God, the source of light and beauty

Representative Text

1 God, the source of light and beauty,
grant response in sense and sight;
stir our minds to follow duty;
rouse our souls from earth-born night;
give us through our clouded vision
clearer knowledge of thy will
till thine undefeated purpose
through our lives thou shalt fulfill.

2 Great Musician of the thunder,
Builder of the mountain range,
Painter of the sunset's splendor,
Planner of the season's change,
help us fill our lives with beauty;
still the roar of guns and strife;
build thy kingdom of the future
here within our daily life.

3 Author of creation's being,
thou hast shared our pain and loss;
through Christ's gallant life of service
shines the radiance of the cross.
God, the source of light and beauty,
faith assures thy reign above.
Here on earth we need thy presence;
teach us how to walk in love.

Source: Community of Christ Sings #593

Author: S. Ralph Harlow

Born: July 20, 1885, Boston, Massachusetts. Died: August 21, 1972, Northampton, Massachusetts. Buried: Abels Hill Cemetery (also known as Chilmark Cemetery), Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Harlow attended Harvard University, Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University, & Hartford Theological Seminary. Ordained a Congregational minister in 1912, he was a chaplain and sociology teacher at the International College in Smyrna, Turkey (1912-22). When World War I broke out, he served as YMCA director for the American forces in France. In 1923, he joined Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, serving over 30 years as a professor of religion and social ethics. He traveled overseas as a lecturer for the Carnegie Endowment for Inter… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: God, the source of light and beauty
Author: S. Ralph Harlow
Language: English
Copyright: Words used by permission of S. Ralph Harlow

Tune

IN BABILONE

IN BABILONE is a traditional Dutch melody that appeared in Oude en Nieuwe Hollantse Boerenlities en Contradansen (Old and New Dutch Peasant Songs and Country Dances), c. 1710. Ralph Vaughan Williams (PHH 316) discovered this tune as arranged by Julius Rontgen (b. Leipzig, Germany, 1855; d. Utrecht,…

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Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 2 of 2)
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Community of Christ Sings #593

Hymns of the Saints #406

Include 2 pre-1979 instances
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