HYMN STORIES: The Songs We Sing

“All  Creatures of Our God and King”

We will be singing All Creatures of Our God and King this Sunday. The lyrics which were written by Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone, more commonly known as St. Francis of Assisi, direct our singing to one of praise for the creation.  He was born in 1181 in Assisi, Italy the son of a wealthy cloth merchant, according to legend, he was selling goods for his father in the marketplace when a beggar came asking for alms. Francis abandoned his wares and ran after the poor man giving him everything he had in his pockets. His father was troubled and angry at the exchange.

After a short career as a soldier (including a year which he spent as a captive), he returned home and began to voluntarily lead a life of poverty. He claimed to have seen a vision of Jesus Christ commanding him to restore the Church, and gave himself over to serving the poor, sick, and lonely.  When his father became angry and tried to persuade him (even going so far as beating him) to give up his religious calling and take up the family trade, Francis renounced his father and his inheritance and became a beggar himself.

Francis began roaming the Italian countryside, preaching God’s word, always cheerful and full of song. Soon other young men joined him, and they eventually became known as the Franciscan Order. They were known as lovers of nature, but worshipers of nature’s Creator. St. Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. Although never ordained to the Catholic priesthood, he is one of the most revered religious figures in history.

In addition to his work as a preacher and an advocate for the poor, Francis is regarded as the first Italian poet. He believed that commoners should be able to pray and sing in their own language, and so he wrote in the vernacular rather than in Latin. In 1225, toward the end of his life, St. Francis was living in a small reed hut in a convent garden provided by his friend Sister Clare. Despite being nearly blind and suffering from severe illness, he dictated the "Canticle of the Sun" (also known as the "Song of All Creatures"). One of his greatest works of poetry, his poem is the text for the hymn, All Creatures of Our God and King.

The tune by which we now know these lyrics is from a German hymn called “Lasst Uns Erfreuen”. It was harmonized by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, who, in addition to writing music, made a name for himself collecting folk music and editing hymns. In his “English Hymnal”, which was first published in 1904, Vaughan Williams combined many ancient texts with folk and hymn tunes.  Together let us praise God and His wonderful creation!

Shared by Lindrew Johnson, Director of Worship