It’s been close to fifty years since I last attended a service at Sunnyhills United Methodist Church, but the hymns that we sang — and that I grew to love there — remain in my head and my heart to this day.
I usually find them bubbling up in my consciousness at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. So sure enough, all day I’ve been humming “We Gather Together,” “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” and “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”
But my all-time Thanksgiving favorite is “This Is My Father’s World,” which I feel to share with you today.
Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t easy to find a simple choir version that was heartfelt and true. This arrangement goes far beyond the straightforward 4-part harmonies in the Methodist Hymnal, but I feel it does justice to the song.
LYRICS
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 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:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad![6]
