This Is My Father's World

1919 publication of "This is My Father's World"

This is My Father's World is a well-known Christian hymn written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, a minister from New York. The piece was published after his death in 1901 at age 42. The poem was set to music in 1915 by Franklin L. Sheppard, a close friend of Babcock, who apparently did not want to call attention to himself and signed using his initials rearranged as "S.F.L." Most sources state that Sheppard adapted the music from a traditional English melody that he learned from his mother as a child.^[1]

History

When Maltbie Davenport Babcock lived in Lockport, he took frequent walks along the Niagara Escarpment to enjoy the overlook's panoramic vista of upstate New York scenery and Lake Ontario, telling his wife he was "going out to see the Father's world". Shortly after his death in 1901 she published a compilation of Babcock's writings entitled Thoughts for Every-Day Living that contained the poem "My Father's World."^[2] The original poem contained sixteen stanzas of four lines each.^[3] In 1916 Sheppard chose only three verses of the sixteen when he set the poem to music to a tune entitled "Terra Beata" (Latin for "Blessed Earth").^[4] Scripture references in the original poem include Psalm 33:5 "He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love." and Psalm 50:12 "For the world is mine, and all that is in it."

Lyrics

When sung as a hymn Babcock's poem usually is condensed to three to six verses, with each verse corresponding to two stanzas in the poem. An example (from the United Methodist Hymnal) is:

This is my Father's world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world,
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their maker's praise.
This is my Father's world,
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!^[1]

1. ^ The United Methodist Hymnal. Nashville, Tenn.: United Methodist Publishing House. 1989. p. 144. ISBN 0-687-43132-8. 

The alternative ending of the third verse is shown in the photo of the hymnal page above.

"This is my Father's world. The battle is not done. Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heav'n be one."

In popular culture

An instrumental version is fittingly used in the Ken Burns documentary film, The National Parks, and the corresponding sponsorship slot for The Park Foundation.

Howard Shore quoted the first seven notes of the hymn verbatim in his Shire theme from his music for the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

One notable recording of the song was by Amy Grant. Her version is the opening track on her 2002 studio album Legacy... Hymns and Faith and also appears on her 2015 compilation album Be Still and Know... Hymns & Faith.

A child sings this hymn in the Criminal Minds first season episode "Blood Hungry" in 2005.

The theme song from Penn Jillette's podcast Penn's Sunday School is based off the hymn. While Penn is an atheist, he states that this was his favorite hymn growing up.

References