This psalm may be based on a desert storm; it emphasizes God's control of nature, in expansive and specific detail: listing mountains, waters, animals, and plants in the psalmist's world. Amazed by the grandeur of nature, the psalmist calls the people to worship, and expresses trust in God's providence for them.

This version was written by a Japanese-American¹, and revised for Hymns from the Four Winds.² It substitutes concrete details drawn from American geography, naming our own scenic wonders. In another adaptation to modern experience, storm imagery (lightning) is replaced by space imagery (meteors).

I wonder if some of the places were not mentioned at least partly because of the names. Certainly the early American explorers and settlers left many place names as evidence that they had also sensed something of the divine grandeur. Anyone who has seen these places will understand.

The hymn's language is contemporary and not especially formal, although it is nearly free from outright grammatical errors. The complex rhyme scheme (abcbddeb) can easily be overlooked: an indication that the language wasn't visibly forced into doggerel for the sake of forced rhyme. This is not as polished as a poem³ as some other metrical psalms, but its technical aspects still compare favorably with most contemporary songs.

The tune, by the same author as the text, also shows Western musical influence: it is tonic in structure, with a diatonic melody assuming typical chords and cadences. Neither the melody or the part singing should present unusual problems.

Use:

Like O store gud (How great Thou art), this hymn leads from the glories of nature to the Glory of nature's God. Any creative writing teacher will emphasize the importance of specific detail -- here we have a graphic catalog of specific vistas within western American national parks. People who have seen those mountains, or even pictures of them, will have a more vivid view of both the wilderness and this psalm.

But not only in vivid detail does this go beyond the Swedish hymn; like the psalm, it goes beyond mere thought or emotion to call us to action: first, to worship together, and then to imitate God's goodness through service throughout our lives.

I wonder how "skillfully crafted" this hymn is: of all the hymns in this collection, it has the weakest track record of acceptance. But there is no doubt that it is in every sense a "good" hymn: and we would be better for the time spent exploring poorly written but good hymns than for any investment in more aesthetically attractive but less thoughtful hymns.

Notes:

¹The Japanese tradition of nature poetry may have contributed to the unique perspective of this hymn.

²1983: a Methodist hymnal supplement reflecting nine Asian cultural traditions.

³It is no small technical achievement to carry such a complex rhyme scheme and unusual irregular meter consistently through 32 lines. (Many of the original songs in our book cannot even boast two four-line stanzas in the same meter.) There are several false rhymes. The last two lines of the first verse don't quite work: "trees of Joshua" is not an acceptable substitute for the English proper name "Joshua trees"; and English usage requires the article "reflecting [the] might ... of God." The latter problem could be fixed: " ... And show the might ..."