God of the Living in Whose Eyes
Author: Canon John Ellerton
God of the living, in whose eyes,
Unveiled, Thy whole creation lies,
All souls are Thine; we must not say
That those are dead who pass away.
From this our world of flesh set free,
We know them living unto Thee.
Released from earthly toil and strife,
With Thee is hidden still their life;
Thine are their thoughts, their works, their pow’rs,
All Thine, and yet most truly ours;
For well we know, where’er they be,
Our dead are living unto Thee.
Not spilled like water on the ground,
Nor wrapped in dreamless sleep profound,
Not wand’ring in unknown despair,
Beyond Thy voice, Thine arm, Thy care,
Not left to lie like fallen tree—
Not dead, but living unto Thee.
God of the Living in Whose Eyes History
The text for ‘God of the Living in Whose Eyes’ was written by Canon John Ellerton. This is yet another well-known funeral hymn.
This was one of the first hymns the author wrote. He composed it before in his twenties.
This hymn was written while Canon Ellerton was curate at Brighton.
It is said that he wrote for the funeral of one of his Sunday school children at the time.
In the original it does not appear in as many stanzas as we are accustomed to sing it, and the probability is that Canon Ellerton added to it afterward.
This hymn was a favorite with the author, probably from its associations with his early days.
It has been successfully set to music by various composers, one of the most attractive and appropriate melodies being “God of the living” by Mr. Everard Hulton.
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