7. O worship the King, all glorious above
Robert Grant, 1779-1838
A simple, yet majestic hymn, based on the magnificent 104th Psalm. A careful reading of the Psalm will result in a new appreciation of this free paraphrase by Grant.
Robert Grant was born in Bombay, India. When six years old, his parents moved to London. He received his education in Oxford, was admitted to the bar, elected to Parliament in 1808, and then held various responsible government positions, climaxed in 1834 by his appointment as Governor of Bombay. He died at Delpoonie, India, where a medical school, bearing his name, was erected in his memory. Though a prominent man and active in public affairs, Grant will be remembered principally as the author of this, his most important hymn. He wrote a number of other hymns but only this one and “Savior, when, in dust, to Thee” ([145]) have survived.
MUSIC. The tune LYONS is by Haydn, not the famous “Papa” Haydn who wrote symphonies, string quartets, and The Creation, but J. Michael Haydn, 1737-1806, a younger brother. He was born in Austria. Though self-taught in music (like his famous brother Franz), he became the teacher of many eminent musicians of his time, including Carl von Weber. Haydn was a warm-hearted, devout, and gifted man, and might have become famous except for two things—his life was lived in the shadow of his more illustrious brother, and he was too modest to permit most of his works to be published.
LYONS is a singable tune with a fine melodic curve and is strikingly similar to “Hanover” ([6]) with which it may be interchanged with good effect.