1000 Songs/All creatures of our God and King (Francis of Assisi)

All creatures of our God and King (Francis of Assisi)

1000 Songs

Text
Originally from Canticle of the Sun, this is a literal translation of the text directly from the Canticle of the Sun.

Author
The author of this text is Francis of Assisi who lived from 1181-1226. He was born into a wealthy family, but after an illness at the age of 25, he was convicted to give lavishly to the poor and forsake worldly pleasures. One aspect of this was that he lived in solitude for a year in a cave. He had a great deal of respect for nature and animals.

Translations/Challenges
Paraphrased by William H. Draper (1855-1933). Draper set the words to the 17th Century German hymn tune "Lasst Uns Erfreuen", for use at a children's choir festival some time between 1899 and 1919. For text as translated by Draper and a recording set to the "Lasst Uns Er­freu­en" tune, click here.

Tune
The first tune this song was put to was "Lasst Uns Erfreuen," but it is also used in several contemporary worship settings today. These are primarily by David Crowder, and by the worship band Third Day, who does a version along with Jennifer Knapp and Nichole Nordeman. This is called Sing Alleluia. It has a lot more momentum, but it lacks the rich harmonies present in the hymn version.

Editor's Choice
I personally prefer the hymn as translated by Draper and the tune that he set it to, but I think that if I were to use this text in a modern worship setting, it would be much more effective to use one of the more contemporary versions.

Cultural setting
This text reflects the mentality of the author and shows that while he values life and creation, he has a full understanding of God's ultimate sovereignty.