God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand

Text:

The year 1876 was the centennial of the United States’ Declaration of Independence, which was the occasion for which this text was written. Daniel C. Roberts, an Episcopalian rector in Vermont, was the author. It was first sung in St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Brandon, Vermont, to the tune RUSSIAN HYMN. Roberts submitted his text to the revision of the hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1892, where it was first published.

This hymn has four stanzas. The only notable alteration made to this text is that sometimes the opening line is changed from “God of Our Fathers” to “God of the Ages” for gender inclusivity.

Tune:

NATIONAL HYMN, the tune to which this text is sung, was written by George W. Warren in 1892. It was first published in Arthur H. Messiter's The Hymnal Revised and Enlarged in 1893. One popular feature of this tune is the trumpet fanfares at the beginning of each short phrase. In the original publication of this tune, the first phrase was indicated “Voices alone,” with the organ joining after the second fanfare. This hymn should be sung in harmony at a moderately slow tempo, with full accompaniment.

When/Why/How:

This hymn is usually treated as an American patriotic hymn, which it was originally intended to be. In this use, it is sometimes combined with other patriotic hymns, such as in “Patriot’s Medley” for brass sextet, which combines “God of the Ages,” “America the Beautiful,” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” However, this text is not inherently American, so it can also be used by any nation as a prayer for God’s guidance. “God of All Ages, Whose Almighty Hand” is a choral setting in which the standard opening fanfare is expanded to include the choir and is repeated at the end. Brass and percussion are optional, but with this hymn, the trumpets are expected on the fanfares. This setting is also included in the global prayer service “Prayers for the Nations.” A simpler way to augment this grand hymn tune is with a brass quartet setting of “NATIONAL HYMN” that is designed to complement the standard hymnal setting for congregational singing.

Tiffany Shomsky
Hymnary.org

Many American patriotic hymns extol the beauty and worth of the United States first, and treat God almost as an afterthought, which makes it difficult for some Christians to be comfortable singing them in the context of a worship service. This hymn puts God first, and is constantly addressed to Him as a prayer for the nation, without reference to American superiority. The second and third stanzas allude to a nation's need for God's law and guidance to maintain peace.

Full Score	Bulletin Score	Bulletin Score (melody only)
PDF MIDI file	PDF Sibelius	PDF Sibelius

MuseScore is a free music notation program that can open and edit MusicXML scores. Click here to download MuseScore.