Scripture Verse

The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2

Introduction

portrait
Fergus Ferguson
1824–1897

Words: Fer­gus Fer­gus­on, in A Col­lection of Psalms and Hymns for the Sanc­tu­a­ry, ed­it­ed by George E. Ell­is (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: James Mun­roe, 1845), num­ber 134.

Music: Em­ma­nu­el Carl C. N. Balle, 1850 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Balle (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

The Spirit moved upon the waves
That darkly rolled, a shoreless sea;
He spake the word, and light broke forth,
A glorious, bright immensity.

At His command, the mountains heaved
Their rocky pinnacles on high,
Island and continent displayed
Their desert grandeur to the sky.

The voice of God was heard again,
And lovely flowers and graceful trees
Appeared on every vale and plain,
And perfumes floated on the breeze.

The word went forth, and vast and high
The heavenly orbs gave out their light,
O’er all the earth and sea and sky,
The rulers of the day and night.

Glory to God! the angels sang,
With harps of gold, and tongues of flame:
And all the heavenly arches rang
Re-echoing with the awful theme.