All Creatures of Our God and King

Word & Song by Anthony Esolen

Our Word of the Week, the phrase “Man’s Best Friend,” puts me in mind of all the creatures we share the world with, from the blazing sun — he’s about to set behind a bank of clouds as I write these words — to our dog Molly, out on a walk with our daughter Jessica, to the wild coreopsis flowers I see through the window, shooting up in the backyard, and I thank God for all these things. I don’t worship them, of course. Nature isn’t divine, except insofar as all creatures bear the impress of the God who made them. But I love this world, and I don’t have to go to the Grand Canyon to be moved by it.

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When I was a boy, there was a very small pool of water atop the hill in the woods behind our house, no more than ten feet from end to end, cold and clear, apparently welling up from below. In the early spring, it spilled out into a nice little creek, but for much of the year it was only by itself, and odd green and red mosses grew in it and around it. To me it was like a holy place. It’s not there anymore. The woods are gone, having made way for a pricey subdivision of homes, where I have never seen a single child at play. Yet when I read in Revelation that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and when I remember the resurrection of the flesh, it seems hard for me to imagine that the good creatures we knew in the flesh will not somehow be restored to us, in purer form, unable to harm, but most able to bless.

The original author of our Hymn of the Week, Saint Francis, was a merry fellow, a boy at heart. He wasn’t named Francis: that was a nickname, meaning “Frenchy,” because the young man had fancy tastes, and liked to go out riding with his friends, getting into mostly harmless trouble. When he gave his life to God, I think he became more of a boy than he was before. There’s the legend of what he did to the wolf that had been terrorizing the people of the nearby town of Gubbio. I’ve been to Gubbio, by the way — the Italians in the town next to mine were all Eugubini, and it really is quite a place, set high on a cliff, and away from most of the tourists. Anyway, a wolf had been scrambling up the mountainside at night to raid the livestock, and then he started killing and eating people, too. So Francis, bearing the Cross, went to his lair and said, “Brother Wolf, you’ve been causing a lot of trouble in these parts, doing great harm, spoiling and killing the creatures of God without his leave, and you haven’t just killed and eaten the beasts, but you’ve even dared to kill human beings, made in the image of God.” He deserved to be punished for a thief and a homicide, but Francis offered him a deal. If Brother Wolf would stop the mischief, Francis promised that the people of Gubbio would give him a good meal every day, so he’d never go hungry. And the Wolf gave him a sign: he ducked his head a bit, and put his paw in Francis’s hand. We can say that the Wolf became, by a miracle, Man’s Best Friend; it just took a few minutes rather than a few centuries. He had food every day from then on. You can see a modern memorial of the scene, in low relief on a bronze plaque, near the chapel of Santa Maria della Vittoria, in Gubbio.

I mention the boyishness of Francis because our Hymn was composed by William Henry Draper specifically for children to sing, in the ancient Norman church of Saint John the Baptist, in Adel, in the district of Leeds. Draper took Francis’s poem, written in the dialect of Umbria, in praise of God and in gratitude for all the creatures God had made, and brilliantly paraphrased it in English verse, keeping the spirit of the original. It’s set to the rousing melody Lasst Uns Erfreuen, from 17th century Germany, with a mighty refrain. And Francis didn’t shy away from the one creature we fear the most, and it isn’t a wolf in Gubbio. It’s Sora nostra morte corporale, our Sister Bodily Death. Why should we fear, when Christ himself — and this is Draper’s addition, which Francis surely would have approved — has gone before us, marking the way?

Debra has found a truly astounding rendition of this hymn: the descants soar, and they make me, who’d be grumbling along in the baritone, want to have the voice of a child again. Listen to the tremendous Salisbury Cathedral Choir. We’ve added the words below so you can follow along.

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1. All creatures of our God and King, Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam! Refrain: O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! 2. Thou rushing wind that art so strong, Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice, Ye lights of evening, find a voice! Refrain. 3. Thou flowing water, pure and clear, Make music for thy Lord to hear, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou fire so masterful and bright, That givest man both warmth and light, Refrain. 4. Dear mother earth, who day by day Unfoldest blessings on our way, O praise Him! Alleluia! The flowers and fruits that in thee grow, Let them His glory also show. Refrain. 5. And all ye men of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care! Refrain. 6. And thou most kind and gentle Death, Waiting to hush our latest breath, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou leadest home the child of God, And Christ our Lord the way hath trod. Refrain. 7. Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, And praise the Spirit, Three in One! Refrain.

Word & Song by Anthony Esolen is an online magazine devoted to reclaiming the good, the beautiful, and the true. We publish six essays each week, on words, classic hymns, poems, films, and popular songs, as well a weekly podcast for paid subscribers, alternately Poetry Aloud or Anthony Esolen Speaks. Paid subscribers also receive audio-enhanced posts and on-demand access to our full archive, and may add their comments to our posts and discussions. To support this project, please join us as a free or paid subscriber.

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