This Is My Father’s World
This delightful hymn by Presbyterian minister Maltbie Babcock (1858 – 1901) offers some of the richest poetry of all English language hymns. The imagery it uses to describe nature is remarkably pleasant to the ear. In addition, it is written in Short Meter (6.6.8.6.D.) and has internal rhymes in lines 3 and 7 of each verse, giving it a higher percentage of rhyming words than perhaps any other hymn.
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 rocks and trees, of skies and seas–
His hand the wonders wrought.
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.
This hymn was assembled after Babcock’s death from a poem that he had written. That poem, with a slightly different meter, consisted of 16 stanzas of 4 lines each. Six of those stanzas were selected and combined to form the three verses of this hymn, set to the tune TERRA BEATA (or TERRA PATRIS) – a tune remarkably well suited to the first two verses, which describe the world as God’s creation and as a medium for God’s expression to us. The tune dances lightly, like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower – entirely in keeping with the happiness and simplicity of the hymn’s text.
However, the close matching of tune and text breaks down completely with the third verse. Verse three takes on a very serious tone – introducing God’s roles as ruler and as judge of the world. There are no butterflies or flowers in its message.
This is my Father’s world:
O let me ne’er forget
That 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.
This disconnect between tune and text was apparently noticed early on. As early as 1929 we find hymnals in which the final four lines, stanza 15 of the original poem, are replaced with stanza 16:
This is my Father’s world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!
That change, which remains popular today, gives an upbeat call to praise God instead of the reference to God as Judge.
I am not satisfied with either of these versions. I am inclined to believe that a better theological balance is provided if we acknowledge the diverse roles of God – as creator, revealer, ruler, and judge – in this hymn. Each of these is an important aspect of God’s interactions with our world. I hate to see us ignore God’s judgment just because it is an uncomfortable concept or it fails to match the music.
On the other hand, I am concerned that the theology of Babcock’s 15th stanza is flawed. I believe that the battle is done – that it ended when Jesus said, “It is finished” from the cross. I do not see the unification of earth and heaven as a future event, rather I believe that God’s kingdom is here now. And if Babcock was suggesting by the phrase “shall be satisfied” that God’s judgment of the world is in some way revenge for the killing of Jesus, I absolutely disagree. The cross was God’s plan, and Jesus’ reaction to those who carried out his execution was, “Father, forgive them.”
Perhaps we should retain the themes of Babcock’s 15th stanza, but make a few minor edits to improve its theology. Let me suggest the following as a third verse for this hymn:
This is my Father’s world:
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
Earth’s battle has been won!
Jesus died and was glorified,
Judge and Savior in one.
We might make one other change as well. The hymn tune DIADEMATA, which we often use to sing “Crown Him with Many Crowns,” may be a good alternative. It is joyous but not too light: neither too severe for the first two verses nor too frivolous for the important third verse of “This Is My Father’s World.”
Tom Croxton
