Immortal, invisible,
God only wise,
In light inaccessible
hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious,
the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious,
Thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting,
and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting,
Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains,
high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains
of goodness and love.
To all, life Thou givest,
to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest*,
the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish
as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish–
but naught changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory,
pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee,
all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render;
O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendor
of light hideth Thee.
*This part of the hymn makes me nervous, as it sounds somewhat pantheistic. The hymnist could mean the phrase in the sense of Ephesians 4:6 “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Or, that God, the Giver of all life, is in all life sustaining it.
thoughts and songs 