Born in 1824, Walter Chalmers Smith served as a minister in the Free Church of Scotland, a poet and a hymn writer. Unlike other writers from the 1800’s, Mr. Smith never amassed a collection of recognizable hymns. However at the age of 43, he penned a song that we can still find in many hymnals today. Rich in the language of ‘Old English’, Walter Chalmers Smith referenced I Timothy 1:17 as he penned “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”. “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” I Timothy 1:17
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light in accessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish – but naught changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render: O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.
As a Christian hymn, this song is typically sung to the tune, “St. Denio”, originally a Welsh melody. A well noted musicologist by the name of Erik Routley has given his impression of the hymn ‘Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise’. He wrote:
“[Immortal Invisible] should give the reader a moment’s pause. Most readers will think they know this hymn, the work of another Free Kirk minister. But it never now appears as its author wrote it, and a closer look at it in its fuller form shows that it was by no means designed to be one of those general hymns of praise that the parson slams into the praise-list when he is in too much of a hurry to think of anything else but a hymn about the reading of scripture. Just occasionally editorial tinkering changes the whole personality of a hymn; it has certainly done so here.”
When we sing songs (whether in the church auditorium, in the car driving down the road, or walking alone… ‘at eve’), are we thinking about the words to the songs we’re singing? Processing our words and realizing what we’re saying should be more of a focus for those who sing. Singing without thinking about the words would be no different than speaking without thinking about the message. Read some of the words from this 150 year old hymn one more time, with some clearer understanding.
Verse 1…Immortal, invisible, God only wise (do we realize the immortality of our God? We don’t see Him physically, but even in this ‘invisible state’ we know He is all wisdom.)
Verse 2…Unresting, unhasting and silent as light (God never sleeps, He’s not slow in keeping us and just as we can not hear the sun…we feel His presence.) Nor wanting, nor wasting Thou rulest in might (God does not lack in giving to us, nor does He waste His time on us; He is the ultimate ruler.) Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above (Who won’t desire justice that holds a high standard in our life and death?) Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love. (Ever notice the comfort, and rain, that comes from the clouds? When you see a cloud floating in the sky, you can remember God’s ‘goodness and love.’)
Verse 3…Abundant life comes from God (‘we blossom and flourish’) and still we understand that if life we will all grow old (‘wither and perish’). However…God never changes.
Verse 4…If you’ve ever tried to look directly at the sun, you know you can’t without being blinded. In the same way, God’s brilliance hides Him from our sight. Yet the author ask God, “O help us to see”! Oh that we would ‘render our praise’ to God! Conclude this hymn with the combination of verse 1 & 4; “All mighty, victorious, God’s great name we praise, and to Him…ALL praise we would render“.