Words: Attributed to King Alfred (O stelliferi conditor orbis; translated from Latin to English by , King Alfred’s Poems, 1850, page 18; re-metered by , Renderings of Church Hymns, 1901, p. 68.
Music: Charnwood, (1820-1893).
If you know when the music was written, or where to get a photo of Charles Moberly
O God, our Maker, throned on high,
The earth is Thine, and Thine the sky,
Th’adoring sun obeys Thy will,
And countless stars Thy laws fulfill.
The length’ning light of summer day,
The winter frost, Thy power display,
Nature proclaims Thy sovereign skill;
Man, and man only, spurns Thy will.
The wicked sit on earth’s high seat,
And tread the holy ’neath their feet;
Good goes so crookedly astray,
Bright deeds lie hidden oft away.
Great God! Who seest from above,
Regard us with Thy pitying love,
Perplexed by doubts, with toil and strife,
We ask more light—we long for life.