5 December 1824 A.D. Rev. Walter Smith Born—Free Church of Scotland Churchman &
Author of “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
December 5: Walter Smith (hymn writer)
The Next Time You Sing . . .
Whether it is from the
original Trinity hymnal on page 35, or the red Trinity Hymnal on page 38, both
editions of this Presbyterian and Reformed hymnal have the majestic hymn
“Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise.” The tune was taken from a traditional
Welsh ballad, but it is the words, not the tune, which stand out to any
worshiper who sings its biblical phrases.
“Immortal, Invisible, God only
Wise,” is found in the benediction of Paul to young Timothy, when he says,” Now
unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever.
Amen.” —(1 Timothy 1:17, KJV).
Continuing on in the first
verse, line three, the hymn writer refers to God as the Ancient of Days, in
speaking of “Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty
Victorious, Thy Great Name we praise.” This title of God comes from Daniel
7:9, where
the Old Testament prophet says that he “beheld till the thrones were cast down,
and the Ancient of Days did
sit . . . .”
Then in the second line of the
second verse, we sing “Thy justice like mountains high soaring above,” we think
of Psalm 33:6 the
Psalmist saying “Thy righteousness is like the great
mountains; Thy judgments are a great deep.”
There are two other verses
which the hymn author wrote, but which are left out of our Trinity
Hymnal. They are: “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.” The second
verse not included in the Trinity Hymnal reads “All laud we would render;
O help us to see ‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee, And so
let thy glory, almighty, impart, Through Christ in his story, thy Christ to the
heart.”:
The author of this majestic
hymn was Walter Chalmers Smith, born this day December 5, 1824 in
Aberdeen, Scotland. He was educated in the elementary schools of that town
and for his higher learning, graduated from New College, Edinburgh. Walter
Smith was ordained in 1850 in the Free Church of Scotland and served four
churches in that Presbyterian denomination. His longest pastorate was in
Edinburgh. He was honored by his fellow elders when in 1893, he was
elected Moderator of the General Assembly in the Jubilee year of the Free
Church of Scotland.
It was interesting that it
took several years before this hymn surfaced in print, being found for the
first time in 1876 in his “Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life.”
Words to Live
By:
In the familiar acrostic of A.C.T.S, standing for that prayer outline
of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication, we could easily
sing the stanzas of this majestic hymn and go a long way toward fulfilling the
Adoration part of our prayers. It is that full of praise. So the next
time you sing it in one of our Presbyterian congregations, sing the words
with your heart and voice as you adore God’s person.
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;
But of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart
Take the veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.
All
laud we would render; O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, Almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.
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