James Montgomery

God the Creator.

Praise the High, the Holy One!

God o'er all, the first, the last:

For He spake, and it was done;

He commanded, it stood fast.

At His word, from darkness light,

Harmony from discord broke;

Weakness started into might,

Beauty out of dust awoke:

Fire and water, air and earth,

Heard His voice and hush'd their strife:

Death itself, by wondrous birth,

Grew the parent of all life.

Plant and flower, and herb and tree,

Sprang spontaneous from the sod;

Sun and moon, and land and sea,

Day and night, beheld their God.

Fishes, fowls upon the wing,

Beasts, and all that creep or fly,

Every breathing, moving thing,

Peopled forest, flood, and sky.

But while all was fair and good,

All accordant to His will,

None their Maker understood,

Mind and thought were wanting still.

God, His glory to display,

With His image crown'd the whole,

Breath'd His Spirit into clay,

And made man a living soul.

Hallelujah, praise the One

God o'er all, the first, the last:

For He spake, and it was done;

He commanded, it stood fast.