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THROUGH ALL THE WORLD BELOW
("Complete" 1835 version?)
This is without question one of the strangest, most somber, nature-focused and mystical hymns I have ever heard. It is also one of my favorites. It has appeared in several hymnals and sing-along books over the years, but usually with only the first 4 verses. The melody is a close cousin with Captain Kidd and Wondrous Love, and has Sacred Harp in its DNA. It has been sung by many groups, in many versions. In recent years verses have been altered to make it a sort of meditative anthem in some eco-feminist circles, which I find fascinating, apt, and wonderful.

Here I tried to sing all 9 verses that are found in an 1835 publication by the LDS church--the only source I have come across so far that includes so many verses.

This song overflows with sorrow, beauty, faith, and determination all at once. It is also a fascinating theological treatise on the sacredness of not just nature in general, but hills and mountains in particular. The message rings clear: since hills and mountains are so frequently chosen by God as locations for sacred happenings, we should honor them also.

And as if that isn't enough, it ends with a kind of clarion call for joy, singing and collective action (that honors and protects the sacred natural world) from the ground, upward. God-filled, nature-defending, grass-roots revolution!

To my knowledge, this is probably the only live version currently on the internet that includes all 9 verses.

Apologies to anyone pained by the often faltering voice and occasional lyrical alterations.

Here are the original lyrics as they appear in the 1835 hymnal.
1. Through all the world below,
God we see all around;
Search hills and valleys through,
There he's found;
The growing of the corn,
The lily and the thorn,
The pleasant and forlorn,
All declare, God is there,
In meadows dressed in green,
There he's seen.
2. See springing waters rise,
Fountains flow, rivers run;
The mist beclouds the skies;
Hides the sun;
Then down the rain doth pour,
The ocean it doth roar,
And beat upon the shore,
All to praise in their lays;
A God that ne'er declines -
His designs.
3. The sun with all his rays,
Speaks of God as he flies;
The comet with her blaze,
God, she cries;
The shining of the stars,
The moon when it appears,
His glorious name declares,
As they fly through the sky;
While shades of silent sound -
Join the round.
4. Then let my station be -
Here in life where I see,
The sacred One in three;
All agree,
In all the works he's made:
The forest and the globe;
Nor let one be afraid;
Though I dwell on a hill,
While nature's works declare -
God is there.
5. When God to Moses shew,
Glories more than Peru;
His face alone withdrew,
From his view;
Mount Sinai is the place,
For God to show his grace,
While Moses sang his praise;
See him rise through the skies,
And view old Canaan's ground,
All around.
6. Elijah's servant hears,
From the hill and declares;
A little cloud appears:
Dry your tears;
Our Lord transfigured is,
With the two saints of his,
As saith the witnesses;
See him shine all divine:
While Olive's Mount is blest,
With the rest.
7. Not India full of gold,
With the wonders we are told;
Nor seraphs strong and bold:
Can uphold,
The mountain Calvary,
Where Christ our Lord did die:
Hark! hear the God-man cry:
Mountains quake, heavens shake,
While God their author's Ghost,
Left the coast.
8. And now from Calvary,
We may stand here and spy;
Beyond this lower sky,
Far on high,
Mount Zion's shining hill,
Where saints and angels dwell,
And hear them sing and tell,
Of our Lord, with accord,
And join in Moses' song -
Heart and tongue.
9. Since hills are honored thus,
By our Lord in his course,
Let them not be by us,
Called accursed:
Forbid it mighty king,
But rather let us sing,
Since hills and mountains ring;
Echo fly through the sky,
And heaven hear the sound -
From the ground.

credits

from songs that sing me, Vol. I: a personal anthology, released November 27, 2022

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Seth Mountain 이산 South Korea

Seth Martin (aka Seth Mountain or 이산), is a roots musician originally from the Pacific Northwest (US).

Continuing in the radical tradition of artists like Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Utah Phillips, Martin has been living in Seoul since 2015. He regularly performs with Korean and foreign folk, indie and rock acts.

"Quite possibly the closest thing we have to Woody Guthrie."
--Bill Mallonee ... more

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