April 6, 2025
Canon Michael Perry was one of England’s most promising hymnists, who died from an inoperable brain tumor at 54 in 1996. Among the work he left us was a hymn that has capture the hearts of Christians worldwide, “O God, Beyond All Praising.” It was written in 1982 for the melody Thaxted, which was a section of the Jupiter movement of Gustav Holst’s orchestra suite, The Planets.
Perry’s hymn is often sung at Remembrance Day services. It was also played at Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981 and her funeral in 1997 and the anniversary of her death in 2007.
The author once said the lines in the last stanza, “we’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still” was a “reflection on my remembered determination of youthful days to overcome acute disappointment and personal loss.” Some of that loss involved loved ones.
Hear a traditional version of “O God Beyond All Praising:” https://youtu.be/DBoxFBgdFl0?si=9u6drLRFtjKnwIDT
Hear the Catholic Music Initiative: https://youtu.be/K2asL5dr6bw?si=3BPnYxRKD3OmKfuX
O God Beyond All Praising
O God beyond all praising,
we worship you today
and sing the love amazing
that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder
at every gift you send,
at blessings without number
and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you
and wait upon your word,
we honor and adore you,
our great and mighty Lord.
The flower of earthly splendor
in time must surely die,
its fragile bloom surrender
to you the Lord most high;
but hidden from all nature
and make a joyful duty
the eternal seed is sown –
though small in mortal stature,
to heaven’s garden grown:
for Christ the Man from heaven
from death has set us free,
and we through him are given
the final victory!
Then hear, O gracious Savior,
accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favor
may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows
be filled with good or ill,
we’ll triumph through our sorrows
and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty
and glory in your ways,
our sacrifice of praise.
***
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