The story of "All Things Bright and Beautiful"

The hymn ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ was written by Irish poet Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander and was part of her book ‘Hymns for Little Children.’ She was born in 1818 in Dublin and was famous as a hymn writer when she was in her early twenties. Her hymns were part of the official hymn books of the Church of Ireland.

The Oxford Movement

Cecil married William Alexander, an Anglican clergyman, who became the Bishop of Derry. Later, he became the Archbishop of Armagh. She was influenced by John Keble and the Oxford Movement. The Oxford Movement wanted to incorporate old Christian Catholic traditions into the Anglican Church, but its members were ridiculed as Puseyites and Newmanites. John Keble was also the editor for one of her anthology of poems.

The Apostles' Creed

Her hymn book was very successful and had 69 reprints. She donated all the money from the book to a school for the Deaf and Dumb. There is an interesting story about how the “All things Bright and Beautiful” hymn came to be written. Mrs. Alexander was trying to explain the meaning of the Apostles’ Creed to some children without success. Therefore, she thought of writing hymns which would explain the Creed.

The Lord God made them all

She was particularly inspired by the first lines of the Apostles’ Creed which were, ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.’ On the other hand, some people say that it was inspired by Coleridge’s The Rise of the Ancient Mariner. As written by her, the first verse of "All Things Bright and Beautiful" lyrics came out thus: “All things bright and beautiful All creatures great and small All things wise and wonderful The Lord God made them all.”

A great legacy

The entire hymn is a eulogy of all things beautiful made by God and because of its neutral language, is used by Christians of all denominations in many countries. The lines were also used by author and veterinary surgeon James Herriot for his very successful books. One started with “All Creatures Great and Small,” the second used, “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” then "All Things Wise and Wonderful", and finally, "The Lord God made them all." Mrs. Alexander died in 1895 when she was 77 years old, but she left this legacy to religion and the English language.