocratic family, he was a brilliant scholar with a winning personality. Tall and steel-muscled, he was an outstanding athlete, expert swimmer, and captain of the baseball team. He also directed the university’s orchestra, played several instruments, and composed original compositions. A proficient vocalist, he directe the university glee club. He entertained other students by drawing and doing impersonations. As a hobby, he was an avid fisherman.

He would have been successful in any profession but God called him to the ministry.  After training at Auburn Theological Seminary, he became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Lockport, New York. It was a beautiful area midway between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, not far from Niagara Falls. Maltbie enjoyed hiking and running in the hills outside town. Telling his secretary, “I’m going out to see my Father’s world,” he would run or hike a couple of miles into the countryside where he’d lose himself in nature’s beauty.

It was during his pastorate at Lockport that he wrote a 16-stanza poem, each verse starting with the words, “This is My Father’s World.”

In 1886, Maltbie was called to the Brown Memorial Church in Baltimore. While there, he traveled widely and was in great demand on college campuses. He was a fresh, engaging speaker who never failed to stimulate students. In 1899, he moved to the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. Here he found it more difficult to take his long nature hikes. His workload was enormous, but he faced it without complaint, writing: “Be strong! We are not here to play, to dream, to drift.  We have hard work to do and loads to lift; Shun not the struggle. Face it. ‘Tis God’s gift. Be strong!”When he was 42, his church presented him with a special gift– a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. With great excitement, Maltbie departed by ship.  While enroute at Naples, Italy, he was seized with a deadly bacterial fever and died at the International Hospital on May 18, 1901.  After his death, his wife compiled his writings into a book entitled Thoughts for Everyday Living, published in 1901.  Included in it was this beautiful hymn.

This is My Father’s World

LYRICS:

1. This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears,
All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world; I rest me in the thought of 
Rock and trees, of skies and seas; God’s hands the wonders wrought.

2. This is my Father’s world; the birds their carols raise, 
The morning light, the flowers bright, declare their Maker’s praise.
Our God has made this world and shines in all that’s fair;
In rustling grass I hear God pass, who speaks to me everywhere.

3. Our God has made this world; oh let us ne’er forget 
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
God trusts us with this world, to keep it clean and fair.
All earth and trees, the skies and seas, God’s creatures everywhere.

When Love is Found