God, The Omnipotent!
God, the omnipotent! King Who ordainest
Great winds Thy clarions, lightnings Thy sword;
Show forth Thy pity on high where Thou reignest,
Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.
God the all merciful! Earth hath forsaken
Thy ways of blessedness, slighted Thy Word;
Bid not Thy wrath in its terrors awaken;
Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.
God the all righteous One! Man hath defied Thee;
Yet to eternity standeth Thy Word,
Falsehood and wrong shall not tarry beside Thee;
Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.
God the all wise! By the fire of Thy chastening,
Earth shall to freedom and truth be restored;
Through the thick darkness Thy kingdom is hastening;
Thou wilt give peace in Thy time, O Lord.
So shall Thy children, with thankful devotion,
Praise Him Who saved them from peril and sword,
Singing in chorus from ocean to ocean,
Peace to the nations, and praise to the Lord.
Henry Fothergill Chorley (1808-1872) John Ellerton (1826-1893)
Henry Fothergill Chorley wrote this great hymn with the help of John Ellerton. Chorley was a Victorian era journalist and music critic for the Athenaeum in London, England. He was also a book reviewer, novelist, playwright, and poet. Oddly enough one of his best known and most famous writings was his obituary of Turgenev, which was written by mistake while the Russian composer was still alive.
Turgenev was not offended by the mistake as much as he was by the critical opinions of his work expressed in the obituary by Chorley. However the two men remained friends even after the incident because Turgenev understood that was the way Chorley felt.
John Ellerton, the co-author of the hymn, graduated from Trinity College and entered the ministry in 1850. He was an authority on hymns, and wrote or translated more than eighty hymns in his lifetime. Ellerton was highly respected by the critical, but good natured Chorley and no doubt felt honored to co-author a piece with him.
