The Spacious Firmament on High
Psalm 19:1
CREATION  |  Bible Passage
Author: Joseph Addison, 1672-1719
Musician: Franz Joseph Haydn, 1732-1809

  Play MP3 • Click to listen to the music for this hymn.

The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue, ethereal sky,
And spangled heav'ns, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim:
Th'unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's pow'r display;
And publishes to ev'ry land
The work of an almighty hand.

Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale;
And nightly, to the list'ning earth,
Repeats the story of her birth;
Whilst all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Comfirm the tidings as they shine,
"The hand that made us is divine."

If rock and fire, though mindless, mute,
Of soul and spirit destitute,
Can their Creator's praises sing
And tell the glories of their King,
Then I, so blest with gifts divine
Of heart and soul, of voice and mind,
Must far surpass the starry throng
In burning bright with heav'nly song!


BIBLE PASSAGE:

1 ΒΆ The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.